GODS OF ASEROTH:

THE PRODIGAL SON

BY: YARID ASHER

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” John Emereich Edward-Dalberg Acton

CHAPTER 1

The dawn of time was spectacular. When time began, there was nothing except a being known as Saulus, and time itself. Saulus was a god floating around in nothingness. There was darkness all around but all that soon changed when Saulus created the Universe. He forged the entire universe with his own hands. He created light and separated it from darkness. He created stars and planets; He created galaxies and created 8 realms. These 8 realms were home to the only living beings in the entire universe. Saulus created all the species and handed them the realm to live on, but Saulus was wise, for he knew that the lust of power was imminent. He knew he could not tend to all the realms, at the same time and give all the equal amount of attention therefore he created deities to rule over the realms. He created heavens for all the deities to reside in and underworlds for the dead who were troublesome. The dead who were good simply reincarnated as another being but some lucky ones escaped the system and made it into the heavens of the realm.

After he was done giving the realms what they needed, he rested but soon, he felt lonely therefore he created two more gods but this time, with his own blood and flesh. He created a female named Asurot and a male named Dadurot. Both were immortal, beautiful creatures but Dadurot was cunning. Though Dadurot was cunning, Asurot was wiser and therefore, had control over him. Though both were born at the same moment, Asurot, because she was wiser, acted as the older sister.

Saulus gave them everything. They had freedom of doing anything, including, visiting other realms and the liberty to befriend anyone the desired to be friends with. They loved everything for a few thousand years, until they began realizing, they were not recognized as one of the main gods of any of the realms. This was heart-breaking for both but they decided to change it. As they floated in the void of the universe, they discussed:

“Brother Dadurot,” said she, “We shall create our own realm, and make it the best out of all of the realms.”

“You are right sister, we shall create a realm and I shall rule over it.”

Asurot smiled “We shall see about that.”

Soon, they both visited their father. Saulus, who was now a happy lord of the universe, tried to be funny, but this was a serious matter, for the two gods were still in their prime. Although he was worried, he permitted them to forge another realm for he wanted to know how capable they were.

“My children, I hold you dear to my heart, therefore, I shall grant you the ability to forge your own realm, but remember, you shall only forge one and no more.”

“Thank you father,” Dadurot said happily in his hoarse voice “We shall create a realm even better than the ones you created.”

Saulus laughed, for he knew there was no possibility of his children to be better than him, at anything. He was also worried that they would not be able to handle a responsibility of such proportions.

“But remember my children you will not receive another chance. Creating a realm and ruling over it rightly and justly without abusing one’s power is nearly impossible. And if you do so, the consequences will be immense, for you would be putting lives at risk.”

Asurot knew that her brother, Dadurot, might do such a thing but she had a plan in her head, therefore she agreed and both left to forge their own realm. They picked the best galaxy out of the ocean of galaxies for their realm. It was a place where no stars ever crossed, which would hit and destroy realms, but still it was surrounded by enough stars to make the sky look beautiful at night. They chose a huge rock and chose it to be their realm and named it Thraenus and gave it two Suns and a moon.

In the beginning, Thraenus was nothing but a massive rubble. The ground was not strong, the sea was not water and the air was not soft and transparent but it all changed when Asurot and Dadurot forged it. They gave it purpose. They both made life on Thraenus and it came in all different shapes, sizes and types but out of all the hundreds and thousands of species, Humans were the most prized. Though there were many other species that had the power to rule over humans, Asurot liked humans.

After the siblings were done forging Thraenus, they rested and slept for 100 years, but when they woke up from their slumber, they saw that their creation had gone bad. There was chaos on Thraenus, everyone, trying to take over the other. Brother was killing brother, father was killing family, and innocent blood was being shed. Asurot was angered by these actions of Thraeniuns, but Dadurot saw it as a chance of coming in and ruling the world but Asurot knew it was to be a bad decision and she knew Saulus would not be pleased by loss of life at such a magnitude.

Both decided to give Thraenus a ruler, a ruler that would be just like them, a god. Dadurot elected himself but Asurot chose a simple, humble, old human man and made him a god. Since she was the direct descendant of Saulus, she had the authority to do so. Dadurot was not given the authority, for Saulus knew he would abuse it. Asurot herself became the goddess of the Heavens and Aseroth, a part of the heavens where she resided and Dadurot became the god of the underworld. Though he did not like being the ruler of dead people who were as good as a hay stack, he took the responsibility anyways, for he knew this was his only chance to rule over something. Shamaun, who was the chosen one, became the god of Thraenus.

After this god was appointed, Thraenus finally found order. The spilling of blood stopped and everyone found peace but still, there were those who did not accept Shamaun as the king and god of Thraenus, and revolted against him.

Dadurot, knowing his sister did not like bloodshed and the fact that underworld was slowly filling up, created a prison in the core of the Thraenus called Ratarus which held live individuals, for eternity, and created three guardians to protect and guard the prison. They were also given the task to maintain peace in Ratarus and kill the ones who dared escape Ratarus. Thousands, who revolted, were imprisoned and finally, all the massacres stopped.

Asurot, happy with the ingenuity of her brother, congratulated him and both went to a long, peaceful slumber in their own residences, Aseroth and Underworld; But, Shamaun had other plans. He married a woman named Erinna, an orc who he had a son with. She pushed him to a point where he was no longer humble and simple, for he longed for more power, power over Aseroth, Heavens and the Underworld. To make sure he got what he craved for, he forged the sword of chaos, the strongest dark energy weapon, and turned himself into a seven headed, fire breathing dragon. He was the strongest being in all of Thraenus, and he was filled with dark energy. Even Asurot and Dadurot couldn’t stop him. He also assembled an entire army of the strongest and filled them with evil energy and turned them into cruel creatures and called them the Shamuns, his forces. He prepared for battle with the gods. Dadurot, seeing that if he lost this battle he would never be able to gain control again, asked Asurot to create more gods to help them, and she did. She made 73 gods, and made all of them to rule one specific thing and gave them room in Aseroth to live in.

Shamaun was intimidated by the gods but he did not stop and continued following his plan to fight the gods. People on Thraenus were not happy with this decision and resisted against Shamaun too. The leader of the resistance was Shamaun’s own son, Samael, along with three of his friends, Katos, Colossus and Geluna.

Samael stole the sword of chaos, forged in Mount Dabaccan, the highest mountain on the planet the mountain in whose bosom laid the gate of Ratarus, and imprisoned his 7 headed dragon-like father and his entire army, alive, into the darkest and deepest corners of Ratarus. During the process, there was a massive genocide. There was one simple mistake that Samael had made, which was that he had entered Ratarus to imprison his father and came back out which angered the Guardians. Though Samael’s reasoning was right, his way was wrong because anyone who entered Ratarus and wasn’t a god, wasn’t allowed to come out. After the imprisonment of Shamaun, Samael was the new king of Thraenus but he could not rule, for the guardians were after him.

After all was done, the great battle was over, Asurot slumbered and the new gods were looking over the creations but soon, they went to sleep too. Everything in the realm was peaceful but Samael was not at peace. Because he had wielded the sword of chaos, even if it were for just some moments, just for the sole purpose of locking it away in mount Dabbacan, he became evil. The dark energy from the sword had entered his heart and he had started treating the citizens of Thraenus badly. He knew that the guardians might find him, therefore he divided Thraenus into three parts and gave it to his friends.

Since Samael was now filled with dark energy, he forced his friends and gave them dark energy as well.

Strinthius was Colossus’s kingdom, Agnithius was Katos’s kingdom and Gelus was Geluna’s kingdom. Strinthius was known for its wealth and giant structures, Agnithius was known for its immensely strong army and Gelus was known for its queen’s beauty and the harsh conditions its people lived in. The witch of Gelus, Geluna, had the power to manipulate plants and trees as well.

Samael, after he had divided Thraenus, ran into the mountains and built himself a cave in which he slumbered for two millennia alongside his wife, Temuna. Both hoped that the guardians would die of old age but little did they know, in order for the guardians to die, they had to be killed and they were very strong, so his chances against them were very weak, especially without the sword of chaos. But Samael was a clever man and he knew that eventually, he would come up with a way to kill the Guardians; therefore he put weaknesses in the rulers. When he made them immortal with his dark energy, he created three weapons, a gauntlet, a spear and a gladius to kill them.

These were the only ways to kill them but he had to make sure that no one else knew about these, therefore he hid these on a hidden valley in the big sea and put the only dragon in existence, as a guard there whose name was Ezhak. He also put a magical being there, called Lutman. While he was doing all this, one of the 73 gods, Remases, woke up from his slumber and saw him do so. Since Remases, the god of the sea, was too weak to do anything against him, he learned the way to kill the rulers and the place where Samael hid the weapons and waited for Asurot to wake up from her slumber.

After two millennia, the three rulers still lived, and their cruel reign still continued but now, the gods had awakened from their slumber and Remases had told them the entire story. The gods finally had realized what was going on Thraenus and decided to act up against it.

Asurot, angered that everyone had gone corrupt with absolute power, decided to call a council with all the gods and the Guardians present. The council was held in Aseroth. Aseroth was a beautiful place. The streets were made of gold and the columns were silver. The floor was clouds and the roof was a vast void filled with stars. The gods sat around a gold table, encrusted with diamonds and sat on chairs made of clouds and a great debate occurred. At the end of the debate, Asurot told them that she would create and send her son, the would-be prince of gods, to defeat all of the rulers and restore peace on Thraenus, because she knew Saulus would not be happy with all the hatred on the realm. The guardians, knowing the potential threat, warned her,

“Beware, Asurot” said the head Guardian “If he grows up and has foul desires such as revenge, hatred or mischief, he shall perish. And if he grows corrupt, like the rest did, we will have to kill him.”

Asurot was still firm in her decision.

“Sister, if your son fails and perishes” Dadurot told Asurot with a smirk on his face, as a sign that he knew her son was to fail “I will have no choice but to rule the realm that you do not wish me to rule.”

Asurot was worried a little bit because she knew the potential danger, because all those who received power would grow evil and try to take over Aseroth, but she had faith in her would-be son “I will accept the consequences, whatever they shall be” Asurot said with firmness in her voice “I have faith, besides, he will be our only hope. He is the only way for us to dodge the wrath of father.”

She dismissed the council and got ready. She cut the smallest finger on her pale right hand and dropped it on the ground. The blood immediately stopped and another finger took the old finger’s place. She put her hand over the finger and out of the blood and flesh and bone, a child was born. She forged her son herself, and a new god was born; a god, with special purposes to fulfill.

She picked him up and threw him out of the heavens, onto Thraenus. The mystical child, the majestic being, was brown in color with black eyes. He cried while he fell through the skies but a giant raven caught him in its beak and took him to the frozen lake in Gelus. The raven was sent by Asurot and was given the orders to take the child to the outskirts of Gelus. It dropped the child in a peasant woman and her son’s hands and flew away.

Asurot, still wanting to protect her baby, told the woman the whole purpose of this and the woman decided to help the Goddess and raised the baby boy as her own. Now, the woman had two sons, one was her own, and one was a god, a god that would bring the world to peace, once again.

CHAPTER 2

“Get up, lazy bums” said Mrs. Adne Poppins, the mother of Leosher and Virgil, while smiling and pulling the rags off of them “You both have work to do.”

Virgil was the first one to get up “Mother, it is dawn, why are you waking us up so early?”

Mrs. Adne smiled and walked over to her older son “We are all out of wood. You have to go cut down trees and get the wood for our burrow and to sell it in the market as well.”

Leosher woke up too “Mother, let me sleep a little more.”

“No Leosher, get up.”

“Do you have the bread ready for me to take to the market to sell?”

“Yes son, and your brother will join you after he sells all the wood.”

Leosher nodded and both brothers got out of their stone hard beds and used water from a stream running besides their house, a burrow rather, to wash their faces and their beards. Though the youngest, Leosher, was only 18 years old, he had a thick black beard.

Then the older brother, Virgil went on to cut down trees in the jungle and the younger brother, Leosher went on to sell the bread, as his mother wanted him to.

He walked on the grassy plains, in the cold, with his rags and a buffalo skin coat on, towards the town center, where the markets were. When he got to the market, he chose a place next to his beloved, Meagon, who was the daughter of Buntius, a low class wizard and the leader of the Union. She was rich but she sold potions just to so she could spend some time with Leosher. She was an excellent potion maker and a great warrior, undoubtedly the best female one in the town.

At dawn, both would pack up their stalls and go to the frozen lake that was right beside the town. They would sit at the bank and spend time talking. But this day, the routine was disturbed. The Gelun soldiers came in the market for the tributes. Geluna took children and forced them to work for her and join her army. She also forcefully took money from the already poor people.

All were scared, so everyone in the market gave their shares to the leading horseman of the convoy, but Leosher did not. He stood up against them and stood for what was right. He tried to make the soldiers stop taking the tributes but a fight broke out.

It was all unfair. The fight was against young Leosher and two dozen of the heavily armed Gelun soldiers but soon after his brother Virgil joined him, they odds became even. Both were very strong, Virgil, because he was a wood cutter and had a keen interest in bounty hunting, but nobody knew why Leosher was strong. He was the strongest in the entire town but he was the most caring one in the entire town as well. When the soldiers had left because the brothers were too much for them, they started packing up the left overs and left for their burrows but little did they know, the soldiers had held a grudge and shot an arrow from far away. The arrow pierced through Leosher’s back and into his stomach but luckily, he was the most favorite young man in the town and help arrived immediately. His brother immediately took him back to their burrow where his mother and the town’s doctor cleaned the wound and put him to sleep.

On the other hand, the Gelun soldiers came back, with reinforcements. They were wearing heavy armor with a mark on them. The mark was a tiara made of vines. This was the mark of Geluna, the queen and witch of Gelus, the kingdom in whose outskirts, Leosher and the others lived. She was an evil witch who could control plants and trees. She put life in them and made those pure beings do terrible tasks. The Gelun soldiers destroyed the entire market and took prisoners with them. Nobody was able to help, for the brothers were in their burrow. The town was devastated once again but it was habitual and the residents were accustomed to it….

At dusk, evening, Mr. Buntius and his daughter came to the burrow to meet and congratulate Leosher for his bravery.

“Oh, Buntius, my old friend, I was not expecting to see you right now, at this time of the day” said Mrs. Adne, trying to hide all the dirt from the chairs near the fire place.

“It is not of problem” replied Buntius, while smiling “We are old friends Adne, there have to be no formalities between us.”

He sat down on the chair and sent his daughter to help Adne with the tea. Meanwhile, Virgil woke up Leosher and brought him out.

“Son, what happened? Tell me the entire story.”

“It was not a big deal. The Gelun soldiers were taking tributes and I tried to stop them” replied Leosher, and then he looked at Virgil “if it weren’t for my brother, I would have been dead.”

Virgil smiled and got up to help his mother but Buntius kept on talking to Leosher

“We have to do something about Geluna” he said while grabbing the tea from his daughter who was serving everyone “Son, you should come to the Union meet with me tonight. The prophet wants to meet you.”

Adne and Virgil were very happy because Leosher belonged to one of the poorest families, but he was invited to the Union. The Union was a group of powerful people in the town and from around the town, that were planning a resistance against the evil rulers of Thraenus. All of them were the believers of Asurot and Dadurot.

“Can my brother join me to the meeting tonight?” Leosher asked humbly “I would prefer if he was with me.”

Buntius smiled at Virgil “Of course he can come. We need a brave young man like him in our Union too.”

When he finished his tea, he got up and started to lead the way to the place where the Union was set to meet. He left his daughter in the burrow to help the old woman take care of her chores and took the brothers with him. They walked on the stony roads through the rain, towards the burrow of the prophet, Lamfari. He was very wise and the whole Union consulted him for guidance.

When they got there, they were warmly welcomed, for they were with the leader of the Union. Buntius got Virgil and Leosher registered as the members of the Union, and took them to the bed chamber of Lamfari. There, he lay, weak, weary and tired. He had been like this for over ten years. He was blind and his eyes were grey. There were no pupils in his eyes but he still looked majestic and glorious, even though he wore rags. His hairs were silvery white and his face was wrinkled with dirt stuck in them. His beard was long and had a mustache. He was brown in color, just like Leosher, just a little lighter than him.

Virgil and Leosher went close to him to sit but suddenly, Lamfari started smiling. He got up and sat up in his soft bed. Then, everyone in the burrow gathered around and sat down to listen to Lamfari.

“I have found the perfect lad for this journey. Does anyone have any objections or questions?”

“Yes!” said an old man from the back, with a pipe in his mouth. He was the greatest wizard in the entire kingdom of Gelus “Who is the lad?”

“Leosher is the chosen one. He has a pure heart and a will to protect the ones who cannot do so for themselves. He also has a secret that no one other than I know.”

Virgil looked at Lamfari “What do we have to do, because where my brother goes, I shall go and that is final.”

“Let me tell you the story of what happened in the beginning first, and then I’ll tell you what you all have to do.”

Lamfari told them the story of the gods, the son of Asurot and Shamaun. He also told them about the three rulers and how they were to be defeated. All of them knew about their own queen, the evil witch of Gelus, Geluna but only a few knew about the other two.

Leosher had been thinking after the story and had many questions and when he could not hold them back anymore, he broke in “I am a god?”

“I did not say that” said Lamfari while smiling “What makes you think you are a god?”

“Virgil and my mother found me on the lake and I am brown in color just like the baby. That’s what makes me think I am the god, son of Asurot.”

“Very well then” said Lamfari in a loud voice “We have found the son of Asurot. The gods told me that Leosher was the diety but I had been waiting for the right moment to announce it and today, I think is just the right moment.”

The council was shocked but very happy as well. They all congratulated but it all stopped when Lamfari dismissed them. He held back Virgil and Leosher and after all had left, he began talking to them

“You have to kill the three rulers but to kill them, you shall find the hidden valley which holds the weapons. And after you have defeated the rulers, Thraenus shall be yours. There is one more thing the gods expect you to do,”

“What is it?” Leonidas asked hastily.

“You are expected to find Samael and kill him as well, after you gain control over entire Thraenus. After you finish these tasks, you will fulfill the purpose that Asurot sent you to Thraenus with.”

Virgil smiled and asked “I assume we are going to have to defeat Geluna first, but how exactly are we supposed to do it? Many have tried but all have failed.”

“Like I said, you will have to find the hidden valley. The valley holds the weapons of destruction. They hold the power to desolate the rulers and their empires. Many have tried to find the valley, claiming to be the son of Asurot, but all died, for the journey was overwhelmingly hard.”

“What weapon are we supposed to use for Geluna?” asked Leosher.

Lamfari got up with his staff and walked up to Leosher “You will have to figure that out for yourself.”

“I understand everything but there is only one more question I shall ask, where is the valley?” Leosher asked “I have to know where we are going.”

“Why do you think its called the hidden valley? Its because no one knows where it is” Lamfari laughed “But I know the general area you could try to find it in. To get to the area, you will have to go over the misty mountains, through the black forest and into the caves. And only then, you would be halfway done. Then you would have to go through the land of the dead but beware, for if you turn around, you will turn to stone. After you cross the Land of the Dead, you will reach the great sea, cross the sea and you will see mountains, mountains that only you can see. That is the valley, but when you get to the valley, you’ll have to find the weapons in its bosom.”

Virgil was little suspicious for Lamfari was contradicting himself “I thought no one knew where it was, but you seem to know exactly where it is, where the valley is.”

Lamfari smiled “The gods told me.” He paused and thought about telling them more about their journey but he had already told them everything he knew “Yes, that is all. Now, you are going to need companions for your journey, to train you and to protect you. Do you have any in your mind?”

“No, I am sorry, I do not have anyone” said Leosher but then Virgil looked at him “Yes you do. What about Usere and Urey?”

“Ah yes. Let me go and write a letter to the brothers.” Leosher parted from the Union and Virgil followed him.

Lamfari sat alone in his burrow but then one man came to visit him. He was the same old man with a long, white beard and a pipe in his mouth. He was in the Union. He was the greatest wizard of Gelus, Azar. Lamfari sensed his presence and finally talked “I have a favor to ask from you, Azar” he said “Will you do something for me?”

“Yes, Lamfari” replied Azar “Anything for you.”

“I want you to give proper supplies to the brothers. They are peasants and have nothing, therefore supply them with proper things.”

“Lamfari, I will do that and may I ask you something?”

“Yes, go on.”

“I would like to go on the journey with them to train and protect them. After all, Leosher is the prince of the gods of Aseroth. He has to have some skills to go against everything he is meant to.”

“I figured you would say that. Is it possible that your sister will join them too?”

Azar smiled and took the pipe out of his mouth and blew away the smoke “Yes, She would love too.” He paused “But I would like to leave now. I have to make preparations.”

Lamfari excused him and he left. He wrote a letter to his sister, Neiham, an enchantress and a potion maker and the master charm caster of Gelus. Both siblings were very close and highly successful with a love for magic.

Azar went back to this house and began writing a letter to her. He grabbed the quill, dipped it in the ink and started writing on a piece of paper, under the candle light:

Greetings, My dear sister,

I hope everything is fine. I have a special message for you. As you know, the son of Asurot, the prince of all gods, is supposed to wipe out all evil from this world. For your information, the lucky day has come. Lamfari has decided to send the boy out to the journey of getting the weapons, to defeat Geluna, and he has chosen you and I to accompany him. All I ask is that you come to the outskirts of Geluna, as soon as possible. We will be leaving soon and we will leave without you, so better come fast.

Your brother, Azar.

After writing, he rolled up the piece of paper and tied it to his phoenix’s leg. The phoenix flew away into the sky and took the letter to his sister. In the same manner, Leosher wrote to his friends, Usere and Urey:

Greetings,

I hope you are still into bounty hunting. As you know, I always had a love for adventure but I could not leave with you to the distant lands, for I did not have the means to. I just found out that I am a god and that I have to defeat Geluna, the evil witch. I would love it if my best friend, Urey and his brother, Usere are beside me while I complete the task. Come to my town in Gelus as soon as you can.

Your friend, Leosher.

Since Leosher was not rich, he wrote it on a piece of parchment and tied it to his pet dove’s leg. The dove flew and went to the land of elves, outside Gelus, in Strinthius. There, the elves had a giant colony in which they lived but there was no harmony, no matter where you went.

The brothers received the parchment and came to Leosher, as fast as they could which was in a week. The day after Usere and Urey arrived, Neiham arrived at Azar’s house as well. She had brought gifts for Leosher and Virgil, for she was happy that finally the days of hardships were about to end.

Azar took her to the Poppins brothers’ house, (Leosher and Virgil’s house) that morning and told Leosher that they were supposed to go with them. Leosher loved the idea and introduced the Elf brothers to Azar and Neiham.

Urey was an elf, who used a bow and arrows to hunt and made a living out of it. He had long and luscious black hair and was pale in color. He was tall and had a clean face without a beard and mustache. His eyes were green and ears were sharp and had a point to them. He wore a deer skin coat and did not wear rags like Virgil and Leosher did, for the elf brothers were a little rich because they hunted bounties and received plenty of money. He was a witty man with a great sense of humor but he knew the difference between being disrespectful and being funny.

Usere was the twin brother of Urey. He looked same but there were some differences. Usere was very serious and rarely joked, only on happy occasions and special events, and he had a thick beard. His hairs on his head were short as well and he carried a broad sword instead of a bow and arrow. While his twin, Urey, had green eyes, Usere had sky blue eyes.

They both met Azar first “Hello, Azar, I am Urey” he said joyfully, while moving forward to shake his hand “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Usere did the same thing. He greeted Azar and shook his hand. Then both of them met Neiham. She had a pointy hat and had short white hair. She was a little short, and a little chubby. She had slight wrinkles because of old age but smelled like roses. She was very jolly as well, just like Urey. She met the elf brothers and then moved on to Leosher “Son, it is a pleasure to be at your side” she said “I am proud to be a part of this journey.”

“Same here, madam, it is an honor to work alongside such magnificent beings like you,” he paused and laughed “But I am magnificent too.”

Neiham nodded gave Leosher a gift. It was red leather, battle skirt and golden armor made of steel. She also gave him two spears that were golden at the tips. Then she moved onto Virgil. She greeted him and gave him a steel chest armor. It was silver, unlike Leosher’s, for gold represented royalty and greatness, and silver was a little below gold. Then she gave him two battle axes too.

After everyone was done meeting and greeting, Azar went to the front of the dirty room and announced “We will be leaving at dawn tomorrow. I have rounded up six horses and we will take them on our journey. It is going to be very hard and tough to handle, for we are going over the misty mountains, through the caves of the shape-shifting serpent and through the land of the dead, therefore, be prepared to go against anything and everything. The townspeople are holding a ceremony, commemorating Leosher’s bravery and courage. They have a special gift for him and for the rest of you as well.” He paused and looked outside through the window to check the weather “And pack some warm cloaks and coats.”

After he was done talking, he went outside and into his mansion-like house. The elf brothers went to the inn in the town to get some rest but Neiham stayed back. She went to Adne, who was in an empty room, sitting and weeping, for her sons were going to leave.

Neiham, being a kind hearted woman who knew the pain of losing sons for she had her own son killed by Geluna, comforted her….

Soon, it was nightfall and everyone went to sleep.

CHAPTER 3

Everyone in the town woke up before dawn and got everything ready for the ceremony. Everyone gathered in the town square and put a throne like chair in the middle. When it was finally dawn, they took Leosher and put him on the throne. Then, Azar and Virgil brought Lamfari out and the ceremony began. Lamfari came close to Leosher and put his hands on his head and started:

“May the blessings of the gods be with you and may they protect and pave your way through the hardest parts of this journey. May you get guidance when you most need it and you shall be blessed with a bright mind to make calculated and good decisions. Though you are a god, may you always have the attitude of a commoner, calm and humble and may you never fall into the hands of evil.”

Then he called out for the crown and Adne brought it to him with her old ragged hands. He felt where it was with his hands and put it on Leosher’s head. “You are now the new king of the new empire that will be ever expanding. May this empire soon expand over the world.” When he was done, Meagon brought forth a red, Warrior-king’s cloak. Leosher slipped it over his shoulders and got up to address to his people

“I promise you that the reign of terror and evil will no longer prevail and I proclaim that we shall be free.”

He was now looking exactly like the prince of gods in his red cloak, golden armor, and leather battle skirt and leather sandals. His long hairs were tied back and his beard was giving him glory. This was the beginning of the peaceful era of Thraenus.

After the coronation ended, Buntius lined up the warriors, including the Poppins brothers, the Elf brothers, Azar and Neiham. Lamfari blessed them all with oil and then departed them. Everyone sat on their horses except Leosher, he went to Meagon to say good bye. He kissed her and afterwards he went to his mother and said goodbye. After he was done, he sat on his black horse and rode away with the rest of the warriors. They rode out of the outskirts and followed the stream that flowed all the way to the icy mountains and continued towards the southern shore of the kingdom….

After a day’s journey, they reached the top of the icy mountains. There they stopped and set up a fire. It was cold and there was not one living or dead creature except for the brave warriors but Azar had his staff and was on guard, for he felt the presence of something. Same was the case with Usere, he was on guard and alert, but the others sat around the fire and roasted the deer they had killed at the foot of the mountain, to eat.

“So, Leosher,” said Urey “How does it feel to be a god?”

“It feels good, knowing that you have power and you are one of the gods, but I do not feel any different than before.”

Just as he was talking, they heard a thrashing sound. These were the ice giants. These were magical creatures that lived on the mountain and blocked the path of travelers and only let the soldiers pass through. These were one of the first lines of defense Geluna had. These giants blocked the path of anyone, trying to reach the green castle of Geluna. The giants were as big as a noble fir. There were three of them in number but they were big enough to wipe out entire towns. Usere and Azar quickly got up and began fighting, to buy the others some time. Leosher grabbed his spears and joined the fight as well and Urey followed him by shooting arrows at the giants.

It was worthless for Urey to fight them, because his arrows were being absorbed by the giants. Virgil even tried cutting their heads off but it was hopeless. They just simply picked up more ice from the ground and placed it on their necks.

Everything seemed pointless until Neiham brought forth a fire basilisk from her cards. She had a set of magical cards with magical creatures trapped within them. They were old cards that Azar had given her. The cards were green and brown in color and were in a ragged condition. She used these cards in fights and was effective in many battles. All she had to do was hold the card and call forth the beast with her mind and she did so, right now.

A basilisk made of fire rose up into the sky and came down upon the giants like the suns. Everything lit up in the night sky, for the light from the basilisk was so bright. It was like a thrid sun in the sky which came out at night. The giants instantly melted and stopped. Everything calmed down instantly and everyone took a deep breath. Their cold was now gone, for the fire from the basilisk had set the trees around them on fire but soon, the giants started to come back to life for they were still in ice. But Azar quickly put his staff on the ground. Just as the tip hit the ground, a blinding flash of blue light came out of the head of the staff. This flash sent the giants flying off of the mountain and into the cavities. There was a moment of silence again, but then everything ended.

Azar looked around to make sure they all were save and then put his pipe back in his mouth and sat on a rock “We have to be more careful from now on. We almost got seriously hurt. Everyone has to be attentive at all times or the risk of losing lives is imminent.”

Leosher smiled “We are the best. Who can mess with us?”

“Beware Leosher” warned Usere in his heavy voice “Do not let your cockiness take over your reasoning, for it will be your downfall.”

“I think we all should go to sleep now” Urey smiled and cheered up the atmosphere “We have a long journey to look forward to tomorrow, and pretty she-elves are waiting for me in my dreams. I do not wish to keep them waiting any longer. ”

Everyone laughed at his joke and went to sleep on the ground.

Soon, the fire died down and everything on the mountain slept. The stars shone bright and the moon smiled upon then.

It was snowing and the warriors were lying on the soft cushion of snow, sleeping but then there was a shrieking sound. Everyone was too tired so they did not wake up from their slumber but Leosher did. He got up and paid attention to the grunting. He found out that it was his horse, half eaten, dying in pain and in vain. Leosher immediately knew that it was trouble so he went to put on his armor but he did not have the time to. Just as he was walking to the camp, he saw a giant beast, in the woods, staring at him. He quickly grabbed one of his spears and chased the beast in the woods, barefooted and half naked, for the only thing he had on, in this cold and snow was his battle skirt. He chased the beast for some time and slowly they began reaching a hill which was glazed with ice and was highly slippery.

The woods were clearing up now and Leosher could see the back of the beast. It was covered with white fur and it was a little taller than a bear. It walked upright as well.

Both ran and didn’t pay attention, and accidentally began sliding down the hill while dodging trees. The beast used his long and sharp claws for traction and Leosher leaned back, on the ground and used his fingers and spear for traction. Leonidas jumped over cliffs, trying to get close to the beast and fortunately, he could now because soon, the slope ended transformed into a frozen lake and brought the beast and Leosher face to face. He couldn’t see his face properly because it was dark and it was a blizzard but the beast was taller than Leosher. Its teeth were bigger than those of a sabre tooth tiger and its claws were longer than those of a bear. Its fur was blue and white and its face was like a gorilla and a ferocious wolf. Its eyes were fiery red and its roar was long, loud and intimidating.

Leosher on the other hand was half naked, unprotected, barefooted with fingers bleeding from all the efforts to find traction, and he was cold as well. The only weapon he had was his spear.

Both circled around on the frozen lake, waiting for the other one to attack but no one did. Suddenly, Leosher stopped and tightened his grip on the spear. The ground was cold and slippery and he aimed for the head of the Beast. He stepped forward and held his ground, and then suddenly, he lunged forward and shot the spear at the beast’s head that was standing far from him.

The spear pierced through the air and made its way through the falling snow like a falcon going for its prey. Just as the Beast caught sight of the golden tip of the spear, he started running towards Leosher on its four legs, like a hungry lion. The spear missed its target because it was cold and the slippery ground made it hard to aim and the snow blocked Leosher’s view and the beast ducked and began running. The spear was now stuck in the frozen lake and now Leosher was weaponless. He was bare handed with nothing to protect him.

The Beast tackled him and stood over him, like a man, on its two feet. Then it clenched its fists and tried to crush Leosher’s head with the bottom of his fists. He punched like a beast for it did not know how to punch, therefore Leonidas got out of the way. The punch was so strong that it made a crack in the ice under them. Leosher slipped from under it and tackled the beast to the ground. He started punching it until he was sent flying away, by the beast. He fell on the cold, hard ice, near his spear. The Beast got up from the puddle of his own blood that was left there, on the ice by the punches of Leosher, and ran towards him. It swung its long arm and scuffed Leosher’s chest with its sharp claws.

Blood started pouring out of his chest and soon, it was all over the ground. Just as the Beast was about to kill Leosher with a blow to the head, Leosher grabbed the spear next to him and stabbed the Beast in the stomach. The Beast quickly moved back and went far away from Leosher and just before the Beast was going back, Leosher pulled the spear out and got ready for another blow but the Beast accidently went over the crack it had made and the entire ground began to crack. Leosher, not knowing that the ice was cracking, shot his spear one more time. The spear pierced through the chest of the Beast and then hit the cracks, which broke the ground.

There was blood all over the ice and then suddenly, the whole place broke apart. Both, the dead Beast and Leosher fell in the icy cold water of the lake. They both fell in the deep and went to the bottom of the lake. It was still the blizzard therefore the lake froze again quickly, leaving Leosher trapped under it and as the time went by, the ice became thicker and thicker and after being trapped under the thick ice for some time and due to lack of air, Leosher passed out.

As his eyes were shut and he was falling down into the darkest depths of the lake, his mother, Asurot visited him for the first time.

“Leosher, my son, I am happy to see that you have turned into a young, strong and a handsome god. Though you might think you are an ordinary god, you are special, very special. All the gods marvel at your glory and strengths and power. While all the other gods have to tend to one specific part of Thraenus, you do not, for you are different. You possess the power to rule over everything. You are the prince of the gods and someday, you will become their king. Just remember one thing, all that the locals tell you, is sometimes not true. These stories have been passed down for generations and someone might have done some changes to them. Now, I have come to rescue you. You are a god with great power, get up and charge through the ice—look! For your brother is out there, looking for you, he is worried. Go assure him.” She said in her soft, angelic voice. Both were floating in a white void, but then she put her hands on his chest and rejuvenated him and he was back under water again but this time, all his wounds were healed.

Leosher was now rejuvenated. Asurot left just after he woke up, for she had already helped him enough. He looked through the thick ice that his brother and the others were looking for him. He tried to signal them but he could not for they could not hear him. He found no way to let them know of his presence but then suddenly he looked at the Beast. His spear was lying in the Beast’s chest because the beast had falling over it. He swam near him and picked up the spear to get out. It had been at least half an hour since he was down there. He held his spear tightly in the cold waters and threw it up. The power in his hand was visible through the dark waters. The water boiled around his hand, for this was his last attempt because he was almost out of breath, and because he had put all of his effort into it. The spear charged with an extraordinary strength and speed and pierced through the snow but now, Leosher had passed out. Virgil saw the spear jump out and quickly told everyone about it.

