Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 200 Part 4

Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 201 Part 4 Chapter 1

The distinctive smell of brimstone permeated into Atnimeras dream world. It hung her lungs, thick and heavy and stifling every effort to breathe. Her ears filled with the relentless buzzing of insects and the rhythmic sounds of waves lapping on the shore. The noise seemed to be speaking to her, but she couldnt understand the words. She tried to quiet her mind and heart in an effort to hear what was speaking to her. Wondering where she had ended up, Atnimera struggled to open her eyes, but found herself groggily longing for sleep. She floated somewhere between what she perceived as consciousness and the darkness that had held her previously. She was unsure whether she was still dreaming or if this was reality that she had somehow fallen into. With her eyes still closed, she struggled in the thick mire while she struggled to regain consciousness. She prayed that this horrible place was merely a dream and the smell, the thick mud, the buzzing noise and the waves were all just an illusion of her mind. She managed to open her eyes to this world. Each figure of the landscape was a different shade of dismal. An unknown grey light illuminated the world around her. She was trudging through the mud towards some unknown goal fearing that she would be sucked under the mire and lost forever. Beyond her fear was an unseen force that compelled her onward. She was looking for something, but she didnt know what it was. She was craving something, but that eluded her too. Her body was exhausted and her mind was numb, yet she pressed on. The whole world was full of thick gray mud that stuck to her body, dried in the air and cracked her pale soft skin. Something was missing here. Something that she had felt the presence of everywhere she had ever been, but it was not here. Atnimera felt an odd sense of something subtle but all important was

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 202 missing from this place. Everything here had a different look and feel from anything she had ever known. Her heart sunk as she realized that Snooter was missing. Atnimera shivered as her heart whispered to her that The Light was not in this place. Snooter was no where to be found. For the first time in a long time she was utterly alone. When she was younger, being alone had not bothered her so much. It was a way of life for her. She was an outcast, and therefore she lived her life alone. Even as an outcast she had been aware of the power of the light. It surrounded her like a blanket buffering the cruelties of the world for her. Then she had met Snooter. He became her best friend and in some ways a guide for her. He protected her from bad dreams; he led the way down into the heart of the earth. He had even tried to warn her of danger in the passageway theyd been travelling in. Atnimera tried to remember what had happened in the passageway. She remembered the faint smell of brimstone that had followed them for days, becoming more pungent as they continued further down the passage. She recalled that Snooter had been acting cautiously for some days. She had stopped for the night Then what had happened? Atnimera closed her eyes and tried to picture in her mind of what little she remembered. She hoped that the picture in her mind would help her figure out what had happened. Every surface of the passageway had been smooth. The walls and floor were warmed to the touch. She had sat with her back against one wall She had been looking at her treasures remembering the significance of each. It was starting to come back to her now. She had been handling her fathers stone. It cast a spell on her and then she could remember nothing more.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 203 She was lost. She didnt know how she had gotten here, so there was no way to get back. There was no Snooter to guide her either. Her heart filled with despair as thick and grey as the mud in which she toiled. There was a mist swirling around the vegetation. It carried a cloud of brimstone smell on the wind to her. The mists began to thicken and the air became heavy, warm, and moist with sulfur. She began coughing violently. She couldnt breathe! Harsh, gasping coughs erupted out of Atnimeras chest. She woke to find herself indeed covered in thick grey mud. She was lying on the ground in the dark. She was chilled. Her dress that reached to her ankles was now only a mass of tattered cloth long enough to reach her knees. Stuck on her back, struggling to sit up she began to try to make sense of her environment. She continued coughing violently as her eyes searched the darkness for any recognizable features. What happened to me? her fuzzy mind seemed to recite repeatedly. She remembered that she had been looking at her fathers stone. It had turned red. She remembered that the stone had drawn her in, after that she remembered nothing except the smell. She could hear water nearby, and she realized that she had not dreamed the buzzing either. Thousands of tiny midges inhabited the world around her. They seemed to be uninterested in her; they were busy filling the air with a relentless buzzing noise. She also thought she heard the far off screech of bats, but surely, no bats lived this deep in the earth. She reached to her belt to pull her shining stone from her pouch, but found her pouch missing. She found the strength to get up on her hands and knees and began to feel around on the floor about her frantically searching for her gear.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 204 She crawled in great circles trying to find her belongings. She found the source of the water she had been hearing on all sides. She knelt at the edge of the water, but when she dipped her hand in the water, it came out covered with a thick slime that felt much the same as the mire of her dream. As she continued her search, she found the edge of a small pool fed by a spring. She was very thirsty, but the water had so much steam rising from it that Atnimera could feel its condensation on her face. The steam had a strong smell and she decided to pass on drinking from the water for now. Atnimera continued searching the ground around her for anything that might help her. She was very tired and very hungry. She crawled on her hands and knees because she could see nothing in the darkness. The ground was covered in sharp stones that cut Atnimeras delicate skin, but she continued searching, not noticing the cuts and gashes. After a long time searching the ground, she came across another pool of water on the other edge of the island that was also spring fed. The water wasnt hot like the other spring, but it was warm. Atnimera didnt like to drink warm water, but at least it smelled fresh. She dipped her hands into the water and drank. The water didnt taste like average water, but it had a strange, familiar taste. It was soothing to her parched and sore throat. She found that she wasnt nearly as hungry since she had drunk from the spring. She splashed water over her face and she felt refreshed. She felt around the pool a bit more and found it quite deep. The pool seemed to empty to another water source somewhere on the pools floor. Atnimera sat on the bank of the spring and dangled her sore legs into the water. She tore a rag from her tattered dress and began cleaning herself up as best she could without being able to see her wounds. She just dabbed and wiped wherever it hurt. The water seemed to have an anesthetic affect on her wounds.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 205 After refreshing herself, her mind started to work a little more clearly. She continued crawling in the dark. She realized that the ground was not flat beneath her. There seemed to be hills and valleys over the whole island. Just as it was in her dream, she found that Snooter was no where to be found. She discovered that not just her pouch and friend were missing, she found that her bedroll and pouch containing all her food was missing too. She crawled back to the warm spring for another drink. Then she sat beside it with her knees brought up to her chest. She was breathing easier now, but the darkness pressed in upon her. She was afraid and didnt know what to do next. She kept hoping that Snooter would suddenly come up and brush his cool nose against her hand. She sat beside the spring sweating from the heat in the room. She wondered how she had managed to end up here on this strange island. She wondered where here was. Had she reached the heart of the earth, and if she had reached her destination, was she now doomed to stay here for all time? Or was there something else? Snooter had been acting strangely; perhaps he had been trying to warn her of approaching danger. She thought she might have been captured by one of the evil things that were said to live this deep in the earth. Her muscles were tired and sore. She began to feel the trickle of blood down her legs. The floor had cut her in several placed. She felt her legs, trying to find any laceration that might be serious. She found no single cut bleeding badly, but the collective wounds were bleeding her enough. She cut further strips of fabric from the long sleeves of her dress and used them as a dressing for the wounds. She grew more tired, but she wanted to remain awake, but basking in the warmth radiating from the spring, she was soon asleep.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 206 Part 4 Chapter 2

A strange creature lurked in the cavern of Atnimeras island. His skin was deep grey and his skin had grown over his eyes after years of his eyes unemployment. He wore a tall cylinder-shaped adornment made from gold and encrusted with jewels in complicated patters on his head. He had a broad nose with gaping nostrils. In his septum, he wore the gold figure of a bat. His large ears were further stretched by the heavy earrings hung on them. He wore a cassock fashioned out of the thin soft skin of bat wings with incredibly carefully sewn stitches. The back was decorated with the figure of a man whose body was paint, but whose head, hands, and feet were cast of silver and sewn to the bat-skin fabric. His cassock was long and nearly reached his spindly knees. He wore no trousers, and his feet ended in webbed toes. This was the deadly brimstone cave. This was his home. He carried with him a spear and shield made from iron. He was Moloch the master of the brimstone cave. He breathed the poison air with ease, and this was how he made his living. In one part of his cave, unfortunate travelers breathe the air and smell nothing. So they continue without fear. Soon they are unwary. Then they are lulled to sleep by their sense of safety. There they breathe more of the poison. They fall deeper and deeper into the arms of sleep. There they die, and Moloch collects them and their supplies In another part of the cave, another trap was set. A long corridor leading down to Molochs chamber presents itself as an easy path to a maze weary traveler. They headed down the passageway, and when they have gone too far forward to be likely to go back, the passage begins to smell of brimstone. Continuing down the passage, the smell would grow stronger, and then he would creep up the passageway and set a spark in the air.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 207 This reaction caused a thick and heavy cloud to fall on his victims and he can carry them away to become one of his treasures. This was his favorite trap. He moved through the cave checking for any other victims that may have been with the girl. She had been calling for someone while she was unconscious. He wanted to find whoever it was. He did not want to have company. He had his wife now. He searched the alcove populated by a yellow fungus whose spores act as a tranquilizer, but there was nothing there. As he walked, he began gathering slugs, shrimp, fish, and anything slimy and tasty enough to catch his scent. He grabbed them out of the air and water as if he could see them clearly. He had lived in the dark for so long that he had learned to sense the world around him with his skin. He saw far better that way then he ever had with his eyes. He searched an alcove where a sticky slime snares anyone who touched it, but it was empty too. Beyond the slime snares lay a second buzzing passage which he found deserted as well. He made his way back to the entrance of the cave. Maybe her companion had gone back up the tunnel. He pulled his flint from his pouch ready to spark it at the first sign of life. He moved at surprising speed up the steep sloping tunnel. In no time, he was back where he had captured the girl. Her possessions were there still. A smart traveler would have returned to camp and salvaged supplies. No one had touched these, which meant one of two things, either the girl was alone, or she was travelling with a dullard who was dead with out her anyway. Either way, he would not trouble Moloch. Moloch gathered the girls possessions with surprising tenderness and care.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 208 He bounded back down the passage with the girls things. Soon he was safely inside his own cavern. He let out a strange cry. There was a loud response followed by a great flapping of wings followed by fifty or so bats descending and landing on the gypsum rocks before him. He began to pull his gatherings one by one from his sack and feeding his bats. They were quite tame and friendly. Moloch had tamed their ancestors and these had been his pets ever since. He kept the population at about sixty. More than that and their guano began to change the gas and made it poisonous even to Molochs amazing lungs. He controlled the population the only way he knew how. He killed extra bats and ate them. When the bats were satisfied, they flew one by one back to their lofty roost high above the poison gases that lie below. Moloch sat to eat his supper. He was about to take a bite of a fish when he paused. Maybe the girl is awake. He thought, Maybe she is awake and hungry. In haste he jumped up clumsily and dropped the fish he had been about to eat. He gathered the girls things up and strode to the edge of the water. He swam through the slimy water holding her gear up with one hand while he swam with the other. He emerged on the shore and stood with his feet still in the water for a moment. The slime naturally collected and rejoined the water. Then he stepped onto the shore. He looked for the girl in the center of the island where he had left her, but he found her asleep at the spring. He could smell the girls blood in the air and his heart began to pound faster and faster. What if I injured her? What if she dies? I have killed her! I have killed my bride! His mind raced frantically as he eased closer to the sleeping girl.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 209 Wake. He coaxed as he pulled a mass from his bag and held it out to her face. He was offering her the best prize of the days foraging. It was fruit of a plant living in the poison gas. It had a smelly, slimy outer layer to deter predation with a sweet pit at the center. They were very rare and they were Molochs favorite. Atnimera smelled a foul new smell and woke immediately. She was still in utter darkness, but she could feel that she was not alone. As she sat up she bumped her face into something slimy and sticky. Atnimera shrieked in fright and Moloch dropped the fruit and scurried away for a moment. She felt blindly in the dark searching for what head woke her. She found the fruit and let out another small shriek. She hit the fruit repeatedly trying to kill whatever it was that she had found. She quickly realized that the fruit was not alive and it was not what had spoken to her. Whos there? Who is out there? Where have you taken me? Where are my things? What have you done with me? she demanded boldly of the dark. Your things are here. A voice said as she felt her pack drop at her feet. She knelt down and felt for her waist pouch. From inside she pulled the shining stone that immediately lit the cavern. She had hoped that whatever it was that was keeping her captive would be repelled by the light. Instead she found that her captor didnt react at all to her light. He just stood there before her. She tried to decide what it was that she was seeing. His grey skin in the light had a crimson shimmer to it, and on one arm he had a tattoo that resembled the symbol on her fathers stone. She found that the stones that had been cutting her hands and legs on the floor were not stones at all. Over all the surface of the island was treasure. There was gold and gems everywhere. Many other things made up the hoard as well. There were

