The Shadows Chapter 2

The Match is Struck

By Keith Adams

600 years after the fouding of Guardia, a young man, no more than 20, with reddish hair and twinkling green eyes, dressed in a blue toga, was wandering down the streets of Truce, prime industrail center for the entire Kingdom. It was in Truce that the vast majority of ships, clothes, medicine, weapons, and armor were made. The sky was cloudy, and a light wind spread the drizzle falling from the gray sky.

The young man, whose name was Knossus Thadius Hansako, was going for his weekly hike up Truce Canyon, to see the beautiful sites. It was not far, and he soon arrived. The mountains were a peaceful, idyllic place, where few bothered to go. The grass was largely green, and there was a small stream. Knossus bent down to the stream on the rocky shore, and took a drink from it, letting it go down through his throught. Then Knossus noticed a small set of cocentric circles appearing in the stream. A distant sound was heard, like a rock grating against another rock. Suddenly a bluish pillar of light, constantly swirling, erupted in the middle of a knoll , sending it flying in all directions. The wind swirled faster and faster, screaming like the gates of the Abyss. The howling pierced Knossus's brain like an arrow, destroying all thought. Shapes flickered and dance in the pillar, vaguely humanlike, recoiling in terror. The column of light began expanding, grwoing wider, sending the debris of the ground flying everywhere.

Knossus ran as he never had before, ignoring the rocks pelting him as he made a mad dash to escape. The column of blue light reached the stream, sprraying it's water everywhere and drenching Knossus. Knossus had only one thought on his mind; escape. Knossus suddenly fell, tripping over a upturned rock. As the ever-expanding column of light reached him. Knossus saw a shape his side, and as if he were iron pulled by a magnet, was drawn to it. Upon reaching it, Knossus screamed as the column of light sucked him into it's depths, and yet, he felt no pain.

Far in the past, Magus sits in his adobe, mulling over the junk Gaspar gave him. It was utterly useless - he might as well destroy it now, plunge it into the Shadow. But he paused: Gaspar had not given it to him for no reason. He wouldn't have.

Suddenly, Magus felt a tear in reality. It was as though what once had been, or going to be, was replaced by something else. Something had happened to what should have been after the defeat of Lavos. Could one his allies against Lavos have caused this? It was possible. He never trusted Frog to leave well enough alone. What if someone had done something that could cause Lavos to arise at a later date. Magus knew that Lavos still arose on Dec 31, 1999, but what if he arose later? There was only one way to find out. Magus looked glumly at the armor and weapons hanging above his fireplace. They represented the Warlord of Mystic. Magus walked over to the fireplace, and put his hands towards the Scythe hanging far above it.

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