Usere quickly ran and cut a hole in the ice with his sword and just as he did that, Virgil jumped in the icy cold water of the lake. He went down, down to the depths and tried to find Leosher but it was too dark. He got scared because he saw the beast, floating in the cold water, with blood rushing out of its body. Virgil lost his breath and came to the surface but he took a deep breath and dove again. This time, the elf brothers joined him as well. Both brothers took their robes off and dove in the water with Virgil. Urey went to the left side to find Leosher and Usere went to the right side. Virgil was the only one who went back to the place where the Beast was and he finally caught a sight of something moving. He quickly approached it and saw that it was his own brother. He grabbed his hand and pushed him up towards the hole. Leosher got up there like a corpse and Neiham pulled him out but something else was moving in there as well. It was the Trident Eels. These were electric eels with three head and their shock was unbearable. Urey and Usere finally joined Virgil and all started to move up to the hole but the eels wrapped around their ankles and pulled them down. They were sending electric shocks through their bodies to knock them out and eat them afterwards but Azar saw it. He took his staff and pointed at the eels in the water.

A blue light shot out of the head of his staff and incinerated one of the eels. Usere got free and cut the head off of the eel that was wrapped around Virgil. He got free and just as he was about to free Urey, Azar shot another beam, killing the last eel. All of them came out of the water and finally got at peace. The chaos stopped and now everyone came at rest.

Neiham went and healed the wounds with her potion which was an elixir contained in a small, leather bottle. It was made to heal any kind of wounds, internal or external, apparently. It was dark blue in color and was made by the rare blue lava rose that only grew once a year, on top of Mount Dabaccan but only a few knew how to make it. That place was known to be where the gates of Ratarus were but no one was sure about it. Only a few drops of the elixir healed the warriors and rejuvenated them all and all of their fatigue and tiredness was now gone. Leosher did not need healing because his mother had already done so, but after he caught his breath, he got up and thanked them all.

“What happened, Son?” asked Azar “Why did you come here in the first place?”

“I was sleeping but then I heard a noise, I saw that a white, giant beast that was eating my horse.”

“It must have been a Yeti” said Neiham while giving Leosher his cloak, armor, sandals and his spears “What did it look like?”

“It was big with a lot of white and blue fur. It had long and yellow teeth. There was fire in his eyes and blood on his hands.”

“Well it is good that you are okay” said Virgil while patting him on his back “Now let us go back and get some sleep. You should sit by the fire, for you have been out the longest and you have been wet the longest too. Let us go!”

They all left for the initial place they were waiting at and all sat around the fire, in the orange light with the warmth around them. They sat in a ring and listened to the stories that the Elf brothers had to tell about their adventures and soon, everyone fell asleep and the fire slowly died down in the snow.

CHAPTER 4

It was still night when Asurot appeared in Virgil’s dream.

“Virgil, do not be scared for it is I, Asurot” she said in her angelic and runic voice “I have appeared in your dream to tell you something.”

Both stood in the same white void that she had appeared in when she came to talk to Leosher.

Virgil marveled at her beauty but she was like his mother “I am ready” he said “Tell me.”

“You are like my son, for you are Leosher’s brother; remember that my blessings will always be with you but I warn you, for there is the seed of evil and chaos in Leosher. He will grow arrogant and power hungry and his thoughts will become clouded with evil if you do not take care of him properly. He will turn chaotic and I want you to stop that. Keep him away from bad, be his guardian and I will reward you heavily.”

“I do not want a reward” Virgil replied “He is my brother and I have to protect him at all costs. Even when others might leave him, you will always find me at his side, fighting beside him, through all the battles and wars.”

“You have made me happy son, you are marvelous. As a reward, I will grant you one wish.”

Virgil stood there stunned in the white void with nothing in front of him except the glorious Asurot. He thought for a moment and then he said “I do not have a wish yet, but I will tell you when I have something to ask for.”

Asurot nodded and departed from his dream and left Virgil at peace.

The next morning, everyone got up and got ready. Leosher put on his armor and his cloak that he had taken off before going to sleep and he tied his hair back with a piece of string. After all were ready, they sat on their horses and began their journey except for Leosher, for his horse had been eaten by the beast. He rode with Virgil.

Azar led all of them and after going a bit further down the icy mountain, Azar turned around on his horse “Tonight, we expect to get to the Land of the Death. There are many legends about a Beast that turns people to stone. She lives in a morbid, stony land. Only the brave and the strong willed have been able to pass through the land and I expect the same from all of us. There is only one thing that you have to do in order to get through and that is, close your eyes and walk through calmly. Her songs are known to lure men, but beware, for you will be walking towards death if you are lured. Even if you turn around accidently, keep your eyes shut and you will be safe. Once turned into stone, there is nothing we can do to save you.”

Everyone listened to the warning carefully and when everything was set, they continued their journey towards the hidden valley. They came down the mountains and walked on the grasslands. These grasslands were beautiful; there was nothing but plains and grass. It stretched as far as the eye could see. They also went through the green forest, the only place on Thraenus where everything was happy and cheerful. But today, something was not right in the forest. This forest was known to be the home of the friendliest animals but today, all were scared and hid in the bushes with fear whenever they saw something move. The animals were restless. The lions roared and the monkeys were in great disturbance.

Urey, having the keenest eyesight, for he was an archer, went ahead and saw what was going on and what he saw was astonishing. He saw that Geluna’s army was racing towards them. It was a heavy infantry with cross bows and spears and swords. Most of them had daggers and they had the flag of Geluna, a golden, barren and fruitless tree on a red cloth. She was fond of plants.

Urey came back to the others and told them that they were extremely outnumbered but Usere being a strategic mastermind, told everyone what to do except Neiham. He took Leosher’s cloak and rolled it around in the dirt so it would look shabby and then he put it on Neiham, to make her look poor. Then he told his plan “I am going there with Neiham. She will be my mother and we will be traveling out towards the sea to meet my brother. I will signal you and you will ambush them. We have to follow the plan if we want a chance to win or we all are dead meat. Now go!”

Virgil tied the horses in a bush and then climbed a tree and Urey and Azar hid behind a bush and Leosher hid behind a big, thick, tall tree.

Just as all were in places, the guards came towards Usere and Neiham, and luckily they had no idea that they were about to be ambushed.

“Where are you going?” the leader of the infantry asked Usere in his thick voice “And who is this old woman with you?”

“She is my mother sire, and we are headed to the shore of the great sea to meet my brother” replied Usere, trying to talk in a high pitched voice.

“Do you have any weapons?”

“Yes sire, just a sword for my protection.”

Now, Urey got his arrows ready and Virgil got his battle axes ready. Azar put his staff on the ground and got ready for heavy attack and the tension increased by every second.

“Do you have any money?” asked the leader.

“Yes sire.”

Usere took out a ragged pouch, out of his pocket and he also took out his sword. He placed the pouch on the tip of the sword and pointed the sword towards the leader to offer the money. Though he was covered in heavy armor from top to bottom, there were some spots left unprotected like his hands and his throat, which were the areas Usere aimed on.

The leader moved forward to grab the pouch but little did he know he was making a huge mistake. Usere spun the sword in a spiraling motion and cut his hand off and yelled out “NOW!”

Virgil jumped on the soldiers and began fighting. Urey began shooting arrows and Azar shot fireballs out of the twisted head of his staff. Neiham took two mud balls out of her pocket and threw them on the ground. The mud balls quickly turned into two clay boars that attacked the soldiers. The beginning of the fight was great but now slowly they were getting overpowered.

Virgil was now surrounded by the soldiers and was about to get killed but Leosher, looking out for his brother, took both of his spears and shot them. They both hit their targets. They pierced through the soldiers’ chests and killed them.

Now armless, Leosher was bare handed, again, just like he was against the Yeti. Leosher knew he had to help somehow, therefore he improvised and pushed down the heavy tree he was hiding behind. It was hard, for the tree was at least half a century old. He struggled but he did it and the attack wiped out almost half the infantry. Then, Azar, getting tired of all of this, created a giant fiery phoenix out of his staff. The phoenix came out as a ball of fire but slowly gained shape. It was glorious in the dark forest and burnt the soldiers, but there was a downfall to this technique too. The whole forest caught on fire because of the fiery phoenix and now, they were caught in a forest fire.

Neiham quickly shouted out “gather around the horses!”

Everyone listened to her and stood in a circle around the horses. The hot flashes and the fire were around them and the trees collapsed around them. The forest fire was spreading every second and standing just seemed pointless.

“What are we doing just standing around?” asked Leosher anxiously “We can be running and trying to save our lives.”

Neiham smiled at him “Son, observe.” She pulled her stack of cards and chose one of them. She put it on her hand and closed her eyes and in an instance, a blue elephant made of water rose up out of the ragged brown card. The elephant levitated in the air until Neiham clapped her hands together without bending her elbows. The elephant suddenly turned into a blob and then into a water bubble and protected them all from the forest fire.

Now they were enclosed in a water bubble like a new born’s caul. She then pointed her hands up to the heavens some of the water broke out of the bubble and began pouring down from the sky. The water was endless, it was unlimited. The forest fire died down and everyone was safe now. Neiham let go of the water and soon, the shield turned back into the elephant and the elephant went back into its house, inside the card.

“Thank you Neiham” said Leosher “You have saved much of our time.”

“That is the reason I brought her with me” Azar smiled proudly “I knew my sister has a lot of skills.” He looked at the sky and then continued talking “Anyways, we should keep on going now.”

They got up on their horses and began the journey to the Land of the Dead….

Just as Azar had told them, there was a beast that lived in the Land of the Dead. The beast was known as Mortemus. She had the body of a spider and the head of a pale woman with green snakes as her hair and dark, all-black eyes. She was hideous and was cursed by the gods to stay there. Whoever looked at her would turn to stone and the soul would stay stuck in the prey’s body.

The warriors walked and after going through the grasslands and the mountainous roads, the sky began to go dark. As they walked forward, the sky got darker but the sky they had left behind was fine, there was something wrong with the sky above the Land of the Dead.

The terrain began to become harder to travel on and all the live out of everything was slowly fading away. After some time, the whole entire sky became dark. There was fog everywhere and sight was dim. The ground was cold and hard and the atmosphere was very grim.

As the traveled further, the horses began to get scared and restless and suddenly, Usere’s horse bumped into something. It was an Orc that had been turned into stone by Mortemus. When all the horses stopped, suddenly, there was a humming sound which slowly transformed into a slight, sweet singing. The voice was sweet and luring and the song was runic. Not even the strongest willed men could resist it but our warriors were doing well so far. They kept their aim at their goal and kept on walking forward, slowly and steadily.

“I have been lonely for too long, come to me.

I will give you all you need.

I will take away your worries and rob you of everything.

Just give me a chance and you shall prevail in eternal happiness.”

She sung in her angelic voice and almost lured Leosher. He almost turned around but his brother grabbed his shoulder and kept him going and looking forward.

When Mortemus realized that none of her tricks were working, she came and stood in front of them. Luckily, the fog gave the warriors enough time to shut their eyes close. The horses panicked from the surprise and ran as fast as they could and luckily, they didn’t trun to stone but when the horses began running, Leosher fell off of the horse because he wasn’t holding on to Virgil. As he fell on the ground, the others faded away into the fog, without even noticing that they had lost Leosher.

He was left all alone to face death itself but luckily he kept his eyes shut. Soon, Leosher could not even hear the sounds of the horses running and that was the sign for him that he was all alone in this fight now and all that Leosher had was one of his spears, for he had lost the other one during the wildfire in the green forest.

He grabbed his spear tightly and got ready to battle. He was now totally depending on his hearing and was reacting to every little noise; even his own trembling over rocks would startle him. Then Mortemus sang her song again but this time, Leosher did not react to it at all. Tired of the games, Mortemus stood in front of Leosher with her big black eyes wide open and suddenly, they turned green. She tried to force open the eyes of Leosher but he pushed her away with his godly power.

She came towards him again, running, and stabbed him with her leg in his side. Again, that did not force Leosher to open his eyes although the pain made him scream a bit. She pulled her leg out and scratched Leosher’s face with her sharp nails. Leosher was tired of the games therefore he quickly cut her hands with his spear and kicked her in her stomach. She fell far from where he stood which gave him some time to plan a strategy.

Mortemus was on the cold, hard ground, groaning and moaning in pain. She did not realize that her moaning and groaning only made it easier for Leosher to locate her. Her noise was getting her closer and closer to her demise. Leosher located her got ready to strike. She continued making noise but little did she know she was just making herself an easy target. Leosher took his spear and shot it at Mortemus. The spear skimmed through the fog and stabbed Mortemus right between her eyes. It went in through from her face and came out from the back of her head and got stuck in the ground.

Just as the spear hit her, there was a loud squeaking noise and then there was pin-drop silence. Nothing moved at all except Leosher. The only sounds in the vast emptiness were Leosher’s heavy breathing and dripping of his blood from his side. After a moment, he finally opened his eyes and went to where Mortemus laid dead. All those she had turned to stone, turned back to flesh and the fog faded away and the sky came back to its original color, blue and both of the suns shone bright once again. The entire land was rejuvenated and life was restored to the ground, the trees and everything in sight.

Just as everyone was freed, they saw that Leosher had freed them. All of them gathered around him and thanked him, for he had defeated a terror that had reigned for too long. The Orc that Usere’s horse had bumped into, was the scariest of them all. He was big, pale and had dirty teeth. He had no hair on his body and was only wore a loincloth, but he had a sharp broad sword with him. He came to Leosher and began talking

“Who are you?”

“I am Leosher, the would-be king of The Empire and the son of Asurot.”

An old dwarf who listened to him carefully came out from behind the crowd and asked him “What is ‘The Empire’?”

“The Empire is the kingdom that will come after I have defeated Geluna. It has already begun and it spans over the outskirts of Gelus but soon, it will rise, rise to be the biggest and the most prosperous kingdom this world has ever seen.”

“Well you would need an army” said the Orc “You are going against Geluna, you will need an army.”

Leosher smiled “Yes but where can I get an army from?”

The Dwarf smiled and pointed to the people from everywhere. It was like rainbow, there were creatures from every species Elves, Dwarfs, Fairies, Amazonians, Humans and all other creatures.

The dwarf told him “This shall be your army, my King.” Just as he said that, a hail came out “All hail king Leosher! May The Empire reign!”

Leosher loved the men praising and that was the point where the seed of greed was sown into his heart. He wanted more and more creatures to hail him and praise him and now he was to do everything he could to make his wish come true.

He agreed to them and told them to line up and when the count occurred, there were almost 100 of them. This was a good start for an army for the Empire but it was not enough if he was to defeat all of the rulers. Just as the counting was finished, the original warriors, Virgil and the others, came back too. Virgil quickly jumped off of his horse and ran towards his brother. Just as he was running, the soldiers thought that he was a threat to their king and got ready to battle but Leosher held them off “Stop! He is one of us, my own brother, and your general.”

They quickly backed up and Virgil came to Leosher “what is all this?” he asked while pointing at the soldiers and smiling “I left you alone for some moments and you gather a small army? What are you?”

Leosher laughed “Brother, they are with us. They are the army of The Empire now.”

Azar came up to them too and stood up on a rock and addressed everyone “You all must know that you are not prepared for battle yet. Your weapons are rusted and your armor is rotten. You are weak and weary and are dreary. We set camp here tonight and we wait for our supplies.”

Then he walked down to Leosher and whispered to him “Send a letter to Buntius to buy provisions for us and send them here.”

Leosher looked at him as if he had done something wrong “I am a king now. I am not to do these petty works. Tell someone else to do so.”

Azar smiled and realized that Leosher was slowly changing but he did not pay much attention and looked at Virgil and told him the same thing. Virgil, being the humble one, listened to Azar and wrote a letter. He called upon Azar’s phoenix and tied it the letter to its leg. The phoenix flew away towards the town and after a day’s journey, it reached the town. Buntius read the letter and quickly got up to the task and prepared everything.

On the other hand, The Empirion army had set up fire and was resting peacefully. Leosher also sat near a fire on the grass and enjoyed the warmth under the beautiful night sky. It was night time and there was a cool breeze. The soldiers snored and slept peacefully.

After 4 days, the soldiers were well rested and it was just before dawn. All were asleep, but suddenly, the ground under the beautiful sky shook violently. When Leosher got up to see what it was, he saw that it was Buntius, riding a sledge. It was being pulled by wild bulls and had a long trailer behind him. These were the provisions for the Empirion army. Soon, everyone woke up and Buntius stopped the sledge right besides Leosher.

He got off and came to Leosher “I see The Empire has finally got an army now” he smiled “I am happy to see the progress.”

Leosher looked around at his army and then looked back at him “You came here faster than we expected.”

“I did not have anything that blocked my path, for you have killed the Yeti, and burnt the green forest.”

Leosher smiled “Did you bring the provisions?”

“Yes, what do you think I was dragging behind the sledge?”

Leosher looked at the trailer and told the Orc to distribute the provisions.

“They are uniforms and weapons and food,” said Buntius, proudly “The entire town made these as fast as they could.”

When everyone had put their uniforms on and had new weapons, and were ready to go, Leosher dismissed Buntius and addressed to his people “Now, that you have received the red and gold uniform, you are a part of the Empirion army. Be loyal and you will be chiefly rewarded but betray and suffer exile. I cannot provide you with armor just yet, but remember, though we go against fully armored men, you have me, a god, by your side. Our win and their defeat are almost certain.”

The uniforms were just like Leosher’s uniform a red battle skirt with gold curved markings, and sandals. Those who had armors previously, wore armors but those who did not were left bare. There were three different types of warriors in the army, some were archers, some had spearmen and some had curved swords. The men used their previous weapons as well to accommodate for the lack of armor.

In the afternoon, Leosher led his armies out of the Land of the Dead, which was no longer the land of the dead, for it was rejuvenated, and towards the mystic caves.

The caves were known to hold a snake big enough to engulf entire armies without even feeling it. He was at least 100 feet long and was covered with scales and horns. It had made huge caves in the mountains to live in and killed everyone who tried to pass through. Even the Gelun soldiers changed their path, for they were too scared to go through. Many suggested Leonidas to do the same but he was determined to kill this beast as well.

There was a legend that the snake could shape shift into a beautiful, heavenly girl but the girl had some flaws in her as well which made her distinguishable. The legend says that some part of the body would not be perfect for example sometimes, the hands would be crooked or the eyes would not have the pupils and other similar things like that. Leosher and his men had to be looking for such flaws if they wanted to survive. Luckily, though Leosher was getting a bit careless now, for he was the king of The Empire, his original companions, Virgil, Usere, Urey, Neiham and Azar stayed very sharp. They paid attention to every little detail and kept a good look on their surroundings.

CHAPTER 5

After it had been 3 days marching through the lands and the mountains, they finally could see the caves now. It was night when they got close to it so Leosher ordered his men to set camp there and spend the night. The men made a feast and everyone enjoyed, for it might have been their last that day. Some were playing flutes in harmony; some were telling stories of their past and some were sleeping soundly. Leosher on the other hand, was feasting. Because he was raised by a peasant mother, he had never seen so much food, so he kept on eating until he was full and could not take another bite.

Virgil, sat on a rock and gazed up in the sky without eating as much as Leosher did, for he knew that they will need for the later days in their journey. Asurot and the other gods watched him and decided to put him next in line for the throne of The Empire.

Usere and Urey layed on the ground and gazed up in the sky and Neiham and Azar feasted on the food.

Soon, the feast died down and Leosher decided to get some sleep, for he was going to face Amoveus, a shape shifting giant snake. He could turn into anything but was mostly known to shift into a girl with flaws.

During the night, they could hear the dragon-like roar of Amoveus. It was intimidating and even the animals were scared to go close to the cave. It breathed hot, venomous steam. It would burn any flesh in its way and the warriors were about to fight it.

In the morning, Leosher got up and went to Azar to ask him about Amoveus. It was early morning, a little after dawn, and Azar sat on a rock, with his pipe in his mouth. Both began talking and the day began getting older

“I don’t know about this monster,” said Azar “but I do know that my dear sister, Neiham has stories about it. Son, you better go to her and ask her for them.”

Leosher did just as Azar had told him and went to Neiham. Being a good peer, she began telling him the tales

“Long ago, all creatures lived in harmony but then Evil came along. When Shamaun betrayed the gods and his son Samael betrayed him, slowly everything went out of balance. Most of what was good became bad and feuds became common. The three rulers did not do much good, for they were filled with dark energy too. They segregated everything. Rare and hard to defeat animals became monsters, and one of those was Amoveus. Beforehand, Amoveus was a shape shifting Wizard. He was neither bad nor good. He was a mixture of both. When the Thraenus went out of balance, Amoveus lived right here. He did not want to follow Geluna and opposed a ruler over his head which made Geluna mad. She gave some of her dark energy to the wizard and he was transformed into a giant snake that was so deadly that whoever looked into its eyes died instantly, just like Mortemus, as a matter of fact, Mortemus was his sister.

It roams around in the shape of a beautiful girl. Legend has it that the girl’s beauty is like melting gold. It is pure like the water of the green lake in the kingdom of Strinthius and more spotless than the sky at dawn. Though she looks gorgeous, one has to remember that she is Amoveus, and she means to kill you. It is highly unlikely to find a girl, walking around, asking for help in the caves of Amoveus, which makes it very easy to differentiate. She has green eyes, wears a white silken robe and has twisted feet or hands. She does not have feet like normal creatures but has crooked feet most of the times. Not many have survived but the spirits of the dead have told these stories. To kill, Amoveus, it must be in its serpent form and one must cleave it down the middle.”

After Neiham was done telling the story, Leosher got up “Is there anything else I should know?”

“Yes,” said Neiham “Beware, for even a single glance at the Snake’s eyes can kill you that instance.”

Leosher thanked her for sharing her wisdom and went to talk to Virgil and the elf brothers who were sitting at a cliff, gazing upon the morning sky and listening to the chirping birds. Leosher walked over to them and sat on the cliff as well, “Today we go to the caves.” They nodded and he continued “I am taking 10 of my best men to the caves. The rest will stay behind, for I do not want to lose them all in one battle.”

Usere quickly looked at Leosher and after he was done talking he volunteered “I will definitely go, my King” Urey joined in too “Yes, my lord, I shall join you as well.” Virgil laughed and patted his brother and king on the back “Brother, I shall go with you too.”

They all shared smiles of friendship and just as they were about to get up and leave the cliff, Azar walked up to them and put his magical staff on the ground, making a sound to alert them “I will join you” said he “I will be of great service and advice.”

Leosher got up, keeping his pride, and said while smiling slightly “I am happy that I have such loyal friends and companions.” Then he turned to Virgil, the general of his army “Go and pick 6 of the best men we have. Give 3, bow and arrows, and give the rest spears and swords.”

Virgil did what his brother-king had told him and went to pick the best. Leosher walked with him but then went into his tent to get ready but Azar stayed with Usere and Urey.

“So how did you two became his highness’s friends?” asked Azar.

Usere said, while throwing a pebble in the lake nearby “We are bounty hunters. My brother and I were in the outskirts of Geluna, looking for a runaway werewolf and Virgil and Leosher were in the same forest too. Virgil, by chance saw us chasing the werewolf and threw his wood cutting axe at it. He made a cut on its leg and Leosher tackled it down to the ground with his bare hands. He was the first man I had ever seen do that. We thanked both of the brothers and that was the beginning of our long lasting friendship. It has been 3 years since that and I think Leosher was 15 years old when that happened.”

Azar was quite astonished to hear that Leosher tackled a fully grown werewolf at the age of 15. No other 15 years old would have been able to do that, even if the werewolf was injured “Quite astonishing. Now, will you please tell me your back story” said Azar “I am curious how you both became bounty hunters.”

Urey cleared his voice. He was a lot less serious than Usere. Though they were twins, there were a lot of differences. Usere was almost always serious, but Urey was chirpy and happy.

He began talking “Well, as you know we are elves so we live in the middle of Strinthius, in elf land where all the elves live. We lived near the Green Lake, just close to the forests. One day, we were playing in the forest at the age of 7 when we saw a royal boar, running away. This boar was to be the dinner of the king Colossus but he had run away. Many men were chasing it, so we got into the chase as well. Nobody could catch it but Usere and I did, for we were young and faster. The king gave us a lot of gold and since then, we orphans became bounty hunters. Whatever we get from the bounties, we keep some for ourselves and give the rest to the poor and the sick and help the Elvan community grow.”

Azar smiled “So both of you are orphans, huh.”

Usere looked down at the ground for a moment but then back up at Azar “Sadly, yes. What is your back story?”

“It is a long one. I will tell you some other day.”

By the time they were done talking, Leosher was ready with his men and called them off of the cliff they all were sitting on. This cliff looked over the lake. They followed his orders and went to him where he started leading them towards the caves. As they were getting close, it was getting dark and they could hear the roaring and hissing of Amoveus. It was terrifying and mortifying. It was like a lion roaring with a hundred snakes hissing at him.

As they got closer to the cave, the sounds became louder and louder and reached a point where it was nerve wrecking and unbearable but just as they stepped foot in the cave, everything stopped. There was a pin drop silence. Amoveus had stopped breathing and they could hear the water dropping from the ceiling of the moist, wet, tube-like caves. It was a perfectly carved hole that led into many other perfectly carved holes. There were at least 6 holes in there. Leosher sent two men in two holes. Now there were six men left, a dwarf, Leosher, Virgil, Azar, Usere and Urey. He sent Virgil and the dwarf in a cave and the rest of them went alone.

After all walked in the beautiful, dark and wet caves, all lost contact. No one knew how the others were doing but then suddenly, there were screams around the whole channel of caves. Nobody knew which hole they were coming from but they were and they were morbid and agonizing screams. All of them ran forward as fast as they could to reach the end but Leosher’s hole was a little longer than the others. When Leosher was half way through, he saw green light at the end of the hole and it was coursing towards him. They were a pair of eyes coming towards him.

He stopped and thought for a moment but then the light faded away and there emerged a beautiful girl with long, luscious dark hair. She was wearing a white silken rob and had shining green eyes. Leosher knew that it was Amoveus but just to be sure, he looked at her body and just as he was looking, he noticed that the feet were crooked and twisted, so he shut his eyes and grabbed a tight hold of his spear.

She walked to him and tried to make him open his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him as if she was in love with him and kissed him on the lips to lure him into opening his eyes but Leosher remained confident. He thought about Meagon and the good times he had had with her to stay loyal to her and stay alive. They stayed like this for some moments, but then Leosher quickly put his spear in Amoveus’s side and pierced its torso. It did nothing but made it scream and angry, for Amoveus could only be killed in his serpent form.

She scratched Leosher’s cheek with her long nails and quickly backed away from him. Leosher, annoyed and bruised, punched Amoveus in its face. He did that quite a lot of times but since she was very beautiful, he could only do it so many times until he started to regret it.

Just as Leosher stopped, Amoveus bit him on the neck. Its venom coursed through his veins immediately and began affecting him but Leosher was still strong enough to think and fight greatly. When Amoveus was biting Leosher in his neck, Leosher availed the chance and stabbed it in its eyes with his fingers and made it blind.

Green blood began spurring out of its eyes and Amoveus ran away towards the end of the hole. Leosher, being proud of himself that he had just made his enemy blind, ran after the girl but he could not catch up to her, for the venom was making him dizzy and was affecting his movement and blurring his vision. He trembled and tripped and fell but he kept going towards the light because he knew his brother and his friends would be waiting for him. He chased Amoveus to the end and all the holes merged into one great hall. It was magnificently big and everything was so smooth. It was like a fairy or a master dwarf had built it but no, Amoveus did. There was a foul stench of dead bodies and venom and there was big pile of old rotten bones of numerous creatures in the corner, next to the crater in which the great serpent slept in. The air was thick and humid like the smoke from mount Dabbacan, the biggest volcanic mountain on Thraenus and the birthplace of the sword of chaos, and the ground had puddles of green, muggy water in them.

When he moved forward, he saw his men, standing in front of their holes, looking around to see what was going on. Everyone was there except two of his finest men, for they had been killed but Amoveus. Then he looked straight through the dim light and saw a giant, shadowy figure, coiled up with its head high. It was Amoveus, it was the biggest living creature Leosher had ever seen, though it was not the biggest in creation, but it was the biggest he had seen. It was like a living mountain. It had the strength of 20 mammoths and was bigger than a fully grown venom spitting dragon in the myths of Thraenus. Its flesh was thick and saved it from the blows of the enemy; its breath was acid and whoever was in its way was killed brutally; its eyes were its biggest weapon, for even if somebody caught one glance of its eyes, they would die that instance.

Leosher had already made Amoveus blind which made it easy for them to defeat him. His eyes were now nothing more than a big hole with green blood spurring out of them. And now in order to kill him, his scaly skin was to be cut open.

When Amoveus realized that now he was surrounded by the men, he began moving forward and hitting the men with its long tail. They were sent flying away and one died the instant Amoveus’s thorny tail smacked him. Now only 7 men were fighting a creature that had not been defeated, even by the Gelun armies.

Amoveus spit out its venom at Azar but luckily, he created a shield for himself. He put his staff on the ground and a white shield appeared around him. That was the moment Virgil saw as a window and executed his attacks. He threw one of his axes at the beast, piercing its side. Though he was able to do that, he only made Amoveus angry.

Leosher, now at the brink of his consciousness, made his final blow. He put all of his strength in his spear and shot it at the beast with all his godly might. The spear caught on fire and hit Amoveus at a lightning fast speed. The spear hit him on the side of his mouth and got stuck in the side of the cave, leaving Amoveus attached to the side of the cave with his mouth pressed against the wall and left him incapacitated and useless. Amoveus was now unable to move because the spear was still in his cheek and if he tried moving, he would only injure himself more.

With that, Leosher grabbed another spear from the ground and shot it with the same godly might and power. The spear caught on fire and hit Amoveus on the tail, locking him in a place again. Now Amoveus was totally useless because he had no hands and was not going to be able to transform into anything else. He couldn’t move any more.

With the last blow, Leosher fainted and fell hard on the ground. The venom had made its way to his heart and now he was knocked out.

Though Leosher was out, the fight was not over yet. He had trapped Amoveus in place and had made it easy for the rest to kill the beast. Azar, seeing this as an opportunity, made yellow magical rings around the snake and increased the intensity of the lock, and after that, it could not even move an inch.

Virgil quickly ran towards his fallen brother to tend to him, but the elf brothers stayed in battle and intended to kill the beast now. Usere looked at Urey and both smiled and nodded. Urey shot thick, strong arrows at the body of Amoveus, creating steps for his brother to climb up and Usere ran as fast as he could and jumped on the arrows and ran to the top of the snake’s head. He jumped off of the snake’s head and on the way down, shoved his sword up his throat and cleaved him down the middle while falling down.

He had just killed Amoveus, a beast that was said to be unbeatable. He had cleaved it down the middle and had destroyed a major threat with the help of his companions and his king.

He pulled his sword, Virgil’s axes and Leosher’s spears out of the corpse and went over to Azar “Is it over yet?”

“Yes” he replied “We have done it. We have defeated Amoveus, and now our path is clear.”

Urey ran and hugged his brother and then went to Virgil who was holding Leosher in his arms “What happened to him?” he asked.

“There are bite marks on his neck. I believe Amoveus bit him.”

When Azar heard that, he came running towards them to check. There was a big bite on the right side of Leosher’s neck. Azar put his hand under his armor and on his chest and felt that his heart was not beating at all “We have to leave immediately because the venom has made its way to his heart.”

Virgil took off Leosher’s armor and his cloak to give him some breathing room. Then he put him on his shoulders and hurried towards the camp. The rest followed him outside the cave of Amoveus while carrying Leosher’s cloak, his spears and Virgil’s axes while Virgil hurried to Neiham, for she was a master potion maker and a healer.

“Oh my, what happened in there?” asked Neiham “How did this happen?”

Virgil put his brother on the ground and replied “We were apart. I do not know how this happened but what I do know is that he is bit by Amoveus and there is venom inside him. Please do something.”

Neiham checked his wound and looked at Virgil “You have to go now. Do not let anyone come inside because it is a very critical matter and even the slightest mistake can mean his death. I need to concentrate.”

Virgil did as Neiham had told him and went outside. He stood in front of the tent, guarding it, so his could brother rest and could live.

Neiham rubbed special oils on the wound and suddenly, the venom began flowing out of his body. These oils had to be rubbed in a specific amount and order and if one failed to do so, the body would’ve burnt.

The venom was oozy and green, because it was mixed with his blood now. It was all over the floor and was still pouring out. It was amazing how Amoveus had managed to infect Leosher with so much poison in such a little bite.

Neiham got up and looked for the lava flower potion in her pouch. She took it and gave some drops to the unconscious Leosher to heal the damage done by the venom of Amoveus. Neiham looked around on the Venom and thought to herself “This boy is truly something. No one has ever survived mere drops of the venom, but he has survived puddles. Though he is a god, he still had to die. But thank the gods he is alive.”

She cleaned her hands and after all the venom had been sucked out, she wrapped Leosher’s neck and shoulder with a clean rag. The wound had expanded since its origin and was big now and it spanned from the top of Leosher’s neck to his shoulder. It was disgusting to watch but now no one could see it anymore, for Neiham had covered it.

She went outside the tent and talked to Virgil who was still standing, waiting for good news “Your brother will be fine. He is lucky to have you as his brother.”

Virgil smiled and asked “How long will it take for him to get up?”

“It should take until midnight, for him to get up, and since he is out cold, you are in command of the army. Get some rest and manage them.”

Virgil went to the top of the cliff, where Usere and Urey were sitting and sat next to them.

“How is he now?” asked Urey “He was hurt pretty bad.”

“He is fine but it was his own fault. We all should have stuck together. If we had, we would not have lost two of our finest men.”

Usere joined in too and said in his heavy voice “When are we going to move forward?”

“We will,” said Virgil “As soon as my brother wakes up from his slumber.”

Then he looked at Azar who was sitting cross legged, floating over the water, meditating peacefully. He jumped off of the cliff into the water and swam over to Azar to talk to him “How are you doing that?” Azar did not reply so he asked again “How are you doing that?” He did not answer again. When the third time Virgil asked, Azar finally answered “It is a secret. Not many can do it.”

Virgil hesitated a little but he asked “Will you teach me?”

Azar smiled with his eyes closed “Only if you promise me that you will use your skills for good and good only.”

“Yes, I will.”

Azar finally opened his eyes and put his hand over the water. After a few seconds, the water began to ripple and his staff came out from deep within the blue water. He held it in his and hand then put it on Virgil’s head “By the power invested in me once, by my master, I make you my apprentice, for your heart is pure and open to do good.” Then he looked at Virgil “Now cross your legs and concentrate your energy. Make it lift you up.”

Virgil did as his master told him and crossed his legs in the water. He almost drowned at first because it was very hard for one to stay afloat in the water cross legged but then he slowly rose out of the water and began floating in the air, just like his master was. He closed his eyes and sat quietly but then Azar said to him “Do you know why we are meditating and floating?”

“No master, why?”

“Magic is made purely of energy vested in us by the gods. To release that energy, you need magic. And to do magic, you need to control your inner energy. Via floating, you are learning to control your energy.”

Virgil was surprised “Then why do you use a staff?”