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 210 weapons and suits of armor. There were maps and books. She wondered where all this strange booty had come from. I am Moloch. He said, I am the master of the brimstone. I have spared your life. I have decided not to eat you. You will be my wife instead. Long ago, I was given a prophecy that a beautiful woman would come to me and she would be my bride. What color are your eyes? They are lavender. She answered quietly. Yes! Its you! I have lain here waiting for you for centuries. I was told thins would be where I would find you. I am so happy that you have finally come to me. Where am I? Atnimera demanded. You are home. He answered with what seemed to be a smile. What was that slimy thing you touched me with? Oh that was a pach they are sweet. I thought you might be hungry. I am sorry that my gift was inadequate for your tastes my love. I should have known that nothing so plain would please you. I will do better. Do better when? I am leaving. I have a quest to take care of and a lost mole to find. I am not staying here! she ranted. Leaving? How are you going to leave? The water surrounding the island will suck you under and spit you back on the shore. I am the only one who can pass those waters. Even if you could survive the water, the gas would kill you or put you to sleep and I would bring you back here. You will stay here and be my wife. As for the mole you have lost, he was a dullard and ran away up the passage. Your companion didnt even return for your supplies. It is surely dead without you.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 211 Why do you want me for a bride? What have I done to earn your devotion? she prodded trying not to seem too resistant, but not entirely receptive either. I know more about you than you think. You have made a long journey here. You have seen perils, and come through unscathed. I ensnared you however and you will remain as my prize. All is just as the sorceress predicted too many years ago to count. He replied matter-of-factly. He reached in his foraging pouch, pulled out some fish and held them out to Atnimera saying, You must be hungry. I saw from your supplies that you eat fish. These are fresh. Eat, it will bring your strength back. You must recover from the poison gas. Take some of these shrimp as well, they will help your body rid itself of the poison. They taste like fish. He turned his head as if he heard something and was off in a flash. Atnimera found herself alone once more, but at least she had light, and with her supplies she could build a flame-less fire to cook the fish. She decided that she would eat the fish and make the best of it for now. She would get to know her captor and find a way to escape later. While the fish and shrimp cooked on the blue flames, she looked around her to find somewhere to sleep for the night, preferably somewhere with out sharp treasure below her. She looked all over, and found all kinds of interesting things that she wished to stop and examine, but she found no place satisfactory for a bed. She decided that she would have to clear a spot for herself in the coming days. She hoped that it would not take long to figure out the enigmatic man who called himself Moloch and find a way to escape the cave.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 212 She held her shining stone high in the air trying get a sense of the size of the cave, but all she saw above the water was a sea of black too vast for her light to illuminate. In the distance, she thought she heard the shriek of a bat again. It seemed to be a hopeless impasse in her journey. Her only companion was gone and some mad man who wanted her for a wife was holding her captive. Atnimera found that many of the hills and valleys that she had climbed through were merely contours in the layers of treasures that littered the island. She set about clearing a piece of land for her bedding. She chose a valley hoping that the layer of gold wouldnt be as thick there. She found all sorts of gems, jewels, necklaces, rings, ear bobs, scepters, crowns, and golden sashes and iron armor. She cleared an area about seven feet in diameter for her living space, but she could not reach the bottom of the jewels. She laid out shields as a floor and made her living space and bed there.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 213 Part 4 Chapter 3

After working many hours on her new dwelling, she laid out her bedroll and went to sleep. She was exhausted. The poison had sapped her strength and she had worn herself out near death trying to reach the ground of the island under the treasure. Then she had decided to make a floor out of shields and had searched for hours to get enough shields together to make a platform big enough for her to sleep and store her goods away from the ever-changing layers of clutter that covered the island. She was badly wounded and she had intended to bathe her wounds in the warm water again, clean her bandages and re-bandaged the wounds, and change into a more intact set of clothing using the rest of her dress to make more bandages, but she fell asleep on top of her bedroll with the bloodstained tattered dress still on and her wounds still bleeding. She fell into a near coma from her sickness with the poison gas and the exertion of building a place to sleep. She slept deeply and she dreamed of her journey up to this point in a subconscious effort to find a way out of this misadventure. Snooter had always guided her to safety and now he was gone and she didnt quite trust her own ideas. She remembered when the trolls had caught her. They meant to make her a bride of sorts and deliver them their legendary beast from time gone by, thinking her to be the evil and willing Prunell. She had been doomed then to bearing a troll child and most likely dying giving birth to the abomination. And how had she escaped that fate? Not by any means of her own. Snooter brought her the pack which her shining stone was in. Once she had the shining stone, Siltons spirit opened her prison and led her to safety. She still had the shining stone, so why wouldnt Silton help her here. Maybe her dream

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 214 was real. Maybe The Light couldnt penetrate into this prison, and so his spirit was unable to reach her here, yet the stone still worked in lighting the place. She had escaped tragedy with the Vhuen who meant to kill her in order to preserve the world from the Trolls legendary beast said to be born of a woman with lavender eyes. How had she overcome them? She was unsure what she had said or did that prevented them from killing her. Instead they led her safely through their lands and on to the dwarves. Was it something she had done? Was it Snooter and his odd markings that they closely examined but said nothing about? Did Snooter save her there too? Or was there something more. She was unsure. They had even given her one of their precious beads to her saying it would keep their spirit near her and would protect her? Where were they now? Could they not reach her here either? Then there was the raid on the dwarf village. Torunda had given his life for hers that night. He was her beloved and he had saved her there. And Snooter had led her to the place where she hid and magically witnessed his death blow though she was hidden and could not see the action in reality. The whole dwarf village regulars had fought and overcome the trolls, killing them to a man and burning their corpses on the lake. Then in the maze that she had not realized was a maze she had found Earh who had took pity on her and led her safely through the maze and given her the remarkable bowl that helped one keep their bearings so deep in the earth. Maybe it had other uses too, she wasnt sure and he had never really taught her all that the magic could do. Snooter had not been much of a help there because Earh was afraid of him, but they had grown to friends by the time he led them through the maze.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 215 Then there was Snooters multiple warnings in the passageway where she had been captured, but why would he leave her there? Why had she not paid more attention to him? Maybe he would have led her to turn around and escape the vile trap that she had landed in. Still, he had always come for her before; maybe it would just take him longer to reach her. She didnt know how far Moloch had carried her. It may have been hundreds of miles or just around the corner. Maybe he knew that the brimstone smell would kill him or render him unconscious or maybe he couldnt pick up her scent in the gas. Maybe he was still searching for a safe way to reach her. But how could she help herself she wondered. She had never had to bail her own self out of her problems. Ever before the solution had presented itself to her, but now there was nothing. She floated in a cloud of self hate and despair before she floated deeper into her coma and she could dream no more. Early in the morning, Moloch came to visit his bride and found her there in her coma. She was still warm and she yet breathed so he knew that she was still alive. He looked at her beauty and lust boiled up in his loins. It had been centuries since he had last had a woman. She was so beautiful he couldnt help himself. He could wait no longer to consummate his new marriage to the girl. He stuck his tongue out which was long and he licked her face, tasting her soft flesh. Coma or no, he was soon on her. He spread her legs wide and found her yet a virgin or so it appeared to him. It had been many years since she had been violated last and her body had re-grown her hymen due to her advanced healing caused by the waters she had lived on as a babe. It was better than he could have hoped for. He would have settled for a used woman, but the darkness had blessed him with a pure woman. He came out of his clothes and had the scraps of her dress above her waist in no time. He laid her on her back, legs spread wide and he

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 216 entered her feeling the hymen break against the pressure of his shaft and the burst of blood that felt and smelled delightful to the ancient man of the darkness. He thrust into her again and again, taking his pleasure and behaving as if she were awake and accepting him. He spoke to her and coaxed her and pounded her repeatedly. It was then that he realized that she could provide him with a son. The thought of that propelled him to heights he had never known when with a woman. He spilled his seed inside her and left her to sleep more, hoping that she was as receptive awake as she was now. No matter though, he would teach her to be willing. He was after all the master of the sulfur cave at the center of the earth. When he was done with her he straightened her rags and left her sleeping in a modest position. Perhaps she would not even suspect what he had had with her. Before he left, he held her and got her to drink a weak tea he had made from the hot spring and some herbs he had been saving for just such an occasion. He was a master at keeping prisoners alive if he wanted them to live. The springs had natural healing abilities and the herbs he had were strong medicine as well; especially with the plant he used. It became stronger as the years went by and was more effective when saved for a long time. They had been in a travelers pack many years ago, so long ago that Moloch almost couldnt remember a time when it wasnt carried with him. In the darkness of her coma. Atnimera never felt the pain he had inflicted upon her, yet her mind knew something was not right and that feeling permeated the dreamless dream that she hung in between life and death. She had sensed that she was bleeding, but couldnt wake herself up enough to do anything about it. She was trapped in another reality somehow better than the one she had left. Her mind open again and she dreamed of the time her brothers had forced her into the small cavern in the trolls domain. She remembered how they had touched her and

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 217 violated her. She had not dreamed this dream for years. She thought her mind had finally healed from that wound, but now it was as vivid as when it had been done for real. It was as if she had traveled back in time. She even felt the gush of blood when Nonnahs had first entered her. She hung in the pain that was so close to some unknown pleasure that felt awful in the perspective of what was being done to her before she fell back into the darkness that enveloped her once more.

