The morning was filled with so much promise of a good day. The sun was particularly bright and magnificent as it broke through the shroud of stars that was the night. The air was clean that morning, but a thick fog soon developed, a fog that made it difficult to see your own hands in front of you. The forest that was Gorhenge was thick and lush, it was not as vast as some forests in Legia, but wide enough to fulfil the task it was given today, providing cover for an moving army. The advancing army of Darkenhathe was disturbing the tranquillity of the forest. The trees were acting as sufficient camouflage for the hundreds upon hundreds of troops, each amour clad with sword being held tight, each soldier taking out the frustration and possibly even fear at getting ever closer to a possible death. The advancing army was led by Lord Darkenhathe, a fierce individual sat atop his horse in front of all the troops, he wanted to get to the battle first. Darkenhathe wore a dark blue cloak, which the wind was blowing to one side and amour to slow down any normal man but Darkenhathe was robust enough to carry such metallic protection. His face bore a bear like stare ahead, his brown hair very straight and all in place, the wind flowing through it but not propelling a single strand out of place. Darkenhathe had deep brown eyes that kept a blank stare at the fields ahead. His face contained relatively no scars or marks from battle, as he was skilled enough to make sure none were inflicted on him. He rode at the front of the battalion, not at the back, which was the custom of most generals. The reason for this was simple; his hatred was so strong he wanted to be the first to strike down the enemy troops of King Golan. Golan had been King for too long and the two families had been fighting for the crown of Legia for decades, all to often the bloodline of Darkenhathe had been on the losing side, not today, for today Darkenhathe was determined to remove King Golan from the throne, permanently. Golan and his son Gyraicus were stationed at Gorhenge Castle, which is where the troops were heading. Darkenhathe had sent out scouts to the castle to survey its defences and would not move until they returned. Seconds took an age to pass, minutes more like a millennia; Darkenhathe sat deep in thought, not becoming impatient, staring blankly at the trees, fields and hills ahead and below that hill lay Castle Gorhenge and King Golan. The troops directly behind Darkenhathe were becoming increasingly worried of an ambush their whispers being heard and discarded by Darkenhathe. He breathed in deeply, his outward breath added to the smokescreen that was the thick fog engulfing the forest and the army. Darkenhathe paused for thought and lost concentration, the troops behind him were murmuring louder than before, causing him to turn and look at them, their eyes focused on the horizon, which made him turn again and face the oncoming lone horseman. Darkenhathe squinted his eyes and concentrated on whomever it was coming toward them, he looked very familiar and had something in his hand, a pole of some sort, with something that he couldn’t quite make out on the end of it, it could have been a mace. The lone horseman stopped suddenly and allowed Darkenhathe to view him fully for the first time. Then Darkenhathe saw it and recognised the figure, the crest of Golan embedded into his chest plate, it was King Golan. Golan and Darkenhathe stared down each other and even though they were about forty yards apart, each of them gazed deep into the others eyes and saw the burning hatred. Golan then made a move, causing some of the troops to get anxious. “Not yet” barked Darkenhathe waiting to see what Golan was up too. Golan raised the pole in his hand and Darkenhathe recognised what was on the end of the pole, one of his scout’s head. Golan then shouted at the top of his voice and Darkenhathe saw horsemen arrive in the distance surrounding them all completely. They were out numbered at least five to one, and there was a momentary pause between everyone while Golan looked into the eyes of Darkenhathe once again, Darkenhathe could not see Golan smiling, but he new he was. Golan shouted once more and the troops descended on them, heading for the forest from every angle. And so the battle began.
Gyraicus stared at the blade he held in front of him. A thick fog was enveloping everywhere atop the watchtower but Gyraicus’ vision focused intensely on his weapon, his light brown hair and deep green eyes reflected back at him. His average build and clean-shaven face gave him a look hardly befitting a prince. Gyraicus let his arm and with it his sword drop to the side of him, as he observed the fields ahead. His father had gotten word of a surprise attack by Lord Darkenhathe, his sworn enemy. Gyraicus was fortunate not to experience the wars that his grandfather had experienced when he was just a child but Darkenhate had taken his sister from him, and for that he would pay with his life. Gyraicus had heard stories of some of the bitter conflicts and his mind flashed back to those tales he had been told. `The smell of death was in the air that day` that line Gyraicus was repeating over and over and although he wasn’t sure what the smell of death was, he was pretty sure it was close to what he smelt in the air that day. Gyraicus turned his back and exited the watchtower at the top of the castle and descended the steps. Gyraicus didn’t really know what to think, fear kept creeping up on him but he was always quick to dismiss it, as he had to be strong. Gyraicus found his father, suiting up for the battle ahead. Golan didn’t have to ask Gyraicus what was wrong, he sensed it. “Come now boy, you have grown up being trained for battle by the best warriors in the land, being educated by the best scholars in the land, now you finish your training son” he paused “today you become a man”. Gyraicus gave him a look of understanding, he was a young man, getting on to be twenty eight this year, but in the eyes of the people he would not become a man until he had become battle-hardened. Golan and Gyraicus strolled, lacking any real pace toward the stable, where they would mount their horses, battle-ready. Neither Golan nor Gyraicus talked as they strolled as they were both too preoccupied with their own thoughts. As they reached the stable Golan looked into his son’s eyes, fear and anticipation were both waging a war inside him and there was nothing he could do. Gyraicus looked to the sky, the fog was developing strongly and could cause a problem. The silence was eventually broken by on of the King’s men, who Golan had called for, inquiring about the prisoner. Darkenhathe had become clumsy and sent what could be a blatant trap to the castle but he was taken in anyway. “The execution went smoothly milord” said the servant, not before bowing before Golan and Gyraicus. Golan smiled, “when I am leaving for battle, bring me his head, I’m going to show him what I will do to him”. The servant bowed acknowledging this and then headed back into the castle. “Father” Gyraicus broke his silence “be careful, there is a lot resting on this and I would not trust Darkenhathe”. Golan lowered his gaze and heeded the words, but soon dismissed them. “Nothing will happen to me...” Golan was cut off. “He hath already taken my sister, I refuse to lose you, not now, not to him”. Sierra was a little younger than Gyraicus, she would be twenty now. Three years ago, she disappeared, after two years Gyraicus gave up all hope of seeing her again and he vowed to avenge her death. Golan lowered his eyebrows at Gyraicus, he snapped “your sister will be avenged my son” he breathed deeply trying to hide his growing rage “and that vengeance will be wrought today”. As Golan and Gyraicus mounted their horses Chaigon arrived on his horse. Chaigon was tall and well built, with short, dark hair and brown eyes and was the captain of the Legia army. “Ah, I was wondering when you would grace me with your presence Chaigon” said Golan upon viewing his presence.
“My apologies for being a little late, we have spotted Darkenhathe”.
“And where is the walking corpse” Gyraicus threw in.
“His army has just entered the forest, over the hill, and is very slowly advancing”
“Is everything in place” asked Golan
“Yes sir, we have troops stationed all around the forest, we‘ll surround them then move in” he paused “on your word sir”
“well lets send them in now, they wont expect it and we can join them with at least forty strong from here” said Gyraicus. Golan paused for thought, then shook his head “I want to see that bastard myself, and be the one that extinguishes the life of that cockroach” Golan paused, regaining his clear mind that anger soon takes away “I‘m riding out in ten minutes, make sure everyone is ready Chaigon”. Chaigon bowed then rode off. Golan took out his blade and stared into it, making eye contact with his reflection. Golan stared deep into his eyes, the reflection then changed before him, the face staring back at him was now his daughters. Golan closed his eyes, so tight it hurt, but not more than the pain he felt over his daughter. He blamed himself for her death and he hated himself for it. Golan slowly opened his eyes, which were becoming tear-stained. He clenched the sword hard in his hand and looked again at the reflection, it was still his daughter. He wanted to say something to her, he knew it wasn’t really her and it was just his mind, but the only way to rid himself of the guilt he bore was to avenge her death. Gyraicus saw a tear in his fathers eye and did not say anything. Golan then looked out at the field he could see ahead of him, and below the hill, the forest. He turned to Gyraicus “Tis time my son” Gyraicus nodded. Golan began to ride but Gyraicus stopped him “Father” he began. “I-I love you”. Golan smiled warmly “I love you too son”. Golan then went to leave again and a servant came out, with the prisoners head on a wooden pole, he was holding it as far from him as he could. It smelt awful and looked pale and bloody. Golan took the wooden pole out of the servants hand and turned to Gyraicus and smiled. He then rode off to meet with the troops at the top of the hill. The fog was thicker than ever as Gyraicus started to ride off himself. Gyraicus’ horse speeded through the vast open land that surrounded the castle and spotted the troops almost ready right by the top of the hill. Chaigon was there and Gyraicus rode up toward him “Where is father?” he asked.
“He hath gone down into the forest” Gyraicus’ eyebrows immediately raised
. “What! alone?” snapped Gyraicus. Chaigon nodded. Chaigon then motioned to speak but there was a call in the distance, this caused all the troops to motion toward the top of the hill, Gyraicus, not totally sure what was going on followed Chaigon. The fog was even thicker in the forest Gyraicus could barely see down there but he did his best to survey what was going on in the forest below, he saw his father holding up the wooden pole with the head on high above his head. No-one moved, everyone either sat atop a horse or stood silent, waiting for what would happen next. His father then shouted something again, and all the troops started moving in on the forest. Gyraicus would normally have waited for a while before going down, but his father was down there alone and so his horse swiftly got to the bottom. Gyraicus drew his sword and rode ever closer to the oncoming troops. He drew his blade in a flash, his heart pumping blood wildly though his veins, Gyraicus silently hoped that his heart would still be active when the battle was over. Moments later, Gyraicus was called into action, slicing once on his left side, cutting a gaping hole through a chest and killing him instantly. A crowd toward the middle saw him coming and earmarked him as a target. He pulled his horse up suddenly and veered it to the left, galloping almost twice as fast as the oncoming soldiers who had no horse to carry them such distance so quickly. Gyraicus rode to the edge of the forest where it was less crowded to re-assess what he was going to do. His mind wanted Darkenhate so he thought that if he killed all of his troops that came in his path he would surely get him eventually. A lone swordsman had taken advantage of this momentary lapse in concentration and approached Gyraicus’ horse quickly from behind. Gyraicus looked over his shoulder and jockeyed the horse to run speedily away from the forest into the open and he figured he would turn there. As Gyraicus’ horse ran into the distance he heard a cry which alarmed him. A cry not of his father or of Darkenhathe, but the cry of a boy, a young boy. Gyraicus turned the horse sharply and darted back into the forest, as he entered the forest the swordsman he had encountered before raised his sword in an attempted ambush, but he took too long and Gyraicus thrust his blade into his chest causing him to fall to the ground and drop his sword. Before the sword could reach the ground Gyraicus leant over and snatched it right before it was to hit the floor. He looked around and heard another cry, the sound of a boy again this time getting further away. Gyraicus rode towards where the noise was coming from. Six of Darkenhathe’s troops had spotted him and came at him, three on the left, three on the right. Gyraicus drew both swords as he sped past them and with two spins of both swords it now lay at one on either side of him, he then thrust both blades backward without looking, both piercing the back of the men who didn’t even have time to turn around. Gyraicus then rode off, again in search of the source of the cries he had been hearing. He heard the shouts of the boy again, louder than all the sounds of sword grinding against sword and metal slicing flesh which could be heard throughout the forest. The howls he could hear were now coming from behind him, meaning they had gone full circle and forcing Gyraicus to head back in the direction of whence he came. As he turned however he heard something of more interest to him. A voice from the right of him, whoever it was had a tree shielding them, and although he didn't quite hear what was said, he instantly recognised and it made his blood boil. “Darkenhate” he called “come out from hiding, or do you only kill girls” just having to speak his name made him want to kill. Slowly Darkenhate, sitting on his horse appeared from the tree that was covering him. “My my” Darkenhate smiled “haven’t you grown ” during this patronising display, Gyraicus looked around to see if he was about to be attacked, however no-one stood by them, everyone else was deeper into the forest, it was just Darkenhate and him. “I do not need cavalry to kill a boy, such as yourself” Darkenhate grinned as he spoke.
