Chapter 34-Strange Visitations
It was a long time before someone spoke, finally Irgen asked tentatively:
“Father, I just don’t understand. Why after all these years would people still fight? Family feuds only last a couple of generations, right?” André surveyed Irgen with a sigh, before saying in a worn out voice:
“Well in some cases yes, but this isn’t one of those cases, and you do not yet know the whole story. The family feud was only a part of it. Unfortunately there is more to this woeful tale, but from that moment on every man, woman, and child had to choose then and there, between their element and their…”
“WHAT IS ALL THIS RUCUS? DON’T YOU KNOW WE HAVE AN INJURED MAN UPSTAIRS IN CRITICAL CONDITION?” Everyone stopped and looked up the stairs, to see Jennifer’s angry face glaring like an angry cougar down on all of them.
“Oh hello honey.” André said as a mildly amused grin appeared on his face. Jennifer’s face softened as she looked over at her husband.
“Oh… I didn’t realize you were here dear.” Then she added absentmindedly, “I take it you know about Gregory?”
“Well the twins kind of explained it, but I was sure you were up to the task… I was just giving them Alecto’s speech.” Jennifer turned and began to mutter even more distractedly to herself:
“Alecto’s speech… Yes, yes of course, Alecto’s speech.” And with that, once again her slender form disappeared into the loft above their heads. André looked back at his sons again, and all three of them burst into laughter. Irgen laughed so hard, he lost track of his position and tipped his chair backwards again, landing with a soft thud on the carpet beneath him. This did nothing to slake the laughter of the others or indeed Irgen’s. Instead, it only caused it to intensify; tears began to roll down their cheeks as they found they couldn’t get rid of their mirth fast enough. Irgen finally managed to pull his body back into his seat, but still the laughter continued, it seemed nothing would stop it, but that they would all just die laughing.
Suddenly they all stopped together, and all three of them looked confusedly around, none of them could remember what they had been laughing about. It seemed their mirth and laughter had driven it completely out of their minds. André smiled bemusedly, it was as though something had taken complete control of their bodies during the laughter, something which was almost unholy, or unclean, and yet extremely... well-happy.
He blinked as he closed his eyes, trying to lose the feeling of unrest which had suddenly entered his body. It felt strange to him, it was as though his body wished to run, to run away. It didn’t matter how far; it just wanted to go, to leave, to get out of this bone-chillingly cold place.
His breathing became more rapid, loud echoing voices filled his head, and then his eyes snapped open, and he was him again. He looked down at his limp figure, and straightened up in his chair. As he did so he caught a glimpse of his sons going through the same struggle he had just undergone. Fear and anger balled itself together in his stomach as he watched the two of them struggle, there was nothing he could do, he could only sit and watch.
This magic was new to him, never had he seen something like this occur. He had never even heard of such an occurrence, it was as though some type of spirit was trying to possess his and his sons’ bodies. He watched the struggle with horror, agony built up inside of him. Extravagant thoughts of what to do flooded his mind, but each stayed only fleetingly before being replaced by another, and then as abruptly as it had started, it ended, and his sons looked dazedly back up at their father.
“What was that?” Irgen whispered quietly.
“I don’t know, but I’ve never felt such a presence before.” Came André’s own subdued voice.
“It felt as though something was trying to control me.” Idus said nervously. This time André said nothing, for once again he felt the presence of something in the air around them. The hairs on his arms stood uneasily in the air. All three of them seemed frozen to their seats. Fear of the unknown seemed to glue them there. Their knuckles were turning white from gripping the arms of the chairs too tightly, and then suddenly something appeared in the air next to the stairway.
A white light grew around it until the slight vapor it started as, grew into some type of personage of spirit. It would have been mistaken for an angel at some other time, but now André and the brothers were wary of this new apparition. It spoke and a curtain seemed to fall on father and brother alike, the soft sweet voice created an entrancing feeling, but unwilling to yield so quickly to this new power, the three of them fought back. As they did so, the voice changed abruptly. It now sounded harsh and unkind, but instead of lifting the curtain, it seemed to tighten around them. They struggled for breath against this smothering force.
It kept speaking and the three of them felt despair begin to fill them. Their eyes darkened, and they felt the curtain pull them. They were being dragged down, down, but to where? They did not know. And then, when all hope had failed, when it seemed they were in the grasp and grip of this very unholy and unsanctified creature, perhaps the devil himself; a great light descended upon them flooding their souls with hope and light.
Their vision was opened again. Light rushed into their eyes as they exposed them to the new astoundingly bright light around them. The familiar warmth flooded their bodies, bringing joy back into their hopeless hearts. Irgen glanced at André to see his father gaping at the doorway. Irgen turned too to look, and found there, standing in the doorway, a giant of a man. Irgen did a double-take, before him was someone whom he knew he had seen before, and yet he was a stranger.
The man’s dark hair, accentuated by the clean shaven face, gleamed in the dazzling light, but it wasn’t the only thing that shone. For covering his torso, legs, and arms, was armor the twins never had before beheld, and which perhaps they would never behold again. On this enormous man, was dark green armor, but that wasn’t what made it unique. For it seemed that this man’s entire figure, yea even his very countenance was surrounded by an aura of light. The man spoke, and it seemed his voice would rend the walls in two.
“I am Xenophon, and I come now not to just lend aid, but to start events which have long been in the making. Come with me, we must go.”