Moloch returned the next morning and found her still unconscious. He poked and prodded at her trying to get her to wake so he could have her again, only this time conscious, but to no avail. He was angry with her for not waking, and in the end, he took her again as she lye in a coma. When he was done with her again he gave her some more tea and left her there to sleep some more. This went on for days and he became worried that his bride would never wake to give him the pleasure of her waking body. He wanted her to react to him. He returned to check on her each day and found her still unconscious each time he returned. He violated her each time and then fed her the powerful herb tea that had sustained her thus far. This went on for fourteen days, and on the fifteenth day he found her semi-conscious lying in her bedroll. Her eyes were open, but they were glazed over and he wasnt quite sure that it was true consciousness, but perhaps he could get some food into her this time. WIFE! Wake up! he cried to her as he held her head in his lap. She seemed to hear him and she instinctively tried to sit up. He sat her up and had her lean against a shield standing up as part of the shelter wall. He rummaged through her pack and got some of her food, not knowing if she could tolerate fish raw the way he ate it. In her

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 218 pack he found smoky dried fish, some bread, two skins of wine, one much larger than the other, and some other food he did not recognize, as well as some bags of herbs he could only assume were either for flavor or medicine. If he could get her well enough, he knew she could probably heal herself with these items, but she was barely conscious and yet she had said nothing and had made no movement on her own save for trying to sit up when he had found her and spoken to her. It was as if she were in a trance or still in her coma, but her eyes were open. He was worried about his bride and he knew not what to do. Finally he decided to soak some bread in wine and feed the soft mush to her to get something into her system. He prepared his concoction lovingly, adding some of the water from the hot spring to help induce healing. He let it set for a while to cool, then he moved her, sitting down behind her with her in his lap. He fed her slowly as a mother would feed a sick child. He was surprised that he didnt have to force it on her. He put small spoonfuls into her mouth and she immediately swallowed it. He carefully fed her all that he had made. As he finished feeding her the last of it, she drifted off back into her coma. He didnt know if he had done her any good or not, but he just couldnt control himself, so he laid her out legs spread once more and took his pleasure from the lifeless body once more. Then he left her in her bedroll covered carefully so she wouldnt get sicker from the cold. Moloch foraged in the caves of his home. He knew that if she woke and came to herself she would be very hungry. He knew also that he may have to feed not only himself and his bats, but her and maybe soon a child within her womb. So he foraged carefully. He caught fish, collected pach, shrimp, and some fungus that he knew could be ground down, mixed with water, and set out to dry to make flat bread. His cave had

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 219 sustained him and his bats for millennia, but now there were added demands. Could it support the new life he had found and would create? Hed had prisoners before, but he fed them poorly and they soon died of starvation or he killed them when they were no longer amusing to him. He supposed that he could kill a bat now and again and that would provide her with some meat. The bats bred constantly and he was always having to thin the population. Moloch worried that his beauty would never fully recover and he would be left sonless and her dead. Then he would be all alone again. It was a prospect he didnt enjoy thinking about.

The food warmed in Atnimeras stomach and gave her strength. She awoke, not knowing whether it was day or night or how long she had been asleep. She was weak, but her supplies were close to her. She found her shining stone in her bag where she had left it. She pulled it out to illuminate her surroundings. She knew she had to eat, but she was so thirsty. The contents of her pack were scattered out before her and she saw the large skin that contained the eniwig. She had been told that it was healing medicine so she took a small sip out of the skin. It was the most potent wine she had ever tasted, and it left her thirsty for more. She took another sip, this one much larger than the first and decided to stop there. Kon, Lut and Og had warned her that it didnt take much of the eniwig to work as a cure, but she was still thirsty and cold. She used the dwarven magic to create a fire and she warmed herself by it. She almost drank from the other wine, but she was already dizzy from the eniwig and she didnt want to become drunk. As she sat before the fire, she remembered the spring of warm water and decided to make her way there to drink and clean herself up. She found

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 220 that her wounds had been rebandaged and cleaned, but she had bled since then and they needed to be changed again. She grabbed a change of clothes from her bag and made her way to the spring. She walked at first, for she still had her boots on, but the wine was working and she was tired, so she ended up crawling and cutting herself more. Still, she made her way to the spring and drank heartily from it. Then she took her tattered dress off and bathed in the spring. The water felt so good to her she almost fell asleep in the spring. Her wounds looked much better when she emerged, but she was unable to identify where much of the blood had come from. She was not due for her cycle, and yet she bled from her vagina as if she were on her cycle, only there was much more blood. She washed that away as well, but she continued to bleed. She used the final remnants of her dress to make bandages for her cuts, bruises and her sore nether-regions. She dressed in a blouse and trousers and made her way, walking this time, back to her bedroll. She was tired, but she knew she had to stay up long enough to eat. Her bread was hard, but it was more appetizing to her than the dried fish, so she soaked it in wine from the smaller skin and ate that. When she had finished, she was hungrier than when she had begun. How long had it been since she had had a meal? She couldnt remember and she didnt know that she had slept for weeks. She ate some of the sweet delicacies that the dwarves had sent with her and then she felt up to eating some fish. She ate three small fish and decided to go back to sleep. She found her bed covered with blood as well. She wondered how she had bled so much that her bedding was covered. She was too tired to take any action now and laid down in her filthy bedding swearing that she would wash it out in the morning or

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 221 whenever it was when she woke. She put her shining stone away and fell into the arms of sleep feeling stronger than she had when she had first woke.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 222 Part 4 Chapter 4

Moloch returned to her the next morning hoping that she would be better, but he found her sleeping again. As he examined her camp and her body he found that food had been eaten and she had been up long enough to clean up and get dressed. He would have more trouble getting to her for his pleasures with the pants. He was somewhat angry that she had gotten dressed, so he pulled the blankets off her and began to take the pants off of her again. It was while he was doing this that she woke. What are you doing? she demanded sleepily as she pulled her shining stone out. You are my wife. I am taking what is mine! Now get out of your clothes. I want to have you. I am not your wife and I will never give my body to you. Oh no? he asked as he pulled her pants the rest of the way off and was on her in an instant. She screamed, No! No!!, but to no avail. There was no one here to hear her scream but Moloch and he seemed to be excited by it. She fought him as best as she could but he was strong and she was still weak from her coma. He pinned her to the floor and forced her legs open with his legs. His member was hard and he was ready for her. He spit on one hand and put the slimy ooze onto her, then he entered her more forcefully than he had before. He was more excited than he had been before. He was greatly aroused by her struggle and enjoyed her even more for it. He rammed himself into her again and again as she screamed in pain and anguish. The more she screamed the harder he pounded her. He was merciless, but thankfully he was soon spent and was done with her.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 223 She huddled against the shield as he let her go and she bled as she cried in shock and pain. He moved to touch her and comfort her, but she shied away from his touch. He grew angry that she spurned his affection and he slapped her against the face once, twice, three times. Then he laid a bag filled with food before her and he vanished as quickly as he had come. Atnimera was suffering as she crouched on the floor. She was devastated that he had taken her and had been so violent with her. She didnt know what she had done to be treated so badly. She sat and rocked herself for about an hour and then turned her attention to the bag of food that he had provided her. Her supplies were getting low and she wanted to conserve them as much as possible so she could escape with some supplies. She set a fire and began to cook some fish and shrimp on spears that she had found scattered about. She found other provisions in the bag, but she wasnt sure what the other things were. There was a fungus of some type, but she was unsure how she was to prepare it. There were three pachs in the pack, but she was unsure how to go about eating that either. They had a membrane ball around them with a center that looked edible, but how do you get the membrane off. As her food cooked, she dragged her bedding to the hot spring to wash the blood away. She had some soap made from a fungus the dwarves had cultivated in their great fungi gardens. She scrubbed the bedding with the soap and managed to get most of the blood out. At least it would be satisfactory to sleep in once she got it dry. She wrung the bedding out and lugged the heavy load back to the fire where her dinner was ready and waiting for her. She pulled her fish and shrimp from the fire and spread her bedding out before the fire to dry. Then she sat on the bare floor made of shields and ate her dinner. She was

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 224 very hungry and she had yet to take a bath to wash the blood away from Molochs violent rape. She decided to eat first and then take the bath, giving her bedding time to dry. Moloch had brought her more fish and shrimp than she could possibly eat fresh so she cleaned the rest of the fish, speared the shrimp, and lit another fire, gutted the fish, and strung the fish on spears and built a smokehouse from more shields that lay all about. It was a dirty and smelly job, but at least she would have some food stored incase she found a way out or he decided to be cruel further and cut off her supplies. She didnt put it past him to do so with what she had seen of him so far. She was tired, but she made her way to the spring. She felt particularly dirty so, she brought her soap and made her way to the hot spring. She had some rags she had washed in the warm water and used them as washcloths. She dunked her hair into the water and washed it with her soap. She pulled her head up out of the water so the soap could really clean her hair out. As she let soap sit, she washed every other part of her body with the rags shed salvaged from her ill fated dress. She dunked her hair back under the water, running her fingers throughout the tangled mass clearing every strand of all traces of soap. When she was clean, she was too wet to put her clothes back on so she washed them too and then sprinted back to the fire, clothes and boots in hand to sit before the fire and dry. She rekindled the fire that was smoking the fish. Her bedding was nearly dry so she sat down on it to stretch out and dry herself. Before she lay down, she put her wet clothes out to dry. As she sat, she pulled her pack toward her hoping for another change of clothes. All she found were the purple robes the dwarves had made for her, and an oversized shirt that had belonged to Torunda, but in the very bottom of the pack she found another everyday dress and a pair of sandals. She put the dress on and put

