Heroine

Gravatar

KittenX

level 14

Oh crap!

Age 8 years 2 months
Personality neutral
Guild no guild
Monsters Killed about 2 thousand
Death Count 4
Wins / Losses 3 / 1
Bricks for Temple 4.9%

Equipment

Weapon fairy's battle axe +10
Shield frosty shield +8
Head stuntman's helmet +5
Body reindeer skin +7
Arms green sleeves +9
Legs bunny-ear slippers +5
Talisman holy bolt +6

Pantheons

Gratitude4904

Achievements

  • Favorite, 3rd rank

Hero's Chronicles

The Shadow of Winter
by Calil



My parents told me a lot of boring things when I was young. And I would love to share these boring things with you.
I have the great ‘pleasure’ of being a shadow. I stalk my pet around, and do everything she does. I am unnoticed by all except the shadows, and there really aren’t that many that haven’t given up on life yet anyway. So conversation is very dull.
My parents told me I was born sometime in the spring. They had given up living well before I was born, so they really didn’t care when I was born. Oh well.
At school I met a kid named Sunal. He was very shy, at the time , and had the weirdest ears. He was always bullied by other shadows, whether they wanted to or not. I told him he could stand up for himself. I whispered to him in a voice no one else could hear, “you’re a shadow. Grow up. Don’t be a doormat, be cruel. Just slash at them all.”
But he didn’t listen, not yet. He was too shy. Our pets forced us to be together constantly, so I had plenty of time to train him. I told him how to stand up for himself, and eventually, he listened. It was amazing. Something in his heart had snapped, I could hear it, and everytime a shadow lunged at him, somehow he managed to hold him off.
As we grew, I noticed myself, both of me, feeling attracted to him. Attraction was wrong, I told myself. I made myself fight against it by ignoring the things he said, everytime we were forced to hold hands. Our kiss, I couldn’t take it. I didn’t want a love that was fake.
“We have grown up together, but I don’t love you. You probably figured you had me falling for you after you turned cruel, but I didn’t.” It was a whisper of a whisper, barely heard by even I.
He glared at me, I felt it. He whispered back, “Why aren’t you more like your owner? Why can’t you be kind, and smell like lavender, and love people. Yes, I thought that earning your love by being cruel to all those people would work. But I see that I fell for a freak, a shadow of a shadow.”
How dare he? He fell for my ‘owner’? I owned myself. And I didn’t mind being a monster. I wanted to be a monster. Nobody loved me, so I had nothing to lose, only gain.
After our pets got married in the Winter, I knew I would be forced to see him everyday of my life. We had a child, and I knew I would raise her better unlike my parents did. We named her Ettelracs, the opposite of Scarlette. Sunal went to work in the fields, while I was left to tend to the baby, and make shadow blankets to sell to other shadows.
One day, a wolf barged into our house. Ettelracs was sitting by me, sewing, when she saw him rushing about, looking for meat. She ran out of the back door, far away. I jumped up and prepared to run as well when he bit me on the throat, tearing my throat apart. I screamed in a whisper, I could do no more. Then when my pet was dead, he started dragging me by the ankle. The shadow wolf looked up at me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to me. To this day, he was tye only person I ever forgave. “We are just so hungry. He will make me eat you, I do not want to. He doesn’t want to either, but he can’t control himself. In some ways, he is a shadow of himself as well. Talk to Bloodymore in the Underworld when you die. She will tell you what to do.”
Then, Sunal and Lunas came in. They drew their swords and cut the wolves. The wolves looked up at the shadow and man, and I heard the shadow wolf whisper, “Sunal?”
Then they teleported away.
I was barely alive, barely, when Sunal put his head on my chest, immitating his master. But he was earnestly sobbing.
“Why do you cry?” I asked with my last whisper.
“I cry for my lifelong friend, Lilac.” he replied.
I felt a hand reach for me and drag me down below the ground. I hated Sunal. I would never forgive him. I traveled through all the layers of the earth to its magma core. All of a sudden, I was able to stand. Like a person would stand. I looked at my hands, then my feet.
I looked just like Lilac, but black. I could walk like her. I called out ‘hello’, expecting a whisper but heard a powerful voice that sounded like Lilac. Lilac, but much darker. Soon, a black being like I, in a long, graceful black dress walked up to me. I noticed we were standing on magma, but it didn’t hurt. I could walk through all the rocks ahead, and they all sizzled out of existence by my touch. I walked to the beautiful shadow woman.
I am Queen Bloodymore. She did not move her mouth, but her electric blue eyes bore into my thoughts, and I understood what she said.
I tried it out myself. I am Calil, Lilac’s shadow.
She shook her head. No, child. She is your person. You are your own Shadoe. Shadoes are free. Not all yet, but you and I.
I thought about this. I wanted others to be free, not just I. How can they be free from the chains that are people?
We must collect SeasonBorn essence. Your friend, Sunal, is the only one who can steal Winter’s essence. This can only happen after the White Wolf is dead, though, which will happen anytime with that cut of his.
Sunal is not my friend. He loves my person, Lilac.
Well, I have a plan. Sunal is foolish, and young. If we can convince him to kill Lunas and be free to love Lilac, he will bring the essence right to us. In the process, he will also doom his love.
Revenge on Sunal, freedom for everyone else? Count me in.
Bloodymore made me wait for several years. Lunas had to have his Alternate form grow for two decades before I could do my job. So I waited. Time passed, and I talked to Bloodymore about the plan. She had stolen some essence from a Spring Civilian centuries ago. With this, we could free only one shadow, Sunal. Sunal would kill Lunas out of jealousy, sending it directly to us. Then he would act tough on Lilac, for a little while. What he didn’t know is that he would be sent to us, and we would kill him.
The time came for me to take the essence to Sunal. Bloodymore handed me a green orb. I could faintly see a young man in it, asleep. I raced up to the core, and made sure everyone was asleep. Shadoes can see through the window between Godville and the Gods’ land. I woke Sunal up.
“Lilac? You’re black!” He whispered at me.
Shhhhh… I am Sunal. I offer you freedom, in exchange for you killing Lunas when you are a Shadoe. Then you must make Lilac believe you are her enemy. It won’t be fun, but it’s necessary to save all our kind. You will be with her soon afterwards.
He agreed to use the orb later the next day. I Changed for the first time and flew up to the other realm and reunited with Lilac, temporarily. The next day, Sunal kept his word and killed Lunas. We flew down to save him, but of course, it was ‘too late’. Lilac cried as I rolled my eyes. Sh hadn’t even noticed I had returned. Sunal did his part and removed Lilac’s wings, but strangely enough not mine. Quickly afterwards, he was dragged to the Underworld, where Bloodymore would soon kill him. I, however, was never retrieved like she said I would be. She lied to the two of us.
Now I am forced to stalk Lilac around. Soon I will be free, I am sure. A golden palace is ahead, and I feel a presence that is Shadoe-like, dark, ready to kill for its goal. Lilac and I agree on one thing: we belong here. I am ready.