Twice the bells chimed every hour in the silent city. Nobody knew who rang them. Whether it was the wind or some lone left-away denizen, not a soul could guess. But the bells continued, indicating the hour had passed, without fail. Some wanderers, few as they were, wondered at this occurrence. They then spread rumors of demons and ghosts, of magic and sorcery, but she knew it was neither. At least, neither of what she practiced. Not magic. Not sorcery. And demons and ghosts — unlikely she had always maintained, trying hard to quell the rumors.

Empty streets greeted her wherever she went. What people there were left had hidden themselves in the houses, never coming into the light. They preferred the darkness, it was said. She did not wonder why. The curse had affected them and their city. What was once a flourishing place, known for its trade and merchants, for its riches and silks, was now a ruin.

She walked, weathering the storm that was upon her — a by-product of the ancient curse that had laid waste to the lands around her by The Trinity themselves. The storms and many other things that people would call natural disasters deigned to impede the entry of people into this land. Khalankhum it was called — the abode of The Brothers Dark when they were in power, long before they fled into the north, never to be seen again. Yet it was said that there was a darkness in this place, a remnant of the shadow they cast, terrible and evil. Darkness that fed upon innocent souls. And still she had come here, wanting to see the accursed place for herself. Even though her sources and friends had told her tales about Silthri, this city that stood on the eastern borders of the cursed land, she had come. Some would call her brave, others foolish, if they ever came to know about it. But she did not care. She found this the perfect place, suited for her meeting with Valakh, her demonic lover.

The bell tolled again, this time louder. It sounded more like a knell, singing of ominous doom. But she walked on regardless, her fair hands covering her eyes, sheltering them from the heavy winds that gusted about her. The storm made an orotund noise. Eerie it felt, cold even. Turning left onto another empty street, she strode on, her pace quickening. She wanted her business done as fast as could be possible. After all, she had to cross the entirety of the desert again, even though her route only took her through its northern borders where the shadow did not care to touch. But who knows? It just might when she returned.

She came face-to-face with an old decrepit building that had once been an inn. What once was joyous now gave her the feeling of being morose. No sound. No people. No hustle-bustle as would have been at somewhere normal. But here, an uncanny silence reigned.

The inn now had walls that boasted of cracks, long curved ones that raced from the ceiling to the floor. The wood on the door was broken at too many places, with enough holes to seek a sneak peek inside. She pushed it open, the planks making a loud noise as she did. What light there was outside, and that was not much, illuminated the dark insides of what she knew would surely once have been heavily lit. Spiders built their webs from wall to wall, seeking to ensnare a careless victim. She frowned. Why had Valakh called her here of all places? She detested spiders, always finding them queer and thought of them as dangerous. Most of the time, as she had learned, spiders did do the bidding of the dark ones. They were spies, for demons and worse.

But she wasn’t surprised to find them here. Valakh was a daemon, after all. These spiders could very well serve him, call him their lord, she thought. Fingering the sharp blade with a golden hilt hung to the right in a neat leafy scabbard, she strode in, the spiders running on the strands as fast as their feet could carry. She scowled.

Bending underneath several webs, she found Valakh sitting at a table not far from where she now stood.

'Keyara!' he called out, noticing her. 'Come. Sit.'

She smiled and headed over to the table, which was the only one without a crack. She sat on a seat opposite Valakh and stared at him longingly, as if she had met him after a long time.

'How fares you, Keyara?' he asked, sounding concerned. The crimson in his eyes danced around the corners. 'Was your journey well?'

'Well enough to avoid whatever evil lurks in these accursed lands,' she replied, adjusting her black silken dress.

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'And how fare our children? Are they safe?'

She nodded.

'Safe they need to be,' he sighed. 'None can know of their existence. They have a great role to play in this world.'

'I hope we know what we are doing. Sometimes, even I wonder.'

'The Shadow must be stopped, Keyara. With each year that passes by, The Brothers Dark grow stronger. Their power was unmatched, save by a few, in the height of their rule and even though weakened after they were banished from these lands an age ago, their power remains unmatched still. Should they return to these lands, their power will grow tenfold and they won’t be defeated again ever, until the ending of this world. So says The Prophet and we know he is always right.'

She hummed. Like The Prophet, she knew Valakh was always right. 'But what about our children? How can they stop The Shadow?'

Valakh smiled. A smile from a demon was always scary; made a mortal twinge inside, but she had gotten accustomed. 'Their blood will play a role. With the infused qualities of both you and me, they have a strong chance to fight The Shadow. Their bloodline will play a hand in the rise and fall of the kingdoms of men. Yet they will be the pioneers of Light and defeat The Shadow once and for all. Long time yet for that to happen, but this is just the beginning.'

'I sure hope so, but what do we do now?' she asked, her forehead creased in thought.

'Try our best to severe the connection between this land and its former owners. The power The Brothers Dark possess is closely tied with the places they inhabit. If this land falls out of their control, their power will be greatly lessened.'

'But it is out of their control. They do not hold sway over this land longer,' she countered. 'The Trinity’s curse holds them at bay and even the remnant of The Shadow that dwells here is rumored to be dangerous to the creatures of the dark ones.'

Valakh spat. 'The Trinity’s Curse is weakening, my dear Keyara. With time the curse grows frail, and The Brothers Dark have now amassed enough power, if my sources are to be believed, to nullify the effects of the curse. And as far as the remnant that dwells here, with all the knowledge that they possess, I am sure they will find a way to tame it. It was once part of them; it will heed their words. Trust me, Keyara. Evil times are coming ahead, and mortals and everyone on this earth must prepare themselves for the wars that will surely come. Yes, they will, whether we severe the connection or not. But if our plans are successful, we would have contrived to weaken them so much that all of us have a chance to be victorious. A lot of our success will depend on our children and any that they may sire themselves. And this is why no one must know of them. Yet. For they are looking for them too. Oh, yes! They have heard of them.'

Keyara blanched as she heard Valakh’s last words interspersed with the whooshing noise of the wind. As Valakh grunted, she heard the wind cry wolf. It was a distinct howl, followed by more.

'Wolves?' she arose, alert. 'What are wolves doing in the desert?'

'Not wolves,' her lover snarled. 'Shadow hounds.'

She cursed. Shadow hounds were the most dangerous creatures that hunted in the world. They had not been heard of for nigh a thousand years, but here they were, where none looked to find them.

'How?' she asked, although her heart never wished to hear whatever answer Valakh might give. 'So far south?'

Valakh brandished his blade, made of darksteel, forged in the fires of The Ice Fortress. 'You must hide,' he said. 'They will find your scent but I will draw most of them away, even all if I can. And when you see a chance, run.'

She nodded. Demons knew shadow hounds better. It would be well to heed his advice, she knew. Quickly, she hid in what seemed like a closet, and in there, time seemed like forever. Shadows circled her and every moment she expected to find a shadow hound or more clawing at the door outside.

Howls she heard, louder than before. Ten she counted in succession although she knew there were more. It was said that shadow hounds moved in a pack of thirteen and it might very well be that there were that many in the city, hunting her, trying to find her. She silently removed her blade from the scabbard, made of lightsteel, forged by the ones people called The Hashims. She hoped against hope that she would survive the day.

She made to open the door when she heard a loud scream. Valakh, she cried in a whisper. But she knew she could not rush to his aid. Her heart almost broke but wished he was safe and that the scream wasn’t that of his. The wind almost made it difficult to notice the pitch and tone. It could have been anyone, she consoled herself. Heaving a deep sigh, she pushed the door open and eager to get out, she almost did not notice a shadow hound snarling at her from atop a cracked table.

***