Leukon in the In-between

Leukon pressed his palm flat against the cool menosite alloy of the Waygate. As he'd feared, it didn't so much as shudder in the presence of his mana.

"This one too, Kyon." His familiar whined softly, pressing his wet little nose into the prince's side. It seemed like every time they went into the Tunnels, another gate had shut forever. "And we were only here last month." He raised his lantern up to the edges. Like the others, it had fused to the frame. It was a great shame - he loved visiting the Whitefire Lands.

"Come on, let's go." He beckoned his companion to heel.

Kyon was a black, shaggy thing like a dog, but a demon nonetheless. He knew to stick close to his master's shadow, for the Tunnels grew more deadly with each visit. First there were the knifehands populating the upper floors, then the wraiths, ghouls and demons, and the banished. With magick in rapid decline, more doors were sealed shut - with the residents of those realms cut off, or stranded in the Tunnels of the In-between.

Travelling between the realms was once a privilege for any Polytryx, Leukon included, but his older brother Erebos despised all forms or magick and its users, and so such practice, even realm-hopping, were banned.

It was getting quite late. Polytryx magick was always most potent between the hours of twilight and midnight; if Leukon wanted a chance of returning home that night, it was probably better heading back, rather than waste any more time on locked Waygates.

The echo of their footsteps was swallowed by the resonant hum of the menosite. The Tunnels were, by design, never silent, for any material laced with mana sang with it. It could be enough to drive those who stayed too long mad - unable to sleep comfortably with the constant droning. There was a scent to it as well, for those who knew how to recognise it. It was like the air before a lightning storm - metallic and bitter, though pleasant. But if magick was dying a little at a time, Leukon may not hear the song or taste its fragrance on the air for much longer.

His lantern cast dancing colours on the walls - each brick carved with strange symbols and glyphs from those to have walked those halls long before him. The marks were clues to his position, for the Tunnels went on for thousands of miles, splitting off wherever they wished and leading to Waygates he'd yet to discover.

In all his sixteen years, he'd explored a total of five-hundred-and-seventy-one doors. He'd of course forgotten a few of them, and many had been sealed upon discovery or had closed up over time. And so he had only a few dozen that he frequented - anything to keep himself away from his brother and the castle.

Erebos insisted there was only wasteland beyond the borders of his kingdom, but Leukon had seen the truth with his own eyes. He'd visited gardens under perpetual moonlight, isles shattered by the hands of giants, cities of crystal and glass, ambersand beaches, forests of ashfall trees whose leaves burned hot as flames, and clockwork mountains that roamed vast deserts. There was more than Erebos could fathom, and yet Leukon knew even if he did show him what was truly out there, it wouldn't change his mind.

As they navigated the clues in the walls back in the direction of home, Kyon remained stuck to Leukon's side, the usual prance in his step replaced by a rigidness. The shadows themselves could present danger. If one lingered in the dark for too long, they would burrow into the mind, seeding dark or paranoid thoughts. And yet they drew wanderers in. Leukon knew the way as well as he could, but the shadows would still do their best to lure him. They tricked him with darkened passageways, some with faint flickers of light teasing an open Waygate or something more. Just around this corner... you'll find something new. Roam a little further, explore a minute longer... And he'd be wandering until his lantern went out and left him to the dark.

Kyon froze, his growl rumbling from multiple mouths. He wasn't worried of shadows, he'd sensed something else. His ears flattened to his head, he stared down one of the intersections.

"What is it, boy?" Leukon knelt beside him, his heart pounding. He followed Kyon's stare, seeing nothing at first, for that path was sunk in an impenetrable darkness. Some were like that - if all magick was gone from the Waygates down that path, the Tunnels would gulp down every last trace of mana, including any glimmer of light. It gave the shadows all the more power, and Leukon had done his best to close off such passages when he found them. This one was new. There'd been two Waygates up and working that way just hours ago. The darkness was spreading.

Through the empty void, a flicker. Movement. And a dragging, scratching sound grew over the hum around them.

Wraiths. Of course. They were scavengers, born in the deeper levels, though they had been climbing higher as they sought mana - drawn to it like moths to flames. It took Leukon a moment to truly comprehend the danger. If there was no longer mana coming from the Waygates, they would be called by the next available source... Himself.

"Kyon..." He whispered, chills ripping up his arms. "Back up... Slowly." He tiptoed as quietly and cautiously as possible into the tunnel on his right - the one leading back home. He knew running would only provoke them.