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 225 Torundas shirt on over it also. His shirt still smelled like him and her heart ached for him to be there, but he too had passed into the realm of The Light protecting her just as Silton had given his life for hers so many years ago. Still she knew that Silton was still with her she did after all have a shining stone that his spirit dwelled within. Her hair was wet and heavy. The heat was beginning to escape from the water still in her hair and she was beginning to get cold. She pulled a brush and comb from her pack and began the tedious process of untangling her hair and putting it up in braids so that it would be out of her way as she worked on building a more secure place to sleep. By the time she was done with her hair, her bedding was completely dry and ready for her to go to sleep. There were a few things left wet, but Atnimera was sure that they would be dry by the time she woke. She checked her fires one more time and used a magic spell shed learned from the dwarves to keep the fires burning through the night without growing or becoming too hot. She climbed into her bed roll and soon she was asleep. She was exhausted but had a troubled getting to sleep without Snooter by her side. She longed for her lost friend and was heartbroken when she discovered he was gone. Would she ever see him again? She wondered if he were still alive as tame as he had grown to be. What if he couldnt find food for himself? Perhaps he was nearby starving. Or worse hes become the meal for something nasty. Sleep finally found Atnimera and her weary body. She hung in the realm between the real and the dream for some time, wondering if this was a mere bad dream and she would wake up to some other world. Finally she fell into a deep sleep. She could hear OTasha calling her but she couldnt find the source of her cries. Was she in trouble? Did she need Atnimeras help or was she searching for the lost girl. If she were caught

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 226 theyd march her to the surface so quickly it would make her head spin. NO! She would not go! Staying here was better than a trip to live the rest of her life on the surface. Maybe she was safe here. Surely Moloch would catch any would be rescuers, and then he would probably feed them to her for dinner. What a sick man, she thought. Her dreams rambled on through the night, but she slept deeply and would not remember what she had seen or heard. When she woke, she ate some leftover fish and checked on her fish that she was smoking. The fish was coming along nicely and Atnimera was pleased. She had to make a better shelter. The shields shifted against the mounds of treasure. She had to clear a spot down to the dirt of the island. She had a good start with what she had already cleared, so she left the upright supporting shields where they were and tore up the floor. She loaded shields up with treasure and began dumping them over the side of the supporting shields. She had to put up a second layer of shields to make the wall taller and more stable against the weight of the treasure. She was working on her shelter when Moloch showed up again. Moloch was carrying a bag of food and some tools to crush the fungus and make bread. He wanted to show her how to catch fish for herself and make bread. She was dressed in a dress again and there was sweat pouring off of her as she labored. He had moved in quietly and watched her work for some time, thinking how seductive she looked all covered with sweat and her muscles tense under the weight she was moving. Hello! he cried to her as she lifted her head from her work. When she saw him, she tried to hide behind the walls of her shelter, but it was no use, he had already seen her. She was doomed to interact with him once more. In her

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 227 mind she worried that he would take her again, a prospect she found dismal and frightening. Come out. I have brought you gifts. Gifts she thought. What kind of gifts would he have for her? Perhaps he had found Snooter, but more likely it was something unsavory. Still she understood that he was her master for now and things would go much smoother if she obeyed him. She came out from behind the wall she had built, spread her blanket over a shield she had freed to be part of her new home and sat down. What is your name, my bride? he asked as he stood over her. I am Atnimera, daughter of the Danementians Alsadera and Dranlory the chief mystics of the Mystics and Seers Council in the lands above. What is your name, my lord? I am Moloch, the sulfur beast. I am the ruler of the center of the world. I have been here for centuries untold waiting for the woman fated to be my bride and bear me a son to take over as master of the cave after me. I have brought you food Atnimera, and I wish to show you how to gather food for yourself though I will always supply you with some food. He looked in the pack hed left the night before and found many things untouched. She had not touched the pach or the fungus hed collected for bread. She obviously didnt know what to do with them. Your gifts yesterday were more than adequate, come I will show you how I have saved them. She answered as she led him over to the fire where the fish were smoking. The smell was delicious to a man who ate his fish raw. He wanted to taste some right away.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 228 Now bride, feed me this meal you have prepared for me. They are not done yet. I have to smoke them for another day or two before they are ready, but once they are done, they will keep for a long time. Age and decay seem to leave them when prepared this way. I eat my fish raw they are done enough for me. Now get me a fish. He demanded. Atnimera knew it was dangerous to disassemble her smoke-house just for one fish, but she feared her new master more than she feared physical pain from a burn. So she went to the fire, and pulled up one shield and grabbed a spear of fish off the fire. When she opened the shield the aroma of smoked fish permeated throughout the air. With one hand, she laid the shield back into its place and handed the hot fish to Moloch. Smells good. Thank you wife. He said as he began devouring the first fish on the spear. He finished it quickly and said, That was very good You make for me all the time? I will smoke fish for you if you catch them and get me something better than the shields to keep the smoke and fire in. These are not the best I can make. If I had some herbs and spices I could make some much better than this. What you need? I will provide. Well, I could use some heavy fabric to cover the holes in the shields and some cooking herbs. I dont know where you would get that. There are provisions of many people who have come before you. You have only to find them and recognize what is for eating and what is for medicine. I see that you have herbs of your own, maybe they will help you find what you need, or perhaps you already know herb lore and it will be no problem.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 229 Great, she thought sarcastically, more searching and digging. Then she answered, Thank you I will look Moloch ate the other four fish on the spear and wanted more. Atnimera knew that he would eat her whole supply if she let him, so she turned his attention away from the cooking fish. You said you wanted to teach me to get food for myself. How about fishing? How do you catch these fish? Haha! You cannot catch the fish the way I do. I snatch them from the water with my bare hands. But I have an easier way for you. He said as he produced a pouch of some mysterious substance. I will give this to you. He said as he opened the pouch and stepped to the slimy waters edge. He sprinkled the tiniest amount onto the water and suddenly fish appeared and floated bottom up in a trance. Then he waded into the water and picked them up one by one. This is how you catch fish. Take all you need, the trance will wear off of the others and they will swim away. They waded into the water and collected many more fish for Atnimera to smoke. Moloch kept telling her More! More! so she continued picking up the slimy fish. In time shrimp came to the surface as well and they collected those too. When they had finished, there was a great mound of fish and shrimp dying on the shore. Atnimera wanted to wash the slimy water off, but she knew she had to gut the fish and set up another fire to smoke them. She drew her knife out and set about gutting the fish and spearing them on spikes. She built a fire and began placing the skewered fish around it in rows. Moloch had never seen fish gutted like that before, but he was skillful with a knife and after watching her

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 230 for a while he began to gut the fish too. Soon Atnimera had to make the fire larger to accommodate all the fish and shrimp. As soon as the last fish was skewered and placed by the fire, Atnimera began gathering shields to put up to keep the smoke in. What do you do with the insides that youve cut away? They look delicious! We throw them out. I dont eat the insides of the fish You can take it away and eat it if you want. I will. I will. Now, I must show you the fungus. The fungus? she questioned. This yellow fungus can be made into bread. Here let me show you. He pulled the fungus out of his own bag and from the bag he had left for her the day before. From nowhere appeared a stone plate with a groove worn in the middle and a round piece of stone that fit into the groove perfectly. First you take the fungus and break it into smaller pieces. He said as he tore the fungus into small bits. Then you put the crumpled fungus into the plate where you use the round stone against the plate to grind the fungus into a type of flour. He said as he demonstrated what he had said. When you have ground it down enough it looks like this. He said as he showed her an open bag of fine yellow powder that he carried with him. Atnimera was thinking that it would take forever to get the fungus ground down that fine, but still, bread was a good food staple to have. He produced another bowl and put the fine powder into it. He fetched some water from the hot spring and slowly added it to the fungus.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 231 You must add the water slowly If you add it quickly you will add too much and they wont be edible, and use the water from the hot spring, it makes the bread healthier. You mix it all up until you get this nice dough. Then you knead it well and shape it into small flat cakes that you leave to dry. Once dry they are ready to eat. No baking necessary. Do you understand? He instructed. Yes I think I can manage the bread and catching the fish and shrimp. You can have the stone plate, roller and bowl. I have another. Now I will show you how to eat pach. Moloch had left three pachs in the bag for her the night before and he had brought one with him to show her how to eat this great delicacy. First you must rid the fruit of its lining. I use the lining to make the powder for the fish, so I want you to find a way to save it for me. You try it with me. He coached, and said, You must take a knife and cut around the circumference. Then you cut around the same way perpendicular to the first cut. Then you peel the outside away. Atnimera obeyed and was left with the slimy outer covering all over her hand. Moloch laughed and said, Here give it to me. I will take it. He took it from her and she was left with the pink center. She was not sure that something else had to be done before she could eat it, so she just held it in her hand. Now wash it in the water and enjoy it. Atnimera did as she was told. She washed the fruit and then brought it to her lips for a bite. It smelled wonderful. It smelled fresh in a world so dank and stuffy. She let it touch her lip and found it as soft as her own skin. She licked it and found that it was sweet. She realized that Moloch was intently watching her and so she hurried the experience and took a bite of the fruit. It was exquisite! It was sweet and tangy; the

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 232 texture was astounding to her palate. It was very good to eat. She savored the bite she had taken and then took another, larger bite. The juice from the pach dripped from her mouth and down her fingers and hand. She was lost in the abandon of the sweet fruit and didnt notice the look in Molochs eyes as he watched her. Moloch found Atnimera eating a pach very seductive. He felt the lust bubble up within him once more. He sat and watched her eat every bite, taking it all in each drop of juice trickling down her arm and the sweetness smeared on her face. She was almost done, but he was already ready for her. Without warning he grabbed her by her hair and she dropped her fruit. He lifted his cassock and forced her face to his manhood. Suck it! he demanded Open your mouth! Atnimera didnt know exactly what he wanted, but she opened her mouth hoping to avoid her privates being violated again. With her knees bent and her mouth open, Moloch shoved his already excited member into her mouth and told her once more to suck. He jammed her face into his crotch again and again often nearly choking her. However, soon her mouth was not enough, so he lifted her up by her hair and threw her onto the treasure. She landed on all fours and that suited Moloch just fine. He knelt behind her and lifted her dress. He held her down as best as he could as her forced himself into her. Atnimera cried out in pain over and over wailing as she felt that her insides were being torn out. She tried to fight him, but he was so much larger than she was. The more she fought, the harder he was with her. She begged The Light for the pain to stop, for this awful experience to end. She wanted to be home or with the Vhuens or the Dwarves, and

