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Ch.14

“One two three, one two three” Woodhouse repeated in the same diction of a grizzled old sergeant commanding a platoon of raw recruits, his voice matching the tempo of a waltz being played by a troupe of possessed instruments. Their conductor a man whose multicolored atire and boisterous personality could only be described as that ever so loathed word, flamboyant. With hair like a peacock and coat tails to match. Though his talent was undeniable, his visage was lacking, in fact he had no face to speak of. Much to my pleasure I had little to no interaction with the strange faceless man, instead I was occupied with my third partner of the day.

Aeothir could be described as many things, graceful when walking on two legs was not one of those things, still I gritted my teeth to hide my pain with a smile. The poor girl seemed to have a vendetta against feet, yet again I found my foot being crushed beneath one of her hooves. Still seeing her bashful smile did much to leverage my forgiveness. I reveled in the warmth of her pale creamy skin and basked in her other worldly beauty. Her cheeks lightly flush were a light rose color that stood in contrast her white skin and mysterious black eyes, every so often her ears or tail would twitch in response to my touch. Out of all of my classes with Woodhouse, dances were perhaps my most favorite, I certainly didn't see the grand importance of the difference between forks. As far as cutlery and kitchen ware were concerned I was convinced that you only needed one knife, one spoon, and one fork, who ever decided otherwise was a bloody mad man. Still I took his lessons and work to heart, the whole point of them was to not appear as a peasant or a boor before the nobility.

“Alright, that will be all for today young master, I was instructed by your father to inform you that the rest of the day is yours to do as you see fit” Woodhouse spoke with a flourished bow before dismissing the faceless man back into what ever nightmarish void he had stepped out of.

With out much to do I decided to take a stroll through the gardens with Aeothir, she was a quiet enigma that, by comparison, even I appeared as a chatterbox. Tough I was able to take solace in her silent companionship, even if I was always trying to rack my brain over what ever was going through her head. For the past three years of living in this near population devoid castle she was my closest companion, I was becoming starved for interaction. I would have giving anything to experience the fierce competitive nature of Lily or Hanz's womanizing antics that often brought me bellies full of laughter, but there was little for me here, aside from training. It may have been perfect for the old hermit but I was suffering, I needed some kind of release.

“Aeothir, how did you carry me here” I questioned while observing a pair of flowering vines that were attempting to eat one another but were locked in a stale mate.

“I can travel through the planes, or at the least through the elemental plane of shadow, it is as much a part of me as Aether is a part of you” she explained while idly poking at a flower that seemed to giggle each time her finger contacted it's delicate pink petals.

I sat up with a grin “can you take me back to Thrace, its fine even if it's only a short while” I inquired with a strong longing.

Aeothir mulled the request over in her head for a bit, she knew that Alexander would disapprove, but at the same time she could feel the sense of loneliness and longing seeping from her new master. His sadness was deep and pervasive, like a black sludge pit that seemed to drag her downwards into it's depths, and while it was a tasty snack she would rather see his cheerful smiling face. His energy was the most delicious, like a ripe sweet apple, when he was filled with joy, or like a candy coated apple when he held her close in their dance lessons. While she understood the purpose of the lessons she couldn't help but feel it was another of those mortal oddities.

With a nod of approval she let out a huff “alright hop on and hold on tight” she barked before her body began to warp and twist back into her more comfortable semi-corporeal form. A great black steed with a blazing mane and fiery feathering. I couldn't help but stare at her, this was the first time that I had seen her in this form. A feeling of dread and terror radiated from her body as she stamped her feet impatiently, small clouds of black soot and ash trailed behind her. I could understand why her kind were called Nightmares. I could feel that she was only showing off for me, I knew that she was enjoying feeding off my emotions caused by her aura. I reached up and grabbed the saddle pommel, with a slight hop I hoisted myself onto her back. I could feel her giving me the impression that now was the time to hold on tightly.

