Chapter 28 - Union Of Hatred

There were four of them, all dressed in black and grey. They were very tall, their bulky bodies protected with the heaviest kinds of metallic armour. Their faces were all masked with grey metal helmets, the shine of the helmets being long forgotten. Sierra got off her knees and took a couple of steps back, contemplating how to attack these fearsome looking guards. Their blood red eyes seemed to burn into Sierra and she initially felt a chill go down her spine, backing off at first convinced they had seen her, when she saw they had not however, she continued to watch them. The four guards stood in front of a huge metallic wall, completely surrounding the city of Kjillak, to get inside they would have to get past those guards. Valandt stood beside Sierra, both reflecting on how to overpower the guards, both trying to avoid eye contact with the other. The four tough looking guards had long black swords, each steely blade was razor sharp and with only one weapon between the four of them, easy it was not. “Any chance you could help us here?” Sierra said, walking toward Presto, keeping her voice at a suitably low level. Presto had his eyes closed now and lay sweaty and lifeless, Astral put her hand on Presto’s forehead and shook her own head. “He is too weak to perform any magic at the moment” said Astral after reading Presto‘s mind.
“Will he be okay?” Valandt then asked, concerned.
“He is using all his might keeping the fight to stay alive, luckily he is a brave fighter” she forced a smile in Valandts direction.
“What‘s happened to him, anyway?” Sierra then asked.
“Kaiazal” she answered, her voice full of disgust “He has put a spell over Presto, as long as we are in this world his life hangs by a thread.” Astral sighed “ and he is the only one that can channel the dark energy of the orb safely, his fight for life will affect us all” She bit her lip and looked back down at the motionless Presto, she picked up his hand and sent messages of support through her mind to him. Astral got to her feet and looked up at Valandt and Sierra. “My knowledge of magic is limited, but I could assist in bringing down those guards”
“Very well.” Valandt acknowledged, then turned to Sierra “Now you know the plan right?” “Try not to get killed, try not to kill you, got it. Although im not too keen on the second part” Sierra answered, mockingly.
“Im not to keen on being chained to a psychotic woman who wants me dead but it happens, okay?” Valandt replied, matching her hateful tone exactly. Sierra did not reply to Valandt to begin with, instead the two turned back around and peered over the mound which just about managed to provide enough cover for them. “Try not to get in my way” Valandt said to Sierra as they watched the guards, waiting to make their move.
“It would be such a shame if one of those blades found its way into your stomach wouldn't it?” Sierra replied, sarcastically.
“Only reason that you‘re still alive is because I have allowed it” Valandt snapped back, all this time both Sierra and Valandt had their eyes and minds focused on the guards and their duel of remarks was done instinctively. “Allow this then” said Sierra, leaning in on Valandt and punching him hard in the jaw. As Valandt began to rub his throbbing cheek, Sierra stood up and went to go toward the guards prompting Valandt to do the same. By the time Sierra got to her feet the guards had spotted her, so it would be pointless in Valandt holding back, although the thought of charging at four maniacal looking swordsmen defenceless hardly appealed to him. Sierra drew her sword early and threw it in the direction of the first guards neck. “What did you do that for?” Valandt alarmingly said as he saw the blade leave her arm. “One less guard to worry about” said Sierra, before watching the guard bash the sword to the ground with a shield. “Maybe not” Sierra added as the blade flew off, making the two of them now unarmed. To Valandt’s surprise, Sierra kept charging forward toward the guards at top speed. “I know you want to kill me, but now is not the time” said Valandt, almost convinced that Sierra was willing to give up her own life just to see him dead. “Quit whining and make a move to the right when I tell you” Sierra said, moments before they came together with the guards. The first guard swung at Sierra who flew into the air, past the guard toward the one directly behind, she then spun around, causing the chain attached to her foot to wrap around the second guards neck. “Now!” called Sierra as she landed catlike on the floor and Valandt ran and dived over to the right of where he was standing, this causing the chain attached to their legs to strangle the second guard. Sierra crouched on the floor as the second guard’s body slammed down onto the floor and gave the first guard no time to react as she kicked it in the stomach and snatched the long sword from it, slamming the sword into its stomach as it cowered from Sierra’s earlier hit to the stomach. Sierra turned and looked at Valandt, tossing him the sword as she unwrapped the chain from around the neck of the second guard. Both of the remaining guards then began to advance on Sierra as she crouched to free the chain from the guards neck. Sierra managed to free the chain just as one of the guards raised its sword and went from facing away from it on the floor to delivering a full circle sweeping kick, making the guard go to fall to the floor. As the guard crashed to the floor, Sierra grabbed its wrist in which the sword was held and turned it to face the guards stomach, forcing the sword through the guard as it fell to the floor. Sierra rolled over the latest dead guard and snatched its sword, then turned to face the only remaining guard. Sierra went to swing the blade across the guards stomach but the guard cleverly ducked and Sierra’s blade clashed against the blade of Valandt, who