Featured Novel: The Shadow Channeler | Chapter 27 ('Just a simple uber w00t shall do it :)') | 03/08/08 | Rated 5 Stars

Chapter 21








` You may have forgotten about old
Sandarus, but yet the man is still there. Unfortunately, he still had not
arrived in Rilos by the time that Hogar had given Zuthis to the healer, so he
was in a rather grumpy mood. He had given up running, now just walking and
trying to think of something to do, rarely resting, and even more rarely
setting up camp. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he himself even wanted to get to
Rilos. That man was going to kill him when he got there. But it wasn’t his
fault. The arrow…He did not intend to release it. He did admit that he had lost
his temper, but still, he was not going to kill Hogar over it. The thing that
had caused him to release the arrow…it was not intentional. It was because of
the figure that he now believed was Zuthis. But…The face had not been that man’s
face at first. It had been another’s. It had been Falcun’s. How and why were
beyond him, and he curse himself, fully believing that he was facing the first
steps to insanity. Hog could not kill him, he reasoned, because he saved his
life, and either way, he would explain to him why he had released the arrow.
But then again, he continued, this entirely depended on Zuthis’ survival or
not. He was fully prepared to return to Dreadnar before he even met Hog if he
heard of the man’s death beforehand. As he was thinking about all this, another
thing popped into his mind. The cloak that the man had been wearing. It was the
exact same color as Falcun’s. Then, something else came into mind too. The
cloak of the man he had assaulted to save Hog was identical as well. Then,
something hit him. He remembered now. Why, a few days ago, he had been paralyzed
when he saw the thief and Hogar had to pick him up and save his life in turn.
That face had also been Falcun’s. He clutched his head and stopped walking,
collapsing to the ground. How could he be going insane? Was it the grief of his
brother’s death? Or…the guilt? He almost started to cry, and didn’t know what
to do. How could he continue if he was insane? He was damn sure he was, because
dead people don’t reappear a few times after they die. He remembered vaguely of
how he had first found Falcun deathly injured on the street, a pale man in a
black cloak running towards him and calling out. Did that man do it to him? Was
it his fault? “Who knows,” he said bitterly to himself, getting up and
continuing to walk, “the damned man could be on the other side of the continent
by now. I’ll never find him.” Sandarus was wrong, as you probably know. The man
in the black cape was far from where Sandarus said, and he was also wrong about
probably never finding him again. Because it just so happens there’s a healer
in Rilos with a black cape identical to the one mentioned previously.








As Regius collapsed into his chair
once again after a rather long marathon job after the prize-giver, he was
determined to let people speak from now on. The man had fortunately forgiven
Regius, and had understood the stress he was under and how many healers had
approached him in recent times. Although the man had ‘forgotten’ to give him
the wine, he was not greatly disappointed. Suddenly, a crash interrupted his
thoughts. A man had just collapsed on a table near him. However, the man had
not been in the room a few seconds ago. Nor did it look like he had. His clothes
were ripped, and it looked like he had not seen nourishment for days. Regius
walked up to him hastily, ordered food and drink for the man, and waited. When
the man was ready to discuss what had happened, the king accepted it with grim acknowledgement.
He gave the man enough coin to let him live out the rest of his life wealthily
(but, who knows how long that will be, Regius added under his breath). The news
was not good, however. It was actually very bad. Sighing, he brought up a
servant and her to set up a meeting with the royals in the area. Might as well
be ready for one, reasoned Regius. When the meeting started several hours later,
Regius made sure to close all the windows first.








The rows of guard and captains lined
up to honor the dead man. They all wore, instead of black, the bright red color
of Falcun’s cloak. Sandarus was among them, and wearing his dark blue cape, he
felt uneasy. The ceremony began, and, after the grim music, one by one, they
approached the body and said a prayer of respect or a message to the one who
passed away. Sandarus was last, because funerals made him uncomfortable. When
he approached the body, he recoiled in horror to discover that the dead man was
actually his brother, Falcun. But looking closer, he realized it was not
Falcun, but Zuthis, his face deathly pale, an arrow and a sword protruding his
body. Stepping back in horror and disgust, he looked around to discover that
the other people had deathly white skin as well. They all began to walk towards
him in a hypnotic fashion. They then stopped a few feet away, and suddenly,
Hogar appeared. He was followed by Zuthis and Falcun. Falcun had his eyes shut
the way Sandarus had last seen him, and, to his horror, Zuthis no longer had
the arrow or the sword in his body, but now there was just two, great, gaping holes.
He reached out and moved his arm through it in amazement, but suddenly, the
wounds healed and Sandarus’ arm was trapped in Zuthis’ body. He tried to pull
is out in horror, and suddenly, it came out, but looking at it, he realized
that his arm was now dead, as was Zuthis and Falcun. They began moving towards
him again, and, looking closer, he saw the king as well. They were all dead.
Killed by his sword and arrow. He ran in terror, but when he reached the gate,
he acknowledged that it was shut. Then, looking again, it was not shut, it actually
was not there at all, but a huge, massive chasm. Looking down through it, he
saw dimly at the bottom a bone dagger. He tried to reach it, but his arm was
too short. He turned around, and was gazing into the eyes of Falcun. Only,
there weren’t any eyes. Just empty sockets. Them the rest of them approached.
They had no eyes as well. Only he had eyes, but then, his too fell out, rolling
on the floor into the abyss. Then, the lifeless corpses raised one hand,
pointed at him, and began to laugh. It was a cold, terrifying laugh. An insane
laugh. Sandarus looked around, trying to escape. Then, he began to scream.
Only, it wasn’t a scream, it was an insane, horrifying laugh like the rest. He
tried to shut his mouth, but Falcun walked up and ripped his mouth open, so he
could not stop. He clutched his head, begging it to stop. He began to pull out
his hair, only one clump wouldn’t come out. He pulled and pulled, and finally
it gave away, but he noticed in terror that he had also pulled out his own
head. Then, Hogar walked up and took the head away. He could still see,
however. He saw them all standing there, his head in Hogar’s hands, laughing.
His head was laughing as well, even without a mouth. He then looked back down at the dead hand
that was attached to his arm. It had begun to rot. It suddenly came to life and
grabbed a sword from out of the king’s body, and gutted Sandarus with it.
Sandarus collapsed, dead, but then rose again, among the ranks of the bodies,
and began to laugh.





He woke up screaming and in a cold
sweat. Clutching his head in his hands (gently), he cursed himself for these
horrific dreams that had began to plague him the past day or so. No matter what
he did, they always came back. And, as if this was not enough, the dreams were
always new, and each more terrifying then the last. He put his head in his
hands, but suddenly he felt something drop into them. Looking down in his
hands, he saw two eyes. He began to scream again, as white bodies began to
appear around him. They all started laughing. Determined to endure this dream,
he stuck his hand in the fire, to prove himself wrong. He withdrew it in a yell
of pain that was actually laughter. His hand did not become burnt, however. It
had become deathly white, and the whiteness started to spread from his hand to
his whole body. Cursing the flame, he was stunned to see that it was not actually
the color of fire, but a deathly white with a blue-ish hue. Sandarus realized in horror something that he
had feared from the moment he had woken up. It had not been a dream. It was
real.