The Shadow.
Part 1: The Vale

Shroud kept watched as the guards changed, as the first guard walked off with his torch Shroud rushed forward. Throwing up his rope he started pulling himself up with it. As the second guard came under he held his position, being found would mean death. He waited halfway up the wall for an hour, until the guard went to relieve himself. As Shroud heard the trickle of water on the tree stump he pulled himself up over the wall and dropped to the ground silently, his rope falling to the ground beside him. Quickly he packed it up and set off on the dark, lonely streets. Always ducking below the lighted windows, and steering clear of lights on the streets; he made his way to the heart of the Shadow Vale. He walked straight past one thief who was sitting in the shadows. Hungry, he reached forward and grabbed a piece of bread out of the Ashwin's open pouch. The Ashwin thief looked up startled. All he saw was a shadow blotch out part of the bag and then disappear. As Shroud carried on the thief jumped up and ran off. He finished off the bread and came to his destination. The house of the greatest thief of Ambar, and his only hope, Darkwind. Slowly he peered over the window, and felt a arm reach around his neck and a knife placed at his throat.
"If your gonna try and spy on my home, at least make some attempt to stay hidden. That thief you scared off made a racket. Thought he saw some demon that came here to kill em all. Not something you want to happen if you're trying to keep your presence unknown."
"I take it that since you can see me and went looking for some demon to fight, that you must be the legendary Darkwind," replied Shroud.
"And what if I am?" asked Darkwind.
"Then I have come to the right place. I need your help," he said, standing up so Darkwind could get a good look at him. He heard the slythe gasp as he saw the darkness that almost hid his features.
"And if I refuse?" asked the slythe.
"Then lead me to the other two who can help, Azura and Jack. Do you know where I can find them?" he asked.
Darkwind fell silent for a moment. "Come on inside," he said.
"First turn out all the lights. I'll tell you why in a moment.

* * *

Shroud could see a frightened young Ashwin in another room as he walked in. He was being cared for by a female mersan.
"Ok, now tell me what you want," said Darkwind, sounding slightly annoyed.
"I will start by telling you the story of my Father. He was a demon. What's known as a shadow demon. He could control the shadows such as they would bind to him and make him impossible to see. He could also project it out in spikes and balls."
Darkwind instantly became interested and leaned closer, wanting to hear more about another shadow caster.
"How did he escape from hell in the first place?" asked Darkwind.
Shroud took a deep breath. His eyes were now also glazed over It was as if he had just entered a trance.
"Must be some sort of genetic memory that he's tapping into," observed Darkwind.
"It all started when yourself, Jack and two other Mersans left through the gate, lead by the Immortal Gypsy, my father Ackrul was able to use your shadow powers as a magnet to pull him out."
Shroud started suddenly, and Darkwind had to lean in closer to hear the child's soft voice.
"But it was costly, and he nearly died from it. He then saw how you disposed of Blackmoor, and decided not to cross you at the moment.
He sneaked away when you returned to Hell and slowly got his strength back. But being a demon the mission was not the first thing on his mind. He needed to quench his thirst for violence before getting back to his task, but he could not be content with petty villages. They were no challenge. He needed something more. So he found the location of one of the fire, earth and spirit Avatars, and drew them into one location. Then one by one he fought them. First he challenged the Dreadnaught."
The room began to fill with a dull red aura when Shroud muttered the word Dreadnaught.
"The Dreadnaught started its attack with Fire Waves. Ackrul ducked and weaved, and once he had escaped them all he fired a shadow ball into its chest. But its armour was so strong that it was absorbed and did no damage. It then charged forward, mouth open in a terrifying growl, swinging its huge axes.
Ackrul jumped up onto the axe just as it was to sever him, and sprung off it, landing behind the Dreadnaught. The axe instead splintered and burned an oak into ashes. Father feet were also burned on the soles from the immense heat of the axes.
Furious at Ackrul's actions, it then used its Flaming sphere. First that happened was a faint red glow that covered its whole body. Next the glow became stronger. Soon the grass around the Dreadnaught was on fire, and the whole battlefield was a blaze of light. Ackrul tried to summon the shadows into a shield, but the fire burned away all the trees leaving nothing to cast shadows. Without any shadows Ackrul had nothing to bind. So he used his other weapon, the Demon Blade. Forged in the firry lava pits of hell, it was the most deadly sword created. It was able to kill a demon in one slice, no matter how minor the wound. Its image was then saved, so that any who have been trained can summon it forth.
So he summoned the sword and with the tip of the blade he cut a hole in the sphere. Then with one clean sweep the hole became a tear and he rushed through it. Realising its mistake the Dreadnaught tried to retract its sphere, but it was to late. It's defences tied up in the sphere it could do nothing as Ackrul drove his sword into one of the fissures running along its skin. As Ackrul twisted his blade the Dreadnaught cried in pain. Soon more fissures appeared and a mighty crack ripped through the armour.
Ackrul jumped back and barely made it to cover before the white-hot lava that was in the core of the Dreadnaught came rushing out, cracking the Dreadnaught's outer skin in the process.
Ackrul slowly got up burns all down the side of his back."

