Title: The Emperor of the Night
Author: DarthImperius
Rating: T
Genre: General/Fantasy
Published: 20/06/2017
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter franchise and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
"Normal Speech"
"Thoughts"
Chapter 1 – The Dark Lord's Downfall
Fortress of Ondo, Timmur Archipelago, Normandia
There was once a time when the ancient fortress of Ondo was used as a sea outpost by the old Kingdom of Normandia, but those days came to an end centuries ago, when the eastern seas were conquered. It was abandoned and left to oblivion, at least until now. If by coincidence, a small ship was to pass nearby, its sailors would stare in horror or amazement at the central island of the Timmur archipelago, where the once proud fortress stood.
The skies were dark above the island, and the waters were blackened as well, dark clouds of smoke blocking out the sunlight in its entirety. Wild flames consumed the towers and walls of the fortress, furthering the ruin of Ondo and threatening to spread across the structure. Besides the smoke, the air was filled with the scent of blood and burnt flesh, a clear sign of the battle that was taking place.
As the defenders attempted to push back the attacking force, within the fortress, many warriors which had penetrated the fort's defences were engaged in battle against opposing warriors, the corpses of their fallen comrades nearby. Outside, two fleets fought for dominance over the sea, debris scattered across the water. Many deaths had already occurred, and many more would follow.
Yet this was an attack out of desperation, a way of recovering a small hint of hope in a world threatened by a rising darkness. Hope, which took the form of a small child, not even two weeks having passed since its birth.
Recovering the child had been strangely easy once the fortress had been infiltrated, yet leaving the old structure was proving to be a far more difficult task. Still in a deep sleep, the child was carried by his mother, a woman with red hair and green eyes which was accompanied by a middle-aged man in armour, and another woman with whom she shared her red hair and green eyes, as well as many of her facial features. Such was a trait of these somewhat identical sisters, age being one of the factors which differentiated them.
"Madam, we should hurry," warned the man. "These walls can collapse at any moment."
"I'm more worried about that bastard appearing than in these walls!" she replied as they entered large and ruined hall.
She glanced at the baby in her arms. They boy had been called Aurion, and was the youngest of her three children, and the second of her sons. Yet with this small war, he could very well become the only survivor of the three.
"Lililia, do you have the key with you?" she asked.
Her sister nodded. "Yes, why?"
"I'm afraid we'll have to use it," she announced. "I can sense his presence here."
The younger sister, Lililia, instinctively reached out to the pendant she wore around her neck. The key was an odd and ancient instrument, but its purpose was very clear to the three adults.
"Hold Aurion, please," requested the elder sister, handing her son to Lililia, who took the baby.
The old warrior and Aurion's mother assumed a defensive posture, the two knowing very well that something was wrong. Despite the chaos within the fortress, the three could see that there was something unnatural about the shadows in the room, a realization that came too late.
"He's here," whispered Lililia.
At those words, the shadows retreated into a corner of the room, turning it as black as the void of space. The sound of metal could be heard from within the darkness, and as a dark and armoured figure emerged from the dark, the fears of the three were confirmed.
"I would feign surprise, but it is unnecessary," spoke the dark figure, scorn clear in his voice. "Hello Zenolia. I see that my father and your sister keep you company, making this a rather convenient reunion. You have something of mine."
The last sentence was more of a whispered growl, the armoured man reaching out to his weapon.
"Sarutar," replied the oldest woman, Zenolia. "He is not yours."
"In all aspects, he is," declared Sarutar. "The child, give him to me. Now!"
Quickly, Zenolia raised her hand, a bright light emanating from it, a barrier emerging to separate them from the dark warrior.
"Never, servant of Tau!" she declared, before turning to her sister. "Open a gateway to Earth and take both Aurion and Lord Cyernar. I'll be with you shortly!"
"What are you doing?" demanded Lililia in panic.
"I'm ending this travesty for now," affirmed Zenolia, before a wave of her hand activated her sister's pendant, a swirl of white energy surrounding her and the young child in her arms. "Go with her, Lord Cyrenar."
The man nodded. "As you command, my queen."
He quickly joined Lililia in the swirl of energy, the three being sent away into Earth, far away from the ruined fortress of Ondo, and leaving Zenolia to deal with her former spouse.
"Keep him away for now, but I shall always find him," declared Sarutar as he used dark magic in an attempt to bring down the barrier. "The emperor of the night will be ours!"
Her two hands began to glow brightly, far than before, and as she raised them, Zenolia looked directly at the being which had once been her husband, her words being calm and near emotionless.
"You shall never have him."
And as the barrier fell, an immense wave of magical energy was unleashed from Zenolia, engulfing the entire island and the sea which surrounded it.
Godric's Hollow, West Country, England (U.K.)
Inside the small cottage of the Potter family were only James Potter and his new-born son. For some reason, Lily had left a few days ago, leaving only a note with an odd explanation of her lengthy absence. So, without his wife to help him, James had to take care of young Henry with the help of their aged neighbour and fellow wizard, Bathilda Bagshot.
In James's opinion, she was a rather nice lady, but had the usual tendency to ramble on lectures of wizarding history. Not that it was a bad thing, but he had enough history of the wizarding world back at Hogwarts. She also liked to talk a lot about Professor Dumbledore. Speaking of which, he had to remind himself that the Order would be meeting in secret back at Hogsmeade.
And as he reminded himself of the Order and the fight against Voldemort, James quite literally threw himself out of the armchair when a bright light emerged in the middle of the living room, a strong gust of wind being felt across all divisions of the ground floor. And when he looked at the source of the distortion, he saw his wife with a child on her arms, and a man accompanying her.
