Chapter 26 - The Truth Of Gorhenge

It had been a bitterly cold night that night. After killing his parents Valandt had fled to the forests of Gorhenge where he would stay the night, resting up in one of the taller trees in the forest. The fading moon cast its dim light down over the forest as Valandt curled up shivering in the branches of the trees. The sun would be up soon and he was desperate to get some sleep before the next day but there was no way he would. `What am I gonna do now?` he kept thinking to himself. `I don't have anything anymore, nothing and no-one`. As much as Valandt hated the constant arguing of his parents, in the bitter cold of the early morning stuck up in a tree he missed the sound of their voices. Valandt continued to tremble at the extreme cold that extended its way throughout the forest and took out the knife from his pocket that had killed his parents earlier that day. The beauty of the blade had faded now, replaced by the horrifying sight of dried blood on it which made Valandt feel sick. Valandt forced his eyes shut and stuck the blade back into his pocket, trying to impose sleep on himself. The evil monster that had taken over Valandt’s body and caused him to kill his parents still lingered in the back of Valandt's mind. `Just me and you now` came the voice `you don't need anyone else`. Valandt cringed at the hearing of this dark voice coming from inside him and cried out in pain. `You have a blackheart Valandt, you are a blackheart. Follow the urge Valandt, the need for more death. The blood of your parents will be the first, more will follow, more will die.` At this point Valandt moaned out in pain again, tears falling down his allready tearstained cheek, “Stop it” he cried out, “leave me alone” his crying escalated as the voice returned `I cannot leave you Valandt, for I am you, I am the darker side of you. Every bad thing you‘ve ever done I know about, every bad thought you‘ve ever had came from me. There is no escape from me now Valandt for you are unloved, unloved and alone` the voice then left Valandt alone for the rest of the night, leaving Valandt to cry himself to sleep. Valandt awoke a few hours later to find he was in the arms of a strange man. “Let go of me!” Valandt cried and wriggled his way loose and onto the ground, the man then grabbed Valandt by the shoulders. “Hey, hey easy!” said the man “calm down kid will you”. Valandt decided to gave up trying to run from whoever it was, for now. “What‘s are you doing in a place like this, don‘t you know it‘s dangerous?” the man then said, once Valandt had calmed. Valandt replied by shaking his head from side and the man then took a deep breath and thought to himself for a while. “My name is Raizak, what's yours?”
“V-Valandt” Valandt replied.
“Well look Valandt, this is no place for a small boy today. An army of soldiers will be coming through here soon”
“Are you a soldier?” Valandt then asked.
“No” Raizak replied with a sigh. “Now you must be running along before Darkenhathe finds you” Raizak then began to look around “He‘d have my head if he saw me with you” Raizak said to himself as he looked around. Raizak was in his mid twenties, a ambitious man who had hopes of becoming a soldier, for it was the only way of getting out of the rat race that was the market life of Minorell. Raizak never had the chance to join the army, he wasn't entirely sure how but he ended up joining with the army of Lord Darkenhathe to have the chance to finally be a soldier, and was then subsequently crestfallen when he had been chosen to scout out Gorhenge castle. Raizak had long dark hair that went down to his chin and was kept from flowing around by a dark blue headband. His eyes were a natural brown and Valandt thought he looked like a kind man. Raizak wore a light blue tunic with brown leggings and was alarmed to find that Valandt remained still after he had let him go. “Don‘t you listen?” Raizak asked, then sighed deeply “oh this is why I never wanted to have kids” Raizak said to himself as Valandt’s resilient stance continued. “I want to go with you” Valandt eventually said, desperate to be with someone. Raizak sighed and looked Valandt in the eyes “Are you just gonna bug me until I give you what you want?” Raizak asked, to which Valandt nodded his head up and down enthusiastically. “Oh alright, you can come with me. Just keep out of sight okay?”
