Yes, I almost got booted. This is really late. But I've just gone through job training, which took up 45 hours a week, in addition to school, so it was necessary. So, anyway, my chap. ~~~~~~~~~

Amber #15: Ghosts Don't Carry Swords

Amber entered the corridor leading to her final trial a little apprehensively. She had the feeling that her first two trials were only warnings for this one, and that this final one would try her in every way--physically, mentally, and emotionally. This was where her mettle would be tested, where she would have to find strength she didn't know she had to survive.

This corridor began to wind down and steeply to the right, and the faint smell of stagnant water caught Amber's nose as she made her way deeper into the lower reaches of the Trine.

Soon she could hear the sound of rushing water, and the walls of the deeper caverns were broken and in disarray, in some places stone scattered about the floor where it had fallen years before. At times Amber could swear she could hear the howling of the wind far below, but knew that was impossible.

She continued downward, and soon the echoing of water dripping onto the cavern floor could be heard, and, before long, felt. The air grew steadily colder and thinner, and Amber began to shiver as shill bumps formed on her skin.

In the distance now she could see a wooden bridge reaching out into the darkness beyond the range of her glow stone. Here, the sound of rushing water was near and loud.

She stepped to the edge of the bridge and looked down. Far below, an underground river roared past jagged rock formations. The bridge was clearly old and rotten, and it was a long way to the bottom. Breathing deeply, she took her first step onto the worn wooden structure.

The bridge moaned under her weight as she slowly made her way across, measuring each step carefully to avoid the more rotted boards and to keep her balance as the bridge swayed over the river below.

"Come on, Amber. You can do this," she told herself as she neared the midway point of the bridge. A small piece of wood broke off under her foot and fell onto a sharp rock, to be washed away by the rush of the current.

The moaning of the wood grew louder with each step, as Amber's heart thumped faster and harder, and the bridge swung in ever wider arcs over the chasm below.

Her boot fell onto a weak board, which snapped with a loud crack. She stumbled, her leg dropping through the hole in the bridge. The glow stone she was holding tumbled from her hand and was shattered on a rock below, and for a moment she thought she'd join it. Gripping the wildly swinging bridge with one hand and her bag with the other, she finally managed to regain her footing and make it to the far end.

Here she dropped her bag and fell to her knees. She waited for the anxiety and the nausea to pass before continuing on, thankful to be alive.

The passage continued to wind ever down, with no end in sight. The air was now so cold that Amber could see her breath before her face, and she wrapped her arms around her in a futile attempt to keep some of her body's warmth on the inside. The wind now seemed to be all around her, and she fought to keep herself moving forward against the cold.

The corridor widened, and gradually levelled out. Amber thought she saw something ahead in the distance, but it was gone before she could be sure her mind wasn't just playing tricks on her. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

She heard a sound. Was that a... laugh? She turned quickly, but there was nothing. Now she heard something like a rock being thrown against the wall. The laughter again, a child's laughter. The wind blew fiercely, and a bitter chill bit into her skin. The laughter distorted into a sadistic cackling. Fear gripped Amber as she hurried onward.

Again, she saw something, out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned it was gone. She felt something brush her leg, and she jumped nearly out of her skin. She heard footsteps, and turned quickly. A child stood at the edge of her vision, staring at Amber. But not just any child...

"You're... me?" Amber slowly walked forward, but the ghost of her former self stepped back, as if sensing fear. "Don't be afraid," Amber entreated, but the girl turned and disappeared into the shadows.

"Wait..." Amber began to run after her younger self, but thought the better of it, turning instead to go forward into the chill air.

"Amber..." It was no more than a whisper, seeming to come from behind her. She turned, but saw nothing.

"What is going on?" she yelled. She hesitated for a long moment before continuing, her pace quickened. The voices and visions stopped, but the dread calm was perhaps more unnerving than any voices or visions could be. A strong sense of fear rose into her throat as a fog began to grow around her.

The air tickled her skin, like spiders. The fog grew thicker until she could barely see her hand by the faint glow of another glow stone. Noises arose again--the flutter of bat wings darting through the fog, the dripping of water on stone, that wind again.

She could see Calandra lying in her bed. What was this? This was the day... the day her mother died.

Beside the bed, Ardon Thindole sat in a chair and held his dying wife's hand. Amber's younger self stood just behind, her face filled with fear and grief. Calandra said something low and inaudible, then her eyes closed for the last time.

"No..." Amber wiped a tear from her eye. "Why do I have to watch this?" She pushed on against her rebelling body.

Then there was nothing but fog again. She walked on, slowly, the cold nearly unbearable. A shadow passed; a pebble fell to the floor. Another vision began to take shape.

This scene she remembered well. She was 16. She stood by the lake, her eyes stung with tears as she argued with Jariel, her first love. A gleam caught her eye as her younger self flung a ring into the lake. She watched herself push Jariel backward into the shallow waters and run off into the night.

