Shadow Worlds and Chaos Lights

"IT'S DONE! The boy got the message; at least I left it with him." Ricven was tiredly leaning against the cave wall and looking even paler than usual. "But I can't promise that he got it; the barrier was doing a very good job at keeping me away."

As the other four rushed to his side he held up his left arm for them all to see; his hand, all the way to the elbow, was covered with third degree burns and the skin on his upper arm was red and blistered; it was no question that it would have met the same fate as the rest of his arm if he hadn't pulled back in time.

Tana gasped and a worried look marred his perfect features as he saw his friend's burnt skin. "That looks horrible! Does it hurt much, Ric?" He reached out and put a hand on Ricven's shoulder trying to send some of the healing energy he inherited from his father into him. The fae smiled a forced but kind smile. "Only when I move it; don't worry, angel. It will heal in time. Besides, it's a small price to pay if it means we have a chance to get out of here."

The angel-spawn bit his lip, trying to think of a kind way to say what he wanted to say and then settled for the straight approach; "But you're not sure that he actually got it?"

Ricven sighed. "No, I'm not, or how much of it that actually reached him. I guess if we want to be really sure, I can always do it again." "No!" As if those words had been her cue, Idin exploded: "I forbid you!" The vampire's eyes glowed dangerously, her anger getting fuel from her fear. "Look at your arm! You could have been crippled for life, or even have died, and for what? A plan we don't even know will work? You haven't even healed yet, and you're already suggesting you should do it again!" "I have to! You know I'm the only one that can reach through the..." Ricven started, but Idin interrupted him again. "No, Ric! We don't want to lose you, too..." she went silent, the word 'too' still hanging in the air.

Ric caressed her cheek with his uninjured hand. "I know, I miss him also but isn't it partly for his sake we're doing this? Because he asked us?"

Idin sighed but nodded, "For Andrin then."

Andrin had been one of them, a member of their little family. He had been a human child with eyes that could see the shadow worlds, hidden from the mortals, and a bright and innocent soul that shone brighter than the sun, the moon and all the stars together. The whole thing with how Andrin had come to live with them was in fact a mystery in itself. None of them knew where the boy had come from, just that he had been there one day, standing at the opening of the cave they used as a home, a lonely boy, no more than two or three years old, hundreds of miles from the closest civilisation.

Despite the fact that such a young child should have been terrified by being left alone and most likely would have cried for his parents, the boy hadn't been frightened at all instead he had beamed at the five beings, startling them because back then they had been certain that the boy couldn't see them at all, and had run towards them, arms wide open, giggling with joy as if they were old friends that hadn't seen each other in a long time.

And on the boy's t-shirt, a note had been pinned.


This is my son Andrin.

For almost two years I have had visions of me leaving my son here in the mountains for someone to find him.
That his destiny was separated from mine.
I tried to fight against it but I know I have to do what the visions told me though it's not with an easy heart.
His father wasn't human so know I can't keep him here with me in the human world.
But still a mother can never easily give away her only son no matter how great the cause.

So I beg you. Please, be you God or Goddess, take care of him!

Blessed be

Selene Ortus


And so it had been. None of the five beings had ever claimed themselves to be gods or goddesses but they had taken him in, and it hadn't been long before he had become their little boy, their son, a light in their darkness.

They had never found the boy's real mother, though they had looked for her everywhere, and when the boy asked about his parents, they simply told him that his mother was a powerful witch, and that she loved him very much. About his father they could only tell him what the letter had said, that he wasn't human.

And the years had gone by. Their little boy grew up, passed through childhood, became a teenager and finally, a handsome young man, with emerald-green sparkling eyes, soft dark-brown hair and a warm gentle smile. Those had been happy years in the underworld, days filled with laughter and joy, and then one day, just before Andrin's nineteenth birthday, Skye had appeared.

Skye had had the face of an angel, eyes like melted gold and his body had been tall and slender, almost with a feline grace. His skin, as well as his long, smooth hair, had been two-coloured and went from white on the right side of his body to black on his left side; the wings on his back mirrored the colours from the body and created an interesting contrast as the white wing almost glowed against the black skin and vice versa.