had swung his blade in the opposite direction from behind the guard. “You!” they both exclaimed as the guard moved to face the two of them. This guard looked stronger than the others and had waited while Sierra and Valandt fought the others to make his move. A smile in the form of a jagged red line across what might be recognised as its face appeared on the guard as it threw its blade high into the air above. Sierra and Valandt did not fall for this trick of misdirection and looked at each other for a split second before they both held their swords above them and went to slam them down into the guard, who jumped back a step and managed to get a hand on both of the swords. The guard held onto the swords tight and then twisted them around to face the other way, taking Valandt and Sierra to the floor, the guard then casually jumped high into the air over the chain in between Valandt and Sierra, snatched his returning blade from the air then turned a full circle to end up behind Valandt and Sierra. Valandt and Sierra both got to their feet and turned to face the guard, angered that it could have floored the both of them. The guard stood firm and narrowed its eyebrows, darting its gaze in between Valandt and Sierra. The guard then made a move toward Sierra but turned at the last moment and threw its sword toward Valandt, who caught it. As Valandt caught the blade he did not have time to prepare for the guard’s boot which hit him in the chin, flooring him a moment later. The guard then turned to Sierra and went to throw a punch when it felt a burning sensation at the back of him. The last guard fell to the floor with a bump, Astral’s blue fireball having burned a hole right through it. Valandt got to his feet, he and Sierra then made their way toward Astral, who was in need some support with carrying Presto. As the four reunited, the sound of disdainful clapping could be heard coming from behind them. “Once again you have fought well” Kaiazal walked toward them with a level of confidence unseen for even him. “But like I said, the only way you‘re going to get into Kjillak is in a body bag” Kaiazal smiled and looked Sierra in the eye.
“Will this do for a body bag?” she said, turning to Astral and giving her a severe chop to the back of the neck, knocking her out instantly.
“No!” Valandt said, turning and diving on Sierra, who casually dodged Valandt’s advance and lifted her knee, impacting Valandt’s head off it and knocking him out.
“Goreoth can‘t be a much worse ruler than you” Sierra quipped as Valandt hit the floor. Kaiazal's smile grew and suddenly the iron ring around her leg became loose.
“Finally Sierra! Goreoth will indeed reward you for this victory, you have made the sensible choice”.
Kaiazal said as Sierra took off the iron clasp and tossed onto the lifeless body of Valandt. Kaiazal made a motion with his hands and the bodies of Valandt, Astral and Presto began to float toward the huge steel gates, with Sierra and Kaiazal walking together behind them.

Zvire looked toward the dark clouds that continued to loom above the Legia sky and sighed. They had been riding almost relentlessly since leaving Hazajaro and had just resumed the journey along the way to Wajem. Zvire took in a deep breath and bit his lip, Wajem would be a welcome rescue for him. Zvire had grown alarmed by the constant lack of people around and longed to ride into a town that actually had a population. On long journeys it was very easy to ride for days without coming into contact with another person but now it had gotten to be to strange. Legia had become ghostly, Zvire felt that if he saw another town or village uninhabited or went atop another hill and could not see a single person from its peak he could crumble. Enzaghe was leading the other two, knowing the best route along the dirt track and dictating a pace which allowed him to keep a firm focus on his thoughts as well as his riding. Enzaghe wanted to blame himself for Calandria's death but couldn't, he felt that if he could blame himself, he could move on from the unyielding emptiness he was feeling. At the back of the group was Imunzo, who maintained a rigid look and stare into the distance void of any real meaning. He kept all his movements to a minimum, even his breathing seemed nonexistent. The track they were winding along oscillated around, never sure in which direction it was really going. Along the track was a series of built up rocks which came together to form a jagged rock formation, making the passage along the track a lot harder not allowing any shortcuts to be made. As the three riders passed along the track they were unaware that they were being watched, atop the rocks stood the figures of Kaiazal and Orscyar. Kaiazal strode around the top of the rocks with an air of confidence as he observed the three. He breathed in deeply and filled his putrid lungs with the decaying air that lingered around. “Ah, can you smell the despair in the air. Its as if they are producing nothing but pure negativity, Goreoth will be disappointed, conquering this land shall be a short lived pursuit”. Kaiazal’s smile was as wide as the rock he strode upon as he spoke. “How pathetic this rebellion of goodness is, our armies of evilness shall dispatch of these so called warriors within days, if not weeks”. Kaiazal’s face, a picture of victory met with Orscyar’s who did not share his partner’s enthusiasm. “This may be so, but the Djiani‘s spirit appears to remain. He has one thing the others do not, experience. He knows our warriors moves. When the Djiani dies, then I will join you and drink to the eternal preservation of evil” Orscyar afforded a small smile as he spoke and looked at Kaiazal, who returned his words initially with a look of disapproval, this however changed to that of agreement. “You deny that the human spirit is not the key to defeating the mortal men that stand before us”.
