Shadow Odyssey - Episode 1

Episode One The world of Cen was in disarray. This isn't to say that the other worlds were exactly peaceful. No, but to be frank, the fate of those worlds stemmed from the events of Cen. Cen was what was known as the Core World. Nobody but the Wizivars and Wiziresses knew this, of course. Anything that happened in Cen had an indirect affect on the other worlds. And the events in Cen had taken a turn for the worse. Rising from seemingly out of nowhere, the evil Prince Fareshed was poised to conquer the three remaining kingdoms not currently in his control. New Barron, Dravii, and Eralton. Recalling the apparent ease in which he had taken over the other kingdoms, the people of Cen had lost all hope. Certainly nobody could withstand the evil Prince's powers, which were immense and mysterious. That is to say until Ti Elcorn came around. Ti was a young man from the Northern Region. He enjoyed horse racing and was very good at it too. He often partnered with his favorite and fastest horse, Kelmeeza, in annual races. Ti was humble by nature, meek, and very likable. He was also strong, able to lift an entire cart of hay, which came in handy at his family's farm. And, probably most important of all, he was the one person who would save everyone. It was a popular belief that Cen would soon owe him a great debt. Having pulled the Great Sword out of the locked chest, a chest that hadn't been opened in thousands of years, he was deemed

the one who would defeat wicked Prince Fareshed. His journey was assisted and planned by many powerful people, all of whom were just as shocked as everyone else that The One Who Will Save All had appeared, much less that it was a young farm boy. Ti Elcorn, in his admirable bravery, took on the job and began his journey south, towards Fareshed's fortress. He took his favorite horse, Kelmeeza, as well. The people of Cen had renewed hope. Perhaps not all was lost. Perhaps Ti would save them from doom. They would find out soon, at any rate. This, however, is not his story.

Must tell someone. Anyone. Elisha Bazrath reached out with all her might, but the quicksand surrounding her wasn't allowing her to pull forward. Her lower half was engulfed in the thick substance. Her face, normally clean and beautiful, was caked with mud, blood, and other filth, as was her usually pretty blond hair. She didn't care about that, though. Elisha was used to not looking her best. She was often drenched in filth and in need of at least two good baths. It came with the job, a job she usually did very well. At last the quicksand gave some leeway and she was able to pull her nearly prone body forward through the substance. In doing so, she sank a few more inches into its unforgiving clutches. She could only use her left arm to maneuver through the pits; her right arm was shattered and bandaged roughly. That wasn't her only wound, though. She had another, much deeper one. But she didn't think about that one. If she did, she was sure to fail. And she could, under no circumstance, fail to tell someone what she had learned... I have to move! The thought of her narrow escape from immediate death renewed her vigor. She got another good yard of progress before her left shoulder protested in agony and she slowed down yet again. She took a few deep breaths, trying not to whimper. She needed to go a little further. She had to ignore

the pain, had to keep going to tell someone-- anyone-- what she had seen. Yes, that terrible truth she had discovered... she had to tell someone before it was too late. A crowd of people gathered at the dirt road, an excited buzz filling the air. It was a warm spring day in the village. Most of the people that were standing around the road had ceramic bowls in their hands, bowls that were filled with sweet, chilled fruits. This added to the festive air of the day. Jared Leir was among the crowd gathering along the road. He too was clutching a bowl of fruit-- watermelon was his choice-but that is where the resemblance to most of the crowd ended. The crowd was waiting for him to show up. “The One Who Will Save All”, they called him. That dust covered hillbilly Ti Elcorn. Jared wanted to see him too, but not for the same reasons most of the people did. Most in his village had faith in Ti and thought that he truly would vanquish Fareshed and bring peace to all of Cen. They wanted to see Ti off and cheer for him. Jared, however, was among the few who were a bit skeptical. He wanted to see Ti because he was curious. “Is that him?” a young lady squealed excitedly, pointing down the dirt road. A murmur of interest spread through the crowd, then quickly died down. “Nah,” said another person, this one a man, “Just a passer-by.” Jared didn't personally believe that Ti Elcorn had been able to unsheathe the Great Sword. He also didn't believe that the greatest Wizivaress of the time, Elisha Bazrath, had enabled certain protective measures for his journey. The people called them “blessings”. Jared just thought Elisha was a very cunning woman, if it were indeed true that she had talked to Ti at all. He had to admit, however, if Elisha had actually met with Ti... well, that meant something was special about the man. In Jared's opinion, faith in this ridiculous turn of events was just yet another way of being ignorant, of forgetting that Prince Fareshed was going to take over the entire land and there wasn't

