Chapter III - Dwoveland

Awakening in a mess Carter cleaned himself and Schnee the best they could, they had no food or water as Carter lost it all when he fell down the mountain. The way up was unlikely as they had no time to waste searching a mountainside for his supplies, Schnee rightly feared Kanína would return with his warband if they waited much longer. Having no choice Schnee decided the best course was to go where the Avatar was meant to go, to the Devil's Clutch in Dwoveland. Walking together the princess and pale man came to the dark veil which was not far from where Schnee was chained.

Even in sunlight the darkness did not waver, Carter feared what lay beyond its black curtain but Schnee held his arm and lead him through the darkness. Once in it was as if they walked from early morning into late midnight. Light was gone from behind them and there was no light ahead. Tugging Carter along Schnee lead him further into the darkness, her soft touch stroking his arm to ease his nervous heart.

"How long is this darkness?" Carter asked.

Hearing no sound around them, smelling nothing, and seeing nothing in the darkness, made the pale man fear they were walking to their doom; in the back of his mind he found that exciting.

"Fear not my Avatar," Schnee soothed "Kanína would not follow us into the darkness, where we are going you and I will truly belong."

Not long after she said that they both saw a light at the end of the darkness, they moved faster towards it and it grew brighter at their approach. The air also got colder, snow was crunching under their feet as they stepped out of a cave opening in a large black mountain. Standing on a ledge they looked out before them and saw Dwoveland, the land of red sky. No sun was there, instead was a large star that glowed blood red casting the sky and everything in a crimson light.

"Welcome home my love," Schnee said, guiding Carter by the hand further into the snowy landscape.

Eyes hurt from the constant red light, he rubbed them and waited for them to adjust before fully taking in his surroundings. Walls of black mountains surrounded a landscape of black hills, snow partially covered patches here and there but it was mostly black as the path they took to get there; Carter heard the sound of water flowing, his vision sought out the source. Below the rise they stood upon he saw a river flowing from a opening in the base of a mountain, in the light of the sky it looked as if it were a river of blood. Following the stream he saw it stretch out the length of the countryside till he saw it stop at a large black pit, it swallowed up the water like a gaping mouth.

The river ended there and as he lifted his head from the pit he saw a mountain that rose above all the others, and at the top he saw what looked like a clawed hand, its pointed fingers reaching up to the red sky. In the palm of the black hand was two glowing white pale obelisks guarding the open gateway to a elaborately built city. .

"That is Bellfaust," said Schnee, seeing where Carter's gaze was upon. "That is where you will rule from, with me at your side."

A tickle of poison ate at his inner ear, something wasn't right with what he was being told, but a gentle touch and womanly breath at his neck made him ignore his doubts.

"Would you truly be at my side?" Carter asked looking the pale woman in her red eyes, "as my loyal wife."

She smiled widely her eyes betraying her intent.

"Of course my new found love," she said "I will be your wife."

She hugged him hiding her scheming eyes, Carter still in love with Schnee harbored doubts at her intentions. Choosing to ignore his suspicions Carter moved down the rocky mountainside towards the river, as he was thirsty and wanted a drink. Helping Schnee as they descended the mountain together, Carter occasionally looked up at the star and within its mass many layers of dark colors, glowing brightly ominously. A feeling of being watched kept him wary, all around him he heard the sounds of life and movements between the large boulders that surrounded them on all sides.

Reaching the bottom of the mountain took hours of time, Carter became sweaty from all the effort but noticed Schnee didn't seem to exhaust herself in the least. Also he saw that as he helped her down from a ledge that her bandage had come off, and the wound on her hand was gone. That was when he noticed all the scratches and bruises on her face and feet had healed, he wanted to ask her about her quick recovery but he was distracted by her gentle touch on his face. Carter forgetting his suspicions saw they finished the descent from the broad bodied mountain, breathing hard Carter was parched and saw they were not far from the river, running towards the water he stopped at the bank, hesitant to drink at first.

The river water really looked like blood, but he was desperate for a drink, he lowered his hands to the water, cupped them and drank deep the cool, refreshing, water. Carter kept drinking till he was filled, then turned towards Schnee who stood not far behind him, being his impression of perfection.

"Come have some water" Carter said, waving her over.

"No thank you," she said "I am not thirsty."

Confusion showed on his face as Schnee deflected his suspicions with a observation.

"It will take most of the day to follow the river to the base of the Devil's Clutch," she said pointing to it in the distance. "Let us continue while we have our strength."

Choosing to ignore the irritating itch in his ear, Carter rose to his feet with help from his spider legs and him and Schnee continued on, walking side by side following the flow of the river. Moving alongside the river was preferable for it was a flat route with no hills to climb over, it was a direct unobstructed path to their destination. Carter and Schnee didn't speak, and whenever the princess attempted to touch Carter he moved away from her making him almost fall into the river a few times. Not till Carter needed to stop from exhaustion did they speak again, Carter took a drink from the river and saw his soon to be wife stood a safe distance from the water.

"What are you not telling me?" Carter asked, refusing to look into her eyes.

"I don't know what you mean," Schnee said, sounding innocent as she approached Carter.

"Don't take another step," warned Carter as he backed to the river's edge.

That was when he knew something was amiss, she was trying to lull him into a defenseless state.

"Carter," she said sounding hurt, he dealt with snakes before, hidden in the snow, their bites were poisonous but after so many attacks he had become immune to their venom.

Hardening his emotions Carter defended himself mentally from her manipulations, she started to cry.

"There is more to you than you let on princess, if you are going to be my wife tell me the truth." he demanded.

