A Voice Of Sorrow Ch 03

Chapter 3 – The Return

On the darkened plains of Kimeth'kra, a group of Shadows moved across the ground like ink, taking their time to approach the massive fortress that stood before them. As they drew near to the edge of the fortress, they paused and one particular Shadow moved forward slightly, then continued to move forward steadily. The others followed the first, being extremely careful to follow the exact path that the first had taken. They slowly melted into the wall and passed through it into a massive courtyard that was empty save for a few sculptures of incredible talent.

The group gathered there for a few moments before continuing up the stone steps and into the gigantic Hall of Met'kur'sa. As they began to move down the Hall, a group of servants looked up and moved farther into the darkness, hoping to avoid the Shadows.

As they reached the halfway point of the massive Hall, a regiment of guards moved along the sides in two lines, stopped, and stood at attention.

"We're in trouble massster," hissed one of the Shadows as it looked around.

The Shadow at the head of the group merely looked back before it began to move forward and materialize its shape as if drawing substance from nothing. It paused for a moment as it saw two glowing orbs coming through the darkness towards it, and then continued to move forward to meet the orbs in the middle of the guards. The other Shadows followed almost hesitantly as their master moved to meet the strange orbs.

As the Shadow and the orbs drew closer to each other the definite shapes of their figures came into contrast, until finally everything solidified when they stood but a few hand-spans apart.

Before the Shadow stood a man of high stature, who could easily look into the dark depths of the shadow's eyes with his own red and glowing eyes. The man carried himself well despite the weight of the heavy armor from his neck to his greaves, while a long, flowing cape of black, tinted with a hint of silver, seemed to snake its way down his back. A strong nose and a mouth that bore a grim line were below the man's eyes. His chin was just as strong as his nose, and his forehead was without wrinkles as it disappeared into a mass of thick, deep purple hair that could have been mistaken for black in the dimness.

As the Shadow looked over the man's black armor that bulged from the sheer strength of his muscles, it could feel the man's eyes looking it over as well. Its dark eyes looked directly into the red eyes of the man as he looked for any hints of identity within the shallow depths of its face.

"The Dark Lord requests your presence in his chambers Unknown One. Be glad that he felt you from far away and ordered that you not be harmed, only taken to him," said the man as he turned and began walking down the Hall towards where he came from, "My name is Khalum and I am the Dark Lord's second in command. I answer to no-one but him."

The Shadow gave a faint smile before it motioned for the other Shadows to follow it. As they moved down the Great Hall an incredible door that was inlaid with onyx and obsidian was pulled open by two well-muscled men as a bell rang somewhere within the fortress. The group of Shadows paused to admire the door while their leader continued to move forward with Khalum. As the Shadows moved forward to go with their master, two massive guards placed their pikes across the entrance to prevent access.

"Let them be," said Khalum as he continued walking into the chamber. The guards cast a sidelong glance at the Shadows before lifting their pikes and returning to their posts by the sides of the door.

The head Shadow and Khalum moved past a large circle surrounding a smaller circle and then stood in the middle of a third circle, while the lesser Shadows waited at the edge of the first circle, not daring to even try crossing it. They shivered at the sight of a large figure at the end of the chamber with his back facing them, seemingly staring into the wall before him.

"Where have you been Hephasto?" asked the Dark Lord as he turned to look at the Shadow that stood in the center of the circle with Khalum.

"My Lord," said Hephasto as he bowed to one knee, "I have been training in the Plains of Abbadon. I wandered the burning wastelands until I grew strong enough to challenge the Great Salt Wyrm. I then began looking for him, and soon encountered him in the Long Ocean, where he was sojourning and replenishing his energy from the power of the Flames. He did not approve of my interruption of his recharge, and attacked me. Although I knew I was at a disadvantage, I destroyed him easily, and took his soul to the center of the Plains, where I buried it with the other Lost Souls of Power. His body, I pushed into the Eternal Flames that he longed for so much. I then began to make my way into the Extreme North, removing souls from many prisons, and began to train them in the ways that you taught me when I was like them. As they trained, so did I, and while continuing to wander in the difficulties of the Plains, continued to grow stronger and stronger until I finally found the dreaded Wyrm of Trang'Oul...The Great Fire Dragon of the North."

