Chapter 6 The Guidie

Azazel sees within his own mind as he meets his first Ryuukin

The Guide

 

                Azazel found himself standing in a massive black area without beginning or end.  He looked around trying to see anything at all and found a speck of white light in the distance.  Focused on that light, Azazel began walking towards the light.  Thoughts swirled around in his head as he moved.  Am I dead?  If not, then where am I?  What is that light?  Will I ever see my friends again?  He quickly found himself walking into the light and finding himself in an empty white space with a single figure with its back faced from him.

                Large black and scaled wings flexed as Azazel approached.  The figure returned to reveal a large white Ryuukin with pale blue eyes.  Wearing a dark red cloak with a black bird over his chest, the Ryuukin looked at Azazel with calming eyes.  “Don’t worry, hound.  You’re not dead.  I can think of two thousand eighteen ways to die and you’d still be alive right now.  My name is Rowec.  I’m a guide of sorts.”

                “A guide?  Like, what, to guide me to the beyond?  Wait, you said I’m not dead, so that’s not it.  But that’s not it, so…what kind of guide, exactly?  And why would you be here with me?  Where are we, anyway?”  Azazel couldn’t stop asking questions for a moment until he heard Rowec chuckling.

                “Relax, Azazel.  We’re simply in your head.  You remember what knocked you out, I trust?”  Azazel nodded and was about to ask more before the Ryuukin raised a hand.  “Yes, there’s a reason I’m in your head.  Look up.”

                The duo looked up to find a large purple serpentine dragon with golden-yellow horns and a green underbelly flying around.  The dragon gave off a shrill screeching roar that shook the empty space.

                “That is a part of your power…in a sense.  You’ll understand more later, I promise you.  For now, you’re here only as you recover from the blow you took from the Black Fox.”

                “Rowec…was it?  So…that dragon is part of my power but…what does that have to do with you?  How do I access the power?  I’m sorry, I’m not understanding any of this right now…” Azazel muttered as he stared back at the dragon circling overhead.

                “My role in life was to be a Seer, one who views what fate has in store.  However, shortly before my death, someone in the Ryuukin race diverged from what was foretold.  At that point, my sight into fate went blind…”  Rowec turned his gaze away from the dragon to look back at Azazel.  “You’ll understand more if you go to visit Valhalla.”

                Azazel’s eyes turned to Rowec.  “You’re dead…so…you’re a spirit inside of me then.  What…”

                “Plague.  Shortly before the divergence, Equinox cursed denizens of Valhalla with a sickness that drained them of their life.  To save our Priestess, I drained the curse from her, causing myself to become infected with the death meant for her…I pray it was worth it…”  Rowec and Azazel looked at the sky as the soaring dragon flew lower to the duo.  The sudden silence was broken by a thunderous disembodied voice.

                “At last…this is where you’ve been hiding…”  Rowec’s eyes narrowed as he raised a hand to the dragon.  A massive surge of purple and gold energy blasted outward from the dragon, clearing the sky and the thunderous voice was silenced.

                “Equinox…” Rowec muttered to himself.  Pale blue eyes turned to Azazel as he placed his left hand on the hound.  “Forgive me for not explaining more, but for now, you should recover.  Next time you come here, it will be of your own accord.”

                A pale glow surrounded Azazel as his eyes slowly closed and the white landscape faded from his vision.  He could hear Rowec’s voice as his consciousness faded away.

                “Forgive me for not being able to do more, my grandson.”

Author's Note

In Loving Memory...