As they came towards his light, he finally got a better look at them. They had hair like cloth that draped to the floor, brushing away the dust at their hooked feet. One or two or more hungry eyes glowed orange like beacons in the mist, teeth akin to splinters pierced through their lips, and their skin resembled the gnarled wood of an ancient tree. They were almost as tall as the ceiling above, staring down at the prince and his familiar, their tongues clicking at the backs of their throats all the while. Whether it was language, or a means of detecting prey, Leukon didn't know. He only knew that the best way to avoid them was to move slowly and quietly, hoping a greater source of mana would distract their attention.

There were three. That was unusual. Wraith's weren't know to travel in packs. They must have been starving, and he didn't blame them for targeting him. They were probably confused, scared - living in the Tunnels was as much a challenge for its native fauna as it was for realm-hoppers.

He walked backwards, never taking his eye away, and praying that there'd be nothing to trip him or stand in his path. If he could find a Waygate, any Waygate that was still functioning, he could encourage them to feed on it rather than himself. Wraiths alone could not exhaust a gate's mana, as they lived in a symbiotic relationship with them, producing mana as well as taking it. But with things that moved, they'd behave very differently. They would drag any living creature with mana back to their nests, imprisoning them, and keeping them until they starved.

He couldn't let that happen. There was no worse fate than being stuck in the In-between.

Leukon felt the wall at his back - he must have strayed from a direct path with his focus so narrowed upon them. Kyon growled again, eager to bark - to do anything to scare them away. Leukon fumbled his hands across the stone, feeling for the metal of the gate he knew to be there.

His fingertips found it. He pressed harder, meeting the chill menosite. It was there, of course it was, he'd visited that gate several times before.

"Kyon, hold..." He gasped, shifting his weight to the wall and feeling around for the right spot - the small smooth disk in the centre. He found it, infusing his mana into it, praying for it to work and awaken the gate.

Nothing.

His body quaked, sweat soaked his brow. He tried harder, commanding the gate to respond to his pleas. Still nothing. He felt a cold seize his lungs. The silence said it all. There was no hum, no scent, just dead metal under his digits. Another gate was lost.

He flicked his eye away for just a moment - he had to see for himself. And in that second, Kyon decided that the wraiths were too close. He barked in warning, bearing the fangs of all three of his mouths, his figure morphing to stand on two legs - ready to fight them head-on.

"No no no, wait!" Leukon begged, his thoughts racing. He'd seen wraiths fight before in the lower levels. A demon familiar like Kyon may hold one of them off for a while, but not three.

Leukon scanned his eyes over the walls, desperate for a way out. The tunnel stretched behind him, and the wraiths lurked ahead. He watched Kyon stand off against them - each sizing the other up and still deciding if a fight was worth the effort.

It gave him an idea. His own magick was currently at its strongest, and though ambient mana was dying as a result of his brother's meddling, his was not.

"Kyon, get ready to run." He urged, his tone low and firm.

His familiar tensed his shoulders, raring to go at a moment's notice. Leukon knew he could give the wraiths exactly what they wanted, distracting them long enough to give them an opportunity to escape.

It had been years since he'd actually cast a spell. Erebos had forbidden it. To have mana was in itself a crime worth imprisonment, to use it was punishable by execution, or worse. Leukon worried he had forgotten the words - the words his mother had shared with him mere moments before her death at the hands of her eldest son... No, he could never forget them. He could never forget her.

He raised his hands. "I invoke the Primordial Covenant." A light flickered in his fingertips. "Spirit of the Northern Star, grant me your infinite light!" The glow spread to his palms, and a runic circle took form before him. "Pierce the shadow veil and impart your divine truth." He braced the burning pain clawing up his arms, as tendrils of starlight snaked their way up his wrists. "NOW, KYON!"

The familiar spun and made a dash for the exit. The wraiths would have followed, but in that split second before they gave chase, Leukon cried out, "TÖ LYUKÓN D'KAODIS SKIOTA!"

The circle spun, faster and faster - all its energy drawn towards its central point. The voice of the spirit whispered in reply. And then release!

A bolt of white energy shot forth from its heart, zipping past the wraiths and searing the air around them. It tore through the darkness, gaining momentum and intensity. The light it gave off was raw, concentrated mana, dwarfing that which its caster now had to offer. And so the wraiths turned with a collective shriek, and driven by their insatiable hunger, scrambled after it.

Leukon's hands were burned, contorted into claws and shaking. He cradled them to his chest as he hurried as fast as his feet would carry him across the uneven cobbles in the opposite direction. The lantern slipped from his grasp with a clang that may have once again caught the attention of his pursuers.