“okay” said Valandt gleefully. Raizak began grabbed Valandt by the wrist and began to run toward the edge of the forest and pulled Valandt close, hiding behind one of the bulkier trees in the area. “They almost spotted us” Raizak said under his breath to himself, his voice panic stricken. A frightened Raizak then looked down at Valandt in the eye. “I‘m gonna level with you kid, this is no game that I‘m playing here, if we‘re spotted I am dead and I don't doubt that you‘ll do much better either” Raizak wiped his shaking hand across his mouth and breathed out deeply. “Now all we have to do is make up that hill and Gorhenge castle is just over it. Just a quick look around then back here where Darkenhathe should, no better be here”. Raizak frantically took one more look around the forest then turned his attentions back to Valandt. “Look Valandt, I’m just gonna leave you here for a little while. I’m just going to go over this hill and I‘ll be right back. Understand?”. Valandt then accepted the predicament that Raizak was in and accepted that this would be the best he could get. Raizak then put his arms around Valandt and lifted him up onto the first sturdy enough branch that would hold him. “Now you stay right here Valandt and don‘t move, we‘ll soon have you out of this place”. Valandt didn’t like the thought of being left alone now, finding Raizak, someone kind enough to care for him, filled him with a kind of joy which he was not sure he deserved. The voices did not return to Valandt as the moments drifted by in the tree, Valandt sat frozen with fear at the thought that they would still. Valandt was only just beginning to recognise the sun’s magnificence as it had just finished rising. The early morning breeze was not as cold as it had been in previous nights, Valandt took this as a sign of good things to come. Valandt rested his head against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes, he wanted to try and get a little more before Raizak’s return. Valandt had not anticipated that he would actually get to sleep and was startled as the sound of clunking metal woke him up. He looked down to see if Raizak had returned, then saw that he hadn’t. `How long did I sleep?` Valandt thought to himself anxiously. `Minutes? hours? oh where is Raizak?`. Valandt breathed out deeply and contemplated leaving the tree that Raizak had perched him on. `Well, I guess it wont hurt if I don't go too far` Valandt thought as he climbed down from the tree, jumping down when the distance was safe enough. The noise that had awoken Valandt was the sound of metal, Valandt peered into the depths of the forest to see if he could see the source of it. As Valandt looked around the tree, he was greeted with the sight of an oncoming army and subsequently found cover behind the tree again. Valandt unwillingly took another look around the tree and got a look at their leader. “Darkenhathe..” Valandt whispered to himself in awe as he managed to make out the rugged features of the lord whose hatred for the king was clear and whose ambition for the crown was renowned though Legia. Darkenhathe was a ferocious looking monster who gave Valandt a shiver just by looking at him. The sounds of the oncoming army could be heard approaching the tree Valandt was hiding behind, it then dawned on him that he would have to move otherwise he would be spotted. There was no way he could just run now however, they would still surely see him, Valandt was trapped. The sound of the advancing army came to a halt right before Darkenhathe passed the tree behind which Valandt was concealed. Valandt’s heart beat almost instantly doubled its normal rate as Darkenhathe sat only footsteps away. Valandt would only have one chance to escape and he took it, silently making his way to the left of Darkenhathe’s army a tree at a time. Valandt breathed a sigh of relief as he got out of the way of the army and continued to watch them. There were at least a couple of hundred horseman that Valandt could see as he observed them and looking at the back of the group he could see at least two swordsmen accounting for every horseman. Valandt watched the daunting figure of Lord Darkenhathe become gradually more eager as he waited and saw the fear in the soldiers around him. Valandt thought it strange that soldiers would show this, he had always believed that soldiers were the bravest of men who never felt fear. It was only a true man that could hold himself on the battlefield and it shocked Valandt that these men were afraid. Suddenly Darkenhathe’s army seemed to spring into action, they spotted someone on the horizon. Valandt put his hand over his eyes and squinted them trying to make out the figure in the distance. Looking around to see that no-one would hear him, Valandt began to run along the forest floor trying to get close enough to make out the face of whoever it was. After darting past half a dozen trees, Valandt stopped and again looked at the figure who had now made his way into the forest and he stumbled back when he recognised the figure as king Golan. Valandt also saw that Golan was holding something but he could not make it out. He watched as Golan and Darkenhathe began to stare each other down, even though they were still some distance apart in the forest. The trees were spaced wide enough to see both edges of the forest from the other ends and Valandt looked back at the army of Darkenhathe which began to grow restless. Valandt’s eyes then flickered to Golan who was making a move, he raised what was in his hands above his head. Valandt squinted his eyes at it and fell backward in shock onto the forest floor as he recognised it. Golan held a pole above his head, and skewered onto it was the head of Raizak.

