| SORCEROUS SIGNALS |
| Written by J.J. Sergi / Artwork by Chaz Kemp |
| Make a donation to this writer |
| Lost in Shadow |
For close to a century I have chased her; through deserts, glaciers, nightmares, and everything in
between. But never have I been so close to her as I am now. My elusive quarry is deft in the arcane arts
and has laid many a trap to stop me. If only she knew she couldn't stop the pull of a man's heart—that I
was helpless, had to pursue her until she was mine or the last breath left my wretched body.
A man's heart I may possess, but I'm a man no longer. I was an old man—broken and lonely—on that
day a century ago, when I left the safe confines of my castle to hunt The Golden Hart. One last conquest
before life put an end to me.
But then, I saw her.
She was sitting cross-legged by a small pond, surrounded by dewy grasses and the fluttering of
hummingbirds. The sunbeams through the branches made her delicate skin sparkle. The sight took my
breath away, for all the women I have loved in my lifetime; none could match the beauty of this heavenly
specimen.
I knew she wasn't human, but that mattered not to me. I stepped down from my horse and approached
her slowly, not wanting to startle her. But when her emerald eyes turned to me, they instantly burned a
frightened red. With a flap of translucent wings, she was gone, disappearing into the shadows—
something, I would find, she is all too good at.
With a curse, I pursued her, charging through the thick forest, my men calling me back. I left them
behind, cowards all. I needed them not, for love drove my life's blood and I felt young again.
***
I trailed my love through the Mocrest forest and over the Black Craig Mountains, where the very air itself
was poisonous. After the mountains came the ice tundra of Cromer. I followed her across the frozen
desert, eating snow, ice, and whatever I could trap. And I froze.
Still, I wouldn't stop.
Our chase took us to the Wilnure Plain where the Lizard Tribes and Snake Priests kill any who trespass
on their territory, and the mushrooms grow big as houses. I fought and killed them all, their blue blood
staining my face, beard, and sword.
Still, I wouldn't stop.
When the land itself failed to stop me, she turned her magics loose, making my skin blister and my lungs
burn. Her energies filled my body, flooding my being with agony, but I drank them in, indulging in her
intimate powers, despite the pain. She then summoned all manner of beast to slay me, but it was I who
was the slayer. Horned vultures, many-headed hydra, and hundreds of gruesome cryptids all fell to my
blade.
Then, we came to the wizard Zoran's lands. Wily as she was, she was able to escape the wizard's wrath,
but I was trapped and confronted by the spell-master. We fought a duel, his magics against my blade
and resolve. Many mortal wounds I was dealt before I was able to sink my sword into his crown. Weak
and near death—closer than I had ever been before—I fell by the wizard's corpse, using the last of my
energy to cut his heart out before his soul left it completely. I devoured the organ and arcane powers
flowed through me, healing me, making me young again. I used the wizard's magics to find my lost
quarry, flying through the realms to make up for lost time.
And so it went for over a century, always just a step behind my love. I've eaten the souls of many more
wizards and other beings—all in an effort to keep me alive. I am more demon than man now, but my love
still beats and never have I been more close to her than I am at this moment. So close I can smell the
fairy dust as it escapes her wings.
I continue the chase.
***
More decades passed, my love taking me through many exotic worlds and planes—some so beautiful to
behold that my heart wept at the sight, while others froze what was left of my soul in terror. But
eventually, my love had nowhere left to flee. We stood on a high, rocky plateau in the middle of swirling
gasses and nothingness. She put her back against the shimmering rock wall on the far side of the
plateau, her face contorted with a mixture of fear and hate. This close to her, my soul throbbed with
anticipation, I felt as if I were in a dream.
"What do you want from me, beast?" she asked, her voice soft, angelic, just like I imagined it would be.
"I want you for my wife," I said, kneeling on one spiked knee, lowering my horned head.
"I would never take one like you as a husband," she spat, her words stinging my heart. "You are a
demon! I am of the fair-folk; my blood is untainted by evil, and must remain so!"
"I am no demon, Lady. I assure you I am a man—a man in love, and no evil fills my heart."
"I've seen you eat men and wizards!" she said. "Demon work if ever there was!"
"I did what I had to do," I said. "I couldn't be stopped until I had you."
"You saw that I ran from you. You have haunted me through realms and death; can't you see that I
don't want you?"
"Don't say such things, Lady." My heart ached from her words. "I had no choice! I was driven by love! I
meant you no harm!"
Her face softened a bit. She took a few hesitant steps towards me before stopping. My heart raced at
the thought of touching her.
"If we married, what would you have to offer me?" she asked.
"Whatever you want, my love. You would be my queen, ruling by my side. Riches, horses, perfumes, all
that you wanted would be yours!"
"Titles and baubles mean nothing to me," she said. "Besides, you cannot grant me those things had I
accepted."
"What do you mean?"
"Your kingdom is lost to you. All who knew you are long dead or have forgotten your very existence. A
new king sits your throne. The throne you gave up for a vane cause one hundred years ago."
