A Shadow in the Light: Knowledge and Remembrance - Part Two

      Manov said sternly, "Master and Mistress have given me sight. I can now see what Neopia was supposed to be like, what the world is like without a lighted fault. Without the lighted fault I have seen." He lowered his paw, finally releasing the chain from his grip to reveal a rather large ruby pendant finely cut into a heart shape.

      "But Manov," Sovan started, "Dizzie and I are here to take you home. Surely you didn't take my little pub incident too harshly, did you? You are not one of them, you're Manov! You're Ovalon's secondary prankster!" His large pools almost pleaded with the young Zafara by then, willing the younger to see what he was trying to tell him. Maybe they could get out of there without being split in half by the Kougra, and maybe the other pets would let them escape. Don't be crazy, Sovan, he scolded himself.

      "Yes, in your eyes I will always be a rung lower than you on the ladder, won't I?"

      Sovan was caught by surprise. Was that what he thought?

      "Daene, this is getting boring, show this Lupe pup what our dear Manov is trying to explain," Kax sighed at last, impatience flooding her voice.

      The Shadow Krawk nodded and turned, but then a clearing of Kax's throat stopped him.

      The Kougra held up a paw, thinking for a moment before saying, "On second thought... why don't you ask Chanook if he would join us. He will be able to straighten this out." As the Krawk swept past her, the Darigan pet whispered to him, "Just don't forget to give him a poisonous lollipop before asking him. That'll get him on a good note."

      Sovan stepped back beside Dizzconnie as Daene stumbled into the tree's cave, brow creased in thought. Who was this Chanook? No, who were this pets period? Were they brainwashed zombies gone completely and utterly mad?

      "What have you done now?" Dizzconnie asked meekly, shaking slightly. "Chanook is their leader, he is feared by all of these pets, even Kax. It's like summoning a creature from the deepest of ocean caverns to fetch their leader from his caves deep within the underground maze of corridors or where ever he may be."

      The Lupe rolled his eyes. "Stop it, Dizz, he's probably an old Neopet that not one of these pets has ever seen."

      "Come again?" came a booming, hollow voice from the cave. A large Halloween Kougra prowled forward, an agitated expression pressed on his mug.

      "Oh, and he said not to bribe him with candy anymore, Kax," Daene then said proudly, not noticing the stony glare the Kougress shot him.

      Chanook set one mitt ahead of the others, allowing the numerous silver trinkets to clink with one another on his upper mitt. Yes, truly a leader of former thieves and bandits, and the Kougra was not shy of showing it. "You wish to know of the Saave and this Zafara, no?"

      Sovan nodded slowly, realizing that he was truly in the dark on the subject of the group.

      The Kougra chuckled wickedly, his fangs grazing his chin fur as he did so. "Very well then, soon everyone will need to know about us anyway.

     " The Saave started out as a council of seven pets, also known as the Seven Black Lamps. Two of the Seven were powerful mages, three former great warriors, one a scholar, and the last an infamous conqueror. The Seven aided in ruling a kingdom now long since forgotten, but soon they secretly began to plot against their lighter rivals. The mages set the king under a spell, taking away his free will, leaving him an empty shell of a being. One by one the Seven sent the kingdom's armies to destroy the surrounding areas, all orders spoken through the king, who was now under their complete control. They spread like a disease, devouring everything in their path as a mighty tempest until the Seven had set up a large empire filled with their darkness.

      "Now there was the question of who would be the emperor or empress of this empire, since it was clear that all seven could not rule side by side. Tension grew between them and the empire was soon becoming neglected. In their frustration, assassinations occurred between them, leaving only the conqueror, one mage, and the scholar left. They decided that they would be able to rule together, so for the next year this empire held two emperors and a single empress.

      "Many knights from the unconquered lands saw the turmoil caused by the evil Seven, even though the group was reduced and then renamed the Tri, and great Uni cavalries attacked the empire to only have the darkness always prevail. In the last battle of this tense war, the scholar suddenly disappeared. Most think he was killed. So then only two were left, but no one bothered to give them a name. It probably would have been something as idiotic as the Grand Duo." Chanook suddenly stopped, snickering at his own dubbance for the two.

      "Now, sometime after that, the mage decided that ruling the empire was no longer what she desired to do, so she soon left and lived a normal yet outcasted life in the country. So the conqueror was now left, and in his glory he gathered his mighty forces and announced that once more his troops would roam northern Neopia. Sadly, the rankings had become disloyal and began to fight one another instead of the lighter areas around them. The empire crumbled, and the surrounding kingdoms seized their chance to attack, taking their own portions of land for themselves until only a forest and several miles of flatlands were left, separated by a large hill.

      "No one truly knows what happened to that emperor, but many say he died. I can prove how wrong they are for I am his descendant, and once more that empire shall rise and my own forces shall sweep across the globe, but this time the darkness shall not end at the ends of the ocean! No, every corner of Neopia will be veiled by the evil of the Saave, the new order descending from the Seven Black Lamps!"

      Everyone was quiet as the Kougra's gleeful cackles subsided and his face turned serious once more. "But you have more questions, do you not?" he asked sharply to the Lupe.

      "Yes, I do in fact. Well, how does Manov tie in with this? He is just a young Neopet, and a foolish one at that," Sovan explained, only glancing at the Zafara momentarily.

      A chortle rumbled in the large feline's vocals. "We are not exactly what one could call evil, for there is quite a difference between 'villain' and true 'evil'. We have the will, yes, but there is one thing that we are missing. Those mages were the key to the Seven's alliance, without them their darkness would never have stayed stable. They needed a source to keep their black ways strong, and there was one power that could succeed in this: the Summoning. Every generation holds a new Summoner, and this one is still quite young. The Zafara is the new Summoner, and he will bring forth that power source once more, whatever it is."

      Kax felt sweat form on her brow, and she slowly began to walk away, hiding her fear by keeping her frame proudly straight. Her discovery was not one that her brother would want to hear. Her discovery that this young one was in fact not the Summoner. How could she tell him, to let him know that she had brought him the wrong pet? No, she would lie low for now.

      Dizzconnie's eyes grew wide, and she slapped herself on the forehead. How could she have been so ignorant!? The necklace! The becrazed chain that Manov so dearly held onto. She thought back, sorting through her memory of the day before. He had seemed fine when she had first seen him with Kax, but then the Kougra had handed him the necklace. He had fallen, and then the Kougra had rioted into a fit before he had fallen into his current state. She smiled and swiftly stepped forward, pulling the chain over Manov's neck before he could react. She held it up like it was a prize before she was tackled to the ground.

      "That's mine!" Manov shouted, red eyes ablaze in fury. His paw finally grasped the pendant and he snatched his necklace from her paw and leapt away from her, cradling the ruby.

      Sovan was too stunned to move. What had happened?

      The Gelert rubbed her head and sat up, disappointed at her failure of a plan. What was it that had driven him into such an emotionless state?

      Chanook smiled. "He belongs to me now, and nothing can change that."

To be continued...