Lord of the realm-Chapter 52: Going into the darkgrim lands

"High Mother wasn’t certain," Elizabeth replied. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Divinations are never completely clear. But she was convinced that new powers were stirring, that the balance was shifting in ways we don’t fully understand."

Raelana stood up abruptly, her brown robes rustling around her. "If that boy is one of the new Chosen Ones, then everything changes. Those black creatures that attacked us, the organized nature of their assault, that strange black fiend that spoke..." She looked at the others with growing alarm.

"They weren’t random attacks. They were specifically hunting him."

"Which means the enemy knows about the prophecy, too," Elizabeth added grimly.

"They’re trying to stop the new Chosen Ones before they can fully awaken to their power."

Katerina cursed under her breath in the old tongue. "And we let Morgana fly off alone to face whatever trap they’ve prepared. If she’s protecting one of the new Chosen Ones, she’s walking into a death trap."

"Wait, weren’t there others with her? Like three more of them?" Elizabeth said.

"Yes, they didn’t look any different from others. They may be just normal people," Raelana said.

"Well, we can’t be sure now," Katerina said.

The three witches looked at each other, the weight of realization settling over them like a heavy cloak. They had stumbled into something far larger and more dangerous than a simple kids’ rescue.

"This has turned into something far more complicated now," Katerina said.

Raelana had a troubled expression on her face, and she was thinking about Morgana.

"We need to contact the Council immediately," Elizabeth said, her voice filled with urgency. "If new Chosen Ones have awakened, the High Mother must be informed. This changes everything about the war we’re fighting."

"If they are the ones. We aren’t sure about it. And you people should stop assuming and wait for Morgana," Raelana said, sighing heavily.

"This is all just speculation on our side, and don’t act on it until we are sure." She looked at Elizabeth and then turned towards Katerina.

Elizabeth and others knew she was right.

This was all just an assumption on their side, and they weren’t sure about it either. They have no evidence to support their doubts.

"Unless Morgana says it herself, we cannot report this matter to the council," Raelana said.

"Then we pray that Morgana is as powerful as we now suspect," Katerina said quietly.

"And she returns safely."

Raelana just stood there, praying that Morgana would return safely, while Katerina hoped she didn’t.

Elizabeth was sure that Morgana was onto something, and those four kids must be the chosen ones, except for one.

What are you trying to do, Morgana?

-

Swefarna flew faster than any landbound creature could travel, her great wings carrying them over forests and hills in a blur of speed. The wind whipped through Morgana’s hair, and the ground raced by far below them.

For hours they flew, following the path the black fiend had taken through the forest.

Swefarna’s dragon senses could detect the trail of dark energy of that fiend even from high in the air, and she adjusted their course several times as they pursued their quarry.

As dawn began to break on the horizon, the landscape below them changed. The green forests and rolling hills gave way to something much darker and more forbidding.

Shademore Gorge was a place where no normal life could flourish. The trees were twisted and black, their branches reaching toward the sky like gnarled fingers. The mountains surrounding the gorge were composed of dark stone that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it, and even the air itself felt heavy and oppressive.

"This place reeks of vile energy," Morgana said, her voice troubled.

There was a wrongness in the very air that made her skin crawl. Looking over the darkness-ridden land, she could sense the massive evil energy shifting.

They flew over the gorge, searching for any sign of where Jaenor might be held. The landscape below was a maze of twisted ravines and dark caves, any one of which could hide a fortress or dungeon.

Each moment that slipped by was a stone dropped into the well of her anxiety, the ripples spreading wider and deeper.

-

Meanwhile, far below in the depths of Shademore Gorge, Jaenor slowly opened his eyes.

He tried to move, but it felt as if a thousand needles had pierced his body. His head throbbed like it had been split by an axe, and every inch of him ached with relentless pain.

He didn’t know where he was. His eyes slowly adjusted to the scene before him, and he had no idea what happened after he was knocked by that fiend.

Everything was in chaos around him at that time, and he couldn’t react in time.

He tried to move but couldn’t, and then his eyes found the chains that were bound to a stone floor, and soon his eyes found the chamber he was in.

He was in the centre of what appeared to be a large square chamber, but unlike any building he had ever seen before.

There was too little light to make notice of everything around him, but from what he could see, there were pillars around him.

And a couple of meters behind those pillars, some walls were rising up around him in steps, like the inside of a deep well, but square instead of round. Each level was carved from dark stone, and torches burned in brackets along the walls, casting flickering shadows that danced like demons.

The twelve massive pillars that surrounded him in a perfect circle, each one carved with symbols that hurt to look at directly. The pillars reached up toward a ceiling that was lost in darkness high above.

He tried to break free from the chains but again failed. The rattling noise of the chains echoed in the chamber.

Again, he looked down at his body.

He was chained to an elevated platform in the very centre of the chamber, his wrists and ankles bound with black iron that felt cold against his skin. The platform itself was covered with intricate carvings that formed complex patterns and shapes.

"Hello?" Jaenor called out, his voice echoing strangely in the vast space.

"Is anyone there?"