"Lily, what?" said James as he got up, his hand already heading for his wand. "Who are they?"
Lily looked at her husband, clear relief on her face. "James, relax. Everything's fine."
Cyrenar seemed to be fascinated with the living room, finding the contrast between this world and his own to be rather extraordinary.
"This is Aurion, your nephew," she explained. "And this is his grandfather, Cyrenar, Prince of the White Isles."
James was temporarily dumbfounded, before realizing what was going on. "Nephew? Oh, so he's Zenolia's…"
Lily nodded. "Yes, he is."
"So… what happened?" asked James.
"One of the Dark Lord's lackeys managed to enter the palace and kidnapped Aurion," she said. "That's when I left. We managed to recover him moments ago, but he appeared. My sister sent us here, and she remained behind fighting him."
"You think she's…"
"I don't know James. Zenolia said she's come here, so we have to wait."
There was a moment of silence, interrupted by the opening of a new portal in the living room. James pointed his wand at the portal as it opened, Lily and Cyrenar backing off. To their relief, the figure which emerged was Zenolia, looking quite exhausted.
"By the Empress, you're alive!" said Lily in relief.
Zenolia simply nodded.
"What happened?" asked Cyrenar.
"The island has been submerged and the fortress is destroyed," she announced. "For the moment, Sarutar has been defeated."
There was a general sensation of relief in the room at the news, but the moment for celebration was not now.
"So, what will happen now?"
"We still have to destroy the remaining forces of the Dark Lord. My eldest son amongst them," declared the queen. "If he does not repent, then he will suffer the same fate as his father. And even if he does, the throne will not be his, but his brother's."
"So Aurion is…" said Lily.
Zenolia nodded. "I believe so, and so did Sarutar and his master. Aurion may well be the prophesized Emperor of the Night, but that's not critical right now. As we stand, the safety of my son is compromised in Arcadia. He cannot stay there. Which is why I want to ask something of you, Lililia."
Lily knew exactly what her sister wanted. "You want him to stay with us."
"I would not be asking if it wasn't necessary."
"Well, if James agrees…"
All turned to the Potter patriarch.
"Well, I suppose so," he said. "You think we can take care of two kids?"
"We will manage," she said before turning to her sister. "You can count on us."
Zenolia smiled.
"Thank you, sister."
Cyrenar turned to Lily and James.
"Do take care of my grandson, and raise him well," said the man. "I would hate to see him turning into the splitting figure of his father, and I do not speak physically."
At that moment, he focused solely on James.
"You do look like Ganriil."
"I'm sorry, who?" inquired James.
"The Dark Lord before his corruption," explained Lily. "Ganriil was his name."
"Oh…"
At that, Zenolia activated her key, a white portal appearing near her.
"We shall depart now," she said before heading to her sister, who held Aurion on her arms, kissing the child's forehead. "We will see each other again, my son."
She looked at Lily. "And thank you, for everything you did."
"We're family," was Lily's reply. "We watch each other's backs."
Zenolia nodded, turning towards the portal and walking into it. Disappearing from view, she was followed by Cyrenar, and once the old man had vanished, the portal faded away.
Lily took a deep breath, familiarizing herself with the feeling of being back at home. The bundle in her arms, however, would require a little more work on both her and James's parts.
"Ok, now we have to make up a cover story for our nephew," she said. "Everyone knows that we only had one son, so we can't claim they are twins."
"We could say he's an orphan cousin of yours, and we adopted him as our son after hearing the news," suggested James.
"That's quite a good idea," said Lily. "But we still have to do something about his name. Aurion is not a British name, I'm sure of that."
"Don't look at me," spoke James. "I'm not good with names."
Lily thought about it for a while, eventually reaching a conclusion. Remembering her grandfather, Aurion IX, who had been known amongst the people as the "Old King Aury", perhaps she could alter the diminutive to fit something more… Earthly.
"I know! As our adoptive son, he will be known on Earth as Harry Potter."
The Arcadian Compendium:
Arcadia – The capital city of the Great Kingdom of Arcadia, which later came to give its name to the entire continent. The official main title of the monarch is Great King, even if the holder is a woman.
Normandia – One of the two great regions of the continent of Arcadia. Once, it was a small kingdom which rose in power and came to dominate half of the continent. Its greatest rival was the kingdom of Aurea, but the two eventually united due to a political marriage, and the result was the foundation of the Great Kingdom.
Lililia – Youngest and second daughter of Cyrron III, Lililia followed an old tradition of cadet members of her family, by exploring the worlds beyond Arcadia. The first and only world where she travelled to was Earth, reaching it as a young child. Due to the unique abilities of Arcadians, she was able to replicate Earth magic, and attended Hogwarts as Lily Evans, later marrying James Potter. Despite being of different species, the biological similarities allowed them to have a son, whom they called Henry Potter.
Zenolia V – The ruler of the Great Kingdom, Zenolia succeeded her father as Great King. She married a nobleman, and had three children with him. Shortly after the last one was conceived, her husband became a servant of Tau, and became known as the Dark Lord Sarutar.
Sarutar – Born as Ganriil, the son of Prince Cyrenar of the White Isles, the man who came to be known as Sarutar married Zenolia during the reign of her father, and upon his death the two ascended as co-monarchs of the Great Kingdom. Somehow, Ganriil fell under the influence of Tau, and was corrupted into the malevolent and power-hungry Sarutar, who also came to be known as the Dark Lord.
Tau – Believed by Arcadians to be the primordial source of evil, Tau is not a liked figure in Arcadian culture. His presence was first felt during the Age of Dawn, and he re-emerged during the Age of Dusk, using the corrupted king of Arcadia as his "second-in-command" in the mortal world.