Hephasto paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing.

"She lay on a pile of bones of the previous combatants that she had slain. I knew that she had also taken the souls and knowledge from them as she slowly ate away at their flesh. She mocked me, remembering the last attempt to damage her from the last person that tried to fight her. Her mocking, with no regard for the feelings of the previous combatants, drove me mad and I attacked her, to her surprise. She managed to block my attack in time, and hoped to take advantage of an opening with her superior advantage. However, my blade,

Il'krutha

, sunk deep inside her breast and pierced her heart. The only thing she could do was gurgle before she fell over dead from the dark poison contained within the blade. As I stood over her carcass, I almost took pity on her for believing that she was omnipotent. I then took her hindquarters and made my pants and greaves from the dragonscale. Of her claws, I made my gloves. Of her breast, I made my body armor. Of her head, I took my helm. Of her mind, I took the knowledge from her that she had stolen from so many others. And of her soul, I took it to the center of the Plains and laid it with the soul of her brother. I took care to contain a small portion of it within this crystal that I now bring back to you with her tail as gifts. Anyone who now goes to the center of the Plains of Abbadon may summon the Wyrm's soul by using the crystal."

"Well done Hephasto," said the Dark Lord, "Although I had no doubts about your skill and worth before, I now acknowledge your skill openly and give you the rank of Hellmaster. You've proven your skill many times now, and are worthy of the title."

Hephasto bowed his head deeply before raising it again with a confused look on his face.

"But, my Lord...if you knew how useful I was to you, why did you not stop me when I left those twelve years ago? You only agreed and let me leave without giving any information to the other lieutenants."

"I knew that you were eternally bound to me, and that even given your soul back, you would never leave my service. You're far too loyal for that, Hephasto. I also knew that you were hurt and ashamed more than could be repaired by words. Now you've come back to me as a Hellmaster, bearing the most difficult of gifts. Oneself can only do the healing of one's pride. Nothing I could have said or done would have made you stay."

Hephasto bowed once again before he stood and allowed his blue and ragged shoulderpads to be taken off him as his Wyrm Armor gleamed gently in the dim light of the candles that lit the entire chamber. The Dark Lord issued a few words, and the wyrm's tail lifted into the air and was changed to a cloak of the same quality as the armor that Hephasto wore. Two of Hephasto's disciples took the cloak and placed it on his shoulders, respectfully bowing away from the Dark Lord and their new Hellmaster.

"Thank you for this great honor, my Lord. I do not feel worthy to take this upon myself, but I trust your judgment. I offer my full services to you once more, and pray you accept my apologies," said Hephasto as he looked straight toward the Dark Lord.

"I will not take your apologies, Hephasto. You never did any wrong to my empire or me. Your failure twelve years ago was because The Beast failed to predict that High Priest Savas would encounter Shauol and his children. At the time, you stood no chance of defeating them. I never have believed you to have left my service, but now I accept your full service under me."

Hephasto bowed once more as he said, "Thank you, my Lord. If you don't mind, I would like to see what has changed in the past twelve years."

"Of course, Hephasto. I would like you to see what we have changed, and I'd also like to hear if you have any suggestions in our training after you spent so much time in Abbadon."

Hephasto smiled then backed away to the edge of the circle and turned to move out the door. Khalum bowed deeply as he followed Hephasto and stepped outside before the two men shut the door again.

"It's been a while Hephasto," said Khalum as he placed his hands on Hephasto's arms, "I was afraid that my friend had been killed in such a simple battle. I was angered to think that you had died such an unworthy and lowly death. I'm glad that you didn't die and have finally returned, and I'm even more impressed that you've been able to escalate your strength far higher than that of Hellmaster."

Hephasto laughed as he took Khalum's right hand and shook it firmly.

"I was so ashamed at being defeated by children that I quietly went to the Dark Lord and requested that I be allowed to leave his service until I could become stronger. Now that I am stronger, here I stand once more, something that I never dreamed I would become."