Azar took his pipe out of his pocket and lit it with a snap of his fingers and put it in his mouth and began smoking “The staff is like a door, a passage. It makes a clearer gateway for the energy to come out as magic. It is possible not to use any medium but it is extremely hard. Now be quiet and meditate. Learn to control your energy”

They both floated in the air for a long period of time and not even a single word came out of their mouths. The only thing they did was practice controlling their energy. They were so peaceful that butterflies flew around them and sparrows sat on their shoulders and heads. The only thing moving was the water under them. It rippled slightly.

After hours and hours of meditation, Azar finally stopped meditating and said to Virgil “Do you want to know where the wizards and witches come from?”

“Yes,” replied Virgil “I have always been fascinated by wizards and witches.”

Azar slowly began to float away, towards the shore and Virgil followed him. When they got to the shore, they put their feet on the ground and started walking to the camps. It was night time now and Leosher was going to wake up any hour now.

“Listen carefully,” said Azar, and started telling the story “Wizards, Witches and Sorcerers are an extremely scarce kind.The art of magic was a gift from Asurot and Dadurot. They put energy in the creatures and gave them “THE BOOK OFENCHANTS AND SPELLS.” This book had spells which are intended to be different forms that energy can come out as.

Many took a keen interest in magic at first but all left except a few, because this art took a lifetime to be perfected. It also took a clean spirit and clean heart to perfect which no one had but a few and when they perfected the art of Magic, they became Wizoruns, warrior wizards and witches that reside in the mystical caves of Mount Dabbacan, as outcasts, for they are scared that their hearts might become polluted with the temptations and evil of the world.

After they saw that not many wanted to be wizards and witches anymore, they created several safer copies with much less spells and enchants in it and gave them to people who wanted to learn. They took the original book into their caves and continued practicing.

They also helped Shamaun forge the sword of chaos but he betrayed them and stole their original book to make him stronger. According to the legends, it was last seen in Ratarus, with Shamaun but the guardians took his memory of the book away and now, it is lost.”

Virgil was quite shocked to learn about the complicated story of wizards and witches but he also felt special because now he was to be a part of the story. When they were finished talking, Azar broke a piece from his staff and gave it to Virgil

“Here, this will be your temporary wand. You can use it until you find an actual wand, but be careful, for even this strand contains enough strength to channel a great amount of energy.”

Virgil nodded and just as he received the wand, he saw his brother walking out of the tent. He quickly ran towards him to ask about his health.

“Brother, how do you feel now?”

“I am fine Virgil but we have to get to the hidden valley fast. I feel like Geluna knows we are coming.”

Leosher looked around and saw that all of his men were sleeping “Wake them up, we are leaving right now.”

“But brother, it is night time and you know our men are tired.”

Leosher looked at his brother angrily “I am the king. I know what is best for my kingdom. Now do as I say.”

Virgil now knew that the power was getting to his head so he said nothing and followed his king’s orders, for he knew that if he resisted, Leosher might do something drastic. Virgil went around and woke up the soldiers. They were a little upset but they got up and got ready. They were ready to move forward, in about an hour and after the men were ready, Leosher went to a big rock and addressed them

“Trust me, I do not like it either, but we have to move. We will get to the big sea’s shore in a couple of days and then we will get to the hidden valley. Once we get the weapons to destroy the rulers, we will take over Thraenus, and rule together!”

After this address, the morale of the soldiers rose and they started cheering for their king. Leosher called Usere up and said to him “You will be the second general of this army. You and my brother, Virgil will be the generals.”

“Why?” asked Usere, shockingly “I have done nothing to achieve this.”

“You did. You defeated Amoveus and I am proud to call you my friend. Now bring me my cloak and armor and spears. We shall move.”

Usere did as his king told him and brought him the things he asked for, and after Leosher was ready too, Virgil and Usere began leading the army towards the Big Sea by following the stream that ran by.

CHAPTER 6

The journey to the Big Sea was of a day and a half. It was relatively easier to travel because there were less treacherous paths than before. They had no troubles going, for the mountainous terrain was over and the grasslands had begun. They even took some animals such as horses, rhinos, elephants and tigers from the grasslands to aid them on the quest. They walked and rode all the way to the shores but when they arrived there, they were disappointed because there was no hidden valley. Not even Leosher could see it. He swam as far as he could, into the sea but still, there was no sign of the valley. Annoyed by this scam, Leosher went to talk to Azar “What is the meaning of this?” He said, angrily “We have wasted our time, put our lives in danger, for—for this?!”

“Listen son,” said Azar “I am as disappointed just as much as you are, but know that Lamfari would never do something like this. He is favored preciously by the gods and he would not anger them by sending the queen’s son, the prince of all gods on a sham quest.”

After talking, Azar got up and went to his sister “Neiham, write a letter to Lamfari and ask him what do we have to do next.”

“What about the boy” said she “We have to tell him something. He is losing his mind.”

“I will figure something out but for now, just write to Lamfari and ask what we have to do next.”

With that, Azar left and Neiham began writing on a parchment:

Lamfari,

I am happy to tell you that we are fine and we have an army now but I am sad to tell you that the boy cannot see the hidden valley and is annoyed. Will you please help us and tell us what we shall do in order for the boy to see the valley.

Neiham.

Leosher was very angry but then his brother went up to him “Brother, this is no way to act.”

“Virgil, please, I am not in the mood of getting a lesson right now. Please leave me alone.”

Just as he was talking, a fireball came down to the ground from the skies. It surrounded with blue and gold fire. It also had a tail of golden flares and sparks and left a trail of black smoke. It came down with a thrashing and thundering sound and the impact was so great that Leosher’s soldiers went flying into the sea. Some fell in the forest and some just fell on the beach.

Leosher, seeing that it was trouble, grabbed his spear and immediately got up to fight. He swaggered up to the crash site and after the dust and smoke cleared away, he saw that it was a goddess, a goddess from Aseroth.

She was dressed in all gold and had a scythe for weapon in her hand. She also had a long golden cloak that left gold dust where she walked. She was the same color as Leosher, brown, and her hair were dark. Her eyes were big and blue. Her eyes also had a thick layer of mascara. Her lips were rouged and she was a little shorter than Leosher. Her facial features were very sharp which made her look VERY beautiful.

When she got up from the ground, her glory was beyond comprehension. Her beauty was limitless. Most of those who could see her had gone crazy with the beauty but Leosher and the original warriors stood clear, for Leosher had a new found love for power, and the rest were not lustful. Their minds were not clogged.

“Who are you?” said Leosher, in his heavy voice “And what do you want?”

“I am Arusus and I am looking for the one named Leosher.”

“What do you want from him?” Leosher said.

Virgil who was standing close to Leosher quickly tried to break the tension and sent all of the men away and pulled Leosher back and began talking to Arusus himself.

“I am sorry about my brother’s behavior.”

Arusus smiled back and came out of the pit her landing had made “Now where is Leosher?”

“You are looking at him,” Leosher said “Now what do you want from me?”

Arusus was astonished to see him. He was not wearing his armor and his body was highly toned and was showing every muscle which made him stand out of every man there and in Thraenus, the more muscle you had, the more beautiful you were.

“I should have known, you looked like a god.”

“Now what do you want?”

“I was just here to see you, I have heard about you for 17 years but this is the first time I am seeing you” said she, with a pause “Brother!”

Everyone was shocked to see that it was Leosher’s sister. Leosher looked at her and said “So you are my sister, but I have been on Thraenus for more than 17 years”

“Yes, brother, but I started hearing about how you were to save everyone since my birth. I am 17 years old.”

“What are you doing here” asked he “And have not you seen me before?”

“I had not seen my own brother therefore I came down to Thraenus from Aseroth to meet you.”

Virgil was confused so he came in the conversation “Wait, what is Aseroth and are not the gods able to see everything from the heavens?”

“You must be Virgil. I have heard about you too” She smiled “And Aseroth is the home of the gods. That is where all the gods live and yes gods can see anything from up there but mother has cloaked Leosher to protect him from all the evil that lurks above.”

Afterwards she looked at Leosher “You are awfully strong for a god as young as you are.”

Leosher nodded and looked around and when he did, he saw Azar coming towards them. Azar came and introduced himself. Usere and Urey followed him and finally, Neiham came too. After the introductions were done, Leosher and Virgil took Arusus into his tent to talk to her.

“You possibly cannot be here just to see me. What do you want?” asked Leosher.

“Brother, I am here to help you” replied Arusus “I know your weapons are weak, so I am here to give you a new weapon.”

She took her scythe and gave it to Leosher “This is a gift from a sister to her brother. This will help you in hard times.”

Leosher took detailed yet brief look at it. It was a shiny scythe with an extremely sharp blade at the end and was made of supernatural gold. Its handle was coiled and was about an arm’s length long.

Virgil asked Arusus “What is your power, whose god are you?”

“I am the goddess of Wisdom and Weapons and know exactly what type of weapon one deserves or needs. This scythe is not just a weapon, it represents something. I can tell you that you should use a sword, not battle axes.”

Then she looked at Leosher “I have to leave now. I do not have much time to waste here but I would like to tell you one thing, be good to your loved ones and treat them nicely. If you lose them, you never gain them again and trust me, by the rate at which you are changing, you will need them.”

Then she got up and started to walk out of the tent but then she stopped and looked back “And one more thing, take the path of the Mermaids. There might be a surprise for you that you might like and you might get a chance to test your new weapon.”

Then she got out and looked up, and suddenly, her body caught on the same blue and gold fire and she shot up in the sky with the same golden tail and soon she vanished away.

The Empirion army was left star struck because it was the first time they had seen a goddess at her full glory. Then suddenly, a hawk came and gave Leosher a parchment. The reason why they received the letter so fast was that the hawks fly very high in the sky and fly very fast, which makes them very fast.

The letter was from Lamfari. Leosher snatched the letter and broke the red seal on it and began reading it:

Leosher,

I have heard you have grown impatient and intolerable and that you have accused me of being a scam and sending you on a sham quest. I am sorry if you had to wait a bit but I have returned the letter as fast as I could. Thank Neiham for she chose a hawk that could fly fast and did not keep you waiting any longer. Now, I know that you are angry but you have to do some work. You are the only one that can see the hidden valley. You have to build a galleon and go towards the mermaid waters. That will give you an area to search for the hidden valley.

Lamfari

Leosher called Azar and said to him “Do you know how to build a ship?”

“Yes,” he said “My lord, we can and we shall.”

Leosher nodded and called Virgil too “Take the men and use them and build a ship as fast as you all possibly can. The beach is connected to a forest. Go there and get the wood.”

Virgil nodded and took Azar and the entire Empirion army to the forests and Leosher was left alone, all alone on the shore of the Big Sea….

It was now night so Leosher started a fire. He sat around it and thought about how to gain more power. He was truly going evil now and it was showing on his face. He had a sinister look on his face. He sat around the fire and stared in the fire but then he fell asleep, into a deep sleep. It was instant, within a matter of seconds. In his sleep, he saw a shadowy figure. It was wearing a hood on his head and had red eyes, bright red eyes with no pupils. It looked like a god but was very different too. Its face was hard to see but it was sitting on a throne made out of bones and skulls. He sat around fire and lava. The man was looking very malevolent and there were creatures, hailing it and praising it. The creatures were hideous. Half of them were burnt and half of them were on fire.

Their skin was melting off of their bodies and some Minotaur like creatures were whipping them with chains. The man got up and said loudly “Join me and I will give you an empire bigger than you will ever have. Just give me control over your brain, sell me your soul and you shall see my power.”

Leosher’s face was covered too. This was exactly why Asurot had cloaked him, to save him from creatures like this one. There was some sort of black smoke that kept his face hidden, no matter how hard he tried, it did not go away. This saved Leosher by the potential threat of getting killed by the creature in real life.

The shadowy figure walked up to him and tried to move that smoke to see his face but all of his tries were futile. When he finally realized that no matter how much he tried the smoke was not going away, he simply began talking “Join me, and all your desires shall be fulfilled.”

“I am the prince of all gods, what do you have to offer me?”

“If you do not join me, you will only gain control over Thraenus and Aseroth, but if you join me, I can give you control over the entire Universe. There are other worlds that you can conquer, such as Earth.”

Leosher listened to him but thought he was bluffing “How can I trust you?”

“I have no reason to prove anything to you. I am doing a favor” said he “All you have to do is give me control over your mind and soul. I can unlock your inner beast.”

Leosher smiled again “Why does a shadowy figure want control over me? Why my mind? Why not somebody else?”

When Leosher said that, the figure’s eyes opened wide and produced and sharp beam of red light that woke him up.

He was lying in the same position, near the fire but something seemed different. There were shadows around him and when he finally got up to see what was going on, he was surrounded by men, not his own, but somebody else’s. Leosher quickly got up and got ready to battle “What is the meaning of this?”

Then a man came from between the men. He was wearing eerie clothes. He was wearing a mermaid’s skin’s jacket and was looking like he had not showered in months. He also had a long thick and very dirty beard. He wore leather pants and high boots. His teeth were yellow and had a curved sword in his hand. He also wore a laced white shirt which was no longer white because he had never washed it.

“You will be held captive if you do not tell us who you are?” He said.

Leosher laughed at him “I am the prince of the gods of Aseroth, the rightful ruler of Thraenus, Leosher you ignorant fool.”

“Oh so you are the son of Asurot,” said the man, “Well then prove it!”

Leosher took the Scythe that Arusus had given him and held it tight “How many are going to fight me?” he asked “I have to know.”

The man laughed “I have plenty of men and at least 3 quarters of them will fight you.”

Three quarters of his men were almost the size of his own army. Leosher looked around and smiled and got ready to battle. He put the blade of his Scythe down in the fire and suddenly, flicked it. The ashes and sparks from the fire blinded many of the men around him and this marked the beginning of the battle. He spun the Scythe in a spiraling motion and killed many.

He was brutal; he took their heads off in one blow. There were bodies and heads lining up everywhere. The beach was covered in puddles of blood and the entire atmosphere suddenly turned grim. The giant empty ships in the sea made it even grimmer.

The Scythe was extremely powerful and proven to be a great companion to Leosher. He killed everyone who battled him with the help of the scythe and just when he was about to kill the leader, the man yelled “Stop! Stop!—okay, you win, you are Leosher, the son of Asurot, the prince of all gods—I believe you.”

Leosher stopped and took a deep breath and when he looked around he sighed “What have I done? What has become of me?”

Though he was becoming evil, there still was some good and humanity left in him but it was of no use now. He had done what he had done and there was no going back.

“Although you have killed 3 quarters of my men, you have proven that you are a god.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Barian,” said the man “a pirate who steals booty from trade ships of Gelus and Strinthius, and a mermaid hunter.”

“Really?” said Leosher “Can you help me then?”

“Yes my lord, what is it?”

“I want those,” Leosher said while pointing at the gigantic ark-like galleons “I want your ships and your crew to take me to the hidden valley.”

Barian looked at his ships and then back at Leosher and smiled “I know everything about the Big Sea and know about your quest. I would like to join the King of The Empire.”

“Yes, you can, now bury your men and order the rest to get ready.”

After they were done talking, Barian ordered his men to give a proper burial to the bodies of the fallen and they did just as he said and right after they were done, Leosher’s men came too. They had brought all the wood necessary for a big ship, a galleon. Virgil, seeing that his brother is surrounded by strange men, ran towards him to help him with his axes drawn and his self, ready to battle. Usere and Urey followed him but then Leosher stop them “It is alright. They are friends.”

“Well then how do you explain the puddles of blood on the ground?” asked Usere “And the blood stains on your Scythe” added Urey.

“I got involved in a feud nothing big.”

Leosher looked at Virgil after he was done talking to Usere and Urey “I have arranged ships for us. We do not need to do make them anymore.”

Barian smiled to show that he was offering it with pleasure and introduced himself to all 5 of the main warriors and then informed Leosher “We will be sailing tonight. Get your men on the ships and get ready to go.”

Leosher nodded and yelled out “Everyone, on the ships, now! We are going to the hidden valley.”

His men were a little angry and disappointed, because they had been working as hard as they could hours and they had cut down so many trees to get the necessary wood and wasted so many axes, but alas they could not do anything about it. It was Leosher’s orders and no one could go against or express their feelings about them. They all quickly dropped everything and packed up their armory and their provisions and took the lions, tigers, rhinos and elephants, and boarded the ships.

Leosher knew that his men were disappointed but he did not care and went to Barian to tell him the route “We sail over the mermaid waters, now let us sail.”

He boarded the main and the biggest ship in the fleet. The ships were light brown in color and huge. Their sails were black with a huge skull on them. On the edges of all the ships, were harpoons to hunt and destroy ships. The front of the ships was armored and had a metal ram. This was to protect the ships from damage while they rammed and destroyed their enemy ships. The ships’ bowsprits were like arrows, they were made of iron and bronze. The ships also had large pedals. Each ship had 6 pedals on each side and the pedals were made of oak wood to give them more buoyancy. The ships were amazing and though they had gone through a lot of abuse over the years they had been used, they were in great shape.

Virgil, Usere, Urey, Azar and Neiham saw Leosher board the biggest galleon and they followed him up there and just when all had boarded and none was left on the shore, Barian began sailing and soon they were sailing over the deep waters, for the ships were incredibly fast and had great maneuverability.

Leosher went up to Barian, who was steering the ship with the large wheel on the far end of the deck “How long have you been hunting mermaids?”

“It is a long story” replied Barian “I will tell you later sometimes.”

“I have plenty of time because we are not going to be reaching our destination until a few days have passed, so you might as well tell it to me right now.”

Barian finally agreed and began telling the story,

“It was a long, dark and stormy night. It was about 25 years ago, when I was a young man of course. I was a fisherman and fished with my young son. That night, we had been out, fishing for a long time and we had accidentally sailed into the mermaid waters, when suddenly, a storm struck, leaving our boat incapacitated. Our pedals broke and our sails were ripped. It was devastating. There was lightning and thunder and rain everywhere. It was foggy and hard to see and the boat was rocking too much. Even standing still in the boat was a struggle.

Just as I was trying to get our boat steady, I saw a dark creature lurking in the water. It was hard to see but it looked somewhat like a mermaid. It swam under our boat and just as I went to the side to see it clearly, it came from the side and took my son. It took it deep inside the waters and I was left alone. The only thing I saw afterwards was a swarm of mermaids running towards where my son fell and then there was blood everywhere. It made the waters murky. I jumped in the water to get my son but something knocked me on the head and knocked me unconscious. Next day, I woke up on the shores of Gelus, helpless and childless and hungry. That was the day when I vowed to kill every mermaid.”

“Well that was sad,” said Leosher while giving his condolences to him with a straight face “If you need anything, I would like to give it to you.”

“Well, you already told us to go to the mermaid waters, which is a gift for me. I usually avoid going there and hunt stray mermaids instead because I am scared they might outnumber and kill me, but with you at my side, no one can even touch us.”

Leosher smiled and walked into the bed chamber that Barian had provided for his king. He sat there on the hard and somewhat wet bed, tired. He was so tired that soon he fell asleep. After a few hours, he suddenly woke up with a shudder and when he got up, there was yelling on the deck of the ship. It was rocking violently and there were thrashing and crashing noises outside. He quickly got out of his bed chamber and saw that a violent creature had wrapped its tentacles around one of the ship and was crushing it. All the other ships were harpooning it but then he saw that there was something holding the beast from crushing the ship he himself was on. It was Virgil and Azar. They were using magic to hold the creatures off while Urey was continuously shooting arrows in the water to kill it.

For some reason, the beast was not showing its face. Leosher could see Usere fighting on one of the other ships, using his sword to cut the tentacles but the tentacles were too big, bigger than the ships, therefore he only managed to make small, pointless cuts on them which did not affect the beast whatsoever. Leosher was in a haze but then suddenly there was a wave of mermaids coming towards them. A wave of spears shot over them, over the ships and hit the beast’s tentacles very accurately. The mermaids had come to rescue the ships from the beast and they were successful. The beast backed away and swam towards the dark and murky waters and soon he was out of sight.

Just as Barian saw that the beast had wandered away and the mermaids had arrived, he quickly took his focus off of the beast and pointed his harpoons towards the mermaids. He began harpooning them viciously but Urey ran and grabbed his hands to save them “They were only helping us!”

Barian did not listen to him and accidentally hit Urey in the face with the back of a harpoon but Urey did not consider it an accident. He grabbed his bow and smacked Barian in the face so hard that he broke his bow in half. Barian was knocked out by that attack, because the bow was thick yet stretchy wood. He fell off of the ship and into the waters but the mermaids caught him and kept him afloat.

All was calm and still now but then suddenly, the calm, placid waters began to ripple and the king of the mermaids rose out of them. When he got out of water, his tail and fins became legs and some of the water became a loincloth around his waist. He had a crown and two golden spears in his hands. The water became steps and he boarded the ships. He looked at Leosher and began talking “Are you the Empirion king, everyone has been talking about?”

“Yes,” replied Leosher “I am the Empirion king. What do you want?”

“I am Lampus, the king of the mermaids and the sea, the only place which is not ruled by the evil lords of the land, and I would like your help.”

“What is in it for me? What do I gain by helping you?” asked Leosher demandingly.

“You will be rewarded heavily.” But then he stopped for a moment and looked around and then fixed his eyes on Leosher again “Would you consider going beneath the waters with me?”

“Yes, but my friends will join me.”

Leosher called Virgil, Urey, Azar, and Neiham and he also called Usere from the other ship. When he was done calling his friends, Lampus gave Leosher a Talisman “I only have one, because this is the Talisman of Remases, the god of sea. It will help you breath underwater.”

“What of my companions?”

“Ah yes, your companions,” He looked at a beautiful mermaid and she brought red rose-like flowers out of the sea and handed it to Lampus who in turn told them to eat the flowers. The flowers were bitter and juicy but they had to eat them and just as they did, they were given the ability to breath underwater. When all were ready, they jumped in water, alongside their king, and swam into the city of the mermaids and towards the inner city. The city was lavish and beautiful. They used a lot of glass and gold. The dry land creatures, Leosher and the others were quite astonished by the sight of this city but they were not here for a vacation.

Lampus took them into a castle made of crystals and pearls. Every portion of the castle was so extravagant and lavish that it looked almost like Aseroth during the dining of the gods. The gates were solid gold and silver and platinum. The entire castle was built with precious metals and this was the home of the king. Lampus took them in the court hall which was lined with beautiful columns and had a statue of the sea god, Remases and alongside it, was the statue of the sea king, Lampus.

He swam and sat on his throne and began the tale:

“We mermaids had a peace treaty with Samael, after he had taken over the throne of his father, Shamaun. This treaty was signed while Samael was still a good man. The treaty stated that none will harm us and we shall harm none but there were some creatures that were out of his control such as the Leviathan. This beast was so powerful that it was out of Samael’s control but Samael, being a man of his word, drove it far away from the mermaid waters. But now, the Leviathan has come back again in the recent years, and is wreaking havoc in our came homeland.”

“Well, that is awful” said Urey “Is there anything we can do?”

Leosher sat quietly but then looked at Urey angrily “I think that decision is mine to make” Then he turned to Lampus “What do I gain by helping you?”

“You aid us in defeating the beast and I give you the Talisman of Remases as a permanent gift.”

“I do not care for this,” said Leosher while holding the Talisman “this mundane, Talisman. I care for your kingdom, I want your throne.”

“My people’s safety is much more important than the throne” said Lampus proudly, “I shall give you my throne if you kill the beast, but beware, for no mermaid or any water creature will help you.”

Leosher looked at Azar for help and he did help him by whispering in his ear “Son, no matter what you go through or what decision you make, just remember that you are our king, our lord and we shall stay with you, no matter what.”

Leosher smiled and looked at Virgil who nodded in support too, however he did not like the notion of helping someone for a reward. Urey and Usere told him that they were with him and then finally, Leosher said to Lampus who sat anxiously on his throne, “Evacuate this region and go as far away as possible, for today, we shall hunt and kill the Leviathan!”

Lampus nodded and got up and went outside. He went to his armory and brought back the finest weapons the mermaids had. He came back in the court hall with dozens of mermaids holding different kinds of weapons. He had Spears, Javelins, Shields, Swords and Bows.

Leosher smirked, because he liked the offering “Give my men these weapons and I promise you, you will have to give up the throne and if you do not, I will make you.”

Lampus nodded and left the hall. There was silence but Urey broke it by swimming over to the weapons. He picked the finest bow in the arsenal and tested it. It was a full brass bow with bronze tipped arrows. They were strong arrows and could be used to penetrate the thick skin of the Leviathan. Leosher took all of the weapons up to the ships and stood on the deck to address to his men:

“Today, we stand under this clear sky, waiting, waiting to fight the biggest battle of our lives. We will go against the biggest creature known to the residents of Thraenus, and the worst threat we have faced yet. Though this beast is known to be untouchable but remember that you have me, the prince of gods on your side. We will fight this battle and we will write our own fate. Tonight!—let us battle with destiny!”

With that, there was cheering everywhere and happiness and courage bloomed. The mermaids gave their regards to Leosher and left, like fish, in a swarm, towards the far away mountains and soon went out of sight. When Leosher saw that they were out of sight now, he called Neiham and said to her “Wake up Barian and tell him what had killed his son.”

She did and told Barian the entire story. Barian was shocked and fell on his knees with grief, for he had spilled innocent blood all his life and now, he might die without purging. Now all were getting to ready to fight and Urey felt that he had to apologize to Barian, therefore he did. He walked over to where Barian was, and spoke to him,

“I am sorry,” said Urey “but you had left me no choice.”

“It is okay because I was the one who was wrong.”

Barian smiled and patted Urey on his shoulder and went out on the deck of the galleon. He put all of his men on the battle stations and the harpoon stations and got ready to battle. Leosher put his men in places too and grabbed his spears and his Scythe to battle.

Now the atmosphere was grim and a storm was rising. Even the small creatures such as birds and fish could feel that a stormy battle was rising and were flying and swimming as far as they could. The birds were crying and flying in large groups. The fish swam away in large hordes and soon, there was not living creature except the Empirions, in sight. Though the sky was clear, they could see a storm coming. The clear waters had gone murky. The warm waters had gone cold and red. The clear blue sky was getting covered up by dark thick clouds and soon it began to rain and succeeding the rain were thunder and lightning. It was now dark and nothing could be heard except the thunder and the rain falling in the ocean. Many men were scared and wanted to back out of this battle but they had no choice anymore, for it was too late. The Leviathan was about to show up and the battle was about to begin.

All was quiet but then suddenly Leosher, who was standing on the bowsprit, yelled out in his loud, thick voice “Prepare to battle! The beast approaches!”

It was a dark beast, submerged fully in the water. It was like a mountain but only its tentacles and hands were outside water. It was ripping through the water towards the 7 Galleons. All the men held tightly to the ships and their weapons, and braced themselves for impact. Virgil joined his brother on the bowsprit and said to him:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

Leosher smiled at his brother and hugged him “Brother, I know I have been cruel and will always be cruel, for I am the king of The Empire, but remember one thing, I will always be with you, no matter what.”

Just as the brothers talked, Barian shouted from the far end of the deck “Brace for impact!” and a long arm came and destroyed one of the Galleons. Then, a tentacle came to destroy the ship that Leosher was on but his brother, who was now a wizard’s apprentice and knew a bit of magic, held it in midair. He used the spell “Pondeo Supervelous” which was a spell used to levitate objects. This was one of the few spells that had been taught to him by Azar and they were proving to be quite useful. He used it to hover the tentacle of the beast above the galleon, holdind it off from breaking the ship in half.

Leosher saw it as a window and jumped on the tentacle but it was oozy and slimy. His hands slipped but his friend, Urey saw it with his keen eyes and shot three arrows at the tentacle. They shot through the air and pierced the tentacle just enough to give Leosher a strong hold. Leosher hung unto the arrows and looked at Urey and smiled and quickly got on top of the tentacle. It was big and thick enough to have 20 grown men stand side by side on it. It was incredibly scaly as well.

Leosher took his spear and stabbed the tentacle but it was too thick so the spear could not go through all the way. Leosher acted quickly and kicked the spear inside with all is might. Then he took his other spear and shot it underwater, trying to get the beast’s face but because the waters were murky and dark, he could not see where the Leviathan’s head was but the spear actually hit it and did some carnage. It had hit the Leviathan in the eye and made one of his eyes, a hollow.

The Leviathan became angry and flung Leosher onto one of the ships. The impact was so great that Leosher went through it and broke the ship in half. He was slightly dazed and out of the battle for a while but the rest were still in it. Usere, joining the battle, jumped on the Leviathan and actually made numerous cuts on it. The cuts made the beast unable to use that tentacle. Urey, stood on the highest point of the ship and shot his bronze-tipped arrows in the water to make the beast cry. His arrows worked quite a lot because the beast was cringing a bit. Virgil was trying to keep the Leviathan’s tentacles away from the ships and he actually reduced the speed at which the ships were being destroyed, greatly.

Azar and Neiham were partnered up. Azar was throwing energy balls from his staff. They were green in color but also were slightly transparent or translucent rather and Neiham had summoned a giant fire phoenix from her cards and was using it to carry the energy balls to the beast. These energy balls were like bombs which blew up in the beast’s face, keeping him from using all of his might.

The Empirion soldiers and Barian’s men were doing well too. They all used the giant harpoons to hurt the beast. Those who were not at the harpoon stations used whatever they had to, to hurt the beast. They used their swords, spears, shields, javelins, arrows, everything and did all they could because all were trying as hard as they could to kill the beast.

Even through all of this mist and rain and water, there was still a thick scent of sweat and blood and rum, whose kegs were being destroyed by the Leviathan. When Barian saw his precious rum being flown away in the water, he thought of a scheme to increase the damage being done to the Leviathan. He burnt a match and threw all the kegs in the water, close to the beast, and set them on fire. There was a great explosion which destroyed a ship but it also did damage to the beast. He cried out in his dragon-like roar. It was very loud, so loud that Leosher came out of his daze and when he did, he swam onto one of the smaller ships and came to his senses.

Just as he got ready get back into the fight, another tentacle hit him right above his head and broke the ship and sent Leosher unconscious. He fell in the water and fell deep, deep inside. He was motionless, broken and battered but he still had his spear in his hand. His head was bleeding and the tentacle’s thorns had pierced the armor and stabbed Leosher multiple times but as he fell, he remembered what his brother had said:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

That put hope in his mind and he opened his eyes. They had turned red with anger and he swam towards the beast angrily. He held his breath and his tied hair had opened now and flowed around in the water freely. When he finally went close to the beast, he saw nothing but a scaly beast but then the beast opened its eye and Leosher was right in front of it. Leviathan’s eye was bigger than Leosher himself. He acted quickly and took his Scythe to cut the eye. He drove it in the eyes and cut it in half. After that, something struck Leosher and he went unconscious again. It was not a physical thing that knocked Leosher out but it was a spiritual being, it was his mother talking to him and yet again, he ended up in the white void.

“Leosher, you are brave and courageous. It takes courage to go against the Leviathan but your arrogance made you face the Leviathan. I do not wish to help you but I cannot stay without helping either. Just remember, this is the last time I will help you, for you have disappointed me with your evil desires and your hunger for power. If you desire more help from the gods, change your ways and only then, you shall receive the things you want.”

Leosher quickly opened his eyes and saw that his brother had jumped into the water to pull him out. He grabbed Leosher’s hand and swam up to the ship where they all regrouped again, with the original warriors, Usere, Urey, Neiham and Azar.

“This is hard and beyond our power” said Urey “We cannot defeat it. We have not even seen it; all we have been doing is battle its tentacles.”

“Trust me,” said Leosher “We can defeat it, for you all have me on your side and nothing can defeat a god that was created to be stronger than all.”

Just as he said that, a huge wave rose up and knocked all of them off of the ship and then the beast rose out of the waters.

It was gigantic, bigger than the entire village that Leosher was from. Its scales were shut tight, and did not let any air or metal pass through. His eyes were numerous, like those of a spider. His face was like a turtle, long and sharp. His tentacles were like those of an octopus’s, big and thick. Its arms were long and strong like a bear’s. Its claws were like a lions, long and strong and his legs were scaly and short but he was big enough to stand in the deep sea without having to float. His stomach was not pierceable and it was buried under a thick layer of rock like scales. Its teeth were sharp and countless. If one broke, another grew in its place; its mouth was a void, whatever went inside, never came out; its tail was like long trees, tied together. It swept oceans clean of its creature. Its roar was jaw dropping and heart stopping; even the mightiest ran from its roar. It was black in color and its numerous eyes were yellow with red pupils. Its teeth were yellow and its claws were yellow as well. Its tail had a claw-like end to it, which was capable enough to sweep the entire Empirion army out of the sea without any effort.

Even Leosher was intimidated by the size of this creature but then he calmed his nerves. He got back on the debris of the broken ships and gained his balance but the Leviathan grabbed him with one of its tentacles. Each of the tentacles had millions of sharp, small claws at the end which made them even more deadly. The tentacles were attached to the ribcage of the beast and some of them also hung down from the beast’s chin.

Leosher went unconscious again but this time in the grasp of the Leviathan, and again, it was Asurot, talking to him.

“Son, do not be intimidated by the beast, for help is on the way. Just remember, this is the last time you will receive help.”

Leosher finally responded “Mother, neither did I ask for your help, nor do I need your help. I will conquer this beast with my own might and I do not care what the gods think. I will take over Thraenus and soon, Aseroth, the heavens and even the underworld will be mine.”

Asurot, who was worried about her child, replied “My son, you are dear to my heart and you do not know what you say. You still have time, walk away from your evil desires, for if you do not stop, the guardians will find you and they will imprison you. Do not wage war on Aseroth, the heavens and the underworld, for you will turn the gods against you. Aseroth is yours to rule, for you are the prince of the gods but you have to be pure at heart and if you are not, I am afraid we will have to find someone who is worthy enough to rule but for now, concentrate on the beast.”

Just as the conversation between the prince and the queen ended, Leosher got back to his senses and became conscious again. He opened his eyes and found himself high up in the air, because the beast, the Leviathan, had thrown him up and was now standing with its pit-like mouth open, ready to engulf him. Just as Leosher reached the tip of the mouth of the beast, the beast was thrown out of balance with a strong blow and Leosher, instead of falling into the mouth of the Leviathan, crashed on the side, face first, and then in the waters. When he looked up and cleaned his bloody face to see, it was an earth giant, sent by Asurot to help defeat the Leviathan. This was the help Asurot had been talking about. It was a mountain given life, arms, legs and a body. It was covered in trees and was made of soil, dirt, sand, rocks and clay. It was almost as tall as the Leviathan, and a great fight broke out. Both creatures fought with great strength.

The punches were so intense that they created shockwaves which made strong waves in the waters and nearly drowned the swimmers. The battle was magnificent. Both giants fought in the rain and the thunder and lightning made it even more dramatic.

Leosher swam to his brother and asked him in a shock “Did you do this? Did you bring forth the giant?”

“No,” said he “I am not a great wizard. I cannot possibly bring forth this beast. I am just as shocked as the rest of you are. I have no idea where this beast came from, all I know is that he is helping us.”

Then Leosher walked to Azar “Did you do this?”

