Dark to the West (Part 1)

As the sun began to set, a foreboding darkness crept over the western horizon. It was on this day that Bishop, the high priest of Therion, boarded the ship, and the air seemed to thicken with malevolent energy. It was as if everyone had shed their skin and revealed their true selves. Even the captain, who had been genuine with Allendra until then, became distant and cold. The little girl could feel the weight of a dark aura descending upon the ship, its source emanating from the black-robed priest.

Without delay, the captain assigned Bishop to his own cabin at the top of the ship. Allendra, determined to uncover the priest's weaknesses, began to shadow the mist elves in secret. By chance, she stumbled upon a secluded compartment beneath the cabin, concealed in the hold's food storage area. From this hidden vantage point, she could eavesdrop on the priest's ominous and arcane prayers.

The black-robed priest spent most of his days in isolation, his incantations spoken in a language unknown to Allendra, filled with foreboding power. Sometimes, he would wield a strange whip, its thongs twisted and barbed like serpent fangs, lashing himself and screaming in perverse ecstasy. Allendra once heard her aunt Lena enter the priest's chamber, only to scream out in terror. It was a moment that disgusted Allendra to the core, her trust in her aunt shaken.

The sinister priest would often demand that Allendra read aloud from the Dark Tongue, and when the little girl faltered, he would strike her with his cruel whip, leaving deep bite marks that scorched her flesh. The man's violent ways left Allendra feeling vulnerable and exposed, especially since her aunt did not speak out against his cruelty. Lena had grown increasingly withdrawn and dark, a shadow of the woman she once was, and Allendra was left to face the priest's wrath alone.

Allendra hoped fervently, and inwardly swore many oaths, to be rid of the loathsome man, but she persisted in eavesdropping on him at every opportunity, gathering information. One day, she chanced upon a distinctive speech, the significance of which only dawned on her much later.

"We may not venture back to the Black Desert," declaimed the Bishop, his voice screechy and grating.

"Why not?" asked Raaz, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"For I have received recent news that the Dark Saheer has been defeated, and all balances have been altered. There may even be a conflict brewing between Mistra and Romdaht," replied the Bishop.

"How can this be? How did our Lord fall?" asked Raaz, a note of bewilderment creeping into his voice.

"The exact details elude me at present, but I hope to receive a comprehensive report upon reaching Ogreport. It is said that the apprentice set a cunning trap for the master, under the guise of peace negotiations, on one of the Tyranny Islands. There, Emperor Malore and a bastard named Illuen were present, and rumors abound of a ghastly war."

"And what of the Thirteen Wizards?" inquired Raaz.

"Traitors, all of them. They have turned against their master and pledged fealty to Archmage Alhazaurus," answered the Bishop.

"How did we come to this pass? What befell the troops assembled in the Xalym Mountains? We had planned to cross the Wasteland and assail Barnachia, for months we have prepared," Raaz's voice trembled with a hint of fear.

"All dispersed, some even sworn to serve Archmage Laneth Alhazaurus. The Black Desert is in utter chaos. The Archmage has not yet attained full dominion, but with the Dark Saheer vanished, it shall not be long," intoned the Bishop.

"What must we do, Master Bishop?" Raaz's tone was now fraught with dread.

Bishop invited Lena in the chamber. "Tell them what you told me," he urged.

"I was contacted by The Darkest One," Lena spoke hesitantly, her voice quivering with uncertainty. "The dark majesty spoke to me of the fall of the Awyrgad. That an ancient shall fall, and an ancient shall rise."

"This is impossible," Raaz scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "The Darkest One does not deign to speak with commoners like you."

Bishop ordered Lena to leave the room.

"I believe in her," Bishop interjected firmly. "She knows the possible time and location of the temple where Shah Maran lies in eternal slumber."

"Phandomir warned me about you, Bishop. Your obsession is dangerous," Bazil interjected with a note of warning. He was silent until then.

"This is not my whim. It is the command of the God," Bishop cried out passionately, his eyes shining with fervor. "We shall proceed on our journey. Our orders were sent by the Darkest One. On the night of the Black Moon's zenith, we shall enter the Temple of the Serpent Shah. It is our duty to awaken the ancient children of the Dark Lord Therion," Bishop proclaimed, his voice filled with zeal, hoping to rouse Raaz's excitement.

"Let us bask in his madness and find glory," Raaz replied, his tone upbeat, reciting an ancient maxim about the oaths of the Believers of Therion.

"And what say you, Phandomir fan?" Bishop inquired again.

Baaz remained silent and Allendra could not even hear his breathing.

"My orders remain the same, Reverend Bishop. Our sect does not involve itself in power struggles," Baaz replied calmly and confidently.