“I am no boy, I‘m a warrior, I‘m a ...”
“You‘ll be dead if you do not stop talking” interrupted Darkenhate.
“How ironic, you talk of the dead” Gyraicus paused “you shall soon join them”. Darkenhate looked Gyraicus up and down, then dismounted and drew his sword. “And you think you‘ll be the one to kill me boy” Darkenhate smiled again “I think not” He turned his back on Gyraicus, to get back onto his horse which was a mistake, he then made an even bigger one. “Your sister was harder to kill than this” and as Darkenhathe spoke, Gyraicus felt rage erupt all over his body. Gyraicus leapt from his horse and onto Darkenhathe, both of them crashing to the ground with a thud. Gyraicus turned Darkenhathe over so that he was facing him and he punched him hard in the face, again and again. Darkenhathe’s face was soon misshapen and bloody. He then punched him severely in the stomach and chest a punch that actually hurt Gyraicus it was so strong but he gave no sign of this. Darkenhate soon began to cough up blood. Gyraicus saw this and it shocked him a little, he got to his feet “get up” he called at Darkenhate “fight like a man instead of a worm” Darkenhate got up, bloody and bruised, he then looked at Gyraicus “you wont kill me, you haven't got the guts, the killer instinct...” This made Gyraicus even more furious and he lifted his foot high into the air and slammed it into Darkenhathe’s face violently, causing him to collapse to the floor in agony. Gyraicus took a deep breath and lifted Darkenhathe to his feet, he laid him against a sturdy oak tree and drew his sword. In the face of death Darkenhate smiled “you kill me for what I did to your sister” he began laughing.
“No” said Gyraicus “the beating I gave you was for her, killing you, that’s for me” and with that he thrust his sword deep into Darkenhathe’s stomach, he pulled it upward, trying to slice his rib-cage in two, he then pulled his sword from the corpse to which it crashed to the forest floor, a bloody mess.
Gyraicus got back on his horse a new man, he got back on his horse feeling like a man, a true warrior and for the first time in three years he felt at peace with himself. Gyraicus rode off into the deep forest from which he entered, the head of Darkenhate tucked away in a knapsack as some sort of morbid memento, and to notify the troops of his victory. As Gyraicus was about to leave the forest, which was now almost empty, a few skilled and a few lucky fighters remained he heard the familiar sound of the young boy crying out again, only this time he saw it. Two of Darkenhathe’s troops were trying to hold down the boy. He looked in his early teens, with auburn hair and was struggling to escape the grasp of his captors. Gyraicus rode over to the two soldiers and unsheathed his sword once again, he swung it clumsily at one of the men, who were unarmed. Gyraicus was reluctant to battle again, he had grew tired but there was something about the boy. Gyraicus dismounted sharply and produced the head of Darkenhathe, to which the men soon ran. He put the head back from where he had taken it out, then turned his attention to the boy. “My name is Prince Gyraicus” he paused hoping for an instant reply, it didn’t happen “what is yours” said Gyraicus trying to get to know the boy. The boy, then looked up at Gyraicus and they made eye contact for the first time. The boy opened his mouth to speak but was reluctant to do so “Valandt” said the boy, eventually.
“Nice to meet you Valandt, how did you end up here, at this battlefield?”. Valandt bit his lip and Gyraicus felt some pain in his eyes, he then saw the tears forming.
“My parents.....killed” the boy took a deep breath “I ran away to find a new place to live, that was three days ago” he paused again and dried a tear “I slept in a tree last night, and awoke to the sound of swords and fighting, when I tried to run away, men tried grabbing me, so ....” his tears were getting stronger “... so I, I stole a sword from one of the men and tried to fight my way out, like a man” he then smiled a little because he wanted to act tough and brave, his tears then subsided “I killed several before three men could pin me down” Gyraicus raised his eyebrows, he was impressed .
“And how old are you?”.
“ten this month, sir”
“Well then Valandt” Gyraicus paused, he wasn’t sure why he was going to do this but he was going to anyway “I live in that castle over the hill, would you like to come and live with me” Valandt’s eyes widened “Y-Yes sir, thank you” and he hugged Gyraicus. Gyraicus then heard a scream of pain and he pulled the boy away from him and got on his horse “stay here” Gyraicus said and Valandt nodded acknowledging him. Gyraicus rode to what seemed the other side of the forest to pinpoint the location of whoever it was that was hurt. Gyraicus knew who it was, but prayed he was wrong, he wasn’t. Golan lay against a tree, his eyes barely open, howling, bloody with three arrows in him, one in his right shoulder and two in his left arm. Gyraicus ran to him “Father!!” and he cradled him in his arms. “I got clumsy son” he smiled and summoned all his strength to kiss his sons forehead. Gyraicus burst into tears and one fell down Golan’s eye “I killed Darkenhathe personally” whispered Gyraicus into his dying fathers ear “for you” Golan smiled.
“I love you son” said Golan
“I love you too” and with that Golan slumped over, dead.
Chapter 1 - A Kingdom at Peace
Things had changed since the battle of Gorhenge, just over nine years ago now. Legia was flourishing under King Gyraicus. Gyraicus himself had grown older and wiser, his light brown hair was greying at the sides, but only under close scrutiny. His green eyes were aflame with passion and anyone who looked into them too deeply risked being hypnotized. The kingdom was entering a new era, many new books of magic and scrolls of ancient spells had developed the way for wizards and necromancers. Schard was the best Magician in all of Legia and was Gyraicus’ personal wizard. Schard was in his early forties, he didn’t look it. His dark brown eyes gave him a mean stare and his hair was an angelic white, always immaculately looking. Schard had just awoken to the sound of shouting coming from outside his window, still fairly groggy he leapt out of bed and walked over to the window. He then opened the window and peered down to see what the commotion was. “Ah” said an excited Schard “finally, I had been wondering when you would arrive”. Schard had heard that the legendary Lijitman books had been found after decades of search and had the King send them to him. Schard let the man who’s earlier shouts had awoken him and the two men accompanying him into his renowned tree-house. The tree it was built into was a monolith oak tree, who owed its gigantic size to the magic of Schard himself. The maze of branched he magnificently transformed into walls. The roof was crafted from another tree, and welded onto the rest of the converted tree. The trunk of the tree was a spiral staircase which the three men, two carrying a chest entered and ascended. Inside was truly a credit to the magic of Schard, it was glorious from every angle. The men got to the top of the stairs and dropped the chest, clumsily and suddenly onto the floor, causing the bookcase behind them to tremble slightly, which caused a few books to tumble off it to the floor. “So I see at last you have brought them” said Schard as he walked over and picked up the books that had fell from his shelf. As he spoke he noticed the expression on one of the men who had carry the books change to one of worry “is there a problem?” asked Schard as he turned to face all three men. “No, no problem at all” and they then exited to leave. The door slammed on them, one of the first tricks Schard learnt as a wizard and Schard smiled wide. “If indeed there is no problem, I hope you don't mind staying til I have seen the delivery”. One of the men went to open the lock on the chest open and then stopped. “No key?” enquired Schard “hmm it is a pity, now I cannot open the chest” the three silently cheered, their faces soon turned to horror however as the lock magically started to come off. The three looked at him partly in fear, partly in awe and he gave them a quick uninterested look at their stares and said “I could teach you that one in ten minutes” he said casually while strolling over to the chest. Schard opened the chest and peered inside, he saw why they had been so anxious to leave. “There are two books of Lijitman, two, that's one and another one” he said as he took his head out of the chest getting angry.
“well there was only one when we got there” said one of the three. Schard sighed in deep thought.
“very well, at least you got one” Schard went back to the chest and retrieved the book. The book was green with a gold pattern on the front, the cover was incredibly thick and probably a job to carry. Schard laid the book down carefully on his desk, he stopped and looked at the men and as he did the door flung back open “use it” he said in his calmest voice. The three men left sharply without saying a word. Schard turned to the book with anticipation `whoever has the red book is in great danger` he thought. He went to turn the cover of the book and start reading the ancient passages inside, then stopped `no` he thought to himself `useless without the other book` and he put the book on the top shelf of his book case. Schard readied himself for the day ahead, he had a meeting with the King tomorrow and had been working through sleep to put together his latest concoctions. However his grandest was lacking one ingredient, he had developed using his skill and some rare herbs a potion which once hits the ground gathers together all the boulders and rocks in the area to form a stone warrior, however without Okmange the warrior would crumble from the slightest touch or even a powerful gust of wind. To get some Okmange would require Schard to go to the town of Minorell, which had a market full of unique substances which could not be found elsewhere and Schard got together all the things he would need for the trip and set off.
It was a beautiful day, Schard could not have done a better job himself. Schard strolled along a dirt track, the air was fresh and the sun shone intensely down on Schard as if it were focusing all its energy on him. Schard's expensive silk all over red cloak brushed against the dirt track and Schard new this, `if it got too dirty` he thought `I can always make another` his cloak was tied tightly against his body with the finest rope in all the land, all his own work. Schard marched on in the relentless heat, a breeze blew across his face but it wasn't quite cold enough so Schard soon intensified the breeze. The town of Minorell was a short journey on foot, he could have just teleported himself there but it was a nice day overall and Schard felt he could do with the exercise. Schard’s path took him along a dirt track and through a fairly secluded green area, through shrubs, trees and other such scenery. Schard eventually got to Minorell after a peaceful walk. As the people saw Schard their faces turned to smiles, a wizard of such power would always be greeted with a smile as he would be the first person to come too if they had any problems. A young woman approached him however with a grave look on her face, “oh grand wizard thank the heavens you have arrived” she said as she collapsed crying into Schard’s arms, he was taken by surprise and nearly dropped her, but he managed to catch her in time. He examined the girl quickly, looking for anything suspicious, Schard had grew up incredibly paranoid and being known as the grandest wizard did nothing for this paranoia as it only encouraged bounty hunters with a point to prove to try and take his life. The girl seemed trustable Schard thought, his initial impression. She had long dark brown hair and blue eyes that he only got a very short glimpse of before she fell into him. She was wearing a red cloak which covered her upper body and a brown skirt, which looked fairly tatty when compared with the pleasant looking red top. Shard lifted her chin and looked into her blue eyes “what is the matter child?” she tried composing herself and dried away her tears quickly.
“It is my father o’ grand magician”. Schard thought for a second.
“Take me to him” Schard said, to which the girl smiled broadly. He rarely saw to people such as this as he believed that if he were in the same position they would not help him. The girl led Schard to a cosy hut, there was only one room in the shack and in the middle lay a desperately ill man He was sweating profusely and Schard saw him attempt to cough, but he was too weak too. Schard lowered his eyebrows in deep thought, he then knelt down and searched his rucksack, through coins and jars, he then took out a jar full of a purple substance and placed it down on the floor. The girl took her father’s hand and looked into his eyes “The wizard will help you get better, you will be okay now he is here” Schard pretended not to hear, `don’t want to get his hopes up too high` he thought as he searched what he had brought with him for one more thing. He took out a container, a turquoise liquid resigned within and he looked at it and bit his lip thoughtfully. Schard then took a quick look into the bag, it was not there, he was missing something. The girl looked at him “Is there something you need wizard?”