This vision was quickly replaced by another. Her father, lying in a cold sweat on the edge of death. Herself, scarcely a year younger, sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking the head of the man she loved more than anything.

"Daddy, please don't go," her younger self said. "Please. I love you."

Ardon did his best to smile through intense pain. He raised his hand with great labor toward his daughter's face, touched her cheek with a hand that was cold as death. "Amber..." he whispered, his breathing ragged, "...you know... I love you... more than anything."

"Yes, daddy, I do."

"I would never... leave you... if I didn't... know you... know you would... be okay. You've grown into... a beautiful young woman. I know... you'll... be fine. My little girl."

This said, he lowered his hand and smiled a faint, distant smile before closing his eyes.

"No!" Amber reached out to grasp this vision, but it slipped away, fading to nothing before her, leaving her alone again in the near absolute darkness of the fog. She flung the glowstone from her hand, smashing it to pieces against the far wall, and fell to her knees.

Still, she knew there was one vision yet to come, and as she knelt there, her heart breaking all over in her chest, this fourth and final vision came, flooding her unwilling mind with dark and haunting memories.

Rain poured down. She could see Byron at the side of the ship, her other self nearby, her hair matted to her face and back.

She tried to yell warning, but her voice failed her, and all that came out was a faint gurgling noise that was caught up by the wind and carried away. She could only watch as the ship was rocked with violent force and Byron tumbled backward over the railing into the water. Seconds later her other self was tossed into the ocean as another strong wave pounded on the ship.

Her final vision faded, and Amber was left trembling on her knees. She felt so weak, and the chill on her body was nearly unbearable. Then the fog cleared slightly, and something pushed her to get up and go forward, to meet her destiny.

She stood up, and felt a warm vigor coursing through her veins. A new-found strength took hold of her, and she moved forward, through the thinning fog and the darkness.

As the corridor wound down once more the fog eventually faded altogether. The cold, however, was as bitter as ever, perhaps more so. Still, she knew her destination was close, and she hardened her resolve.

At length she reached a place where the ground before her was broken, a wide gap separating her from the other side. Far below she could see the underground river again, and, looking to the other side, the faint impression of a waterfall cascading down caught her eye.

The chasm was wide. Amber tossed her bag to the other side and took a deep breath. Stepping back a good distance, she ran at the gap, pushing herself up with all her strength. For a frightful moment she thought she'd fall short of the other side, but she landed in a crouch on the other side, relieved as she glanced back at the 20+ foot gap she barely crossed.

Taking a moment to gather herself, Amber continued down the corridor. The chill air began to let up, and before long a light ahead in the distance greeted her.

Finally, she thought. She ran the rest of the way to the final crystal chamber. Much larger than the other two, the images on the wall here were much more elaborate, and seemed to show more than just trials, though much of what was drawn she didn't understand.

She studied the drawings for a good while before going on to the crystal pedestal, placing her hands upon the smooth surface of the crystal.

The crystal began to glow a bright silver. Amber closed her eyes against the blurring and spinning of the room.

When she opened them again she found herself surrounded by a large circle of flame. "What...?" She looked around. This was her first dream. A dread came over her heart as she thought of that twisted nightmare.

She heard maniacal laughter echoing in the blackness beyond the flames. "Just like in the dream..." she thought, drawing her sword in anticipation of what was to come.

She watched in horror as a dark form walked through the wall of flame opposite her. She was shocked as the shadow faded away, leaving her face to face with herself.

Only different. This other Amber had long, fiery curls, her eyes bright red, and was dressed in all grey and black. Her eyes glinted with darkness, her lips curled into a malicious grin. She drew her sword, its black blade glowing its dark glow in the light of the flames.

She laughed her sadistic laugh. "Welcome to my playground, Amber. You can call me Araghesse. It means 'darkness within.' Like it?"

"Not really."

"Oh, well, too bad. In any case, you have no chance of beating me. You see, I've got all the power you've yet to gain. Only you're never going to make it out of here alive."

"Oh, yeah? Well, none of the others have failed."

Araghesse grinned. "Ah, but all of the others had their training. You haven't. " She ran her finger along the blade of her sword, a nonchalant expression on her face. "And then there's the fact that the darkness within you--that's me--is far greater than those of the others. Let's face it, dear sister, you have a black heart."

"Shut up!"

"And you're not nearly as confident as you pretend to be, now, are you?"

"Shut up!"

"Awh, come on. Lighten up a little, will you? Gods, you're such a pain. Do you know how hard it's been to live with your whining and crying all these years? It's enough to drive a girl crazy."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Araghesse shook her head. "You're pathetic," she spat. "I mean, really. I'm surprised you didn't kill yourself. Oh, well, no need. I'll take care of that for you." She grinned, her crimson lips glinting in sick delight.

"I'll kill you!" Amber charged forward with a scream, her sword gleaming in the firelight. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com