The shack at the edge of the settlement outside of the tall walls of Rosa was rather quiet.
But not because the boys were in deep mourning over their loss. It was because they were attempting to take their first steps towards awakening.
Inside, Xaryus and Zadius were sitting near each other in the position described by the author in the book.
Their posture was perfect and their breathing slow.
The hardest part was trying to keep their focus.
As their eyes closed, and they breathed in and out, the horrors they had experienced just the day before had resurfaced in their minds.
What were they even doing?
Their mother was gone and now they were trying to awaken?
Why were they trying so hard?
But they knew why, and it was very simple, they weren't living for themselves.
Zadius had a younger brother to look after and Xaryus admired Zadius, so if he was willing to keep moving forward, Xaryus would do the same.
Eventually, all unnecessary thoughts faded and they began to recite what the author described as the tongue of dragons.
The instructions they left behind ordered them to recite the sentence three times before imagining the calm yet vast space.
"Archis seer cherdan yavich aw" Even without understanding the true meaning of the words that left their mouth, they rolled off both Xaryus and Zadius' tongue as if it was their native language.
Each word echoed within the shack much louder than it should have.
After each syllable was spoken, something shifted subtly in the air as if an invisible force was being pulled into the material plane.
There was a moment of silence, then they repeated the phrase in unison again…
"Archis seer cherdan yavich aw"
…Then they did it for the third and last time, which was then followed by a deafening silence.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours.
Their breaths had become so shallow that one almost couldn't see their chests rise and fall.
***
Out of the two, Zadius had reached his awakening first.
Suddenly, the darkness beneath his eyelids had become deeper and his orientation shifted.
It was a confusing feeling, one moment he was sitting on the wooden floor of his home and the next he was standing.
Or to be more exact he was somehow upright.
Zadius could feel that he was no longer at home or near his brother. There was no sound, no smell and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't open his eyes.
Then, he began to faintly hear hurried footsteps echo through the darkness around him, his nostrils were then assaulted by the scent of iron and lavender.
"What is happening?" he thought.
Once again, he tried to open his eyes, this time fighting against some invisible force that wanted to keep them shut.
As they slowly opened like long heavy drapes, they revealed a beautiful canvas and Zadius' eyes narrowed in confusion.
He found himself inside the halls of what one would only assume to be a castle. Its walls were expertly made with a long velvet carpet along its length.
The hallway held an array of shadows in each of its corners, yet contradictingly it was filled with a purple light that emanated from vibrant purple flames sitting within sconces that ran along the walls of the hall.
The flames had gathered Zadius' attention because he couldn't feel any warmth coming from them, but each flame filled him with a strange, ominous feeling.
He was almost certain that if any of the flames with the torches had touched him, he would be put through a harrowing ordeal of pain from which he could not recover.
His attention was then yanked away from the ominous flames as his body suddenly began to move through halls with blinding speed as if he was being dragged by an invisible force.
After a few moments of soaring through the lengthy hallways of the ominous castle, Zadius saw a large wooden door quickly approaching him.
In fear that he was going to slam into the heavy door he closed his eyes, but there was no impact.
Coming to a sudden stop, Zadius felt the attracting force fade leaving him suspended before the wooden door. Instead, he now felt a much stronger connection with the door or rather something behind it.
The connection was so strong that he instinctively raised his hand towards the door, but it wasn't there.
A mass of coalesced shadows that faintly outlined the shape of his hand was there instead. In shock, he gasped for air, but none entered his body because he had no mouth either.
Finally, Zadius was aware of what he had become.
His copper skin and the flesh beneath it had been replaced by roiling shadows warped and pressed into material form.
Yet deeper beneath the shadows that acted as his body, he could feel something else forming inside him.
Something untouched by the mass of shadows he had become.
After observing his new form, the large wooden doors ahead of him slowly began to open, dragging against the stone floors of the castle.
Behind them was a large room held up by three massive pillars on each side.
A set of braziers accompanied by the same vibrant purple flame were placed all across the large room, providing it with faint bits of light.
Just out of the wooden doors, another beautifully made carpet ran from the room's entrance up to a large black marble throne. A black piece of cloth haphazardly strewn across it
Sitting in the throne's cold embrace was a man adorned in a well-made set of imposing onyx armour that looked ornamental yet practical. He had long black hair that fell to the sides of his face and a thick beard.
His eyes were almost inhuman, as if one was staring into a dark abyss but Zadius could almost see a hint of emotion in his domineering eyes.
His gaze was filled with…
Boredom.
The strange man's strong-featured face slowly shifted in Zadius direction, and his mere attention had pressed an insurmountable weight on Zadius's shoulders.
If only he had shoulders.
The mass of shadows fell to the ground, almost wanting to scatter and escape into the dark corners of the hall to evade the man's gaze.
But Zadius could not move, in fact he was almost disappointed in himself.
How could he forget to bow before his king…
"What am I thinking?"
Zadius felt like he was losing his mind, the man in front of him felt familiar as if he had known him for thousands of years.
He inexplicably felt a strong sense of loyalty and care from him; he felt a need to protect him.
Then, the strange imposing figure had averted his gaze and released a heavy sigh, releasing the pressure on Zadius' shoulders.
Finally, Zadius felt like he could breathe, if he still had a mouth. But even then, he would have been cautious to breathe heavily around such a man.
"I wish you well."
The man spoke suddenly, his pronunciation was a bit off, but Zadius understood what he meant. After speaking, the armour clad stranger slowly leaned his arm on his throne and placed a fist beneath his chin.
A bored gaze suddenly returned to him as he stared down at Zadius.
After a moment, his body slowly began to shift and break down into shadows, whilst the shadows around Zadius' body slowly receded and revealed his own body.
The two stared at each other in silence whilst his body was reformed and the strange king's body had vanished.
When the man had finally dissipated, the throne room had suddenly grown dimmer, each of its purple flames losing their vibrant glow as if they had lost their ruler.
But they had not gone out.
[You have unlocked your spite, "Prince of Shadows"]
[You have gained a stigma, "Torchbearer of Sardant"]
A cold feminine voice had resonated deep within Zadius' mind. The sudden announcement had startled him, and each word deepened his confusion.
"What is happening…"
He spoke out loud before his body was suddenly thrust backwards, out of the large throne room and into an abyss.