They had suspected nothing. Skye had been polite and friendly; he had made them all feel good and made Andrin's eyes sparkle and his cheeks glow red from the very first time he saw him. Skye had lived with them for a while, and a steady friendship had grown between him and the rest of the group.

He especially spent a lot time with Andrin, and soon it became clear to them that their boy and the golden-eyed creature were in love.

They had start talking about leaving the caves and going to live in the Crystal Realm that was Skye's home, and even though it had been hard to let Andrin go, they had had nothing against it and wished them both the best of luck.

But then Skye showed them his true nature.

The group still didn't understand how exactly it had happened, but they remembered every detail as if it happened yesterday. How Skye took Andrin's hand in his and twined their fingers together. How their hands had touched the wall around the opening to the cave, drawing symbols with their fingers on the cold stone. How the air suddenly seemed electric like just before a thunderstorm.

Skye had kissed their boy, biting Andrin's lips, drawing blood. Skye's eyes had been glowing in a poisonous yellow colour instead of the warm golden light they had grown used to, and Andrin had returned the kiss with love and passion.

As their lips had met, the darkness had been pierced by a searing light, and there came sound as from millions of voices screaming in pain, and when the darkness had returned, both Skye and their boy had been gone. Everything had been silent, but over the cave opening was a shimmering force field, a barrier. They had been trapped inside the underworld, and to this day they still were.

It would have been a lie to say that they didn't feel betrayed by their boy's actions, but still they couldn't blame him. Andrin had fallen in love; he had followed his heart, and how could they blame him for that? Mu'atsu himself had once followed his heart and fallen for a wraith of darkness, getting cursed in the process, and both Tana's and Agwe's mothers had fallen for sons of heaven and hell and paid for it with their lives. Yes, they knew about the power of love and what it does to people. So they forgave him for his actions and hoped that, even though he had betrayed them, he would find happiness with his beloved.

Almost a year went by before they finally heard from their boy again. They received a letter written in Andrin's own blood and transported into their prison by dark magic. The letter was stained with tears.


My friends (if I might call you that after all I've done),

I don't ask for forgiveness because I know that there is no forgiveness for me. I wish I could say that I was misled or seduced but that would be a lie and you've taught me that I should always tell the truth, so the truth is what you get. Maybe I was misled or seduced in the beginning, but at the time, when I gave him my heart and chose to follow him, I knew exactly what I was doing and the consequences of my actions. And even though I regret the consequences, my heart keeps telling me that I'm doing the right thing.

I feel so torn. I know that he is evil, never doubt that. I know what he is up to, his plans for humanity, and I know that he never will feel anything for me except maybe some kind of ownership. But I love him; I love him more than life itself, and I would do anything to be by his side because leaving it for even a second is worse than the most horrible torture you could think of. Yes, I would even die for him if that's what he wanted. I know it sounds pathetic, but please don't hate me, and even if you do, no one could hate me as much as I hate myself right now.

The five of you were the best friends and the best family a lonely human child could have, so therefore I won't, I can't, leave you to your fate as prisoners in the underworld. Not when Skye is allowed to go free. I give you the only thing I have left to give, my own flesh and blood, my son. His mother is a kind woman; she will take care of him and see to it that he will be a fine young man one day, even though he has a bastard like me for a father. He will be strong enough to open the barrier and set you free. You must use him; you must stop Skye because I can't.

I wish you all everything that is bright and good in the universe. If we ever meet again, it will be as enemies in a war about the fate of the world, and I honestly hope you'll win. Farewell, and thank you for everything.

Andrin


It was the last time they had heard from him, and now almost twenty years had passed.

Agwe put another log on the fire and took care to make more noise than necessary, just to break the strained silence that had fallen since they all had gotten absorbed by memories of their lost son; then he spoke. "Don't worry Idin; he got it. But I think we scared the living daylights out of the poor boy in the process. His reaction to the messages was stronger than we expected. However, we know that the boy was a shadowseer as a child. If he got scared, it's probably just because he got surprised."

Idin sighed. "I'm just worried. Will he understand our situation, and even more importantly, will he help us? Who knows? Maybe he'll think that we are monsters that deserve to be locked in for all eternity."

"Idin! Don't say things like that!" Mu'atsu exclaimed. "He must help us; he's the world's only hope!"