Kingdom of Cimmerian

Chapter One

Chapter One     

     Darkness. Not the kind that blankets the sky when the sun sets, nor is it the kind that is found within a tight confined space. No, it was pure darkness; the substance that only gives birth to evil and chaos. Disorder and pain. Nothing visible could be seen in any direction, no matter how hard one might squint.  Complete seclusion from anything that even remotely resembled a functioning society. Just darkness.

     The darkness, however, was not alone. There were two figures, standing face to face. They could not see each other, but they both felt that a presence was there. Two figures, both from human decent, similar in many ways. Although similar, one difference did stand out. The difference that separated the two was as drastic as hot and cold, black and white. For it was the origins of the soul that served as the divider. One of the figures, unbeknownst to him, was born from the darkness and sheltered from the light.

     "Stay away!" yelled a voice, although the source of where it came was unknown.

     The figures raised their right hands in unison, as if about to make an attempt to touch. It was as if they could not hear the voice.

     "Stop!" the voice yelled again with a muted echo.

     The hands came closer to touching. Despite the darkness, the two figures knew exactly where to place their hands; as if their souls were guiding their purpose. Guiding something that was forever meant to happen.

     "No!" screamed the voice, only this time something happened. The darkness began to clot with deep purple giving it various outline. The purple spread throughout the vast darkness, squishing it into shapes similar to a dark cloudy sky. The figures, however, were lost among the sudden disturbance; unable to complete the touch.

     The darkness bled onto itself, like ink spilled on a black canvas. It bled until the purple was completely submerged in darkness, as if it were healing itself as quickly as it could. Then, without warning, a bright light shone from the heavens and then there was nothing; not even darkness.

      "Wait!" screamed another voice, one that sounded normal compared to the voice that was produced in the darkness. "Wait!" it repeated.

     "Prince Evander!? Is everything alright?" said another, alarmed voice.

     "What?" said Evander, confused as he sat up in his large luxurious bed. Behind him was a large window in the wall, letting light pour into the room on top of his body and the bed. Directly in front of him, however, was a slender woman that wore a long white dress. If not for a small red ribbon tied around her collar she would have been dressed in complete white. She was standing in the doorway, holding the door as if to shield her from his full presence.

     "I heard screaming" she said, still alarmed. "You were saying 'wait' very loudly."

     "Oh?" responded Evander. "I apologize, it must have been..."

     "A bad dream?" The woman entered the room and softly came closer to the bed. She seemed to be in her late twenties. Her long blond hair shining in the natural light and hanging at her waist gave her a holy presence.

     "Yes, perhaps," he said. "Or, maybe something else. Something far more dire."

     "Look at you, talking of superstition. A bad dream is nothing more than harmless. It was most likely brought on by stress; it has been quite a rough year for you after all."

     He looked at the girl as he listened to her bat away his worried observation of his own nightmare. "Yes, yes. I do not seek your pity, Travess," he said with a sigh as he rubbed his tired eyes.

     "Pity was the last thing I was giving you, Evander. Now get dressed, stop wasting the day in bed," Travess said as she shook her head, although with a slight smile applied to her expression.

     Evander laughed at the request. Travess talked to him as if they were born with equal blood, which he profusely enjoyed. It always reminded him of how the common people must feel. "As soon as you leave me be," he retorted jokingly.

    Travess did not speak, she only rolled her eyes. She seemed at ease after finding that Evander was under no harm. She bowed her body in a mocking gesture before leaving the room.

     "And stop talking to me as if I were still a child," he shouted after her, although gained no response back. Quickly, Evander hopped out of bed and tore his bed clothes away. He immediately put on his brown pants made of animal skin and his fancy white cotton shirt sewn with gold thread. Moving towards the mirror in his room, to the left of his bed, he combed his hand through his dark blond hair. After a few brushes with his hand, he lowered it and began to stare at his palm. "Two hands, shrouded by darkness," he muttered to himself.

     Shaking his head, he made his way towards the door while his hand rubbed the last trance of sleep from his eye. Before his hand could reach the knob, he jerked back and turned towards his bed. Like clockwork, he grabbed a small brown vest made of the same material as his pants, put it on, and reached for the knob once more. Only, this time he succeeded in traversing through the door and made his way down one of the many halls that were housed by the great castle where he resided.