Kemryr
“Brother?”
My eyes were adjusting to the light. There was only a little of it, but where I had been there was none at all. Not one moment had anything but a veil of black appeared before my eyes, nor did any scent reach my nose or sound reach my ears. All of my senses were being overloaded with sensations I had forgotten were even possible. Squinting, I looked towards the rough voice that I had heard, all while continuing to try and figure out whether all of this was real or not.
“What’s happened?” I asked.
I received no answer for a short while, silence accompanying me as the two blurs before me seemed to grow larger. Allowing the veils over my adjusting eyes to slowly lift, I began to make out what appeared to be the shapes of two people approaching me.
“My love,” someone said as I felt a soft, slender hand try to grasp my own.
I recoiled at the sensation of being touched. Despite my reaction the comely shape before me reached out again. This time I allowed whoever it was to grab hold of my hand, the person squeezing it in a comforting grip.
“My love, it’s me,” the female voice said. “You do remember me, don’t you?”
The images before me became clearer and, just as I began to see the features on her face, the woman’s voice sent vibrations throughout my entire body as I recalled who it belonged to. Pulling her towards me, I grasped hold of her face with my free hand and kissed her. I leaned back just enough so I could look into her green eyes, their feral nature giving rise to emotions and urges I had long believed extinct.
“Otti,” I said softly.
She smiled, however I swiftly noticed the amount of energy it required for her to do so. Panic set in. I lowered her gently and laid her on the soft ground, kneeling beside her before moving her sable hair from her face.
“What’s wrong? Did someone hurt you?” I instantly began examining her body for any injuries, eventually spotting a winding scar that wrapped around her forearm. The sight of the pale red marking slithering up my beloved’s arm sent me into a rage. I looked around for the one responsible until my eyes landed on the most possible culprit. “You!”
Ulred’s eyes opened wide as I lunged at him as a sword appeared out of shadows that emanated from my palm, the blade’s tip pointed at his throat. My brother did nothing to stop me, standing tall with his amber gaze staring right through me.
“Go on,” he said. “I deserve it. I failed to stop them from sending you away.”
This was not my brother. He was too...calm. I was expecting a battle that would make the very world shake to its core, but instead I held the master of fire himself at my mercy. He had been responsible for the damage to Otti, there was no mistaking it. Only one of us could leave a mark like that.
“Oh you deserve it,” I told him. “But not for that. You hurt Otti. Why?”
“She threatened me. So I gave her a reminder that to do so was not very wise.” Ulred looked over at the hand that was grabbing his neck, the pale red scales that ran all over it and up my forearm visible in the dull glow of night. “You know better than most that she’s lucky with what she received for such a thing.”
“I’m supposed to just be okay with you marking her?” I asked.
Ulred cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t even try to tell you how to feel. But at least you know that my intentions were to leave a warning, not a corpse. She is my sister after all.”
I grimaced before looking back at Otti, her pale chest rising and falling slowly. “Did you do this to her too?”
I felt someone moving the dark blade away from the place I had it and looked back to see Ulred softly ushering it away from his neck. “No. She was willing to die if it meant bringing you back. She almost did. Luckily, I arrived in time to make sure that she remained alive for your reunion.”
“Thank you, brother.” I allowed the black sword in my hand to dissipate into a grey mist that blew away in the wind. “You thought I would kill you when I returned, and you still helped her?”
Ulred extended his arms outward. “My life means nothing since I chose it over yours. It was wrong what they did to you, and I should have stopped it.”
This truly wasn’t the being I remembered. I stared at him while I questioned whether this was real once more, but I told myself it must have just been a long time and the epiphany had me lunging at Ulred once more. This time I embraced him. “Why would I kill someone I have missed for so long over such a thing? It was me that told you to stand down, Ulred. You’ve been nothing but loyal. My fight is with others, not you.”
A small smile could be seen through his dark, messy beard when I pulled away from him, causing me to return the expression with a smile of my own. Ulred’s gaze drifted to look over my shoulder and I remembered why I had been so angered. I spun around to go back to Otti and found a disgusting creature kneeling next to her.
