I lay, still, amidst eternal shadows. A flood of silence was all that could be heard. A loneliness ate a hole in my heart, my thoughts alone and without meaning.
Where was Darkness? Where was my bond? For now I was only half of my former self, chained away with all my magic taken and bound. The night was my friend, but even I tired of it, as one of the light would if trapped in eternal sun. When would they sleep? When would they rest? When would there be change?
I bowed my head, closing my multi-colored eyes. Three hundred years I had been there, trapped, chained, imprisoned in that oblivion, that chasm of abyss.
Why had I lost? What had I done wrong? Why hadn't Cornix come?
But he would soon come, to free me. Not Cornix, the Master of Lies, but the other one, the Harbinger of Light and his cursed magpie. The one who had put me here in the first place.
Darkness, where have you gone? Darkness, my friend, my soul, my heart, my mind, where are you now? Darkness, the one who is with me always, why did they take you away, leaving me alone?
Why couldn't they have just killed me, instead of leaving me to endure these endless years of solitude and despair? Why did they betray me, cast me away? What had I done? Why was I the one of shadow, the one who stood apart from all the rest, distrusted and despised?
Life was a labyrinth, was it? A web of fate? Or was it simply an endless loop of constant pain?
I didn't regret what I'd done. Not anymore. I had, once, the guilt gnawing at me. But the humans, the elves, the halflings and gnomes- they were nothing. Simply sheep, going with the herd, never making a difference. Lambs to the slaughter. I was simply the butcher, giving souls to the Grimm Reaper herself.
The single regret I did have was losing. Losing the battle against the traitorous angel that put me here. Losing time as I scrambled for guidance so many millennia ago. Losing trust. Losing faith. Losing half my spirit as she was yanked away from me, leaving me here.
The chains that bound me rattled as I shifted. Once, I had tried to fight them- trying to use magic, lockpicks, sheer force- but nothing had worked. Nor would it ever. The Lightwings, the angels, had spelled this cage specially for me, casting wards more powerful than anything else in that tower.
The flicker of torchlight pierced the darkness, a sword reaching its mark. A key clicked in the lock, and the ancient door opened for the first time in centuries.
A man in gold-washed full plate and a feathered cloak entered the cell, a longsword strapped to his back. A leucistic corvid perched on his shoulder, watching me acutely. I could feel the aura of light radiating from him, the same way I once radiated darkness before I'd been bound by those horrid chains.
"A tempest comes, a storm like never before," I rasped without looking up. "Tendrils of shadow reap the land, tongues of flame devouring in its wake. You must fight fire with fire." I never knew how I knew those things, and they were never very specific, always twisted, symbolistic, and unclear, in constant need of puzzling to unlock their secrets. Sometimes they came in visions. Other times, I simply knew.
"I wish to make a deal," he told me.
That was right. I had power- momentous power, unlike any other except Lyrel. He, however, was light- I was shadow in its purest form. So, naturally, when he couldn't fight the demons that came in waves, when city after city fell, he came to me. The best way to defeat an enemy is with one- and with that in mind, he freed me, I assumed against his better judgement.
"A deal is simply a twisted offer filled with deceptions and lies," I pointed out to my former mentor.
"An offer, then."
"Bring me Darkness, I will bring Luminescence," I told him.
"If we bring you Darkness, you will come with us and help us defeat Cornix." Cornix, my king, my lord, my master. Defeat him, the master of lies, with me, the seer of truth? He was the only one who had helped me so many years ago…
"Using truth against the utmost deceiver, defeating deception with the deceived."
"What does that mean?"
I shrugged. I saw, I didn't translate.
"So, we have a deal? We bring you your bond and you will help us destroy that demon?"
"Yes, Lyrel. We have a deal." I lied through my teeth. Ironic, wasn't it? The embodiment of truth lying? I would never betray my master. But this was an opportunity I couldn't deny- freedom, being reunited with the bird who's soul was entwined with mine, and a chance to backstab that traitorous angel?
He approached me, pulling a golden ring from his belt. He clasped around my wrist. I felt it glow, and winced at it's light. The bracelet dimmed, then went dark once more.
The paladin released me from my chains. "That will keep you from using your magic without my permission, so don't try anything."
I stood for the first time in many years, folding my wings ebony wings, then casted a glamour spell to make them appear as a cloak of raven feathers. Apparently, he had allowed me to use minor magic to cover my formerly angelic appearance.
I stepped outside of that oblivion for the first time in an eternity.
I am free, Darkness and I thought.
Shadows surrounded me once more. I flapped my wings, calling to my soul-bond. We were free, and soon, I was to be out! I bated against the binding abyss I'd resided in for so long, calling a single word: unity. Light flooded into my abode, and I flew out of it faster than the man could stop me.