The red aura faded and was replaced by a browner colour. Darkwind took note of this as Shroud continued on.

"As he was trying to recover from the burns he felt the earth ripple beneath him. Before he could do anything he was hurled up into the sky. Franticly searching around below him he could see the earth moving out as if they were waves of water. In the centre was a solid boulder, unaffected by the movement. Soon he crashed back to the ground near the boulder. As he staggered to his feet he saw what it was. The Mirielad has used stone blend to hide itself as a boulder. It was now visible and coming straight at him. It's twin axes ready to leave my father in little pieces. But lucky for him the Mirielad creates many shadows as it's size blotches out the sun, and he was able to create a shield around him.
As the Mirielad bounced his axes off the shadow bubble Ackrul could feel it weakening. As a last defence he fired a shadow spike right at one axe as he let down the shield. Unfortunately the shadows only bounced off the axes and struck him in the chest. Lying there near death it was luck that saved him. As the Mirielad raised its axes to finish him off, he fired one last shadow spear. This one missed its' target of the Mirielad and instead severed the axe handle. The axe spun backwards and cut off the right arm of the Avatar. It roared in pain and what few animals that were left after the Dreadnaught attack now fled.
As the Mirielad stood over him basking him in shadows he fired a series of shadow balls at it's chin. Eventually a small crack appeared along the Mirielad's neck. Taking this opportunity Ackrul jumped up and slashed along the crack with demon blade, widening it. Then before he fell back down to earth he fired one last shadow spike into the crack. As he did this last attack the Mirielad pushed the head of the axe into Ackrul's chest. Even as it's head rolled off its neck Ackrul was driven back into the ground, black blood gushing from the wound in his mid-section."

Just as before the aura faded and was replaced by one of snow white, symbolising the pure spirit.

"Finally the Yati, his final opponent flew over head. Ackrul, horribly burnt from the Dreadnaught and mortally wounded by the Mirielad, he could do nothing more then fire several shadow spikes at the Yati flying overhead. All shots hit and the Yati screamed in pain, but then took pity on the demon below. Using the last of its energy the Yati healed Ackrul of all of his wounds and restored all of his strength. As Ackrul returned to his feet he watched as the Yati fell dead from the sky. Ackrul knew that he would have died if it hadn't been for the Yati, and was moved by its last actions. A faint spark ignited in his heart as he contemplated the actions of the Avatar."

The last aura died down and none took its place. The three Avatars had been defeated.