“N...” Schard stopped then thought there was a fruit that's juices would add the ingredient he needed, but Schard’s mind wouldn’t let him think of their name, he then had an epiphany “do you have any Enai?”. The girl thought for a second then dashed out of the house. `This is why I keep to myself` Schard thought. Enai was an exotic fruit found deep in the heart of the Legian forest, quite a delicacy, it was quite a rarity a few years ago, but fierce trading had meant every household could have some, every but this house it seemed. The girl returned a few seconds later, three Enai in hand. “We have none, but next door have plenty, they want my father to get well soon” she handed them over to Schard one by one. “well this should work” Said Schard and he turned to pick up what he had taken out of his sack. He looked around for something “please tell me you have a knife, or do I have to go next door?” he said to the girl. Schard was expecting a more reckless response, but she just smiled and went over to a small table, on it was a knife and she brought it over to him. Schard lay everything on the floor “would you be so kind as to fetch me an empty container from my bag, do not touch anything else thank you” he said to the girl as he sliced open the Enai. The girl obliged and stuck her head into his rucksack and reappeared with a container, she then walked over and placed it down next to the other two jars Schard had laid out. The girl then sat down on the floor and anxiously watched Schard. Schard didn’t like to be watched but he felt he may as well put up with it this once. He cut the Enai into two and placed the pieces aside, he then took the purple fluid and poured an amount into the empty container. He then did the same with the turquoise solution. He then put a top on the mixture and shook it, turning the colour to a dark purple. Schard then removed the top and one by one juiced the Enai, one by one the Enai transformed the mixture from a dark purple to a blue, a blue to a turquoise-green, then to a lime and then to a yellow. During this procedure the man coughed violently, causing Schard to squeeze an Enai so hard it fell apart in his hands and altogether make him work quicker. After the solution turned yellow Schard left the rest of the Enai and stood up, “it is done” he said `although whether it will work is another matter` he cynically thought. Schard walked over to the man and knelt before him, something which every citizen in Legia would consider an honour. Schard sighed nervously as he moved the container to the man’s mouth. He poured the elixir into the man’s throat and he, using all his might swallowed. Schard then took two paces back and waited. The man coughed, not once but twice, the second time more violent. Schard sighed deeply and put his head in his hands, he then closed his eyes in deep thought. Schard then felt something, the girl put her arms around him and kissed him deeply on his cheek, he without knowing blushed. Schard opened his eyes, the man had managed to stand up. “This is the first time father has been on his feet for two months” the girl said to Schard, a huge smile on her face and she then kissed Schard again, this time softly on the lips, he blushed again. The man slowly walked over to Schard and shook his hand “thank you, thank you so much wizard, you truly are the greatest in all of Legia” which was followed by a sharp cough, the man clutched his chest in pain. Schard lowered his eyebrows again “tis no problem to help you” the man coughed slightly as Schard spoke. “That cough of yours bothers me” he turned to the girl, “go next door and get me some more Enai, as many as you can” The girl nodded and sharply exited. Schard helped the man, who was probably younger than him into his chair and stood back, awaiting the girl. Schard smiled wide as he looked at the man, he then started laughing softly to himself, this quickly turned to bellowing laughter. The man turned to him “what is so funny?” He asked Schard.
“I have heard about your condition before” he paused “and what I gave you..” Schard was interrupted, the girl had returned with the Enai. “I‘ll tell you in a second” Schard said to the man, and he set about making more medicine that had regained the strength of the man. Schard made two fresh bottles and handed them to the girl. “Take a sip of that every day for about two weeks, that should take care of any lingering symptoms, if after that you are still coughing come and see me” he said to the man. “Now if you‘ll excuse me I need to get to market” said Schard as he went to leave the hut.
“Wait...” called the man, stopping Schard in his tracks “you were laughing earlier, you didn‘t finish explaining” Schard turned to face the man.
“Ah yes, well as I was saying” Schard paused momentarily to remember what he was laughing at “well I had forgotten to bring some things out with me, and up until you started to walk, there was no cure to your condition” Schard laughed as the man stared at him wide-eyed, the man then laughed loud.
“You truly are the greatest” said the man as Schard left. `Yes` he thought to himself `I am`.
Schard continued on his way to the market he had only intended to be out for a short while, a short walk into Minorell, a quick trip to the market and back home just as soon as he had left. He had now already been out three times the amount of time he anticipated it would take. Schard continued through the streets of Minorell and turned through a side street, which led to Minorell market. Minorell market was the most renowned through all of Legia, it sold everything that anyone would need throughout the day and the trade that the wizards brought in buying rare herbs and potions allowed the market to expand even more. Schard walked through all the traders and made his way to Kryztchi, an old friend of Schard’s and the biggest seller in Legia. Kryztchi was wearing a cream shirt and brown trousers, hardly suggestive of one of the richest men around. His face was one of joy as he saw Schard approach, he smiled wide, he had an all over black beard and slick dark black hair and his eyes were a wooden hazel. “Nice to see you old man” called Kryztchi as Schard came closer.
“You had be careful what you say, I could make you twice as old as me with the flick of my wrist” Schard said light-heartedly. The two then shared a laugh “How is your wife?” Schard asked then paused, before Kryztchi could answer he had another question “has my order of Okmange came in?” asked Schard, allready knowing the answer to that one. “She is fine my friend, than you for asking and yes, this morning in fact, you are a mind reader my friend”.
“No” said Schard “but it would only take me about day to learn, with the right books” he said. Kryztchi turned around and dug around in a box and produced a container of finely compressed orange powder.
“There you go” said Kryztchi as he handed the Okmange over.
“What do I owe you?” enquired Schard.
“I heard what you did for Falgard” Schard looked a little confused.
“The father of the young girl?” Schard said slightly confused, looking around “word travels fast in this town”. Schard felt a sharp breeze, “well ill be going now” he said, and then he noticed his knapsack had gone, it was not a sharp breeze he felt, but rather a very fast thief. Schard observed the thief, who could not have been older than seventeen run through all the stalls trying to get away from the wizard. The thief kept moving fast until suddenly his feet were not hitting the floor anymore, he was being rose high into the air. Schard then turned to Kryztchi “do you know this idiot?”
“not by name” he said.
“stand back” said Schard and Kryztchi moved accordingly. The clumsy young bandit hovered above all the stalls and moved towards Schard, he then drifted directly above Schard, then falling five feet down to the floor with a bump, on Schard’s whim, directly where Kryztchi was standing a few second ago. Schard picked up his bag without looking at the perpetrator, instead he merely said his farewell to Kryztchi. Schard then proceeded to leave the market and get on his way home. As he was leaving the town he saw a few people ride in on horseback, Schard made eye contact with one of them and felt a shudder go through his body. The man had a scar down his right eye and a bald head, a fierce look in his eyes and a callous stare gave Schard a bad feeling about him. Schard started to walk slower and waited for the three riders to pass, he then watched as they headed for the market. Schard then started walking back to the market, he didn’t know why but he had a gut feeling. Schard re-entered the market and picked up an old rag from the first stall he saw, he tried to quickly pay but as he saw earlier with Kryztchi, the trader was only too happy to let him have it. Schard tied the rag over him so that the riders would not immediately recognize him. The three riders were stood at the back of the market and were weary of anyone attempting to make contact with any of them but Schard could not see the man who had made eye contact with him earlier. Schard sighed and thought to himself `well some people only look evil` and he turned to leave the market for the second time. As Schard turned he heard a woman’s scream, he turned around and one of the three riders had his arm wrapped around a woman’s throat and he held her tight as she struggled to escape his grasp. The woman in question was Kryztchi’s wife. Schard was about to launch them into the air when he felt something push into his back, a crossbow was being held against him “No tricks wizard” came a booming voice from behind him. Schard raised his hands high into the hair, slowly, so that the man would not suddenly become trigger-happy “walk” another order barked in the same voice as before, and he prodded the crossbow into Schard’s back, making him walk to the front to join up with the other riders. “Everybody put your coins into the bag at the front, we all have crossbows and we have horses, so if you try anything we will come after you” Schard heard one of the other men shout at the crowd. Schard began to sweat, he could have easily have gotten Kryztchi’s wife released, using his skills but the following crossbow bolt into the back he could not prevent, and today was not a day to die. Just get your dirty money and go` Schard kept repeating in his head mantra like as he watched the men load up their bags with gold and jewellery and everything else they could get their filthy hands on. Schard gave it serious thought and he could easily have overpowered them and rescued all the money, but it would be too much of a risk to himself and he was not worried about their profits. Schard looked down on the sandy floor and let his thoughts run as he waited for this ordeal to be over. Kryztchi’s wife was still foolishly attempting to escape from her captors clutches `just stay still you..` and Schard sighed as he watched her wriggle about `it will all be over soon`. The man who was holding Kryztchi’s wife was becoming more aggressive when it came to restraining her, holding her arms painfully tight and pulling at her throat, strangling her. Schard watched as Kryztchi’s wife coughed and spluttered as she tried desperately to regain her breath, she was having the life squeezed out of her and still Schard stood by, crossbow firmly pointed in his hand. Kryztchi’s wife moaned out very loud in pain and was turning red, he could see her fading and Schard had seen enough as he thought `if I die I am so gonna regret this` as he mule kicked the man behind him, causing him to drop the crossbow and fall to the ground in immense pain, holding his crotch. The man holding Kryztchi’s wife dropped her to the ground and she was able to regain breathing, coming back from the brink of death. The crowd that was the market traders and people who had come to buy goods had fled the moment Schard took care of the man behind him. The other three immediately turned to Schard and two crossbow bolts were fired in his direction. The flew at him fast, almost too fast for him to react, the bolts halted in their way, moments before tearing into Schard and he then let them drop to the floor. Schard then lifted the three men high into the air, he was about to let them fall when he was hit hard in the back by the man he had floored earlier, he crashed to the ground and a few moments later the three lifted into the air shared his fate. The three slowly got to their feet and dusted them self quickly, they then walked over to Schard. Schard’s back was in agony and he was angry, but more at himself for turning his back on the fourth rider. Both Schard’s hands were stepped on and the men did not remove their feet so that Schard could not inflict anything more on them, the man with the scar on his left eye then put his foot on Schard’s neck. “Bye bye wizard” he heard almost immediately after he heard a crossbow being loaded. Schard closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, preparing himself for death. He lay there for what seemed like an age, he then felt the foot of the scarred man move off his neck, followed by a cry of pain. Schard opened his eyes and saw the scarred man fall to the floor, crossbow bolt in his neck. The other three then backed away from Schard and he got up and saw his rescuers, Raiguarde, The captain of the Legia army with ten strong men on horses. Schard dusted himself off “always a pleasure to see you Raiguarde, now more than ever” Raiguarde smiled at this comment.
“I wish I could see you under better circumstances Schard” said Raiguarde as he nodded for his troops to take away the three remaining riders.
“Problem?” asked Schard.
“You could say that” Raiguarde answered “The king is missing”.
Chapter 2 - Missing
Raiguarde was an unusually composed man, he always eradiated calm and never looked under pressure or nervous of any situation. He was a young swordsman and served in the battle of Gorhenge, merely seventeen at the time, now by the age of twenty-five, he was the youngest ever captain of the Legia army. He went through the events of the day in his head. He had awoke that morning preparing the guards for the visit of the wizard Schard the following day. As he stretched awake from his immensely comfortable bed he walked into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face to wake him up properly. It was then he saw his face, reflected in the small pool of water he was using to give himself a quick wash. His long golden blond hair, his well built muscles and he for a small second made eye contact with himself and his baby blue eyes looked back at him. He still looked like the innocent seventeen year old that had developed a taste for blood in the most influential battle in recent history. If however, anyone thought that Raiguarde was innocent would be gravely mistaken. It was then, once he had got ready that the news was broken to him, King Gyraicus was missing. The castle was searched several times to make sure this was no false alarm, nothing like this had ever happened before. Raiguarde then went to the wizard Schard’s house, the legendary tree converted to a house, he was not there to admire its architecture, it occurred to him that the king may have gone there instead of waiting for his visit the next day. However Raiguarde was incorrect and the king was not to be found, neither was Schard. The fifteen horsemen he had taken with him had scouted on and found that Schard had gone into Minorell market, a five minute ride from here. Raiguarde rode into the market, which was unusually bereft of people. Raiguarde then saw four men attacking one man, who was on the floor, Raiguarde instantly shot one of them and the man got up, it was Schard the wizard. Raiguarde then filled Schard in on the situation in hand and he and Schard, riding atop one of the horses of the men who had earlier tried, and almost succeeded in killing him. Raiguarde and the wizard Schard rode on to Legia castle. Legia castle was a monument to savour, it looked simply amazing when the sun hit it first thing. The castle was colossal in size with four turrets and large balconies adorning every window. The castle guards watched as Raiguarde, Schard and the fifteen horsemen approach and lowered the drawbridge when appropriate. Schard and Raiguarde rode into the stables and dismounted, a few servants took care of the horses. The two entered the castle and sat down at a table to discuss the matter at hand. “Why did we come back here?” asked Schard, a question he had thought of an age ago, but only now asked it. “For this is the best place to find out any news” replied Raiguarde, he was right, The castle was in the middle of the land and any messenger would not have trouble finding it. Schard went to say something else, stopped and chose his words carefully then spoke “what if the king hath been kidnapped?” he asked.
