this?’ He reached into his pocket to retrieve a
spherical stone no larger than Seeol’s eye. So black was the stone
that it appeared to shine darkness, thereby draining the light from
its immediate surroundings. As a result, its exact dimensions were
hard to determine.
‘ That is mine.’ Seeol
stared at the stone in horror. He had never seen it before, but it
looked exactly like something he knew very well.
There existed a tree in a clearing in
the northern parts of Narvon Wood. It was black to such a point
that it drained light from the air and set a burden to the soul. It
was the tree beneath which Seeol had hatched.
‘ Yes, Master.’ The
high priest fell to his knees. ‘It is yours.’
‘ It is of terrible
evil.’ Seeol’s face sunk to the floor. It could only be a thing of
evil, just like him.
‘ Then you truly are
He.’ Damah’s chin quivered. ‘You recognise your own creation for
the darkness it bears.’
‘ Yes ,’ Seeol said bitterly,
realising that the stone must have been found near his tree. ‘It is
from the woods were it all began.’
‘ Yes,’ Damah replied.
‘You trusted it to Sa’Tan, but he defied You. Instead of doing as
he’d been instructed, he used it to forge a gateway between our
worlds and illegally entered the garden of Edin.’
‘ What?’ Seeol cocked
his head in utter confusion. ‘Where is it from?’
‘ We believe it was
found by demons in Cold Wood, where the gates were opened for the
first time so very long ago,’ Damah replied, failing to answer the
question that Seeol had actually asked. ‘They took the Devil’s
Stone to Old World and there it remained for thousands of years.
And, of course, You know it was brought here by a distant ancestor
of mine. Thereafter, it was passed down from father to son. But You
are the rightful owner of the stone.’
‘ Ancestor.’ Seeol
tried out the word, unfamiliar of its meaning.
‘ I’m sorry, Father.’
The blood left Damah’s face. ‘Forgive me. Forgive me, but, yes, my
long dead ancestor was a Sa’Tanist. Although he did commit the
unforgivable sin of demon worship, in the end he came back to the
fold to resume his worship of You.’
‘ Don’t care,’ Seeol
replied, having become bored of the conversation. ‘Give it.’ He
pointed at the stone in the man’s hand.
‘ Of course.’ Damah
placed the stone into Seeol’s talons. ‘It is yours to do with as
you wish.’
‘ What should this do
with it?’ Seeol asked.
‘ That is not for
mortal man to decide.’
‘ Just tells me,’
Seeol grumbled in frustration.
‘ Of course! You’re
testing me,’ Damah squeaked. ‘The Holy Tome refers to it as a stone
of great power. When Maker went away, it was given to Sa’Tan the
Devil so that he could protect the inhabitants of our world from
his residence in Hae’Evun. Instead of doing as he’d been
instructed, he used the stone for evil. He was jealous of our world
and created a gateway. Then, after stealing the sacred power of
resurrection, he and his kin broke through into the realm of
man.’
‘ What did happened to
the gates?’ Seeol asked.
‘ Many months after
the gates had been opened, they grew weak and collapsed in on
themselves, thereby ceasing to exist. Maker had been wise enough to
know that even His most beloved servant might use His power for
wickedness. In the case of such heresy, He’d given the stone’s
power certain limitations. It can work miracles, but they do not
last indefinitely. It is fabled that the stone can only be used
three times and that each time its power will grow weaker and its
duration much shorter.’ Damah sighed. ‘We turned our backs on You
and now our world is rife with sin.’
‘ Thank you.’ Seeol
stared into the hypnotic blackness of the stone. Unlike the tree
beneath which he’d been born, the stone was strangely warm and
welcoming. ‘I think I will be rested now.’
‘ Of course.’ Damah
backed out of the room and closed the door behind
spherical stone no larger than Seeol’s eye. So black was the stone
that it appeared to shine darkness, thereby draining the light from
its immediate surroundings. As a result, its exact dimensions were
hard to determine.
‘ That is mine.’ Seeol
stared at the stone in horror. He had never seen it before, but it
looked exactly like something he knew very well.
There existed a tree in a clearing in
the northern parts of Narvon Wood. It was black to such a point
that it drained light from the air and set a burden to the soul. It
was the tree beneath which Seeol had hatched.
‘ Yes, Master.’ The
high priest fell to his knees. ‘It is yours.’
‘ It is of terrible
evil.’ Seeol’s face sunk to the floor. It could only be a thing of
evil, just like him.
‘ Then you truly are
He.’ Damah’s chin quivered. ‘You recognise your own creation for
the darkness it bears.’
‘ Yes ,’ Seeol said bitterly,
realising that the stone must have been found near his tree. ‘It is
from the woods were it all began.’
‘ Yes,’ Damah replied.
‘You trusted it to Sa’Tan, but he defied You. Instead of doing as
he’d been instructed, he used it to forge a gateway between our
worlds and illegally entered the garden of Edin.’
‘ What?’ Seeol cocked
his head in utter confusion. ‘Where is it from?’
‘ We believe it was
found by demons in Cold Wood, where the gates were opened for the
first time so very long ago,’ Damah replied, failing to answer the
question that Seeol had actually asked. ‘They took the Devil’s
Stone to Old World and there it remained for thousands of years.
And, of course, You know it was brought here by a distant ancestor
of mine. Thereafter, it was passed down from father to son. But You
are the rightful owner of the stone.’
‘ Ancestor.’ Seeol
tried out the word, unfamiliar of its meaning.
‘ I’m sorry, Father.’
The blood left Damah’s face. ‘Forgive me. Forgive me, but, yes, my
long dead ancestor was a Sa’Tanist. Although he did commit the
unforgivable sin of demon worship, in the end he came back to the
fold to resume his worship of You.’
‘ Don’t care,’ Seeol
replied, having become bored of the conversation. ‘Give it.’ He
pointed at the stone in the man’s hand.
‘ Of course.’ Damah
placed the stone into Seeol’s talons. ‘It is yours to do with as
you wish.’
‘ What should this do
with it?’ Seeol asked.
‘ That is not for
mortal man to decide.’
‘ Just tells me,’
Seeol grumbled in frustration.
‘ Of course! You’re
testing me,’ Damah squeaked. ‘The Holy Tome refers to it as a stone
of great power. When Maker went away, it was given to Sa’Tan the
Devil so that he could protect the inhabitants of our world from
his residence in Hae’Evun. Instead of doing as he’d been
instructed, he used the stone for evil. He was jealous of our world
and created a gateway. Then, after stealing the sacred power of
resurrection, he and his kin broke through into the realm of
man.’
‘ What did happened to
the gates?’ Seeol asked.
‘ Many months after
the gates had been opened, they grew weak and collapsed in on
themselves, thereby ceasing to exist. Maker had been wise enough to
know that even His most beloved servant might use His power for
wickedness. In the case of such heresy, He’d given the stone’s
power certain limitations. It can work miracles, but they do not
last indefinitely. It is fabled that the stone can only be used
three times and that each time its power will grow weaker and its
duration much shorter.’ Damah sighed. ‘We turned our backs on You
and now our world is rife with sin.’
‘ Thank you.’ Seeol
stared into the hypnotic blackness of the stone. Unlike the tree
beneath which he’d been born, the stone was strangely warm and
welcoming. ‘I think I will be rested now.’
‘ Of course.’ Damah
backed out of the room and closed the door behind
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