"Father aborted his mission at that moment and swore to bring no harm the land he was sent to destroy. But the townsmen were afraid of him, and it was a while till he was accepted.
It was in a small cleric temple where Ackrul was hiding that it happened. A war was being waged and a stray stone launched from a catapult hit the temple. As one cleric was trapped under the falling building the others fled. Ackrul leaped forward from the shadows and threw himself over the cleric.
The small spark that was lit when he fought the Yati now sprang to life in a blaze. The building collapsed onto of them both and Ackrul was injured, but the cleric was unharmed. As the soldiers found them in the rubble they almost killed him on the spot, but the cleric begged them to stop, telling them that the evil demon had saved him at the risk of it's own life. The soldiers then left the two alone.
Ackrul awoke a week later, in the care of the cleric. The two became fast friends, beside their differences.
Ackrul told the cleric his story and the cleric felt sorry for him, and offered him a chance of a real life. Together they performed a dangerous ritual where Ackrul's body was turned into dust by the Earth element, and then a body was made by the fire element. Finally Spirit transported the life freed by the destruction of Ackrul's body and placed it in the new Phlanxian body. The spell was powerful, and the building in which they used to cast the spell inside fell around them. Ackrul opened his eyes for the first time, as a mortal with a soul, and smiled.
Happy that his life was getting back on track he joined the city's military service and met my mum. They instantly fell in love and were wed. Eventually I was born."
"And you became like this?" asked Darkwind.
"No," replied Shroud darkly, breaking free of the trance. He spoke the rest of the story on his own accord, no longer in a trance like state.
"This happened much later. As I said before my Father was sent to Ambar with a mission. The same people who sent him from hell had supporters on the outside. Once it was realised that Ackrul had betrayed them they tracked him down. They quickly found our home and attacked, wielding strange dark spells.
Without his demon body he was no match for them. They came in when I was 10 and killed my Mother in front of me. The animals had no limits to what they would do. They showed me her heart freshly ripped out of her chest!"
Shroud shouted the last sentence, tears dripping down his cheeks.
"Father then came home and saw what happened. He was enraged and tried to summon Demon blade but it was no use. He had left it behind when he entered his new life. But still he fought on, charging forward with his bare hands. Unfortunately they had it instead, and used it to cut him down.
Then they were left with me. I thought they would kill me then, and to tell you the truth, I didn't care. Everything had just been taken away from me. Death would have been a blessing. Instead they tied me down on the table and poured scented oils and salts on my naked body. Finally they rested the Demon Blade, it's hilt just touching my nose and it's tip between my feet, on my body. The chanted and a gust of wind blew out all the candles and the cloak of Darkness covered us. The spell was finished.
They left then, singing a few lines as they left.

Unnoticed by most
Seen only be the unseen three
Of the Hunters they be.
Summoner shrouded in mist,
Thief hiding in shadows
And fighter corrupted by darkness.
Seen only be these three
Forever it shall be.

"Those words haunt me to this day. I soon found that they turned me into a shadow. Unable to be seen by normal people, and unable to withstand the faintest light."
Shroud held up his hand and Darkwind could see the finger missing.
"Whenever part of my body is exposed to light it burns away. Luckily it can regenerate, but it still takes time."