"Then I will take it back by force!" I roared. "I would do it all for you if you would just be mine!"
"I don't want that," she said quietly. "I am a creature of peace."
"Then what can I do to have you?" I asked in desperation. Strong winds blasted the plateau, blowing her
azure hair to obscure her face. The anger and fear had left her, replaced with something like pity.
"If it were the gods will for us to be together, they would have made it so. But I feel no love for you, and
I never will. I'm sorry, truly. End your chase now; save yourself from more centuries of pain. I wish you
luck, and again, I'm sorry."
She walked slowly by me, staring straight-ahead, but just as beautiful as the day I first laid eyes on her.
I thought furiously for something to say, not wanting her to leave.
"Wait!" I called to her. She stopped, her gem-like face turning to me. "What is your name?"
"Cenuss Vertus," she said before disappearing into a shadow.
The name was from the ancient tongue.
Cenuss Vertus, I thought to myself. Forbidden Beauty.
Alone on the plateau, the wind blasting my fur-covered carapace, I thought back on all I had lost: from
my kingdom to my love. I cursed myself for a fool. I felt as if a curtain of fog had been dispersed from
my mind. I had abandoned everything and everyone in my life. I had put myself through unspeakable
torments, my body transformed into that of a grotesque monster. Rage and despair filled my being; I
released it all in one colossal roar that shook the plateau violently.
As I listened to my scream echo through the void, I sat back on my haunches, closing my eyes to
concentrate. Begging the gods for forgiveness, I prayed for death. Long moments passed before my
prayers were answered. I smiled as my skin turned to stone and my soul filled with warm light.
***
When life finally reached the plateau, many millennia later, evolving into intelligent beings—developing
language and building settlements--they gave the plateau the name of Sad Gargoyle Heights, after the
wicked rock formation that stood enormously at its center. For centuries, the formation was thought to
be a depiction of an ancient god and was worshipped and sacrificed to for many generations.
As the world changed and the beings with it, the area around Sad Gargoyle Heights became a place to
take a lover in private. Further into the future, the Sad Gargoyle witnessed many devastating battles as
men fought pointless wars over the worthless land. And further on still, when large metal birds rocketed
across the sky and dwellings rose from the plateau to touch the clouds, the Sad Gargoyle became the
loitering point for youths who targeted it with loud weapons and spray painted strange hieroglyphs on
its stone surface.
All this and more the Sad Gargoyle saw through its sad eyes, and continued to watch even as the
mammoth mushroom clouds began to grow along the horizon and the world crumbled away.
And through it all, the smile never left its face.
between. But never have I been so close to her as I am now. My elusive quarry is deft in the arcane arts
and has laid many a trap to stop me. If only she knew she couldn't stop the pull of a man's heart—that I
was helpless, had to pursue her until she was mine or the last breath left my wretched body.
A man's heart I may possess, but I'm a man no longer. I was an old man—broken and lonely—on that
day a century ago, when I left the safe confines of my castle to hunt The Golden Hart. One last conquest
before life put an end to me.
But then, I saw her.
She was sitting cross-legged by a small pond, surrounded by dewy grasses and the fluttering of
hummingbirds. The sunbeams through the branches made her delicate skin sparkle. The sight took my
breath away, for all the women I have loved in my lifetime; none could match the beauty of this heavenly
specimen.
I knew she wasn't human, but that mattered not to me. I stepped down from my horse and approached
her slowly, not wanting to startle her. But when her emerald eyes turned to me, they instantly burned a
frightened red. With a flap of translucent wings, she was gone, disappearing into the shadows—
something, I would find, she is all too good at.
With a curse, I pursued her, charging through the thick forest, my men calling me back. I left them
behind, cowards all. I needed them not, for love drove my life's blood and I felt young again.
***
I trailed my love through the Mocrest forest and over the Black Craig Mountains, where the very air itself
was poisonous. After the mountains came the ice tundra of Cromer. I followed her across the frozen
desert, eating snow, ice, and whatever I could trap. And I froze.
Still, I wouldn't stop.
Our chase took us to the Wilnure Plain where the Lizard Tribes and Snake Priests kill any who trespass
on their territory, and the mushrooms grow big as houses. I fought and killed them all, their blue blood
staining my face, beard, and sword.
Still, I wouldn't stop.
When the land itself failed to stop me, she turned her magics loose, making my skin blister and my lungs
burn. Her energies filled my body, flooding my being with agony, but I drank them in, indulging in her
intimate powers, despite the pain. She then summoned all manner of beast to slay me, but it was I who
was the slayer. Horned vultures, many-headed hydra, and hundreds of gruesome cryptids all fell to my
blade.