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 233 so that is where she put her mind. She focused on her friends and family and hoped that she could distract herself until he was through with her. But to no avail. As she went quiet, he grew angry and grabbed her hair so that he could lean forward and breathe into her ear. He began to speak and she could no longer block him out. You like that dont you? I am your husband now and you will give me an heir! You are a bad woman not to enjoy your husbands love! You will submit! We will do this repeatedly until you give me an heir and accept my love. She cried harder and so he beat his need into her harder and harder. Lucky for Atnimera he was soon spent and let her go. Now is there anything you need my love? he asked as calmly as if there had been nothing between the cooking lesson and his eminent departure. No Atnimera managed to whisper.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 234 Part 4 Chapter 5

Atnimera made her way to the hot spring to wash away her blood and his seed. There was nothing more she could do about it and she was getting the feeling that shed better get used to it. Moloch had given her all the instruction needed to survive down here for a long period of time and then he had made her want to die. However, Atnimera was a strong woman. She would battle against the darkness, survive, and be free once more. She would escape to a place where The Light dwelled. Still, she didnt know when that would be, so when she was dry, she turned her attention back to her shelter. She found that the shields were slowly falling down against the weight of the treasure on the other side. She sat in front of the wall, trying to find a way to make the shields hold more weight and not let any treasure seep between the cracks. She decided to go hunting among the treasure to see what she could find that might work to repair what she had already built. She had noticed the hand holds on the backs of the shields and thought that if she could find enough spears among the treasure she would be able to put the spears through the hand holds to strengthen the wall. She needed something small and flat like a plate to fill in the areas where the treasure was seeping through. She searched for them as she gathered spears but had little luck, so she returned to the building with her spears and shore up what she had already built. It was a tough job feeding the spears into their place, but they seemed to work well and the wall stopped leaning inward and stood straight. There was still the problem on the gaps in the wall where the treasure fell back in where she had cleared it away.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 235 She had done a lot of work and decided to take a break and eat. She was sweaty from all her exertion so she decided to wash off in the warm spring again. She just couldnt feel clean after what had been done to her, and she was worried about her soap. She only had three bars and no way to make any more. She had seen soap made before and she could get the ashes for the lye easily, but she needed a special waxy lichen to scent and firm the soap. She also needed large pots to boil the lye and lichen in. She had a small amount of the lichen in her pack to freshen it. Maybe she could have Moloch look for some for her. She wondered what Moloch used to bathe with, but by the smell of him he probably didnt bathe. She got out of her clothes and stepped into the springs pool. She had brought a washcloth with her and she dipped it into the water and began scrubbing her skin. It was as if his essence was still on her and she couldnt wash it away. She soaped up her washcloth and scrubbed her skin raw. Then she sat and soaked in the warm water until she felt better. She got out of the pool and carried her dress and shirt over to the fire where she sat to dry. Her long hair was badly tangled so she got her brush from her pack. It was beautiful. Torunda had made it for her. The brush was made of Iolite with stiff fibers made by the women of the village. It was a great treasure to her as it was to their people. That amount of Iolite for a single person was unheard of, especially because she had an Iolite necklace as well, but the dwarves adored her and often presented her with gifts, many of which she had had to leave behind. She carefully brushed the tangled mass until it was smooth and silky. She dressed as she waited for her hair to dry, pulled it back, and went to check the fires. She found the fish and shrimp smoking well, but she still needed heavy fabric to

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 236 cover the gaps in the shields. She decided to return to her work on clearing the floor of her new house, hoping that she would find something there that would be helpful. She would also keep an eye out for cauldrons to make the soap in. She loaded shields up with the heavy coins, jewelry, military gear, and many untold wonders, and then she dragged them away from her house and dumped them on existing piles of riches. She worked many hours and finally decided to stop for the day. She returned to the fire where she had set up a temporary floor for her to sleep on. She ate some fish and bread and soon fell asleep dreaming only of unending treasure and her fruitless toil in the darkness and somewhere in her mind she began to wonder if Moloch was a servant of The Darkness itself.

She awoke to darkness. Not the soft quiet darkness she had known her whole life, but a thicker heavier darkness that hung on her like a funeral shroud. She reached for her pouch with her shining stone in it but was unable to locate it. She began to panic as the feeling that she was not alone permeated her skin like the darkness that held her tight. Her breath quickened, her eyes were wide searching for any sign of light or movement. She crouched close to the ground and held her breath trying to hear what it was that was with her. The room grew hot, making her sweat and her clothing stick to her nubile body. Moloch? Moloch! Are you there? she gasped into the air but there was no reply he was either gone or he was playing with her, she didnt know which. Maybe Im dreaming? she thought, Maybe this is all a dream, all my fears coming to the surface. Perhaps none of this is real at all. However, almost in response to her thought, the walls of the cavern grew redder and redder until their glow illuminated the room around her. Her fathers stone had

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 237 grown hot and had burned through the fabric of the sack it was in. It consumed the whole bag and her treasures, including the shining stone were exposed; yet the shining stone did not glow, but her fathers stone burned bright red. She looked all over and her eyes were drawn to an emerging shape directly before her. She knew it was a spirit, although the only spirit shed ever seen in life was the spirit of Silton and he was gone from this place. The spirit appeared black with a blood red aura around it. It was tall and slim. It appeared to be a shadow against the light and the figure was decidedly male. The spirit grew clearer and clearer before her and she was entranced by its developing form. From nowhere, Moloch appeared crying out, Master, Master! I am here master! Atnimera turned to look at Moloch and found his skin luminescent in the red light. He was crimson instead of the dull grey she usually saw in his skin. Molochs eyes had long since grown over with skin, but light came from them in the redness of the room. Atnimera was terrified. She had never felt so much fear as the figure solidified before her. He was tall, thin and handsome. His hair was black and his skin was starkly white against the background of his black clothing and hair. The red light illuminated him and he was great and terrible. He had a goatee of black hair on his chin and his eyes were sharp and brown. Atnimera could not look away, and then he spoke. Atnimera, we meet at last. He said ceremoniously Who are you and why are you here? she asked timidly. I am Nosaj, and I have come to help you. He replied calmly. Are you here to take me to the surface so I can fulfill my destiny? No I am here to save you from the prophecy.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 238 I think I have saved myself from the prophecy. As long as I am down here, I am not on the surface fulfilling the prophecy. Granted, I have no choice to leave and fulfill it, but I am safe here in the heart of the earth. And where would you go if you could leave? I can take you there. I do not know. Come with me, be my bride and I will set you as queen of my minions. You will never see the surface and I will treat you much better than Moloch. You will be free. Master you promised me I could have her! You cannot take her from me. She is mine! Moloch screeched. Quiet you. You have had her and look at what state she is in. Could you not have helped her build a shelter? Do you not see that she is weak and pale? You should have taken better care of her. She is mine. Nosaj scolded. Why do I get the feeling that there is more to this than you say. Why would you want me after Moloch has had me? Or did you use him to trap me here? There is something that you are not telling me. Oh darling, why are you so bitter and jaded. I only want to help you. I am not as naive as you think. You are from The Darkness. My father serves the darkness. I have his stone. It burned out of its bag when you appeared. You want something from me. What is it? True, my dear, I do serve The Darkness. I am in fact the embodiment of The Darkness, and I do want something from you. I want you to bear my son. You have already turned away from The Light. Would it be so hard to turn towards The Darkness?

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 239 I will never serve The Darkness. You have driven the spirit of my grandfather away and for that I cannot forgive you. Leave me here with Moloch. I will not serve you. Nosaj moved toward her and took hold of her body and said, You may not serve me, but you will bear my son. I will see to that. Nosaj had her upper body and Moloch grabbed her legs. Together they shredded her clothing and stripped her naked. Moloch held her while Nosaj groped her young body. Whenever she cried out in pain he beat her. He grabbed hold of her nipples and pinched them hard between his fingers. His nails were like blades and he cut her body with them. On her upper thigh he drew a strange symbol in her flesh. First he drew an arrow with its top pointing up. Then he drew a line at the base of the arrow. Next he drew a triangle on the shaft of the arrow facing right. His touch burned as well as cut her skin. She screamed in agony. Now you are mine for all time. He hissed into her ear as Moloch held her by her hair and about the waist and his forked tongue licked at the blood on her face. With that he threw her to the sharp floor and spread her wide. Nosajs member was ready for her and he pushed it into her bowels and rammed her hard. She bled profusely and the blood lubricated her. He pulled out of her bowel and thrust into her vagina. He was much larger than Moloch and she screamed in terror as he had his way with her. He took his time in taking his pleasure from her, wanting her to remember every moment and every thrust. Molochs hands were all over her as his master worked, and when his member was hardened he shoved it into Atnimeras screaming mouth nearly choking her and definitely gagging her. The two beings of the darkness finished with her and spilled their seed at the same time.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 240 As red as the chamber was, it was plunged back into darkness as quickly as it had been illuminated and her attackers were gone. For the first time since she had been down here in the sulfur cave, it was silent. The waters of the lake were calm and the midges were quiet, there was no distant sound of bats, no trickle of water at the springs. All was dark and all was silent. She hugged herself in the darkness and was at one with the silence. She dare not break it. Where her screams had fallen on deaf ears now her pain was held in her chest. She thought that she had brought all of this on herself. It was as Nosaj had said, she had turned her face away from the light by embarking on this journey into the heart of the earth rather than going to the surface and fulfilling the prophecy that had foretold her birth in so many different cultures. What had she thought she would find so deep in the darkness? Did she think that she could run away from something as powerful as her destiny? Well, she had run and now she was likely impregnated by the embodiment of the darkness and what could she do now? Even her shining stone had gone out and made the darkness complete. She was alone now, no Silton, no Snooter. There was only a bloody Atnimera with nothing left to hold onto. But her heart was not silenced. Her heart cried the tears she was in too much shock to shed. Her heart longed for the upper chambers where her family, if somewhat hateful, dwelled. She longed for the light of her people and the people she had befriended as she had traveled. Where were Kon, Lut and Og now? Could they have known how much she would miss them or how dangerous her path would be once she left their protection? And the dwarves who had held her in such esteem Torunda had given his life to save hers and for what? So she could become the mother of a minion of the