Darkwind sat with his serpent head facing down, trying to think what to do.
"How did you find me?" he asked after a while.
"I checked many libraries after night, and read on the prophecies of the Hunters. I followed the journeys of each of you as best I could, and found much of your actions. But lately Azura and Jack have both disappeared, when both their towns fell. We need to find them if we are to stop the ones who killed my father."
"Just one thing. When you were talking about the battle with the Dreadnaught, you said he had no shadows to bind, what about the shadow below his feet, and the shadow created by one hand over another?"
Darkwind thought something was strange about the boy, and his story lacking a major fact. Slowly he reached for a knife.
"I would think you of all people would know that a demon creates no shadow," replied Shroud.
Darkwind and thought for a second and cursed himself. Jack never had any shadows when he transformed. It was mimicked by the absence of a soul in his demonic form. Feeling foolish he removed his hand from the hilt of the dagger. He quickly shook of that feeling and got back to the matter at hand.
"Hold on," said Darkwind. "I haven't said anything about helping you."
Shroud looked confused at Darkwind's reaction.
"But you don't understand. My father was sent here to gather artefacts and open a portal to hell. Once open, the artefact was to be cast down and energised, allowing an army of demons to escape. We must stop them from finding someone else to do it."
"It's too late," replied Darkwind sadly.
"Azura died when Icicle fell, and Jack was trapped in hell when he stopped someone from completing your father's mission."
"Shroud's mouth dropped open. There was so much he didn't know.
"Then you must help me. You are the only one left on Ambar who can see me, and is strong enough to help me face them. Only they can change me back."
Darkwind got up and turned to him.
"I'm sorry, but I don't do that any more. Fate has destroyed to many of my friends."
Just as Darkwind finished speaking Rasul rushed into the room.
"Master, I have some dreadful news for you."
Darkwind spoke quietly for a few minutes and turned back to Shroud.
"Shroud, how many guards did you kill on your way in?" he asked.
"None," replied the shadow. "It took me longer than I hoped to get in because I didn't harm any guards."
Darkwind's face turned sour.
"Then it can mean only one thing. The city has been breached."
But how?" asked Rasul. "Surely the local thieves could have stopped them?'
"No," replied Shroud. "They have mages with them. I can sense their magic."
"Enlightenment," hissed Darkwind.
"Quick, we don't have much time to spare. We must alert the troops."
As they left the house a near by building exploded.
"That was one of the barracks," said Darkwind alarmed. Many soldiers would have been resting there, and it didn't look like many had gotten out in time. The hardened thief spoke a quick prayer for the troops.
"We have to do something," shouted Rasul under the sounds of the roaring fire.
"We can't do anything till we work out what they are up to. Attacking the barracks and enlightening the thieves' just means that they are trying to take something by force. We have to stop them at all costs," said Darkwind.
"What about they research team that just came to rest over night?" asked Dawn.
"What about it?" asked Darkwind.
"Well they were digging in the regions near where Jack was lost. There were talks about them finding shards of some powerful artifact. Maybe they're looking for that."
"But that thing has the power to open a two way portal from hell. If they put it back together…" Darkwind trailed off.
"Then we are all in a heap of trouble," finished Shroud.
"Where are they staying?' asked Darkwind.
"The Blue Sea Shell," replied Dawn.
"Good, it's not far. Go and gather the rest of the guards and soldiers. If they took the time to kill the guards and troops, then they may have an army waiting. We may need their help. Rasul, I want you to gather as many thieves as you can muster from the guilds and get them to shake off the effects of the spell, and then start laying traps for the invaders. We need to slow them down. Also try and hunt down the attacking thieves. They may cause more problems in the future."
"Right," said Rasul as he quickly ran off towards the guilds.
"Come on Shroud, we're going to get those researchers to safety."
Darkwind and Shroud ran as fast as their feet could take them. Shroud took longer to move because he had to keep out of the light from the fire. He could see many peons rushing around with buckets trying to put out the blaze. Soon they reached the inn.
"I'll go in through the front door. You climb in through one of the windows and rouse the sleeping researchers from their sleep. I'll keep anyone from coming up."
Shroud watched as Darkwind entered the brightly lit Inn. He felt like an outcast, unable to join the drinking of relaxing travellers. Instead he was forced to creep in the shadows. He quickly dismissed the feelings of self-pity. He had no time for it. With practised skill he tossed his rope into an open windowsill and climbed up.
As he crawled into the room he could see the sleeping researchers. He knew this because one slept with a journal clutched in his arms. He quietly removed all the candles from the beds so that no light could be shed. Then he awoke the first man.
"What? Who is this?" asked a grumpy old mersan.
"The city is being attacked. We thing that your in danger. You must all come with me," said Shroud in a soothing voice.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" asked an Ashwin rising out of bed. "I specifically asked for us not to be disturbed."
"Well plans changed. You're all in danger. We are about to be invaded."
All the researchers were now awake and sitting up in their beds.
"Why can't we see you?" asked one.
"Because it's dark," he replied cursedly.
"But I can see everyone else fine." He said.
Just as Shroud was about to tell him to shut up Darkwind burst into the room.
"They're here. Dawn has roused some of the remaining soldiers who are keeping them busy, but there is much confusion. They will not last long.
"They must not discover what we have found," said the one clutching the journal.
"It could mean the very fate of Ambar"
"Then follow me," said Darkwind throwing a rope out the window. He climbed down first, then beckoned for the others to follow. Soon it was only Shroud left in the room.
"Ah, HELP!" screamed a female voice. It was coming from the corridor.
Shroud ran over to the closed door and heard the muffled screams of someone trying to call while being gagged. Despite the risk of being exposed to light Shroud could not walk away. He slammed down the door and rushed out. Seeing the soldier leaning over a young maid he ran forward and kicked him off. The soldier got back up and drew his sword, cutting Shroud and spraying blood from his chest over the wall. The blood was deep black in colour and immediately hissed and evaporated wherever it landed in the lightened part of the hall. The soldier had only seen a faint shadow and was lucky to hit Shroud in the darkness. Now he was watching the shine of Shrouds sword, which was now drawn. The solder was good, and was able to block only be the silver reflection. But he could only see one of the many dangers, and as he held his sword out to the side he was able to grab the soldier's sword hand and spun around, brining his sword to bare. The soldier's head rolled along the carpeted floor.
"Thank you," said the maid, looking around for her savour. But just as Shroud was about to reply torchlight could be seen coming up from the stairs, not willing to leave her to the mercy of more invading troops he grabbed her and ran back into the room and out the window. He clutched the dangling rope to slow his fall and landed with perfect grace on the smooth stone of the street.
"What took you so long?" asked Darkwind.
Shroud tried to answer, but collapsed from loss of blood. Darkwind noticed the trail of thick black blood coming from the window, and the pool from where he landed. He also saw the scared young woman who he was holding. Darkwind walk towards Shroud and threw him over his shoulder.
"This way," he said to the others, leading them to his home. Once he got there he led them down through a secret tunnel to a vast underground cavern.

