Looking up the hill towards the stone altar Tares stopped in sheer shock.  Standing there as if Tares had somehow conjured him with his name, was The Dark One himself.  As usual he was heavily robed, the black linen cowl covering his entire body and leaving his face shrouded in deep shadows.  Standing to his left was an equally robed, although not hooded, dark skinned wizard Tares recognized as Malachi, The Dark One’s chief lieutenant. 

      On his right was a tall elven woman, wearing the same elaborate heavily embroidered white robes that the creatures they had encountered within the prison had been wearing.  Her long shiny blue-black hair was held back from her face with a thin gold band bearing a large opalescent crystal in the centre and similar crystals adorned her delicately pointed ears.  Her features, like the majority of the elven race, were beautiful. She had large, almond shaped eyes, dusky skin, wide, sensuous mouth, yet in this woman those very features were cold and repellent rather than attractive.  Her eyes were narrowed almost to slits in arrogant disdain, the clear skin stretched too tight over her prominent cheekbones and the sensuous mouth was pulled into a thin, cruel smile.  At their feet, kneeling with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied together was a human male.

      “Come closer my people,” The Dark One began, spreading his arms wide as though welcoming them into his presence, “come closer you who are to be privileged above all others.  You, priests of Vadatajs, chosen from birth for the honors you receive this night have come here, as you have done every year to honor the sun, the great symbol of our beloved deity.  You bring with you those special few so carefully chosen to spill their precious life blood in honor of the great Vadatajs.”

      Tares noticed that the tall elven woman was openly sneering at this speech of The Dark One’s, clearly displaying her disdain for the worship of Vadatajs.  The big minotaur wondered with a growing fear how The Dark One would react should he notice what he would undoubtedly consider blasphemous impiety.

      “Yes, you have come again, as you always do and let me assure you first that you will continue to do so.  This celebration is too important; it holds too much meaning for our beloved citizens to abandon it.  So fear not.  Although many, many things will change in Ixlan, this day and most especially this night, will not be one of them.”

      Tares could hear a low, questioning murmuring spreading through the priests that surrounded him.  Obviously The Dark One’s presence and his cryptic remarks were not a typical part of this ceremony.  Glancing around the minotaur could see the other members of the various processions beginning to mill around, moving closer together as if for protection.  In the deepening shadows and growing confusion the big minotaur moved forward until he was standing next to Nikolai.

“I don’t understand, this doesn’t appear to be a usual part of the ceremony.  Do you know why The Dark One is here?” he whispered to the necromancer.

“No, I don’t know but I don’t like it.  Something is wrong.” Nikolai whispered back, falling silent when The Dark One began to speak again.

      “You have no doubt heard many rumors, hints of great things to come and I have come here this night to assure you that the rumors are true.  No longer will you, or I, or any of us remain in subjection to any of the gods, not even Vadatajs.”

At this statement the gathering crowd gasped openly in amazement.  Tares was utterly dumbfounded; for The Dark One, for any one to make such a claim was completely incomprehensible.

“Fear not, my people; although this is new to you soon you will come to see the beauteous liberation that awaits you.  No longer dependant upon the gods, any of them, for our lives, for the bounties of the land of Kaynos, to be able to rely only upon ourselves and the power that lies within.  The gods have been as a huge rock around our neck for far too long, with their demands for tribute and sacrifice.  Well, no longer,” The Dark One’s voice rose, yelling defiantly into the growing darkness, “from this day forward we pay homage to ourselves!  We render tribute unto us!”

      As he finished speaking The Dark One raised his hands high above his head, pointing towards the darkening sky.  As if in response to The Dark One’s thoughts came a sudden rumble of thunder, loud and menacing, followed by bolts of flame that struck the great stone altar with a fierce heat so intense that the heavy rock actually began to melt.  Over the noise of the crackling flames and the still echoing thunder Tares could hear those around him beginning to whimper in fear, some openly crying.  The minotaur priest found it difficult to believe that The Dark One was responsible for the powerful elemental display, yet that must mean the magic had been performed by either Malachi, or the elven woman. 

      “Behold,” The Dark One spoke into the mayhem, “the power granted me by Shallendara, our new high priestess, the mediator of a power unlike anything seen before in all The Kingdoms.  Power not dependant upon gaining or retaining the favor of the gods, power not restricted to mages, power for all.  But,” he held up one pale slender hand, requesting and receiving silence, “there must still be sacrifice.  There must always be sacrifice, for how else would we learn?  I bring before you tonight a traitor.  One of my own who had witnessed the incredible power of witchcraft and yet he still chose to defy me, to defy the will of Shallendara, to defy the new order.  I bring before you Luca.  Luca, who knowing all that you now know, chose betrayal instead of obedience and worse yet, he chose to try and lie about it.  Now tell me, my people, what do you think should be the punishment for the traitor?  How should I respond to such open defiance?”

“Kill him!”  The shout went up all around Tares, quickly becoming a chant among the throng.  The minotaur felt sickened knowing that soon he would be a witness to a human sacrifice, beyond his power to prevent.

      “I cannot watch this,” Tares whispered to Nikolai.

“You don’t have a choice.  Count the numbers, there are too many people here, if we make a move now we’ll be dead in minutes.”

“But to simply stand here…,” Tares trailed off.

“Pray, pray to Belenus, pray to any god you can think of, but pray,” Nikolai said harshly, his voice rough with barely suppressed emotion.