“You stay away from her!” I shouted as I charged over to the beast and watched as it scrambled away in fear.
The pathetic things always believed they were so powerful, but they always cowered when true strength showed itself. I went to step over Otti to get to the filthy thing that dared come near my love when I felt her grab my ankle.
“It’s fine,” she said. “That’s Iver. It’s a long story, but he helped bring you back.”
I gave her a look that I hoped would show my intense confusion and repulsion of the notion that a human helped in my release.
“What? They have their uses. That special little gift Father gave them makes the little beasts so easy to manipulate.” Otti smiled again, the action draining her even more.
I looked back at the man that was shaking in fear on the ground, before kneeling over Otti and resting my hand on her chest, resisting the urge to allow my fingers to explore the body I had missed so dearly. A dark mist surrounded my hand as I watched my love recover, her flesh regaining its usual pale pink hue. Her eyes seemed brighter and her lips went from a pale blue to the enticing soft red, the sight bringing back fond memories I thought lost to the void.
“Better?” I asked.
“Very much so,” Otti said with a smile.
I stood up before I extended my hand, Otti grasping it as I lifted her onto her feet. She embraced me tightly, using her newfound energy to express her elation more appropriately. I pushed her away gently after a few moments of blissful comfort passed us by.
“Tell me how this...Iver...helped.” I demanded.
Otti wove a tale describing how she had gathered a group of malleable beings and ushered them into completing the tasks she had been given before I was imprisoned. She told me of how The Seven remade her so that Father could not use her again, and how it had been nearly two centuries since the day we were separated from each other. Eventually she reached the point where Iver had been given feint leadership of the group she called The Black Light, and how he had carried out the needed tasks better than anyone before him. I sensed a notion of affection for this human in her tone and it made me hate him even more. On went the tale until a battle at one of the human cities was the main plot, followed by their defeat and the coming days afterwards.
“So you see,” Otti said, “while humans are painfully horrid, they can be of some use every now and then.”
“Come here.” My beckoning of Iver seemed to surprise Otti, but she moved aside to make way for the sniveling creature to come forward.
“Kemryr.” The man swiftly knelt before me and sent his eyes to the dirt under him. “I must say that I am very happy to see you free.”
I looked at him for a moment before making my decision. “I doubt that.”
After taking one step forward, I grabbed hold of his hair, and raised him to his feet as he squealed like the little beast he was. I wanted to have his eyes look into mine but they were closed, which prompted me to shake his head violently so he would open them. Tears fell down his cheeks and I shook my own head in disgust.
“Pathetic,” I declared.
I extended my free hand towards his neck and dug my fingers into his flesh. Muscle and skin gave way under my grasp and the warmth of his weak blood erupted onto my hand. I forced my hand into a fist, grabbing hold of a chunk of meat and ripped downward. The sound of tearing flesh filled the clearing we were in as his body released itself from his head and collapsed to the ground. I released his head, his eyes frozen in place with the surprised and fear-filled expression on his face still present, and turned around to face my siblings.
“No more humans,” I announced. “We don’t need them.”
A male voice broke the short bit of silence I had secured. “Well if you don’t need us could you do me a favor and just let me go? See, this barmaid back in Rayodyn promised me a good time when I strolled into town next and if you got a look at her you’d understand my need to keep her an honest woman.”
I caught Otti smirk while she shook her head in disbelief. I turned around to see another man standing next to Iver’s corpse, poking at the severed head with his boot
“And you are?” I asked.
“Sigurd!” the man exclaimed. “Prince of Thieves and former King of Skeida thanks to this dead prick’s piss poor battle strategy. Oh and I guess I’m a member of The Black Light too. If you’re going to thank me the same way you thanked Iver for bringing you back, don’t bother. I’m not one for proper manners anyways.”
I sighed. “I can’t tell if you’re brave or just very dull.”