"Yes, I remember you speaking of how much you wished to be a Hellmaster...I'm amazed at how quickly you became one as well. Your father was the fastest known, becoming one in twenty-three hundred years. But you...you've become one in a little over fifteen hundred. I'm very impressed and pleased Hephasto."

"Well, I had an extraordinary teacher to learn from," said Hephasto as he released Khalum's hand and bowed, "You were my driving force in the beginning, and I continued fighting in Abbadon, no matter how injured I was, just to make sure that your name would not be dishonored."

Khalum's expression changed to that of slight surprise when he heard this, but quickly regained his composure as he smiled and said, "Well, I'm just glad that you didn't get killed out there."

Hephasto laughed and turned to the right, walking down a side passage that was hidden in the darkness. Khalum followed behind his past student, studying the man's back as his mind reeled around the return of his pupil. He was still surprised that he had grown past the power of a Hellmaster in such a short time, and was rejoicing in the fact that he would now have someone worth sparring.

"Any new students to take note of Khalum?" asked Hephasto as he turned into a secluded door that somehow opened onto an immense catwalk with a training yard below, "I've often wondered what kind of student rose to take my place once I had left."

Khalum smiled and moved along the catwalk ahead of Hephasto, turning to stand on the middle as it was held over the center of the yard.

"Students!" shouted Khalum as he looked down on the groups of pupils spread across the yard, "I'd like you to meet one of my previous students, Hephasto. He was just promoted to the rank of Hellmaster after spending twelve long years away from us!"

A group was beginning to form in the yard in front of where Khalum stood on the catwalk as he continued speaking.

"As you all know, Hellmaster is the highest rank attainable by a servant of the Dark Lord. Hephasto has trained in the Plains of Abbadon, where he gained great strength, enabling him to bring us objects of great power. If you all wish to spar with him, please seek him out and request a training session with him! I will spar with him myself, and I encourage you to do so as well, so that you can learn of your weaknesses and eliminate them."

Khalum then stepped back and allowed Hephasto to take his spot as he whispered, "I'm sure you'll have plenty of challenges. Take care of my students as I have taken care of you, and I'm sure that your strength will grow even more."

Hephasto moved forward and in a great voice said, "My name is Hephasto. The great and powerful Dark Lord has recently promoted me to a Hellmaster. I was once under the instruction of this great man next to me. Everything he taught me, I shall now teach to you alongside of him. I will gladly accept any requests to spar with me, and I encourage others to watch the spars as well, so that they can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of their allies, and learn how to incorporate them into their own strategies. I also encourage you to watch when Khalum and I spar, because I guarantee it will be worth your time. Although we may look to be of the same strength, our strategies are different and mature, allowing us to have different spars each and every time. You can learn an extreme amount of information about your teachers and opponents just by sparring with them, and I encourage you to spar with every one of your fellow students and other warriors, despite their skill levels."

As Hephasto stepped back the students gave a great cheer and went back to their training, leaving only two young warriors standing below the two older men.

"Lord Hephasto, I request a spar with you the next time you are available. My name is K'lith'mus and I am the second strongest trainee in this group of students."

"I will accept your request, K'lith'mus, and I am available as soon as I reach that floor," said Hephasto as looked at the young man. K'lith'mus's shoulders were broad, leading down to muscular arms and a toned chest. His legs were of a size where they would be perfect for running and kicking. His face looked chiseled of stone, his red eyes glinting in the flickering light of the torches spread around the yard. His mouth was set in a grim line with the edges turning up only slightly, while his nose was sharp and strong.

Hephasto turned to Khalum with a questioning look on his face.

"Is the boy standing next to K'lith'mus his man-at-arms? He looks rather scrawny to be in a training yard of this caliber."

Khalum laughed and spoke softly, "That's the strongest warrior in my group. He may not look it, but he's easily as strong as you were when you were the top of my class...he may be even stronger. He doesn't speak often, but his mind is very sharp."

"Hmm...really..." said Hephasto as he stroked his chin and observed the lanky lad, "Who does he usually spar with?"

"Myself and usually only one or two of the strongest in the class. He keeps to himself most often and widens his range of weapons," replied Khalum as he stepped forward and leaned on the side of the catwalk.