“Hmm” said Raiguarde “then we could be deeply concerned, for tis someone who can capture the most heavily guarded man in Legia without alerting anyone” Schard nodded indicating that he understood his point was unlikely to say the least. Schard paused again and turned around “Where- ” he then changed the structure of his sentence mid way through it “Raiguarde I hope you don‘t mind me asking, but where is the prince?”
“out” answered Raiguarde, and instantly they both stood up. Raiguarde noticed Schard’s pupil’s dilate and Schard noticed the same thing in Raiguarde. They then headed back toward the stable to remount their horses.
Valandt, the kings adopted son stood deep in the middle of Topaz forest. He had found himself confronted by three attackers two in front of him, one to the right the other to the left, and one behind him. He stood on his toes, alert and ready to pounce on any that moved too suddenly for his liking. Valandt had a short tempter and loved fights like this, however it soon got out of hand and he had broken bones against greater odds than this. Valandt simply put was loved by few, hated by many, respected by all. He was keen to turn around and see what the enemy behind him was doing. He hated not knowing like this and this made him even more alert. It was hard to conceive that the small boy Gyraicus found in tears those years ago was Valandt, he had grown extremely broad and strong his auburn hair was more deep red some days, dark brown others. Valandt’s intense brown eyes were enough alone to strike fear into any opponent, some believed that his eyes contained a raging fire that once was unleashed would never stop until all he surveyed was under his control, all that which wasn’t would die. The people of Legia were not anticipating with glee Valandt’s reign just yet, but he was only nineteen and still young, not yet a man. Valandt trained his eyes on the attacker to the left of him, he was tired of waiting and was going to unleash his onslaught on all three. He put his hands together and breathed deeply, he had no sword to hand but he did not need any. Valandt smiled slightly at his foe, which caught him off guard, he then launched at him, high kicking him viciously in the throat, causing him to fall to the ground. The man nearest too him threw a punch at him, but Valandt easily blocked it with his right arm and then wrenched his arm around the back , almost pulling it out of its socket. The third man then attempted a three kick attack at him , the kicks were lightning fast but Valandt avoided them casually, still wrenching the arm of the second man. The third man then tried to punch him, but he blocked it copycat like with his left arm and wrenching his back. Valandt then slammed the two attackers into each other causing them to fall to the ground. Valandt was a little sad that it was all too easy, he then found himself in a bear hug. The first assailant had regained some of his consciousness and was attempting to squeeze the life out of him. Valandt jumped high into the air and broke free of the mans grasp and in one swift move spun around and kicked the man in his chest hard, then another severe kick to his face. Valandt landed on his feet and dusted himself off, to the sound of applause. Kandon, his trainer stepped out from behind a tree “well done, you‘ve come a long way” Valandt kept his cool stare into nothing. The three attackers then rose to their feet slowly and Kandon told them to rest up “they were my three best, well apart from you” he said to Valandt when they had gone. Valandt continued his silence and walked toward the training temple, smiling slightly but making sure Kandon would not see it. Valandt was supposed to change after each training session, but he had hardly broke a sweat and decided against it. He splashed some cool water against his face and made his way toward the front entrance of the temple, as he did he saw the three hopeless souls he had given a beating too earlier, he chuckled to himself and silently pitied them. The six swordsmen assigned to protect him came by with his horse, there were also two horsemen in tow. Valandt felt so inadequate, he was probably the best fighter in the land and still he had to have guards, Valandt longed for the fight, he loved being in battle and the thrill of victory, which he had experienced many times, each feeling of joy slightly different. The battalion began to ride in the direction of the castle. Valandt stretched in his saddle `some workout` he thought, `no matter, I will find some whores in town and I will have a proper workout` Valandt thought of a sufficient time period in which to satisfy his desires `I will have them for three days` he eventually decided on. He smiled at this thought and began to think of some of the things he would have done to him, which made him smile wider. Something in the distance then broke his concentration, two horsemen, galloping at great speed, heading toward them and there were about five horsemen a distance behind them. Valandt nodded to his two horsemen and they hurtled to meet up with the oncoming horsemen. As they rode closer and closer Valandt recognized them, it was Raiguarde the army captain and Schard, his fathers personal wizard. If these two were meeting up with him, the matter was of great urgency. Valandt sped forward, forcing the swords man right next to him to choke on the dust cloud gathered by the velocity of his steed. He very soon joined up with Schard and Raiguarde and was quick to ask his questions. “What is wrong?” he asked, knowing that this could not be good news. Schard and Raiguarde looked at each other and it took another prompt from Valandt for either of them to speak “Well?” said Valandt, becoming impatient.
“It is your father” Raiguarde was the one who spoke eventually “he is missing”. Valandt looked confused `no-one could have got into the castle and away with father without anyone seeing them, no-one` he thought to himself. “What are we going to do?” asked Valandt, ready for action.
“There is a banquet being held by Astral tonight, Raiguarde was meant to attend, but I think it would help if you went to see her” Schard said to Valandt. Valandt sighed deeply, he had never met the elf queen before and he was very reluctant to do so. “Why do I need to go?” he eventually said to Schard.
“Because, Astral knows many things others do not, she can possibly find Gyraicus, and she would see that this means a lot if you see her personally” Schard had a point. Valandt sighed again.
“Tell the messengers to send a statement to the people of the city of Palestar that the Prince of Legia will see them tonight, now if you’ll excuse me, I must return to the castle to prepare myself for the banquet”. Valandt then began to speed off into the distance, heading for Legia castle. Schard and Raiguarde then began the ride back themselves. “Do you think Astral knows where Gyraicus is?”
Schard said to Raiguarde, who had known Astral since they were children. “It is my firm belief Schard, that if she cannot find him, he will be gone forever”.
The sky was getting cloudy, Astral, queen of the elves stared at the darkening sky with deep concern. She had felt the king disappear, she did not know where or why however. She sighed deeply, she was worried, something felt wrong, very wrong. A voice in the distance broke her fixation on the sky “Do not be afraid” the voice called to her. She jumped and felt her heart thud heavily inside her rib cage. She tried to look at the figure in the distance but she could not make it out, a flashing light then forced her to her knees, somewhat against her will. Something was glowing in the distance, she could not make it out but she knew what it was, she felt the presence of Paix, the goddess of peace. Her heart was beating even faster now “be calm” said a soothing voice coming from her head and she attempted to relax. “Why have you come to see me o goddess of peace?” she called to the light in the distance.
“This land is in grave danger” came the voice again “The prophecy of Goreorth is upon us” Goreorth was the god of war. Legends long ago claimed that he wreaked havoc upon many nations and he could not be beaten, so the disciples of Paix summoned all their strength and sealed him beneath the earth. The prophecy also told that the vanishing of a king would begin the world for his return. “Do not be afraid of Goreorth child, I will guide you” came the voice, seconds before vanishing. Astral breathed heavily and tried to calm herself. She stood up and walked from the balcony into her room. She put her mind on hold for a second and calmed herself, she looked into a mirror and attempted to straighten herself out , just to give her mind something else to do. Her light blue hair shone reflected beautifully in the mirror, her baby blue eyes looked back at her. Her skin was a slightly pale shade of white, she had an air of holiness and was often compared to an angel. There was a slight knock at the door “com” her voice was not as calm as the rest of her was becoming, she paused and then started again “come in”. It was Orhen, her chief messinger to the people and he looked after all trivial affairs that Astral had to attend too, he bowed in her presence then spoke “I heard you talking” he started “who was here?” he said looking around. If there was one person she could confess what had just happened to, it was Orhen, but she was not too sure about it herself, so she decided against it for now. “Oh I merely awoke from a dream, my apologies if I worried you” she told him.
“No need for apologies, I also come bearing news, Valandt, the prince of Legia has sent a message saying he will be attending tonight's banquet”. She nodded acknowledging what she had just been told. “When can we expect you coming down?” he asked her. “I will be down to greet the prince” she said “please let me know the moment he is here”.
“As you wish queen Astral” he bowed and then left the room. Astral then slowly strode back to the balcony where she had her vision of Paix. She gazed across the landscape and then to the sky. The voice returned to her head, briefly “be weary of the one called Izumo” it said, then it was gone.
Valandt wasn’t particularly looking forward to the banquet. He would much rather be out with his sword trying to find his father. `It would send the right message to the people, that he cannot be messed about` he thought to himself as he sat in the back of the carriage, speeding toward Palestar castle. Valandt sat deep in thought, alone in the carriage as a sign that he meant no harm to Palestar by not bringing a hoard of guards. Valandt peered out of the window, it was getting dark. This was a bad sign as this signified that Gyraicus did not merely go out quickly, forgetting to tell anyone. `If he meant to be this long` Valandt thought `he would have at least told me`. Valandt cracked his knuckles, the waiting was killing him, he was more of a warrior than a politician and did not like to be attending a social function when he could personally be out looking for his father. The carriage sped on and now Palestar castle could be seen in the distance. The sky that night was stunning, Valandt fleetingly glanced at it and silently wished he had the time to fully appreciate it. He sat back in the carriage, the seat had been comfortable when he initially sat in it, but now he had been in it for almost an hour, and he was becoming immensely uncomfortable. Thoughts of his father flashed through his mind, `who would do such a thing?` Valandt asked himself `the people love him` he could not work it out. Valandt mind then started to wander, he had found even more reason to be upset when he found out that he would miss training every day until his father was found. It was now more than ever that he needed the thrill of battle and something, or someone to take his frustration out on. The carriage slowed and Valandt was quick to react, leaping from his seat and looking out the window. He could see that they had reached the castle and the carriage was slowing to allow the drawbridge to be lowered. He sighed nervously, apart from being unhappy that he was here instead of looking for his missing father, he was also uneducated on how to behave on such occasions and this made him nervous. The bridge was lowered and the carriage drove through, it then came to a halt to allow Valandt to make his way inside the castle. Valandt was wearing a dashing red velvet waistcoat and silk white shirt, his trousers were a reddish shade of brown, or a brownish shade of red, he couldn’t decide. He stepped inside the castle warily, his movements sudden and awkward, not sure how to act he looked around for somewhere where he could get a drink, and he needed it. His path, however was blocked by a tall man. The man was well built and there was no doubt in Valandt’s mind that his eyes were trained on him. The man smiled and bowed in front of Valandt “my name is Orhen, its is a pleasure to meet you prince Valandt” he said.
“Indeed, the pleasure is all mine” he said, trying his best to be polite “where is queen Astral?” he asked.
“She will be down very shortly, she has been anticipating your arrival” he said.