anything they could do about it. That was all well and good for Jared. Ignorance can usually lead to profit for the right individuals. He just hoped he lived long enough to see some good gold come of this. “I think I see him!” “...Aw, no it's not him. Where can he be?!” Jared finished his fruit off and handed his bowl to a random child, who took it excitedly until he saw that it was empty. The child glowered at him and stormed off. Jared didn't really care. The kid was probably a brat anyways. “It's him! It's him!” The crowd's murmuring returned, but this time it did not die away. Jared, figuring that Ti Elcorn must finally be coming down the road, stepped forward and peered down the road, frowning skeptically. A young man about five years younger than him appeared on the road's edge. He was rather earthy looking and was dressed in plain white garments. His hair was blond, his eyes an amazing blue. His ride, which was a beautiful white stallion, held his head up high. The horse looked proud to be carrying the young man. The crowd went berserk. Jared frowned and stared after Ti. He didn't seem to be much to behold in real life, considering all of the rumors. He really doubted if this guy could put up a fight for longer than five minutes with Fareshed. But then Ti and his horse passed the crowd and Jared's viewpoint so that his backside was what was visible. Jared saw what was on Ti's back hanging in a loose leather sheath wrapped around his shoulder. It was, unmistakably, the Great Sword. Jared knew the sword well-- he tried to steal it numerous times-- and he could not believe that someone had given it to Ti, as if the young man would be able to unsheathe it. People who had hope were so gullible. Why hadn't Jared thought of something like this? “To the people of Cen!” Ti called out, reaching back. “I will vanquish Fareshed, that traitor! Peace will return to our land!” The words hardly made any sense to Jared. As far as he knew,

Fareshed had always been the way he was, which was pure evil. But Ti had just called him a traitor. Was he mistaken? Or was he simply stupid and uninformed? The crowd didn't seem to care. They applauded loudly and Ti nodded to them, grinning. Jared was too busy thinking about what had been said until he heard a loud, high-pitched sound. The noise snapped him back to reality, and his eyes refocused. He looked around frantically. That particular sound usually made him nervous. It was the clear sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath. Jared could hardly believe his eyes. Ti Elcorn had indeed drawn the Great Sword out of its sheath for all to see. He held it up high and the crowd exploded into applause and cheering. Women cried, children jumped up and down, and men roared their approval. Jared just stared with a stunned expression. Could it be that there actually was hope for this doomed world after all? “I have received instructions from the great Wiziress, Elisha Bazrath. I must journey south. However, I believe I will venture a little east before I do so. Farewell, good people! Never lose hope!” Ti Elcorn waved to the crowed, putting the Great Sword back in its case. The horse reared up and then galloped heroically into the distance, the large crowd cheering all the way. Jared pushed through the crowd and tried to follow him. Elisha Bazrath's head was barely above the surface of the quicksand now. She couldn't move anymore, so she just concentrated on keeping her head up and summoning the remaining energy she possessed. She had to tell someone. The world couldn't end like this, not because she couldn't take it. Her breath came in ragged gasps. She tried to ignore the terrible agony in her arm and in the deep wound. She closed her eyes and concentrated on one thing: getting out of the quicksand. The elements would have to bend to her will one last time, for she knew that it would be her last time doing this. But it was the