“No,” said he “No my lord, I did not do it, for it is far beyond a wizard’s power to create a beast of that magnitude. Only a god possesses the power to perform a feat like this.”

When Leosher heard that, it struck him. It was his mother that had done it and as the thoughts came into his mind, a burst of arrogance and anger came too for he did not want his mother to help him but she was. Angry, he ripped out the longest rope he could find out of the ships and said to his friends “I might not return.”

Neiham moved forward and increased her king’s morale “My lord, you shall return, you shall triumph over this beast for you are the king of The Empire, the rightful heir of Aseroth and the prince of all gods.”

Then Virgil came to his brother and said to him the poem:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

Leosher was rejuvenated with hope and faith in himself. He swung the rope in his hands and wrapped it around the earth giant’s ear. He swung hard and jumped far, far up in the air and over the storm. He almost reached the top of the world and then he came down like a meteor, engulfed in fire. He took out his scythe out on the way down and got ready to battle but the Leviathan saw that Leosher was coming down for it. It closed its mouth shut, for it knew if Leosher attacked it at this pace, it would surely die. It shut its mouth and its teeth became sealed gates. Not even air could pass through them. It was the only thing the Leviathan could do because it was too big to get out of his way. Though he had created a barrier against Leosher, it did not stop him.

He crashed through the barrier with a blast and broke its jaws and the Leviathan screamed in agony. The giant helped Leosher by shutting the mouth of the Leviathan, close, and holding it in a tight grip and keeping the beast from moving and creating a steady platform for Leosher to fight on.

Leosher was now in the chest of the Leviathan. It was like a castle, only made with meat, flesh, bones and blood. Leosher swung his scythe and started to cut the internal organs of the Leviathan. First he destroyed its lungs by cleaving them down the middle and then he broke the rib cage. It was huge, it was like columns but Leosher was a god, he kicked and punched and finally, they broke because they were not strong enough to hold on against Leosher’s anger. Afterwards, Leosher saw that the heart of the beast was there within sight too. He approached the heart but the beating was you intense, that it made Leosher’s ears bleed. The heart was bigger than the the Galleon Leosher had been traveling on. It took him some time to finally make his way towards the heart, for it beated to hard.

He grabbed the heart and ripped it out of its place. Blood squirted everywhere and Leosher could hear the Leviathan scream in pain and agony, even when he was inside its bosom. Now, there was a flood and Leosher had to get out of the body, for if he did not, he would drown.

He jumped with all the power he had left in his body in a desperate attempt to escape the body of the Leviathan. The bruised and battered warrior jumped high and ripped out through the head of the Leviathan. He came out of the top, piercing through its skull and brain. When he came out, it was like a volcano that had just erupted. Blood spurt out of its head with such a pressure. The giant quickly backed up and Leosher shot up in the air. All the warriors rejoiced because their nightmare was over, the Leviathan’s terror was over. He was dead and their king had killed it. Now they had faith in Leosher, for before, they thought he could not possibly defeat the unbeatable.

When Asurot saw that her son had succeeded, she ordered the Giant to retrieve. The giant smiled at Leosher who had fallen back into the water and slowly melted and soon, it vanished in the waters, and left no trace behind, it was as if it was never there.

Leosher was now unconscious, for he was dried out of his energy and the injuries were prominent. He had been battered the most but luckily he was still alive. The battle was over now. The Leviathan fell in the water too but the only difference between Leosher and the Leviathan was that Leosher was alive. Both were equally injured but the difference was Leosher was made stronger after every injury he survived. That was the way he was created, a warrior god. After every battle, he became stronger and stronger.

Virgil saw and he fished his brother out of the water using magic and brought him back to one of the few ships the had left. All were in very shabby conditions. Some’s sails were ripped and some’s paddles were incapacitated.

It was not long before Lampus returned with his mermen and mermaids too. They were happy that the beast that had been troubling their kind for centuries was now defeated but the grief of losing his throne was prominent on Lampus’s face. It was as if he had not been expecting Leosher to be able to defeat the Leviathan but instead, Leosher had ripped its heart out.

He went and saw that Leosher was unconscious and covered in his own and the Leviathan’s blood. His ears, eyes and nose were bleeding because the tentacles had damaged him internally but the blood came out when the vibrations and shockwaves from the heart widened the wounds.

“Bring him and the rest to the castle,” said Lampus “For they need to rest and recover from injuries.”

They all jumped in the water and ate the red flowers and all the men were able to breath underwater. They all swam in the castle, where they were looked after by the beautiful, glorious mermaids and only in a matter of hours, all had recovered except Leosher.

His injuries were far beyond repair and even the lava flower elixir was not working. They all worked a bit but there were some wounds such as the rips in his heart, which were beyond repair and just needed time to heal. Virgil was devastated that his brother was injured and there was nothing he could do to help him, therefore he prayed to Asurot and asked her to help them. Asurot being a listening god answered the prayer and came in Leosher’s dream. They both stood in a blank, white void, Leosher covered in blood, and Asurot, clean and fresh.

“Son, you have made me proud by slaying the Leviathan but that does not change the fact that you have changed. You are strong but you are not invincible, therefore you need my help.”

“No, mother, do not help me. Am I a helpless child that you need to help me everytime something happens?” said Leosher angrily “I do not need your help. I defeated the Leviathan without your help and I am going to get better without your help. You can leave me alone now, please, for I do not wish to disrespect you more.”

His mother left his dream disappointed, but on the way out, she increased the speed of the healing, permanently. Now, if he was to get injured this badly, he would live and not die. Leosher did not know that she had done so but he woke up in a little over five hours, fully rested and rejuvenated.

CHAPTER 7

“Where is Lampus?” asked Leosher, right after he woke up. He swam out of the bed chamber and asked again “Where is Lampus? He owes me a little something.”

When Virgil heard him, he came to him “How are you now, brother?”

“I am fine. Where is Lampus?”

“He is over there” said Urey, who was standing close by, while pointing towards a hall “He is in the dining hall with Usere and the others.”

Leosher walked in the hall and sat on the grand dining table “When is my crowning?”

“Whenever you want” replied Lampus humbly “I am ready, just as we decided.”

“Let us do it right now.”

“Hold on” Usere interuppted “Do not you want to have preparations before the crowning? I mean, we are underwater right now, how can you not want to make the moment special, my lord?”

“Alright,” said Leosher, while looking at Lampus and the rest “Make all the preparations you need, in two hours and after that, I am the king of the mermaids.”

Azar smiled “My lord, please do not be so anxious, for the entire world is yours for taking. You just have to wait.”

Leosher smiled mockingly and then left the room and went into his bed chamber. He slept for some time but then Virgil woke him up

“Get up brother it is your big moment.”

There was a big smile on Virgil’s face because he was happy for his brother. There was a grin on Leosher’s face as well. He swam over to the armoire and pulled out his broken armor and his red cloak, for he was getting ready for the crowning. The cloak and the armor hindered him in swimming but he wore it anyways. Then he tied his hair back and brushed his beard thoroughly even though it made no difference. He was definitely the youngest, and the only humanly king of the mermaids, for he was only a little over 18 years old.

The he latched his scythe on his back, for that was the only weapon he had left. He had lost his spears in the Leviathan’s tenetacles but he had managed to keep the scythe. He left the bed chamber and into the halls and then he followed the red carpet out of the castle.

There was a big crowd outside the castle, waiting for Leosher, their new king and Lampus was standing in the front to crown Leosher. There was a big, childish yet sinister smirk on Leosher’s face and soon, it got even bigger when he stood in front of all of the citizens of the sea. There was everyone in the sea from mermaids and mermen, to sharks, from trouts to swordfish. There were eerie and bizarre creatures too but they were all the way in the back, where Leosher could not pay attention to them.

Lampus came close to him and stood next to him and addressed the crowd

“This is the man who possesses the power of a god and the strength of the Leviathan, for he conquered the beast that had been troubling our kind for centuries. I am proud to say that this man, standing next to me shall be your king.” Then he looked at Leosher “You are the most courageous creature I have ever met.”

There was a thunder and Ramases came down in the water. He came down like all the other gods came down, engulfed in a fire ball. He was wearing a gold armor, just like Arusus, for all the gods wore gold armors. He came down on a chariot which was being pulled by blue and green man-sized sea horses. He wore a battle skirt and had a thick red beard and long red hair. He was white, unlike Arusus and Leosher. He wore sandals just like all the rest wore but Leosher was better than him at something. Leosher was a great fighter and his body showed it. Leosher’s body showed every muscle and it was very toned but Remases’s body was not. His body was not toned as much as Leosher’s, which showed Leosher’s superiority over him.

He came down and blessed Leosher “You truly are the prince of all gods, for only you could do such an incredible thing like the one you have done.”

He put a gold crown on Leosher’s head. The crown was jaw dropping and lavish. Then he gave him two spears. They were a gift from another god that Leosher had scored. First the Scythe, forged in Aseroth, a gift from Arusus, and now the Spears, forged in Aseroth, a gift from Remases.

Ramases looked at the crowd and said “I pronounce, Leosher, the prince of Aseroth and the king of The Empire, the king of the sea. From this day forth, the sea will favor and help Leosher in every situation, whether it is bad or good and all its residents shall listen to Leosher’s command no matter what.”

There was a chant all around the sea “Long lives our king, Leosher.” Even Lampus, instead of being jealous, chanted for his new king. Leosher loved all of this and wanted it to never stop but alas, he had to leave, for it was time to find the hidden valley.

“We do not have any more time to waste,” Leosher said out loud, “Let us go to the surface and continue towards the hidden valley, for we have other, important matters to tend to.” He looked at Barian “Get the men ready, we leave this moment.”

Barian and the others swam up but Leosher just jumped and soon, he was out of the waters and onto the ships. Just as all the men resurfaced, the effects of the red flowers wore off and now, if they tried going back into the water they would die. Leosher stood on the bowsprit and shouted out “All sails ahead.” Barian’s crew quickly listened and soon, the ship was moving fast. No one knew where to go, for none had seen hidden valley because only Leosher could see it and the people protecting the weapons could see it.

On the way, Leosher felt something around his neck; it was the Talisman of Remases. It was around his neck all along and he finally realized that this was what kept him from drowning when he was fighting the Leviathan “Alas, even if I did not want any help, I was given help.” He was slightly angry, therefore he ripped off of his neck and stared at it “You were great help but I do not need help, for I am Leosher, the prince of Aseroth.” He dropped it in the water and leaned back on a pole and stared ahead.

Leosher and his men stayed at sea for two days and still there was no sign of the hidden valley and they were running low on provisions.

“Master,” said Barian “We only have a day left until we completely discharge ourselves from food. We have already eaten some of the animals we had and we do not wish to eat more of them, for we might need then in battle. Maybe you should ask for help from the gods.”

Leosher looked at him angrily “You know I would rather starve than ask for help from the gods. If they give it as a gift, it is fine by me but I shall never ask for help.”

“Brother,” Virgil joined the conversation for he knew the condition the men were living in “Do not let your stubbornness and arrogance deprive you from the throne, for finding the hidden valley is our highest priority right now. You should talk to the gods because if you do not have any men, you will never be able to take over Thraenus.”

Azar, Usere and Urey said the same but Leosher did not listen until Neiham finally asked him too. Her manner was sweet and motherly which drove Leosher to ask the gods.

He went into his bed chamber and blew out all of the candles. He pushed the bed away and created a space for him to sit in. He sat crossed legged and meditated until Asurot came into his thoughts. Both met in the same white void but this time, Leosher was clean.

“Leosher, why have you called me?”

“Mother, I have something to ask for.”

“I do not wish to help you for you have disrespected me and the other gods.”

“Mother,” Leosher smiled “I do not ask for a favor. I wish to make a contract with you.”

“Continue,” said Asurot, for she knew it was something special and he was serious “tell me what you want?”

Leosher said with a smirk “I want you to show me the way to the hidden valley and I shall do one thing you wish me to.”

Asurot laughed and replied “The seed of evil has been planted in your heart and the gods are afraid you might turn against them. I will show you the way but in turn, I ask for your word that you will give up the throne of Thraenus and Aseroth if you grow evil.”

Leosher and Asurot agreed on this and both were tied in a contract which could not be broken, no matter what.

“Leosher, a cloud shall guide you to the hidden valley and your provisions will be refilled. Now good bye, and have a safe journey—Son!”

Leosher got up and went outside and just as Virgil and Urey saw him, they came to him running, “Did you talk to the gods?” asked Urey “Did you ask them for help?” added Virgil.

“Where is Barian? Call him.”

Barian was summoned and Leosher talked to him “Follow the red cloud, in front of the ship, for it will lead us to the hidden valley however I will have to spot the valley.”

“Very well my lord,” said Barian “I will get us to the valley.”

He quickly went to the back of the deck to steer the ship and Leosher went back in his bed chamber and put his bed back in place and slept after that.

Azar and Neiham went to sleep in their own bed chambers too, for they were old and tired but Usere, Urey and Virgil stayed up attentively and helped Barian in navigating. Urey had the best eyes in the entire group, for he could see the farthest without any mistake and that was the reason he was one of the best archers in Thraenus. He kept his keen eyes on the cloud and never took them off.

Soon it was night fall and all went to sleep except Barian’s crew. They could not, for they were sailing the ships. After some time, during the middle of the night, the cloud vanished away. It was pitch black and the only bit of light that was coming from the cloud showing the way, had gone away as well. The crew was very scared for they could see nothing except their own mates with the help of the lanterns but that was all they could see and suddenly, there was a crash. The ships had crashed in something but there was nothing up ahead. It was like an invisible wall ahead. The crash was so hard that it woke everyone up and they all came out of their chambers to see what had happened.

Leosher was the first one to come out and he was left jaw dropped to see what had happened. Virgil and the others followed him but no one knew what was going on except Leosher.

“What is it?” asked Neiham “What is it my lord?” Azar asked the same.

“We are here” said he “This is the hidden valley.”

“But I do not see anything” said Urey. Usere laughed at him and smacked his brother in his head “Exactly, only Leosher can see it.”

Leosher walked on the bowsprit of the ship and then jumped. What seemed like air to everyone else was cold, hard ground for Leosher. Virgil and all the others saw him and followed him.

They stood on the bowsprit and jumped and just as their feet touched the ground, the picture became clearer. The invisibility of the valley only worked without contact but on contact, a creature could see it. As they moved forward, they saw that the entire land was barren, just like the land of Mortemus. It was rocky and lifeless. There was no grass but edgy and sharp rocks and crunchy, dead leaves. They were there from dead trees. Every step the warriors took, the leaves crunched and created loud noise. Even breaths echoed in the land. The ground had many cracks and was very brittle as well. There were many salt deposits and many dead fish at the edges. The land was huge. It was big and had many mountains. It was an island.

After walking for about half an hour on that rocky and dangerous road that led to the mountains, Leosher finally heard a noise that was not from his mens’s walk,

“Stop where you are!” a hooded figure riding a horse, stood on top of a hill and shouted at Leosher “You are not meant to be here.”

Leosher did not like being stopped therefore he yelled at him “Come down and face me like a man.”

The hooded figure rode down the sharp hill on his black horse and other hooded creatures followed him and soon they stood in front of Leosher

“We are the protectors of this valley, put here by Samael himself. State your business or perish.”

Leosher smirked and said mockingly “How naiive, I am here to kill you and get the weapons. I am the son of Asurot, Leosher, and the king of The Empire.”

“Yes, we can see it. You are the one who spotted it all, we saw it.”

“I want the weapons,” Leosher demanded “And I will kill anyone for them.”

The sky was slowly lighting up and it was almost dawn now.

“You do not have to kill anyone. We will let you go and take the weapons.”

Everyone was very shocked to hear that, and Urey finally asked “That is it? You are just going to let us take the weapons? I mean we have had to fight for everything till now.”

“I have a feeling they are hoaxes.” Leosher began talking. “Who are you?” He asked them.

“We are the Shamuns.”

“Shamuns?” Leosher asked “I have never heard of them.”

“That is because we are highly secretive and live only on the hidden valley. We were put on this island by Shamaun to protect the weapons, so none other than himself gets them. We are highly trained to fight and are meant to be loyal to Shamaun, but since it has been so long, we cannot waste our lives anymore. Therefore, we shall let good prevail in Thraenus before we die.”

“How can you help me, traitor?” asked Leosher while smiling “I want the weapons.”

“Ah yes, you might want to call us traitors, but it is not betraying, for we are lending a hand in Thraenus in being a better place.” The leader smiled and continued talking “I will lead you to the gates of the sealed cave but you will be alone after that.”

“That is all I need, lead me there and you are free to go.”

Leosher and the leader agreed upon that and then Leosher looked at his men and told Virgil to set camps because him and his men were going to rest well before embarking on another part of this journey.

Virgil listened and the camps were set up now and after all was done, they all feasted and loved the day. The feast lasted till the night and all men forgot their sorrows for a some time and enjoyed with their brethren. Leosher was the only one who had not begun eating dinner therefore he went and talked to the Shamun Leader

“Would you like to join us tonight?”

“I am happy that you have given us the opportunity to spend the night with you but unfortunately we cannot, for we have to roam the island in search for stray visitors, and another reason is that we do not eat, we get our sustaining energy from the suns. We will meet you right here, where we stand, tomorrow morning at dawn, be ready.”

They left Leosher and his men alone and soon, they vanished away in the mountains. Leosher sat in his camp, alone and looked at the night sky and admired it and also thought about how much he had changed. When he had begun this journey, he was vulnerable like a normal creature; he would get hurt when he fell. The arrow of the Gelun army pierced his torso and he yelled in pain but now, it would just be a mere sting. It was a fast yet remarkable change.

Virgil saw his brother sitting alone in the camp and joined him and sat next to him

“Brother,” he said “How are you now?”

“I am well Virgil, I am proud to have you as my brother.” He paused for a moment and then said “Where did you learn the magical arts? I have noticed you using them.”

Virgil laughed “Finally, I have been waiting for you to ask. I am Azar’s apprentice now. He saw something in me and decided to make me the successor of his magical talents. He also gave me a wand to channel my energy through. I can teach you all the things I will learn after I am done with my apprenticeship.”

“I like the way you are progressing but I am a god. I do not need to learn the magical arts because my kind created magical arts.” He paused and stared at the dark ground below his feet “I have changed, have not I?”

“Yes—-Drastically!”

There was a moment of silence between the brothers but then Leosher said in a sarcastic way “In what way? I may ask?”

“You have grown evil; you are ruthless now. The man, who would not hurt even a fly, has become an animal. You have become power hungry as well.”

“I am glad that now I know how you feel” said Leosher while smiling “Now tell me, when I become the king of Thraenus, would you like a part of my kingdom to govern?”

Virgil smiled and raked the ground with his hand “I do not wish to rule over creatures that live and breathe like the way I do. They deserve to be free and do whatever their heart tells them to,” He paused and wiped his dirty hand on his robe. Afterwards, he pulled out a letter from his pocket “Now brother, I would like to tell you that I just received a letter from Lamfari.”

Virgil handed him a letter sealed with Lamfari’s red seal, which meant that it was of high priority. The seal was a big, red blob of high grade sealant that only nobles of the land used, and since Lamfari now lived in The Empire, he was considered a noble and high priest. The seal had Lamfari’s intial on it, a big“L”. Leosher grabbed the from Virgil and he continued talking

“It has not been opened yet, for you are the king and you are the only one who is authorized of opening the high priority letters.”

Leosher nodded quickly got up from the rock he was sitting on and broke the seal and unfolded the parchment:

Son,

The queen knows that you are coming for her and she has her forces ready to battle you. She will do anything to defeat you and therefore you need to be more careful. Meagon and your Mother are fine and are hoping for your triumphant return.

Your servant,

Lamfari.

Leosher smiled, for he was too arrogant to care whether Geluna knew about him. He did not even think about her being a threat, therefore he looked at Virgil and smiled “Brother you shall go to sleep now, for it is midnight now and I have to sleep too.”

Virgil listened and replied “Have a good night’s rest brother, for tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow we will finally be half way through our journey, and one more step closer to your goal.”

Both hugged each other and then Virgil left the tent. Leosher took his chest armor off and his cloak off too. He lay on the rocks and since he was poor when he was growing up, he was used to hard times, which is why the rocks did not bother him and soon he fell asleep. Virgil also went to sleep but he did not have a tent like Leosher did. Azar, Neiham, Usere and Urey and Barian went to sleep as well. It was all quiet now and not even one man stayed awake. All were too tired to stay awake.

The moon shone brightly and there was a misty breeze, coming over to them from the sea. This was the air god’s, Caelus’s gift. This was the most he could do, for he had no faith in Leosher and did not want to anger either sides; neither the good side, nor the evil side….

Soon it was dawn and the suns shone from over the mountains and from the opposite side as well. The warm rays of the sun hit Leosher’s face through a hole in the ceiling of the tent and woke him up. He was fully rested and rejuvenated. His bruises were healed and his tiredness was gone. He wore his cloak and his golden armor and stepped outside, for it was time for the hooded men to return and it was time for them lead the Empirions to the gates of the sealed caves. All of the men woke up from their peaceful slumber and there was a lot of movement and commotion. They were packing up their reservoirs and getting ready. Virgil and Usere were leading the men and Urey was at the armory getting arrows for his bow. Neiham was gathering herbs and flowers for her elixirs and Azar was as usual meditating with a pipe in his mouth with his white beard shining like silver strings.

Suddenly, there were loud noises and soon, there was a cloud of dust gushing towards the camps. It was the men wearing their dark robes and riding on their dark, furry horses with maces in their hands. All of the Empirions left what they had been doing and gathered around in a crowd as they saw the giant clowd approach them. Azar stepped out of his meditation and stood in front of the crowd to confront, for they still did not have enough trust in the Shamuns, the traitors. The cloud stopped in front of Azar and as the dust went away the leader said to Azar

“Where is your king? We are here to help.”

Azar looked around and tried to find Leosher but he was nowhere to be found,

“Our king, Leosher is resting and shall wake up in a bit.” He paused and looked around “You are welcome to stay here and wait.”

Just as he had said that, Leosher made his way through the thick crowd and stepped up to the leader. He had to raise his head up to talk because the horse was tall and the leader was tall as well. He stood there like a dwarf but with his pride and glory

“Let us leave for the gates and do our duty.” He looked at Virgil afterwards, “Bring me a horse.”

Virgil nodded brought him a horse. The elf brothers and Azar and Neiham also sat on their horses while Virgil shared one with Barian and soon the entire army and the Shamuns left the bottom of the mountains and traveled towards the top, towards the ice, where the gates were and the weapons were being held.

It was a hard journey to the top and many were injured on the way. The rocks were sharp as swords and the roads were narrow, incredibly narrow. Some even fell off of the roads, and fell to their death. They also had to jump high above the holes of lava and geysers of hot steam. It was a long, tough journey. A journey that should have taken half a day, lasted for one and a half days, for they had to spiral above one mountain and jump over to the other and then spiral it again. They also had to stop for the injured soldiers, and also had to eat as well.

Soon they entered the icy parts of the mountain which meant that the gates were close by and just as they were getting closer, they heard loud noises; noises were those of a giant beast and they were horrifying, like a roar with growl. The voices created avalanches and they could see fire continuously coming out of the top. Though the mountain spurted fire, it was still too cold for the ice to melt. It was not lava from the bottom of the mountain but it was fire, blue and red fire. It started out blue and turned red at the top. The Shamuns paused for some time and stopped. It was as if they knew something.

“What is it?” asked Leosher “And what is that noise?”

“It is the guardian of the weapons. He is the reason that my men and I shall not go inside with you.”

Leosher smiled and began walking again, for now he knew and saw the great gates at a distance, waiting to be opened. It only took about another hour for them to spiral around and reach the top of the mountain and then jump to the neighbor mountain, which held the caves in its bosom. The men heard the noise again and this time, they were close and they could feel the wrath in the roar. The ground shook with terror and the men trembled but since Leosher led them, they walked firmly, for they knew he would save them from any trouble.

They walked and soon they all stood in front of the huge doors. It was gigantic and was purely made of iron and steel. It had locks on it and also had countless cranks on it. There were hundreds of latches on it as well. There were bolts and spikes and horns and every type of security system was on that gate and was probably the best gate on the face of Thraenus. The entire gate was covered in a thick layer of ice as well, for it had not been opened for a long time.

When Leosher stopped the crowd following him, and went closer to take a closer look, he saw that there was a star shaped hole on the door and a key had to be inserted in order for the door to open. He looked at the leader of Shamuns “Where is the key to the gates?”

“It is here; near the gates” said he “you just need to find it.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Leosher was furious “We made our way through such a hard terrain to come here and see that we have to find the key?”

Just as he was talking, Virgil came to him and calmed him down “Brother please, do not be furious. We will find the key.”

Then he looked at the Leader who was standing on side with his head down, “What does this key look like?”

“I do not know. None has ever been this close to the gates except you, the Empirions and Shamaun himself. Us Shamuns never tried to find the key and this is the first time we have even seen the gates. The key must be buried here, under the thick ice.”

Leosher took out his scythe from his sheath that hung behind his back, and held it up to the sky and just as he did so, sharp bolt of lightning came and struck the scythe. The impact was so great that the men standing close by were sent flying away and the rest moved back. The bolt was sent by Fulmeus, the god of lightning.

Leosher stabbed the ground with his charged scythe and the ice broke into small pieces. The ground split apart and the gate now had a huge crack in it and was cleared of ice but there was something wrong, the gate did not break apart as it was intended to but Leosher did not worry. He simply backed up a little and ran towards the gate and kicked it open. The thick gate flung open, leaving Leosher panting. A gush of hot wind came out of the caves, which suggested the caves were warm, but since the gate was open, the inside of the caves quickly became cold.

Virgil looked at Leosher shockingly “How did you do that?”

Leosher smirked “I used my godly might.”

Usere and Urey moved forward as well “how did you get the lightning bolt?”

He looked at the sky “I simply told Fulmeus, the god of lightning, to give me a bolt and since I am his queen’s son, he had no choice but to listen to me.”

Everyone was surprised, for all of this happened so suddenly and without a hint but now they had the gates opened and their way was clear.

The head of the Shamuns was smiling and said to Leosher

“O, King of The Empire, we cannot assist you any longer, for our job here is done. We have protected the weapons from falling into wrong hands and now we have betrayed our master. After you get the weapons, you shall be able to get to your ships before the valley collapses on itself but beware, if a creature has lust or is greedy within the gates, the cave will destroy itself immediately, killing everyone who is left inside.”

Then he bowed to Leosher and backed away. He got on his horse and in a matter of seconds, there was a flash of light and the Shamuns turned to black smoke. There was no sign that they even existed, for they had now betrayed Shamaun and they had given up the weapons. Their lives were over now.

Virgil looked at Leosher “Perhaps we should only take a limited number of people inside for it might be dangerous, and we are already short on men.”

Leosher thought for a moment and then he heard the roar again. The roar was so disturbing that it made him change his mind “Perhaps we need to take all the men, for there is a beast in the cave which we might need to slay.”

Neiham listened and went close to Leosher and tried to convince him “Virgil is right, for if something happens to you, the men will be there to protect your people, the residents of The Empire, but if we all die, then all others will die as well.”

Azar stepped up too “Son, it will be harder to control the greed of hundreds but easier to control the greed and lust of 7.”

Leosher stood completely silent for some time but then he broke the silence “We shall go as a group of 10 people.”

He picked three out of the men and the rest were Virgil, Neiham, Azar, Usere, Urey, Barian and himself. He told the rest to stay outside the caves and wait for him to come out and after he was done planning, he began walking towards the inside.

CHAPTER 8

Leosher entered the pitch black place and he was followed by Virgil and then the others, in a line. They could not see anything, anything whatsoever.

“Well this should be fun,” Urey laughed “We are in a place that no one has ever been in a long time, for a long time, and on top of that, we cannot even see where we are going.”

Usere smacked his arm quiet him down and asked Azar “Is there any spell that gives light? We need to see where we are going.”

Azar nodded but none could see him. He took his staff and closed his eyes and suddenly, thin rays of blue light began to rush out of the top, circular part of his staff and soon, it transformed into a ball of light.

“Now that is much better,” said Virgil but Leosher interrupted him and stopped immediately, “Look around.”

There was a grim atmosphere all around. The hall was filled with columns. It was as if this was a prison, because the columns were placed so close together that anyone other than a humn could not pass through. The pillars were gray and blue and tall. They were spirals and made of skulls. Everything was made of skulls, and when Leosher looked down, at his feet, he saw that he was standing on skulls. The walls, the ground, the pillars, all were skulls.

He quickly grew suspicious, for no one was being bothered by the fact that they all were standing on bloody skulls,

“Virgil, what do you see when you look around? What is all this made of?”

Virgil was a little surprised, for it was a silly question, “Brother, I see that all of this is made of stone.”

“How could this be?” Leosher said. He was a little mortified, “I see skulls all around.”

Azar quickly broke in “Maybe it is the light, let me increase it.”

He brought the ball of light close to his mouth and blew briskly. The ball was released from the staff and it began floating in the air. Azar pushed it in the front of everyone, and made it lead the way, so everything would be clear for his lord. Even though all thought that it was going to be fine now, Neiham was a bit skeptical

“Is it better now, my lord?”

“No—I still see skulls.”

Usere smiled and patted him on the back “Maybe the cold is making you hallucinate. But remember, no matter what, we are always at your side.”

Barian came close too and joined in the conversation “Let us move forward, because this place is morbid and creepy and I do not wish to stay here for an extended period of time.”

Leosher smiled and began walking but they all had no idea where they were going, for all they could see were columns, endless rows of tall and thick columns. But there was something in there with them. They heard a roar. This roar was the same as those that they all heard outside the cave but now that they were inside the cave, it was even more intimidating for some of them. Barian, Virgil, Usere, Urey, Azar and Neiham were fearless but the soldiers were a little scared.

Leosher, the leader, was the bravest and courageous of them all. He drew one of the spears out of his sheath and held it in his hand. He held it tight and got ready to shoot. He looked around and examined the area for a bit, and then just as he heard the roar again, he shot the spear in the same direction the roar came from. The spear glowed with godly power and gave light wherever it went. Miraculously, it shone brighter than Azar’s light ball.

Leosher saw where it went and saw how far the end was. The cave seemed endless, for the spear vanished in the darkness even though it glowed. It disappeared from sight before it hit its target. Virgil stood next to Leosher and knew exactly what his brother had tried to do but he also knew that it had failed.

“What now brother? We do not know what to do anymore.”

“We follow the roar” He replied and began running and the ball of light began moving alongside him as well. They all ran after Leosher, for it seemed like he knew what he was doing but clearly he was just chasing the roar. After it had been some time, Leosher siezed his run and stopped because something had caught his eye and the rest could feel it as well. Neither did he know what it was nor did he know what it wanted.

“Who are you?” yelled Barian, and Urey followed “What do you want?”

The creature lisped “Turn around or face your worst fears.”

“Oh trust me, we are your nightmares” said Usere while drawing out his sword and getting ready to battle. Leosher knew that the creature was not bluffing therefore he looked at Neiham and ordered her “Make all of us faint and lose consciousness but leave me in my senses, for I will battle him alone.”

“But….” Virgil tried to talk but Leosher stopped him

“No, I know what I am doing and I do not want any of you to defeat him, for then people will praise you all instead of me.”

All were a bit disappointed with this behavior of Leosher, but Neiham did as her king had told her. She took out an elixir from her bag and lit it on fire. It quickly transformed into a vapor and mixed with the thin air and everyone breathed it and all fell down to the ground as if they were lifless. Leosher held his breath and waited until his men were out cold.

After the air was rid of the vapors, he began breathing and looked around and when he saw that all were down, he said to the creature “Who are you and what do you want?”

There was the same lisp but this time the creature came out of the shadow. It was like a dragon but a man. It had the face of a dragon, the claws of a dragon, the tail of a dragon but it walked upright like a man. It was a giant lizard as many would say. Its eyes were big and yellow with a black line that ran vertically through them. It had a long snake like tongue and its body was filled with scales.

It said to Leosher “Retreat or you will see everyone you love, die.”

But Leosher mocked it “What are you going to do, lisp until they die?”

“Why do you think you were seeing skulls and the others did not? It is because you are about to see a lot of death.”

“Who are you?”

“I am the king of the mountain, the monster of the Valley, your worst nightmare, Lutman. I guard the weapons and kill intruders like you.”

“I guess we are about to find out who kills who.”

Leosher took his spear and tried to shoot it but Lutman was faster. He did not move away, out of the harm’s way, but instead breathed fire and brought forth a fire storm. Everything inside the cave turned to fire, even the walls and even the floor. Everything was red, hot fire. When the wave of the fire storm passed, Leosher found himself trapped. There were black, oozy and gross, tar-like ropes that wrapped around him and held him tied, suspended in mid-air. They tried to rip him from limb to limb but he was a god and it took a great amount of power to rip apart a god.

Leosher screamed in pain but all was in vain. It was as if the ropes had life in them. Some of that oozy material traveled into Leosher’s mouth and choked him but Leosher was tough. He kept alive and fought as much as he could. The rope covered his eyes and soon the ropes engulfed him but then they spit out his face, just to let him see the attorcities that were about to take place.

Leosher saw that spiders and snake spurred out from the thick ropes and they moved towards the place where his companions were lying. They stuck their fangs inside their necks and sucked all of their blood. Leosher now truly saw death and desperation. His own brother was being drained of his life in front of his eyes and there was nothing he could do to save him. Leosher fought a lot but every time he moved, the grip of the ropes tightened. Leosher was now starting to have cuts, for his body had reached the limit of being able to stretch. Blood spurred out of his body but the pulling did not stop.

When the death of the companions did not break Leosher’s spirit, Lutman summoned Adne in front of him. Lutman raised his arms and suddenly, dark smoke appeared and out of that smoke came out Adne. Leosher was shocked, for it all happened so fast. Lutman also summoned vultures that attacked all of the deceased. They ate the poison filled bodies of his companions, and also began scavenging on Adne and they even made a meal out of Leosher by eating his stomach.

He did not care about physical pain but all that bothered him was the fact that he could not help but watch his loved ones die. After the vultures were done, the bodies vanished into dark oozy material, the same material that the ropes were made of.

Then Lutman went close to Leosher and lisped “The nightmare has just begun.”

He grabbed Leosher’s head and played with his mind. He showed him dreams about Aseroth. He showed that the throne was stripped away from him by Virgil and Azar. He also showed carnage on Aseroth and Leosher getting dragged down to Ratarus by the guardians. He showed his beloved Meagon getting whipped with a spiked whip in the middle of the town.

After a while, Lutman stopped giving the dreams and backed away from Leosher to torture him in a different way. He raised his hand and slowly, pointed at Leosher. A huge lightning bolt came out of its finger. It struck the ground and gushed towards Leosher, destroying everything in its path. It was magnificent but deadly. The mere sound of it was enough to make grown men cry amd Leosher was struck by it. His whole body glowed with the lightning and there were sparks coming out of him and suddenly, there was a blast. It left smoke everywhere and knocked out Leosher and left him with holes in his body that leaked dried out blood.

When he was knocked out, he saw his mother, Asurot. She had come down to help him “Leosher, my son, break free from these chains, for I am with you.”

