Tales of Elandria

Gorgahl’s Message

The sounds of forest life stirred her. Before opening her eyes, Shiloh took a deep breath, trying to calm the intense pounding in her head.

The smell of cooked flesh and charred woodwork mixed on the breeze. The chaos that had raged mere hours ago was over. There was only a still, silent sadness remaining, bringing with it the realization that she was, in fact, alone again.

Shiloh opened her eyes and allowed the light to wake her fully. As she rose from the ground, shaking the light dusting of ash from her body as she looked at what remained of that quiet town.

At her feet, she could make out what looked to be a hand, severely burned, and not attached to a body of its own. Lapoul.

Her friend, humble in nature and easily shaken. Her stomach gave a tremendous heave, though it was empty, and her muscles twisted into knots despite themselves.

“I have to focus”, she blurted aloud to no one in particular. Speaking into the empty air helped her to feel less alone. “Gennie was trying to warn me, trying to keep me safe. Now she is dead.” Shiloh’s voice was steady, her tone matter of fact.

There was no one left.

She felt guilt wrap its familiar hands around her throat as she choked on a soft sob. “Was this my fault?!” she asked the nearest pile of ashes. “Was it because I ran? Because I left the others there? They were already dead!” she shouted. As she did, tears welled up and poured out with reckless abandon, mixing with the ashes on her cheeks.

Shiloh's eyes scanned over the wreckage of the molested town for any sign that the universe had heard her desperate call. Her gaze stopped on what appeared to be a piece of parchment tacked to a charred post. Moving closer for a better look, she found that it was actually large piece of human flesh that had been rendered from some unnamed victim. Upon the flesh, a sinister message had been burned:

Shiloh,

Soon you will see

You will lose everything.

Let this be a lesson to you; you are alive

At this moment by my own mercy alone.

I shall not extend the same courtesy twice.

Everyone you ever befriend; I will treat the same as this pathetic town.

Our next encounter will be our last.

Your soul belongs to me.

---Gorgahl

Shiloh stood in front of the austere words, in shock. Where once there had been hope within, she now began to feel a combination of fear, disbelief and rage building inside with incredible momentum.

Her breath was shaky, and her mind was racing.

“He will never have my soul,” she vowed aloud after a long silent moment. “He is right about one thing, though; our next encounter will be our last…and I will be his end.” Her voice was hoarse and breaking and her throat burned from the smoke all around, but the statement rang through the dry air with defiance.

As she looked past the note left by her tormentor, she could see the edge of the tree line. Beyond that was a vast expanse of land.

Her racing mind began calculating her options. If she followed him, she would catch him. There was no doubt about that, but then what? She had no idea what caused her magic to fail her before, and she could not risk it happening again.

Distance. That was all she desired for now. Distance from Gorgahl and his massacre.

“I cannot let this be for nothing, I have got to keep going,” Shiloh decided aloud, and began to look around. To her left were a great number of hoof prints that looked to be only a few hours old. To her right was a lone set of footprints, which appeared to have headed in the same direction as the hooves -- west. There was no indication that anyone went east, so east is where she would go.

If she were to become the force to end the evil of Gorgahl, she would need time to perfect her magic, and a plan to stop him.

Shiloh took a moment more to bathe in the sunlight as it caressed her exposed shoulders. As she did, the wisps from before reappeared. There were fewer this time, and they only grew to be the size of a firefly, yet still they swirled around her broken body.

They settled on her blistered skin and descended lovingly into her soul, filling her with power. Her body begin to buzz.

With an affirming breath she concentrated her freshly restored magic. In a blast of bright white, an aura of vigilance exploded from her body in every direction. It traveled the land, rapidly expanding and enveloping every living being in its persuasion. With this aura affecting all creatures near her she would not fall victim to another ambush. Shiloh looked down at herself.

Her new tunic was now barely hanging onto her body; it was greasy and greyish in color, mottled with bloodstains and soot. Her bare feet were black, and if she caught a glimpse of her reflection, she would see a great deal of dried blood around a gash near her temple.

“I need to make myself more presentable!” Shiloh suddenly exclaimed, gesturing towards herself as though the charred wooden cart was surveying her. She chuckled despite herself.

Shiloh had always had an infallible sense of humor. During her years in captivity, she saw it as the only form of control she had. Gorgahl could break her bones, tear her flesh, and twist her thoughts, but he could not extinguish the light that lived inside of her.