only option left. Even as she concentrated, the quicksand gulped her down another half an inch. He thought very hard about what had to happen... The water responded first. The quicksand began to feel thicker and Elisha's sinking slowed down considerably. The moisture was withdrawing and evaporating into the air. She opened her eyes, feeling the power flow through her. Her eyes were glowing with white, blueish light that illuminated the thick, billowing steam around the pit. And then, the earth began to follow her will. With the moisture gone, the mud turned to sand and began to loosen itself up. Finally, the wind chimed in with a continuous gust that send the sand flying into the air and out of the pit. Slowly all of the pits in the area were completely emptied of all content. The newly made sandstorm turned away from the pits to dissipate elsewhere. Elisha was left on the bottom of the now vacant pit, lying on her back and panting. She was now so exhausted that she couldn't move at all, even without the drag of the quicksand. But she was still alive. The sky was a deep dull gray under the black, cracking ground. This land saw no moisture except for the dense fog that occupied the forbidden areas. Dead trees stuck out of the ground in grotesque shapes. A cold, piercing wind blew the curtains as Prince Fareshed stared out the window of his castle room balcony. He liked the cold more than anything else. He especially liked it when he felt the cold inside. That made him powerful. Prince Fareshed was a very thin man with sharp, eagle looking eyes and a shaved head. His face was strangely gaunt and he had the look of a person who lacked sleep, except that his eyes were always alert despite the dark bags under them. The room he was standing in consisted very little furniture and decoration. A single stone table stood to the right of the window. It had a red colored book lying on top of it with word Alundra stamped on its cover in large, golden letters. On the far side of

the room was a bookshelf filled with at least a dozen books all of which were very senescent. On the opposite side of the room from the window was a silver throne which Fareshed called his own. The ceiling was arched and so high above the ground that darkness consumed it and most of it was not visible. Fareshed smiled and let the cold wind engulf him. Yes, he liked the cold a lot. The red book on the table seemed to vibrate suddenly. The gold stamped lettering on its front cover sparkled in an unsettling way. Not unsettling to Fareshed, of course. He was used to this by now. Seemingly of its own accord the book's cover opened and the pages flipped rapidly to the center of the book. The pages stopped turning and the book vibrated even faster. The pages now being displayed were blank. They were always blank where the pages stopped turning... but that didn't mean that the entire book was like that. Fareshed never opened the book himself, but he could swear there were words at least towards the beginning of it. Suddenly, a golden light burst forth from the book's pages. This illuminated the high ceiling of Fareshed's throne room and revealed something very terrible. Thankfully, the light began to dim, concealing the ceiling in darkness once again. As the light died down, it revealed a slender, sunken-eyed woman in a bright scarlet dress the same color as the book's cover. Her eyes were a dark, blood-red and they were currently staring at Fareshed with a pleased look about them. Alundra was a creature known as a Bookmark. “It is done,” she said in a deep, croaky voice. “He has left the village to go on his journey. We need only to wait until he finds you.” “You are foolish to think it so easy,” Fareshed countered, looking back out the window. “It is not.” “My dear Prince, what have you got to worry about? Everything is proceeding according to plan. There have been no indications that something has gone wrong.” “Something has gone wrong, Alundra.”

“Tell me. I will correct it, my Prince.” Alundra wrapped her arms in Fareshed's. Fareshed's eyes traveled from the ruined landscape to her. His eyes were blank and unemotional, the way he usually looked at her. She seemed to be extremely loyal to him and, to a point, he cherished that companionship. But he also made sure that he could drop it at the first sign of trouble. It was the way he had always done things. That's how he remained in power up to this day. “The so-called hero, Ti Elcorn, is not proceeding south like we expected... like that fool Elisha told him to do,” Fareshed explained. “Do you have any idea why?” inquired Alundra, frowning. “None at all.” Fareshed showed just the right amount of concern to make Alundra anxious. It was so easy to manipulate her. “That's the problem. I have a bad feeling about his detour.” “Do you know where he's going?” “Yes.” Fareshed pointed straight at Alundra. “He is heading east.” “There isn't much in that direction from where he's starting,” muttered Alundra, thinking hard. “Cape Dravii is probably the nearest. But what would he want there?” “Indeed.” Alundra gave Fareshed a searching look. She clutched at his arm tighter. “My Prince... I will find out for you.” “Good,” said Fareshed. It certainly seemed like Alundra was the most loyal servant he had. But that did not mean he would trust her. No, he couldn't trust anyone. Eventually, he would have to dispose of her. That was the way of things. That's how he became strong. Jared stared at what he was seeing, not believing his eyes. A sandstorm? In the forest? There was no sand anywhere near the place as far as he knew and the weather had always been fair. Stopping his futile attempts to follow Ti Elcorn, who he had never been able to find after he left the village, Jared instead began to follow the sandstorm from a distance. It seemed to be heading to a clearing off to Jared's left, which