Otti came to stand next to me, slithering her slender arm under mine before leaning into me so her head rested on my shoulder. “Oh please don’t kill this one. Quite an interesting little thing he is. Much more than Iver. He reminds me of you from time to time.”
Sigurd smirked. “Unlike Iver, I actually would still have some use too. That is, if you wouldn’t mind a human sticking around.”
The man spoke and you could not help but listen. There was something about him that, surprisingly, had him still breathing.
“And how would you be useful to me?” I asked.
“Well,” he said as he kicked Iver’s head hard, sending the round ball of flesh and bone into a small hole nearby, “you haven’t been around in a while. Otti’s told me of your grand plan to wipe us all out, humans that is, and I figure you could use some help with that. See, I know this world. I know how humans think and I’d like to say I’m pretty damn capable when it comes to ending life. I could be an advisor of sorts. One that gets all the sex and ale he can stomach in return for his information.”
I didn’t understand this man. “Why help me, knowing what I plan to do?”
Sigurd sent another smirk my way and winked. “There are some humans I’d like to see dead before my time is up in this world. Figure helping you is the best way to see that happen.”
“You won’t live much longer than them,” I said.
Sigurd raised his eyebrows and nodded. “That may be true, but so long as I live longer than them, I’m content. So, what’ll it be? Am I helping you or are you turning around and letting me get a head start towards my gorgeous barmaid, Teira...or was it Meira?”
I looked down at Otti to find her looking up at me longingly. Casting my eyes over to Ulred, who had now come to stand on my other side, saw me receive a curt nod. I sighed, knowing that I would soon regret this decision, but I took solace in knowing I could kill him the moment he proved useless. “Very well. I see there are others of your kind over there, cowering like their former leader. You can start proving to me just how useful you are by killing them. I will speak with you later.”
“Looking forward to it.” Sigurd exaggerated a bow before pivoting and spinning around, making his way towards the filth I had ordered him to remove.
I looked around to survey our surroundings better, wishing to revel in my freedom a bit. The sky was lit by the moon in its fullest form and the stars that forever surrounded it. They both cast a ghastly glow onto the surrounding creations of my sister Sorku, their leaves glinting in the soft silver light. Beneath us was the runic stave Orlog had shown Otti and I the last time we had seen each other. It appeared to be burnt into the ground, as if the magic it had harnessed had been lit aflame at some point. A cool breeze brought my eyes back up to the sky and I allowed the smells that it carried to fill me. This was such a wonderful creation we had all made. It was painful to know what Father had allowed humans to do to it.
Otti hugged my arm tightly as I began to walk forward, aiming for a fallen tree that I intended to use as a seat. I put my hand on Ulred’s shoulder and insisted he follow, the three of us walking together in a way I had long thought impossible. Being next to Ulred brought back memories of the times before this world lost its balance, and the recollections of our time spent together caused a smile to stretch across my face. They may not have all been wonderful moments, the markings on my arm stood as proof of that, but he was the only one out of The Four that ever truly cared for me. Walking with Otti so close to me brought forward memories of a more intimate nature and I removed my arm from her grasp so I could put it around her, softly caressing her side before sliding my hand down to her hip. I caught her biting her lip before I leaned over to kiss her.
We reached our destination and I beckoned for Ulred and Otti to sit with me as Sigurd’s voice travelled across the clearing. He was mocking his kills as he cut through them, insisting he would have more of a challenge slaughtering goats. As we sat I caught sight of the man on the other side of the clearing stalking an injured human who was crawling away from him. The man had little regard for the life of his people and it pleased me to see; perhaps he would be useful. I expressed my thoughts to those seated at either side of me.
“I promise you he will continue to be of use,” Otti said. “He’s loyal to me, and so he is loyal to you.”
“Loyalty isn’t going to help us,” Ulred said.
I looked over at my brother as he stared at Sigurd and the other humans intently. Otti inquired what he meant, and he grunted before a small wave of heat rushed over me. He seemed upset, but he was doing a much better job at controlling his anger than he used to. After a short moment of silence, Ulred sighed and answered Otti’s question.