At the moment Valandt saw the head of Raizak he felt the fury inside him return and he went to go for Golan, Valandt stopped in his movements when Golan called out some sort of order. Valandt looked around as Golan’s troops began to surround the forest from every angle and he felt fear now flow through his veins. Valandt jumped and turned back to Golan as he shouted another order and with that his army began to descend on the forest from every angle. Valandt instantly turned his attention to Golan and felt furious all over. `How dare he kill Raizak. Now you have no-one again. Make him pay` the voice returned to Valandt, darker than ever and gave him a intense lusting for blood, Golan’s. Valandt drew the knife from his pocket and charged at Golan, in his mind he reminded himself of the rush he had gotten as he looked at the blood on his hands in the moments before he killed his mother. If there ever was an advantage to the wild anger which Valandt could not contain it was that he would be able to draw on it and take his revenge for Raizak. Valandt began to make himself angrier as he approached Golan. A thick fog had now developed as Valandt got closer to the king, Valandt stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the knife that had killed his parents only the day previous, Valandt had his mind set on another bloodstain on the knife. As Valandt got to within reaching distance of Golan, who was swinging and thrusting his sword at several men and didn't seem to notice Valandt, someone tackled Valandt to the ground. “What have we got here?” cried a soldier, picking Valandt up and carrying him away from Golan. Valandt struggled to free himself of the tight soldiers grasp but the swordsman was just too strong for Valandt. As the soldier began to carry Valandt away from where most of the battle was taking place he felt something overcome him and the darker side of Valandt bided his time, waiting for the right moment to unleash his fury. The soldier pushed Valandt up against a tree and held him by the throat. “That's the king you hear me you little brat, now get out of this forest before you end up getting killed. I don't wanna kill a little boy but if you get that close to the king again I swear I will” the soldiers voice was gruff and cold, Valandt began to tremble as he spoke. Valandt then suddenly snapped and bit the hand of the soldier as hard as he could, the soldier pulled his bleeding hand away from Valandt and he dropped to the floor. Valandt then pulled the sword of the man out of his belt and felt overcome by his darker side, moments later the man fell to the floor, his chest sliced open. Valandt turned to run and the dying soldier grabbed his foot, causing him to cry out in panic. Another one of the soldiers saw this and tackled Valandt to the floor once more, as they both got up the soldier had his arms around Valandt and carried him in another direction. `They can’t kill you Valandt` came the voice `they are too weak to do it. Make them pay for their weaknesses`. The soldier flung Valandt to the floor and slapped him hard across the cheek, this was then repeated on Valandt’s other. Valandt cried out in pain once more and fought off the urge to kill. Valandt decided to run away from the soldier before he was overcome by it and easily outran the unfit swordsman. Valandt hid behind a tree and tried to catch his breath back, he looked up at the sky and sighed. Valandt turned to face a intimidating looking soldier, different to those of Golan’s who had simply tried to ward him away from the forest. This soldier had a scar on his left cheek and one across his forehead, the solider grinned at Valandt which made him even more nervous. Valandt went to run but the soldier grabbed him and pressed him against the tree. Tears began to fall from Valandt’s eyes as the soldier held him and he began to cry out, the solider seemed angered by this and drew a blade from his pocket and held it against Valandt’s throat. “Help me” cried Valandt desperately across the forest, his voice being louder than any of the battle sounds of sword hitting sword. Valandt began to wail now, in fear for his life as the cold steel of the blade was pressed against his throat. “Now the battlefield is no place for children” said the soldier gruffly, causing Valandt to quiver with fear even more. “Because on the battlefield there are men like me” Valandt forced his eyes shut braced for whatever the soldier was going to do, he then heard the sound of metal going through flesh and he felt the blade against his throat drop to the floor. “And then there are men like me” Valandt heard as he opened his eyes slowly, one of Darkenhathe’s men had killed the wicked soldier that had almost killed Valandt. The solder that had saved Valandt looked at the corpse of the soldier that had held Valandt against the tree. “Being a solider on the battlefield is about honour” he said to the body “where is the honour in what you were to do”. The soldier then turned his attention to Valandt “Come on son, follow me. I‘ll get you out of this hell to some safety” said the man, who then reached out his hand. Valandt went to grab the soldier’s hand but the soldier went falling to the ground, a sword had been thrust through his back. Valandt began to cry softly once more at the sight of the man who had saved him, now dying in a pool of his blood on the floor. Valandt looked up and the sight that greeted him infuriated him, it was Golan. Golan had killed the soldier that had saved Valandt’s life as well as Raizak. Valandt looked around and picked up one of the dead soldiers swords and charged at Golan once more. This time there was no-one to stop him and Valandt thrust the heavy sword deep into Golan’s back. Golan instantly fell to his knees and a second after Valandt had stabbed him an arrow flew into him, another soon after. Valandt walked around to Golan’s face and looked him in the eye. “This is for Raizak” said Valandt, moments before going to cut Golan’s throat. The noise of an approaching horse made Valandt jerk and slice Golan’s chin as well as some of his neck. Valandt then threw the knife into the distance and began to run as Golan struggled to prop himself up against a tree and another arrow hit him. Valandt ran away hard and was too busy looking back to see the two of Darkenhathe’s soldiers that he was about to bump into. “What the?” said one of them as the other grabbed Valandt and pinned him to the forest floor. Valandt tried to struggle free but then the other assisted in holding Valandt down. It was then that a someone came riding by on a horse, Gyraicus. Valandt watched as the man approached the two men that were holding him down. Gyraicus drew his sword and awkwardly swung it at one of them, Valandt thought that he looked tired from fighting. Valandt then watched as the rider dismounted and drew something from his knapsack, the head of Darkenhathe. The two that had held Valandt down quickly ran and Valandt stood facing the man, frozen with a mix of fear and admiration for whoever it was. “My name is prince Gyraicus” said the man after he returned the head to his knapsack and turned his attention to Valandt. Valandt stood still and bit his lip when he realized that his rescuer was the son of the man he had just killed. “What is yours?” Gyraicus then asked, to which Valandt kept staring at the ground for a while, he then slowly raised his head and looked at Gyraicus, then replied.