“As will I” said Valandt, just before he walked off, proud of his efforts. Valandt walked on and found someone carrying a tray of drinks. The mood Valandt was in, he would have gladly taken all the tray of his hands and downed all the drink and not bat an eyelid, but he politely took one glass and sipped at it. Valandt felt something tap his shoulder, which caused him to jerk, spilling a drop of the drink on the most likely expensive carpet, as he turned he trod on it, praying no-one had seen his clumsiness. “This is queen Astral” said Orhen and as he motioned his arm, pointing toward the stairs Valandt saw the most beautiful thing he had ever seen walk down the stairs. His eyes widened, his pupils transfixed on this amazing woman he saw walking toward him. Valandt looked her all over, her hair was a beautiful shade of blue and her eyes he felt he could get lost in. Her skin was immaculate and Valandt was sure that this was no mere woman approaching him, but an angel. Astral walked up to Valandt and greeted him “it is nice to see you prince Valandt”. His concentration lapsed as he was too busy trying not to stare at her blue outfit which was tight on her incredible body, superbly proportioned. “Stunning...” he eventually blurted out and he saw her smile, this gave him back his concentration. He tried to make up for it “... castle you‘ve got here, it is very beautiful” he silently breathed a sigh of relief and saw her smile again, which made him go weak. “Why thank you, I‘m glad you like it” she said to him “my apologies for this as I believe we have something you need to discuss with me, I have to see my other guests, first but I shall return and give you my full attention” Astral said apologetically. He took her hand and kissed it, she blushed. “I shall see you later” he said as she walked away, and as she went, the intense feeling he got in his stomach went with her. Valandt stood there for a second, just watching her walk away, sighing to himself then he shook his head and came back to reality. Valandt tried, but failed to mix in with the guests, through no fault of his own, the crowd were hardly going to let the prince of the land become just a face in the crowd. The more the evening went on, the better Valandt was becoming at greeting the people. He went over to one of the servants for his seventh drink and didn’t have to turn around before someone was talking to him about any matter, however inane. He heeded all the words that were told him, however and uncharacteristically was polite to everyone, but he new he could not do it for long, and wondered where his father found the strength to do it. Valandt glanced around, one of the servants was approaching him and he started to approach him, wondering if there was any news about Astral’s whereabouts. “Queen Astral would like to see you downstairs” said the servant, and it couldn't have come too soon for Valandt, who was beginning to worry that he had made a bad impression on her and she was avoiding him on purpose. Valandt nodded and let the servant guide him, he walked down towards some steps, and descended down them. Under normal circumstances Valandt would never have done this, his policy was that if they wanted to see him, they could come to him, however he wanted to find out his father’s whereabouts and according to Raiguarde, she was the only person who was likely to find him. It was that for that reason alone that he so blatantly walked into a trap. As he was coming to the end of the steps he saw the room he was walking into, it was wide and very dark, there were shadows covering up the right and left hand side of the wall. Valandt finished the steps and in the distance he saw a familiar figure, it was Orhen, and he was tied up. Valandt then felt a sharp kick to the back of him, causing him to hit the stone floor hard, this hurt immensely but he got up like he hadn’t felt it and picked up the man who had kicked him and then slammed his body to the same stone floor, causing him to moan in agony. Two men then came out of the shadows and Valandt moved a few paces forward so that he was no longer directly in the middle of them and he could see them both coming. He launched his big boot at the one to the right of him, hitting him intensely and causing him to collapse, clutching his throat. The second then punched him hard in the face, something he had not been expecting and he once again fell to the ground causing his back to throb with pain once again. Valandt from the floor, reached around and sweeping kicked the man to the floor he then kept spinning and used the momentum of that to slowly get to his feet again. He then jumped on the floored assailant, and head butted him fiercely, knocking him out. Valandt was now bleeding which was soon made worse when he suddenly felt a boot hit him hard in his bleeding forehead. He fell back, and all of his body wanted him to scream in pain, but he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of hearing him in anguish. He cleared his mind off all pain and walked back to steps to focus his attacking energy. Valandt bowed his head and stared at the ground intensely, he was waiting until the moment was right. The attacker from the shadows ran at him and Valandt without opening his eyes took the brunt of his running attack and put his arms around him, he then lifted the man high into the air and slammed him hard to the stone floor, hearing bone snap as he did. Valandt then turned his attention to Orhen, he went to start untying him but a voice called for him to stop “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” the voice came from the shadows behind him. Valandt readied himself for battle.
“Come out from the shadows coward” he called to his hidden foe. The man stepped into partial light, Valandt could not make out his face but there was one thing he could make out, he had Astral gagged and in his arms, with a crossbow pointed into her beautiful face. “Unless you want the girl to die, you will surrender” Valandt sucked in his chest.
“I surrender” he called to the man, who he saw smile. Valandt saw two shadows briefly before they both hit him intense with some sort of weapon, and as he fell to the floor, falling unconscious he smiled `at last` he thought `someone to take my frustration out of` and he then fell into darkness.
Chapter 3 - Peace No More
Valandt awoke with a groan of pain, he looked around but he could not see much because it was very dark, he saw bars on the only light source in the room, a window and immediately knew he was being held in a prison. He tried to stretch out, but his arms were around his back tied to a chair. “Are you okay?” he heard a voice, Astral’s and looked around to see that she was in the same cell as he was, also tied up. Now he was silently glad that he was in darkness as if he saw her incredible face he would lose all concentration. “Yes” he eventually moaned out “more importantly, are you?” he said to her.
“I am alive, that is all that is important” she said back with a slightly eerie sense of calm. He sighed.
“Can you get yourself untied at all?” he called to her.
“It appears not, this rope is very strong” she looked out of the cell “even so there are seven guards waiting in the darkness in front of us”. Valandt looked in the same direction that Astral was.
“How do you know?” he asked her.
“I sense their presence” came Astral’s voice, this time from inside Valandt’s head “if they hear us talking they will know what we are up too” she said to him telepathically “I can hear your thoughts”. Valandt was glad he did not know this before otherwise he would have been thing all sorts of embarrassing things but under the circumstances, here in this cell, it seemed a little inappropriate. Valandt’s mind raced for ways to loosen the rope tying him up, it then occurred to him that with a flick of his foot he could easily break the chair he was tied to up, then the rope would be all but useless and Astral could untie him, but this thought was countered by Astral’s voice “do not break the chair, they will hear you” it said to him. Valandt paused for thought once again and then had an epiphany “well can you use your powers to create some sort of distraction while I break the chair” he thought, knowing her mind would pick it up. Astral said something but the deafening sound of thunder drowned out her voice. “My apologies Astral, I could not hear you over the thunder, what did you say to me” he heard her chuckle to herself softly, and he noticed what a enchanting laugh and voice she had, but he quickly dismissed the thought as he didn’t want her to hear him. “I said” she said to him right before another ear-splitting round of thunder, this time she waited before it had gone before speaking to him “how about if I create a powerful thunderstorm outside”. Valandt smiled wide at her creativity.
“Use your powers to make the thunder as loud as you can” he said to her moments before booming thunder filled his ears once again. He wrapped his left leg around the front left leg of the chair he was on, he then using his lower body strength snapped the leg of, in time with another immensely noisy thunderclap. He then did the same to the right leg, his left leg then had to take the brunt of his body as his body adjusted to get in a crouching position. Valandt waited for another boom of thunder before mule kicking one of the back legs and then repeating this with the final leg. Valandt then realized the fault in his plan, the back of the chair was still perfectly intact, so he could not free his hands. He slowly walked over to Astral, making sure that his crouching shadow did not signal the guards watching the cell that he was moving. he then took up position behind Astral `can you untie any of my ropes` he thought, she heard it and without word attempted to tug at Valandt’s ropes. `This will not work unless you come closer` she said to him, and with that she outstretched her hand and grabbed his. She pulled him close, Valandt felt a feeling of euphoria flow all around his body as she touched him. Valandt regained his concentration quickly and felt the ropes loosen momentarily, but not enough for him to be free. Valandt could now move his hands now, and he fiddled with the ropes, making them looser and looser until he is hands were free. He was sure not to forget about the chair and let it fall to the ground, he held it, by one of the wooden bar his hands were previously tied to and silently placed it on the floor. `Now you must untie me prince Valandt` came Astral’s voice into his head again. He did not speak and began to loosen her ropes, his hand brushing against hers every so often and Valandt felt weak as he did. Valandt finished untying her ropes and he took her by her hand and pushed her up against him. This made Valandt’s heart race and he could feel his heart beating at a pace also `what is the meaning of this prince?` she asked him.
`I saw your shadow move, which means they most likely did too, I merely pulled you close so that they could not pick up on this` he explained to her.
`I thank you prince` and the Valandt put his hands on her waist, his legs felt week and he guided her into the corner where they definitely would not be seen. `We must act fast young prince, Kaiazal will return very shortly, he will know where your father is.` The name Kaiazal spoke to Valandt, he had heard it before, but he could not remember where. `Kaiazal is one of the three disciples of Goreoth` said Astral, giving Valandt his answer. `Goreoth? the god of war, he is sealed under the earth, what does he want with my father?` asked Valandt.
`I see you know the legend of the battle between Goreoth and Paix, and how she sealed him as he could not be beaten, do you not know of the legend of his return?`
`it appears I do not` said Valandt, whose concentration moved to a noise, someone was approaching. `Stay perfectly still` he thought to her, and he held her once again in his arms, and felt a wave of pleasure, something more intense than he had ever experienced rush over his body. The noise came and went `you will have to explain the legend of Goreoth to me some other time, first we have to get out of here` Valandt thought to her as the noise disappeared. Valandt looked around in a feeble attempt to think of some means of escape, there were according to Astral, seven guards watching them merely metres in front of them. Valandt then tried to look out of the window, but this also was in vain as he could not see a thing at this angle. `What is on the other side of this wall?` he asked Astral.
`see for yourself` she said to him, and before he could reply, the wall appeared transparent and he could see far into the distance as if it were not there at all. Valandt reached out his hand and touched the wall in front of him, just to be sure it was still there, but now he had a plan. `Is there anything you could do to break this wall?` he asked Astral.
`Yes, but it will be loud` she said, with an air of scepticism. Valandt’s thoughts were silent for a long while, eventually he said `when you do what you do, I want you to run toward the small forest at the end of that open field, I will take care of any guards that come after you and then I shall join you in the forest`.
`Please` she said to him `let me stay with you, we can both go to the forest, I was the one that brought you here and got you into this trouble`.
`Just do as I say and go toward the forest, I do not want to worry about you` Valandt’s mask of politeness falling apart. Valandt was expecting a harsher reply, but instead he felt a kiss on the cheek and at that moment he nearly collapsed `you would worry about me sweet prince? I thank you`. Astral sensed Valandt’s slight embarrassment so she moved on. `Stand back` she said, and moments later a huge boulder came crashing through the prison wall. Valandt dived and pushed her to safety the floor, making sure it would not crush her. The boulder slammed into the bars of the cell and got wedged there. Valandt getting up turned to Astral `go, I meet you soon` he said as she started to head in the direction of the forest. Valandt saw three men who were guarding the outer perimeter of the castle start to give chase, but Valandt shouted at them and they turned their attention to him. One stupidly ran at him and Valandt merely used his momentum to toss him aside matador like into the wall. More men arrived, and a few swift kicks later, more men lay on the floor in agony. Valandt stood firm as four of the guards, sword in hand advanced on them. Two more men came, and the six surrounded him. Moments later the six became ten. Valandt was easily outnumbered and probably facing death, but he stood stronger and more confident of any of the ten surrounding him. Valandt wasted little time, he dropkicked the swordsman nearest to him to the floor and then grabbed the mans sword. Swords were thrust in his direction but Valandt rolled around on the ground avoiding all of them. Valandt then floored three swordsmen with the same sweeping kick. Valandt then stood up and plunged the sword he hand acquainted deep into the chests of all four men lying on the floor, killing them instantly. Valandt then looked around, he was sure there were more around but no more swords men stood around him, in their place corpses, they were all dead. Valandt turned the corner and saw a strange man kill one of the swordsman. He had dark hair and wore purple clothes, his sword was long and thin, curved at the end. Valandt approached him cautiously, the man saw him coming. Valandt walked up to the man, who’s eyes were staring blankly in front of him, at nothing in particular. Valandt spoke “I thank you for helping me, I am prince Valandt” he extended his hand to the strange man, a feeling inside him told him to befriend the man. The man broke his gaze and now looked at Valandt “What is yours” he said. The man did not speak initially, Valandt waited and then gave up hope, he was about to head toward the forest when he heard him speak “My name is Izumo” said the man.
