Chapter 1 The Maiden and the Warlord

"What is it now Aires?" Her voice pierced his plight like the shafts of light streaming through the thick evergreen leaves of the forest where she stood. Golden brown curls fell gracefully past her shoulders, boldly lit by the transparent beams spearing through the blockade of green covering overhead. Her light brown skin captured a perfection known to no mortal before her, set aglow by a seemingly celestial ambience. Upon her outstretched arm, he stood proudly. His talons firmly gripping her arm as her soothing fingers caressed his feathered head. He gently leaned into her palm, enjoying his mistress' attention. "Still tending to that bird I see?"

Aires stepped from the shadows of the forest, a slow calculated motion. His smile a contemptuous riddle of deceit and intrigue, his face hardened by the suns of war yet it bore no semblance to a man of such. His eyes were cold yet inviting, like the devil that sits upon your shoulder urging you to take a chance on a night of unattached intrigue. She turned slowly as his steps dispersed of the seemingly ocean wide distance between them, meeting his smile with a mask of disgust. "Yes Aires?" His smile widened, noting an inward struggle vividly apparent in her eyes. Another step brought them face to face.

"Why do you resist me Elena? Why waste mortal strength fighting that which you and I both know to be true?" She turned sharply as his hands moved slowly to her. "Do not lay a finger upon me Aires! I am not yours to fool with." He laughed, the arrogance of his person scorching her words like the hellfire shining brightly in his dark eyes. "My sweet, sweet Elena. Ever the discouraging." He snapped his palm shut! A momentary fist unfolded into an elegant stroke upon the air as he turned from her. "I have done nothing further. I have left your life uninterrupted, allowing you to live out your days in the service of a man undeserving of a woman like yourself."

"It's better than a slave of your house!" She spat, her head snapping up to face him in full.

"And still," he continued, allowing her comment to waste away on the winds of passage sweeping the forest floor. "Still Elena. Still you yearn for me. You yearn to be complete again, whole, unfiltered, uninhibited... free." His eyes flashed, a knowledgeable smirk playing triumphantly upon his lips as he faced her, revelling in the knowledge that his last words had unnerved her. She glared at him, her feathered companion eyeing him with malicious intent in defence of its mistress. "If freedom means allowing you into my bed Aires then I shall die a slave." His smile vanished and a vengeful rage sparked in his eyes.

"You! You would rather die, the slave of a mortal man, than be the wife of a god."

"Concubine Aires! I would be no more than another concubine; your bed cloth, your whore, to lay with as you please, to wash you, clothe you and bestow limitless hours of unfathomable pleasure all to your satisfaction. Then to die, to die the trophy of a heartless fiend whose sole purpose is to incite greed into the hearts of men, consumed by his hopeless aspirations of stealing their wives in the dark of the night. You are a spineless maggot Aires, despicable and disgusting." Her hazel brown eyes flamed with a blaze of anger and hatred, fuelled by an underlying truth that she cared not to admit. His hands dropped limply to his side, his eyes softening in that moment as the raging pyre hid from him what he thought to be the truth. Defeated, discouraged, he turned, his body fading into the darkness as he spoke his final words, riveting, spellbinding. "I see.."

My travel through the cavern had led me to the field where I had once lain. "Why have we returned here Lysini?" Her devil green eyes met mine as a soft palm reached up to caress my face. "Your quest begins here, my love." She pulled away slowly. "I have nothing more to offer you. The path taken here forth has been written by fate and by her cruel hands we shall be torn again from each other but this time, we have the chance to defy the laws of gods, to write our own destiny upon the sands of time. Be strong my love. This road shall be littered with evils unbeknownst to the mortal realm. Be strong and conquer." My hands snaked their way around her waist again and I pulled her close. We hid nothing, spoke no words yet said everything, her head resting against my chest in that final embrace. " I await your return. " Our lips met again, lingering, longing, as our tongues spoke a language known only to us both, comprehended with the depths of our understanding and relinquished in the height of our emotion. I watched as she disappeared through the darkness. She was gone and my spirit had once again begun to feed upon the poison of her tales. Unarmed but unaltered, I took my first step heading to an unknown land.

"Talon!" The falcon spread its grey -white wings as it soared overhead, circling Elena as they pressed onwards through the forest. Ensuring that his protective duties were fulfilled Talon soared higher marking out his mistress's territory before finally coming to rest upon her arm. She stroked its head lovingly. "Good job my brave hunter. Her palm continued its affectionate motions as she walked, speaking softly to her companion as she moved past the army of trees lining her way. "It should not be long till we reach Aysenis. We'll rest up there before continuing home." Talon's light shrill declared his agreement. Her thoughts moved from the comfort of rest to her earlier encounter. "Why do you think he came today Talon? It has been years since he's revealed himself to me. It's known truth that he has been watching me. I feel his presence in everything at home. Why now? Why now make his existence known?" Talon climbed into her shoulder and nuzzled gently against her face. Elena greeted him with a smile. "Yes. Maybe you are right. He is not worth wasting my thoughts on." His shrill cry echoed through the forest as they continued, stepping cautiously over the litter of roots lying in their way. "Hmm.." Her arms folded about her chest as she wandered the world of thoughts Try as she might they still returned to Aires. His leaving today had been most uncustomary. He would usually put up more of a fight before relinquishing in momentary defeat but this time it seemed he had accepted her decision. Accepting it though with the promise of a consequence, unspoken but she had seen it in his eyes. She had heard those words slither from his lips as he left. Her spine had rippled in their wake and though he had departed she could not rid herself of the unfaltering truth. He would return.