“I do not need your help mother,” said Leosher with arrogance and ignorance “I am capable of taking care of myself.”

Asurot smiled at his arrogance but grieved for his stupidity and recited:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

Leosher was filled with a newly found rage and will to defeat the evil he was fighting. This boosted him and Asurot succeeded in what she had come to him for. He opened his eyes and there was a red glow in his eyes and rage on his face. He ripped his hand out of the black ropes and freed his entire, half eaten body. Lutman was surprised with what was going on, for none had ever been able to escape his mind games. His dark chains or ropes were not working anymore, for Leosher now was out for the kill. Lutman even unleashed the snakes and the spiders to restrain him but that did not work either. Leosher stepped on them and crushed them under his sandals.

Leosher ran and tackled Lutman on the ground and punched his face countless times. He screamed in agony but Leosher did not stop and soon, Lutman was at his breaking point and stopped moving. There was blood all over the fiery ground. Leosher thought that Lutman was dead now, therefore he got up and looked around to see what was going on but when he turned around, Lutman had gotten up and was ready to attack him again. Lutman swung his arm to punch Leosher but he had other plans. He blocked the punch and used his hand as a blade. He wedged his hand into the ribcage of Lutman. The hand came out of the back of Lutman and he cried with pain. Leosher repeated it quiet a few times and everytime he did it, Lutman would jump into the air a bit.

Soon he turned yellow and was about to blow up next to Leosher but he let go of him and kicked him into the darkness.

There was a bang just before Lutman hit the ground, which was so intense that the columns supporting the cave broke and the light from the blast was so intense that the whole cave lit up for a second and showed Leosher the way out but succeeding the light was the shockwave which threw Leosher away and the ceiling fell on top of him, knocking him unconscious.

CHAPTER 9

Leosher woke up in the arms of his brother, Virgil, out of breath and drenched in sweat.

“Brother, what happened?” asked Virgil worriedly.

Leosher got up and looked around to see what was going on. Some time ago, he saw everyone die in front of his own eyes but now they were alive and well.

“What happened to me?” asked Leosher “When did I pass out?”

Azar moved forward and gave Leosher a rag to wipe his sweat off of his body “My lord, you were knocked out right after you stopped walking. It seemed as if you were going to ask a question but then you fell on the ground.”

At that moment Leosher realized that all of those were mind games that were being played on him but he had passed it and now he was ready to go on but he still wanted to know who or where Lutman was.

“Let us go, I know the way, I saw it.”

Leosher got up and ran over in the darkness where he saw the door when Lutman blew up. He ran pointlessly until the ball of light showed that they were approaching a wall. His companions were a bit skeptical but when they got close enough, they saw that there was a marble door. Everything else was shabby but surprisingly, this door was perfectly round and smooth with a golden lock in the middle. There were no knobs and handles either, nothing except this golden slot for the key and the crease lines, suggesting that it was a door.

Leosher stopped running, bluntly, and skidded a bit while stopping. There was a smirk on his face when he saw the door and just as the rest caught up to him, he kicked open the door. He did not need any keys, nor did he need any other means to open the gates and doors that blocked his path. All he needed was his godly might, and he had plenty of it.

The door opened with a bang but after that, there were no sounds. The door led to a smooth, perfectly round tunnel. It was beautifully carved, with not even a spec of dirt or sand in it. Leosher and his men walked into the tunnel and continued their journey and after they had been walking in the closed and smooth marble tunnel for a while, it seemed as if they were stuck. There was no light on either ends. It was pitch black on both ends. The only light they had to see was their floating ball that gave blue light but that was not strong enough to see the ends of the tunnel.

“I am getting tired of walking” said one of the soldiers “It is pointless. We are not getting anywhere” said the other but then Leosher stopped and turned to look at them “We are here. Everyone be very quiet.”

There was some sort of distress on the other side of the tunnel, the side that Leosher was facing. They continued walking and soon they saw a glimmer of light at the end. They walked towards it and reached the end and when they moved out of the tight tunnel, they were left jaw dropped and astounded, for there was the shine of riches and wealth. The room was filled with gold and silver. There were heaps and mountains of gold and silver left there by the Shamaun, to tempt people into their doom. The dark and smooth, marble room exaggerated the shine and made it look even extravagant. There were lanterns hanging on to the square pillars that held the ceiling, and blue flame came out of them. There were channels on the sides of the room and there were flames spurring out of them. The room was big enough to keep the entire Leviathan in it which was the biggest creature in the world.

“Yes! We are rich” said the soldiers and ran towards the wealth but just as they approached it, a huge birch like, thorny tail swept them across the room and a black dragon rose from the shadows, where the light did not reach. It was gigantic. It was smaller than Amoveus but still was big. It had big, yellow eyes with black, sword like pupils. Its body was scaly and had horns and spikes. Its armor was thick and could not be pierced by weapons such as swords and javelins and spears and arrows. Its claws were like spears and teeth were like javelins, both sharpened to their limits. It was black in color and had a long, snake like neck and a huge mouth. It breathed fire and broke the ground he stood on.

After the dragon swept the soldiers, he breathed fire upon them and burnt them alive, which made the rest stay away from the wealth.

“Who are you and what do you want?” said the dragon in his heavy and aggressive voice but with a lisp and slither.

“I am Leosher, the prince of Aseroth, the king of The Empire, and I am here for the weapons.” He paused “Why did you kill my men?”

“Because they were greedy and I am here to protect everything from the greedy.”

Leosher looked at their burnt bodies and looked back at the dragon “Who was Lutman and who are you?”

“Lutman?” asked Urey, “Who is he?” but Usere smacked him and made him be quiet. Then the dragon swept the ground with his tail and sat on the heaps of gold as if it was its nest.

“Lutman, is the beast of mind games. He was meant to stop whoever entered the lair but he failed, as we all can see.” The dragon moved his long neck close to Leosher’s face and breathed on his face to let him feel the heat “And I am Ezhak, the protector of the weapons.”

Virgil smiled and walked up and stood next to his brother to show support, “Can we take the weapons now?”

“The weapons are meant to be taken by Shamaun, but since he has not come to this land in a long time, I will alow you all to take it, but beware, do not let your greed take over you. Even if one coin goes beyond this point, the lair will be destroyed and all within it will be killed.”

Leosher ignored him and moved forward from between his legs and claws. There was a thin strip of floating rocks, connecting the ground to a bell-like chamber, daggling in mid-air with chains wrapped around. It looked like a huge bell with fire in its bosom.

Leosher walked on the rocks, alone. Virgil tried to join him but Leosher stopped him

“Brother wait, let me go with you.”

“No, Virgil, you stay here.”

Leosher stopped his brother and walked on the floating rocks and went in the bell-like chamber and saw that there was a gauntlet made of wood and wrapped in vines, a spear made of gold and silver and encrusted with diamonds and a gladius sword made with rough metal but made to kill and was the sturdiest of them all. Leosher put the gauntlet on his hand and held the spear in his hand. He sheathed the sword and began coming out of the chamber but just as he stepped out, the old, rusty chains suspending the chamber over lava, broke and the chamber began falling. Leosher instantaneously jumped out and held onto the rocks while the chamber fell in the lava and turned to mist.

He climbed back up on the cliff, where his brother and Usere rushed towards him to see if he was alright. The others tried to come but the dragon did not allow them.

“I have finally gotten the weapons,” said Leosher with a grin on his face “Now let us kill the rulers and claim what is rightfully mine.”

Just as they were about to walk out of the room and into the tunnel, something caught Leosher’s eye. He saw that the dragon was chained and this was a prison for him.

“Why are you tied up?” asked Leosher “What have you done?”

“I am highly dangerous,” said Ezhak “I am the only one of my kind and am very strong. My master was strong but he had to leave me here as a baby to guard the weapons, but since I have not heard from him or someone from his bloodline, I do not serve him any longer.”

Leosher did not hear a word Ezhak said and grabbed the chains with his hands and tried to yank them. It was locked tight and none could open it

“I tried,” said Ezhak “I have tried all of my life, I have tried to melt it, break it and even eat it but all of my tries were futile, for I am meant to stay here and rot here, all of my life.”

Leosher ignored him and again tried to snap it but his tries were futile as well. Tired of the sturdiness of the heavy chains, he took his scythe out and smacked the brittle yet strong chain. It snaped quickly, freeing Ezhak the dragon. Leosher smirked and saw Ezhak break through the ceiling and fly to the mouth of the mountain, which was the gate to his freedom that he deserved, for after all, he was the only one of his kind and had been in prison all his life.

Leosher began walking towards the tunnel but suddenly, one of his soldiers dropped some coins from his pockets. It was an accident of course but it was wrong. He had been trying to sneak the gold out so he could be rich but his foolishness quickly aggravated Leosher. When Leosher saw, it was already too late, for the man had reached the foot of the tunnel. The mountain started shaking and breaking. They all ran through the tunnel for a little while and finally reached the hall of columns and just as they approached the middle of the hall, the ground broke into pieces. There was a void under them. The warriors had to jump from rock to rock to keep on moving and stay above the lava. What made it even harder was the debris falling from the top.

They all quickly made it back outside. Virgil and the others soon ran outside but Leosher stopped the one who took the coins of gold, and stayed back behind with him, at the foot of the gates. They both stood at the entrance while the entire cave was breaking in pieces and falling into the lava. Leosher had an evil anger on his face and said to the soldier with wrath in his voice “You almost got us killed today.”

“I am sorry my lord, I could not help it but grab some—but on the bright side, we are still alive.”

The soldier smiled but Leosher stayed angry “Correction—I am alive!” and with that, he kicked the soldier into the lava, mercilessly, and ran out of the gates where all were packing up everything, as fast as they could, and were running down the mountain as fast as they could.

Soon the entire empirion army began running down the mountain. Most were bare footed, for they had not anticipated something like this to happen. They were being followed by avalanches and rocks from the mountain but luckily, Leosher was behind them all and he was destroying all the big boulders that came down.

Leosher followed them down the mountain, only to find out that the entire valley, an island rather, was sinking. They all ran towards the ships but then Usere noticed that the soldier was not with Leosher.

“Where is the last soldier?” asked Usere

“I kicked him to his death.”

They were very shocked because he had just killed an innocent soldier “Why would you do that?” Urey exclaimed “He was innocent” added Neiham.

Virgil, Azar and Barian were quiet but they did not pay much attention either, because they were too busy staying alive, although, Virgil was a bit sad, for his brother was not like the Leosher that left the village.

They all ran through the havoc and towards the ships. The water was now coming and was covering the ground rapidly. The mountains were slowly getting to sea level which made their journey much, much shorter.

They all finally reached the ships and they all boarded them.

“Let us continue” Leosher exclaimed “For we do not have much time.”

Now they all were very happy because this was a milestone. They had retrieved the weapons and now all they had to do was travel and defeat the rulers. Virgil hugged his brother and Usere and Urey shook their king’s hand to congratulate him. Azar patted him on the back and Neiham congratulated him but Barian was the only one who had a gift for him. He gave him the finest rum in all Thraenus. He had scavenged it from the royal ships of Strinthius where it was being carried to the castle for the king. Although it was in a small alligator-skin pouch, Leosher appreciated it and drank it and quenched his thirst.

They all enjoyed and feasted that night. They sailed to the shores of Gelus and in a few days, when they reached the shores, they set camp there. They partied around the fire and that was one of the few days where Leosher did not act as a king but acted the way he had acted before leaving the village. They stayed up all night that night and enjoyed and drank rum.

Soon Arusus joined her brother to congratulate him as well. She came to the ground like a meteor, again, in a shining blaze of light. She shone in the dark sky and ruined the feast, for all the food and liquor were spilled on the sand because of the shockwave. Many scowled and frowned but all were astounded by her beauty. This she wasn’t in armor, but in simple, gold clothes. She wore high boots, a gold leather armor, high gloves and shoulder pads as well. All of her clothes were golden and even her accessories were golden.

When Leosher saw her, he jerked himself back to senses and got back to being the power hungry, mean king of “The Empire”.

“Brother,” said Arusus while walking towards him “I am happy for you because you have retrieved the weapons.”

Leosher smirked “How about we walk on the shore, away from them.” He said while pointing at all the men.

Them both went to the shore and began talking “Brother, although the gods cannot see you in Aseroth because of Mother’s shield, they all are happy, for now finally, the rulers will be defeated and the constant fear of Saulus finding out will be over.”

“Cannot the gods kill them themselves,” asked Leosher “Why do they need me for?”

“Brother, you do not know do you?” she laughed.

“No, I do not.”

“The gods cannot intervene in the matters of the mortals, for none of us has been raised on Thraenus, therefore we cannot kill the rulers. We live by rules, but you, my brother, you were sent for this sole purpose. Now that you will defeat the rulers and kill Samael, you will become the king of Thraenus; and once you are done with the purpose you were sent, you shall be the new king of Aseroth.”

Leosher smiled “So I am being used?”

“Think as you wish.” She smiled.

Just as they were talking, Lamfari’s bird came down with a letter. There was something off with this bird. This was not the same bird that Lamfari usually used earlier, but Leosher did not care. It had a red sealed letter which meant it was highly important and had to be acted upon as fast as one could. Leosher snatched the letter from the bird and broke the seal and took the parchment out of the envelope and read it:

Leosher,

Queen Geluna and the others know you are coming for the throne. She sent her army to kill the villagers. Luckily, Buntius sent me in a water well, where I hid until the wave had passed but your mother and Meagon were not lucky enough. She has taken them as hostages and wants you in return. Please surrender, for they have threatened that they shall come back and kill everyone.

Lamfari.

There was something different about the letter because it seemed like it was not Lamfari. Lamfari was one of the bravest men Leosher knew and though he was very old, he would have never told Leosher to surrender but then again, there were a lot of lives on the line. Leosher did not pay attention to that and ran as quickly as he could to his boozed up men and got them ready for battle. They all got up and wore their sandals and grabbed their weapons and packed everything up. They all lined up and stood straight but they could not, for they were drunk and did not expect anything until tomorrow. Many fell on the ground but then got up again, and this continued.

“Tonight, we are going to battle Geluna and take back what is rightfully ours.”

There was a chant all over the shore “Leosher! Leosher! Leosher!”

Virgil looked at Leosher and asked “What are you doing? What is going on?”

Azar walked to him and asked the same thing “What is going on?”

“Geluna has Mother and Meagon. We have to save them.”

Virgil was aggravated with what he heard, just like Leosher. “What are you saying brother, I think the rum is taking its toll on you.”

“How dare you speak to your king like that and doubt him” growled Leosher “I am telling you, I received a letter from Lamfari telling me that Geluna’s soldiers have taken mother and Meagon. I have to go and rescue them as fast as I can.”

Virgil now finally believed him and quickly began planning the troops. He told Usere, Urey and Barian to lead the soldiers in three groups. One group was of the archers, one of the ones with swords and shields and then the pirates and the spear wielders. Virgil himself led the horsemen and the Minotaurs. These Minotaurs were strong, very strong, for they had the power of a ten bulls and were going to prove a very effective weapon against Gelun forces.

Leosher sat on his horse and rode into the forests, leaving everyone behind. He was blinded by anger but Virgil still was suspicious. He read the letter and he paid attention to every little detail. He was not sure, for that did not sound like Lamfari talking but he accompanied his brother anyways.

The Empirion army was small but was courageous and strong and were about to go against the Gelun army, the army of a witch.

It took them two days to reach the forests that surrounded Queen Geluna’s castle. The castle was constructed with rotten white stone and had thick walls. It had green plants all around it and was wrapped in vines. It was dark with minimal light to see and there was a large wooden gate with rusted iron latches in the front, as an entrance to the front yard. It was surrounded by muggy, oozy, waterlogged water and was the residence of alligators. It had four towers for lookout and all four towers had fire in them with three soldiers as the watchers. In its front yard, beyond the gates, it had hundreds of Oak trees. It also had staircase that led to the court hall which consisted of tree like pillars and the throne of the Queen, a tree, grown into the shape of a throne. The castle was filled with bizarre and eerie statues which were creepy and of awful shapes. There were lanterns that hung from the ceiling of the court hall with burning oil dripping from their bottom. North of the court hall was the bedchamber of the Queen and in the West was the grand dining hall. In the East was the kitchen and the soldiers’ quarters and in the far-east and beyond the quarters were the dungeons made for tributes and prisoners and those who revolted against her.

Leosher and his men sat in the dark and thick corners of the forest where they set camp and sat around fire and observed the castle to find a weak point.

“What are we sitting here for?” Leosher asked Virgil “They have my mother and Meagon in there.”

Azar and Usere tried to calm him down and Virgil tried too “Brother, we have to wait till the morning, when the soldiers can see properly because the visibility in the castle is very minimal which would put Geluna at an advantage.”

Azar patted him on the back and inhaled a lot of smoke from the long pipe in his mouth

“Son, as your advisor and friend, I would suggest you wait until the morning.”

“I do not care about your pitiful advises, the only thing I know is that I have to go” said Leosher angrily but Urey stopped him “The archers will not be able to see where their target is.”

Barian smiled and took a sip of his rum “That is why we pirates are better. We do not need anything except kegs of rum and a sword and we are good to go.”

Leosher smiled at him sarcastically and sat down angrily and began staring into the fire. He took off his half ripped cloak and also his sandals, while all the others stood around him and waited for their king to give his final decision “Tell our men that we stay here, hidden in the forest and spend the night here. We shall kill the queen tomorrow.”

There was a grin on everyone’s face but there was something going on inside Leosher’s head.

“Thank you, brother, I knew you would make the right decision” said Virgil “Now we all better go to sleep, for tomorrow we are going to have a very important battle in the history of Thraenus.”

“Barian, bring us some wine” Leosher yelled out and took his weapons off and laid them beside him. Now he was wearing only his battle skirt because his armor had crumpled and he had thrown it away. All sat around the fire and Barian told one of his pirates to bring them some booze. They sat around the fire and drank while all the soldiers slept. Urey and Usere hunted a deer and skinned it. Neiham cooked it on the hot fire and by midnight, it was all ready to eat. It was a full moon night with the stars covered with clouds. There was a cool breeze and the wood in the fire popped every once in a while. There was a peaceful silence and the warriors ate their hunt

“Tell us your back story” said Leosher while looking at Azar and Neiham who were sitting together, eating heavily and wildly but somehow, still looking graceful and courteous.

“Yes,” said Urey “I asked you and you never told me. Now is the perfect time.”

Azar smiled and looked at Neiham “Sister, do you want to tell the story?”

“No, you can go ahead and tell it. I do not mind.”

Azar coughed and cleared his throat and put his pipe in his mouth and blew it out in different shapes and stared into the fire

“It was a long night when Neiham and I were stripped off of our innocence. We used to live in a village in Agnithius and the village had a wizard. He was a great man and helped everyone whenever he could. He made me his apprentice and made Neiham his potion assistant but one day, the king’s soldiers came in the village for tributes as slaves and took us forcibly from our parents. The residents of the village were mostly farmers, because this was the only part of Agnithius that allowed people to farm and not be in the military. The soldiers came in and took us and the old wizard tried to hold them off and free us but he could not take on thousands of brutal men and women on his own. We were being taken in carriages but they were old with rusted latches. Neiham and I managed to break through the wooden carriage and we both ran away in the woods. When we finally went back to our village, they had burnt everyone and everything. We only found ashes of everything in the village. It was as if the village never existed, only ashes. They had leveled it all. We ran to where our house used to be and we found nothing but burnt bodies of our parents. I thought our mentor, the wizard must have been alive but none the less, he was dead as well. He had spears through his body and his wand in his hand with his spell book in his other hand. I took the spell book and the wand and found another, potion making book in his room. My sister and I ran away from Agnithius and traveled to the outskirts of Geluna by hiding on trade ships. The outskirts were the only peaceful town we could find. The villagers accepted us and the good people gave us food. I trained all day and night with the spell book and became the best wizard in the kingdom of Gelus and Neiham did the same with her talents and became the best potion maker, which brought both of us money but we gave it all to charity and for the good of the villagers, for they had accepted us and fed us through our miserable childhood.”

There were tears in both of their eyes becuase they never had a chance to say goodbye to their father and mother.

“What happened to the wand?” asked Urey “You use a Staff. What happened to the wand?”

“Its right here,” Azar held it up in the air and afterwards threw it towards Virgil “Use this, and break the old one.”

Everyone knew Virgil was Azar’s apprentice but they did not know why he had given him a master wand but then Azar explained “I trained with this wand and became one of the greatest wizards, and I believe Virgil will do the same.”

The wand was dark brown in color with a round tip and a thick grip made of the same wood. It was made of plain wood but had magic spells on it, which made it special and there was a maple leaf engraved on the grip which indicated that it was from a maple tree.

After everyone was done gazing upon the wand, Usere asked Neiham “How did you get those cards? Did you make them using potions?”

“No,” Neiham smiled and pulled out her deck “This was a gift from Azar. After he had become the best he could be, he thought that I was defenseless therefore he took the spirits of some special beasts, covered them in spells and put them in a deck of cards.”

Everyone loved the stories and all were having a good time until Leosher began talking

“Everyone—let us slumber now, for I am tired.”

All could do nothing but agree with their king and soon all slept on the cold ground with rags on top of them and their forearms as their pillows and soon, it was pin drop silence and pitch black darkness because the fire had died down as well and the moon was covered with clouds now. All were asleep except Leosher. He stayed awake, for he had some other plans.

CHAPTER 10

It was pitch black and the crickets chirped. There was a cool breeze and it was a full moon and the clouds had cleared away. Leosher got up and wore his sandals. He meant to be sneaky but he could not for there were twigs on the ground and whenever he took a step, they crackled and crunched.

He grabbed his scythe and he also took Urey’s bow, the one that was given to him by the mermaids and his arrows as well. He quickly ran into the open where he had a clearer view of everything and he saw that the fire was still on in the look out towers, and the Gelun soldiers were still on the lookout. He hid behind a bush and put the arrow in the bow and got ready to shoot. The soldiers were covered in armor and had very little weak spots to let the arrows hit them but there was one place where they were unprotected and that was their neck, their throats.

They did not have any protection on their necks because they need mobility in the head area but that mobility was going to get them killed. Leosher shot three arrows simultaneously at the soldiers in the tower and all three of them found their target. They hit them right in the throats and the soldiers died instantly and did not have a chance to even touch the bell or give a signal to the other soldiers.

Leosher did the same with the soldiers on the other tower in front of the gate. He shot three simultaneous arrows and all three hit their target and they died without ringing the bell. There was no lookout in the front of the castle now and the hind towers were too far to even notice whether the soldiers were gone or not.

Leosher shot 7 arrows on the slimy walls and made grips for him to reach the top. He crouched through the bush and finally, stood in front of the giant gate and the only thing between himself and the walls of the castle were the pits filled with oozy, muggy waters. The alligators in the ditch did not realize that there was an intruder, for Leosher stayed quite like a preying mantis. He stepped back a bit and then ran and jumped over the waters and hung on the arrows. It was magnificent to look at his agility. He began climbing up and soon he reached the top of the wall. He crouched on top of the wall snuck to the other two towers where he killed the rest of the watchers too but now was the difficult part. All of the soldiers had lined up in the Court hall and Geluna was addressing to them.

Leosher jumped in the yard which was filled with oak trees and the best part was that the stems of the trees were too close together which provided a great hiding spot for him. As he began walking towards the court hall, he could hear Geluna talk:

“Tonight is a great night. The enemy is camping on our border lines, thinking we do not know they are there but we do and tonight, we eliminate our enemy’s……”

Just as she was speaking, Leosher kicked open the huge door of the court hall and barged inside

“Geluna! Your evil reign over the innocent residents of Gelus is over, for I, Leosher Poppins is here to bring forth your demise!”

Geluna smirked and her soldiers got ready to battle, “Ah, how naïve, you fell right into my trap!”

“Trap?!”

Leosher was shocked, for he did not know what was going on, but then Geluna made it clear

“I never took your people as hostages. I stopped sending my troops to that town right after you resisted, for I knew it would be pointless to get my troops killed by your hands, and therefore, I built my army as strong as I could and waited for you to come here and fall into my trap so I could rip your heart out of your very chest.” She raised her hand and pointed her finger towards Leosher “Charge!”

The hundreds of soldiers that stood in the court hall acted accordingly and charged while she herself sat comfortably on the morbid throne she prized so much but the long hall was an advantage for Leosher. He stiffened his muscles and got ready to battle and just as the first soldier approached him, he took the bow and smacked it on his face. Then he did the same to the other and broke the bow. After he had broken the bow, he stabbed the soldiers with the broken piece and afterwards, he took the arrows out and used them as his weapon and stabbed the soldiers in their necks and sides and even legs. When he ran out of arrows too, he finally took out the scythe which meant the fight was about to get more interesting and there was about to be a lot of gore.

He swung it and there was genocide. This attack that was supposed to kill Leosher, had backfired and had turned into a massacre. There was mist made of blood all over the hall. There were fountains of blood and there were bodies flying every where. No one was able to land even a single hit on Leosher. He was too fast for them and he enjoyed spilling the blood of the devils that had made his people suffer. He proceeded towards Geluna and after he was close enough, he swung the scythe to slice her in half and he had succeeded. He had made a deep, long cut on Geluna.

All of her soldiers that were still alive were scared, for their Queen was dying on the cold hard ground, but little did they know, she got up again and her cut healed almost instantaneously. Leosher was shocked as well but then Geluna said in her beautiful voice

“How naïve are you? Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me. You spent all the time, trying to find the weapons and when you get them in your grasp, you never even bother to take them with you in battle.”

Leosher was astounded and astonished because he had made such a huge mistake and now he was going to pay for it. His scythe dropped from his hand and he himself fell onto his knees with his jaw dropped. Geluna walked over to him and grabbed him from his beard and shook his head violently “Now you will learn the most important lesson of your life, never let revenge cloud your mind.”

She took her scepter and rose it high up in the air. She mumbled something in her mouth and the scepter began shining with power and she smashed it against Leosher’s head and knocked him out. Geluna yelled out loud “Put him in the dungeons and prepare for battle, for his mates shall come when the sun rises.”

The soldiers listened to what their Queen had said and enchained him. He had a chain around his neck, his legs were tied and his hands were behind his back and tied to his heels. They covered his eyes with a bracelet and shoved a metal ball in his mouth to keep him from talking. They dragged him to the dungeons of the castle and put him in a cell where there was no light and the air was thick. It was damp and moist and cold. He stayed in the dungeon all night and stayed in pain, both emotional and physical. Emotional was because he had been played and all his pride was ruined and the physical was because of the scepter. The power from the scepter had affected all of his body. He had been whipped and beaten by the soldiers as well. He was bruised and battered and it was hard for him to breath.

Just as the suns of dawn rose, there was a siren. It was a distress signal, made with the horn of a minotaur, that the soldiers had set on because the Empirion army was attacking the castle but the gates, though they were old and waterlogged, still kept up. The Empirion army was led by Virgil, who was furious, for he knew his brother was in trouble. They had a noble fir tree with its branches shaved off. They used it as a battering ram. They had put the head of a bull made of iron on its tip and the entire tree was held up by 13 men on each side. They stood in the waters where the alligators resided but they had already killed the alligators brutally and were now knocking down the gate. It was hard and precipitous work but they managed to continue and after a while, they broke into the castle.

The gate was crushed and there was a big gash in it. Just as the entire army entered the castle, they were welcomed by the Gelun army, all of whom were ready to fight. They had their tall shields place firmly in the ground and held the spears in their hands. The archers stood in the lookouts, on the tall oak trees and on the slimy walls, with their arrows ready and waiting for the general to start the fight. The general stood in front of the Empirion army quietly, and just when he saw that all of them were inside the castle, he shot a spear with his hands. He hit the soldier that was standing in the front of the Empirion army, only with a sword. He did not have a shield and was not wearing any armor either. The general had chosen the easiest target and drove the spear through the poor human’s chest. The army saw it and charged at the Geluns and a battle broke out and the archers of the Gelun army began shooting.

The Empirions were well aware that this was going to happen therefore all the men with shields gave cover to those who had none and no men were harmed by the arrows and afterwards, they charged on the Geluns. They were a phalanx that was good in fighting, for they were old and wiser. Most of the men were turned into stone, hundreds of years ago by Mortemus, when work was even more precipitous and battles were far harder. They charged through the Gelun men and knocked them down and soon, the Empirion archers took their places too and the real battle began. They shot arrows and killed the archers of the Gelun army. Virgil and the others, all charged into the court hall, through the jungle-like front yard and soon they confronted Geluna.

Virgil was furious. He took out his wand and yelled out “Corpus Exanimus,” while pointing it towards the troll that was standing in front of him and hit him with the spell. A bright green light came out of the tip of his wand and hit the troll. The troll was a tall, hideous beast with a pale and slimy skin with rags as its clothes and drool and zits on its face and yellow, monstrous teeth showing and a hairy body. He was a giant.

Just as the light hit his body, he shriveled up and fell on the ground. The spell had struck the troll like lightning and he did not know how to respond to it, for he was an imbecile. His body, after shriveling up, turned into dust and there was no trace of the troll left. All that was there was black, sand-like dust, dry and powdery. Azar quickly ran forwards and swept his staff on the ground and blew that dust into the soldiers’ eyes that were blocking Virgil’s way.

The brothers, Usere and Urey, took advantage of this moment and Usere charged at the men and whenever he had his back towards someone, Urey shot him down with his arrows and even though this was just an ordinary bow that he had taken from a soldier in the Empirion army, he was just as efficient and fast and skillful.

Neiham ran to the dungeons where they kept Leosher hostage, and tried to save him while Barian stayed in the front yard and fought the soldiers, alongside the rest of the Empirion soldiers. Virgil swaggered towards Geluna who was sitting on her beautiful tree like throne, smirking. She wore a beautiful gown like dress made of vines and her arms were wrapped in large leaves. She had a golden scepter, with a large, blue gem at the tip. The sceptor was an outlet for her energy, just like Azar’s staff and Virgil’s wand, for she was a witch too. She was light brown in color with dark eyes and long, luscious hair. Her crown was made of gold and wood, and contained many precious stones.

Just as Virgil was a few steps away, she got up, out of her throne and held her scepter tight in her hands and got ready to fight.

Virgil flicked the wand and said the spell again “Corpus Exanimus.” The same light came out of the tip of the wand and shot towards Geluna like lightning, but she was standing all ready to fight back. She waved her scepter and deflected the spell easily, and grinned and mocked Virgil

“How petty,” she laughed at Virgil “You have to say the spells. Your wand does not even know your own feelings.” She raised her scepter up to her face and looked at it “Let me show you how the masters do it.”

She pointed the tip of the scepter towards Virgil and the same light came out of it. Virgil now knew if he was to get hit by this spell, this would be his end and his brother would not be able to take over Thraenus and make it a peaceful place for everyone to live in. Therefore, in an instant, he raised his wand and yelled out “Auxilius Armus!”

Everything paused for a moment. Everyone gazed upon Virgil and his spell as the dark court hall shone bright with the white shield that had appeared around Virgil. It was the same spell that Azar had used against the ice giants to push them off of the cliff. The shield spread apart and blocked Geluna’s spell but soon, the shield broke because Geluna’s spell was continuous and very strong.

Azar was filled with pride, for his student, Virgil, was fighting one of few witches that were left and she was the strongest witch in existence right now.

When the shield broke, Azar’s pride was set on pause and he had to help his apprentice. He was standing by Virgil, fighting the Gelun trolls, when he jumped in front and put his staff in the way. He stomped the ground with his staff and the shield came out again, but his shield was far stronger than Virgil’s. He was a master, therefore, he did not have to say the spell; his staff understood him and his feelings.

The shield quickly blocked the spell and Geluna was left devastated. She raised her hands in the air and suddenly, her crown began spit out some eerie smoke. This smoke was green and made it seem like it had life in it. It rushed outside where the oak trees were, in the front yard, and engulfed it all within it. It breathed life into all of the oak trees. Their branches shuffled and twisted together into clumps that resembled the arms. The bark of the stem became their face and the stem became the body. The tree monsters forcefully pulled their roots out of the stony ground and made them their feet. Their roots were like a shapeless monster that wrapped around the enemy and squeezed the life out of it and trapped it inside itself for sustenance.

They quickly cleared up the front yard, for they were monstrous green beasts that were a product of sorcery. They were hundreds in numbers, and were against the small, yet brave and courageous men. The Empirion army was no match for the green monsters and soon they squeezed the life out of them and quickly ran inside the court hall. They were brainless creatures. They bumped into each other yet they were smarter than the trolls. Trolls were the most idiotic and the most thick headed creatures on the face of Thraenus.

Geluna had a grin on her face when she saw the monsters arrive in the hall. She sat back on her throne and watched the monstrosity take place. All of the Empirions that were left to fight, including Virgil, were surrounded by Geluna’s green monsters and the Gelun army but they still did not lose hope, they still kept fighting. All of their efforts were futile, for they were surrounded and the group was closing in on them. And even though Virgil had the gauntlet which his brother had scavenged from the hidden valley, on his hand, it was a numbers game. The gauntlet only proved to be of little help against the wooden giants.

Just as all hope seemed lost, there came Neiham’s fire serpent. It came from the top of the room, from the balcony where she was standing. The serpent swept the room and gave the Empirions room to breathe and gain their balance back. Some of the monsters caught on fire as well which balanced the numbers a bit and just as the serpent vanished into a cloud of smoke, Leosher jumped from the balcony into the circle to help his brethren. He was still bruised and battered from all the abuse he had suffered. Neiham had offered him the elixir for his health, but he refused because he was too prideful.

He did not have his scythe with him either, because it was taken away from him and it was sitting next to the throne of Geluna. Leosher swaggered with a limp, to his brother who was fighting the enemy and took the gauntlet off of his hands. He put the the wooden fist on and looked straight ahead at Geluna with a hawk’s vision, angry and determined. His anger sharpened his reflexes and instincts and as he walked towards Geluna, many of her soldiers, minions rather, tried to kill the already injured Leosher, but he punched their heads off, without even looking. He was locked onto his target and none stood in his way, not even the giants, for Leosher simply kicked them out of his way. He swaggered up the steps and stood before Geluna, angry and vengeful.

Leosher’s posture and eyes inflicted fear onto Geluna’s soul. Her brown, flawless face turned red with fear and she trembled with terror. She was terrified, for she saw her end in his face. Leosher raised his hand up to his face and clenched his fist. Now, when Leosher saw fear in the eyes of Geluna, he smirked with pride. He was overjoyed, for this was the first time, the prideful beauty, the witch of Gelus was feeling fear. She had killed many and had inflicted pain on countless families; she had brought poverty and famine to the residents of Gelus and had fed herself as much as she could; she had lived for long, too long and now, it was her demise being brought forth by the very gods that created her and her master, Samael was not there to help her.

