Author Here!
I strongly recommend listening to Griffin Tyler's "Lord of Shadows [Shadow Slave OST]" as you read.
(I'd even loop it so that it lasts the whole time.)
Just a suggestion!
If you do, be sure to give it a like and if you want, check out his other Shadow Slave music pieces if you haven't already. They are beautiful. He does fantastic work and has been for a while now.
Maybe even say where you're coming from in a comment on his video!
Here's a link you can copy and paste.
https://youtu.be/KegyqyEoZsI?list=RDEMI_RjCvp7R2aXcAq5RVGtlw
Enjoy!
Captain, Out.
* * *
They felt his arrival before they witnessed it.
An aura of power that had seeped into the very air they breathed.
Encroaching lungs.
Strangling breath.
Overwhelming senses.
Some choked on it, reaching for their throats in alarm, almost unable to breathe.
The shadows of the woodland city had grown more stark, more real, more alive, eagerly welcoming the approach of their ruler. They shifted and moved unnaturally, in and out of the focus of the elves' vision. Though their sharp eyes betrayed them, their unnaturally powerful senses could feel them moving beyond the boundary of their notice. They stepped back from them, wary, speaking to each other in hushed, concerned tones.
The inhabitants of Ellesméra had never before felt such unnatural fear settle into their bones.
Then they heard his approach.
Giant, rumbling footsteps echoed throughout the forest city, making the branches of the gargantuan trees sway high in the azure sky, startling countless flocks of birds. Past the trees to the south, drenched in thick shadows, a harsh red glow began to burn through the needled pines, as though a miniature sun was approaching.
Wide-eyed elves cried out in fear and horror, retreating high into their tree-homes. Some donned armor, others ran for or unsheathed their weapons with grim looks on their faces, but most were too transfixed by the burning light to move.
Then they saw his retinue.
A great serpent of shadowy scales entered the boundary of their city, slithering forth from shadow to shadow of the great trees. It spanned dozens of meters, its petrifying appearance bringing dread to the elves' hearts. Those that had not retreated before now scurried to make way as it slowly slithered through the ground floor of their multi-layered city, an onyx tongue whipping in and out of its maw, tasting the fear that tramped down the air like a tangible, weighty blanket.
It found the taste delicious.
A tall woman in onyx armor blacker than black, burned in the sharp outline of the crimson glow of the forest behind her, like an eclipse to an angry sun, followed the great snake. Even though she wore a helmet, her figure was beautiful, and her graceful posture made her appear like some dark saint.
Her gaze did not turn to look up at the staggered elves or those that cowered in the distance, for she rode through their great city as though she owned it.
Sat atop an nightmarish stallion, with twisting horns and mad, bloodred eyes, the woman steadily approached the hall of their Queen, hidden high in the boughs of the trees. She did not hold the reigns, instead wielding a solitary blade sheathed in a scabbard, which rested on her lap.The great, shuddering footsteps were closer now, and many had to hold to the elegant banisters of living wood that lined the steps meant to carry them to higher levels of the tree kingdom, in order to steady themselves. The crimson light grew brighter and brighter, until it began to hurt their acute eyes, forcing many to squint.
Then the light broke through the outer trees, and they finally felt as though they understood true terror.
A behemoth of black steel and bloody fire walked between the gargantuan tree trunks, its gigantic presence fitting of the great trees that shuddered in its wake. The colossal creature looked as though forged from thousands upon thousands of sharp, black blades, all melted and coagulated together by some impossible heat to create the terrible form. Its great, outstretched maw had been the source of the light, and from it spilled forth the fiery, crimson haze. Hundreds of angry red sparks could be seen hopping between the rows of terrible teeth, seeking to escape, and the teeth themselves, larger than a grown man, glowed a dull orange, as though superheated by the unfathomable blaze that nestled deep in it's stomach. The light had lessened somewhat, but it was still bright enough to cause harm to any who tried to look directly at its source.
