The Fall of Askabar

Amalliey was silent as they headed toward the city. She looked to Lynn. She thought of the sound of her dagger slicing through the man’s flesh. She gripped onto the horn of the saddle as they continued up the mountain. She was a white mage. That is what her mother had always told her. White mages don’t take life, they protect life. We never hurt those that are living. That is an oath spoken long ago by the ancient mages, we are not meant for battle, we are meant to mend. These words were spoken by Elanor years ago when Amalliey was a young child, during one of her first lessons from her mother.

The day seemed to meld into the night as they came upon the village. It seemed to Amalliey that she’d blinked and they sat at the table next to Renna. She looked to the woman as she asked the question. “Oh…” Amalliey took in a breath, “I…my name is Amalliey.” She spoke, her voice was soft, she’d been lost in her swirling thoughts.

Renna looked over Amalliey for a moment, a look of awe in her eyes. “What is your last name child?” She asked then. Amalliey hesitated a moment, she glanced to Lynn. She then looked back to the woman. Just as she was about to speak the woman grinned. “You’re Amalliey Liane Zowrey. Are you not? The Princess of Askabar.” She chuckled. “I knew those eyes as soon as you walked in. I know….” She then paused and furrowed her brows. “Knew, Elanor….” Renna paused a moment. “I have heard what happened in Askabar. What King Jonathan did is….” She let out a slow breath.

“Unforgivable.” Amalliey spoke.

Renna rose her brows when she heard the tone from the princess. Strength behind her words. She then looked to Lynn. “The demon he rose is the Gate Lord from nearly a thousand years ago, if it can not be stopped, it will spell the end of this world as we know it, everything will be engulfed in flames, those who do survive will become slaves to Trichondris.”

“We aim to stop him, and to stop the king.” Amalliey spoke.

Renna watched Amalliey for a long moment, she then gave a nod. “I can only pray to the maker that you do, child.” She searched her eyes. “He is capable of horrible things, I’ve gotten word that demon soldiers have destroyed Alexandria, not many survived…”

Amalliey looked down slightly, the thought of all the lives that were lost. “We will.” She nodded. She then looked around, “May I rest?” She asked then, abruptly.

Renna took in a breath and then glanced to Lynn a moment before she looked back to the princess. “Of course, dear.” She stood. “Come.” She led the two from the gathering hall they moved through the small town and to a little log cabin that had two small beds and a tiny wood burning stove. She arranged a few logs and then the wood lit aflame. “There.” She gave a gentle smile. She paused. “Lynn. Could I speak with you?” She asked and then glanced to the princess a moment. “I have a few questions about what happened.” She led Lynn away and into an old cabin. It had bookshelves and old furniture. This was Renna’s home. It was beautiful, well kept. Even the old wooden floors were kept up with a glossy wax finish. “Is it true…did you raise him?” She asked and looked Lynn in her eyes. “Was the princess supposed to be the sacrifice? Elanor took her place?” She poured two glasses of tea from a steaming tea kettle and offered one to Lynn. “Sit, please, tell me everything, Archmage…”

**

Amalliey sat down on the edge of the bed. She lay back as she listened to the crackling of the fire. Her mind ran circles around itself as she thought of what may happen, the different outcomes. She took in quick breaths and shut her eyes. “I can’t let everyone down.” She whispered.

She began to feel dizzy. Her breath caught in her chest. She tried to sit up but she felt as though she was buried under a mile of stone. She let out a cry, but silence filled the air around her. The only sound she could hear was that of her heart racing. Then suddenly an intense heat surrounded her. Flames. Amalliey was finally able to open her eyes. Smoke surrounded her. The air stuck in her lungs. She held her hand up. “Lynn…” She breathed as flames licked around her. She ran forward and burst through a glass pane window and tumbled out and into the ground below. She let out a cry as she landed on the street.

“Sorry.” A voice spoke. A familiar voice. “My calculation was a bit off.” A shy laugh came from a hooded figure. “Come on.”

Amalliey was grabbed and pulled to her feet. The world around them was in ruins. Amalliey glanced to the building that was burning that she’d fallen out of. She was pulled through the city. Shoved against walls suddenly into the shadows as a soldier walked passed. The demon soldiers. Clad in armor, they all appeared to be generals, heavy armor with red eyes. She was pulled along and down into a catacomb where they zig zagged along through sewers that smelled horrible. Amalliey gagged a few times as they sprinted along, her wrist clutched by the cloaked stranger. They moved through a heavy metal doorway then and the stranger pulled her along. People moved about down here, their clothing tattered. Some were crying with bandages.

“Where are we?” Amalliey questioned. “What’s happened?”

“Failure.” The cloaked figure responded.

Amalliey furrowed her brows. “Failure?”