Leosher lifted her up in the air with his right hand and slammed her on the ground like a rag doll. He afterwards slowly began stepping on her head and crushing it under his heel. The entire battle stopped and all gazed upon the end of the queen. After a while, he lifted her back up again and punched her in the face with his right hand, the hand that had the gauntlet. Her spells were now slowly lifting away, first the green monsters died down, and then the spell that was on the Gelun lifted away. Geluna had been controlling their minds and was making them work for her against their wills. All of the rulers were doing this, making the soldiers work against their will. When the green, tree monsters died and fell on the ground, the spirits they had stripped the Empirion soldiers from, returned back to their original owners and revived them but they were still battered, for the squeezing took its toll.

All of the fighting stopped and the soldiers stood in place to see the demise of the queen. She was helpless, like a new born child without her mother to protect her, like an open nerve, feeling everything. She trembled with fear and screamed with hopelessness and the agony that Leosher was putting her through. She cried and begged for mercy but Leosher did not budge at all. He stood in front of her and did all he could to torture her. When Leosher dropped her on the ground the second time, she quickly got up to her knees and hugged Leosher’s legs. Leosher had her scepter in his hand and Geluna, being the evil witch she was, tried to snatch it away from him but Leosher did not let her.

“Geluna, stop trying,” yelled out Virgil from the back “Your reign of terror is over” added Urey. Usere, Azar and Neiham stood on the side, smiling, for they had been waiting for this moment all their lives.

They all realized the importance of this moment, and were happy with this and suddenly, a Gelun soldier began a chant “Kill the witch” and soon, there was a shout “Kill the Witch!—Kill the Witch!—Kill the Witch!”

Leosher kicked her on the head and pushed her towards her throne. She fell back and fell flat on the ground. Leosher slowly walked over her cape, then her gown and finally reached her head. He put his foot on the curly, messy hair of the queen and put the other foot on her head. He held the scepter in his left hand and kneeled with his right hand, the hand with the gauntlet, high up in the air. He kneeled down and yelled out “Let them know, for there is a new king, Leosher!” and he crushed her head his hand. The blood that was spilt quickly turned to sand and the carcass of Geluna turned to sand as well. The entire atmosphere of the castle changed too. The soldiers rejoiced and the water logging of the castle transformed into something a little better.

All the grimness of the castle vanished and now, it was a beautiful castle with white walls and with beautiful courtyards and beautiful sceneries.

As Leosher sat on the throne, all present in the castle bowed to him and hailed “Long live our king, Leosher!”

There was a smirk on his face for his dream was finally coming true and he was another step closer to becoming the ruler of entire Thraenus. Now he had control over the oceans and the Western part of Thraenus, which was known as Gelus. “Virgil—brother,” said Leosher “Come here.”

Virgil nodded and listened to his brother. He walked up the steps and kissed his brother’s hand, for he could not hug his king, “Yes, brother,” asked he, “Is there anything you wish me to do?”

“Write a letter to all the tribes living in Gelus and tell them to come to the castle immediately, for tonight, they shall sleep under the rule of the new king.”

“Yes, brother, as you wish.”

Virgil smiled and left the court hall with Neiham and Usere to write letters to all the tribes and towns that were in Gelus. All of the soldiers from the Gelun army joined the Empirions and now the Empirion army increased two times in size. They all went to the army quarters where they sat and enjoyed the new, peaceful reign of the king who gave freedom to do anything.

Now Azar, Urey and Barian were the only ones left in the room with Leosher. They walked to their king and Barian began talking “My lord, may I suggest a feast for our brave men to enjoy?”

“Yes,” Leosher smiled “Let them have a grand feast and get ready for the arrival of the people. They should arrive by tomorrow, for there are no deadly paths now.”

Then he looked at Urey and asked “What is your suggestion?”

“Master, might I suggest that we give new weapons to our men?”

“Yes, get the armory ready and replace the broken weapons.”

And then he finally looked at Azar who was standing graciously, waiting with a pipe in his mouth and smoke coming out of his nose and onto his white beard “Master, do you need assistance?”

Leosher was shocked. He sat up in his throne and asked “What do you mean?”

“You are bruised and battered. You have gore on your bare chest and gashes on your faces with clotted blood.”

Leosher felt his face with his dirty, darkened hands and looked at Azar again “Get to the point.”

“Master, please let me help you you. Let me heal your wounds.”

Leosher smiled at him and slouched again “Go ahead, bring the elixir, and bring me new clothes for the coronation tomorrow as well. I shall look my best tomorrow.”

“Master, the best dressers will come to the castle tonight and will prepare you for the coronation. They will give you a royal cloak, royal armor and everything else, but for now, let me heal your wounds.”

Leosher nodded and Azar went to his sister who was in the front yard helping Virgil write the letters. He obtained the lava flower elixir from her and went back to the court hall where he gave a few drops to his king. Leosher happily took them and his wounds began healing. There was a crackling sound and his wounds sealed back. All the gashes vanished and the clotted blood fell off of his body. He was completely rejuvenated and all the torture marks from his body vanished, as if nothing had ever happened.

“Thank you,” said Leosher “Now, go to Virgil and send him to me. I wish to talk to him.”

Azar smiled at his master and went back to the front yard.

“Virgil,” said he, “Your brother wishes to see you.”

Virgil nodded and rid his hands from all the ink he had been using, with a rag, and went to his brother. He walked through the beautiful yet dark court hall and stood before his brother

“Yes—I heard you summoned me.”

Leosher stood up and looked down upon him “Bring me the weapons for the demise of the rulers. I already have the gauntlet, where are the others?”

“They are right here—with me brother.”

He took the gladius sword and the spear out of his sheaths and walked up the steps. He presented them to his brother and he put them beside his throne. After presentation, Virgil left the court hall and left Leosher all alone on his throne. After Leosher saw Virgil leave, he got up and gathered his weapon: his Scythe, the Gladius sword, the Spear, the Gauntlet and Geluna’s scepter. He collected all and went outside and talked to Urey,

“I apologize,” He said while hesitating a bit “For taking your bow and arrows without permission.”

Urey laughed “It is fine, my lord, for all that I have is yours.”

“Anyways, would you go to the Armory, where your brother is working and tell him to make sheaths for my weapons?”

“Yes, I shall do it right now.”

After Leosher was done with all his works, he went to the bed chambers of the deceased queen and slept there. Though it was only afternoon right now, he was too tired, for he had not slept last night either and as he lay on the soft, fluffy bed with white bed sheets and a heavy wooden frame, and a pillow made purely of the feathers of the phoenix and cotton of the dwarves, he instantly fell asleep, for this was the best bed anyone could ask for.

When he was asleep, he was visited by his mother in his dreams. She wore her white and golden gown with rosy cheeks and platinum, cream colored hair with a golden tiara and a whip in her hand. She was happy and overjoyed, for her son had finally defeated the queen and freed at least one third of the people of Thraenus from the treacherous rule of the three minions of Samael who himself was somewhere unknown, with his wife, unaware of the fact that his demise was upon him.

Both found themselves again, in the white void with nothing but those two, floating around. She smiled upon him,

“Son, I am proud of your work.”

“I know—I know I did well,” Leosher was cold towards her “I do not need any appreciation from you.”

Asurot was a little disappointed from the behavior of her son “Why do you act like this towards me? You have changed so much. You began pure with no intentions to do harm to any fellow living being but now, you are a power hungry, brutal and gore loving monster.”

Leosher looked at the pale floor that they were hovering over.

“The perfect boy is gone. You used me as a pawn in a game. I was created for the sole purpose of defeating the rulers and killing Samael and getting rid of the constant fear that the gods live in. You did not want me; you did not care about me. You threw me to Thraenus from Aseroth, where I could have gone to rule over many planets just like Thraenus but you sent me to this hell hole. You made mistakes that I now have to cover.”

Asurot showed sincerity and came close and put her hand on his shoulder “Son, do not worry, for if you prove yourself to be worthy enough of the Throne of Thraenus, you will receive the Throne of Aseroth as a gift. Now remember one thing, you cannot gain control over the other 7 realms, for if you try, Saulus will be there to guard them. But for now, treat the people well. Restore their faith in the gods and make Gelus, a part of The Empire and make it prosper. Move on to the other kingdoms and do the same, fulfill the purpose you were born to fulfill.”

After her talk, she vanished in the white void they were standing and Leosher was left behind, alone. But then suddenly, the entire void became pitch black and the same shady creature appeared that Leosher had once seen before in his dream, while he was still traveling towrds the hidden valley. It was the same hooded figure in his hell-like lair. It had asked Leosher to join him but left and now it was here again and again, there was black smoke in front of Leosher’s face. No matter how much he tried to move it and brush it away, it did not budge.

“Congratulations on your win against Geluna but you will need as much power and strength you can get to fight Samael and Saulus. Join me and you shall receive powers that none have seen before.”

Leosher smirked but the shadow could not see it for the smoke shield was in the way

“What do I have to do to join you?”

“Just be in a contract with me. Give me your freedom and soul and all the dark powers known to me shall be yours. Serve me and the universe shall serve you.”

Leosher laughed and mocked him “Do you think I was born yesterday? I will never sell you my freedom. If I do so, all my power will go to waste. It will be worthless, pointless even.” There was a sudden change in the way he was talking. His voice became heavier and there was gravel in his voice “Now leave me alone!”

Leosher swung and threw a punch. It missed its target but it did what Leosher intended for it to do. The shadow jerked back and turned to watery smoke. The entire lair turned to water like smoke and was vanished into nothingness and again, Leosher was left in the white void where he had met his mother but then suddenly, he heard noises. These were the noises of happiness. There was the noise of children playing and people rejoicing which pulled him back into his own, physical body.

CHAPTER 11

Leosher finally woke up from his dreams, fresh and happy, for he knew it was his big day. He woke up and saw that there was something going on. The entire castle was filled with happy workers and residents of Gelus and these were the noises that had pulled him out of the void.

They all had cleaned out all the dirt, all the mud and all the rotten plants that had been building up in the castle for 2 millenia. They washed the white walls and made them shine; they cleaned the floors and cleaned the throne as well. The castle was a barren, nasty place where the evil witch lived but now it was a happy, clean place where the Empirion king resided.

After he had wondered enough, Leosher finally asked one of the women who was standing outside the bed chamber. She had a duster in her hands and she was cleaning out all the ornaments that the people had brought and was putting them in place to make the castle look beautiful.

“What is all this commotion about?” The woman did not see Leosher but just as his voice hit her ears, she looked at him and bowed “Good Morning, my good lord.”

Leosher nodded and asked again “What is all this commotion about?”

“My lord, we are getting the castle ready for your coronation today. All the residents of Gelus, even the beasts and animals will come.”

Leosher nodded again and then walked out of the hall and into the court hall, where his brother was getting the Throne swapped with a more lavish, golden throne. This was a gift from Azar and Neiham, for they were the only two who could afford it.

“What is that?” Leosher asked “Who gave the throne?”

Virgil looked at it and then back at Leosher “It is a gift from your loyal servants and friends, Azar and Neiham.”

Leosher scratched his chest and then walked to the Throne and when the workers finished their work, Leosher sat down on it. It was made of gold with a soft red seat and back and had arm rests. It had black gems in it which made it pleasing to the eye. It had a foot stool which was connected to 6 steps, made of silver. As he loved his new Throne, his earthly mother, Adne, walked in the court hall and beside her was Meagon.

“Mother!” Leosher got up from his Throne and smiled “It has been so long.”

Adne walked to her son with tears in her eyes and her arms wide open. Leosher hugged his mother and then hugged Meagon as well.

“How are you, mother?”

“I am fine, but what happened to you?” Adne asked with concern, “You smell like a hog.”

Meagon giggled when Adne said that, and she commented as well “When was the last time you bathed?”

“I have been at work for a long time. I have not had a bath for a long time.”

Leosher hugged both of them again “I have to go get cleaned up for the coronation,” Then he looked at his mother “Mother, you should bath too and wear fancy clothes, for you are a royal now. You cannot have even a speck of dust on you and look at you; you are covered in dirt with long nails and rags as your clothes. You look like a hag.”

Meagon was a little upset because this was no way to talk to his mother and even though he was a king, he still had to respect his mother but she did not say anything, for she did not want to make a fuss out of something as small as this.

“Meagon,” Leosher looked at her and smiled “Get her ready for the coronation” and after talking, he went back to his bed chamber where the best dressers of the kingdom of Gelus were waiting for him. They were three elves, tall and fair.

“My lord,” said the head elf “We are here for your royal garments.”

Leosher smiled and looked at all three of them “I know exactly what I want.” He moved forward and stood straight “I want an armor of the thickest caliber, toughest boots, a thick cloak and a long coat with a hood.”

“Nice choice,” the female elf giggled “You would look mighty in those garments.”

The head elf quickly broke in “You will find your garments ready in an hour or so, until then, you should take a bath.”

Leosher nodded and opened the great windows of his bed chamber. A gush of pleasant wind came through the windows and brushed Leosher’s hair briskly. Though they were thick and had turned brown with dirt and blood from all the gore they had endured, they were long enough to be brushed with the wind.

Leosher walked over to the balcony that looked over a pool of sky green, clear water and a cascade that came down from the mountains. This water was made by all the ice on top of the mountains. This pool witheld colorful fish in it as well. This was the water that went on to be the circular stream of muggy water that surrounded the castle and resided the alligators in it, when Geluna was alive but now, they were clear waters with no man eating creatures in it. The water was warm and the mist from the cascade covered the top. There was colorful flowers blossoming on the banks and the trees were no longer deadly but instead were beautiful and increased the beauty of the scenery.

Leosher quickly plunged into the water and soon, the water became muggy for he was too dirty. The running stream moved the muggy water and soon, the water was clear again. Leosher sat under the cascade and relaxed and forgot about all the gore he had seen in the last days. He relaxed as much as he could but then, there were trumpet sounds and there was a big clanking sound as well. The new gates of the castle had been open for the citizens of Gelus and soon, hordes and hordes of people moved in. It was filled with cultures. Dwarfs, Elves, Humans, Fairies and all kinds of other creatures came to see the new king of Gelus, the king of The Empire. Many creatures from other kingdoms came to see the coronation because this was a historical event, the first official coronation in two millennia was occurring and none wanted to miss it.

The castle was packed with people which made Virgil change the location and he ordered it to occur in the open back yards of the castle.

The back yards were huge grasslands with water fountains and cobble stone pavements. The yard was in the farthest part of the castle and was surrounded by thick walls. The entire crowd was able to fit in and some of the watchers crushed the beautiful, silvery creamy flowers.

The Throne was brought out to the front of the crowd where everyone could see it and all waited for Leosher to come out. When he noticed that his people had arrived, he quickly got out of the pool and went back to his chamber where the elves had his clothes ready. His armor was silver with the emblem of Leosher, his own face. Leosher put the armor on and put the battle pants on. He then put the boots on too. They were made of the alligators the Empirion army had slain before. Their laces were thin strips of green vines. They were black in color, just like the pants, and pointy in the front. His coat was long and had golden epaulettes and matched the pants and the boots. Both, the coat and the pants were made of the alligator skin as well. The coat reached down to his knees and had a hood in the back and there were golden buttons on the coat with the same, Leosher emblem.

Leosher tied his hair back with a piece of string and the elves made two braids in the front. Both braids were thin and dangled in front of his face but they looked magnificent. They afterwards combed his beard too. He then took the sheaths that Usere had made for him and sheathed all of his weapons and put them around his back and sides. He put the gauntlet on his hand, and now he was ready to go.

He stepped out of the bed chamber and there he was, his brother, waiting for him,

“You look great” he said “But let us go now, for it is not good to keep the people waiting for so long.”

Leosher nodded and began swaggering towards the yards. His face lit up when he heard the drums and the trumpets welcoming him. He loved all the attention and his happiness grew even more when the people began cheering for him.

Just as he stepped out of the castle and into the yards, Usere, Urey, Azar, Neiham and Barian joined him too. They were dressed in the nicest clothes they had. Urey and Usere wore robes and used a rope to tie it on the waist and Neiham and Azar wore white tunics of the finest silk and Barian wore the cleanest clothes he had. He even took a bath, just for the coronation.

Virgil had on a tunic and was wrapped in a red cloak. He had his hair tied back and beard brushed, just like Leosher but he did not have braids and did not wear anything as lavish as him.

As they made their way towards the throne, the trumpets began to sound even louder and the chants and cheering and the drumming grew louder and louder. The huge crowd applauded for their new King and gave him praise.

Leosher walked on the strip of the cobble stones towards his throne and out of the crowd, came his mother and Meagon and Buntius.

Leosher looked at his mother and was amazed. She had her silvery white hair tied back like a crown and wore a Queen’s robe. It was purple in color with a lot of gems and precious stones on it. Leosher was left jaw dropped when he saw Adne like that. Normally, she would have dirty and burnt hands because of the bread and would wear dirty and smelly rags but today, she was clean and smelt like blue roses from the kingdom of Agnithius and she went through all of this, just to make Leosher happy.

Meagon wore a princess’s dress. It was a crystal blue ball gown with a dark blue eye shadow on her big blue eyes. She had rosy cheeks and she had a thick braid on the back. She also had jewelry on but not as much as Adne. She stayed simple and humble, yet she looked beautiful. Leosher hugged her too and made his way through the crowd and to the steps that led straight to the Golden Throne. He stood there and soon, just as the ceremony began, the trumpets and the drums stopped. There was pin drop silence and Buntius brought the blind man, Lamfari, up to the throne where Leosher stood.

Neiham had the crown of the king on a red, thick cloth on a silver tray. The crown had 7 points and hundreds of gems. It was made with the purest gold and was blessed by Lamfari himself. Urey, who stood on the other side of the throne, had the cloak of the King. This was a new cloak but just like the one Leosher received when he was crowned the king of The Empire, in the outskirts. He would have kept the old one but he ripped it and threw it away and now, he was getting a new one.

Lamfari slowly walked up there with the help of Buntius and finally approached Leosher. He was wearing a white linen tunic with a blue shawl to protect him from the cold. He smelled like the tulips of the North Mountains, the area that was too harsh for any creature to live in, and had his silvery white beard and long hair combed back. His white, wasted eyes were closed and the wrinkles on his face no longer had dirt stuck in them.

He stood in front of the crowd and began the crowning:

“My brothers and sisters, today, we stand before the soon-to-be king of Gelus. He started as the king of The Empire in the outskirts of Gelus, but now, he will be the king of Gelus. It is magnificent to see someone grow up before your eyes and become a king. Most of you now know what it feels like and for those who were not in the outskirts, trust me, it feels incredible—Tonight we shall see history being made, for this is the first time in two millennia, an official coronation of this magnitude is occurring. Now, without any further ado, we shall welcome our new king.”

He turned around and Buntius put his hand on the crown that Neiham was holding. He picked it up and almost dropped it but then titghtened his grip. Leosher knelt on his knee for him to put it on his head and as Lamfari put the crown on his head, he yelled out in his weak voice

“May I present to you, the new king of Gelus.”

There was a huge applause and all the people cheered in joy, for the troubling times of the kingdom of Gelus were finally over and a new reign of peace was upon them, atleast that is what they thought.

Afterwards, Buntius helped Lamfari grab the cloak from Urey. It had hooks on the end that were to latch onto the epaulettes on the shoulders of the coat of Leosher. Leosher got up and stepped forward to make room for Lamfari, so he could give it to him and Buntius guided Lamfari behind Leosher and he clipped the cloak on his shoulders and said

“This cloak represents the power and highness above all of us and all shall respect this cloak.”

When he was done talking about what the cloak represented, he announced “The coronation has ended. You may celebrate under new rule.”

Buntius walked him down the steps and back into the crowd and Leosher began his address

“My people, today, we stand here at this historical moment. Today, we shall witness the transformation of Gelus and from this day forward, Gelus should be called, The Western Empire and as we conquer the other kingdoms, they shall merge into one as well. Tonight, we shall have a new set of laws to live under as well….”

Just as he was talking, something caught his eye. He quickly moved his hand from under his cloak, and caught something. The movement was so fast that all of the people saw his cloak flutter but none see his hand move. All of the people were shocked to see what he had caught, for Leosher had caught a harpoon like arrow and had just saved his own life. It was aimed for his heart but luckily, he had caught it.

The crowd was scared but Leosher knew what was coming. He examined the long, spear-like arrow and found out that it was from Strinthius. It was silver tipped, black arrow made for the highest grade archers and assassins with the emblem of Strinthius, a high heap of gold. It was about a foot and a half long and quiet thick was made of black steel, one of the strongest working metals out in the market.

Just as he was looking at the arrow, another was shot to claim his life but his brother, Virgil created a shield around him with the “Auxilius Armus” spell. Now they knew that they were under attack and the warriors quickly ran to the battle stations to fight. Azar and Virgil ran towards the gates and decided to attack head on. Usere and Barian who were standing in the back of the crowd, ran to where the soldiers stood and led them outside, right behind Virgil and Azar, to fight. Urey led the archers to the top of the walls, to their battle stations where they kept the huge cross bows.

It was only a matter of time until the crowd panicked but Leosher shouted at them with an evil grin “The only thing you have to fear is fear itself, and of course the wrath of your king and now you all shall see what happens when you go against me.”

Somehow, this sentence calmed the huge crowd. The thousands of people in the yards calmed down and Neiham led them inside the castle and luckily, the castle was big enough to fit them but all of them had to stand side to side. Leosher put his gauntlet on his right hand and held the scythe in the same hand.

He looked intimidating for he was wearing a blood red cloak with all black garments and gold weapons with his mustache curled up which was a universal sign of pride and brutality. There was a thirst of his enermy’s blood in his eyes and the power to perish them with a single blow, in his hands.

Soon, there was a loud clanking sound which meant the gates were opening and whoever heard it quickly became silent. There was pin drop silence all over the place and just as the huge gates came down to the ground with a thrashing sound, the battle cries roared. The battle began and Leosher joined his brother in the first line of offense. Though they were supposed to be defensive and defend the castle, they instead chose to be offensive.

Leosher ran faster than the entire Empirion army and left all of them behind him. These hundreds of Empirion soldiers were against thousands of Strinthiun soldiers but The Empire had one thing in their favor, Leosher. He was with them. He who was the strongest warrior on Thraenus and was most probably the strongest god in Aseroth as well, for he was a god, made especially to battle. His skill was unmatchable, for he caught an arrow that had already left the bow.

He charged in the battle with his coat and cloak fluttering behind him and his braids dangled and fluttered as well. His roar was louder than all of men and could be heard distinctively inside the castle.

The Strinthiun army was mainly made up of Dwarves and Elves with wolves as their companions. All were under a spell, a mind contolling spell that Geluna also had used too. This was made clear that they were under a spell because Dwarves and Elves did not get along well and this spell bonded them together as brothers. Both races were all about pride and would not serve a cruel king but Colossus had them under a spell.

They all wore a silver knight’s armor. They were covered in armor from head to toe with minimal exposed targets. Their armor was stamped with the Strinthiun emblem with dark colors. The armor seemed impenetrable but this was Strinthiun technology which meant it was to look beautiful and extravagant but was not going to stand even one heavy blow.

Leosher jumped and came down upon the ground like a meteor among the enemy forces. He hit the ground with his gauntlet and many men around him fell. He quickly got up and started swinging his scythe. There was bloodshed all over the green grass they were fighting on and soon, the Empirion army finally caught on and joined Leosher in the massacre. The odds were becoming even, for Leosher was slaying the Strinthiuns brutally but one almost caught him off guard. As Leosher had his back towards a Strinthiun dwarf, he swung its axe and aimed to cut off young Leosher’s head but just as he did, an arrow pierced through its head and killed him.

Urey went out of his way and looked out for him and after he had saved his king’s life, he got back to looking out for his own brother who had no armor and no other means of protection, just one sword. Most of the Empirion army was unprotected, for they were in the grounds, attending the coronation and suddenly, they were at war. Most of them did not even know why they were in a battle but they still fought and stayed loyal to their king.

Soon, Virgil made way to his brother and began protecting him just like Urey was looking out for his brother. The battle continued for about half an hour until Leosher made the odds completely even and when that happened, he suddenly became aggressive, even more than he was before. His senses sharpened and his strength doubled, for now he was angry. A soldier had made a cut on his hand and his blood spilt. He began taking out multiple soldiers in a single blow and sometimes, he even took out Empirion soldiers, for he was blinded with rage.

When they saw that Leosher was angry, the Strinthiun soldiers tried to retreat but Leosher turned into a cyclone. He spun and spun with his scythe at the edge, cutting everyone within range. There was blood everywhere and was coming down like rain and mist. The limbs of the Strinthiun soldiers were flying all over the place and puddles of blood were left everywhere Leosher moved to. It all continued until the Strinthiuns were reduced to less than half the number of men they had started with. They realized that all their tries were to be idiotic therefore they finally surrendered.

They all dropped their weapons and took their weak yet precious armors off and knelt on the ground, for they saw nothing but death in the shape of Leosher. When he finally stopped, he was drenched in blood. His clothes were ruined and there were blood clots in his hair. Virgil found Leosher and began talking to him.

“Brother, go back to the castle and change,” Virgil patted his bloodied brother on the back and calmed him down “I will take care of them.”

Leosher looked around and saw that Usere was slightly injured. There was a big gash on his fore arm from a sword from an elf. His own kind had injured him but he knew that most of his kind was under the spell called “Imperium Animus”. This spell was used by Colossus, Geluna and Katos to control their armies and prevent the uprisings against them. This spell was forbidden to use but these few used them anyways and this spell had no opponent. None could go against it and resist its control.

Virgil yelled out “Bring me a horse!”

A white horse was brought to him and Leosher sat on him. He looked at Usere who was being helped back up to his feet by Barian, and called upon him,

“Bring him to me,” Leosher yelled “He shall go back to the castle and be looked after.”

Barian quickly picked him up in his arms and put him on the white, furry horse and Leosher rode towards the castle. They were now very far from the castle, for they had pushed the enemy away from the castle to prevent damage but still, Strinthiuns did damage. They had broken some walls of the castle and had left the entire South wing of the castle, destroyed. South wing of the castle was where the coronation had been held.

Leosher rode back to the castle and soon, when he was out of sight, Azar found Virgil and came to his apprentice

“What should we do with the men?”

Virgil looked around to make a decision but all he saw was punishment. The men had suffered enough. They were bruised and battered and terrified with the sight of the carcasses of their fallen.

“They have suffered enough,” said Virgil “We should let them go.”

Barian was a little shocked, for he knew Leosher would not like it “What would we tell Leosher?”

“We will tell him that we let them go so they could tell the tale of his brutality, to inflict your terror in the hearts of Strinthiun citizens.”

“Do you think he would believe it?” Azar laughed and leaned on his staff.

“Of course he will, first of all, he will believe his own brother, Virgil, and second is that all he wants is power. When we tell him that, he will not even think about it.” Then Barian turned to Virgil “You are the second in command and he did not give any directions about what to do, therefore, you have the right to let them go. You do not have to lie to him.”

Virgil smiled with happiness and shouted out “Let them go!”

As the Empirion soldiers removed their weapons and got off guard, the Strinthiun army retreated like the hyenas, scared and terrified. They did not wait and stay to thank Virgil who generously, even after getting attacked by them, was letting them go.

“Now let us go back to the castle,” said Virgil and all the rest agreed. They picked their injured and fallen and began their journey back.

Leosher was now entering the gates of the castle. He entered the gates and made his way to the inner parts of the castle, where he found out that the people had seen the genocide of the enemy. Though they had sent their children to the ends of the castle where they could not see the gore and violence, they had seen what Leosher could do. Some felt safe but some felt threatened, for they thought Leosher was too young to possess that kind of power but though he was 18 years old, he was mature enough to know the difference between good and evil and whenever he needed guidance his brother, who was a grown man now, guided him.

“What happened?” Urey cried out from the top of the wall “Is he hurt badly?” He ran down and came to his brother.

“It is alright,” Usere tried to grin “I am fine brother, it is just a gash. I will be fine.”

When Neiham heard Urey’s cry, she came out from the back of the court hall and looked at Usere’s injury. She gave him some of the Lava flower elixir and healed him.

“You were brutal out there,” Neiham looked at Leosher. She did not show humor nor did she show anger. She said with a straight face “You should get changed now, for you look filthy.”

He nodded and began walking towards his chamber and when he entered the court hall, there was a cheer. All the fear of the people was gone and joy had entered their hearts and mind and they felt safe in the presence of Leosher because knew that he was capable of defending them. All those who opposed his power also came to their senses and believed in him now because they followed the crowd. The number of the believers was higher than the non-believers; therefore they had to follow the crowd. “Long Live King Leosher! Long Live King Leosher! Long Live King Leosher!”

All cheered for him and he liked it and wanted more of it, therefore he changed his course and began walking towards where his throne used to be and on the way, his dressers approached him

“Master, you do not have to worry about the blood for it was fall off after a dive in water. We thought this might happen that is why we designed it to withstand brutality and ruthlessness.”

Leosher nodded and kept on walking to sit on his throne but changed his course again when he saw that it was still in the yards. He decided to go and take a bath again. He plunged into the water and again made them muggy with blood but this time he kept his clothes on, for he knew there were children in the castle. He kept his royal clothes on and did not even bother to take the regal cloak off.

After he was done taking a bath, he went back to his room and wrote a rough list of rules that he wanted in his kingdom.

All rich residents must pay money to keep their gold.

All males shall be available at any time to serve their king.

All shall be loyal to their king.

All must travel to other countries with permission.

The king’s advisors must know about all trades going on within the kingdom and beyond the kingdom.

All shall do what the king wishes for them to do.

None shall question the authority of the king.

All criminals shall be put to death, no matter the crime.

Poor shall receive free food from the kingdom’s reserves, once a week.

All under the age of 12 shall receive education.

All must live near the castle.

The family must listen to the Father and if the father is dead, the son shall be the head of the family.

These twelve laws were the main laws that Leosher wished to be in his kingdom. He gave the piece of parchment to Virgil who was standing in the court hall. He had finished all of his tasks and now he was enjoying the evening feast that the people held in the court hall. There was dancing with joy and delicious food. Men drank rum in the corner and children played in the center. There was a cheerful atmosphere all over the castle and all the residents of The Empire loved their new kingdom.

The women of the kingdom shared their recipes for their delicious foods and the old shared their wisdoms. Many children sat around Lamfari as he told them the stories of his journeys to the far lands and many children sat around Barian, Usere and Urey as they told about their journeys and the fight against the Leviathan. Neiham and Azar sat with the Union where they discussed all that had been going on. Adne was happy and was now a regal and all of the residents respected her, for she was the mother of the King of The Empire. Everyone enjoyed and the smell of delicious meat, charcoal and sweet rum in the air was the best anyone had ever smelt.

“Listen well brother,” Leosher said to Virgil while handing him the parchment “This is a rough list of the rules I wish to be abided in my kingdom. I give you and the rest of the closest, Azar, Neiham, Barian, Usere and Urey, the authority to add some other laws.”

Virgil nodded and put the parchment in a pouch he had and continued enjoying. All enjoyed and loved the evening, for this was their first worriless evening. They had never had so much food to eat, not even the rich. They had never felt safer and the warmth of the fire under the pots and in the lanterns made it amazing.

Leosher looked for Meagon and went outside in the grounds with her. They both sat on a stone table in the moon light and looked around at the blue and white flowers that covered the grass.

“How are you?” asked Leosher in a softer voice than usual “It has been a long time since we sat together, alone.”

“I know,” she smiled “I missed you.”

“Do you like this castle?”

“Yes,” she smiled again and looked around “This dark sky and the bright moon light and the cool breeze makes it even more beautiful than the morning and the sweet scent of the flowers is even better.”

Leosher got up and took his boots off “Put your feet on the cool grass,” Meagon followed him and took her sandals off. Both of them rubbed their feet on the ground and enjoyed the sweet tickle under their feet.

“Meagon, can I tell you something?”

“Yes, Leo, you can tell me anything.”

Leosher blushed a bit “I am a king now. Call me Leosher, King Leosher.”

“No matter how regal you become, I will always call you Leo, in private of course.”

“Okay let us get serious now. I have to ask you something.”

Meagon blushed looked into Leosher’s eyes and smiled a bit “Go on.”

Both of them got closer and closer “Will you be my Queen after I am done with my quest of being the ruler of Thraenus and Aseroth?”

“Yes Leo, I will be your bride.”

There was a huge smile on both of their faces and both kissed and enjoyed the full moon night. The brisk breeze and the cool grass beneath their feet made it even more romantic. They both talked and enjoyed the moon light until midnight. It was now time for everyone to go back. All those who lived far, were to live in nearby towns.

Now no one was afraid of traveling at night, for they knew no one would take them hostage, rob them or kill them but before going, Virgil announced all of the laws. No one hated the laws and all thought that the laws were soft enough to let them enjoy life and were harsh enough to threaten the evil-doers in the community.

The night was splendid but every good thing must come to an end and the midnight was this party’s end. Adne, Meagon, Buntius and Lamfari stayed in the castle as well as the warriors and the Empirion soldiers but all the others left and took all the commotion with them. Leosher went back to his bed chamber and went to sleep as soon as he layed on the brisk and soft bed. He did not even take the cloak off; he simply unsheathed his weapons, took the sheaths off of his body and slept.

CHAPTER 12

It was dawn and the suns shone into Leosher’s bed chamber through the huge window doors that opened up to the balcony. They struck his eyes and he had to get up. He sat up with his legs haging down from the high, white bed, and rubbed his eyes. He sat there for some moments until he gained his conscious and soon he got up and changed his white toga and wore the royal clothes. He opened the huge doors to go outside in the marbled halls and he swaggered to the dining halls with his cloak dragging behind him.

The dining room was beautiful. It was filled with flowers and had giant door-like windows with white and crystal blue see-through curtains. They fluttered in the morning breeze and the flowers bloomed and made the atmosphere pleasant. The floor was cobble stoned and there was a big dining table in the middle. It was a long, heavy table made with red wood and had dozens of chairs around it. It was a bit gothic style with strange carvings on the chairs, for this was Geluna’s table and had not been replaced; only refurbished and cleaned. The new workers of the castle had also placed a huge chandelier in the ceiling, above of the table. It was made with blue and yellow crystals with light blue flames blazing within it.

Leosher came and sat on the first end, on the throne like chair of the king and waited for all the others to come out there for breakfast too. Just as he sat there, his servants, many of them who were humans, came out of the grand kitchen with trays and trays, all filled with food. There were meats of all kinds, fruits of all kinds and bread, all prepared especially by Adne as a coronation gift for her son.

Adne followed the servants out of the kitchen and she was wearing the same, fancy clothes from yesterday. She walked to her son and kissed him on the forehead and sat on one of the chairs and soon, all of the warriors came out of their chambers as well, including Virgil. Meagon and Buntius joined them too and all began enjoying the breakfast.

“Tonight, we shall journey to attack the Strinthiun castle” Leosher said while taking a bite from a loaf of bread “We shall conquer the kingdom of Colossus too.”

“But brother,” Virgil interrupted “Strinthius is 4 days’ worth of journeying. We will need a place to stay.”

Urey coughed and laughed “You all might be forgetting something. My brother and I are from Strinthius and we were bounty hunters. We have men who shall accommodate us. Just tell us the route we shall travel.”

Usere gnawed on a buffalo leg “There is only one way to get to Strinthius and that is to go back towards the outskirts and cross the mountains and then travel through the strip of land that connects Strinthius to The Empire.”