Then, we came to the wizard Zoran's lands. Wily as she was, she was able to escape the wizard's wrath,
but I was trapped and confronted by the spell-master. We fought a duel, his magics against my blade
and resolve. Many mortal wounds I was dealt before I was able to sink my sword into his crown. Weak
and near death—closer than I had ever been before—I fell by the wizard's corpse, using the last of my
energy to cut his heart out before his soul left it completely. I devoured the organ and arcane powers
flowed through me, healing me, making me young again. I used the wizard's magics to find my lost
quarry, flying through the realms to make up for lost time.
And so it went for over a century, always just a step behind my love. I've eaten the souls of many more
wizards and other beings—all in an effort to keep me alive. I am more demon than man now, but my love
still beats and never have I been more close to her than I am at this moment. So close I can smell the
fairy dust as it escapes her wings.
I continue the chase.
***
More decades passed, my love taking me through many exotic worlds and planes—some so beautiful to
behold that my heart wept at the sight, while others froze what was left of my soul in terror. But
eventually, my love had nowhere left to flee. We stood on a high, rocky plateau in the middle of swirling
gasses and nothingness. She put her back against the shimmering rock wall on the far side of the
plateau, her face contorted with a mixture of fear and hate. This close to her, my soul throbbed with
anticipation, I felt as if I were in a dream.
"What do you want from me, beast?" she asked, her voice soft, angelic, just like I imagined it would be.
"I want you for my wife," I said, kneeling on one spiked knee, lowering my horned head.
"I would never take one like you as a husband," she spat, her words stinging my heart. "You are a
demon! I am of the fair-folk; my blood is untainted by evil, and must remain so!"
"I am no demon, Lady. I assure you I am a man—a man in love, and no evil fills my heart."
"I've seen you eat men and wizards!" she said. "Demon work if ever there was!"
"I did what I had to do," I said. "I couldn't be stopped until I had you."
"You saw that I ran from you. You have haunted me through realms and death; can't you see that I
don't want you?"
"Don't say such things, Lady." My heart ached from her words. "I had no choice! I was driven by love! I
meant you no harm!"
Her face softened a bit. She took a few hesitant steps towards me before stopping. My heart raced at
the thought of touching her.
"If we married, what would you have to offer me?" she asked.
"Whatever you want, my love. You would be my queen, ruling by my side. Riches, horses, perfumes, all
that you wanted would be yours!"
"Titles and baubles mean nothing to me," she said. "Besides, you cannot grant me those things had I
accepted."
"What do you mean?"
"Your kingdom is lost to you. All who knew you are long dead or have forgotten your very existence. A
new king sits your throne. The throne you gave up for a vane cause one hundred years ago."
"Then I will take it back by force!" I roared. "I would do it all for you if you would just be mine!"
"I don't want that," she said quietly. "I am a creature of peace."
"Then what can I do to have you?" I asked in desperation. Strong winds blasted the plateau, blowing her
azure hair to obscure her face. The anger and fear had left her, replaced with something like pity.
"If it were the gods will for us to be together, they would have made it so. But I feel no love for you, and
I never will. I'm sorry, truly. End your chase now; save yourself from more centuries of pain. I wish you
luck, and again, I'm sorry."
She walked slowly by me, staring straight-ahead, but just as beautiful as the day I first laid eyes on her.
I thought furiously for something to say, not wanting her to leave.
"Wait!" I called to her. She stopped, her gem-like face turning to me. "What is your name?"
"Cenuss Vertus," she said before disappearing into a shadow.
The name was from the ancient tongue.
Cenuss Vertus, I thought to myself. Forbidden Beauty.
Alone on the plateau, the wind blasting my fur-covered carapace, I thought back on all I had lost: from
my kingdom to my love. I cursed myself for a fool. I felt as if a curtain of fog had been dispersed from
my mind. I had abandoned everything and everyone in my life. I had put myself through unspeakable
torments, my body transformed into that of a grotesque monster. Rage and despair filled my being; I
released it all in one colossal roar that shook the plateau violently.
As I listened to my scream echo through the void, I sat back on my haunches, closing my eyes to
concentrate. Begging the gods for forgiveness, I prayed for death. Long moments passed before my
prayers were answered. I smiled as my skin turned to stone and my soul filled with warm light.
***
When life finally reached the plateau, many millennia later, evolving into intelligent beings—developing
language and building settlements--they gave the plateau the name of Sad Gargoyle Heights, after the
wicked rock formation that stood enormously at its center. For centuries, the formation was thought to
be a depiction of an ancient god and was worshipped and sacrificed to for many generations.
As the world changed and the beings with it, the area around Sad Gargoyle Heights became a place to
take a lover in private. Further into the future, the Sad Gargoyle witnessed many devastating battles as
men fought pointless wars over the worthless land. And further on still, when large metal birds rocketed
across the sky and dwellings rose from the plateau to touch the clouds, the Sad Gargoyle became the
loitering point for youths who targeted it with loud weapons and spray painted strange hieroglyphs on
its stone surface.
All this and more the Sad Gargoyle saw through its sad eyes, and continued to watch even as the
mammoth mushroom clouds began to grow along the horizon and the world crumbled away.
And through it all, the smile never left its face.
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