served to further mystify Jared. The storm had been heading his way when he had first noticed it. Now it looked like it had turned in order to reach the clearing. The storm whirled out of the forest into the glade, intensified its rotation for a few seconds, then died out very slowly. The gusts of wind blew the leaves and brush apart for a moment, revealing a huge lake on the other side of the clearing. That was no normal storm, Jared decided. He turned to his right and decided to see where the storm had come from. He walked through he forest's thick brush, which was now full of sand sticking to the many leaves and grass blades. It was a few minutes later that he realized where he was heading. The Pits of Despair. Except that they were no longer has he remembered them. The Pits were all filled with dead trees and quicksand spread out over a large area. People never escaped the pits alive, as far as he knew. Now, however, as Jared stepped into some open ground he saw that all of the quicksand had vanished. Instead, large indentations were scattered throughout the ground. Suddenly, Jared had a very bad feeling about this. “What the devil happened here?” Jared whispered to himself. Had the sandstorm come from the Pits? But how could it? This didn't make any sense. He snapped to attention and raised his crossbow quickly. His sharp eyes scanned the area. He had heard something just now, something that didn't belong with the normal forest sounds. It was a dissonance, something oddly mournful... And then he heard it again, but this time he was ready for it. It was coming from one of the cavities further up ahead. And it sounded like a moan. Slowly, carefully, Jared walked forward towards the hole, keeping his weapon raised. At first he saw a brown lump at the bottom of the pit. But, as his eyes adjusted, he saw that the lump was actually a woman. She groaned and panted, trying to climb up the steep opening. Jared stood there and watched her, not sure if he should help

her or not. It could be a trap, after all. He wasn't sure who she was, either. “It's not good to keep a lady waiting,” said the woman, looking up at Jared with bright blue eyes. Jared blinked. “Who are you?” “I am Elisha Bazrath.” For a moment Jared stared at the woman, who was covered in dried, caked mud. Then, he let out a loud, barking laugh. “You must think I'm an idiot,” he roared. “You? The most famous Wiziress of our time?” “How else do you explain the sandstorm?” At that moment, the woman's eyes seemed to flash with a mysterious, unknowable light. Jared stopped laughing slowly. This woman wasn't joking after all. “What happened?” he asked, his voice now shaking slightly. “If you are Elisha, how did you get like this?” “There is no time,” said the woman, and she moaned again, clutching her right arm. “I have to tell you something. Listen to me.” “Who did this to you? What's made you so weak?” “Listen to me, please!” But Jared would not listen. He didn't want to unless she was answering his questions. Whatever she had to say would have to wait. “Tell me why you're here,” he demanded. “Why can't you answer me?!” The flash returned to the woman's eyes. This time, however, it reflected perfectly the power and energy she possessed. The woman's face turned horridly angry and she rose slowly into the air. Jared found himself completely speechless as he watched the seemingly weak and beaten woman float up to eye-level, then at least two feet higher. She stopped at a point where her knees were at Jared's eye-level and she glared down at him. Jared fell backwards, losing all feeling in his feet and legs. He could not utter a single sound, not even a whimper. The woman opened her mouth and Jared, expecting to hear something loud and throaty, flinched. But Elisha's voice was the same as it had always been. She spoke clearly and calmly, but her