“It isn’t enough,” he said. “You, Kemryr, me, and a loyal human. A formidable force sure, but it will not contend with the might of humans and those of our siblings that would aid them. Say what you wish about what they have done to this world, but they are not as weak as you would imagine. They are also not as divided as you remember, having come together in the centuries you have been gone. Even if we decide to keep The Seven alive and enlist them to help us, they are weakened by this peace and harmony the humans have developed. We need help, as much as you wish to believe otherwise.”
I was surprised. I had thought Otti would have gathered others to our cause. I knew that there were some of my family that were not happy with what the others and Father had done to me, so to find that they would not stand with me was frustrating.
“Stryd denies us?” I asked. ”What of Sorku and Rodyra? Surely they know what damage the humans cause to that which they care so deeply for.”
Otti put her head on my shoulder. “No one will stand against Father. They see you as one of our strongest, and so when he sent you away fear took them. I felt it, my love. I tried over the years to persuade them, but none would come. Ulred was the only one I felt I could rely on being here when you returned, and even he refused to assist me in fear of Father.”
I kissed the top of Otti’s head. “Yes, but I am here now and that is all that matters. So what do we do?”
Otti moved closer in to me, and I hugged her with the arm I had draped over her shoulder, my fingers instinctively brushing against her chest, the sensation of her skin touching mine calming me just as it always had. She giggled softly, burrowing her face into my neck before her lips pressed against the spot just under my jaw. She kissed up to my ear while I stared ahead, lost in thought and trying my hardest to not leap onto her. Just before I could not restrain myself anymore, she bit my ear softly and whispered something inside it.
“Create your own allies,” she suggested.
I moved away from her quickly, causing her to fall towards me. I insisted that this was not possible, and was forced to say what Otti had so foolishly suggested out loud to inform Ulred. The support I expected from my brother was not found, a hand on his bearded chin and a contemplating hum performed instead. I couldn’t believe it. “You’re not actually dignifying this with a thought, are you? I can’t Ulred. He’ll know and then ―”
“You’ll encounter Father eventually,” Ulred said. “No doubt he knows you’re free. Why not have more support for when he does inevitably show himself? I say do it.”
While absorbing Ulred’s words I took a look back at Otti again, my beautiful love displaying an encouraging grin that warmed my heart and filled me with confidence. I had never done this before, in all my years I had never made something on my own. I began to wonder what would be the most helpful in carrying out my plan and I chuckled when I discovered the answer. I kissed Otti and roughly patted Ulred on his arm before standing and taking a few steps away from them both. Taking a deep breath, I used a knife of my making to cut open my side. I reached into my own middle, my fingers stretching my skin apart before my hand explored inward. My hand grabbed hold of a thin, long bone. I took another long, deep breath before yanking hard at the rib I had chosen and grunted at the pain that the action caused. Creations were made from their creator, usually from one's saliva or hair. Father had told me how he had used his rib for me and so I found it fitting to use the same part to make my own creation, only I would use my blood as well.
With one hand busy holding a blood-covered bone, I used the other to heal the wound I had made. I stepped forward and insisted Otti lend some of herself to this creation of mine, and so she plucked three strands of her hair from her head. She wound each strand around the bloodied bone, licking her blood-stained fingers when she was done. I firmly held the bloody object in both my hands and began to grind it into dust. I felt my body tingle as my power began to pulse, dark shadows surrounding my hands and the bone within them. The dust was black as the night sky above, but it still shone brightly while it fell to the dirt at my feet, sparkling like thousands upon thousands of tiny sable stars. As the dark, glinting dust fell, it slowly began to pile into the miniature version of what I had planned to create. Soon the body of a female was noticeable, her shape comely and strong just like her mother’s.