Barian joined in the conversation too “If we sail, we will get to the land of Strinthius faster. I suggest we take the biggest ships we have and go by sea.”

Leosher thought for a moment and looked at Virgil “Bring me the map.”

Virgil got up and brought the war maps from the soldiers’ quarters and put them in front of Leosher.

“I believe we should leave now,” Adne smiled and got up “We do not belong here.” She looked at Buntius and Meagon and both of them followed her out and left the warriors alone.

Leosher had the large parchment map in front of him and he started planning.

“If we take the sea route, we will go directly to the castle but we will not have the necessary provisions to fight a battle,” Usere said while caressing his beard “I think we should take the land route.”

“I agree,” Azar said and took a long puff from his pipe and got up. He walked closer to the map and traced the route with his finger “If we go through land, we will be able to go to the Gelun trade market to gather provisions and modern weapons and then climb over the middle mountains in about two days’ journey. Afterwards, we travel through the tribe of the Nephilims of the west, and to the Elf land, where Usere and Urey can meet their family and provide proper accommodations for the Empirion army. If we take the land route, which we should, we will get to Elf land in about 3 and a half days, if we leave now, and we can attack the castle on the fourth day and on the fourth day, Leosher will be the king of Strinthius and “The Empire” should be expanded by about twice its size.”

Azar was quiet satisfied with his plan and cleverness, for he was the wisest in the group but then Barian took a big gulp of rum from his leather flask that was hanging from his waist and coughed and stood up “My lord if I may,”

“Yes you may.” Leosher smiled and let him continue.

He took another gulp and walked over to the map “We should travel through the water, for it is shorter. We will reach the castle of Colossus in two days. They would not be expecting us to come through the sea route but we will, and therefore we would be at a fantastic advantage. The other fact is that their harbor protections are weak therefore it will be easier to penetrate into the castle.”

Leosher liked both plans but he had to choose one. He sat on his chair and leaned on the arm of the chair with his hand under his chin and weighed the plans and after careful examinations, he finally broke the silence

“We shall go both ways.” All were surprised to hear what he said but then he completed his sentence. He looked at Azar “We shall leave right now, and travel on the land. We will get to the Elf land by the night of the 3rd day and we will wait until the night of the 4th day,” then he looked at Barian who was still standing with the flask in his mouth “You will leave this castle in two days and attack the castle on the night of the fourth day. That way, we will surprise them from both sides and then we will marvel at our victory.”

“That is brilliant,” Virgil sat back down on his chair and smiled “Now it is settled. Barian shall lead the navy to fight and we all shall leave today with the army.”

Neiham, who had been sitting quiet for a long time finally broke her silence,

“My lord may I ask something?” Leosher nodded in approval and she continued “Last night, I discovered something. It was a mixture of components in powdery form. It could light on fire and blow up.” Leosher sat up in his chair and increased his attention “I call it flash powder but what I mean to say is, that we can have it on our ship and instead of shooting harpoons on the castle, we could shoot metal balls which would be more destructive and efficient.”

Everyone liked Neiham’s accomplishment and appreciated her. Leosher himself liked it a lot and had a smirk on his face and soon he got up and looked at everyone “This is why I have an enchantress and a potion maker on my advice group.” Then he looked at Neiham again “You may put this technology on all the ships we have, but I have one question for you, what will you call the device that will shoot the balls?”

“I shall call it, the canon.”

They all were happy that they had a new weapon in their arsenal, and after all was settled and all the plans were made, the meeting ended and all began to get the army ready for the journey. Neiham and Barian took the craftsmen of their kingdom to the harbors where they built huge ships with Leosher’s flag on them, a red flag with a golden Kris blade. The ships were being made with oak wood, the most prominent wood in the forests of The Empire. 16 huge ships, Galleons, were being made and all the ships were to have dozens of kegs filled with the powder prepared by Neiham, and there were to be hundreds of metal balls to be shot as well.

Leosher stood in the entrance of the castle, near the main gates and waited for his horse to arrive. He had all of his weapons and the most important one of them all on this part of his journey, the golden spear. He had made sure he had it with him this time, for he was not about to make the same mistake he did with Geluna.

After he had stood in the morning sun for about several minutes, his dark horse finally arrived. It was fully black with a shiny fur and a short, warrior like mane. It had a leather saddle on it with golden stirrups and had a satchel on one side for Leosher’s belongings, such as some of his weapons, for he was carrying the gauntlet, the Gladius sword, the spear and a scythe, four weapons in total. His brother held the horse in place as a respect to the king and Leosher sat on it and just as he turned around and saw that all the army was lined up behind him.

“Let us journey to the kingdom of Strinthius and bring the demise of Colossus.”

And just as he said that, the journey to the castle of Colossus began and Leosher was in front of the group. There were hundreds of men who followed him and praised him. Some carried their weapons and now but all had their armors on. The size of the army had increased because some of the male residents of The Empire, had joined the army too. The entire army was engulfed in black steel that matched the color of Leosher’s clothes and had his emblem on them, the Kris blade. His emblem was no longer his face, because it was too costly to make, and wasn’t as deadly looking as a Kris blade.

The army had many types of men. Some carried broad swords with them; some carried long spears and shields with Leosher’s emblem and the rest, Urey’s group, carried bows and arrows. Although half of the army did not have their weapons, for the armory ran out of metals to forge them, the Empirions looked deadly.

They traveled and traveled. It took them about 14 hours to travel through the grasslands and finally reached the Gelun trade market. It was a big town filled with traders and merchants and forgers. People from all over Thraenus came here for the grains and food in turn for Strinthiun money and Agnithiun weapons. All the shops were made with clay and wood. The streets were soil and did not have a hard surface on them. There were many barns and rest places for the weary travelers and their animals as well. It was very close to the sea and there were hundreds of ships docked in the harbor too.

Everyone in the market now knew Leosher and praised him. They offered him clothes and gifts; many offered him wine and water as well. Leosher smiled at them and did not take any of them, for he did not want them and instead quickly found a nice group of rest places for his men and sent them in it to rest and spend the night in. He himself planned to stay in the fanciest place he could find.

After all of the accomodations were done, Leosher went and talked to Virgil.

“Virgil, go to the blacksmiths and order them to make weapons for my men with my emblem on them—and make sure you do not pay them.”

Virgil nodded but did not like the way Leosher acted, for he wanted to pay the people their fare share but Leosher was forbidding him from doing so and he had to listen to his king, no matter what. He went to a blacksmith market and chose the one who did not have any buyers. All the others were filled with customers but this one only shouted for them to come to him but none did. It was an old man, about ninety years old and in his last days, for humans did not live as long as the other species did. He had a young boy with him who helped him and the boy was about 9 years old and both were not being able to sell anything, for everyone wanted to get their job done by young and strong hands, not old and weak. He wore rags and had silvery white hair, just like Azar’s, and sat cross legged on a stool in front of his shop and tried to get people’s attention but none gave him any.

Finally, Virgil passed by and the man yelled out “Please, give me a chance and you will get the best work you have ever seen.”

Virgil turned around and saw him. He was shocked, for Virgil was the first one who had listened to him but he said again “Come to me and you will get a piece of work you will never be able to forget.”

Virgil smiled and finally walked to him “Why do others have much work but you have none?”

“It is because they think, just because one is old, he is useless but trust me, you will not regret coming to me.”

Virgil laughed and patted the young boy on his head “Do you help this man?”

The little boy was shy at first but he finally replied “Yes, but I do not get to help my grandfather a lot, for we do not get much work to do.”

The boy was wearing rags too but his grandfather provided him with the best he could afford. Both were extremely poor and barely ate something in a day.

Virgil looked at the old man “Where is this boy’s father?”

The man looked down at the ground and there were tears in his eyes “They were brutally killed by Geluna’s men, but now I feel safe, for I know the new king will take care of us all.”

Virgil smiled and thought in a sarcastic way “he sure will.” After, he looked around and sent a soldier to get Usere and Urey from their rest places. They knew all about weapons and the quality of metals, for they were bounty hunters and only used the finest weapons as their own. When they finally came down to Virgil they were shocked because he had chosen the oldest one, when he could choose the finest of them all.

“How many swords, shields, spears and bows do we need?” Virgil asked.

Usere ignored Virgil and moved forward and looked the man in his eyes “What materials do you work with?”

The humble man smiled and told the boy to bring the sample box out and when the boy followed his grandfather’s order and brought out the box, it was covered in dust. They had not used it in months, for no one came to them.

It was a large wooden box with many compartments in it. The man opened the latch and pulled out the samples. They were like small metal chunks. There was gold, iron, steel, silver, bronze and brass and Usere examined all of them carefully and when he was done, he told Urey to examine the black steel.

“These are awfully old,” Urey laughed “Are they as old as you are?” He laughed at the old man but not in a mocking or derogatory way. He was witty, therefore he could not refuse the urge to say that but then he appreciated him as well “Old black steel is fantastic—the older it gets, the stronger it gets. Make our weapons with the oldest black steel you have.”

“Might I suggest adding a smudgen of bronze in it? Adding bronze to black steel makes a strong metal to work with and makes high quality weapons.”

Usere leaned forward and said in his heavy voice “I have never heard of anyone using black steel with bronze, all my life.”

“Yes, I have never heard of it either.” Urey backed his brother.

“That is because the art is lost. No blacksmith is old enough to know that bronze and black steel are better together than they are apart” the old man laughed and looked at his grandson “Will you go bring me your father’s sword?”

The boy nodded and ran to a dirty old room in the back of the shop to get it. He brought out a fine, dark sword. It was in a great shape but its grip suggested it was old. The old man put it on an anvil and looked at Usere “Strike it with your sword and you shall find out.”

Usere backed up a bit and drew his sword out and struck it on his target. It was a strong, straight blow and the strike was so loud that everyone looked at them until Urey told them off “It was just a test—we are not robbing this old lad.”

Usere’s sword broke in half and he was left astounded, for he had not seen a metal stronger than black steel yet.

“My sword is black steel too, why did mine break and that one did not?” Usere asked.

“It is because this one had bronze in it, which increased its strength drastically.”

Usere nodded and told him to make their weapons with bronze and black steel.

“How many do you want?”

This question took some thinking and Urey and Virgil discussed and finally Virgil spoke “We will take 700 swords, 300 spears and 275 bows and about 1000 arrows, all forged with bronze and black steel.”

The man was very surprised, for this was a huge order.

“Look,” Urey said to clear things up “We know it is a lot but we need them by tomorrow at dawn.”

The old man quickly got up “How am I supposed to make all them to their finest quality in such little time?”

“We will give you men that will work with you,” Virgil looked at the man. He knew he was not to pay the man but the man was old and had a family to feed “I will give you 1 silver coin per piece you forge.”

The kid was astonished and left jaw dropped, for this was the first time he was going to see so much money and when the man saw his grandson’s face, he agreed and Virgil sent the men as he promised. They were about 25 in number and all were skilled and worked for the Empirion armory and just as the old man saw the men approach him, he began working, for he knew there was no time to waste.

Now it was getting late, for midnight was upon them, so all decided to go to sleep. It was a dark night and the moon was hidden by the thick clouds and it looked as if a storm was approaching. The old man brought all the materials he had, from his old compound and the work had begun. All the people who tried to sleep could not, for all they heard were hammer blows and clanking sounds and the thunder and dripping of the heavy rain made it even worse.

CHAPTER 13

It was a little after dawn when the clanking and hammering finally stopped. It was still raining but very little and Leosher got up from his bed and put his coat on and buttoned it and put his sheaths and weapons on him too. Then finally, he latched his cloak on and wore his boots and moved out of the hut. He went in the balcony and jumped down.

It took a little bit of looking around but he finally saw his brother, who was coming out of his rest place.

“Brother,” Leosher smiled at him “Did you get the weapons ready?”

“Yes, they must be ready by now. But I have to tell you something,”

“What is it?”

Virgil smiled and tried to explain his doings “Even though you explicitly told me not to pay the man who would make our weapons, I felt pity and promised to pay him.”

Leosher was furious, not because they had to pay but because his brother had not listened to his orders “What? You are paying him even though your king, I, told you not to?”

“Brother, I told you I felt guilty of not paying. The man was old and did not have money to buy food for his grandson. Please try to understand, remember the days when we did not have money.”

Leosher finally calmed down and looked at Virgil in the eyes, “I do not care—you are going to have to pay for the weapons on your own, the kingdom will not pay.”

Virgil nodded and understood and continued to his business of supervising what was going on around them. After the talk, Leosher went to Usere who just came out of his rest place as well, and told him to round up the men, for they were about to leave this market and continue their journey.

Virgil went to the old man and collected and gave the weapons to the men and when he was done, he looked at the man who was expecting his money “Do you have a parchment and ink I could use?”

The man was shocked but he pulled out ink and a piece of parchment from his drawer and gave it to Virgil with his old, wrinkled hands “What do you need this for?”

“I am going to write you a letter that you can take to the castle, but I trust you; please only take the money I owe you and a little extra for your troubles but not a lot.”

The man smiled and Virgil began writing:

Mother,

This man is a friend. He forged special weapons for the Emprion army and I owe him money. Give him the amount he asks for, out of my own coin pile. Be careful; do not take it from the Kingdoms pile but from mine. And give my regards to Neiham, Barian and Meagon.

Your son,

Virgil.

He put the feather nib back in the ink and rolled up the parchment and tied a string to it and gave it to the old man “Do not read it, just go and give it to the mother of the king, Adne. She will take care of your needs.”

Virgil patted his young grandson, who had stayed awake all night with his old grandfather, and left to leave with the men who were standing ready, waiting for him and when he joined them, they all finally began moving forward.

“I hope you listened to me this time” Leosher said in a sarcastic way “I am disappointed in you.”

“Brother, trust me, you do not have to worry about a single matter. I have paid him from my own coin pile.”

Leosher nodded and appreciated and then continued his journey towards the middle mountains of The Empire…

It had only been half a day when they reached the middle mountains. It was very cold and everything was frozen. Even the drool of the animals froze, the moment it came out of their mouth. The cold was too much for Azar too, because his pipe died down because of the cold. Leosher did not even feel the cold, for he was covered with clothes from his neck down but the soldiers were cold, for their metal armor was engulfed in frost.

It was even colder than the last time Leosher and the warriors had passed through here, for the weather balance was now returning to normal. Geluna controlled the weather of the middle mountains and made it easier for her soldiers to travel to regions beyond middle mountains and take the food and tributes and make the citizens suffer.

The Empirion army made their way through the slopes of the mountains and finally reached the top where they did not expect what they saw. It was the ice giants that stood in their way and blocked their paths. They were no longer controlled by Geluna but were still mindless giant boulders of ice and snow with four limbs and a head. They did not, and could not distinguish between who was a friend and who was a foe. The same happened with the Empirion army, the giants saw the giant band of men and did not how to respond. Luckily, Leosher had already killed the Yeti and they did not have to deal with him but they had to deal with them now. The giants wreaked havoc but Leosher stayed calm. They roared in his face but he ignored and looked at Virgil

“I do not wish to hurt them, but what should I do?”

Virgil did not know how to respond therefore he sought guidance from Azar “What should I do master?” He asked his mentor.

Azar got off his horse and tried to confront the giants “We do not mean you any harm but we need to pass through these mountains.”

All he heard back was a loud roar and growl with a scowl on the giant’s face. It spit on Azar’s face and did not listen to a word he said. Again, Azar, being wise and not wanting to kill in vain tried to convince the giants to back down “I again ask you to get out of the way, for we do not wish to battle.”

Just as the matters were heating up, Leosher said from behind “I think we should go the other way around, for I do not wish to fight in this cold.”

They all turned around and the group started moving but the most arrogant of the giants came forward and said in a roar which roughly translated to “Get out you mewling quims.”

Not many could understand what the giant had understood but the warriors heard just fine and understood quite clearly and everyone who heard it now knew it was trouble. Leosher moved his hand from over his shoulder and grabbed onto the grip of his scythe that was hanging from his back in a sheath and swung it. He cut the giants head off and a battle started. Hundreds and hundreds of the giants ran up the hill when they saw the battle had started and soon, all the giants of the middle mountains were there to fight the Empirion army. Leosher, who was already off his horse charged into battle with a loud roar and his men, followed him.

His brother was right behind him and Azar was third in line and just as they reached the horde of the giants, Azar shouted to Virgil “The fire spell is, ‘Exsilio Ignis’. Use this and think of an animal in your head and try to bring the fire out in that shape.”

Virgil nodded and did exactly what his teacher told him but Virgil needed some time therefore Azar bought him some by creating the shield with the “Auxilius Armus” spell. The shield appeared around both of them and Virgil created the fire. He flicked his wand briskly and recited “Exsilio Ignis” and a huge bull made of fire rammed out of the tip of the wand and ran towards the ice giants with its fiery horns ready to melt them.

It ran through many and even ran over Leosher but he did not seem to care for he was harmless even though the elephant was made of blazing red fire.

Leosher was fighting with his full might and slain everyone in his way and cut their heads off. The elf brothers were not being able to fight well, until they came up with the brilliant idea of lighting their swords and arrows on fire. The entire army followed them and soon, the entire mountain was filled with blazing fire and was hot like summer, which brought the giants’ demise and it was not long until every single one of them had melted on the ground.

The ice giants had melted and turned to water but of course after the fire of the swords and Virgil’s bull died down and the water turned to ice back again.

After the battle was over, Leosher looked around at his men. He saw casualities, there were men who died and lay on the ground because of the giants but now, the Empirion army had led them into extinction.

The morale of the men seemed to be down, for they had only been out of the castle of about a day and a half and they were already being attacked and to raise it, Leosher got in front of his men and began talking to them “Although we have lost some of our men, we have won the battle and that is the only thing that matters.” He slowly moved in the incredible amount of snow and ice and said to them “This should be a proof to all of you that the Emprion army is not naïve and weak, but instead is very clever and strong. We have won every battle we have been into and have not lost any one of them. And tonight we have accomplished one more thing, we have driven the ice giants’ race to extinction and none lives anymore.”

The men chanted but the original warriors were not proud of what they had done. They had killed innocents and imbeciles who did not know any better and now they were extinct for no solid reason.

Leosher looked at his brother, who was a little disappointed because he had killed innocent creatures, and smiled “What is wrong brother?”

“It just does not feel right,” Virgil objected “They were only trying to be protective of their mountain. We killed them for no reason.”

“No reason?” Leosher exclaimed “They called us mewling quims, how is that not a reason. They disrespected their king and received the perfect penalty—their extinction.”

Virgil had nothing to say therefore he stayed quiet as well as Azar, Usere and Urey. They did not say a word until everyone was back where they belonged and were ready to move. Virgil finally broke his silence and brought a forced smile on his face, even though his heart ached “Let us go brother.” And the journey started.

As they were walking, Virgil began talking to Azar “You told me to use the fire spell. Why did not you use it yourself?”

“It is because I want you to learn. I have plenty of practice, but you do not.”

“Well, you tell me all the spells I have to use, why cannot you simply give me the Enchants and Spells book.”

Azar thought for a second and rekindled the fire in his pipe, for they were getting off the mountain and the cold was finally receding “I might as well.”

He took a large book out of his satchel and held it in his hands. It was a tarnish brown, leather bound book with black thread sewn around it that held it together. Its pages were ancient and yellow. There were golden inscriptions on the book that read “The book of spells and enchants” and above it were a golden diamond inscribed in it. The book was illuminated and even thought it was in a shabby condition, it was beautiful and was sturdy enough to hold up in battles.

Virgil was happy when Azar gave it him,for now he had his own wand and the spells and enchants book that he could use, but this book was a fully refined version. Most of the spells were left in “The Enchanted Book of Secrets” which was lost somewhere in Ratarus because of Shamaun.

It took some time but they finally came down the mountain and continued their journey without resting. They followed the central stream that flowed from the outskirts all the way to the mountains but instead of going back to the outskirts, they went to the right, just after they got off the mountain. The cavalry and infantry proceeded and soon, they arrived at the entrance of the town of the Nephilims of the west.

It was a dark night with very minimal stars showing and the moon was engulfed in a thick sheet of clouds. There was fog and it was a grim atmosphere, for the Nephilims were the most persecuted out of all of the kingdoms and only a limited number of them existed now on Thraenus. They were a mighty race and were one of the first races put on Thraenus and were one of the favorites of the gods. One of the other reasons of their persecution was that they were strong and could be used as slaves and could do the work of 32 humans or 7 trolls or 3 vampire or 2 werewolves or 27 goblins or 70 fairies.

On average, they were huge, about 19 feet in height and had scaly and pale skin. Their skin was like of a snake and their teeth were like of a troll, dirty and yellow and they only wore loincloths and nothing else. They had thick, shapeless swords but most of them carried clubs. Their hairs were long and scarce and were ugly like goblins and trolls. They were basically a bigger version of trolls but a lot stronger, leaner and intelligent. They thought like humans but because they had been enslaved all of their lives, they had not developed as much as other breeds. They did not pledge their allegiance to any king or queen and therefore were treated badly. They had escaped to the borders of Gelus and Strinthius and did not have any contact with any other being, for they were too “dirty” for humans to talk to. They were so cut off from the rest of the world that they did not even know Geluna had been defeated and did not know Leosher was the new king and neither did they know that Gelus did not exist anymore.

Leosher, Urey and Usere slept on their horses while Virgil and Azar guided the men towards the town. They held lanterns in their hands and continued through the misty night and when they finally went through the fields and started entering the town, Leosher and the elf brothers woke up from their slumber. Now, they all stood in the abandoned area of the town where no Nephilim lived.

“We should hurry up” Urey quickly looked at Leosher and looked around and soon, Usere gained his consciousness too “We should just sneak around.”

Leosher was a little shocked and surprised, for the elf brothers were one of the bravest he knew.

“What is the matter?” he asked.

Urey smiled and scratched the back of his head “We got in a conflict with the Nephilims once and we are never to go back in there or they will kill us both.”

Leosher laughed arrogantly and said “You have me as your king, what shall you fear?” But his arrogance faded away when he looked at them and noticed that their worries were legitimate “Tell me what did you do?”

Usere drew his sword out of his sheath and looked around and put his guard up and began explaining “As you know we are bounty hunters, we had a bounty on a Nephilim who had run away from its master in Agnithius. It was a military general who set the bounty for 500 hundred gold coins. We came here to the Nephilims of the west to kill it and take its head back to Agnithius to collect our money but little did we know we attacked the wrong giant. It was the leader of the clan, the head of the group, and we had tried to kill it. Nephilims are usually very calm until they feel threatened and Urey made a cut on the giant’s face while trying to kill it which aggravated all. We were to be killed that instant but we ran away because we were highly outnumbered and overpowered—that is the whole story.”

Just as he stopped talking, shadowy figures began emerging from the mist. They were tall and pale and when the mist moved away, they were the Nephilims. These were the warrior Nephilims who protected their community from intruders, which Leosher and his men were considered right now. Leosher saw that the situation was serious therefore he stepped off of his horse and walked ahead to talk to the giants. He was incredibly short compared to the Nephilims. He had to look up and talk but he still kept his pride and arrogance “We wish to pass through your land,” Leosher said with authority “We neither mean any harm nor do we wish to cause any trouble, we come in peace.”

The Nephilim smirked and clenched his right fist “That is what they all say but once they get in the town, they drag us out to their lands, pick us apart and make us work.”

Leosher smirked and stepped forward a little bit and got closer “I do not wish to harm you, for you have not threatened me. I am the king of The Empire, the ruler of these lands and I do not wish to be restricted from doing what I wish to—you may try to stop me but let me tell you something,” Leosher’s eyebrows cocked and there was a grin on his face “I will bring hell upon whoever touches me.”

When he finished he sentence, he took his weapons off of him and hung them on his horse and he was armless now, no protection at all.

He looked at Virgil “Brother, stay here and wait for me. I shall go and talk to the leader.”

Virgil smiled and encouraged him “Do not go too hard on them brother.”

Leosher laughed and walked through the Nephilims who blocked his path. They were shocked, for he did not seem to care if he was alone and without any weapons and he was walking through a huge colony of Nephilims.

“You did not ask to go through,” said one Nephilim “You have no right to go through.”

Leosher smirked “I do not need permission to go through.”

This statement provoked the Nephilim and he moved forward to punch Leosher but his fellow Nephilim stopped him, for he was a little skeptical about a man who decided to walk in without any preparations “We should let him talk to our Leader, after all he is harmless, for he has no weapons.”

Leosher now knew that he had gotten in their heads and they were a little intimidated by him. He continued walking inwards with his hands behind his back, with his cloak dragging behind him and soon, the Nephilims followed him too but one of the last one saw Urey and Usere with the corner of his eye and told the rest but they seemed to be calm and did not react to it and escorted Leosher to their leader. This was their plan, to take Leosher and after they were done with him, they were going to come back and take those brothers and kill them.

The town was shabby and all of the older Nephilims had abuse and whip marks on their backs and legs and arms. The women of the clan were abused a little more than men, but their children, who looked a lot like human children, just a little bluish pale, did not have any at all, for they were not born into slavery.

Nephilims had big, almond shaped, blue eyes and had big and sharp yet yellow teeth and pointy ears just like the elves. Their main diet was raw, rotten meat but they cooked it over fire on certain occasions. The town was very shabby with broken down houses and rotten fruits and vegetables on the ground which the children picked up and ate at any time they wanted. There was poverty all around and the atmosphere of the town was sad and grim. The roads were gravelly and there were no other creatures except the Nephilims, for none could cope with the harsh conditions except them. They were probably the only creatures who might survive in the northern mountains if introduced there.

Leosher walked with his cloak dragging on the gravel and the Nephilims walked with their bare feet on the gravel, behind him and soon, they reached a dead end “Where is the leader?” Leosher asked and out of a house made of wood and straw, just like the others, out came the leader.

He was wearing a loincloth just like the others but there was something different about him. He had small, thumb-like horns on the sides of his chin because of old age. They were black and contrasted with his bluish pale skin. His eyes were also fully black and no other color and he was about 300 years old.

“What brings you here?” He asked.

Leosher saw himself surrounded with many Nephilims and when he looked back, there were even more. The entire road was now filled with them, for they were ready to fight against any threat.

Leosher stayed calm and did not get intimidated “I come in peace, I only command you to let my men and I to pass through your town. There will be no harm done as long as you do not attack my men first.”

The old man growled “Who are you to command? You have no authority here.”

Leosher was now a little annoyed “I am tired of explaining, but I will do it this one more time, I am the king of The Empire, the kingdom whose lands you all live on.”

When the old man heard Leosher say that, he began paying more attention “You have no proof—and Geluna is the queen of Gelus.”

“She’s dead, and Gelus no longer exists.” Leosher moved his hand forward to shake the leader’s hand and to give him a vision with the help of his godly powers, but just when he moved his hand forward, a protector of the leader grabbed it, which gave Leosher a reason to get mad about.

“Let go of my hand!” Leosher said furiously, “Do it or I will rip that arm right off.”

The Nephilim still did not let go and finally ended up losing his hand. Leosher had warned him. Leosher swung his other hand and grabbed the arm. He crushed it and ripped it off, in front of everyone, as a lesson so they knew not to stand up or act up against him. The Nephilim cried in pain but none helped him, for they were too scared of Leosher.

Finally, Leosher brushed his anger off and moved forward to show the vision but he no longer required a proof, for he had seen Leosher’s audacity and power, which made the leader believe that he was the king. The leader kneeled before him and let him stand in front of the crowd and stepped down from the high chair.

Leosher, who was now acknowledged in the town, addressed to the people “Do not go against or rise against The Empire, for you will end up just like your brother did when he touched me. I do not wish to do any harm and my intent is to pass through this land with peace. I do not plan to take over you all, for you all are worthless peasants, slaves, who have no purpose but to serve greater people.”

He was a bit offensive and some were offended by the way he talked about them but they let it go because Nephilims were humble people.

Just as he was done talking, some of the Nephilims brought Usere and Urey from outside the town. Their hands were tied behind their backs with vines and strips of clothes.

“Hello!” Urey yelled out joyfully when he saw Leosher standing in front of everyone “Looks like they are still angry at us.”

Usere pushed him with his shoulder “Shut up, are you trying to get us killed?”

“Relax, brother, our king sits above them. There is no way they can harm us.”

Just as he said that, the Nephilim who was walking behind him kicked him in his back. He fell in the garbage on the ground with his face in rotten fruit. His brother tried to help him but the Nephilim did not let him, and instead, all laughed at them. They all laughed in their heavy voices and soon, Urey lifted his head up and laughed with them sarcastically. He got back up on his feet and started walking again and when they finally reached Leosher through the crowd, Leosher freed their hands

“What is the meaning of this?” The old Nephilim asked “Why did you free them?”

Urey looked at him and laughed “Because he is our friend—that is why.”

Leosher pulled the leader back, aside from the crowd and confronted him “They are no longer to be hunted by your kind,” He then turned to the tall crowd “They were only bounty hunting and according to the Empirion law, bounty hunters shall not be persecuted.”

After he finished, there was a prolonged silence, but then soon, that was broken when his brother, Virgil came in the town too. He had all the soldiers behind him, ready to fight. The archers had their arrows in their bows and were ready. The spear men had their spears above their shoulders, ready to shoot and the swordsmen and horsemen were in the front, ready to fight.

They did not know that the Nephilims did not mean any harm but instead were only after Usere and Urey.

Virgil yelled at them “Surrender the men or perish!”

There was a huge laugh from behind the tall Nephilims and when they moved apart to let Virgil see who it was, it was Leosher laughing at his brother,

“Brother,” he said while swaggering forward towards him “Brother, I have got everything under control. I do not need your help.”

Virgil was relieved to see his brother, even though he was a little disappointed for his brother’s tone was a little off “I thought you might need help, after all they had outnumbered you and would have out powered you.”

Leosher finally reached him and looked at Azar who was standing right beside him “Get me some rum.” Azar handed him a leather bottle, a pouch rather and he took a big gulp out of it and wiped his face with his sleeve “Brother, let me tell you something,” He put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder and moved closer “I am a god, I give help, I do not need help—I was sent from Aseroth to this mundane planet, to provide help, not receive help.”

Virgil simply nodded but did not feel good and Azar tried to calm his arrogance “It is not you who talks, it is your pride and arrogance my lord,” said he “Please return to the original Leosher, the one you started like.”

Leosher took another big gulp from the bottle and turned to Azar. The rum had now begun working and he was drunk. He put his dirty, darkened with dirt, index finger on Azar old yet perfect lips “Shhhh,” said Leosher “I do not permit you to talk when we brothers talk. It is disrespectful to talk when your king talks—and it is very rude to tell him what or how to act.”

Azar stood there humbly and said nothing, even though he did not like the way Leosher acted. He stood with his staff in his hand and looked down at the muddy ground.

Then he turned to his brother and smiled again, though his smiled was of a drunk’s and his mouth reeked of rum,

“Let us leave these petty grounds and make our way to the lands of Strinthius. We shall kill Colossus tonight.”

Virgil tried to console his drunken brother “We cannot kill him tonight, for he is in his castle and we are still in the lands of The Empire. And even though we can continue the journey, we should not because our men are too tired.”

“I do not care—let us move.”

Virgil nodded, for it was out of his power to deny and ordered the men to get ready. Urey and Usere were released and the town was given back to the old Nephilim to govern, for Leosher did not care about the strip of land they resided in.

The men and their king left the shabby village of the Nephilims of the west, and continued their journey towards East, towards the lands of Strinithius. They traveled along the shore of the North side of the strip and traveled on the sandy beaches and jungles that mostly consisted of Palm trees.

“Brother,” Leosher looked at Virgil from his horse, “I think we should take a rest now.”

Virgil laughed and nodded “I think we should, for we have been traveling for a long time, without a rest. We have traveled non-stop since the middle mountains.”

Virgil ordered the men to stop and take a rest, and they all acted upon his orders quickly. They all set up their camps and set the fire. It was a dark night and they were on the shore. The cold water from the Northern Mountains rustled on the white sand of the beach and the moon peeked over the light clouds. The wind made Leosher’s cloak flutter and the fire fluttered as well and wood popped and sparks jumped out of the fire.

The camps were now set and they all sat around the fire and had meat to eat. The soldiers had hunted the deer and rabbits from the jungles and killed them and now they all ate. They had kegs of rum and booze that they drank in big wooden mugs.

“Why are not the Nephilims accompanying us on this journey?” asked Urey.

Usere spontaneously made funny remarks “Because of us troublemakers.”

The group laughed but then Azar got serious “My lord, why are we not being accompanied by the Nephilims? After all, they would have been a significant help.”

“What do they know,” Leosher laughed and gnawed on a cooked, brown leg of the deer “They are a slave race, what do they know about fighting. They would have been a drag on us.”

They all did not agree but none dared speak against Leosher, for they had seen his brutally and how none could do anything against him.

Leosher soon got so boozed up that he could not even sit up and he fell on his back and fell asleep. His companions, Virgil, Usere, Urey and Azar were in the same condition. What made the condition worse was that they all had pipes and they smoked which made them get knocked out faster.

It took not more than an hour after eating for the entire army to fall asleep, even the animals could not stay awake any longer because they all were too tired.

The fires slowly died down and the rustling of the water and the whistling of the wind slowly became a song. They all synced together and came in a perfect harmony that kept everyone asleep.

CHAPTER 14

It was about 11 in the morning when the boozed up men woke up on the sandy beaches. One of the suns was right above their heads and the winds were gentle and cool. The sea was calm and the sky was crystal clear. The trees fluttered slightly in the cool breeze and created a harmonic rustle that soothed the ear of the listener. There were ashes from the woods from last night and empty kegs on the shore and many animals such as crabs, turtles and rabbits roamed around on the beach—Crabs and turtles on the beach, and the rabbits in the jungle.

“Let us continue,” Leosher got up while rubbing his eyes “We shall continue our journey to Strinthius.”

Azar nodded and got the men ready. Meanwhile, Leosher went and dove in the icy cold waters of the sea. His clothes did not get wet although, the cold water woke him up and got his mind alert. He got out of the water and dried his cloak by squeezing the life out of it but somehow, it did not get wrinkled, at all.

Soon, the horses were lined up and the men as well and the group was ready to leave. The horses had their armors on and the men had their own armors on. Leosher stood in front of the infantry and the horsemen and spoke to them

“Men, tonight we shall approach the lands of Strinthius and arrive in the elf land. You shall enjoy as much as you can, while you can, for after we attack the Strinthiun castle, Katos will probably lead his forces to fight us and he would not wait at all and trust me, once we go against Katos, many lives will be lost.” His men looked down upon the ground until Leosher continued talking “But we do not have to worry, for you all have me at your sides.” The men had a smile on their face and now began cheering for them and when Leosher saw that all were happy now, he slightly waved his hand to give Virgil a sign to begin moving.

The huge army began moving in four rows, in a highly organized manner. There was a huge trail behind them and could be seen at a long distance. They all wore their dark, knight-like armors however there armors were not as thick as their opponents’ because the Empirion army was meant to be faster rather than to last longer, for they could finish battles faster and with Leosher on their side, they did not need any strong protection.