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 241 darkness? So she could endure the sexual torture she had almost grown numb to now that Nosaj had worked her over? No. There was something more. But what was it? She sprang to her feet and made her way carefully, yet skillfully to the hot spring in the darkness. Maybe it wasnt too late to prevent the impregnation? And she really needed to clean up. Every scrap of clothing had been torn from her body and she eased herself into the hot water. She had never bathed in the hot spring before. She had always thought it too hot, but this was important, and she knew that the water from that spring had healing qualities. Her skin was scalded by the heat in the water, but her wounds were serious and needed cleansing desperately. She had been carved up by the hand of darkness and it seemed there was poison on his fingernails for her wounds swelled angrily with infection. She couldnt see her wounds, but she could feel them all too real. She carefully and silently cleansed her body in the water. Now her wounds were clean on her body, but the wounds inside her heart festered and boiled in her chest. She returned to the site and tried to summon the magic to light the blue dwarven flame that she used to cook with. She could not bring forth the energy needed to light even a small flame. Her heart was feeling downcast at her many failures and she began to cry and threw herself on the pointy floor. She wept heartily and thrashed against the darkness utterly alone and yet Yet she once again began to feel as if she were not alone. She smelled familiar smoke and on the floor before her glowed the words that she had found in the scrolls both in the Danementian library run by the scribes and the dwarven library where she had also spent so much time. She had been unable to read the words before, but now the words were clear and she could understand them all too well.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 242 Oh, What joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record The Light has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, I will confess my rebellion to The Light. And The Light forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Therefore let all those who serve The Light confess their rebellion to The Light while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgement. For The Light is my hiding place; The Light protects me from trouble, The Light surrounds me with songs of victory. The Light says, I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like senseless livestock that needs bit and bridle to keep it under control. Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust in The Light. So rejoice in The Light and be glad, all you who obey The Light! Shout for joy, all whose hearts are pure! Psalms 32

She had had the answer all along; she just had been unable to see it until now. She had to repent and turn her face back to the light, even if that meant going to the surface and fulfilling her destiny. From somewhere in her blackened and bruised heart a

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 243 spark of joy was alight. She threw herself on her face before the darkness and began to confess her sins. She told all, beginning with remaining silent when Silton had died and going throughout her journey where she had been wicked and willful turning her face ever away from the light. Now she understood Luts fascination with the sunrise. It was The Light he wanted to be close to The Light. When she had finished bearing her soul she asked for forgiveness and suddenly her shining stone lit up just inches from her hand. She realized, I was not alone Silton and The Light were here with me all along. They were just waiting for me to invoke the power of The Light. Her heart was washed with the power of The Light, and although her heart was now pure it was still damaged, but she knew that the light could heal that too as long as she confessed her sins and invited The Light into her life. She held her shining stone in her hand and felt the love and compassion of her grandfather wash over her. The Light was using his spirit to convey the love through Silton and to Atnimera. In the light she could see the state of her body and was able to find clothing to cover herself with. She ate and meditated on the concept of The Light. But one question came to her mind that she had no answer to and The Light didnt seem to offer an answer made apparent to her either. The question was what to do now? How could she escape this dismal and horrid place? She brooded trying to find the answer, and lay down on her bed. She did not know what to do, only that she didnt have to do it alone. She finally fell asleep and it was deep and dreamless restful sleep. She would undoubtedly greet the morning with new hope.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 244 Part 4 Chapter 6

Atnimera woke in the morning and felt renewed even as she was sore from her torture, but she had the light in her heart and she was happy. She continued her work on her home, but only half heatedly. She didnt want to need it. She longed for escape, but she had been trapped there a long time and she was low on supplies. She had used up so much of her provisions just trying to survive. As she worked on her home, she discovered that there were many packs and parcels hidden in the stones, she began to work on the home less, and search for supplies more. Moloch didnt appear for many days and Atnimeras new life was largely uneventful. She found herself bored and lonely though she knew now that she would never have to be alone again. She longed for her old friend Snooter. When Moloch did return, he was different to her. He was quieter and softer and he helped her sure up her living quarters that she was almost finished with by now. He brought her large pieces of cloth, a needle and skeins of fine thread so she could make herself some new clothing to replace what had been shredded by both Moloch and his master. Atnimera was grateful for the supplies. She could not only make clothing; she could make bags to carry supplies in when she made her escape, whenever that may be. Her heart sank as she realized what all the cloth was really for. She knew it was to keep her in dresses as her form filled out with the impending birth of a child a child she would bear to the darkness itself. She hated Moloch, but he was her only companion, save for the light in her shining stone. She learned Molochs moods and customs quickly now that he was forbidden to rape her. She learned to keep him at bay when she wanted to (which was

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 245 most of the time) but she couldnt keep him away entirely. He was still certain that she had been sent to him to be his bride and he couldnt stay away from her, although he could no longer rape her outright, he discovered he could still take his pleasure from her either by her mouth or by watching her and not even touching her at all, or have himself all over her with only his rod denied full contact. She also learned how to engage in pleasantries to keep him near, but she only did that when the loneliness was truly unbearable. At times, she even liked him somehow and the skin to skin contact he brought. She learned that he had pet bats and she was not imagining their cries. Moloch tried to teach her to call the bats so she could have company other than his, but she wasnt as adept at the calls as Moloch was. The bats simply wouldnt come to her. Clearing the space for her living area had been a time consuming task, but when it was finished, she had nothing else to do but worry. So, she used her time to explore the treasures of the island. She began collecting and sorting the entire contents trying to find something, anything that would help her leave. First, she cleared some ground space so that she would have a starting point. In the clearings, she formed bins into which she could sort items. She made the bins out of spears and armor stacked together to keep the contents separated from the rest of the island. She sorted the objects by type first. She grouped all the rings together and all the crowns together. If she had more than one of an item, it had a bin in which to be placed. Moloch visited her at least once a day to bring her things he had foraged from all over the cave. He brought her fungus to grow. He taught her how to take care of it and how to powder it as well. This was the way he made the substance that hypnotized the fish and shrimp.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 246 Moloch noticed her efforts to catalogue his wealth. He sewed pouches for her to carry items all over the island. She had also come across the pouches of many an unwary traveler that had fallen into Molochs traps. Inside their pouches, she found many things to make her life more livable. There was salt and dried meat. There was pepper and other dried herbs. There were tinderboxes (though they would be useless in the stagnant air). There were short blades that even she could use with her tiny hands. Each day, Atnimera sorted more treasure and each day she asked the light what she should do about escaping and about the child that she knew all too soon was coming. She was sick, yet she continued sorting the treasure. She was looking for something, just the same as she looked in the scribes library when she was a child, though she couldnt really say what it was she was looking for. Even tarnished silver and gold was beautiful in her eyes, and yet it was not enough. Something inside Atnimera drove her to separate and organize all of Molochs spoils. The treasure was a grand collection and could take years to sort it all out. However, Atnimera was lucky and The Light had shined on her. She made a discovery that could have taken her years to discover. As she cleared away the treasure from the floor, she found what seemed to be an entrance to a cave below the island. The entrance was stuffed with treasure, and on the top of the pile lie a strange tooth. Atnimera thought it important though she didnt know why and rather than try to classify it, she put it into the pouch of her treasures that hung from her belt. Atnimera didnt know if Moloch knew of this cave. She didnt want to reveal the opening to him. Moloch seemed to be afraid of her homemade shelter, so she decided to build another shelter above the entrance to the new cave.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 247 She built a shed above the entrance (which took her weeks) and began clearing the treasure out of the opening in the floor. This became her daily task; to clear and move more treasure out of the opening and sort it into piles she had already begun to form. As time passed, Atnimera became more accustomed to the darkness, but that didnt mean she liked it. She despised the darkness every day more than she had hated it the day before. The angrier she got at her imprisonment, the more she sorted treasure, and the sicker her body felt the more she pushed on. It was the only thing she could do. There was no sense of time; her body had long forgotten the balance that living with others brings a time to wake, and a time to sleep. Atnimera would stay up for what seemed like days only to sleep for what seemed like a mere few hours. She never knew as if it were morning or night, and yet, she continued clearing treasure from the hole in the ground. She had worked with it and the entrance of the cave was quite deep, but there was still no sign of what lie beneath. Atnimera was getting bigger around the middle, but she was rewarded after weeks of toil escavating the cave she had found below the island. The back wall of the cave began to show. She began bringing up treasure and merely dumping it onto the floor rather than sorting it, making valuable time and energy. After a few days labor she finally came to the end of the treasure blocking her way. On the back wall of the cave, she discovered a small opening. She looked inside but could see nothing and she was too big to fit through the opening. Her curiosity was piques as well as the excitement of a possible escape. She gathered her supplies, and enlarged the opening by moving a few large rocks out of the way. She crawled through and with the light of her shining stone on the wall, she beheld a stairway in the passage on the other side of the wall.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 248 Part 4 Chapter 7

Atnimera made her way down the carved stone staircase. She carried her shining stone out as there was nothing to light her way. The stairway was tight and claustrophobic. She traveled down the passage for about fifteen minutes without coming to the bottom. She turned and ran back up the steep slope to her island. When she reached the top, she gathered all of her things that she wanted to take not just her supplies. She took all she could carry. She then bolted back to the head of the stone staircase. Thus was her staircase to freedom and she could feel its power calling her. This was the path she was meant to take. She had been stranded on Molochs island for many months, too many for her to remember the time and she knew that her liberty was at hand. Atnimera hurried down the stairs. They seemed endless and strangely reminiscent of the long passageway that had allowed Moloch to capture her in the first place, only then she had had Snooter to keep her company. Here there was nothing but darkness outside the realm of her shining stones light. Atnimera was frightened, but she forced herself down the stairs and she wouldnt go back now. She trekked down the stairs for hours without end. She didnt want to camp on the stairs where there was no cover to hide her. She feared that Moloch would discover her missing and find her escape route. She began to wish that shed concealed the entrance to the stairs, but it was too later for that now, so she trekked on. The silence was deafening. Atnimera wished to hear something, anything just to break the pregnant pause that hung around her and pressed her into silence herself as well.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 249 She grew tired and hungry after many hours of toil. She knew that she must be miles away from Moloch by now, yet she was afraid to stop. She finally convinced herself to stop and have some preserved fish to break her fast. She drank from her water skin greedily at first and then thought better of it. She didnt know when she would cross paths with water again and she decided she had better save some. She rested her back against the wall, stretched her legs across the step to the other side of the wall, and stretched. She inhaled deeply and realized that the smell of brimstone was gone from her nose for the first time in many months. Taken aback by the change, Atnimera began to weep from somewhere in her that was not quite joy and not quite sorrow either. She was happy that the unbearable ordeal of Moloch was over, but she was now without any companion again and Snooters absence made her heart ache to be near him again. She would be happy just knowing where he had gone. Moloch had searched for him and hadnt even found a trace of his scent on the air. As suddenly as they had come. Atnimeras tears were ended. She gathered her things and secured her packs upon her back. Now was not the time to mourn Snooter, she must continue until she found a safe place to camp. Refreshed by the food, water, and somehow her tears, she carried on in her descent of the mysterious stairs that had presented themselves as reward for her curiosity and tenacity. It was several days that Atnimera walked without sleeping until she reached the base of the stairway, but she had been certain that it must join with other passages somewhere along the way, allowing her escape. Yet, as she reached the stairs end there was only a corridor about thirty feet long leading to somewhere beyond.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 250 With fear in her heart and fatigue in her body, she made her way from the last stair to the stone door. A woven rope passed through a hole in the door and the door and the wall. She was unsure weather she should knock before opening the door or not. Though she felt a bit odd, she knocked many times as loudly as she could on the door and then decided she would have to open it herself, but she was so tired. She decided that she would rest here in the alcove for a while before confronting whatever lie beyond the door. She made camp and ate, and soon she was asleep.