The raven soared onto my shoulder, croaking. Finally we were reunited in more than just spirit.
Lyrel gestured for me to follow him out of that accursed prison. I could hear- no, feel- the demons within, each enraged at their entrapment. Some wished death, like I had. Others, who hadn't been in for very long, still fought. More awaited their time for vengeance. Most, however, had given up all hope of freedom or even death.
"You wish to destroy his soul, do you not?" I inquired, referring to Cornix, the Arcdemon.
"Yes."
"There is only one weapon that can do that, unless Carzul's minions have emerged." Carzul was the Elder Dragon of Evil. He had betrayed the other Elders, so they trapped him inside a volcano after a long and taxing war, for they were not powerful enough to kill him. The idea was he would never get out. As far as I knew, he probably would- those things had a tendency to happen.
"Yes."
"You are light, and you couldn't defeat him with that. You needed Darkness and I."
"Yes."
"Play with fire, and you just might get burned," I murmured.
There was a deafening clang as one of the demons slammed the door next to me. The sound echoed through the hallowed walls, filled with darkness.
"Irnae. Ērosin myrwl," I whispered to it in Shadowtongue. Patience. Freedom comes.
Lyrel gave me an odd look. He didn't know what I was saying- the angels didn't know Shadowtongue, after all- but naturally, he suspected me.
"Don't talk to them, Raven. I don't trust what you're saying."
I didn't answer. I didn't feel it needed one.
Like the rest of the tower, the hallways were dark and quiet. No guards patrolled the labyrinth of corridors as they would in other prisons. The creatures kept here didn't need food, and having people amongst the demons was begging for corruption and trouble. Despite the wards, they could still speak, and a demon's tongue could twist the purest of minds.
No torches flickered in empty sconces, no cries pierced the silence. It was a bottomless void of dejection, sorrow, and pain. And finally, I was free.
Finally, we reached the exit after an eternity of silence. The door was windowless, handless, and lockless. Just a slab of hinged stone.
Lyrel placed his hand on the rock and murmured something in Angelic I couldn't catch. The door swung open, flooding the corridor with light.
I winced and fell back, shielding myself with my wings as I dropped the glamour. Hissing, I summoned shadows around myself as armor against the blinding white. None came- Lyrel had bound my magic with that accursed bracelet. Darkness leapt off my shoulder and landed above the door, out of the light.
I heard something hit the floor in front of me. Squinting, I saw it was a hooded cloak. Hidden in the shadows, I drew it over my gaunt figure, protecting myself against the brightness.
I stepped outside, head down, hood low. There were seven more paladins waiting for us there, all in golden mail. Three had bows; three had large swords of some sort; one had a shield and longsword. That one had a necklace, too, a fiery red amulet. I could feel its magic- the trinket was strong.
Casting my glamour once more, I stepped back into the tower's shadow, awaiting instruction.
"We are going to Akaron," Lyrel told me. "Then we receive our orders on what you're supposed to do."
"From the Lion."
"From Bericus, yes."
"Lead the way, wylir-en," Judging from the looks I got from Lyrel's followers, none of them knew what wylir-en meant. He didn't, either.
"You need to learn the tongue of your enemies, Lightwing," I told him. Lightwings were the Angels; Shadewings were the Fallen, like myself.
"You well know we are not permitted to learn that language of darkness."
"Into darkness the world shall fall." The smile that came with my words was not a warm one.
"Blade of darkness, blade of light, pierce the shadows of the night." He repeated a verse of Angelic lore back to me.
"Blade of darkness, blade of light, return the shadows of the night, calling darkness so Chaos reigns, and unbalance shan't be slain." What I recited wasn't lore- it was prophecy, and not one that had been told before.
"You go directly against the Shadowsong," he pointed out.
"A spider's web, twisting, a labyrinth, so many destinations…all ending in death."
"Death isn't permanent."
"Yours is."
He almost engaged in that conversation, then dropped it. "We don't have all day to listen to your riddles, Raven. Can we go now?"
I shrugged and followed him. There were horses waiting. All were white except for a single black friesian. "Gyer," I murmured as I approached the stallion. I'd thought the creature dead.
"None of the other horses would have put up with you, but he won't put up with anyone else."
Gyer snorted and pawed the earth, eyeing me. "Irom elir. Isl irren lif mirri esq-mé." I told him. 'The Master returns. Let us return the night, Demon-beast.'
His eyes flared red for a moment, only visible in my illusion-neutralizing sight. I smiled.
The dark would rise on wings of night, the screams of the accursed piercing the smoke-filled air. I was back, and together, Cornix and I would destroy this world of light!
But, maybe she'll win and destroy the light? 
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