The beast had four great arms, each ending in appalling claws that made many of the elves blanch. Most, if not all, knew of battle. What in the world were such weapons meant to rend? Could this titan truly have someone worthy enough to call master?
But then they finally saw him.
They knew it was he without thought.
Standing on the palm of one of the behemoth's hands that was held close to his chest, as though with protectiveness, the man's arms were crossed. He wore a suit of black armor fit for a tyrant, the material of which looked like a cross between stone and metal. On his face was a horrifying demon mask with three twisting horns, and the eyes that nestled behind the mask were two voids of endless darkness, ones that threatened to consume the world if unleashed. His hair was long and white, and swayed gently with the movements of his gigantic courier.
Despite the terrible presence of the creature that held him, it was the man who brought chilled fear into the hearts of the elves, who their eyes all ended up being drawn to by some instinct. The temperature seemed to plummet as they gazed upon him, and many shivered.
The procession continued through the trees, until finally it reached a clearing which rested below Tialdarí Hall, the Queen's Court. The great serpent had coiled itself, the woman atop the nightmarish horse waited, statue-like, her stallion pawing the ground with frighteningly sharp hooves, until finally, the behemoth arrived, slower than the rest. The titan's thundering footsteps finally stopped as it outstretched it's hand, and suddenly, the man let his arms fall to his sides as he took several steps to the edge of the giant's palm and fell, feet first, to the ground below.
His white hair whipped above his masked head like a streamer as he fell, hitting the ground with a resounding boom that seemed to echo louder than any of the titan's footsteps. The ground shattered and split apart where he landed in a five meter radius, causing a small wave of debris and dust to spread from the place of impact. Cracks spiderwebbed for almost a dozen meters more in every direction. Those that watched felt the Shadow Lord's arrival in their very bones.
The giant's footsteps could be heard once more as it took two steps, one where it carefully raised a leg to step over the head of its master, and the other to turn itself and kneel. The trees shuddered as it met the ground, finally closing its great maw and folding its lower arms. The behemoth's upper left arm came to rest on its left knee, and it placed its upper right on the earth in a fist as it lowered its head.
Moving in synchrony, the other servants of the mysterious Shadow Lord mimicked the fiend's movements, moving with it. The great serpent lowered its diamond-shaped head, its eyelids clicking as they closed in reverence, the nightmarish horse lowered it's front hooves, its mane of raven black hair shifting softly as it moved its head in a bow. It's rider hopped off with easy grace, her sheathed sword resting at her side as she placed a hand on her heart, sounding with a dull thud as she too inclined her helmed head. Her white plume slipped over her shoulder.
Their master watched coldly, any hint of reaction hidden behind the mask. His arms were once more folded as he judged their actions. Finally, his mask dipped as he nodded shortly.
Suddenly, his servants began to disappear, their roles complete. The great serpent dove in the ground but did not pierce it, as though its length merged with the shadows. It's coils disappeared into nothingness in mere moments. The horse snorted softly, simply melting in the shadows, and the woman looked once at her master with indifferent action, giving him a nod of her own as she fell backwards into the ground, vanishing into the shadowed earth. Unsurprisingly, the behemoth was the slowest to disappear. He looked to his master and simply became a host of shadows that flooded upon the rest, overwhelming them. It looked like a small lake had been formed as the mixed shadows moved about unnaturally until settling, bringing an air of finality.
The Lord of Shadows stood, solitary and alone, arms folded folded. He took a single, long look around at the forest city that surrounded him, and its inhabitants. Homes and buildings seemingly grew out of the trees themselves, connected to each other by neat bridges of smooth wood, covered with elaborate plant-inspired designs. Hundreds, if not thousands of elves watched with varying degrees of awe and fear from their homes in the great trees.
The Lord of Shadows muttered something under his breath, falling sideways into the shadowed earth, disappearing.
* * *