Astral paced the forest floor, she had not looked back since running from her own castle, leaving the prince defenceless. She wanted desperately to stay, but something inside her told her to do as he wished. `The prince was a strange man`, she thought. `Nothing like the stories, nothing like his father actually` she continued. Just then a flash disturbed her concentration. Light filled the area and she found it hard to see in front of her. She squinted her eyes and looked into the source of the light, she felt the presence of Paix all around her. “The time for Goreoth draws closer” the voice of Paix said to her. “Stay with the prince, his heart is full of love, but it also has a black exterior. Goreoth will try and exploit him” Paix continued.
“I shall do my best” she told the goddess in front of her.
“I will help you elf queen” and with a blinding flash she was gone. Astral jumped from the forest floor and looked toward the castle, she could not see Valandt. `Where are you prince` she asked herself. Just then noises in the bushes behind her made her jump. `Could it be that some guards have followed me here?` she thought as she conjured a ball of fire in her hands, ready for an attack. The bushes parted and Astral saw that it was Valandt and he had someone else with him. This stranger had a calm aura about him. His hair was black and slick, his eyes seemed endlessly deep, he did not look at Astral initially but he soon looked into her eyes and she felt a shiver run down her body as he did. “I was surrounded by guards, but this warrior helped me” said Valandt to Astral after he had cleared the bushes.
“I thank you for your help” Astral said to Imunzo “do you have a name?” she asked him.
“Imunzo” he said to her, and she started to back away from him in fear.
“What is the matter?” Valandt asked Astral.
“I have been warned about him” she said to Valandt telepathically. Imunzo sat down on the forest floor and laid out his curved sword on his lap “my apologies to you, I need to meditate, I will not be long”.
“Its not a problem, please let us know when your finished” Valandt said to Imunzo `walk with me` he then thought, intending for Astral to pick up. “What is your problem?” Valandt said to Astral “this man saved my life and you treat him with almost disgust” Valandt’s anger was clear.
“I do not trust him prince Valandt” she said to him.
“I trust no-one” he said to her coldly “I know evil when it is near and he is not evil” he paused and walked a couple of paces alone, looking in the direction of the castle. “Kaiazal will find us here” Astral blurted out to Valandt after a long period of silence.
“No he won‘t” Valandt paused and drew his sword “because I am going to find him” he turned to face Astral “as soon as Imunzo is ready we shall return to the castle with, or without you” he stopped dead in his paces “I have to find my father, I cannot stand this waiting” and he then walked off toward where Imunzo was sitting. The night sky was completely and only the only light in the forest was moonlight. Valandt looked at Imunzo, who had his eyes closed and was in deep thought, he could sense pain but Imunzo refused to register any. Valandt walked off and sat down on the edge of the forest staring at the castle. Imunzo continued his trance, not making a single sound. Astral made her way and sat down opposite Imunzo, she closed her eyes and tried to think. “I know you do not trust me” came Imunzo’s voice, and she jerked her eyes open.
“What do you mean?” she asked him.
“You have been told by Paix to watch out for me, but that does not mean I am evil” he walked to her “come I will show you my story” and he took her by the hand, she saw what he was thinking. “My land was one of peace and honour, much like this, I was the greatest samurai warrior in the land and heralded as a king by the people. Then Kaiazal and his followers came” as he spoke this she felt pain “He tortured many people, raped women, killed children and many of my best warriors were sent as sacrifices to Goreoth until there I was all that was left. I escaped my land and have been watching Kaiazal for over a year now, I will stop him. For it is my destiny.” She felt the light of Paix surround her “I am the last living descendant of the disciples of Paix that sealed Goreoth all those years ago, and it is my duty to make sure he never escapes”. Astral pulled her hand away from Imunzo “I do not care for your trust elf queen, but I am no evil man” and with that he walked off toward where Valandt was sitting. Astral soon went after him, she didn’t want to trust Imunzo, but she was going too, for now.
“Kaiazal will send many to kill us” Imunzo said to Valandt, they were planning an assault on the castle.
“Then many will die” Valandt said confidently.
“I can use my magic to vanquish many” Astral added.
“However, we do need a plan, we cannot just rush in” Imunzo said “I have an idea, but it is very dangerous” he continued.
“I‘m listening” Valandt said to Imunzo.
“If you give yourself to Kaiazal on the pretence that you want to discuss the matter of your father, we can follow you and get to him” said Imunzo explaining his plan.
“And Astral, you could keep anyone from getting to us once we‘re alone with Kaiazal, couldn’t you?” Valandt added.
“Yes I suppose I could, but not for too long” she said hesitantly.
“Then it is set” said Imunzo.
“Wait..” said Astral “.. How will we get a message to Kaiazal?”
“Oh he knows” said Imunzo “All you have to do is walk in there”. Valandt was slightly concerned but he shrugged it off “Hey, I walked into one trap allready, why not two”.
“I will back you up young prince” said Imunzo, he then got up and started to walk.
“Are you sure about this?” Astral said to Valandt once Imunzo was out of hearing distance.
“I have no choice” Valandt said “if Imunzo wanted me dead he could have had it, but he prevented it and besides, I have to find my father”. The two got up from where they were sitting “and are you just gonna let Kaiazal capture me?”
“Not a chance” she replied “I got you into this prince, I shall help you out of it”
“Its good to know” said Valandt, “I have to go now” he said and then walked off in the direction of where Imunzo was standing. “Be brave young prince” Imunzo said to Valandt as he walked past him.
“Just make sure you‘re there when I need you, or rather if I need you” he said with assurance. Valandt continued his walk toward the castle and in his mind likened it to the walk someone makes to their execution. The castle was clearly in sight and Valandt cursed the fact that he had told Schard and Raiguarde that he would stay with Astral at the castle the night, if he hadn't there would have been a huge number of horsemen and swordsmen taking out Kaiazal’s men instead of the lone and outnumbered prince. The castle looked deserted as he approached it, the huge boulder that had smashed into the wall had been removed but the hole it had created was still there. Valandt unsheathed the sword he had stolen from one of the swordsmen he killed earlier and went to make a hole in the wooden door, to let him in but it opened in front of him. Valandt walked through the door cautiously and looked around for any sign of an ambush, there was no-one there. He walked into the room where he had been in earlier the vast room where he had first met Astral and he looked around again, there was still no sign of anyone. Valandt continued and walked into the banquet room, there was a huge table, big enough for at least a hundred people spanning the room and there was a throne at the end of it. This was the room where the guests had the feast earlier, they probably didn't have a clue what was going on and the evil that was taking place. The doors he hand entered slammed shut making Valandt jump and turn around, he got his sword ready. `If I can take out several of his men with no sword` he thought `its gonna be fairly simple with a weapon`. He then suddenly jumped spun and sliced his sword into the chest of an attacker. `So it will be simple` he said to himself as he stared at the body in front of him and plunged his sword into his chest making sure he was dead. Valandt looked ahead at the throne at the front of the room, someone was sitting on it. “Nice of you to drop in” Kaiazal said to Valandt, getting up from his seat. This was the first time Valandt had ever seen Kaiazal properly, up until today he figured it was a simple legend with no real truth to it. Kaiazal was covered by a black cloak that covered up all but his face. Kaiazal’s face was unusually proportioned and his skin looked to Valandt as if it could possibly be a very light shade of green. “Where is my father” Valandt said, getting to the point.
“He is” Kaiazal paused, choosing the right word “busy, but he will be returned in time, but don’t expect him to be alive when we do return him” Kaiazal said icily.
“You‘re right about one thing” said Valandt “he will be returned in time, in time for me to kill you” Kaiazal laughed evilly.
“I could see to your death prince” Kaiazal stared at Valandt who was a little startled to see that Kaiazal’s eyes were all black. “However, I believe Goreoth could make use of you. What do you say, we spare your life in return for your services”. Valandt smiled wide and walked over to Kaiazal, who extended his hand to Valandt, this made him smile wider.
“No deal” said Valandt coolly as he swung his sword at Kaiazal, but the sword only sliced air. Kaiazal laughed “it will a shame to kill you, but more fun” Kaiazal was now on the other side of the room. Kaiazal snapped his fingers and four swordsmen appeared either side of Valandt. He swung his sword full circle around him, slashing three necks in the process and causing them to collapse, dead. Valandt quickly thrust his sword into the chest of the man nearest to him deep and then kicked him off his sword. Another man came at him and Valandt grabbed his shoulder and thrust him into his sword. Valandt removed his sword from inside the chest of the swordsman and severed the head of the one nearest to him giving him no time to react. Valandt sheathed his sword and dived onto the ground, rolling where the bodies were and collecting a second sword in the process. Valandt then quickly unsheathed his other sword and two swords in hand rammed them into the chests of the final two, he then removed the bloody swords from the corpses and looked at Kaiazal. “Impressive” said Kaiazal “It will indeed be a shame to kill you” and he turned his back on Valandt and suddenly ten men were surrounding Valandt. Kaiazal began to wave his hands in a circular motion and chant in a language that Valandt could not understand. Valandt wasting no time threw one sword into the neck of one of the ten men surrounding him and thrusting it deep into the nearest one too him. Valandt could see that Kaiazal was escaping and he jumped high into the air, clear of all ten men and landing on the grand table. At exactly that same moment an explosion shattered the window to the left of him, causing everyone in the room to fall to the floor. Astral came floating in, and she using her powers was soon followed by Imunzo. “Its about time” he called to them as they landed and he then felt one of the swordsmen grab his leg. Imunzo then jumped high into the air, landing right next to the man who had Valandt’s leg and slicing the arm off. Valandt then got to his feet and pulled Imunzo up off the floor. The two then started to kill all the swordsmen. A scream broke Valandt’s concentration as he killed the last of the swordsmen, he turned around and saw Kaiazal had trapped Astral into a bubble. “Release the girl I will take care of Kaiazal” called Imunzo as he ran toward Kaiazal, who had now created a black portal in the room. Valandt threw his sword at the bubble and he saw it burst, Astral fell to the floor with a bump. Kaiazal smiled and ran over to Astral, he then grabbed her. `Did Imunzo just watch him take her?` Valandt asked himself as Kaiazal disappeared into the black hole with her in his arms, the hole vanishing after them.
Chapter 4 - The Shadow
Ahyrios stretched awake and got out of his bed, he squinted his eyes whenever the sunlight hit it and he pulled the blanket off himself and went toward the river beside the campsite to wash. Ahyrios tore off his clothes and dived into the freezing cold water, he shivered as he attempted to clean himself in the chilly stream. Ahyrios didn’t even know why he was so keen to start the day. `Always the same` he though to himself `just guarding the trees, watching to see if anyone rich enough to steal from comes by`. Ahyrios tried to be a nice nobleman, but it doesn't work out like that when you have no family and no-one to look out for you. He had joined up with this group of thieves just over a month ago, and he spent his time either being bored, hungry, scared or tired, still it was better than anything else he had ever done. The rest of the group were kind to him, as kind as thieves can be. Ahyrios finished his short bathe and emerged from the creek, struggleing to find something to dry himself. He eventually dried himself with the shirt he had worn for the last week, only having two to wear he wasn’t spoilt for choice. Ahyrios despite his meagre riches managed to look fairly good most of the time, his long blond hair and his deep blue eyes had given him a look that suggested more than he actually was. When he once stumbled upon a chest of clothes that had once belonged to a noble but had been discarded, he managed to convince some of the women in the nearest village that he was a noble and he slept his way through all the women in the village. `That was a fun week` he thought to himself, the settlement in question was a very small community. Ahyrios’ memories of the past was then disturbed, some of the rest of the group he came to settle with were waking up. “Are you making something to eat?” one of them growled to Ahyrios, he didn’t see who it was and it could have been any of them as their voices all sound raw and gruff first thing. “If you‘re hungry you make something” he snapped back as he put on his best pair of trousers, brown with only one rip which was in the leg. Ahyrios then stood up and took his other shirt to the river and began to wash it. Feeling amongst the group was particularly low and this was because of several things. There had been no-one to steal from for almost a week now, it was getting to the point where they may have to steal from somewhere like a market, but they had heard about the last group that tried to steal from Minorell market and they all ended up locked in the king’s dungeons, all apart from one who ended up dead. The night’s had seemed a lot colder recently and Ahyrios had to toil to get any sleep at all. Then there was the rumours of the masked killer. Ahyrios had brushed them off at first, the legend of the warrior that rode around wearing a mask had been going on for at least five years now. The warrior went around killing an assortment of people such as thieves. ex-soldiers and anyone who got in the way so no-one was sure whether the masked slayer was good or evil. The nickname of `The Shadow Of Death` quickly spread among the people. It had not really bothered Ahyrios as it was only a legend, problem was that the number of sightings had grown, in the last year The Shadow had been spotted no less than a hundred times. Ahyrios then splashed some water on his face and ran his fingers through his air as he tried not to think about it. Ahyrios walked back over to where his tent was and felt the boredom creeping in allready. “What's the plan today then?..” he said to anyone that was listening “...sit around waiting for starvation or are we actually gonna do some work” he said with a hint of infuriation.