face was still livid. “Now that I have your attention,” she said. “I must tell you something. That hero, Ti Elcorn... you know of him, I can see it in your eyes. His mission is in danger. Something has gone horribly wrong. “I found out shortly after sending him off with the Great Sword and his horse, Kelmeeza. Prince Fareshed has somehow poisoned the Hope.” Jared didn't quite understand this, but he dared not speak. Elisha seemed to sense this, for she said, “The Hope is what we in the Wizivar world call the Great Sword. It is the only weapon that can kill Fareshed, so he knows much about it. “I believe the Hope has been secretly sabotaged with a backfire. In other words, Prince Fareshed will only pretend to try and stop Ti Elcorn from succeeding in reaching his domain. Fareshed really wants Ti to find him.” “I-” Jared was finding his voice, though it was weak. “I don't understand.” “Ti is destined to face Fareshed, to kill him. Nothing can stop that now that I've sent him off. His only weapon against Fareshed is the Hope. The Hope, however, will backfire if Ti attempts to use it against the evil Prince.” “Backfire how?” “It will kill Ti the instant he swings it against Fareshed. The Prince cannot remove the Hope's power, so he has simply backfired the sword so that it will kill the only one who can wield it.” Jared stared at the woman in disbelief. He wanted to argue, but he thought better of it. She still looked scary and powerful, though some of the glow was leaving her eyes. “I don't know how Fareshed did it,” Elisha continued. “He could not have touched the sword until after it was unsheathed by Ti. But it doesn't matter. You have to go out and find Ti Elcorn. You have to find him and warn him not to try and kill the Prince until the backfire is lifted or all is lost.” Elisha slowly lowered to the ground, the light in her eyes remaining but dimming considerably. Jared began to get braver. “Me?!” he shouted, incredulously. “You want me to go find Ti

Elcorn? Don't be ridiculous!” “You will do it because you must,” Elisha roared. “I cannot continue on after this. After I go, you will be the only one who knows. It is your responsibility now.” Jared shook his head. “Now wait a second here. I'm not going to be forced to do anything! Find another messenger. Unless you've got something to offer, I'm not taking it.” Elisha paused, beginning to look exhausted. She considered Jared for a second, then nodded slowly. “I see,” she said, more to herself than to Jared. “It's obvious now. Two...” Elisha's eyes regained some of their brightness and she looked at Jared, stretching her hand out. “Luminice duo eraga!” The ground shook... or was it just in Jared's head? “What are you doing?!” Jared demanded, getting to his feet. He felt a strange sort of buzzing all around him. His vision faded in and out of focus. The woman, Elisha Bazrath, became a mere brown blur in a field of green. Just as he was about to panic, there was a weird sort of pleasure he felt suddenly, as if he were being embraced by a lover. He warmed up to it at once and relaxed. He even smiled, though his vision was still extremely blurred that he could not see anything other than his own hands, body, and feet. Elisha's voice sounded all around him. “You must find Ti,” it said. “I cannot bless your journey as I did his. But you must complete it. You must.” It was getting cold. The momentary relaxation was lifting and Jared was beginning to return to his senses. When his vision cleared, he found himself lying face-up on the ground. The sky was beginning to get stormy all of the sudden. He sat up, disorientated. He glanced around and noticed that, somehow, he had ended up in the very pit that Elisha had been in when he found her. He was also just as muddy as she had been. Getting to his feet, Jared looked around for Elisha, but she wasn't in the pit with him. He looked back up, but she was no longer floating either. “Hello?” he called out, and heard his own voice tremble slightly. “Elisha? Hello?!”

No one answered. Jared began to climb out of the pit, which was considerably easier since it was no longer full of mud-- but then, how did he get so dirty? He pulled himself over the pit's threshold and rested, panting loudly. He rested his head on the ground, turned his vision to his left and gasped. There he saw Elisha Bazrath's prone body on the floor. She was mysteriously clean now. Her bright blue eyes were wide open and they were staring emptily at the sky. She was dead. The greatest Wiziress of the age was gone. Jared couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe anything that had happened. This had to be a dream, a really horrible dream. You must warn Ti Elcorn. Jared would do nothing of the sort. He didn't much like the idea of joining a doomed crusade. He still wasn't completely convinced that Ti was legitimately the hero they were looking for either, though Elisha had definitely made him doubt his skepticism. But, no, Jared would not go after Ti. Besides, it was much too late for that. Ti and his trusty horse, Kelmeeza, rode on through the grassy Fields of Shrume. Ti grinned and patted his ride gently. “Good girl,” he whispered to Kelmeeza. “Nobody knows how fast you are. It is our advantage.” Indeed, Ti Elcorn had traveled nearly a hundred miles since he had left the village. If anybody was following him-- which he suspected there was-- they would not be able to catch up with him. He rode on and his destination was Cape Dravii, one of the last kingdoms out of Fareshed's control.