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With a stomp of her hooves a spatial rift tore open the veil separating the primaterial from the immaterial, an inky swirling blackness was all that stood before us. I swallowed nervously and gripped the reins holding my self to her body as she bolted through the jagged rift, slowly but surely the rift wove shut behinds us cutting off the only source of light leaving me shrouded in darkness. This was not a place for mortals, as she blitzed forward across the endless black I could feel it all around us, a writhing morass of hunger. Spirits from the elemental plane of shadow, reached out probing at my mind, their thoughts timeless and yet primitive, I could feel them writhing and clawing at my mind. Their aimless hollow voices bereft of personality pounded at my hastily crafted mental shielding, it was a terrifying experience, like being dropped into a pit of slithering sentient and very hungry snakes,

Gibbering incoherent nonsense assualted my mind accompanied by visions of gaping toothy maws, and squid like appendages, they were beings bereft of warmth, life, and emotions. They hungered for these unknown sensations like a pack of wolves chasing down an injured sheep after starving through the winter months. Were it not for my crude mental shields and Aeothir unleashing a burst of fear inducing aura to drive back the creatures they would have likely devoured my mind. My body shook and my teeth chattered as I gripped the reins with white knuckles, to keep my mind closed I tried to keep it occupied by recalling my studies. As much as I loathed to admit it Ishtar's light, life, and love came to mind, hammering away at my brain like a brick full of knowledge and leaving me feeling stupid.

“Blessed be the lady of life, send forth thy blessing, and grant me heavens light” I shouted unleashing sphere of radiant golden light overhead. Still even uttering that religious chant made my stomach churn, but with my nerves frayed and rattled I couldn't focus my mind enough to mentally construct a spell.

With thousands of pained shrieks the darkness recoiled to the dim edges of the golden light cast off from the miniature sun, their writhing tentacles only occasionally slipping into it's edge to sizzle and burn.

As far as my vision was limited by the writhing mass of teeth and tentacles I could see a scorched lifeless wasteland of blackened ash, the ground covered in an ankle deep covering of soot that stirred around the pounding of Aeothir's hooves. As they rode the wide open ash lands gave way to charcoal skeletons, a chilling reminder of what had once been a lush forest. One had to wonder what the origins of the plane of shadow were, had it always existed in it's current state devoid of life or had this once been a world like any other, perhaps even a paradise. All that remained was a blackened land of ash, teeming with amorphous horrors and cast in darkness.

I reached forward to pat Aeothir's neck for some semblance of comfort in this alien world, this was no place for mortals to tread and I could not wait to be free of it's oppressive and foreboding atmosphere. Fortunately we arrived at what ever destination that Aeothir had decided was correct and tore another hole in reality that allowed up to pass back into the primaterial plane.

I couldn't help but take a breath of fresh air, the familiar scent of hay and freshly turned earth comforting my shaken mind. Never before I had felt such a longing for solid ground that had me dismounting from Aeothir's saddle to lay in the grass like a young child. Oh how marvelous it was to be be away from the nearly lifeless castle and to be free of the mind shattering terror of the elemental plane of shadow.

I couldn't help but to stare out into the distance from the grassy knoll, upon which I Aeothir had dumped us, I was home for the first time in what had felt like ages. It had been only three years, but those three years had left him with a sense of longing and loneliness. I let out a sad wistful smile as I felt a pair of arms drape over my shoulders and pull me tight.

Below lay the ruins of River's Bend, a once flourishing village now was mostly nothing but overgrown fields and the skeletons of a few of the sturdier structures. Those who had survived had cleared out what ever could be easily taken to rebuild their lives while the baron and his men would have picked over what was left.

I walked in silence through overgrown brambles that littered the once heavily traveled paths, many of which had become worn or washed out by the seasonal rains. Occasionally I would stop and let out a deep sigh as this memory or that passed through my mind, my emotions were seated upon a teeter totter of wistful longing and a low smoldering anger at the injustices we had been forced to suffer. Who exactly could I point my finger's at, the only knowledge that I had gleaned was from Aeothir's observations and my own prejudices. Aeothir was many things, but an expert of human politics was not one of them, my only evidence had been the sudden raise in taxes from the Baron, as ordered by the Duke.

I gritted my teeth in anger as I kicked a stone from my path, what ever the truth was I would get to the bottom of it, one way or another, it was time for me to stop wallowing in my own self pity.

“Aeothir, we're leaving, we ride for Aberlund the capital city of Duke von Manstein's Duchy” I commanded with a firm tone.

“What about Lord Alexander” she questioned giving me scrutinizing glare.

“My grandfather can wait, that or he'll send one of his servants to come and get me” I retorted with a confident smirk, “now lets hurry up I want to be in Hjarlsburg before sundown.