“It is but the Djiani has more than mortality with him”
Yes, this is true. The spirit of the Djiani has been a bane in our sides for too long. Not even his noble heart cannot defeat the darkness that is Goreoth himself. His spirit will fade”
“The spirit is as strong as you were noticeable” came a voice “and no evil will quench the spirit of the Djiani” the voice came from the right of them, Imunzo was standing across from them with his sword unsheathed, pointing it directly at them. “If you leave now, you have my word that when I do kill you it shall be quick”. Kaiazal was taken aback by the poise that Imunzo carried himself with, he knew that the only way he could die was by the hand of the sword of Drakahor but he saw the intense passion lit aflame in Imunzo‘s eyes and decided it would be unwise to challenge the samurai. “Come now, let us take our leave” Kaiazal said, putting his near bony green hand on Orscyar’s shoulder. “Our paths shall cross again soon, Djiani” Kaiazal said to Imunzo as they disappeared into nothing. Imunzo sighed and walked to the edge of the rock face and looked over to see that his horse was still down there waiting for him. `The spirit of the Djiani has been a bane` Orscyar’s words repeated over and over in Imunzo’s head as he stared into the distance at the black horizon. “The spirit of the Djiani is everlasting” Imunzo said to himself “but the spirit of Imunzo is near its breaking point” Imunzo finished, sighing afterward.

Sierra sat and surveyed the damage, she had no idea where Kaiazal had taken Valandt and she grew anxious in his absence. It was a strange feeling, she never would have thought she could ever find concern for the little worm that had killed her father but that was the way it was. She was concerned not because she cared for him at all, but because she wanted him to live long enough for her to get her revenge. Sierra sat in a great hall, half way up the dark tower which stood tall over all the other buildings, from here she could hear uncomfortably loudly the screams of pain coming from down below where Sierra sat. She sighed and walked toward the window, she had been directed to wait in this room for Kaiazal to discuss her reward for bringing in Valandt to them. Sierra bit her lip and wondered what had become of Presto and Astral, the longer she was having to wait the more guilt began to take over her body, however much she tried to fight it. Sierra looked down upon the streets of Kjillak below and instantly turned away in horror. The sight of people being burned alive, the sound of their pain, it was all too much. Sierra desperately wanted out of this place, the constant fires in the streets below made her weary, the relentless screams of pain came close to breaking her. In this place death would be a relief from this place but the inhabitants of this horrible place never did die, they would continue to be tortured for all eternity, which chilled Sierra to the bone. Sierra paced around the shiny marble floor of the room for a while, then went back to her seat. The wait was becoming agonising, `Kaiazal should be here by now` she then thought, his lateness began to frustrate her even more, she began to show this impatience by tapping her fingers rhythmically against the arm of the chair Just then there came the sound of the door opening, as if he had read her mind Kaiazal strode through the open doorway and walked toward her and she was surprised to see that for the first time she was a little afraid in his presence, which Kaiazal intended to prey on. “Would you care for something to drink?” Kaiazal asked smoothly as he stopped on his way, next to where she sat. Sierra was beginning to sweat now and Kaiazal noticed this, she gave him a rushed reply of “No, no, im fine” and waved her hand in conjunction with her denial. “Do not be afraid, you have done the right thing Sierra, the man killed your father. You would have died along side him had you not given him to us, he probably would have killed you to save himself” Kaiazal’s golden tongue tried to convince her but she refused to bow to it. The idea of having Valandt killed did not please her, it sickened her. `Cowards way` she thought `when I can kill him myself, to do this is cowardly` and she sighed. Kaiazal felt Sierra’s remorse and went another way to taking bringing her mind around to his way of thinking. “Now that you have come to our side we can give you this, complements of Goreoth” Kaiazal smiled and snapped his fingers and the sword of Drakahor appeared in front of Sierra. “Since the dawn of time, no-one has used a sword the way that you wield this one” Kaiazal was smooth talking her now as she stared at the blade in awe, not sure whether to touch it or not. “And now that you are one of us, you can have the sword back. Your rewards will be much greater after you have aided us in taking Legia itself. With the Shadow of Death on the side of evil there will be no hope for humankind” Kaiazal’s voice was icy cold and was Sierra not so entranced by the sword, she may have found herself terrified. “One problem with that” came a voice from the doorway. “The Shadow of Death is dead” Valandt stood, sword in hand leaning casually against the left side of the doorframe. “How did you? How dare you!” Kaiazal grew instantly incensed and his eyes burned with anger, he then turned to Sierra who now had a smile on her face. “Now is your chance, kill him” Kaiazal ordered Sierra, who only now took her attention of the sword of Drakahor. Kaiazal was outraged at how Valandt could have escaped his guards, especially with no weapon and looked on as Sierra turned her head to Valandt, the two then charged at each other. Both Sierra and Valandt moved with a clear intent as they flew at each other, as Sierra got close however, Valandt grabbed her left hand and spun her around and he went with her so that the two ended up facing Kaiazal, swords ready. “What is going on?” a confused Kaiazal said.
