Gravebone paced back and forth impatiently. The time to strike was now, before the King had a chance to gather himself an army in preparation! Why would Seroth desire the Shadow to remain hidden still? We have been hidden so long, waiting for that opportune moment. Hadn’t it arrived? And now, if the stories he heard were true, the Prophet of Teroth had arrived at the oasis, and the playing field seemed to be leveling out quickly. Years of planning and preparation could go awry! Something needed to be done; Iya would give him direction.

No sooner had he thought of her than the shadows in the area began to gather together. The darkness pooled into a hazy, swirling portal on the ground as Iya stepped up into this realm. Gravebone immediately prostrated himself, cautious to not look directly into Iya’s glowing eyes. Her features were as nebulous as the cloudy evening sky, accented by the soft white glow of moonlight that seemed to come from an unknown source. No other features filled her face, save for those piercing, white eyes.

“Rise,” she commanded in a rattled whisper. “What news do you bring?”

“Great Servant, I have discovered that the King of Egaras has been given Shadow Crystals and begins to summon an army against our forces in Nekrha. If my source is correct, he may already be moving to gather more of the Crystals. I fear Egaras has gained a powerful resource that may be difficult to overcome.” Iya’s face grew darker, if that were possible, and Gravebone cringed, preparing himself for punishment. “There is more, Great Servant. If this source is to be believed, then we have another potential set back. It seems that Teroth has chosen a Prophet as well and he now resides in the oasis. This could be an attempt to interfere with our plans to get the girl.”

“Teroth is too weak-minded to see what is right before him,” Iya mused. “If he has called a Prophet, it will not be to protect the Host, but the news is troubling even still. We will act now to secure her.”

“Are you sure? The time of her ripening into the Shadow has not yet come…”

“Silence!” Iya snapped. “She must be secured so that the Shadow may be made manifest and Seroth’s will be brought to bear upon this land.”

“But the Host must be willing, Great Servant,” Gravebone objected. “If she is taken now, she will resist!”

“Then we shall… persuade her. Compliance is required, not willingness. She will turn or she shall watch her father die before her.”

“And the Prophet of Teroth? Shall I remove him?”

“Send Thaddeus. If I know Teroth, he has commanded his servant Uma not to interfere in this so-called Prophet’s instruction. Such has always been his folley to trust in the strength of men, believing that they will learn power without divine intervention. This man will be no match for someone schooled in the art of the Shadow.”

***

Nishaven prayed hard that evening, kneeling next to the pallet that one of the higher acolytes had assigned him. He realized that he had disregarded the task that Teroth had given him and perhaps had even gone about it all wrong in the first place. He was trying to remember what Uma had told him. He knew he was supposed to protect humanity and that the Crystals were important to that task, but how? It was a tall order, and Nishaven had no idea where to begin. He needed guidance.

As he prayed, the room seemed to fill with light until it seemed like daylight shining through his closed eyelids. He opened his eyes and Uma, in her luminescent golden sheer, floated above him by the window.

“Nishaven, you have been chosen by Him to find the Shadow Crystals and protect the world from the forces of evil that would assail it,” she said as she stretched a hand out to him.

“Yes, Uma,” he responded reverently. “But how?”

Uma lowered her hand and tilted her expressionless face to the side. “The Shadow moves,” she said and Nishaven’s mind was filled with a vision that was not of his own making.

He looked and he saw the entire Kingdom in flames. Creatures unlike anything he had ever seen before scoured villages, destroying everything in their path. Large, legless reptiles slithered on the ground and breathed fire that caused buildings to burn. Skeletal warriors along with armored knights wreathed in Shadow marched down the streets of the capitol, murdering any innocent victim that crossed their path. Wolf-like creatures devoured human carrion and snapped viciously at anything else that thought it might share in the feast. Bear-like creatures rode atop horses of flame as they wielded spiked clubs against any resistance that cropped up among the people. The sight was horrifying, and made Nishaven want to throw up.

“You have been brought into the lion’s den to come out the conqueror,” Uma’s voice intoned over the awful vision that played out before his eyes. “The future will be dark unless the Light is brought to bear upon this world.”

The vision ended abruptly and Nishaven was relieved to find himself back in his room. Uma continued, “You are not the Light alone, but you are the spark. That spark must grow so that His Light will shine through you. Learn from those that have gone before you and you will overcome the Shadow that is within you. Protect those that follow the Light.”

Uma floated toward him and laid a hand upon his shoulder. A euphoric sense of joy and happiness filled him with that touch. “Do not seek for that which ye ought not. Learn from the past, but do not live in it. The Shadow must be defeated. You are the spark.” Uma floated away and both she and the light began to fade until it completely dissipated. Only the moonlight spilled through onto the floor.

For the first time in a long time, Nishaven felt like himself again. The day’s events left him with a new perspective on the world. He had much to learn, and once he had learned it, he would go to the King and offer his services against Nekrha. The city of Shadow and Flame was the only evil he could think of directly, and he knew from his visit to the King that the Dark Lord Keldor ruled there. Perhaps he could go find that old priest, Wizent, to help him. He could surely use an ally in his fight and the old man was definitely well intentioned.

Exhaustion suddenly hit Nishaven like a heavy sack of grain on a hot day. He curled up on his pallet and attempted to find a comfortable position for sleep. His mind was troubled by the dark vision he saw earlier and sleep came difficultly, but it did eventually come. His dreams were filled with nightmares of the awful beasts he saw ravaging towns and villages all over Egaras. All of humanity seemed to scream in agony and pain, all the while Uma’s voice was heard repeating, You are not the Light alone, but you are the spark. The screams grew louder and louder until Nishaven suddenly jolted up from his pallet. The night was dimly lit and silent as he looked out his window, and Nishaven was breathing heavily from the terror of the dream. The moon still hung in his view through the window and beckoned him, challenged him to do something. And then, just outside, he heard the screams begin once more.