Epilogue

The Unmarked: Book One

Table of Contents:

[Prologue] [Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [Ch.7] [Ch.8] [Ch.9] [Ch.10] [Ch.11] [Ch.12] [Ch.13] [Ch.14] [Ch.15] [Ch.16] [Ch.17] [Ch.18] [Ch.19] [Ch.20] [Ch. 21] [Ch.22] [Ch.23] [Ch.24] [Ch.25] [Ch.26] [Ch.27] [Ch.28] [Ch.29] [Ch.30] [Ch.31] [Ch.32] [Ch.33] [Ch.34] [Ch.35] [Ch.36] [Ch.36] [Ch.37] [Ch.38] [Ch.39] [Ch.40] [Ch.41] [Ch.42] [Ch.43] [Ch.44] [Ch. 45] [Ch. 46] [Ch.47] [Ch.48] [Ch.49]

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Umbra.

The naked prisoner cried and wailed as the two Shades dragged him to the front of Lord Umbra’s Temple. A semi-circle of nine hooded figures stood before a stone altar. Above the altar hovered the statue of a nine-horned serpent, it’s mouth gaping wide open, its tongue sticking out, stretching down its scaly body, and curling at the foot of the altar. The statue wasn’t so much a physical depiction of His Eminence as much as it was a point of reference for His presence.

The Shades hoisted up the prisoner and slammed his flailing body atop the altar. On each corner of the altar was an iron peg to which the Shades bound the prisoner’s arms and legs with coarse rope. From up close, one could see runes in the Dead Speech carved into the stone slab. Runes that decreed the purpose of the altar: that the blood spilled over it would summon the presence of Lord Umbra, the Prince of the Shadow Realm.

As with every Sacrifice, the Hooded figures basked in the hysterical cries and pleas for mercy. And most of all, they all took enjoyment in the Sacrifice’s hypocrisy. This one had been a soldier in Corbin Hailson’s camp. He too had enjoyed hearing the cries of the slave girls as he ravaged them. He too had denied them mercy.

The prisoner had been found wandering in Violet’s jurisdiction. After having enticed the man into coming to her cottage to provide him comfort and company, Violet had discovered that the prisoner had escaped a raid on his camp, and in his fleeing, had unintentionally run into the Rayless Woods.

“I never in my life would have thought to find something so beautiful in these woods” he had told Violet once his lust for her had been satiated. “Whoever came up with those damned children stories to scare us away from this place played us all for fools” he said musingly.

The fool should have listened to the stories.

Even though the Sacrifice had done pleasing work for Lord Umbra by participating in the capturing and killing of Jeziah’s followers, Violet quickly deduced from her brief conversations with him that he had nothing of worth to contribute to the Shadow Realm by staying alive. The Sacrifice’s blood would be used to summon the attention of their Lord, so that his presence would fill the Temple, and the Dark Keepers could make their reports on the activities within their assigned principalities, receive assignments, and in rare occasions, request favors of their Lord.

As the prisoner continued to struggle against his restraints and beg for release, the nine Dark Keepers spread out to surround the altar. Unanimously they each lifted a blade over the Sacrifice’s body and began to chant a mantra in a tongue older than the Dead Speech itself. A sense of dread and foreboding overcame the Temple, that even the Shades and Keepers slightly trembled, but they continued on and soon the prisoner ceased screaming and fell into a fit of pitiful whimpers.

At the height of the chant, Violet, the provider of the Sacrifice, threw her hood back. The prisoner gazed up at her in recognition and could only muster enough courage to mouth the word “please”, as if Violet had any attachment or care for the man. But Violet didn’t even notice, in such a state of fearful euphoria she was in. She trembled violently, eyes rolling to the back of her head, and when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t suppress a scream of passionate terror.

“Lord Umbra!” she cried, “accept our gift and regard your lowly servants!”.

Then, as abruptly as a snuffed candle, the chant ended, and the Temple Hall fell into a deafening silence.

“We summon you” Violet whispered after a moment, and as one, the Dark Keepers plunged their blades into the Sacrifice’s body and earned a blood curdling scream. Skilfully, as they had thousands of times before, the Keepers carved into the Sacrifice’s flesh: bloodying him, gutting him, making it hurt as much as possible, for as long as possible, because that was what was most pleasing to their Lord.

Eventually the screaming stopped, and when it did, every creature of the shadows waited in dreadful anticipation. Mashalla, the Keeper of Souls, plunged her hand into the Sacrifice’s lifeless body, and pulled out his Shade. If one looked closely, they would see a look of horrified dismay on the Shade’s shadowy visage, as it looked down on the limp mass of meat and blood that had once been its body.

Then, a sudden sense of foreboding fell over the Temple. All eyes turned to the entrance of Umbra’s hall. The doors swung open, and every Shade and Keeper fell to their knees as a shadowy presence, thick and heavy like the air before a thunderstorm, hovered above them; moving toward the altar.