“Valandt”.
“Nice to meet you Valandt, how did you end up here, at this battlefield?” Gyraicus then said, making an attempt to get to know Valandt. Valandt thought for a moment about telling Gyraicus the story of how he had killed his parents, he then decided against it. “My parents.....killed” Valandt took a deep breath and tried to fight off the tears “I ran away to find a new place to live, that was three days ago” continued Valandt, only partially telling the truth. Valandt 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 ....” Valandt could no longer hold back his tears “... so I, I stole a sword from one of the men and tried to fight my way out, like a man” Valandt gave Gyraicus a small smile, he wanted Gyraicus to think he was tough and brave, his crying then settled down “I killed several before three men could pin me down” Gyraicus raised his eyebrows, Valandt didn't know what to make of this.
“And how old are you?” Gyraicus then asked.
“ten this month, sir” Valandt replied
“Well then Valandt” Gyraicus paused and Valandt awaited Gyraicus’ words with baited breath. “I live in that castle over the hill, would you like to come and live with me” Valandt’s eyes widened, he felt joy once more. “Y-Yes sir, thank you” and he hugged Gyraicus. A dying scream then made Gyraicus pull Valandt from him, Valandt then watched as Gyraicus got on his horse.

“And then Gyraicus found Golan‘s body” Valandt finished. Sierra felt strange, she didn't feel anything at first, she then got up and leapt across the table in almost a single bound and grabbed Valandt by the collar. “You little bastard! did Gyraicus know?” Sierra called as she held Valandt above her head. “No, I could never tell him” Valandt replied.
“Your entire relationship with him was built on a lie” Sierra started
“At least I was here for him, did you even give him a second thought?” Valandt interrupted, pushing himself free of her grasp. Sierra stood and faced Valandt open jawed, she then realized in all the years she spend looking for her father’s killer she hadn’t thought of her brother. “I cannot stand to be in the same room as you. Stay out of my way Valandt, for it will be the end of you” Sierra then said and she went to the door which Valandt had came through. Valandt stood and watched as Sierra tried to open the door to no avail. She continued to use all her strength on the door and then she turned to Valandt. “Is this your work?” Sierra said to Valandt.
“What do you mean?” Valandt replied.
“I mean lock the door so you can kill me with no witnesses” Sierra accused.
“I did not order the door to be locked all I said was that no-one to enter the room” Valandt explained. “Just open the door” she replied. Valandt then walked to the door and put his hand on the brass knob and tried to open it, again it did not budge. Suddenly the handle on door on the other side of the room began to turn and Astral appeared in the doorway. Both Valandt and Sierra immediately sensed something was wrong. Valandt squinted his eyes and could see that Astral had an arm around her throat, he then saw as Kaiazal stepped into view behind Astral, his arm around her neck and holding her close. “Might I congratulate you on such a fascinating story” Kaiazal said with a smile. A black hole formed on the far left hand side of the room. “You will follow me” Kaiazal continued. Suddenly Presto came in the room and pushed Kaiazal from behind, Astral was released from his arms and Valandt dived for her and grabbed her. An angry Kaiazal slammed the door shut with his mind and used his powers to throw Presto against the wall on the other side of the room where Sierra, Valandt and Astral stood. Valandt turned to get his sword only to see that it had gone. Sierra began to laugh as she held the sword of Drakahor up at Kaiazal and Valandt’s sword against Valandt. “You killed my father” Sierra said to Valandt “and you killed my brother” she said to Kaiazal. “For this I will kill you both”. Sierra turned her attention to Kaiazal and this allowed Valandt to make a move, he went to grab his sword from Sierra but she gave him a swift elbow to the face. Sierra turned and looked at the bloody nose of Valandt, she then picked him up and threw him into the black hole that Kaiazal had formed. “No!!!” called Astral, as Valandt disappeared into the black hole, she then ran in after him. Sierra turned around to Presto, who then looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, he knew he would have to run in after them leaving just Sierra and Kaiazal in the room. Kaiazal smiled as Sierra approached “you have just sealed the fate of this land Sierra” came a voice from behind Sierra, she then went to turn and see whoever it was but she felt something hit her head and she fell faint and fell into darkness. “Pull her up Orscyar and bring her in. Im sure they‘ll all feel at home in Kjillak” Kaiazal said as he walked through the black hole, closely followed by Orscyar carrying the unconscious body of Sierra.