Some of the agony subsided, enough so that Uldyssian could finally focus. The first thing he saw gladdened his heart, for it was his brother. Mendeln wore an uncharacteristically broad grin and Uldyssian knew that he wore the same.
“I thought you lost forever,” the older brother told the younger.
“As I you.”
“Your sibling was always safe,” the third speaker interjected. In some ways, his voice was very similar to Mendeln’s in both tone and speech, yet there was something about it that bespoke of great age and a person who was not entirely human…if at all.
And when the figure joined Mendeln in gazing down at Uldyssian, the latter saw that this was no mere mortal. The face was too handsome, the features too perfect. Most of all, though, the eyes held more than great age…they were so ancient that Uldyssian immediately suspected the worst.
“He is no demon,” Mendeln quickly stated, recognizing his brother’s reaction.
“Although Lilith is my mother,” added the stranger.
With an animalistic growl, Uldyssian sought to grab the speaker. However, his body was too weak. Worse, intense pain coursed through him again, forcing him to lie back.
Only then did he notice the stars. Their positions were so different from what Uldyssian was familiar with, that he momentarily forgot the demoness’s offspring.
“Where—where are we, Mendeln?” Uldyssian finally asked. “I don’t recognize any of those.”
It was the son of Lilith who responded. “You are somewhere and nowhere.”
Such answers only served to stir Uldyssian back to anger. He did not trust being in the vicinity of a being who claimed Lilith as the one who had begat him. “And who are you? If not a demon, then what are you?”
“My name is Rathma,” the stony figure answered without preamble. “Although that is not the name given to me at birth, but rather the one placed upon me by another after parting from my parents’ ways. It means ’keeper of the Balance’ which is also my function and duty.”
Uldyssian had no idea what Rathma spoke about and cared less. “But Lilith is your mother…”
“And Inarius is my father. Yes, I see that name also fills you with dread. I bear no grudge for that, for both have become anathema to me as I am to them. As to what I am, I am a nephalem…one of the very first, in fact…”
The revelation should have struck Uldyssian harder than it did, but quickly he realized that it had not because, horribly aware of who Rathma claimed for his lineage, there was no other possible answer.
“You…you are like us…”
Rathma shook his head. “No, I am unlike you or any of those who follow you. I cannot explain, but what you call the ’gift’ has metamorphosed. There are abilities that I have that you do not just as you bear some I am lacking. I suppose this should not so surprise me since I am from the very first generation birthed on Sanctuary…”
So long ago as all that, Uldyssian thought in awe.
Lilith’s son nodded as if having read the mortal’s mind, then added, “There are few of us remaining, for when only my father was left of the original refugees, he was strict in his punishment of those who used their powers. He insisted that his perfect world, his Sanctuary, would remain as he desired it…” Rathma shook his head. “But for one who is eternal, my father should have known that nothing stays static.”
That is enough for now, came that other voice from both within and without Uldyssian. He pushed himself up, seeking the source…and his eyes for some reason looked to the stars above. For the first time, Uldyssian imagined that he even saw a shape formed by the celestial lights. Not a complete one, but enough to give the illusion of a vast, half-hidden beast. A reptile—no—something more than that. It was long and sinewy like a great snake, but the head reminded him of another creature straight out of myth—
A dragon…yes, it looked like some sort of serpentine dragon…
The stars shifted…and it seemed to Uldyssian that the half-seen behemoth now stared back at him.
Though we would all wish it otherwise, you are not well enough yet for more strain…
Uldyssian swallowed, unable to believe his eyes, his mind, and his heart. “What—what are you?”
“He is Trag’Oul, brother,” Mendeln explained quietly. “Born in creation, defined when the angels and demons who came here formed Sanctuary. He is more its guardian than any other can claim.”
A simplified description, albeit most accurate…
Oddly, the introduction of this celestial creature was not what most demanded Uldyssian’s attention. Hearing the dragon, then his brother, and recalling how Rathma had spoken…he felt as if he were listening to three extensions of the same being. Uldyssian looked from one to the other and the feeling only increased.
“Mendeln,” he muttered. “Mendeln, I want to leave here now. Both of us, I mean.”
“But we cannot, Uldyssian…at least not yet. There is so much to learn and you need recuperation.”
Rathma stood next to the younger son of Diomedes. “He speaks the truth. It would be unwise at this juncture.”
Uldyssian swallowed. Rathma and Mendeln looked more like brothers than he and his sibling did. The dark garments, the pale faces—and the nearly unblinking gazes—added further to the horrific effect.
Forcing himself to his feet despite the torture to his body, Uldyssian growled, “Mendeln! Look at you! Look at him! Listen to him and that—that thing!—and then yourself! They’re doing something to you!”
He felt his power rush through his body, fueling his emotions and strength. They had been wrong, his kidnappers. He was more than fit despite their games.
Raising his hands toward his brother, Mendeln replied, “No, Uldyssian! You must not do that—”
It was too late. Certain that not only were he and Mendeln trapped here for dire purposes but that his sibling was being turned into something to serve the dragon’s and Rathma’s needs, Uldyssian unleashed the raw forces within.
“You said he was too weakened by her to do this!” Rathma shouted, evidently to Trag’Oul.
He is different! They would all be different! They are no more nephalem than you are human! They are more—
But the fantastic creature got no further, for then it was that the dragon’s empty realm shook as if some giant hand sought to turn it upside down. Uldyssian knew that he was the cause but did not care. He had to free Mendeln and him from this black prison—
As if responding to his thought concerning his dark surroundings, the elemental forces bursting from Uldyssian took on a blinding brightness. Above, Trag’Oul roared. Rathma uttered something in a language unknown and momentarily the brightness lessened. But Uldyssian, fearing that if his effort failed then all was lost, threw his will into restoring the light.
Around him, the very blackness suddenly began shredding as if torn cloth. Utter white at first replaced it…then a mountainous landscape erupted full-blown.
Mendeln called out to Uldyssian, but the two looked now to be separated by miles. Fearing to lose his brother again, Uldyssian attempted to draw back within him the energies he had released, but it was as if they now fought against him. The new landscape began to shiver and shake and seemed as ready as the blackness to shred apart.
But finally, Uldyssian managed to contain his powers. The effort sent him to his knees. His heart pounded and for a time his breath came in short gasps.
Then, slowly, he registered colder, drier air and soil much harder than that of the jungles. After having grown accustomed to the hotter climate near Kehjan, the change left him shivering. Only belatedly did Uldyssian finally regain enough control over his abilities to adjust himself to this new environment.