“You wanna work so bad fix me something to eat” came the same voice as before.
“That's the problem, we have no food”
“We have no food?!” and with that a stout man stumbled out of his bed and went to the bag where the supplies were kept “why didn‘t you tell me? this is an emergency”.
“Calm down Nandir, something will come up” he said not believing his own words “and if not, we‘ll have to find it ourselves”
“and what, they‘re just going to give it to us?” came a voice from behind Ahyrios, it was Ghreid, the wisest of the group. He wasn't overly intelligent just smarter than the others, which wasn't hard. “If you believe that I say” Ghreid paused and searched for the right words “let me have the ale you are clearly drinking”. Ahyrios stood a while in thought “What about the markets?” he eventually said.
“You heard what happened, too risky, I don’t want to spend time in the dungeons of the king” said Ghreid cautiously.
“What’s so wrong with the dungeons, as long as we don’t hurt anyone we will spend about six months in the dungeons, and they have two meals a day”
“Two meals a day?” said Nandir licking his lips “sounds good to me”.
“For once Nandir, I‘m begging you, think with your head and not your mouth” Ghreid said with only the slightest hint of intolerance. “However” Ghreid said continuing “Ahyrios does have a point, we will starve within a week, so its a risk worth taking as far as I'm concerned, you‘re gonna have to wake Arjen and Hellstrom and ask them whether they want any part of it” said Ghreid, talking about the two who remained asleep. Nandir, desperate for something to eat for it had been almost two hours since he had woken early and ate the few remaining supplies and he was starting to think he was wasting away roused Arjen and Hellstrom quickly and one they had agreed to do it Ahyrios explained the plan to the other four men. “We do not go directly into the market for that is too busy, and you‘re more likely to be seen” he paused “what we do, is wait by the market entrance, then we pounce when a suitably rich sucker comes along, simple really. Any questions?” Nandir raised his hand, but Ahyrios pre-empted the question and gave the answer before Nandir had a chance to ask it “you can eat after we rob whoever comes along” he said rolling his eyes. The five thieves set about packing whatever they could into their knapsacks for there was a chance they might not return. Ahyrios had somehow, without knowing taken over leading the group, a task he was not really up too as he would be the first to get blamed when something inevitably went wrong, he almost preferred it when they couldn't remember his name. The closest market to where they were camping was Tuerak, not as renowned as the bigger markets such as Redihn or Minorell, but still there was a more than likely chance they would be feeding well that night. Ahyrios led pack of thieves through the forest they had made camp too the town of Tuerak. Ahyrios had the advantage of knowing the ins and outs of the town quite well, so the odds of anything going wrong diminished slightly. The market square was directly in the centre of the town, Ahyrios’ plan was to get the distraction of anyone coming through, then Arjen, Nandir, Hellstrom and Ghreid could pounce, two from either side. There was one flaw with Ahyrios’ plan, it required patience and he had a severe lack of it. Ahyrios waited by the trees for anyone ripe enough for an attack walked by. He was waiting a long time, the boredom played on his mind fiercely. Then came the paranoia, it was his own fault, he got thinking about The Shadow again, it made him shiver with fear, for a while he was sure he was being watched. Ahyrios had his prayers answered when he saw a carriage in the distance leaving the market `carriage eh` he thought to himself `must be very rich indeed` he wet his lips in anticipation and moved out of the trees and headed in the direction of the carriage. It had briefly occurred to Ahyrios that he had not thought of a way to distract the, in this case driver of the carriage, he figured he would think about it later and now he was out of time and ideas. He thought about throwing a rock at one of the horses, but the idea of then being trampled by them didn't appeal to him. Now it was too late, he was approaching them fast, he would have to think on his feet. Ahyrios motioned for the driver to stop, and he did so `maybe this will be easy` thought Ahyrios as he approached the driver. “I have to warn you, there are too many thieves along this trail, what you want to do...” he paused and admired his quick thinking for a second “.. where are you heading?” he asked.
“We are headed for Khailis” said the driver. Ahyrios paused while he recalled his geographic knowledge. “Well Khailis is on the other side of the forest ahead” he said thinking aloud “the forest has become too dangerous, just turning left or right and going around it should be fine” he paused “however you will arrive in Khailis without a few things”.
“Like what?” said the confused carriage driver. Ahyrios punched him hard in the face, knocking him out. “Like your teeth” he said to the unconscious driver as he steadied the horses and gave the signal to the other four that it was time to take care of whoever was inside. A ravenous Nandir using his bulk and brute strength to rip the door off the carriage and pick up one of the passengers, a noblewoman. The young noblewoman froze in fear as Nandir passed her to Arjen, who started to gag her and remove any extravagant jewels she had. “Jackpot!!” Hellstrom exclaimed with glee as he examined the contents of the carriage, Ahyrios jumped to the floor and went inside the carriage via the open door way that Nandir had created earlier. Inside was an average size chest of jewels, enough to keep them well fed for months. Nandir saw this and grabbed Ahyrios, hugging him as a way of thanking him, but he was crushing him. “You can eat now” Ahyrios said, muffled slightly but Nandir heard the word “eat” and immediately released Ahyrios. “Lets get out of here, we can find somewhere to eat in another village and eat like kings”. The five thieves gathered up everything they could, Nandir placed the woman back into the carriage and attempted to fix the door, but he couldn't and in frustration just placed it on the seat opposite the noblewoman. Ahyrios, with the help of Arjen helped the driver back into position atop the carriage and they then ran off, heading for the forest. Ahyrios was in a jubilant mood now `I'm going to have fun like there is no tomorrow` he thought to himself `I might even go into the village and go to a brothel, it has been a while` the smile on his face was huge. The five ran deep into the lush forest until they got to a place where it would be safe to open the chest and count up their plunder. They sat and counted, the mood jolly and euphoric. The air grew cold around them but they did not care. Ahyrios looked around, the sky was becoming very black very fast, but only around them, in the distance it was blue sky in every direction. Ahyrios got the feeling of being watched again. The others hadn't noticed what he had and they didn't pay much attention when he stood up and began too look around. A sudden cry of pain made him turn around, a crossbow bolt had pierced the burly chest of Nandir, closely followed by a second, fatally wounding him. Hellstrom and Ghreid then began to cry loudly in pain, they clutched at their heart as blood began to flow from their mouth. `What sorcery is this?` Ahyrios thought to himself as he felt something move behind him, he turned to see what it was and heard another dying groan, this time it was Arjen. Ahyrios was frozen in fear, the sky above was pitch-black and he heard rumbles of thunder and lightning, he then saw what he had hoped to never see, the huge figure of The Shadow. It was exactly as the legends had said, a dark mask completely covering the face on both sides, a huge blackened chest plate and a cape that went down to the floor, it was black and flowed in the wind, the lining was a dark purple. Ahyrios did not see The Shadow move, but he felt something enter him and he was soon in complete agony. The last thing he saw was The Shadow draw a dagger and throw it in his direction.
The afternoon air was cool, Shadow was exploring the forest, searching it for someone. Shadow’s quest had gone on long enough for anyone to forget, but the memory of it was etched into Shadow’s memory. Shadow wasn’t even there when it had happened. Stories had been told and Shadow listened, knowing that one day the one they call The Shadow of Death would get vengeance. Shadow’s father was killed, about a decade ago, but by whom Shadow never found out. Shadow never was a fighter, far from it, was once very peaceful, with hopes of getting married and raising a family. Shadow took on the mask to strike fear into everyone. To make those who do evil live in fear. This was not achieved as Shadow went on to kill good men, men with families, all in the quest for retribution. Shadow only donned the mask when it was necessary and most of the time lived among the people who were completely oblivious to Shadow’s true identity. Years passed though, wasted years, Shadow found nothing to get revenge on the murderer of Shadow’s father so the mask was worn more often, and more blood was spilt. More years passed and still no closer to finding the truth, but Shadow could feel that it was close. Shadow watched from the trees as a group of thieves awoke. `How many fathers will they kill?` Shadow thought as one of the thieves stripped and took a bath in the stream. Shadow could have struck there and then, put them all out of their misery, but no move was made, Shadow stood perfectly balanced on a thick branch, just observing them. One by one they awoke until there were three and they started to have some inane conversation about food and their apparent lack of it. It seemed that they were to hijack someone at a local market and take all their money, but not hurt anyone. `Thieves with a conscience, how strange` Shadow thought while watching their movements. Shadow stayed out of sight while they got ready and silently and agilely jumped from tree to tree, moving from branch to branch like an expert ninja. As they approached the edge of the forest Shadow watched as the group of five split into three groups. Two men would wait on the left hand side of the road, two the other and the visible leader of the group waited in the bushes directly below where Shadow was perched. Shadow watched the leader waiting predator like, waiting for suitable prey to come along. A strange voice entered Shadow’s head `I know your secrets, your quest for vengeance, I can give it to you` and Shadow was enveloped by darkness.
Raiguarde looked into the mirror, his face looked worse than he felt. He had been organising the troops for a mass search of the land, as soon as prince Valandt got back from spending the night at Palestar castle. He ran his fingers through his hair, he had hardly slept since king Gyraicus had disappeared and it showed. It was almost mid morning and he had altogether got about an hours sleep. He kept having strange dreams about Astral the elf queen and some strange, almost lizard like man in a black robe. He accounted it to stress and surrendered any idea of getting any sleep. Raiguarde had been sitting on his bed lost in his thoughts for almost an hour now. He just about managed to get his thoughts together long enough to walk to find a mirror and examine himself. He was a wreck, his hair was a in total disarray and his eyes were bloodshot and in need of serious rest. Raiguarde went to a sink and cupped his hands in it, splashing the water all over his face, it refreshed him and cooled him down slightly. Raiguarde strolled down looking for someone to talk to, someone to take his mind off things. Schard the wizard had left a while ago now and the silence was eating at him. Raiguarde eventually found salvation when he found one of the messengers he sent to find anything they could in a particular village. “Is there any news from Tuerak?” Raiguarde asked the messenger.
“Only about the masked warrior, the one they call The Shadow Of Death” said the messenger. `The last thing I need is more problems` Raiguarde thought.
“And what of him?” Raiguarde asked.
“He hath been spotted several times, many men have tried to kill him and failed, our swordsmen refuse to search the woods in fear of him”
“Do you think he could be holding the king?” asked Raiguarde.
“It is quite possible” replied the messenger “however no ransom demand has been made, and it is not likely that one man, however strong could get in and out of the castle with the king and have no-one see him” the messenger paused. “Do you know of the legend of Goreoth sir?” the messenger said with a hint of fear.
“I know parts” Raiguarde replied.
“There is talk among the men that this is the beginning of the end sir. The prophecy speaks of the disappearance of a king as the sign of preparation for Goreoth’s return”
“Are you saying that the god of war took him? even if the legends are true man, he is sealed underground and cannot break that prison”
“I guess you are right sir” said the messenger and he started to walk off.
“Pass the word on to the troops” Raiguarde said stopping him.
“Yes sir?”