Carter hurt himself making such accusations, even though he knew he was right.

"Do you not trust me anymore?" she asked, hurt in her voice.

Unfazed Carter felt his intellect and insight grow since he came under the red sky, awareness of his surroundings from the smallest detail became a part of his senses. Carter was almost all-knowing, though he yet mastered his expansive knowledge.

"Just makes me wonder," Carter said, playing coy with his accusations "makes me wonder why Kanína left you in such a secluded place unguarded, and why he didn't kill you like he did your entire family? You also heal unnaturally fast, compared to most people, and your to touch seems to cloud my thinking why is that?"

Carter's dark eyes met with Schnee's red ones, he had asked the right questions, her resolve to hold up her charade was weakening, he was exerting a mental pressure onto her.

"Sweet Avatar," she said "you've grown so much in such a short time, the closer we are to the city the stronger and wiser you get."

A sad look came to her eyes, Carter shuddered and took a step back. Her weepy eyes begging for a willingness to overlook her deceit, both knowing that he couldn't any longer. The naivety had been tainted by knowledge.

"One with no soul still has tears to shed," she said, speaking in low sobs. "A heart breaks even if one isn't there, please hold me one last time."

Eyes wet with tears Carter obliged her and approached her his human arms stretched out to embrace her, then an alarm sounded in his mind. When she reached out for him, her arms open wide the sinister intentions showed in her red eyes. Taking a step back at the last moment, his sudden hesitation caused princess Schnee to erupt, exposing her facade. Shredding whatever humanity she cloaked herself with, an explosion of countless arms reached out for Carter. Arms as long as they needed to be, crooked and bending all over their twisted lengths, long knife thin fingers swiped outwards from the white tangle Schnee had become.

Attempting to grab Carter and pull him deep within her form, the arms forced Carter backwards to the edge of the river. Moving back Carter bewildered looked into the centre of the white mass and saw at the centre a blackness with no shape or discernable form. Within it was the head of Schnee, her eyes were gone and her mouth was gaping open, showing a pained expression as it spoke no audible words.

"Get away from me," Carter yelled out.

On pure reflex one of his upper spider legs stretched out and struck at the black mass, before he realized what he was doing Carter stabbed at the head. That was enough to cause the arms to flail erratically, then as if he was being controlled by powers from without he pulled Schnee into the river with his spider legs. Retracting his spider leg to his side he was stunned by what happened. Horror set in as he looked into the river and saw the creature he formerly loved as princess Schnee fade into nothingness in the river current.

Almost instantly the pale white arms were gone, that last he saw of her was Schnee's head vanishing from sight. Pain came to his chest, there was no trace left of her, memories of their love making were still fresh in his mind, even with her deceit her still wanted her in his life. Questions of her loyalty and true feelings for him were drowned out by his overpowering grief.

Carter loved her, she was his first, the taste of her womanly juices still tingled in his mouth, princess Schnee was a sweet bitterness that tormented him even in death. Dwoveland exposed what lay beneath her beauty, the closer Carter was to the Devil's Clutch the more he was aware of her true self. Carter drank from the river hoping to taste her, then in his turmoil he became hypnotized by the will of someone else, forcing his mind into a mindless obedience. Forcing him to his feet Carter was marched on towards the pale city of Bellfaust as fast as Carter could move.

Emptied of thoughts he became a slave to a force that demanded he move forwards. Time moved on as did Carter whose spider legs swiftly carried him to the foot of the Devil's, with no rest his spider limbs carried him up the steep peak.

During his climb the people and creatures of Dwoveland watched him, hidden behind rocks and in crevices, daring not to intervene in his trek. They knew who he was, for all who dwelled in Dwoveland were subject to the supreme power of the land. Not till Carter stood before the white obelisks of Bellfaust was he able to regain his free will. No memory of how he came there Carter found himself at the gateway to Bellfaust. Trying to remember how he came to be there made his head throb painfully, looking behind him he saw the distance he covered.

Some unknown power brought him there, to the pale city of Bellfaust, shaking uncontrollably Carter fell to his knees his spidery legs limp at his side. Tears of helplessness came from him, nothing he did seemed to be within his power to control. Not even love, what happened to Schnee was blocked from his mind until then, grief for his loss out from his eyes. Unrestrained crying echoed down the mountainside, kneeling on the hard stone ground Carter's whole body shuddered in emotional agony.

Throat sore from his wails he started to cough till he couldn't breath, he felt nauseous and thirsty. Regretting not being able to drink more of the cool river water he lifted his head and he saw a clay bowl being offered to him, it was filled with fresh water.

"It comes from our wells, please drink, it'll soothe you." said a angelic voice.

Nodding his head in thanks he took the water and drank it down quickly, it eased his sore throat.

"Thank you," Carter said "I've never tasted anything so soothing."

Eyes no longer filled with tears he lifted his head to look upon the saint who offered him the water. Blinking hard he was not sure if his vision was playing tricks on him or not because what he saw seemed to fantastical to be real. Of all the things he witnessed in the last two days was not comparable to what was standing before him, it challenged his comprehension of the fantastical. Standing before him was a being who changed forms constantly. Dressed in robes of many shimmering colors the being was a red haired woman of great beauty at first, then in a instant he was a towering man with dark brown skin and long dreadlocks. The next form was that of a man with metal skin and a golden sun mask, continuing from one fantastical form to another, each time different from the last.

"Who are you?" Carter asked dumbfounded of what he saw.

"I am Dative," said the shapeshifter "and I am the living god of Dwoveland."