She was in a warm, wet world where she breathed the fluid around her. She felt the gentle swaying of the whole world that she dwelled in. There wasnt enough room in her chamber for much movement and she was curled up into a ball unable to stretch her legs out or her arms away from her body. She could hear the loud beating of a heart and the sound of breathing, but all else was silent. It was then that she realized that she was not alone in the warm wet cramped chamber. There was skin to skin contact with someone else. In the darkness she could not see her companion, but she could feel the evil seething from her partner. She was terrified as she realized she was in her own womb and the companion was the seed of Nosaj, and yet, she wondered if the child was cursed to be like his father. Perhaps if she loved and cared for the child it would bloom into a flower of the light instead of a child of darkness. She woke abruptly and found herself alone at the stone door.

She grabbed the loop of rope and pulled hard. To her surprise, the door moved astonishingly easily. She had expected it to be heavy and clumsy. This door moved with almost a magical ease, and as it opened, a warm, bright light filled the hallway. Atnimera

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 251 passed through the doorway and turned to close the door behind her. She pulled the stone door shut tight as quickly as she could. She then turned to behind what lay beyond the door. Fuelless flames gave their light to the vast cavern from huge stones set in altars about the room. In the center of the chamber lay the skeleton of a great beast. There were bones of a dragon and they lay just the way they had the moment the remarkable creature had breathed his last breath. Atnimera remembered the sight from a dream vision she had had while she was with the dwarves. She carefully walked towards the huge skeleton to examine it. The bones towered over her majestically and she began to wonder if this is what had brought her into the heart of the earth. She knew this had to be the earths very heart. She walked up and gently touched the bones where they lay. She walked all around the bones, and when she came to the beasts skull, she saw something furry beneath it. Atnimera was cautious at first, but reached out to touch the fur. She jumped in fright when the fur moved. She moved so fast that she set herself down on the floor. She couldnt believe her eyes as the ball of fur turned over to reveal blue tattooed legs. She recognized that he was Snooter. Snooter! Its you! she exclaimed as she started to cry. The mole rushed over and climbed in her lap and into her arms. Though he was warm and soft, Atnimera wondered if he was real. There seemed to be no other way into this chamber, but perhaps it held mysteries of which she was unaware. With Snooter out of the way of the skull, Atnimera saw that the dragon was missing a single tiny tooth in the front of his jaws. She remembered the strange tooth that she had found on Molochs island and wondered if it belonged there. She reverently pulled the tooth from the pouch that hung at her waist. She looked at the tooth and the

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 252 socket where it may fit. They seemed to be a perfect pair. Snooter took great interest in the tooth and crawled into the dragons jaws as Atnimera fit the missing tooth into its home. Immediately smoke began to rise around the base of the bones. Wisps of smoke converged and filled out the dragons bones showing her what he had looked like in life. Snooter disappeared from the dragons jaws and then the dragons smoky jaws whispered to her saying, Mera. Atnimera was astounded. She stood before the smoky dragon, which now lifted its head in awe. She was unable to move and much more unable to make speech. The smoky lips began to speak again. He said, Mera, we have waited for you for eons. I have guided you here that you may bring me back to life. All I need for you to do now is will it, and place the pieces of writing you have found on the altars to burn. If you do this, I will live again. Where is Snooter! You vile dragon, you ate him! she exclaimed angrily at the smoke vision before her. Mera you are mistaken. I am your companion. You called me Snooter. Now look into my eyes and tell me what you see. Atnimera looked deep into the dragons eyes, and though his eyes were the size of dinner plates. She immediately recognized them. They were indeed Snooters eyes. Slowly she felt the warmth sinking into her soul and she began to will him into his true body. She took the slips of paper on which the words that had saved her were written and she burned them on the altar in the blue magic flame. It was no worry to her now, she had memorized the words and they were held in her heart. As she stood there smiling the

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 253 smoke began to materialize into dragon muscled organs and scales. When the dragon was completely solid, he finally spoke again. My name is Barzan Notenried and I am the last dragon. I entombed myself when the rest of my people died. Then I took the form of a mole to await you. You are the one who was destined to bring me back to the world. I found you while you were a child and watched you. When I thought you would accept my companionship, I came to you as a friend. All I asked of you was to allow me to follow you, love you, and protect you, and eventually lead you here. But you didnt lead me here! I found my own way here from Molochs island. I escavated the opening and made my own way down here. It seems to me that you abandoned me when I was captured and took an easier route here on your own. She protested angrily. I am sorry that I had to leave you. I wish that you could have come with me on my path here. However, I couldnt allow myself to be caught by Moloch. He was your trial not mine. He would have killed me immediately and eaten me. Then my spirit would be lost and I would never live again. The darkness placed Moloch there to capture you and prevent you from achieving your destiny. It was your responsibility to make it the rest of the way to this sacred chamber. But how was I supposed to know how to get off that island and into the passage below. The opening to the stairs was well hidden and I only found it by chance. And now I am pregnant with Nosajs child. What about that? she questioned sternly. I cannot say about the child, that was not written, but the power inside you and the force of your fate guided you here. Can you remember how you found the cave leading to the stairs?

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 254 Certainly, I was sorting his treasure to keep myself from going mad of loneliness and boredom. I came across it when I was clearing an area on the floor and found a cave full of gold and treasure. She answered, still not understanding. And what pushed you to empty the hole of treasure and find out what lie beneath? he questioned further. My own curiosity I guess. I say no. I say it was your fate that inspired your curiosity. Atnimera was a little uncomfortable with all this talk of fate. She had heard much of that over the Mystics and Seers Council as a girl. She decided to change the subject since he had changed it when she asked about the child. She sensed that there was more to all this magic than bringing a dragon back to life. After all, there head been other prophecies about her that had not yet made their meaning known. Snooter, how did your people die? she asked suspecting that he was the reason for the enchantment in the Grand Verdant Timberland. Child, I love you dearly, but please do not call me Snooter anymore. Call me Barzan Notenried or at least Barzan. I will tell you the tale of the war that wiped my people out. Long, long, long ago, at the end of the known lands lie a sheer cliff face known by all as the Silver Saber. He begun, It was a vast black formation that stretched on for thousands of miles. It was impossible to pass for centuries, but over the years water cut a single path to the other side. The path was narrow and treacherous, but beyond it lie a vast desert world that most people believed was mere fantasy. A few brave travelers crossed the silver saber and came to the scorching dead desert lands.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 255 They made their way across the wasteland and found a second treacherous mountain range. Even those strong and brave enough to cross the deadly silver saber and then the sweltering heat of the desert, the new mountain range seemed impossible to pass. The treacherous journey from outside the silver saber to where the new mountains rested their feet was no preparation for what lie ahead. Nevertheless, some did make it through the wasteland and on into the danger of the new mountains known as the Impediment Peril Perapet. The Impediment Peril Parapet was said to be so infested with trolls and other vile things that dwell deep in the earth and only show themselves to surface dwellers to plunder and steal. There was little game on the trail over the mountains, making passage even more difficult. Beyond these troublesome perils are threatening caves. One might journey just inside a cave for shelter and then the mountains earth swallows them up never to be seen again. The Impediment Peril Parapet encircled a vast amount of land, surrounding it and making a basin. And for those brave enough to get that far, many wonders lived in the cradle of the basin. When the world was still young, though much time had passed already, the Danementian s lived in the basin on the shores of a huge freshwater sea called the Shimmering Hyaline. They lived in harmony with the smaller creatures that lived in the woods that the elves had named the Grand Verdant Timberland. The elves that lived and ruled the forest were close allies with the Danementians, the dwarves, and the Vhuen. Even the magnificent dragons lived in peace with the elves and Danementians as well as all the other races. The dragons had made a sacred vow not the feed on the livestock and not to prey on people. There was plenty of game in the land and there was no need for dragons to be malicious towards their smaller counterparts.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 256 In time, the population of the elves grew. Later the population of Danementians began to explode along with them, followed by dwarves and the Vhuen. Soon all the people began hunting more and more game in the forest. The civilizations of the Danementians and elves didnt grow many crops, nor was the livestock they had bred over the years was no longer enough to feed all the souls living in the area. The dragons began having difficulty finding enough food to feed their steady population. However, the dragons were honorable. For a long time, they endured the food storage, hoping that within a few generations the population growth would desist and then depreciate back too normal levels. Surely, the dragons thought, these people will have enough sense to stay within the bounds of their environment, especially since there was no where to migrate to. Nevertheless, the elves, Danementians, Vhuen, and Dwarves continued to let their populations grow. After a few generations, there was not enough food for any babies to be born to replace the elderly dragons when they died. The dragons hearts were saddened by the need to break their promise, but the Danementians, elves, Vhuen, and dwarves left the dragons little choice. They made the decision to survive. They began first to eat any livestock they could find, being careful that they never took more than they needed. The loss of livestock angered the people. The Danementians were first to strike against the dragons and soon the elves added their supplies, but not their forces to the growing war. The Dwarves followed suit next and sent their best warriors to help in the fight. The Vhuen were last to join and did so somewhat reluctantly. They sent hunting