"Lady Elena. You have travelled far. " The inn keeper smiled courteously to the young woman, "Let me show you to a room." Elena returned his favour with a gracious grin. "Thank you kind sir!" She followed the clerk upstairs, his frail body watchfully climbing the sturdy hill which led to the inn's rooms. Pushing open the first of the six doors on the floor, the stumpy figure led Elena into her temporary dwelling arrangement, beaming up at her with pride. This was one of the more costly rooms at the inn, reserved only for guests of a higher social standing. Elena offered her thanks once more and watched as he exited the room, closing the door behind him. She browsed her abode, the scent of pine ripe in her nostrils. A handcrafted array of furniture adorned her new surroundings. A small desk and chair beset by a lamp against the wall, Her closet across from it resting deftly at the edge of the dark red carpet spread about the floor. New or more so recently washed linen hung elegantly over her window barring from the world, the intimacy of a woman's bed. Slowly navigating the unfamiliarity, she came to the window, beside which lay her bed, chaste, immaculate, untouched. The sheets reverberated a heavenly aura as the light skimmed past the curtains falling boldly where few men had ever dared make their home. Pulling the curtains together to form a neat tie, she pressed her palm to the slightly dusted panes and pushed the window open. Talon's cry could be heard over the hustle of the village. It was just past midday and the townsfolk were at the height of their activities. Tattered brown coats flooded the streets as vendors and merchants called out to their customers. Tradesmen skilfully worked their craft, builders and barmaids, each man about their business as the crowd flowed to and fro about the streets. Talon circled them, his eyes as observant as they had been in Aires' presence. He swooped down, diving into the crowd. Elena's eyes followed him until he was submerged in the hectic sea of dusted cloaks, anxiously awaiting his faithful return. "Talon?" It had been but a minute or less and Talon was yet to surface. Her eyes skimmed the thickness watching carefully for any sign. "Talon?" She questioned again, fighting off the fear slowly crippling her insides. Her stomach began to churn slowly, tightening and twisting into a mixture of confusion and disbelief. Another minute had passed, her hands resting against the rail began to tremble as she continued to search the streets. "Talon!!" Her finger fumbled endlessly as they tried to make it into her mouth. Try as she might though, not a sound fall from her lips despite the numerous attempts to call for her companion. "Talon" She bolted, the room door blasting open as her feet thundered down the stairs. It had been but a mere glimpse but it sufficed. Her insides squirming, her brain screaming, her body pulsing, she shot through the open door and into the

murk brown sea of people. She pushed past the heat and stench of a crowded street, forcing herself through the dense flood. "Talon!" Her throat

throbbed from the prolonged screams. . "Talon!" She called again, repeating the word with growing hysteria. Like a mother who had lost her child, hazel brown eyes frantically swam the head high waters searching the waves of heads in her path. "Tal..." Her words were cut from her throat as her heart plummeted through the darkness inside. "Talon.."

"It is done milord." Lysini fell to one knee, her head bowed reverently awaiting his response. Before her sat a throne and upon that throne sat her master. She would not look upon him unless he requested as such. She would not go to him unless he called for her and she would not betray him for his promise held her transfused. His eyes bore a profound darkness. Legs crossed elegantly one atop the other, he leaned forward, leaving the shadowed haven of the red gold throne. Fingers gently pressed against each other in a contemplative manner, his smile extended across his face curling at the tips into a grin nothing short of devious. "Mycaenely is..." A smouldering gaze overwhelmed her as the soulless darkness buried itself in the sea of green. She hesitated but only for a while and with a short sigh replied. "Yes my lord."

"Ah!" He snapped back to his former disposition. His jubilance cloaked by the thin layer of darkness overshadowing the throne. His fingers remained as they were as his lip met them momentarily. "I need something." The darkness fell upon Lysini again., She could feel those eyes tear through her as he spoke. The winds grew stagnant, the clouds unmoving, even the sun itself seemed to halt in its plight all laying wait to his request. "W..What is it milord?" Hands trembling mercilessly, her green locks parted as a lengthy travel commenced at the base of the throne. Sea green eyes rose in terror as they sought the source of the words he had yet to speak She was trembling now, her slim frame convulsing in the spot as Aires looked upon her with vile glee.

"Need I..." He leaned further backwards, revelling in her immediate comprehension of his malicious intent. "...say more?" A heavy sigh of resignation breathed from her lips.

"As you wish milord. It shall be done."