“The plan worked brilliantly. Not only did you fall for it, you lead us all into the tower and straight to the orb” Valandt’s smile was cockily wide.
“You‘re not the only one who can play games” Sierra added with a relieved smile. She had earlier been worried that if Valandt had not been able to escape the dungeons below with the sword that she thrust under his belt when Kaiazal was not looking that she would have to carry on the charade of aligning with Goreoth. Valandt had formed the plan knowing that Kaiazal would not be able to refuse interfering at the last minute of their quest to get inside the city of Kjillak. He also knew of Kaiazal and Orscyar’s ability to overhear private conversations so he did not speak the plan but instead told it to Astral telepathically, who in turn informed Sierra of what to do. Sierra was only too keen for the chance to hit Valandt once more, although she felt awkward when it came to knocking Astral out. When Valandt had awoke in the lower depths of the tower, he allready had a sword tucked under his belt and it was only a formality fighting off the guards in the cells before coming to find Sierra. Kaiazal was quick to show his blinding rage at this trick “Forget the orb, you will die here” he said boomingly and with that he smashed the floor hard. Sierra and Valandt instantly fell to the floor and the entire room began to shake. Kaiazal swiftly disappeared, leaving the tower to fall down around them. “Where are Presto and Astral?” Sierra asked directly as she struggled to get to her feet.
“They are at the top, Presto is attempting to channel the orb energy. Come on we do not have much time” said Valandt, thrusting his arm in Sierra’s face, to which she reluctantly grabbed and he helped her up. Sierra and Valandt ran out of the room with Sierra in front as they began to ascend a circular flight of steps that appeared to go on forever. The tower was collapsing now, with debris from the roof starting to fall as they ran up the steps, Sierra having to stop suddenly and having Valandt run into her from behind to avoid a big piece of debris from crushing them. As they continued to make their way up the steps a strange noise could be heard from below. “What the hell is that?” said Valandt as a slurping noise began to echo all the way up and down the flight of steps. “Don't look now but I think that's the answer to your question” Sierra quipped, pointing to the lava like substance that was rising from the bottom of the steps and continuing to flow upward toward them. Valandt and Sierra’s ascension of the steps became more frantic now and they began to scramble up the steps, they both desperately trying to outrun the upward flow of the lava like fluid which was gaining on them and out manoeuvre the falling pieces of debris from the roof above. The muscles in Valandt’s legs were beginning to ache now as he and Sierra approached the top of the steps and he began to lag behind her. Sierra continued to sprint toward the top, unaware that Valandt was a way behind her and was subsequently alarmed to find him nowhere in sight when she peered over her shoulder, this was closely followed by the sound of some steps close by collapsing. A huge piece of falling debris had taken out the section of the steps that Valandt was on as it tumbled to the bottom, falling in the orange liquid and almost instantly melting. Luckily for Valandt the progression of the liquid began to slowed now, who now dangled onto the edge of the broken steps and slowly losing his grip. Valandt held on tight at the only crack and closed his eyes as he lost his grip. `This is it, I‘m going to die` thought Valandt as he began to fall. He fell for all of a heartbeat before he felt something, an arm on his, Sierra’s. Valandt opened his eyes and held on tight to Sierra’s arm as she began to pull him up, he soon got a footing on the edge of the steps and Sierra then managed to pull him over. “You just saved my life” said a stunned Valandt.
“Don‘t remind me, no way I could let you die like that.” Sierra started. “When you die, I want it to be because of me” said Sierra, moments before punching Valandt over the edge.