"When one of the ancients disappeared, the other, of course, was pleased," Bishop continued. "An ancient shall fall, an ancient shall rise. Even Phandomir, herself, accepts this ruling of the ancients."

Allendra, who had been eavesdropping, did not understand what the priest meant by "ancients."

Baaz did not respond to Bishop's insinuation, choosing instead to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"We are in a new era. A new power has emerged. The Command Empire. The chosen ones of the Three Great Gods have kept their promises thus far, Father Bishop. We cannot ignore this," Baaz stated.

"I do not deny the truth in your words, shadow assassin. If the Empire fails to justify the rumors and dissolves soon, we shall be forced to remain in the shadows, as we have for centuries," Bishop responded, trying to sound enthusiastic, as if addressing a crowd.

"We shall rise again from the shadows. I do not believe that his greatness, the First Dark Servant 'the Awyrgad' is truly dead. The Lord of Delusion will return, sooner or later. I have faith in that, esteemed Bishop," Raaz clumsily expressed his devotion, eager to fight for a cause, not play politics.

Baaz looked at Raaz with contempt, thinking, "The flatterer. An easily controlled idiot." His thoughts continued, but he made sure no one else heard them.

"Be slow, Raaz. We are the servants of Therion, and if... if the Darkest One has chosen Laneth Alhazaurus as its heir, we will obey. We'll soon learn the truth of the matter," Bishop said, his voice laced with authority.

"That's it, the dark priest," Baaz thought to himself. "No matter which direction the force blows, you'll follow blindly. For a cockroach noble like you, that's the first rule of living too long on the Ankyra Continent."

"And what about the girl?" Baaz asked, shifting the topic.

"She will live if she proves useful," Bishop replied carelessly. "Otherwise, she is worthless."

Allendra, listening in on their conversation, couldn't help but ask inwardly, "Which way?"

Raaz spoke up, "What about those who chase us?"

"I'm preparing a little surprise for them," Bishop replied arrogantly. "Do not worry."

Allendra's mind raced, wondering who could be chasing them. "Pal?" she asked inwardly, her voice barely above a whisper. A glimmer of hope sparked within her, like a tiny branch sprouting from the earth.

But the conversation soon grew pointless, and as Baaz left the scene, Allendra left her secret compartment. She was terrified of the mysterious elf's demeanor, and her fears were realized when he crossed her path in the food store.

"I will not repeat it again. Stay away, kid," Baaz threatened, his voice cold and menacing. And with that, he walked away.

After that fateful day, Allendra found herself unable to return to the secret chamber, fearing the elves and what they might do to her. The training sessions had intensified, with Bishop dedicating several hours each day to the child, forcing her to read texts she could not comprehend. The sessions often ended in beatings, and Lena, with a look of anger and disappointment, had the little girl repeat the runes again and again. Though the runes made some sense on their own, they remained meaningless when combined in long texts.

"I don't understand," Allendra screamed in frustration, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"You will understand," Lena insisted. "You have a power within you that enables you to read."

"I can't," the child cried herself to sleep every night.

The answer came to her in nightmares, where her halfling friend perished in the same place every time. "Perhaps this is the only way to save the halfling," she murmured to herself. In a desperate bid to rescue her long-lost friend, Allendra delved into the dark and trembling corridors of her mind, where she encountered a foul entity. She may have created this being herself. She gave it a name, a face, and a life. And, finally, without realizing it, she surrendered a fragment of her soul to the dark creature. The entity grew at a frightening pace and began to dominate her being very slowly.

The only entity on the ship that remained unchanged was Baaz. He always appeared the same, a mysterious elf with a hidden agenda who watched in silence.

After surrendering herself to the dark entity, Allendra was beaten less and less each day. A grotesque grin stretched across Bishop's face, and Lena looked at her with increasing admiration. In the ancient book she had read, every page spoke of an ancient race - a civilization buried in the sands of a desert. The forebears of the serpent nobles, the Pharra Race, boasted the mighty Shah Maran, who was said to be one of the strongest beings among the ancients who survived the apocalypse, having slept for over a thousand years. They searched for a hidden temple nestled in the basin of a red-flowing river, within a crevice where sand cascaded like a waterfall.

Ten days after leaving Wassel Harbor, the ship entered a concealed cave in the cliffs. There was no light, and they sailed blindly through the darkness. After carefully navigating through the cave's twisting passageways, which branched off in every direction, they anchored in a vast, cavernous hollow. They could hear the wind's howling, the screeches of bats from the cave's ceiling, and the monstrous growls that echoed through the hollow. Allendra, peering out of her cabin with fear, could see nothing, but what she heard was enough to send shivers down her spine.