The cloaked figure didn’t respond as she was pulled through what looked like an underground city. Though, it wasn’t anywhere Amalliey or…anyone she knew would ever want to live. “We have been forced to live her.” The cloaked figure spoke. “Our world is gone.” She moved through the catacombs and into a room that had an old desk in it, bookcases lined the walls. The woman lowered her cloak then.

Amalliey raised her brows and stared to her with surprise. Her facial features. It was her. She felt like she was looking in a mirror. “Wh-who are you?”

The woman gave a nod. “I can imagine how strange this must be.” She spoke as she moved and sat at the desk. “I am you. Just as you are me…” She let out a slow sigh. “Though, you are Princess Amalliey.” She smiled, “There is no kingdom in this world, nothing to fight for except for life, though even that has become a numb feeling, hopeless and lost.”

“What do you mean?” Amalliey furrowed her brows. “How are you me?”

The woman shook her head. “So young, naïve…” She scoffed. “Amalliey, sit down.” She stared into her eyes. “You failed, I failed. The path that you follow, it is the same. This world that you see? This is your future. This is what will come of your world.”

Amalliey sat down, she could see in the shadowed room that there was a deep scar along her future self’s neck, she had cuts and scrapes on her hands. She’d been through a lot. “H-How?”

“I finally cracked the spell to summon you to my time, we don’t have much time. You need to understand what will happen if you continue like you have. You are weak. You will ultimately cost lives. Those closest to you will pay dearly for your weakness. The loss of them will only break you down further. Trichondris…” She shook her head. “He controls all of the dragons, even Ryuk. He captured me, years ago. He figured it out, he figured out how to rip Ryuk from my soul, how to break the bond. And with it, most of my magic was stolen. It has taken me years to recover enough to summon you to my time…”

“Where is Lynn?” Amalliey asked, her voice soft, her eyes didn’t break from the woman.

“Gone.” She spoke softly. “I was too weak. I was captured…Lynn vanished…no one has been able to find her, she tried to free me from the chamber that Trichondris held me in and she burst into light, like embers, she floated away in particles. He set a trap, he knew she would come. He will use everything against you.”

Amalliey took in a quick breath. Tears began to well in her eyes. “This…this is all my fault…” She whispered.

“Yes.” The voice was cold. “It is. It will happen again if you don’t learn.” She reached forward and placed her hand on the side of Amalliey’s face. “This is my last hope.” The woman whispered.

Amalliey stared into her eyes. A white light began to surround the woman until her body was engulfed in the light. Amalliey took in quick breaths, she couldn’t move. She watched as the woman began to break into particles that moved forward and collided with her body. It felt as though she was on fire. Amalliey let out a cry.

Suddenly Amalliey sat up, her cry ricocheted off the walls of the tiny cabin. Her mind was flooded with the memories of her future self. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She held her hand to her head which was throbbing. She glanced around the room as her chest heaved as though she’d run a marathon. Her eyes glowed bright white for a moment before it finally dulled into the ocean blue. The sounds of the room slowly returned to her, she could hear a gentle wind from the storm outside as snow fell quickly. How long had she been unconscious? The fire still crackled in the fireplace. She glanced around the room. “Lynn?” She asked. “Lynn…I…I saw…”

She took in a deep breath, calming herself. She shook her head. “I need to show you something.” She moved to Lynn’s side. She reached forward and then suddenly they were sucked into a trance like state where Amalliey led them into a creation of the future.

Amalliey stood in the middle of town square in Askabar. Demon soldiers marched around, bodies lay on the streets. The sky was red like that of flames, smoke swirled into the air. “This…is the future, Lynn.” She spoke, she looked to the dragons as they flew about. Ryuk shot flames into a building full of people. “Trichondris stripped Ryuk from me, he took control of all of the dragons as soon as I freed them. He captured me, and he set a trap for you that ultimately…killed you…no one is certain.” She spoke. Her voice was wise. Swirls of blue ran down her forearms. “He took my magic, and he thought he killed me when he threw me over a cliff.” The surroundings changed. Amalliey lay, her body beaten and broken at the edge of a stream. She stood quietly as she watched two refugees lifting her body and pulling her away. “The people that remain in the world that aren’t slaves are hidden away.” The world around them morphed and changed again. They appeared in the underground city. “This is where they took me, in hopes that I could change something.” She looked to Lynn. “In hopes I could end the hell in which they now lived. It took years for me to even be able to regain enough energy to heal the wounded refugees…I studied and found as many pages of old books as I could. I managed to grab books from burnt remains and after years…I was finally able to connect with the past, to summon Amalliey to this time. Lynn…the path can not remain the same.” She spoke and the world faded from around them. “This can’t happen.” She shook her head. The glow on her arms remained. She was stronger, wiser. “I can’t lose everyone again.” She spoke. “We can’t fail, again.” She whispered this, her hand moved from Lynn’s arm and she let out a slow breath.