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 257 parties out over the whole land and killed any dragon they were able to find. The dragons retaliated by striking back at the people persuiting them. A bitter and cruel war raged throughout the once peaceful land. The Danementian population dwindled with each passing year of the war. Soon there were few Danementian left in the world. There were also few dragons. The elves had not been overly involved in the war. Nevertheless, when a small band of a mere fifty Danementians left in the world and they suddenly disappeared all together. It was the same for the dwarves and the Vhuen. They fled into the caverns of the earth where dragons couldnt catch them. There they began to make their dwellings and soon it became their home. The clans that had moved underground seemed to have learned their lesson and they never let their populations exceed what the bounty of their environment could provide. They moved steadily deeper into the earth. The Danementians came upon a deserted settlement carved from the rocks. The settlement seemed filled with fine living quarters and seemed to be a comfortable place. They looked for someone to ask if they could stay, but all they found were people tied to columns speaking gibberish. The further they explored and found a library full of ancient wisdom lost to the world long ago. There were scribes there who protected the knowledge. When they finally got a scribe to stop long enough to speak to him, the scribe gave permission to settle in this ideal spot. They began searching for wisdom and learning the mysteries of their newfound lands. The elves, however, were unaware of the fate of their Danementian brothers. Their opinion began to change. Eventually they decided to take revenge. They were ignorant to the fact that the Danementians had fled into the earth. The elves were so sorrowful at the loss of their ally and sought revenge on the dragons for murdering people

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 258 they considered their brethren. They hunted nearly every dragon down until there was only one left. I was the one dragon left alive, Before I entombed myself here, I drew all my magic to me and cast an enchantment over the grand verdant timberland. My scales fell off me in a shower of silver that coated the leaves of the trees. Then I flew into a cave and made my way here. From then on, the elves were unable to exit their forests and all fashion of enchantments lurked there keeping anyone from rescuing captives from their prison forest. The elves had been accustomed to trading with their brethren in the forest. When they came to trade, they found out the hard way about the treachery that befell their kin. Many of them passed into the woods away from their settlements and never returned. Now, these elves were smart enough to realize that their neighbors couldnt have simply disappeared. Therefore they proclaimed that there was a curse on the woods. Those still with their families made their way over the Impediment Peril Parapet saying that someday someone would come and free their friends and lift the burden of sadness from their hearts. Until that day, they would never approach the forest again. Time passed, and pastures grew over where the settlement of the Danementians had been, and the forest reclaimed its share of the land as well. No one heard from the elves of the forest any elves that were lost looking for trade partners never returned to their families. Soon people forgot that the dragons were ever real. The people of the world soon forgot the elves of the grand verdant timberland as well as the Danementians, dwarves and Vhuen and most of all the dragons. The land was long uninhabited. The ancient ones had disappeared into the pages of time. Eras passed with only the plants and animals and some members of the fairy realm and of course the tree people. In time the land began to call new people to come

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 259 and take refuge in its bosom. New peoples began moving into the area. Among the settlers was a huge race of people rivaling the size of the grand ancient ones who had lived so long ago. These new people slowly began to cultivate the fertile land by the fresh water sea. They called themselves Brentanians. So what happens now? Atnimera asked softly, Are you going to take revenge on those who killed your people? No child, the time for war is long over. Come child its late let us sleep. Tomorrow we must go to the surface. With that final word, the lights of the great cavern were extinguished and the silence that followed didnt allow Atnimera to speak another word. Without using her shining stone, she unrolled her bedding between the front paws of the dragon, She tossed and turned restlessly and after some time she snuggled close to Barzan and fell asleep. She felt as if she had just fallen asleep when she woke. As suddenly as they had died, the magic lights sprang back to life again. Atnimera opened her eyes half expecting to find herself back on Molochs island, but instead she woke to Barzans long front paws on either side of her bed. Good morning Mera. Are you ready to face the light on the surface? he asked in a sly tone. I have always feared the surface, will I go blind in the light of the sun? No child, I am bringing you to the surface under the cover of night so the light is lessened and more gentle to your dim sighted eyes. Why do you fear the surface? You were born there. No, youre wrong I was born underground like all my siblings.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 260 No sweet child, your mother is not your mother, but your father is your father. You were born on the surface and sent down here to grow up until you were old enough to begin chasing your destiny. Your mother was a queen. You are just trying to make me feel better about the surface. How are we going to get there? You certainly cannot leave the way you came in and equally you cannot leave the way I came in. How are we to reach the surface so quickly from the earths heart? You will see. Now fill your pack and crawl up on my shoulders, just where they meet with the neck. You will be able to ride there easily. Atnimera worked quickly and soon was seated on Barzans shoulders. When he was sure she was steady, he lifted his wings and took flight straight up to the ceiling. He whipped along just below the ceiling and into a passage where the ceiling and the wall met. He flew skillfully through tight passage that twisted and turned and crossed each other once again, ever leading upwards to the surface from the center of the earth. All at once, the warm stagnant air in the caves fell away and they were flying through the sky above the forest. Barzan flew over the valleys hills and past groves and clearings far below. The full moon hung in the sky illuminating the vast green space below as Atnimera had never seen before. She was among the stars and yet she couldnt reach out and pluck them from the skies as she expected that she could. When some of the awe wore off, Atnimera began to ask questions, Is that the sun? I thought you were going to take me out in the darkness of the night. This light hanging in the sky is brighter than any light I have ever known. That is not the sun. They call that the moon. It is the light of the night and it grows and waned each month, becoming rich and full as it is now and then later thin and

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 261 sick and one night a month it is not there at all. The moon has a fickle heart. The land you see before you was once the grand verdant timberland. Now these woods are known as Silvercrest. The masses of moss you see clinging to the branches below causes the silver glow. That moss symbolizes the curse on all that live in those woods. You must go to them and learn what must be done to break the enchantment upon them. They will know how, just as my mole mind knew where to lead you and what must be done. Barzan stated. I will land in a clearing. Years ago there was a settlement just beyond the cover of the woods. Perhaps it is still inhabited. Barzan said as he began to circle the clearing that looked impossibly small for him to landing to Atnimera. Gracefully Barzan landed in the center of the clearing and lowered his head so that Atnimera could dismount. What am I to do now Barzan? I know nothing of elves. Atnimera asked troubled. I am not sure child. This is not my quest; it belongs to you alone. You must seek out the people of the forest and I cannot come with you. If anyone saw me here, they would surely kill me. I am sure that they have not forgotten who imprisoned them here. I will never be far from you. I will always watch over you. I will hide in the woods and shadow your every step. I cannot help you with this portion of your fate, but I swear that if you are attacked and in need of my protection, you need only call for me. I must hide myself now where no one can see me. This is the only help I can offer you. Barzan nestled his head under Atnimeras arm in a sort of embrace and then he flew out into the night and into hiding somewhere unseen.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 262 Atnimera stood alone in the clearing clutching her growing belly unable to move, unable to breathe. She had to go somewhere, but where. She turned her eyes to the stars and remembered that the light was with her always.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 263 A short teaser of Book # 2 Silvercrest

Silvercrest

Atnimera stood alone in the clearing, and being that it was her first trip outside the confines of eternal stone, she felt odd being outside. The landscape was bright like thousands of candles had been lit only these lamps were on the ceiling instead of on the walls. Of course there were no walls of safety here. She looked up at all the bright lights and thought about how shed tried to escape her fate that the Danementians had forced on her. She was now at the surface despite her best efforts to avoid it. She wondered at it all as she staggered at the openness of it all. She was outside the protection of the earth and she didnt know which way to go. Though the moon and stars gave her more than enough light to navigate with, she pulled out her shining stone containing her grandfathers spirit from her pouch to bask in the comfort of its glow. Atnimera decided that she was too uncomfortable under the broad skies and soon longed for the safety of a closed in space. She began to make her way into the woods, not knowing where it was she was going, but with hope in her heart that she would find the ancient city here that Barzan had known. She thought of using her gift from Earh, the maze master. It was a magical compass, but what good is it to know which way is north when you dont know where you are going? So she left it in her pouch and continued on with out specific direction. Once under the arms of the trees, her heart was calmed and she felt a little better as she began to make her way through the forest. She felt that Barzan wasnt far away,

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 264 but she couldnt help but wonder how far off he was and where he was watching her from. Soon Atnimera was far from the clearing where they had landed and already direction was lost to her. She was unsure of the length of the night and day on the surface and which it was right now. Barzan had said it was night, but the light was magnificent, perhaps this was day. She was confused. She certainly thought it bright enough to be daytime, but if this was night, she could tell by the light of the disk in the sky that shed be blinded and helpless as soon as the sun hung itself in the sky. She immediately began searching for a place to wait out the dark of night or bright of day. Everything in this land was foreign to her. The trees seemed to her like great stone pillars in the caves where she was raised, set there to hold up the ceiling. She indeed wondered if the trees held up the sky, but she knew that was false. Barzan had already flown her high above their canopy. Strange things grew all around her. They were soft and subtle unlike the fungus and minerals found underground. Not only were the growths soft, she had never seen so much green in all her life. Everything seemed to be green somewhere. Atnimera had traveled successfully enough in the past and she had begun to trust her own instincts about this New World she found herself in contention with. This was a world full of new sights and smells to delight and confuse her senses. Atnimera noticed that she was low on water and was beginning to get thirsty. Though shed never known these lands, she caught the scent of freshwater on the breeze and immediately moved towards the smell. She followed her senses and soon found herself at the center of a grove of trees with red fruit on it and with a spring directly in the center of the trees protection. Stones had been set about the spring to form a shallow pool.

 Breedheen ORilley 2003 Of Dragons Fate: Emergence 265 Atnimera was very thirsty. She had had no new water since she had left the horrors of Molochs island. She saved the last of her mineral water from the island in a small skin not knowing if it might be valuable later. She drank greedily and filled the remainder of her skins with water from the pool. The water was cool and clear; free from the heavy mineral taste shed become accustomed to during her imprisonment. The grove seemed safe enough, so she undressed and began to clean herself up. She was outgrowing the dress she had been wearing, but she had another one ready in her pack. She washed her long hair in the spring and put it up in a bun. Seeming to have nothing further to offer her, she grabbed a few unripe apples that she didnt know that she shouldnt eat. She moved away from the spring and back into the body of the woods. As she walked along, she began to eat the fruit shed taken from the grove, realizing that she was as hungry as shed been thirsty. She had not traveled far on the sour fruit when her stomach began to cramp and ache. What was worse, an unbelievably bright light began to come up over the horizon. She knew that it could only mean that dawn and daylight was approaching and with it blindness. She moved more quickly despite her protesting guts, searching fervently for a safe place to hide. She sought some sort of safety from the light, but she found none. The light continued to come over the horizon and grew in brightness and warmth. Atnimera continued on hoping for safety, until the sun was so high that she could see it no more. She stubbornly stumbled forward until she fell over on her face. Though she had lost the strength to stand, she was determined to find safety and continued on. She was crawling through the low-lying plants on the forest floor. Finally the pain from the heat and brightness was so great that she could go no further and lost consciousness.