Shiloh would laugh. Even when there was no reason to, even when there was only darkness and pain; she wanted him to see that she was stronger than him.

She thought of the children she left behind, remembered their sweet faces; no doubt their bodies were still rotting in that dark void. Her smile faded quickly away.

What if he is inside all of them? Shiloh thought, causing her heart to beat furiously against her chest.

She replayed the interaction between her and Gentry in her mind. Shiloh could not believe it; she was sure Gentry had died.

The truth was, he was alive.

She did not know if his spirit remained in his body, however. But she held onto a hope that she could find a way to get through to him; find a way to free him.

He was like a brother to her in the darkest days of her life, and so she had made a promise to him, years ago, to always keep him safe. Shiloh had spent the last three years believing she had failed him miserably in that quest, but now had renewed faith that she could deliver on that promise, before it was too late.

She had been telling herself that it was time to leave, willing herself to move; yet her feet were as stubborn as her heart and refused to budge. As she stood there, alone, she allowed her mind to leave her. It travelled far back in time, to the night she was taken… Her reality melted around her.

The charred cart in front of her was transformed into the shape of a man, barely visible against the shadows of a twilight forest. He looked lost, and a little travel worn, but his energy felt kind.

Young Shiloh stood there, far away from her camp. She had snuck away from the rest of the tribe to play in the stream. She liked to play under the moonlight -- that way there were no others to tell her how she should toss her sticks into the water.

Shiloh stood considering the man who steadily drew nearer. As he did so, a smell wafted on the air between them and settled in her nostrils. It was sweet, and floral, and… suddenly he was inches from her.

The stranger's hair was long and unkempt and darker than the sky above them. His cold, grey eyes looked her over hungrily. Despite his kind vibration and sweet-smelling aura, she felt an intense instinctual need to flee.

Shiloh felt her muscles tense up in preparation to sprint when suddenly he spoke, and she was rooted to the ground.

“Hello there, sweet child,” he started in a soft and gentle tone. “My name is Gorgahl. Could you help me with this?” Gorgahl asked, and as he did, he made a grand sweeping gesture with his hand.

“Help… help with what?” Shiloh stammered, but as the words left her lips, her arms rose above her head and she began to twirl.

“STOP IT!” she shouted at the mysterious man, as her body mimicked the circular movements of his hands. She tried to stop; tried to regain control of her muscles, but every attempt to stop the motion was met with futility. Slowly at first, and then faster than was humanly possible, Shiloh continued spinning.

Over the sound of rushing air, she could hear a high-pitched ethereal noise emitting from the point where Gorgahl had been standing. Shiloh could see nothing but a dim blur of naked trees against a starless sky.

As she reached the apex of the spiral, she saw colors begin to bleed from her pores. A rainbow of brightly colored mist began to hover just slightly on the surface her skin.

Soon she was lifting from the ground, the earth falling far below her. As quickly as it had started, it stopped. The motion, the sound, the seeping colors. The world around her resettled and Shiloh dropped to her knees.

She tried to stand but her muscles screamed in protest. She tried to scream aloud but her voice was lost to her. There was nothing left in Shiloh.

What happened to me? Shiloh wondered furiously, attempting repeatedly to scream, to move, to do anything other than lay in such a vulnerable position. Shiloh strained to look up at Gorgahl, who was eyeing her with bemusement.

“Well, well, little miss, this is a surprise”, he chuckled slightly as he reached down to collect Shiloh from the ground. Her mind was screaming out in anger and frustration, her soul trapped in the flesh and bones of her useless body. She felt herself go limp in his arms as she was tossed over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

“I’ve never seen one of you so strong,” Gorgahl said as he heaved himself up with his cargo. “Usually after the extraction they all just… give up. You and I are going to have so much fun.” Gorgahl finished with an air of perversion, causing Shiloh’s stomach to somersault inside of her.

Hanging over his shoulder, limp and paralyzed, Shiloh watched the peacefully sleeping encampment shrink away into the night. She tried desperately to will her mother to wake, to check on her, to notice she was gone... before it was too late.

Shiloh felt one hot tear escape, rolling down her cheek and splashing to the ground below. How Shiloh wished she were as free as that tear, and how she envied its short end.

She could feel her hope for rescue slip away with each silent step Gorgahl took. Young Shiloh closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was back in the horror of the present.

Shiloh reached up and ripped the message from the post. She imagined a sharp red aura igniting the desecrated remains. Her will was recognized by her magic and the item in her hand burst into fast flames; disintegrating within moments.