Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) by Gary Stringer (howl and other poems .txt) 📕

far as he knew, Descending through the planes without a control device had never been done. This action could very well mean there was no way home. But he couldn’t stand by and let Kullos destroy this world, so he discarded his excess self and Descended.

Chapter 5

Daelen took the form of a tall, muscular man with shoulder-length dark hair and grey eyes. He flew across the world, seeking, searching. Remembering why he loved this place, this world, this reality. He recalled his very first visit: He had never seen a world like this before.

That is, he had never seen anything like this before.

Forgive me, gentle reader, but that’s still not quite what I’m trying to say. Let me put it like this: He had never seen anything in this way before – light and colour; form, texture and shadow; unfiltered, unenhanced. It was pure and precious and beautiful. Then there were sounds and smells, taste and feeling. To have only five senses, to be capable of only a superficial perception of reality was stunning. An electrical storm gathered around him as he flew. He had never felt the rain on his skin before. That is, he had never before had skin that could generate such sensations. The clouds blew away and the heat of the sun and the cold of the altitude combined to create such incredible, unfamiliar sensations.

He snapped his thoughts back to the present. He didn’t have time for reminiscence.

At last, he spotted her. Someone he knew well. An ally and friend. Someone he knew would be on his side. She looked very different in her human form – she had many others – but her aura was unmistakable. She had hazel eyes and brown hair bound into a long, thick braid. She wore a short dress of brown leather in the style favoured by huntresses of this age, with tall boots to match.

This individual is known to us as Blessed Alycia, Mother of Nature. No-one knows what kind of entity she was, or even if she was ever truly more than a myth. The way Daelen told this story, it was always open to interpretation. Still, whether she was a real person or a metaphor, according to this legend, Alycia was particularly fond of a group of mortals who had always shown her much kindness and friendship. They seemed especially receptive to her form of power, expressing it as nature magic, making them the very first druids. While this nature magic was an aspect of her own self, it was a form of expression unlike anything she had encountered before. It was gentle and serene, but also intense and violent. It was a power that favoured balance and harmony and yet strived for constant change and progress. It seemed to her that it was at once the most creative and the most destructive power this world had to offer. Alycia looked up at Daelen and gave him a dazzling smile and a wave. For a moment, he was relieved. He had found her…but so had Kullos.

It all happened in slow motion. Daelen saw Alycia’s expression change from surprise and shock, to fear and terror as Kullos lashed out with the power of their native realm. Alycia hastily tried to shield herself, but some of his power got through and slammed into her mortal body, which collapsed to the ground, barely moving.

Daelen flew down as fast as he could, placing himself between them, praying to the gods he had once taunted to use their limited powers to keep her alive and help him. He prepared to defend himself and the fallen Alycia, but it seemed Kullos wasn’t going to attack him. In fact, he seemed to think Daelen was on his side.

“Daelen!” he called out. “You came to help me. I knew I could count on you. You know, don’t you? You can see it, can’t you? Just like me. No-one else can see it, Daelen. Or no-one wants to. Only you and me. We’re the only ones who see the evil all around us. They’re all against me, Daelen. All of them. All except you.”

He was ranting and raving, paranoia in total command, all rational thought gone, but still, Daelen hesitated. He didn’t know what to do – attack Kullos or try to help Alycia. If he did the latter, he knew Kullos would take that as a sign that he, too, was against him and his reaction was predictable. Daelen didn’t know if he had the power to defend them both. But if he spent his time and energy on attacking Kullos, he might not have enough of either to save Alycia. He felt frozen, paralysed. He was a trained fighter, powerful and deadly when he needed to be, but he was totally unprepared for the magnitude of this choice: save Alycia or save the world.

Kullos continued his raging. “Your mother is working for the enemy. Plotting against us, against me! I had to stop her, you know that, don’t you? She made me do it. I tried just hurting her a bit, to get her to admit her betrayal, but she wouldn’t. She kept claiming innocence, thinking me a fool that would believe her lies. She just kept on defying me. I would have destroyed her, but I realised: It’s not just your mother – it’s everyone! They’ve all gone over to the enemy. She was just distracting me, keeping me busy while others completed the weapon.”

“Weapon?” Daelen wondered.

“Yes!” Kullos cried. “They tried to hide it in this disgusting world of flesh and matter – the one place they believed I’d never go. Well, it won’t do them any good. No! I’m going to make sure they can’t use it. You can help me Daelen. Help me destroy this foul, stinking place and take the weapon with it!”

“I cannot allow that,” came a new voice.

The voice belonged to a man – a man of almost impossible size. More than seven feet tall with a colossal