The World
Between Time

In the World Between Time also, where Dorini, Queen of Darkness and the Frozen Night, ruled, time did not move as in the world. Her great ebony halls glowed with an evil greenish light when she held court or met with her servants to gather news of her progress in her war to capture Atlanton Earth. Doraki, her prince and next-in-command, came and went many times while Greyfax and Froghorn were at their business in Cypher, and Fireslayer and Suneater devoured armies and smote kingdoms with their fierce, frozen breath. All the others, including Cakgor, son of the vile two, Fireslayer and Suneater, chased the stars at night for sport and haunted the places of men by day. Still, there were those upon Atlanton Earth who had mighty powers to resist, and the war had fallen into a stalemate of half light, half darkness.

Dorini called for Doraki. In the throne room, greenish blue shafts of fire cracked upward into the frozen stillness as the two talked and made their schemes. A low rumble fell over the World Between Time as their two cold voices rose and fell, full of violence and destruction, and the icy touch of hopeless, eternal death.

“What have you learned of our accursed meddlers, my repulsive love? What of the Secrets? And that despicable box?”

Anger exploded her words into shards of steely darts that pierced his dark soul.

“Everything possible is being done to find and capture it. Or even if we had only one of the miserable Secrets, we could keep Atlanton Earth forever in the dark.” His laughter came, sharp and barbed. “All our reports lead me to believe Greyfilth still holds the box, although he has disappeared since his escape from us, and none of our eyes or ears have spied him out yet.”

“What of Foulingray? Anything of that squirming meddler? Oh, how I long to lay my hand just once more on those two.”

“We’ve discovered no sure sign of either of them, Your Darkness. I thought once we might have turned up something, near the stink hole of Tubal Hall, where old Creddin, the imbecile wretch was at watch for us, but it came to naught. I was close at hand at the time, but the fiends, whoever they were, slipped by me with some accursed magical stunt. I have no proof it was our delightful friends, although I am sure it was some of those of that vile Circle of your foul sister.”

“Accccch,” came the cold screech of reply, shuddering the dark hall to its cold, deep roots, and setting Fireslayer and Suneater quailing and howling at their chains. “Don’t drag the mention of her filthy name before me. I have been tricked and deceived by my sister and that lot she runs with for the last time.”

“Forgive me, Your Darkness,” trembled Doraki. “I know what grief she has done you, but I only tried to answer your question, Your Darkness.”

A fiercely gleaming finger of cold fire blazed from the Dark Queen’s eyes, huge and yellow-glowing in her wrath, but she spoke so softly Doraki had to lean closer to hear the words.

“I am denied my rightful throne beside my witless, spineless sister, and that miserable pack of fools she has thrown her lot with all conspire with her to keep me from what is given me by the High Crown of Windameir. Yet they shall see that it is I, and not she, nor even he who sits on the High Crown, who shall wax more powerful. And the grief, as you call it, that the fools have done me is but a small token of what I have in store for you if you fail to find me Greyfilth and his groveling friend.”

Doraki shivered before her.

“No, Your Darkness, there will be no failure.”

“My good friend Greyfilth will wish he had taken me up on my offer of half my realm before all is said and done.” Dorini suddenly laughed menacingly. “Does that bother you, my sweet, to hear me talk of replacing you with that monster Greyfilth? But you, my lovely, shall share it with me if you complete your errand successfully. And if not, perhaps I shall have my revenge I had planned for them on you.”

Shrill, jarring, pleasureless peals of mimicking laughter filed the huge black expanse of the throne chamber.

Doraki bowed low and fled, the darkness of his bitter heart frightened and angry, and he went to the chamber of Cakgor and took the gaunt, huge beast with him, and sped away into Atlanton Earth with vengeance welling inside him. At his heels came Cakgor, great wolflike jaws slavering and evil, vile frozen breath deadening the air, down, ever down into the world of men.

A great, ominous black cloud enveloped the sun with their passing, and all who saw it quivered and shuddered in their hearts and their minds were filled with a dark, unspeakable terror.

Those who served the Dark Queen gladdened at the black immenseness of the cloud, and planned new evils to strike against the light. Their bitter hearts feared the light, but also the darkness, and the icy fingers of the Dark Queen covered their eyes and numbed their minds to all but obeyance of her will, and new strife and crises spread like a raging black fire over the world of Atlanton Earth.