Shaddow Lords
After disappearing along with one of the Shaddow Lords, Iris woke up in an obsidian chamber, the same as the stone guarding the entrance to the Valley.
Torches hooked on the wall to light up the place, but it didn't seem to be much use since the stone absorbed whatever light came from the torches. She could barely distinguish anything.
" Welcome, Queen!" the same man's voice echoed in the chamber. Iris pushed herself off the floor to see where he was.
" My humble apologies for the travel discomfort!" he continued speaking still out of her sight.
Iris stood up and looked around, but there was still no sign of the man. She tried to summon fire for more light, but it didn't work. At this point, she knew her powers didn't work in this place.
She took a deep breath " What do you want?" she shouted. Her voice bounced off the walls, and she felt something touch her shoulder. When she looked over her shoulder, there was nothing there.
" To talk !" the man said, sitting in front of her.
" That's a convenient trick !" she replied with a crooked smile.
The man hummed and looked at her from head to toe " I have to say, I never thought that I would see your kind walking in this realm!" he said and began walking away from her.
Iris followed " We've been in this realm for aeons. Why the surprise?" she curiously asked, quickening her pace to walk along him.
" No, your kind never walked this realm. N'gatarkan spawn did for many generations! Do you not know who you truly are?" he was surprised, and she was even more so, judging by the look on her face.
Iris fell silent, and the thought of being tricked by this man crossed her mind. She could clearly remember her childhood, both of them. So, she reasoned that he must be lying or at least trying to gain something from her.
" State your motives plainly!" she halted her steps in front of the inlaid obsidian door.
" I have a proposition!" he pushed the door opened, and they entered something that looked like a throne room or dining hall. She still couldn't distinguish more than a few paces ahead of her. Iris took a deep breath. Not this again. Not another one who hides behind his finger and uses her to achieve his selfish and grotesque plans. Not another self-righteous prick with illusions of grandeur.
Not this time. This time, she will do things her way—no more playing by someone else's rules.
" Spill!" her crusty tone made the man look at her and raise an eyebrow in question.
" Prickly little queen. Maybe they should've used that in the title!" he quipped and continued walking.
The room seemed endless as soon as they passed the inlaid door. They kept walking through the darkness. She still couldn't see anything. Heavens, she thought, is this the Hollow, but if that would be so, Ettrick would be here, so not the Hollow.
The man took a deep breath and halted his steps one more time, his lips set in thin lines. He weighed whether he should speak. Perhaps he didn't expect her to want to hear him out. He closed his eyes.
" I need you to leave the girl behind!" he breathed his words, and Iris pulled the dagger, sliding it under his chin, the tip of the blade making a slight indent. The man seemed utterly unfazed by her action. His expression stayed
She narrowed her eyes at him, and the man smiled and pushed the blade down from his neck with two fingers.
" You're wasting time! I can't die. I wish I could." the smile fell, and he grew wistful, his gaze lowered for a moment.
" Immortal!" She paused and looked around the room " the stone isn't like this because nature had intended it to be this way", she broke again and placed the blade in its sheath " Something happened here!" she moved closer to one of the pillars and touched the pillar but quickly snapped her hand back when she felt tiny pricks in her hand.
She looked at her hand and saw little droplets of blood appear on her hand. "Shit! What is this place? she turned to look at him, and the man hid his hands in his cloak.
" This is the birthplace of the Guardians. Including the Seven Havens!" he explained, and he turned around and walked again.
" Seven Havens or Seven Seas?" she wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing. Maybe it was named differently.
" Seven Havens!" he fortified his earlier statement and pushed another door.
" What business do you have with the girl?" she asked, even though she wasn't sure which girl he meant. She wasn't willing to leave anyone behind.
" The one with the ringlets! Her blood will release me from my bond. This place, when she was created, came to be as well. Her birth turned this place into an eternal pit of darkness. If your blood spills in this valley and you die among these rocks. You can never leave this place. That's how the Shaddow Lords came to be. And no one enters the valley and leaves. They all die and come to serve the valley." He waved his hand, pointing at the chamber itself.
" No!" she briskly replied and followed him around.
" This is just a courtesy, Prickly Queen. The girl with come with us, whether you agree or not!" He halted his steps in front of what looked like thirty people, men and women alike.
" Good luck with that! " she smirked and rubbed her face with her palm. Not this crap again
The man frowned and hummed " We have to try. We've been serving the valley long enough. We deserve a right to our freedom, a choice if I may. " he explained, and Iris chuckled.
" You're insane! Maybe spending so much time under this rock has all of you going mad!" she barked, annoyed. There was always something hiding in the shadows wanting something. No matter the cost.
" We will grant you and the rest of your people safe passage through the valley!" he bargained, and Iris gave him a pitying smile.
" First, she is not the Guardian of the Seven Havens. She is the guardian of the Seven Seas, you moron. You must be confused. You should spend some more time out in the sun. Secondly, If you want her so bad, feel free to get her yourself!" she deadpanned and leaned against a pillar, looking rather smug.
She was confident that if Athan were right, they wouldn't get close enough to lay a finger on her.
A hum of voices quickly rose into the chamber. The Saddow Lords spoke amongst each other, consulting, and another man walked forward.
" Saho!" he called " If she speaks the truth, then we have no business with them! Send them away!" the other man waved his hand and walked through the other Lords.
" Amwell! We don't know for sure, not until we have her blood flow on this ro-
" We don't even know if the legend is true. That would mean to doom another to live in these rocks for eternity with us !" a woman interrupted and stepped forward.
" You need to cease chasing this dream and accept that we will serve the valley." she tried to suade him, pulled out an obsidian dagger and offered it to Iris.
" When the last Guardian was created, this place became ", she paused for a moment and looked over her shoulders ", Darkness itself—spilt in this valley, staining this land with its filth. No one dies, but no one lives either. We are trapped and condemned. There is no hope for us. Leave this place and never return !" she advised. There was a warmth in her voice and eyes.
Iris took the corner of her cloak and wrapped it around the obsidian blade " Thank you for your gift!" a stiff smile curled up on her lips, and she bowed to the woman in front of her.
" What if we join your fight? We know something is brewing up north, something that even darkness pales in comparison!" Saho bargained some more, and the woman gave him a deadly glare.
" You'll have to forgive me, Lord Saho, but I'm not willing to sacrifice an innocent girl legend or not. I can understand you crave for freedom, but I cannot do that." her eyes blazed with fury, a tinge of desperation in her voice.