The path ahead still had some flickering threads of light from the few functioning Waygates, but the shadows still writhed with malevolent intent, eager to trip him so they may invade his thoughts. The wraiths' screams grew louder with each step, but Leukon refused the urge to look back. He focused solely on Kyon ahead of him, leading him to the way out.

He dodged the darkness and weaved through the twists and turns back towards the gate leading towards home. The wraiths were back on his tail - not too long fooled by a fading blast of magick compared to the one who had commanded it. They swallowed the light behind him, scratching out the marks on the walls and spilling through the intersections to close the distance.

The door was just ahead. Leukon's pulse drummed in his ears, and each breath he took came sharper than the last. He held his rapidly healing arm out in front of him, meeting the warm, thriving menosite of the Waygate. It came to life, the hum of the metal growing to a song of welcome as its solidity gave way to an open portal

Leukon and Kyon jumped through it as a wraith swiped for them, and landed hard on the stone paving of the castle garden.

Feeling the grit between the slabs of paving, the cool night air, and the flickering warmth of flamelight upon him, Leukon breathed a sigh of relief. He rolled onto his back, the hard ground serving as a strange comfort, and stared up at the sky as he collected himself. Countless stars glittered above, but the north star appeared dimmer than usual. Still, he knew it would be restored to its former glory in little time - a single spell wouldn't weaken a star's overall brilliance for long.

Of course he'd remembered the words. His mother had named him after the spirit of the north star itself. Tö Lyukón D'kaodis Skiota meant 'The Light that Guides in the Dark.' Just as his brother's name came from another divine spirit, but one much more ancient, and one who commanded the darkness rather than the light. Fortunately, Erebos couldn't use magick, and therefore would never be able to call upon such a force...

He petted Kyon as he sat up, staring back through the otherwise very ordinary archway leading to the far end of the garden. It was a simple structure, made from stone and overgrown with ivy, and yet it served as a doorway into the space between the realms...

It was almost funny... Erebos hated anything to do with magick, including the Waygates, and yet he had one hidden in plain sight in his own backyard. If he'd known it was there, it would have been destroyed years ago.

But he had no idea, and Leukon intended to keep it that way. He dusted himself off and headed back towards the silhouette of the castle with his familiar pottering at his side.

As he approached the heavy doors, two guards greeted him in unison, "Prince Leukon, welcome back." Their voices were respectful, but firm.

"How was your nightly walk, sir?" One asked.

He knew exactly what to say. It was the same dance every night. They didn't actually care, it was merely a pleasantry. Still, saying nothing would raise suspicion, and so instead he'd paint them a picture, sometimes going into extravagant detail to make his lie all the more convincing.

"Great! We watched the fish swimming in the pond, going around and around for hours. Their scales are so pretty in the moonlight. Ooh, and we saw the bats were catching moths in the orchard-

"Very good, sir." They cut in, sharply.

Leukon dipped his head, feigning sheepishness. He mumbled a goodnight, before pressing on inside. As soon as the doors shut behind him, he offered a sly smirk to Kyon, who wagged his tail.

As soon as he reached his chambers - a sanctuary pieced together from his brother's discarded furnishings (or whatever he'd managed to salvage from his parents' room before the rest was burned), he abandoned his princely facade. He lay in his bed, with Kyon curling up beside him.

He'd been smiling moments ago, now his brow furrowed with worry, and his exhilaration faded back into gnawing unease. More Waygates were closing, faster than ever before. The Tunnels served as the one vital link connecting their kingdom to the other realms. Historically, they'd have been used for trade or the movement of people. But that connection was being severed, piece by piece. Magick wasn't the only thing Erebos was determined to eradicate, he wanted the world divided.

And the consequences were already making themselves known. More monsters were creeping up from the lower levels. Whatever his brother was doing was drawing the fauna of the In-between closer together. They were hungry, and with them roaming in packs, they grew more dangerous than ever.

Without magick or Polytryx, there'd be nothing to stop them if they found a way to breach the boundary. Erebos had no idea that his fanatical quest for order could soon spell calamity - potentially unleashing a tide of chaos and destruction upon the very kingdom he sought to protect.

It all weighed heavily upon Leukon's chest - a crushing burden he could share with no one if he was to protect himself. He knew he needed to get stronger. He would have to go back into the Tunnels again and find a way to fix things. If he didn't, every realm would be at risk.

To save his brother, he had to defy him. To save the world, he had to walk outside it.