The Labyrinth A world of shadows. The days seeming endless with no beginning and no end. The light never changes. In front of you is only a luminescent line on the floor, brighter as it stretches off into the distance, but should you be brave enough to glance back over your shoulder, there is only... Darkness. Each passage way is darker and drearier than the one before it, and all are uniform in their appearance. Smooth rock walls and smooth rock floors with a gentle line of light on the ground. The ceiling is impossible to spot. It is as if you are looking upward into a hole in the fabric of the universe, infinitely deep. Days from one awakening to the next are as different as the passages are similar. Every day, new sources of sustenance are found and every day death is evaded for just a little longer. Every so often, you can hear screams and howls of pain slicing through your eardrums and rebounding harshly off of the icy walls. If and when they are finally silenced a feeling of dread pervades the air. The labyrinth has claimed another victim. Chapter One A cold wind whistled through the corridor, chilling me to my very bones. I shivered, yet ploughed on ahead, following that thin line of light beneath my feet, the only direction that I could ever follow. My brother Zaln strode along beside me, seemingly unaffected by the icy gust his mouth and nose protected by the dark sash covering most of his face. “Just a little longer,” he said with a lopsided grin. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Just a little longer seemed to be the theme of Azdin, as the labyrinth was called. You could be feeling a huge gust of wind, then come to a dead end and realize it was somehow blowing though solid rock. It could be freezing one moment, with the obsidian walls as cold as ice, and the next moment as hot as a frying pan, the floors sizzling like one if you weren’t wearing any shoes. Whatever was happening at the moment, it was guaranteed to stop before the next sleep. One thing was certain; Azdin was no walk in the park. Mortals were dying constantly, their screams echoing through the dark halls almost every awakening. It wasn’t that hard to die here, you could walk senselessly over a cliff; you could die of starvation, or of cold. Thankfully Zaln and I both had light armour and a cloak, so we were less likely to be victims of old man frost than most people. The part we were most worried about was to die by animals, most specifically the tskandas. These creatures are large black cats with the ability to shrink to six inches high, or expand to over six feet at the shoulder. They are quicker than a flash of lightning, strong enough to knock their way through solid rock, and smarter than the average person. That wasn’t the most dangerous part however. They all have five tails that they can use as whips that protect them from behind as well or better than their sharp teeth and claws can in the front. Thankfully, they had never taken interest in Zaln or me, for they only kill people like us if we annoy them. We aren’t a threat to them mostly because there are only two of us. We had fought off many dreadful things, but never tskandas... I sighed in relief as we turned into a separate passageway. “Thank Vinin,” I whispered as the warmth began to seep back into my bones. Zaln rolled his eyes at me. “Somehow I doubt Lady Chaos had anything to do with that, considering she’s chained up with the other dark Domaens in Ashndae.” I hissed a low curse under my breath. The Shndae Gods had taken the Domaens of the Ter’iot and ourselves, the Ma’uibo and imprisoned them in their fortress of light, the Ashndae. With our Domaens (gods) safely locked away, they began their plan to eliminate all of the Ter’iots, and Ma’uibo. Right now, the Ter’iots were warring them on the surface. We however, could do nothing. Millennia ago, the Shndae gods had locked the strongest dark race away in Azdin to prevent us from getting “too powerful,” along with a few mortals who had angered them. Unfortunately, our Domaens could do nothing because they did not want to anger the Shndaes outright. Those who did protest were trapped down here with us, like Vinin, Lady Chaos, and Ma’a and Ubo her children, Twin patrons of dark magic. Less than a decade ago however, a powerful Wawoal (Shndae elite), began his conquest over the three most dangerous. His name was Gandr Fenx. After his gods stole ours away (they took Vinin and her children by summoning them), he began his attack on the Ter’iot. They were adequately prepared however, and are still putting up a good fight. We are unable to help them, but more and more Ter’iots flock here daily to avoid war. The third group, the Syndicate of Nymnid was unaffected, and many suspect that they have formed a secret alliance with Gandr, but Zaln thinks that that is preposterous. I only stared at my feet in answer to Zaln’s aforesaid comment, and sighed. He yawned and said, “I think it’s time to get some sleep, I’m almost asleep on my feet!” I only nodded and wrapped my cloak more tightly around me and sat down with a knife close at hand. It paid to be vigilant. “I’ll take first watch,” I muttered and Zaln drowsily smiled already half asleep as he drifted out of reality.