The boy stepped forward and bowed slightly to both Khalum and Hephasto before stepping back again and looking up towards Hephasto.

"I've noticed that his left eye seems to have been injured...what happened to him?" asked Hephasto as he looked down to the lad.

"He lost it in one of our awareness exercises. We were using the hidden section of the fortress to practice and he walked in while the course was in session. He managed to dodge almost all of the projectiles, but he couldn't dodge the one that came at him from behind. As he turned around it stabbed him in his left eye, and he hasn't been able to use it since."

"Hmm...unfortunate," said Hephasto as he observed the boys scrawny but toned form. His right eye gleamed brightly up at Hephasto as the fire glinted off the bright blue that surrounded his retina. He was a tall boy, with jet-black hair surrounding a clean complexion. His skin was a fair white, unusual for a being born in the Dark World. He held himself upright with a confidence that was carefully hidden otherwise.

"I see you've noticed his skin. It sticks out quite a bit, but I know you've never been one to question one's origins. However, I'm going to tell you this about him. He was born here in the Dark World, but he is not bound to the Dark Lord like you and I are. He stays of his own free will. Also, he knows more than you might think. He's caught me on some very vague and surprising points, and I'm glad he did, because they were extremely threatening. His mind works in such a way that he's always coming up with new and more efficient ways to kill, hurt or even torture a person. It's no surprise he's the best in my class."

"Really...old man, you might have an extremely promising student right here. I'm going to look forward to sparring him and seeing what he can do for me," said Hephasto as he took off his cloak, shoulderpads and tunic and gave them to Khalum, "This is going to be a good fight."

Khalum laughed and walked to the other end of the catwalk where he began descending the stairs, while Hephasto simply leapt from the balcony and landed perfectly at the feet of the two young men. Neither of them flinched or stepped back as the new Hellmaster stood and bent down to look into the eyes of K'lith'mus.

"I hope you're ready my lad. Khalum is a tough trainer, but I can guarantee you that my spars will be even better than his strongest training exercise. Ask any of my pupils that now stand in the Great Hall, and they will attest."

"I do not doubt your skill great Sir, but don't underestimate me either. I may not be able to take on the Sand Wyrms yet, but I defeated a Hell Hound when I was of only thirteen dark moons," replied K'lith'mus as he met the Hellmaster's steady gaze.

"And how many dark moons are you now lad?" asked Khalum.

"The next Kurmethsakra will be my eighteenth."

"Ah...eighteen...a fine, ripe age, when the mind is open and willing to learn. Brimming with the passion of the fight was I when I was that age. However, that age is long past. My moons now number two thousand, one hundred, and eighty-seven," said Khalum as he straightened up and laughed at the surprised look on K'lith'mus' face, "Yes, lad. I'm that old. But you're thinking it's impossible for me to be that old, because Khalum is barely pushing one thousand, five hundred, right? Wrong...He always takes one digit off of his age, just to try and be closer to his students."

"But, Hellmaster, you could have gained this rank long ago...why didn't you pursue it?"

"At that point in time I didn't believe I needed the power so badly...however, after a certain battle, I realized how weak I truly was. That was twelve years ago this day, and now I've returned, and will spar you, to increase your strength, so that you shall never have an embarrassment such as mine," said Hephasto as he slid backwards and took up his most familiar stance.

K'lith'mus looked the odd stance over, observing the weak points of Hephasto's protruding left leg and arm. As he smiled to himself and moved to his own position, he placed his right hand on his left shoulder and slid his left arm behind his back while balancing his entire weight on his left leg. It was Hephasto's turn to smile as he looked K'lith'mus over and pushed his entire weight onto his left leg.

"Ready lad?" asked Hephasto.

"Whenever you are, old man," replied K'lith'mus as he leaned back slightly.

Khalum laughed loudly as K'lith'mus dashed forward towards the open defenses of the Hellmaster. Before either Hephasto or K'lith'mus could utter a sound, K'lith'mus was hanging from the Hellmaster's right arm, wildly flailing his arms about, trying to hit the massive chest that showed no signs of strain by lifting the young man's frame.