The Xalinor Chronicles

The bloody night

Blood spurted out of Jake’s ravaged body as the beasts tore at his limbs. The viscous red liquid pooled on the ground, wetting the crying earth. A narrow rivulet ran down from the throbbing pool of scarlet, tracing a path to the grassy field beside the dusty road. It trickled along the dense foliage and made its way to the roots of an ancient oak tree.

As soon as Jake’s blood touched the roots of that withered old tree, its dark green leaves turned incarnadine. A shadowy figure leapt from the highest bough of the great oak tree and landed ever so softly on the bloody blades of grass near the foot of the tree. The skies roared with thunder and the fallen leaves rustled in the howling wind. Out of the dreadful darkness of the surrounding thickets, emerged a charming feminine figure clad in a majestic silken gown which was adorned with crimson laces that danced in the soft dying wind. Her curly black locks reached all the way to her waist and her eyes glimmered like rubies in the dark.

The vicious blood hounds whimpered like scared little puppies as the shadowy figure approached Jake’s bleeding body. Her lips curved into a seductive smile as she bent down and ran her milky white finger across Jake’s bleeding face. One sideways glance from her dazzling eyes was all it took to frighten the vicious wolves and make them run away in fear. The mysterious lady lifted her sleek white finger which was soaked in Jake’s blood and licked it clean.

“Aha. How very tasty! The pact has been made, dear boy!” she exclaimed in a delighted tone.

Upon hearing her voice, Zill opened his eyes once more. His eyes welled up with tears as he looked at Jake’s bleeding body which lay lifelessly on the cold hard ground. Soon, he noticed the mysterious lady standing beside him. He looked around him fearfully, expecting to find the ferocious blood hounds but the wolves were nowhere to be found. The little gnome gently rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands and fixed his gaze upon the strange shadowy figure clad in black.

Mustering up his courage, he finally asked in a feeble tone, “Who are you?”

The mysterious lady spread out her arms and chuckled. Enormous black wings sprouted from her back and her face suddenly darkened in color.

“I am Vaari, the Goddess of the night,” she replied. Her sensuous voice echoed in the dark, arousing the ravens from their midnight slumber.

Zill couldn’t wrap his head around what he had just heard. His parents had always told him that all the Gods and Goddesses had abandoned them due to their sins. He joined his palms together and fell on his knees. “Can you please save my friend?” There was an ardent hopefulness in his trembling voice.

“Of course I can! His life force hasn’t been drained completely,” she replied in a soothing tone. Placing her right palm upon Jake's bloodied chest, she softly chanted the words, “Lochna Zelen Alorian!”

As soon as the mystical incantation escaped from her lips, Jake coughed up a copious amount of blood.It seemed he was breathing with immense difficulty. The Goddess walked up to the helpless gnome, lowered herself to his level and kissed him softly on his forehead.

 "You are quite a brave little gnome." she said with a pleased look in her eyes.

Jake swallowed a lungful of fresh air and opened his eyes. When his eyes met hers, he felt a strange connection to the Goddess.

“Am I dead?” he asked.

“Not yet, my dear young human,” replied the Goddess.

“Who are you? Where is Zill?”

Zill couldn’t believe his ears. He never thought that he would be able to hear Jake’s voice again. “I am here Jake Riley!” The little gnome ran up to his friend and put his arms around his neck.”

Jake grimaced in pain. “Argh! That hurts!”

Zill immediately pulled himself away and apologized to him. He had completely forgotten that Jake was still covered in bite marks and bleeding all over the place. He turned towards the lady in black and asked, “Can you please heal my friend?”

“I am afraid that I have already done my part,” she replied gracefully, rising back to her feet.

“What’s going on here? Please tell me who you are?” inquired Jake with a baffled look on his face.

The Goddess smiled warmly and replied, “I am Vaari, the Goddess of the night.” She pointed towards the ancient oak tree with the blood red leaves and continued, “Your blood called out to me, my dear human. I had no choice but to come to your aide.”

“You are a Goddess?” he asked. It was as if her words still hadn’t registered themselves in his skeptic mind. He thought about it for a while and then recalled that he was in a mystical world right now where almost nothing seemed to be impossible. After composing his thoughts and feelings, he opened his lips to speak once more. “I am so sorry. That was a very rude question. Thank you for saving me, Goddess. Please help me go home. I am not from this world.”

She conjured a blood red orb from her right palm and replied, “I have saved your life but now it is up to you to choose your own path. Just remember that blood will have blood.” As she spoke, the mystical orb floated towards Jake and slowly entered his body.

“What is this, Go...Goddess?”

“It’s a gift from me. I have formed a blood pact with you and granted you a fraction of my own powers. You may use them in any way you like.”

“What kind of power—“

Jake wanted to ask her more about the blood pact and his new power but she suddenly disappeared into thin air. The cheerful chirping of birds was heard in a distance as a golden orb of light appeared on the horizon and ushered in a new dawn.