“I want this Shadow Of Death brought in, alive.” said Raiguarde, aware that this was not likely to happen at all and Raiguarde headed off, so that the messenger had no chance to protest. `Let us see what this Shadow Of Death is really like, if he even exists` thought Raiguarde to himself as he headed for the armoury, Raiguarde was going to get a piece of The Shadow himself.
When Shadow’s eyes opened and he was back into the depths of the forest, at least twenty yards had been covered in seconds. In front of Shadow was a strange looking man, covered head to toe in a black robe apart from his face, which had a discolouration and looked like a pale green. “My name is Kaiazal”
the strange man said to Shadow “I know all about you”.
“All?” said Shadow. Kaiazal nodded. “Wait a minute, did you say your name was Kaiazal, wasn‘t he..”.
“One of the disciples of Goreoth” Kaiazal said coolly, cutting Shadow off mid-sentence.
“But isn‘t all that just a legend” said Shadow.
“You of all people should know the truth in legends Shadow” Kaiazal had a point.
“I do not care whether you are a legend or real, what do you want with me” Shadow said sharply.
“I can give you the man who killed your father” Kaiazal could sense Shadow’s eyes widen from inside the dark mask. “And in return?” Shadow said reluctantly.
“You are the best killer in this land, I need someone killed”
“Who?” asked Shadow
“Prince Valandt”. Shadow laughed loud.
“You must be kidding me” Shadow looked into the blackened eyes of Kaiazal and shivered for a moment with fear “No deal, I will find my father‘s killer on my own” Shadow started to walk off. “There are too many that will not co-operate in this land” Shadow heard Kaiazal say. Kaiazal then clicked his fingers and five men surrounded Shadow. “I wonder if you are as good as the legends say” Kaiazal said, and with that the five started their attack. Shadow drew his blade and spun around twice, when the spinning ceased, five corpses lay on the ground, all of their throats slashed. “It seems the people of this land are not quite the pushover they once were” Kaiazal said to himself. “I am offering you the chance to join us” he paused “I rarely give second chances”. Shadow stood silent.
“And if I decline?”
“I will show you” said Kaiazal, he then disappeared. Shadow sensed someone coming and dived into the bushes. The five thieves Shadow had been watching appeared, and they had gotten their loot, what looked to be a chest full of jewels. Shadow watched as they, in joyous mood celebrated. The sky then began to change above them, growing darker and with it an icy breeze cut though the forest. None of the thieves had become aware of this apart from their leader. He stood and started to walk around, turning his back on the other four. Shadow then saw three black demon like creatures go for the bodies of the men sitting down. Shadow had no choice but to kill the men and loaded two crossbow bolts and fired them quickly at the obese member of the thieves. Shadow could not prevent the demons entering the bodies of the other two and watched as they writhed in agony, blood dripping from their mouths. Another demon like creature went for the thief sitting too far away for Shadow, who ran at him and tried to slash his throat to save him from the grizzly death that the demon had planned. Shadow was too late and watched as he collapsed at his feet, dead. The leader finally turned to face Shadow, a look of horror on his face. The leader examined Shadow in detail and awe for a while before Shadow noticed a demon enter the man from behind him. `Damn shame` Shadow thought and drew a dagger, launching it into his throat. Kaiazal appeared behind Shadow, who jumped and turned to face him. “That is the fate that awaits you unless you join” Kaiazal laughed softly. “Tis not a hard decision, either slow death or eternal life, I can give you great gifts Shadow, gifts beyond this world”. Shadow considered it for a split second then “I refuse to fight for the cause of evil, I have my own fight”.
“Then you shall perish with the rest of humanity” came Kaiazal’s voice inside Shadow’s head, followed by booming laughter, Shadow looked all around, Kaiazal had dissapeared. Shadow gathered some composure and headed in the direction of Swarzaria, the city renowned for its weapon makers and blacksmiths, for Shadow had some unfinished business.
Chapter 5 - Strange Visitations
Schard awoke from a grand sleep to bright sunlight creeping in through the fairly big circular shaped window that had been fixed into the left side of his tree-house. He yawned and stretched his mature muscles and strode across his room. He had overslept which normally displeased him greatly, but that was the best sleep he’d had in a long while and he had nothing much to do that day, Raiguarde and Valandt would be taking care of the search for the king, `though they will come to me as soon as they needed anything no doubt` he thought. Schard groaned slightly, and put on a silk purple robe white a diamond pattern fashioned from the most expensive jewels, this would have cost him many gold coins in the market and this is why they were all of his own make, and why he had hundreds of them. Schard walked across to his extensive bookshelf and took out a book entitled `Medicines and Illness`. Schard opened the book and started reading a passage, then something caught his eye, his knapsack and it then occurred to him that he had yet had a chance to test the Okmange and see whether it worked or not. Schard walked over to his bag and picked it up, he then lay it down on a table and went to fetch the rest of his formula. Schard pulled one of the books and the bottom shelf of books spun around and in its place was several liquids in containers, this was where Schard kept all his best potions, so that they would never be stolen. Schard bent down and picked up a container that had a water like clear fluid inside. Schard lay the container on the table and went back to his back and picked up the jar of Okmange he had inside. Schard took the top off the Okmange and put it down, he then poured some of the powder onto the top of the jar. Schard then lifted the top off his mixture and tipped the powder into it, which was closely followed by a slow fizz, this turned to an intense crackle and there was then a sudden small explosion. Schard put the top back on his mixture tight making sure that none would leak out as he walked outside as this would destroy his house. Schard then put the potion in the pocket on his silk cloak and headed for the door, but there was then a knock at the door. Schard took the formula out of his pocket and placed it onto the table. Schard opened the door and was greeted by one of the delivery men who had failed to retrieve both books of Lijitman for him. “I was hoping you were in” said the man, who lifted up a huge knapsack he was carrying, there was something quite big inside, `must be a strong man to carry that` Schard though to himself. The man walked forward and placed the knapsack down on the table. “We found the other book” he said as he did. Schard went to speak but collapsed suddenly on the floor as he felt a sharp pain coming from his heart. “What is wrong” said the messenger.
“.... bottom shelf....bookcase....red liquid... marked with a H” Schard said to the man weakly. The man rushed to the bookcase and saw the exposed shelf of mixtures at the bottom, he found the correct one and opened it, he then poured some down Schard's throat. Schard felt the pain subside quickly, his `perfect heath` formula worked better than he remembered. Schard got to his feet and asked the man to put the container back. He turned and tripped suddenly and the glass container smashed, cutting the mans arm, blood started to seep from it. The delivery man was fortunate to land in Schard’s perfect heath formula, the wound healed so fast it even surprised Schard, who was slightly angry that he would have to go back into market and get more ingredients to make some more. “I‘m so sorry” said the surprised man getting to his feet.
“Yes, yes, you brought me the other book now go before you destroy my house” Schard barked at him. The man nodded and swiftly walked out of the door. Schard turned to find something to clean up all the blood but to his surprise it had all disappeared `hmm, must be the after effects of the formula`. Schard then went and sat back down at his table. Just out of the window and out of Schard’s sight was the delivery man, who then transformed into the figure of Kaiazal.
Shadow strolled into the town of Swarzaria unmasked, the outfit used to guise Shadow’s true identity was stored in a case. Shadow’s long blond hair and baby blue eyes were enough to give anyone the wrong impression. Shadow approached the blacksmith who had made all of Shadow’s weapons and made him jump “Oh its you” he said slightly trembling “What do you want this time”.
“Its time” said Shadow “Things are getting out of hand, the time has come for me to call in the favour”. Shadow had saved the man’s life many years ago, he had been indebted to Shadow ever since and made the odd sword, dagger or anything Shadow requested, but one day the man new that Shadow would one day ask for a much greater weapon, the weapon he had found as a young man. The weapon in question was the Sword of Drakahor, the blacksmith never could work out what was so special about it, it seemed like an ordinary blade, but no sword he ever crafted felt like the sword of Drakahor. He always knew Shadow new he had it, but he wanted to keep it and learn what was so special about it. “I will return the sword once I am done, you have served me well, this is the least I can do”
“Thank you....” said the man “what is your name?” he added.
“Shadow, now fetch me my sword” Shadow said coldly. The blacksmith then went into a back room and emerged with a huge blade, almost as big as Shadow, who was quite tall anyway. The handle of the sword was golden and even though the sword was ages old, it still had a shine. This was the first time Shadow had actually cast his eyes on the weapon. “What‘s that” said Shadow, referring to the small image of a dragon upon the handle of the sword. The blacksmith studied the sword intensely “I do not know Shadow, I have often wondered myself”. Shadow took hold of the blade.
“Good day to you, I will return with the blade when I am done”
“Good day” said the man, watching Shadow leave, who was confident of Shadow’s return, as he knew what an expert warrior Shadow was.
The afternoon sun was declining when compared with the intense heat encountered earlier in the day. The captain of the Legia army, Raiguarde rode alone through the trees and forests where the legendary Shadow had last been seen. `If he is such a good warrior, why does he not want to be seen ? and why does he keep getting spotted ? he is getting lazy` Raiguarde thought to himself in a flurry of thoughts. Raiguarde's horse sped through the forest close to the small town of Tuerak. Five thieves had earlier stolen from a carriage and headed into this forest, one of the many scouts Raiguarde sent out saw their bodies, it was said to be work of the Shadow. Raiguarde’s horse came to a clearing and then frightened went up on two legs, they had come across the five bodies. Raiguarde held the reins tight and managed to steady the horse before dismounting. He examined the bodies carefully, one had a dagger in its throat, another had been shot by two crossbow bolts, the other three were different. There was dried blood around them and on their bodies, it appears they had bled from the mouth, but there was no sign of any sword entry, no sign of any weapon used whatsoever. `This Shadow is very brutal, and very intelligent` thought Raiguarde as he studied the corpses. He scratched his head in thought `why kill two with weapons when he clearly knows some form of killing using no weapons?` thought Raiguarde, adding to the allready huge list of questions he had piled up. The story of Goreoth then briefly flicked into his mind but he discarded it `I refuse to just answer questions with mysteries and legends` he thought to himself `Goreoth was something created to scare people, a fable` he thought, upset at the fact that he had let himself get worked up about something he didn’t believe in. “Deep in thought as always” Raiguarde heard a familiar voice behind him, it was Astral, he ran up and hugged her. Astral and Raiguarde had known each other since childhood and became like brother and sister. “How did things go with Valandt, I hope he wasn’t too rude” she smiled at this.
“No no, he was quite pleasant, sweet boy really”.
“Any news on Gyraicus?” he asked her
“No, nothing I‘m afraid” she said softly, letting him down gently.
“oh” said Raiguarde, clearly crestfallen “What are you doing here?” he said changing the subject.
“There is something I need to tell you, something important”
“Oh?” said Raiguarde as he walked with her to the stream close by, and they sat on the grass floor.
“I” she calmed her breathing and looked Raiguarde in the eyes and found the confidence she needed to speak in them “I‘ve been having these visions” she said.
“Well you always were gifted” Raiguarde said, to which she blushed slightly.
“And you always were too sweet to me”. She paused then continued “These visions of Paix, the goddess of peace” Astral took another short pause and continued before Raiguarde had a chance to say anything “I know you‘re not a religious man Raiguarde, and you only believe what you can see. But she told me, she told me...”
“Yes?” said Raiguarde, prompting her.
“She told me that you would be king” she said, revealing it. Raiguarde was clearly blown away and stood up immediately. “I- I do not know what to say, I cannot believe it” he said eventually.
“You do believe me, don’t you?” she asked him, getting up.
“Yes, you know I do, I trust you with my life Astral, you know that” he paused “Gyraicus has been gone a little too long and the people do need a leader, we cant conceal it forever”. Raiguarde then went to get on his horse. “My apologies, but I have matters to attend to” he said as he rode off into the distance. The slender form of the elf queen Astral then altered to that of Kaiazal, one of the disciples of Goreoth. Kaiazal laughed softly. “Foolish humans, they will kill each other before Goreoth has a chance to slaughter them” he said to himself as he created a portal and disappeared into it.