He stood upon the shattered steps of the High Cathedral Wind howled through broken spires carrying the scent of blood and ash Shadows coiled around his ankles trailing down cracked marble like silent serpents
He closed his eyes
A memory flickered
Warm hands brushing snow from his hair A voice gentle with fading laughter Ruvan you must not stay out here too long You will catch your death The world is cruel enough without inviting cold into your bones
He felt her touch even now phantom warmth upon frozen skin
Mother
He opened his eyes Shadows rippled across silent courtyards Bones cracked beneath black tides Corpses of fallen paladins lay twisted upon blood soaked stone Ravens perched upon splintered spears pecking silent eyes with hollow hunger
He stepped down into courtyard shadows pooling around bare feet Each step cracked stone sending thin fractures across marble tiles Shadows slithered into those fractures widening them into silent maws
He paused beside a fallen knight Silver helm split in half revealing a boy's face freckles across pale cheeks Eyes wide open staring into dawn's pale light He could not have been older than sixteen His sword lay beside him fingers still curled around blood slick hilt
A breather
Ruvan knelt shadows shifting around silent corpse He reached out brushing stray strands of hair from lifeless eyes
You wanted to be a hero didn't you
He rose Shadows wrapped around the boy's body lifting him into the air Bones cracked Plate split Blood dripped onto shattered tiles Shadows consumed him leaving nothing but silent dust drifting down into pale dawn light
He walked onward Shadows flowing behind him like silent oceans
Trivia detail
As he crossed the courtyard he paused beside a broken fountain Its stone basin cracked and empty Half buried beneath rubble lay a small wooden toy carved into the shape of a hawk Its wings outstretched Its beak painted gold
He remembered
When he was six he carved his first wooden hawk with a rusted knife stolen from the kitchens He spent three days shaping wings until blood slicked his fingers Splinters lodged beneath skin He left it upon his mother's pillow hoping she would smile when she saw it
She never spoke of it
He stepped away Shadows coiled around the broken toy dragging it beneath silent tides until wood splintered into black dust
He approached the fortress gates Shadows spreading before him like a living tide Beyond them stretched scorched plains Rivers burned beneath dawn light Trees lay blackened and twisted Branches clawing at pale sky
He walked through silent fields Shadows trailing behind him Each step cracked earth Grass withered beneath his feet turning to ash within silent winds
At the edge of the plains rose the Tower of Dawn carved from white marble crowned with seven golden spires Flames burned within shattered windows Smoke drifted into pale sky carrying the scent of charred flesh and melted gold
He entered through broken gates Shadows curling around fallen guards Their blackened plate split revealing scorched flesh Eyes boiled away within shattered helms
Inside the grand hall upon a dais of bone sat the Dawn Regent clad in robes of silver and gold Her hair pinned with sapphire combs Skin painted with sacred verses etched in white ash
She raised her gaze Voice trembling
Shadow King Have you come to end us all Must nothing remain
Ruvan tilted his head Shadows pulsed around him
There is no end Only silence
She lowered her eyes Tears fell upon cracked marble
Then grant me silence
He raised his hand Shadows exploded outward Wrapping around silver robes Crushing delicate bones Blood sprayed across bone dais Sapphire combs shattered scattering blue shards across black marble
He turned away Shadows flowed after him consuming golden banners and burning icons Ash drifted down across silent halls covering lifeless corpses in grey oblivion
He exited the tower into dawn winds Shadows rippled across silent plains Rivers burned beyond fractured walls Towers crumbled Temples shattered Thrones split into broken stone
He closed his eyes
Today I burned your gods Today I erased your knowledge Today I slaughtered your kings Today I consumed your hope
Tomorrow I will devour your dreams
Beyond dreams I will teach you despair etched into dying bones
Beyond despair I will teach you oblivion
And beyond oblivion I will teach you the silence of the eternal abyss
He opened his eyes
Dawn burned pale across silent mountains Shadows rose behind him like endless walls of darkness The empire lay upon broken knees Echoes of silent screams carried upon dead winds
And they would teach the world the truth of unending nothingness