Toward the Sacrifice.

As if knowing a terrible fate awaited it, the Sacrifice pleaded and wriggled, but could not free itself from Mashalla’s icy, firm grasp. When the presence of Umbra settled upon the statue, a voice like large stones grating against one another spoke.

“Release the Sacrifice”.

Mashalla released her hold on the Shade, and there was a moment where the Sacrifice was suspended in thin air, as if about to scream or beg or plead, and then the Shade was sucked into the shadowy cloud.

At that moment, Umbra’s presence became slightly heavier, slightly thicker, slightly more dreadful, the cloud slightly darker.

“Report” Umbra commanded.

The Nine Keepers stood unanimously. One by one, they reported on the activities within their assigned principalities.

When it came to Mashalla, she announced that Wolfe Bloodwood had entered the Forests with a mortal girl, claiming that she would be able to to help him Jeziah. Mashalla also reported that the two had escaped into Violet’s territory, but that one of Mashalla’s spies had managed to poison the girl.

Gathering her courage, Violet reported in turn about her time spent with Wolfe, how she had given the girl a ring of preservation to prevent the poison from reaching her heart, and how she allowed them to pass through her territory.

“You let her escape?” Mashalla asked, her disdain for the mortal Keeper evident in her tone.

“You let her escape. I let her go”.

“Why?” Umbra demanded, having no patience for the Keepers’ incessant bickering.

“Because” Violet began, trying to keep her voice from trembling, “I could tell the girl was important to him. It would be foolish not to keep her close. She could be useful” she said, casting a pointed glance at Mashalla.

The Keeper of Souls was about to speak, when the Bookkeeper stepped forward and interjected.

“She is useful” he said in his whispering voice. “The Mortal’s name is Dawn Brookesdaughter. I have met her and she is quite formidable. The girl shares a drive to destroy the Unmarked Rebels. She craves the knowledge of Epathi. She is showing the same abilities as the Listeners of Old. And,” he said, regarding all Nine Keepers before speaking, “she has brought me the Book of Books. Given to her by Jeziah himself”.

“She found Jeziah?” Umbra demanded.

The Bookkeeper nodded once.

“WHERE?” The hall trembled at the intensity of his tone.

“She wandered into his Realm unintentionally. The girl does not understand the full scope of who he is. But she does know that he is the leader of the Unmarked and therefore resents him. She gave me the book, and now she plans on going to Tariah with information that will destroy them”.

Umbra hummed as he contemplated what the Bookkeeper was telling him.

“My Lord” Mashalla said, “is it wise to invite more mortals into the Shadow Realm? To share our secrets with them? They are weak, unreliable. They always end up failing. Wolfe has accomplished nothing and Tariah’s Queendom is crumbling in her grasp. The Unmarked are getting more powerful under her rule. Soon they will overthrow her”.

“What say you, Bookkeeper?”

“I say that mortals are our game pieces. If they fail, it is because we have not played them properly. Dawn hates secrets but she also craves them. Her life is plagued with unknowns. If we feed her the answers to the questions that govern her mind, slowly, sporadically, she will be ours. She will remain loyal.”

“Then what is it you request of me, Bookkeeper?”

“My Lord, I request that you grant me authority over Dawn Brookesdaughter, and that you grant her immunity to travel through the Shadow Realm when necessary”.

Mashalla tensed at the request, but said nothing. Violet smirked.

“Granted. Where is the girl now?”

“That is another issue, my Lord. The last I spoke to her was through the shadows. She was in Corbin Hailson’s camp, but it was being raided. We are not sure who the raiders are, but we suspect it is the Unmarked. I think she has been taken captive. I have not had the chance to relocate the girl yet”.

Umbra’s rage was palpable. Any kind of victory for the Unmarked was a blow to His Eminence.

“Then find her and do what you must in order to keep her within our grasp”.

The Bookkeeper bowed.

Once the meeting was over and all Keepers were dismissed, the Bookkeeper returned to his study in the Library beneath the Athenaeum. The Bookkeeper went to his desk and pulled open the bottom drawer. He took the Book of Books and walked over to the hearth that burned in the corner of his study. Then, with one swift motion, he threw the text into the fire.

The flames danced around the book, but it did not burn.

As suspected. The Bookkeeper thought with a mix of awe and disdain. The girl has truly brought me the original.

The Bookkeeper sat in a chair that faced the hearth. As he watched the fire’s orange ribbons flirting with the pages of the book but never quite catching hold of them, The Bookkeeper recited the message he would relay to Dawn through the shadows, once he found her.

A secret kept by Lilly.

The same one poisoned Brooke.

A secret died with Scarlet.

Many others torment Wolfe.

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