"Ok everyone, you are all my guests, except for you Kitten," added Darkwind turning to Dawn.
"So I need you to follow a few house rules. This place is big enough so that absolutely no one is to come near here with any light whatsoever. Things that you do not want are also pursuing you. Therefore no one is to leave this cavern until the troops are organised and are prepared to escort you guys to safety. Other than that, keep the noise down. My friend here needs rest."
Darkwind turned to Shroud and looked at his wound. It wasn't as deep as he thought, but it was long. It stretched from his right shoulder to the just below his bottom left rib. The slit had also widened from when he jumped out the window. It would take a while to heal. But there were a few things he could do to speed things up.
First he smeared a special salve on the skin around the wound. This made the skin easier to stretch. Then he poured a hot green liquid directly into the wound. Shroud awoke at that moment and roared out in pain. As suddenly as he awoke he returned to slumber.
"Oh," whispered a voice.
Darkwind looked around behind to see the girl standing there, watching the table, weeping.
"Will he be alright?" she choked out.
"One look at him will tell you that," said Darkwind as he busily stitched up the wound with silk thread.
"But I can not," she replied Sadly.
"I know he is there because I can hear his breathing, but all I see is shadows when I look to him. I not know if he is even awake."
Shrouds words echoed in his mind. "Unable to be seen by normal people, and unable to withstand light."
"So he was telling the truth," he said to himself.
"Strange though," she said. "That none of the thieves that came by the inn mentioned him. He would obviously be the talk of the town, the ultimate thief."
Darkwind finished up the stitches and turned to her. "He only just came to the city tonight. He wants my help to find the people who did this to him so he can be changed back."
The girl tilted her head to the side as if she was thinking something.
"So when are we going?"
"Hey, wait one minute. I never said anything about helping him," replied Darkwind defensively.
"Oh but you must Mister Darkwind. He fought to help save the men you were trying to rescue. You owe it to him. Besides, you seem to be the only one who can see him. He needs your help. We need your help."
"Okay," replied Darkwind. "You got me there. But even if I do go off with him, what makes you think your coming along?" asked Darkwind.
"There are things that need a woman's touch. You may need my help on this. If you're trying to get them to help then busting in as big macho men won't solve anything. You'll just get killed."
Darkwind chuckled to himself.
"Um, no! I'm a thief, not a Zerker. I don't go rushing in as a maniac." Then silently Darkwind added, "That was his method."
"We won't get killed. It's final, you're staying here."
With that Darkwind left her to go and check on the situation upstairs.
The maid sat by Shroud and felt around till she found his arm. Then, grasping it in both hands she spoke softly to him.
"Why can't I see you?" she asked him. "What do you have to hide?"

END PART 1: The Vale

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