The darkness was a cloak, hot and stifling yet protective and seductive in its oppression. The pale woman with silver hair knew the darkness well for she had succumb to it long ago; succumb in glory then in tears, tears that made centuries glitter with sad rememberances of forgotten Light. She peered at the young fire-mage without being seen; it was like seeing a dark mirror from ages past."You're free, you know," she said quietly.
The woman smiled a familiar smile, showing her front teeth prominently.
"He doesn't own your soul; he just wants you to think he does. The pain," here, the woman's brow clouded with memories, "the pain, no matter how great, is nothing compared to the regret.
"You're as free as anyone with all the suffering and joys that freedom entails. You may choose the darkness," here, she spoke as if of an old lover, "but even one step into the Light will lessen his grip. Listen to your heart."
The woman faded away, and a pale light grew near. Thothalas' pale face drew nearer at first smiling then puzzled as he faced the living dark all about them.
"Alexia, what... what is this place?"
Cadbury