Once there was no more bone to grind, I slowly knelt and blew on the shining sculpture heavily with one big gust of my breath sending the soft glow bursting into a dark purple light. The violet glare filled the clearing completely the moment my breath touched the statue’s surface, and it vanished just as quickly. However, instead of a small dark statue that barely reached halfway up my shin, there stood a female similar to my own height. She had hair that was such a deep purple it appeared black, and her skin was a soft blue which appeared almost white in the low silver glow of the moon. Her eyes were a bright violet, the purple spheres frantically looking around at the new world she had been birthed into.
She stared at me, then I noticed her staring at Ulred and Otti behind me. Looking down at her naked body caused a dress quite similar to the shade of her hair color to fall onto her and cover a fair amount of her exposed skin. She grinned as she turned and swayed, watching the magical cloth flow in the wind she caused by moving her body the way she did. I cleared my throat to get her attention and bent down to pick up a flower that lay dead in the dirt next to my foot. She seemed confused when I handed her the dead plant, that confusion turning to amazement as she watched the flower rise back to life in her hand. It was discolored and certainly not as appealing in its previous life, but it was indeed alive again.
My creation inspected the flower intently, before laughing as she witnessed it wilt away into mud. She looked at me with glee and squished the muck that covered her hand as I beckoned her over to where I had killed that ugly beast. Once there, I pointed to the headless corpse.
“Go on,” I said.
I couldn’t help but smile as Ulred and Otti came to stand next to me, the two of them watching my new creation with heightened focus, curious of what she was going to do. Having knelt next to the body with no head, she dug her nails into its chest, her thumb making a mark under the other four marks the rest of her fingers left behind. The skin split from the cut her thumb made and sprouted up until it split to connect with the small slits made by the other four of her fingers, creating an odd tree looking shape. The corpse’s neck stump began to shiver while the rest of its body shuddered and shook. With a loud squish the bloodied muscle and skin that remained from removing its head burst and out came a new one, but this was not like the original.
Out of the body came a head that was mainly bone, with molded flesh scattered about it. The eyes glowed a bright purple like my creation’s did and the hue of the creature was a dark shade of grey which made it appear to be stone and not meat. The creature let out a resounding cry, a screech that caused us all to wince at the sound of it. The female I had made stood and raised her hand, the ugly creature she had brought to life rising with her.
“Brother, what did you do?” Ulred asked.
I turned around and grabbed the hand of my first creation. “Ulred, Otti, allow me to introduce you to this world’s newest creation. She can take what is alive and make it dead just like anyone else can, but as you can see she can also make what is dead be alive once more. This is mine and Otti’s daughter. Adara.”
“She’s beautiful.” Otti quickly made her way over to Adara and embraced her as I stepped towards Ulred.
“Tell Sigurd to bring together the corpses of the humans he’s killed so they can be made into Adara’s creations. Help him track down those who managed to get away. We can get more as we draw closer to the town.”
Ulred looked at me with a dumbfounded look on his face. “That’s why you made her. You want an army of those things don’t you.”
“You said we needed help, and so I have provided some. Go on now, tell Sigurd. I’ve waited long enough for my revenge and I will not wait any longer than I have to.”
Ulred nodded and mumbled to himself as he began his small journey over to Sigurd and the other humans. Otti and Adara came to me, each one sliding under one arm and embracing me. I hugged them back as a tear fell down my cheek; the sensation was one I had wanted since I was created. Otti pulled herself up so she could kiss me before escaping my grasp and pulling Adara away with her.
“So what’s next?” Otti spun around in a blissful display of glee.
“Can I practice my powers some more?” Adara sent a sly grin my way and I knew that I had done well in creating her.
I stepped forward and grabbed her hands to hold them between my own. “My dear daughter, you will have all the practice you want.”
“Please tell me we’re going somewhere other than this place. I’ve grown quite tired of it.” Otti pouted and batted her eyes at me while Adara expressed her excitement to see more of this world.
“We have no reason to stay here,” I said. “Adara, go to Ulred, he has some gifts for you.”
Adara retrieved her hands from Otti and me and ran off to the small pile of corpses Sigurd had created. I kissed Otti and held her face in my hands.
“Let us go to the place where I was betrayed.”
