Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

Unwilling to waste too much time on such reflection, he quickly cast his own spell, opening a new portal that mirrored the one that Heteera created. He established it in the exact same spot, but this rift would remain permanent until he saw fit to close it. It made a connection to the previous location in the dark realm, but it would not fluctuate in and out of existence. This new gateway was also somewhat smaller, about the size of an open door, just enough room for Enin to float through. He saw no reason to make it any larger.

The wizard sighed with even further sadness as he entered the twisted realm of pain and agony. There was life-and magic-here, but it felt heavy to him, almost suffocating. More disheartening was the almost total lack of hope. Death and destruction bred here, he understood that, but beyond a very narrow desire for survival, nothing else existed in this plane to offer a reason to live. He sensed desperation in the magical energies. It weighed him down, like difficulty breathing in thick, humid air. He wished to be free of it as soon as possible, but there remained work to be done.

Checking the immediate area, no dark creatures of significance waited in the area to challenge his arrival. Those few beasts that hid in the shadows skulked away from the wizard, unwilling to risk an encounter they would surely lose. Enin did not feel it necessary to place any protection around the rift and he turned his attention to finding the spiritual entity that had to be identified.

He took flight into the gloomy skies, keeping a watchful eye for birds of prey, but determined to follow the path of magic to the cave in the ravine. He could sense the energy and it called to him like a beacon. He glided down between the cliff walls and came to a halt just outside the tunnel entrance. He peered inside, but he knew the cave was empty. It was at that moment he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, brother."

It came from above. Enin searched upward with both his eyes and his magical perception. The apparition did not even bother to maintain its disguise. The form of Lief Woodson had dissolved and the familiar form of Baannat, the slink ghoul, was now clearly evident.

Enin tapped into the magic, extended his perception to measure the aura of energy surrounding the ghoul. He let his feelings grasp it like tendrils wavering in the wind. He recalled the many visits he made to the magical enclave Baannat had carved out before their final battle. In that pocket of inter-dimensional space, the wizards had challenged each other in contests of power. They knew each other very well and Enin recognized the presence of his enemy.

Still, he could not understand how the slink ghoul had escaped death, and as he looked up to the cliff ledge where Baannat stood, he openly questioned the ghoul's survival.

"You call me brother , as you have in the past, but is that really you, Baannat?"

"You mean you don't recognize me? I know you're probing me, examining the magical connection. Isn't that enough for you?"

"I'm not sure it is. For some reason my mind is not clear on the issue."

"You would actually admit that to me?"

"It does no harm. I've always been prone to distraction. If you are Baannat, you would know that."

"And what can distract you here?"

"A memory. You died, and of that, I'm sure."

"Are you sure?" the ghoul hissed.

"We battled. You were the stronger, but you could not reach me and the delver cut you in two. That was no illusion, no trick."

"No, not an illusion, not a trick. I was beaten, but where did I go?"

"I don't understand," Enin admitted,

"I'm asking you where I went," the slink ghoul snickered. "Is it that difficult of a question?"

"You did not go anywhere. You were dead."

"Yes and no."

"What kind of answer is that. Are you trying to confuse me?"

"There is no need. I won't hide the truth. Not only is there no need, there is no cause. You'd figure it out on your own. That's why you're here."

"I'm here to determine if you are truly Baannat. Everything within me confirms that you are, but it doesn't answer the question of how you survived."

"I didn't survive, but you gave me the chance to return."

Enin considered the assertion. It was difficult. Something was clouding his thinking. Maybe it was the distorted aspect of the realm, but he found it challenging to concentrate. Some things, however, remained clear in his mind.

"I gave you no such chance," Enin stated firmly.

"No? Think back. We fought in a dimensional pocket of pure magic. That's how you used the human female to shield yourself. She was immune to magic. By the way, how did you find her? Such an ability is extraordinary. Totally immune. I think that's more exceptional than your magical strength."

Enin did not want the subject changed.

"I'm not talking about the woman. I'm asking how it's possible for you to have returned. Will you answer openly or must I pull the magical remnant of memory from you forcibly?"

"No need to be so hostile. My, you have become so aggressive as of late. I will tell you freely-mostly because I find it amusing. You see, when I spell it out for you, you'll realize your own hand at work."

Enin grew tired and angry. He willed himself through the foul, heavy air and came to rest directly in front of Baannat, who appeared neither physically whole, nor completely spiritual in form. The slink ghoul seemed to be hovering on the brink of existence, nothing more.

"Yes, by all means get a closer look," Baannat encouraged. "The delver defeated me, I can't debate that, but think closely on all the aspects of the event. You say I died, and perhaps I did, but it did not occur in one realm or the other. I was killed in an envelope of magic. The accursed delver cut me in two sure enough, but you made a miscalculation."

"How can cleaving you in two be a miscalculation?"

"Right before the delver struck me with his accursed sword, you opened a portal to this realm, remember? When my power began to wane in our battle, you created a gateway for dark creatures of this place to enter my magical sanctuary. They did, of course, and they feasted on the remains of my body. And where did they go?"

The human wizard recalled the incident, and slowly, he began to understand.

"Ah, you can almost see it now, can't you?" Baannat laughed. "The shreds of my carcass were taken away by creatures you invited into that space. That's why it was your miscalculation. Yes, they fed on my body-and my magic-and returned to their own realm. But I am a slink ghoul, and my core is malleable. Parts of my body merged in different ways with the beasts that ate me."

Enin did begin to understand, but only a little. The cloud lifted to a degree, but the fog remained.

"That answers only how part of your body could survive, but your essence was destroyed."

"Was it? I was killed in a space of pure magic. Not in this realm of darkness and not in your land of light. My death took place in a transitional field that I created, and so my essence was caught in that field. It might have stayed there forever, or it may have eventually faded into nothingness had my body been truly destroyed. I'm really not sure, but I know that the sorceress gave me another chance."

"Heteera," Enin whispered.

"Yes, very powerful, but not very careful. She called on the echoes, opened a nice link of which I took hold. As she watched the history of our battle, I took refuge in the powerful magic that surrounds her. Unfortunately, I lacked the strength to do anything more. I was not whole. As long as she did not notice me, I could remain. The magic is too much for her. So much power and so little control. It was actually very easy for me to conceal my presence from her."

"So that's it," Enin sighed.