They soon swam through the little lake that connected the North Sea with the Great Sea. It was about 10 feet deep and 70 feet wide and was very easy to swim through and just as they did, they now they stood upon Strinthiun land and Leosher sat on his horse and stood in front of them to address them,

“My men, you now stand upon the Strinthiun land which shall be called The Middle Empire after we take it over. We will reach the elf land by the end of the day, at midnight, if we do not stop, therefore we shall not stop because I plan on getting there at midnight.”

His men were getting tired of this journey, for their master was harsh on them but they stayed loyal and did not say a word, for they were proud to be a part of the Empirion army and a part of a revolutionary force. They all kept walking and marching and followed their king and the General of the Army, Virgil…

It was a dark night again, with the moon not showing. There was no moonlight and the men had to walk with lanterns in front of them. It was one of the darkest nights of the year, the night of Amavus. This night only came around once a year, in the sixth month. There was fog everywhere and though it was summer, it was chilly and very cold, for this night brought this cold forth.

The men arrived at the walls of Elf land and now knew that they had finally reached the end of their journey and could now rest properly until moving further.

The whole city was surrounded by walls made of wood and the gate was situated between two giant towers. These gates were put up recently, for now, everyone who was civilized around the globe, knew of the resistance, The Empire and the thought of someone defeating the evil ruler, Geluna had pumped new courage in everyone and had rejuvenated the fear stricken warriors of all kinds and small battles were being taken place, everywhere.

The Elves led small battles against the Strinthiun army from time to time, and were often joined by Dwarves even though races didn’t like each that much. Some of the residents of Strinthius acted up with the courage but some did not and remained in the same, pitiful state. Elves and the Dwarves were one of the ones that acted up and although Werewolves of Strinthius were brave, they did not seem to care.

The Elf land was guarded by huge wooden walls and it had huge wooden gate with two elves standing in the towers at either side of the gate. This was where Leosher and his men came and wanted to get in from there but the Elves blocked The Empirion armies’ path and did not give them a place to rest their weary and dreary soldiers, for they were scared these might be Strinthiun soldiers dressed as the Empirion soldiers.

“We are not intruders,” yelled out Urey in his jolly voice “Brothers, it is I, the most handsome Elf in the land, Urey.”

He walked out in front of the army, from behind, and stood cockily and when the Elves shone their lanterns light upon his face, although they were far, they could see him and recognized him. “Yeah yeah,” said one of the guards wittily “Dream on!”

He jumped down and opened the huge gates and when Leosher entered the town, it was the happiest town he had ever seen, it was the happiest place they all had ever seen. There were lanterns of all different colors, hanging down in front of every house or shop. These houses were made of bricks and concrete and were probably the strongest houses on all Thraenus and were all on the sides of a dirt road.

Even though it was the night of Amavus and midnight, the town was lit up. The adults did not care if the children stayed up late, for they had no fears now. They knew that the evil reign of the rulers was about to be finished, for they were about to see their demise.

“Welcome to Elf Land” Urey said with his arms wide open with pride and happiness, because he had now returned safely back to his home “This is the best place on Thraenus.”

“But,” Usere interrupted him in his thick voice “Some might argue the Dwarves have the best town.” He said while looking at one of the dwarves who had joined the Empirion army when Leosher killed Mortemus. The short man was angered and agitated but he could not do anything, for he was in the land of the Elves and if he attacked, he would be foolish.

Leosher smiled and continued walking through and although it was dark outside, it was like day inside the town.

“Get the men beds to sleepin.” Leosher said to Usere.

“Would that be it, my lord?” He asked.

“Is there a roadhouse that might be open this time of the day?”

Usere smiled and pointed at a distant building “That my lord is the tavern. That is where we shall be going.”

Usere left to arrange beds for the men and Urey accompanied his king,

“My lord” said Urey “Everything is open for business even after midnight.”

“That is good to know—now go help your brother.”

He nodded and left to help his brother and soon, they were ready to sleep. Leosher ordered Urey to escort the men to their wooden bunks made of hay and grass, and told Usere to take those who wanted to enjoy the night, to the taverns.

The tavern was a huge wooden hut. It had a door in the front and when one entered, there was a warm fire in a distant corner. There were tables with stools around them and there were hundreds of hardworking men, drinking. There were many traders and merchants who were traveling for business, for Strinthius was the land of trade and riches but the riches were for the king. The tavern was run by women who wore tight corsets and their bosoms hung out. This was to lure men into drinking more and usually, it worked.

Leosher went in the tavern and sat on one of the tables and a She-Elf came and brought him a big wooden mug filled with rum and soon the joy began and they all drank till they dropped. They drove the tavern out of business, for they drank and emptied their resorts. Leosher drank the most but for some reason, he did not get boozed enough to pass out and held on to his consciousness. Many of his men did not go to sleep but instead had joined their king to enjoy, for they had only a day before they could attack the Strinthiun castle.

When all were out cold and could not move, the owner of the tavern, the She-Elf that had served Leosher, came to him again.

“We are closed now—I have to go now.”

Leosher looked at her with droopy eyes and smiled. His eyes were red because of the rum in his body and he had no control over his motion but he managed to stay awake “Well, leave then—We will not cause any trouble.”

The She-Elf believed and trusted the Empirion king, therefore she left and left the king and his men alone in the tavern and when Leosher did not see anyone to talk to, he fell asleep too.

And in his sleep, he was visited by the dark creature again. This was the creature’s third time visiting Leosher and it still failed to persuade him to join him. It was pointless for him to try, for Leosher knew he was to be the king of Thraenus and Aseroth and he planned to take over the other planets after he was done. The creature stood in his lair but it was of no use. It tried to move away the cloud in front of Leosher’s face but his tries were futile and after some time of trying, the creature decided to leave him alone and left his dream. And when he left, Leosher got back to his senses with a jerk.

He sat up on his stool and poured the few drops of rum in his mouth, that were left in the bottom of his rum mug. He was still a little tipsy but he got out of his stool while knocking some mugs off of the table and stood as still as he could but he still stood, slightly tipped to the side.

He thought to himself “I am the strongest being on the planet; I do not need assistance of my army to defeat a petty ruler like Colossus. I shall bring his demise myself.”

He nodded and began traveling outside, but it was an odessey. He faced many troubles before making it out of the tavern. He went outside the door and saw that the night was over and the suns were at the cusp. The fog had vanished and the town was sleeping soundly. Not even a single bird was awake except Leosher, for it was dawn and the Elves did not get up until an hour or two after dawn. Leosher went in the horse stable. He dragged and walked like a tired bear and when he freed the horse, he dragged his body up on it and threw himself on its back. He was all packed for his journey; he had his royal cloak and his scythe on his back. The most important thing was the golden spear and he had it sheathed behind his back.

He made his way to the main gate and opened it himself and made it through. He kept going on and soon, the Elf lands were left out of sight and he had entered grasslands. There was a blue water stream running besides him, with gorgeous goldfish that swam in it. There were many small animals that came to drink the clear water of the stream, in the morning and provided scenery for Leosher and cheered him up and soon, his consciousness returned fully and now he was perfectly fine. This water stream led straight to the shore that the castle of Colossus was located off of and Leosher followed it without stopping. Though he perspired, he did not stop and continued…

It was now sundown and Leosher had reached the shore. He could see the golden bridge that led to the magnificently beautiful castle. The bridge was a suspension bridge, only one of its kinds in existence and was made of gold and iron. It was painted gold and the floor of the bridge was crystal clear and made it look like one walked on water. The castle was a huge castle, almost double the size of the Empirion castle. Its walls were painted gold to show wealth and its huge gates were not wooden, like The Empirion castle but instead, were made of silver. This castle symbolized the riches Colossus and even though he was the richest on the planet, his people still suffered.

The castle was mostly made of precious metals and had multiple courtyards and had many species of beautiful plants and flowers. It was guarded by fully armed knights and was located on an island that was surrounded by vicious and monstrous creatures in the water. There was no other way to get in, other than the golden bridge or on naval ships.

Leosher stood at the cusp of the bridge and said to himself:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

After he was done, he unsheathed his spear and his scythe and held both, tightly in his hands. He took a deep breath and it felt like time had stopped. The sun ceased from setting and the waves in the water stopped and suddenly, time was released again, from a tight grip and so was Leosher. He got off of his horse and ran towards the gates and when the soldiers saw him, they began shooting arrows and spears at him. He dodged all the spears and arrows and took his spear and shot it towards a knight that stood right above the gates, holding the lever which held the gates shut tightly.

Just as the spear pierced his armor, his hands left the lever and opened the locks. The spear drove him off of the top of the gates and nailed him on the ground in the courtyard, right beyond the gates and Leosher continued his dodging and came closer to the gates.

When the knights saw that they were not being able to stop the deity, they all gathered behind the gates and locked it by pushing against it. Most of the army stood behind the gates and held the gates shut tightly although none thought of locking the gates. Many of the soldiers stayed in the farthest part of the castle, the court hall where their king sat on his throne with his wife and his son. He was a chubby man with no ability to fight for his own life, for he had abused his power and money. His movements were limited because of his weight. He wore a red toga and always had a wine glass in his hand. It was a gold chalice that he used to drink wine out of and it was never empty. He had a crown on his head that was designed like an olive branch was encrusted with diamonds. His throne had a high back. It reached about half way to the ceiling and the ceiling was incredibly high. It was in the middle of the hall and behind it, was the balcony which showed the big blue sea at its entirety. The throne was located high above the ground and leading up to it were 12 gold steps.

Beside him sat his wife, beautiful but nowhere near as Geluna and Meagon. She wore a loose red and white gown and had rouged lips. She wore mascara and had her son in her lap. Her son wore a white loincloth. He was about 5 years old and fully naïve. He sat in his mother’s lap and sucked on his thumb while the soldiers surrounded them. The king continuously drank from his chalice and sat with fear and ignorance, instead of hiding from his doom. The mother was nervous and terrified, for she had heard what happened to Geluna she if she was not able to stop the deity, who out of these people would be able to.

Leosher ran and kicked open the door. The men, who tried to hold the door shut, were sent flying to the back and could not keep up against the power and strength of Leosher. He charged in through the doors against an army of knights who were covered head to toe in armor, while Leosher did not wear any except chest armor.

He began swinging his scythe side to side, and up and down and even in spiraling motions, and the genocide of the men began. He made his way through the courtyards like a tornado. There were sparks everywhere from the clash between his scythe and their armors. Many scurried into the depths of the castle to avoid death in the shape of Leosher which made his path clearer because many were dying and those who wanted to survive had run away for their lives.

There was a mountain made of metal and flesh and blood flowed out from its bosom. There was blood on the marble floor and the grass that was around them was covered in limbs.

Leosher looked around and tried to find his spear that he had shot before and his eye caught the back of the spear which popped out from the midst of a pile of corpses. He kicked them and scattered them on the ground and pulled out his bloody spear from the knight’s torso and looked around to continue his massacre.

He ran his eyes around the castle and saw through the open doors of the court hall that the king sat in his throne and when Leosher saw him, he swaggered over the dead bodies and in towards the castle. He was covered in blood and there was blood dripping from the scythe and there was an evil grin on his face.

The king was terrified and horrified, for he saw his own death in Leosher’s eyes. Sweat ran down his cheeks and forehead and tears rolled down his eyes. His wife burst into tears and cried with horror however, the son did not know what was going on.

Leosher swaggered ahead and up the steps, and stood in front of the king

“Well, well, well….” Leosher wrapped his hand around the bald head of the king and smirked “Now I bring forth your demise.”

“Listen,” The king begged, he left all of his dignity and fell on the feet of Leosher to beg for mercy “Please, my lord, do not kill me. I will serve you all my life. You can kill my son and my wife but do not kill me.”

Leosher was a bit shocked and so was his wife, for he was sacrificing them for his own life. Leosher looked at the wife and then pointed at Colossus’s son “Cover his eyes, for he shall not see blood. I do not wish to strip his childhood away from him.”

The mother, being scared did what he told her to do and covered the child’s face with her shaky hands and after she had done so, Leosher smiled at her “Watch carefully!”

He grinned ferociously and raised his spear to kill the king and just as he was about to kill him, out of the oblivion, came a fiery canon ball and struck him in his chest. It came through the balcony from the sea and knocked Leosher into a corner of the court hall. Then another ball came and blew away the entire side of the court hall.

When Leosher shook his head and gained his consciousness back, he saw that these were the Empirion ships with his own emblem on the sails. They were here a day before and Leosher did not expect them, at all. This was not exactly Leosher’s men, these were Barian’s men who formed the Empirion navy. Leosher quickly got up and ran to the throne but Colossus and his wife got out of their thrones and ran towards the sea where the ships were. Leosher, trying to stop them, grabbed the child’s arm and stood near the thrones, trying to figure out what was going on.

He ran his eyes from corner to corner and could not see anything for the chandeliers in the hall were out and there was no light except moon light, and the dust flying around made it even harder to see, but then a lantern came flying in the hall. It hit the ground and broke and the flaming oil spilt on the ground and lit the red carpet on fire.

This made the hall bright but it was a deadly situation. After there was light in the dark courthall, out of the shadows of the sea, Barian swung in. He held Neiham in his arms as a hostage. He jumped and stood in the circle of flames and waited for Leosher’s reaction, who was shocked to see that his own man had betrayed him,

“Why Barian, why did you do it?”

Barian mocked him “I am a pirate. I do anything for money and by the way, you are naïve—did you really believe that the Leviathan killed my son, and I sworn to kill the mermaids?!”

Leosher stood there dumbfounded with Barian’s audacity and to make it worse, he continued “All that was a story so you would not kill me. I was hunting mermaids for money. Their skin makes good clothes.”

Leosher’s grip tightened on the crying boy’s arm and the boy shrieked in pain “Why have you tied Neiham?”

“I wanted to show you to never trust a pirate again.”

He cut the ropes from around her and just as she was about to attack Barian, Leosher yelled at her

“Let him go!”

She could not betray or disobey her king therefore she had to let him go. Barian walked back to the broken balcony but then the shrieks of the kid hit his ears,

“Leosher, the kid has nothing to do with all this. Let him go.”

Leosher looked at the kid and the kid was terrified. Tears rolled down his eyes and he was trying to get Leosher off of him and just as he let go of his hand and the boy ran to Barian and just as they were about to swing back in the ship, Leosher shouted form the back “This is not over. You will pay for what you have done, and tell Katos that his death is hovering over his head.”

Nieham quickly put out the fire and Leosher walked back and sat on the throne “Why did you let them go,” She asked “You could have killed them very easily, why did you let them go?”

“I want to kill all three of them together and I do not wish to spill any more blood tonight.”

He sat there on the throne, bloodied and bruised a bit, until he finally said to Neiham “Send a letter to my brother and tell him to come to this castle immediately.”

Neiham nodded and just as she was walking out of the door of the court hall, her eye caught on a huge infantry walking in through the front gate, over the dead bodies and puddles of blood. It was Virgil and the rest of the men, charging in through the gates and coming in through the courtyards. They knew that a great battle had taken place, for all they could see were puddles of blood. They ran in and found Neiham walking out. Her brother, Azar, smiled at her and asked “Where is master Leosher?”

“He is sitting on the thrones in the court hall.”

Virgil left Azar and Neiham behind and took Usere and Urey with him inside the court hall. There he was in his throne. He sat back loosely and looked glorious in the moonlight coming from behind but all the blood on his body mad him look ferocious and evil. There was a glow on his face and his hair made him look like a savage. He sat there with his eyes closed, resting calmly.

“Brother,” shouted Virgil with happiness “why did you leave without taking me with you?” He ran towards him with his arms open with the intention to hug him. Leosher got out of his throne and walked forward and hugged his brother. Some of the blood got on Virgil’s uniform but he did not care. “Are you hurt, brother?” Virgil asked.

“I am perfectly fine.”

“Did you kill Colossus?”

“No, I let him get away.”

Virgil could not understand the meaning behind this but he did not ask again.

“Where is Barian? Neiham is here, he should be too.”

The happiness suddenly faded away from Leosher’s face and he started talking “There is nothing I hate more than betrayal.”

Virgil quickly jumped to a conclusion and surprisingly it was correct “He betrayed us?”

“Yes, he was serving Colossus the whole time.”

“How?”

“He probably wanted to bring me to Agnithius, away from Colossus, that’s why he was pushing on taking a sea route.”

Virgil stayed optimistic “Maybe he was under a spell—you do not know the whole truth.”

Usere, who was now in the court hall standing close to them, laughed “Not many witches work for Colossus and those who do, do not like pirates at all.”

Then Azar came in from the courtyards as well “My lord” said he.

“What now?” Leosher smiled and sat back in his throne

“We should just wait here a couple of days for Katos to come, but if they do not show up, we go and kill them on the lands of Agnithius. This will give us some advantage, for the people would be expecting us to attack right away.”

Leosher got up and looked around for the hallway which led to the bed chamber and after he found it, he started walking towards it but then he stopped and turned around “We shall not have the crowning yet. We will take over Agnithius first.” Then he looked at Urey “Get the castle fixed, for this shall be my permanent residence.”

He spun around and his cloak fluttered behind him and he walked to the bed chambers and when he opened the huge gold door, he saw a magnificent and marvelous, hall like bed room.

There was a revolving round bed with golden silken bed sheets. There were a glass flask on the side filled with blood red wine for the king and the entire floor was carpeted with maroon fluffed plush. There was a closet filled with the queen’s royal gowns and there was bath room on the side. The room’s windows opened to the balcony too, for it was hanging over the sea. White see-through curtains hung everywhere and around the bed and there were scented candles burning all over the room. There was a large round mat in the corner of the room and it was surrounded by golden pillars and curtains, and the floor was filled with gold coins. This was the place where dancers from all over the world came to dance and please the king. Colossus also made tributes from Agnithius and Gelus dance for him in this very place. An identical stage like this was placed in the court hall where he held public dances to entertain his soldiers.

Leosher went in the bathroom and saw a huge, pool like bath tub. Colossus was the only being in the entire world to have a bath tub, for it was too expensive for the rest to get made for them and have fresh water pump in them every time he wanted to. The tub was made of gold and had a marble floor encrusted with rubies. The bathroom was amazingly beautiful and luxurious.

Leosher took his clothes off and rinsed them, including his weapons, boots and cloak. Then he plunged into the warm, steamy water and cleaned his bruises with Aloe-Vera that the queen used to make her look beautiful. This was the king’s 70th wife, for he had been living for about 2 millennia and had his heart slip whenever he saw a beautiful girl.

Leosher sat in the bath tub and thought about what he was going to do next.

“This all has been incredibly surprising. Maybe I should get the best fortune tellers to tell my future.”

He got out of the bath and took a silken white toga and wore it. He lay on the bed and soon, he fell asleep.

CHAPTER 15

Leosher woke up in his soft bed and wore his royal clothes, the pointy boots and the suit with the cloak latched on its shoulders. He grabbed his weapons and sheathed them on him. Virgil had brought the weapons that he had left behind and now Leosher had them all. He only sheathed the Scythe, the Gladius sword and the golden Spear and took them with him and left the rest. He went out in the halls and sat on the throne where he waited for the rest to join him.

“Brother!” he yelled out to call his brother. It was like a hungry lion’s roar who longed for food. “Wake up from your slumber.” His voice echoed in the empty halls but then, finally a voice answered him. It was Neiham’s soft, old voice

“Son, he has taken the men to the Dwarf town to get workers who will work on the castle,” she walked out from one of the courtyards. She had been meditating in the calm, serene courtyards until Leosher broke the silence and forced her to stop.

She stood in front of the throne and smiled “Why are you so anxious? Why so impatient?”

“I am not impatient or anxious—just hungry.”

Neiham smiled again and sat on the ground and waited for Leosher to continue talking.

Leosher sat quietly for a moment but then he asked her, “You are a potion maker?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well then you are of no use to me. Bring me the finest fortune tellers of the kingdom.”

“Master,” Neiham smiled and moved close to the throne and sat on the ground cross legged that Leosher sat upon “I can predict future as well.”

There was a huge smile on Leosher’s face “I, your king demand you to foretell my future.”

Neiham got up and stood before Leosher with her hands in front and said humbly “My lord, I will foretell but let me make myself clear,” she paused “Whatever your future beholds for you, you possess the power to change what comes. Although it might seem that you will lose everything or gain everything, it might not be correct, for you might do something that changes everything.”

“Go ahead and tell me what my glorious future beholds.”

She walked forward and put her hands on his head. She messed up his lustrous hair but he did not seem to mind, for he was too excited for what the future was. Neiham started the process and closed her eyes and soon, her smile faded away and there was a grim fearful look on her face. She was scared and did not show any signs of happiness or security and soon, the smirk on Leosher’s face faded too, for he saw Neiham. He knew whatever was to come was not going to be good.

Neiham quickly fell back because she could not take it anymore and had reached her limit. She breathed heavily but then she caught her breath and looked at Leosher as if she had seen death.

“Son, you do not wish to continue on the path you walk.”

Leosher was shocked “What is it?”

“I saw blood everywhere, oceans of blood. Then I saw millions of souls who cried only one thing, revenge from Leosher. I saw guardians coming back from Ratarus and imprison you.”

Leosher was terrified. This was the first time in his short life that he had felt something like that.

“What else did you see?” He asked eagerly.

“The worst of all, I saw betrayal from your own loved ones. Someone you loved betrayed you.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“You joined the dark side. Some gods did not want Asurot as the Queen of Aseroth and did not like you as the Prince of Aseroth and betrayed you both. They slayed everyone and in the end, turned Thraenus into the underworld.”

“Tell me more!” Leosher grew impatient.

“My lord, I would like to warn you” Neiham’s voice became deeper “You staying here, in the castle and not going to fight Katos and Colossus was the chain that led to the destruction of the world.” Just as Leosher heard her, his fear flew away. “Well, is that so,” he smirked and sat up in his throne, “We shall attack the Agnithiun castle this moment and we shall do it like savages and none shall survive. Not even women and children.”

Neiham nodded, even though she did not like the idea of killing innocent women and children, “My lord, Virgil and the others should be returning by noon. Do you wish to eat without them?”

“Yes, bring me the finest provisions this castle possesses.”

Neiham went to the kitchens where there were She-elves who had decided to serve the king. They used up all the food in the provisions and prepared a great feast-like breakfast for him. It was placed in the grand dining halls which was equipped with multiple glass and gold chandeliers and a huge round dining table. It was made of gold as well as most of the castle, for gold showed the wealth the ex-ruler of Strinthius, Colossus possessed. The table had high back chairs around it and could seat about 12 people at a time. It was very bright, for it was surrounded by windows and breeze rushed in through them.

Leosher quickly gnawed through all of the food which was incredible because the food could serve 23 Minotaurs. Leosher was able to eat so much because he was a god and his body needed a lot of energy to sustain but if he was a mundane human, he could have never been able to eat for even 1 Minotaur. He could store all of the energy from the food, in his muscles and that was what made gods extraordinary. After he was done eating, his hunger vanquished and he went back on his throne to wait for his brother.

A little after high noon, Virgil returned with the men, back to the castle. He had brought Dwarves to work on the castle, for they were the very best in this art. All the great monuments and structures were built by Dwarves. The rulers usually enslaved some of them every year and made them work for them but this time, they had come, for they wanted to come. They wanted to help the new king, Leosher. They were here to fix the castle’s defenses and make it be able to withstand hundreds of canons and giant harpoons and were also here to increase the size of the throne, for big empires needed big thrones.

Leosher was happy that his brother had returned and that he now could go to the land of Agnithius and prevent the future from being grim and morbid. He fully wanted the future of Thraenus to be prosperous and himself to be the king of the gods and this world.

Leosher called Virgil and the warriors to his throne and began talking to them.

“We shall leave for the land of Agnithius right this moment,” said Leosher “for I have seen the future and it does not look promising.”

“My lord, if I may,” Usere cleared his throat and said humbly “The men are tired, for they have already journeyed. I suggest we let them rest and then leave tomorrow.”

Azar stood in the usual stance, with the pipe in his mouth, smoke coming out of his nose and his body leaning on his staff “He is right, we should let them rest.”

Leosher was a little annoyed, for they did not understand what he was trying to say. He only saw one way to get them to pay attention and that was to raise his voice. He roared “I am the king therefore all of you shall do as I say, now get the men ready, give them food to eat and we shall leave.”

Virgil now understood the magnitude of situation and knew something was troubling Leosher.

“All of you, leave his presence and go get the soldiers ready,” Virgil told the warriors, “We shall use the naval ships left in the docks of the castle. Get them ready and wait for the King’s word.”

They all left and Virgil and Leosher were left alone in the court hall, “Brother, tell me what is troubling you?”

“I am not a child. I do not have to share my feelings, I am a god.”

“It is not about that, I know you are hiding something and I need to know what it is in order to help you.”

“Brother,” Leosher humbled down and his voice sank down “I know the future—Neiham has told me my future and it does not look promising. We have to do everything we can, to change it. We have to eliminate all of our enemies and kill all of their men.”

Virgil stood before Leosher and thought for a plan.

“Brother, you should stay here in the castle, the Empirion army will take care of Agnithius.”

“But I am the only one who will kill the rulers.”

“It does not work that way,” Virgil smiled mockingly “You are the only one strong enough to destroy the rulers; do not think you are the only one.”

Leosher sat up in his chair and got attentive, for this was the first time Virgil had acted this way but it was necessary, for Leosher had been soaring in the skies with pride and arrogance. Virgil did this to bring his pride down and to tell him that the rest were not useless just because he was the strongest.

“You may take the men to fight in the lands of Agnithius,” Leosher said while trying to avoid the insults “But remember, bring the rulers to me, for I shall be the one to spill their dirty blood.”

Virgil nodded and immediately left the room.

He hosted the men and gave the Empirion forces food to eat. They all forged new weapons to replace the old, broken ones and increased their armor, for they were about to go head to head with the most fearsome and savage army known to Thraeniuns, the Agnithiun army.

They were savages who did not care about riches or glory but only cared for the blood of their enemy. No one dared to even set foot on their land without trading purposes. The residents of the kingdom were forced to battle in the army, even women and children. All lived in harsh conditions, even the king, for they all believed that living like savages made them stronger. Most residents did not want to leave for they all liked it and thought they would go to heaven by following their king. This was the only kingdom, whose people were happy with the king. The kingdom was so harsh that every child was taken away from their families at the age of 7 and was forced to train. They were not given food and instead had to steal it and if one was caught stealing, the penalty would be death.

The king, Katos, lived in a ragged, shabby and cold castle. It was made of bricks and was dark all the time. The weather over Agnithius was always cloudy and not much sun shone upon that land. There was a constant famine and most of the residents were cannibals. The land also hosted vampires who were blood thirsty and what was worst was that the Vampires had joined the Agnithiun army, for Katos had promised them blood to feed on.

CHAPTER 16

It was pitch black outside and the clouds covered the moon. There was foggy mist around the castle and the sea was calm amd serene with very minimal waves. The mist was moving around with the help of the brisk breeze that was flowing from North West to South East.

Virgil now had the men ready and the naval ships ready for them to leave but before leaving, he met his brother in the court hall,

“Brother, we are about to leave. Wish us good luck and give us blessings, for you are a god.”

Leosher smiled “Virgil, you know this well that I do not believe in blessings and luck. I believe in fates and I know I possess the ability to change mine—now leave, for I do not wish for Thraenus to end like hell.”

Virgil was a little disappointed with his brother’s response but he knew he was going to say something like that.

“Anyways,” Leosher continued “Write me if you need help, for you are going to be against the greatest army.”

Virgil nodded and left his presence and made his way to the castle docks where he boarded the master ship. The ships were now sturdy, for the Dwarves had increased their armor and they were now good enough to handle heavy storms.

They were filled with thousands of men because the Empirion army had gained people from Strinthius as well, which had increased their size, quite a lot.

Virgil stood on the bowsprit of the main ship, waiting for all to begin sailing. He was the captain of the ship and the other warriors, Usere, Urey, Neiham and Azar were on the other ships, captaining them. When all were aboard and ready to go, they set sail and began moving forward.

The first few hours were fine, but after some time, the winds began to get rough. It was as if one of the gods was resisting them. There were gushing winds and the strong sea’s waves that resisted travels and damaged the ships. There was lightning and thunder in the sky and heavy rainfall in the seas. The ships were going off route and were splitting apart from the group but then Azar had an idea. He smacked his staff on the deck of the ship and suddenly, he slowly lifted himself up in the air. There was a blue aura around him and he looked magnificent with silvery hair, shining in the blue aura and that grayish robe with the white twisted staff in his hand.

He slowly made his way over to Virgil’s ship where he was still holding on tight to the steering of the ship and was trying as hard as he could to control it. It was extraordinary, for he was the first human to control a ship of this size in a storm of this magnitude.

Azar moved closer to him and Virgil glanced at him

“What are you doing here?” Virgil asked calmly, but his voice was loud because of all the strain his body was going through “You have abandoned your ship?”

Azar smiled and replied “No—I have a suggestion.” He paused for a moment and looked up in the sky where he saw nothing but dark clouds and water pouring out of them “We shall form shields around the ships and levitate them in the sky, for the ships are scattering and they cannot take the amount of damage these waters are capable of providing.”

Virgil liked the idea therefore he untied his wand from his waist and held it as high as he could. “Together,” Virgil yelled “Pondeo Supervolous!”

A vibrant pink light came out of Virgil’s wand and Azar’s Staff, however, he did not speak the spell, for he did not need to. The translucent light engulfed every ship in sight and brought them together through the heavy winds and the high waves. It was like a barrier around the ships. After all the ships were close enough, they slowly began to hover over the sea. It was a marvelous event for the men to see, including Urey and Usere but Virgil and Azar seemed to be struggling. This spell relied on the physical strength of the wizard as well and although, Virgil was undoubtedly the strongest human, he could not lift more than 18 ships. The only reason both of them were able to do so, was that the spell provided leverage and worked somewhat on its own as well.

Both struggled but kept their wand and staff high up in the air. Their arms got tired very quickly but could not let go, for if they did, the ships would fall in the sea and break, for they were now too high up in the air. Urey and Usere saw the problem and rushed immediately to help. They were on different ships; therefore they swung as high as they could, via ropes on the sails, and jumped on the ship, Azar and Virgil were on. They ran on to the deck and both brothers grabbed their arms to help them hold them up high. It helped a lot and it did not take much time before they were out of the tight grasp of the storm but they had gotten much closer to their destination….

They continued going towards East and after dawn, they followed the suns, for they rose from East. The rays of the sun struck the sea like lightning and looked magnificent. The golden rays looked as if they were the dust that fell when fairies flew.

Far away, they saw that they were now reaching land. It was fairly odd, for it was a little colder than it was to be in the area which made Virgil suspicious, as well as the elf brothers, for they knew all the weathers and geography of entire Thraenus, for they had been bounty hunters for years. Neiham was now a little bit scared as well, for she saw mist on the land. The mist was a sign that they had entered the lands of the vampires and vampires craved warm blood. It seemed like they had been misled by the suns.

All of their men were soon to be massacred if they did not turn their ship around but little did they know, they had already entered the death zone, there was no going back. If they were to try and turn back now, the rocks around their ships would break the ship because they were too close to the rocky beach.

The vampires had seen them through the thick, misty forests and now were waiting for them to come in so they could gnaw through the fresh flesh.

Virgil saw one of them in the forest through the mist and quickly stopped the ships. He knew he could not turn the ship around, therefore they set the sails to fall back but the vampires were smart and lassoed the ships with very thick ropes that could not be cut very easily. The vampires’ speed and strength was unmatchable. They moved faster than the eye could discern and pulled the ships near the lands very quickly.

Now Virgil knew it was futile to try to escape, for the Vampires had a hold of their ships, so he decided to fight them with full force. He yelled out “Charge!” and all the men jumped onto the shores. They could not see where the vampires were because there was a thick mist and the forest provided shelter for Vampires from the suns and the eye of their enemies.

They wore dark, thick robes that covered them from head to toes. Their skin was pale and blue veins showed through them. Their faces were hideous, just like the Nephilims. They had huge jaws that could even tear through rocks if they had to. There were about 50, blood sucking, sharp teeth in their mouths and they were yellow and black, and their eyes were blood red. Their hairs were black to protect them from suns. Their fingers were long and claw-like. They were bare foot and did not leave any tracks behind when they moved, for they moved too fast.

Virgil jumped off the ship and joined his warrior companions, Usere, Urey, Azar and Neiham who were already on the shore, trying to figure out where to enter the forest and not to get killed. Just as they were about to enter, the Vampires decided to attack them first. They moved out of the thick shade of the forest into the bright light of both of the suns, shining without any cloud. Their skin burnt, even through the dark thick robes they had on but they moved quickly. They swept through on the shore and snatched many men off of the huge, bare, sandy, rocky shore.

When Azar saw this happen, he looked at Neiham concerningly “You be careful sister, you are the only family I have and I do not wish to lose you.”

She nodded and followed her brother and got closer to him.

Usere and Urey stood at the farthest part of the beach and smirked, for they thought they could fight the vampires. Usere rubbed his hand on his brother’s head and said to him “Now is the time we have been practicing for—let us do it.”

Urey’s white teeth sparkled as he smiled and there was a shine in his eyes “Finally, I thought this day would never come—I thought we would never get to fight this way.”

Usere took out a rope for his clothes and tied himself to Urey. Both brothers stood back to back and were highly coordinated. It was as if they were one body, two souls. Their hand movements were incredibly smooth and fast and their running was magnificently flawless. With Urey’s keen eyes and arrows and Usere’s sharp sword and close hand fighting experience, they were the perfect being on the battlefield.

Urey took out his bow and had his arrows in front of him, ready to fight. Usere only had one sword but he knew it was not enough and picked the sword of one of the fallen soldiers and both brothers charged into battle. They attacked alternatively, first the swords, then the arrows and soon, they entered they grim forest right behind Azar and Neiham and were the first Empirions to kill a vampire that day.

Virgil, who felt lonely, for his brother was not there with him while all others had their loved ones, followed them and charged. Now all the Empirion soldiers were in the forest and were trying to fight but most of their tries were futile, for the vampires were to fast, and also, they had incapacitated Neiham by taking her cards away. She was no longer able to bring about the monsters. And now, Azar, Usere, Urey and Virgil were one of the very few ones who were being able to hold their own against the vampires.

There was a massacre and about one third of the Empirion forces had been wiped out by just a couple hundred vampires and one third was about 10,000 men, including elves, dwarves, minotaurs, humans etc.

The battle lasted for quite a while, even though the vampires were fast, Virgil was a great general. He had the men fully coordinated and had them looking out for each other, that was the only reason they had lasted for so long. But now the vampires were gaining advantage on them, for they had knocked down one of the strongest warriors of the Empirion army, Azar.

He fell on the ground and the vampires broke his staff, for they knew he was nothing without his staff. When it snapped and the gray fibers unraveled, a purple-blue, bright light came out from within it. The broken pieces turned to ash and Azar was left jaw dropped, astounded, for now he was fully incapacitated. Without a medium to channel his energy through, he was useless in this fight. Tears rolled down his eyes, for this was his first and only staff. He had used it all of his life and now it was gone and now, both siblings were armless, therefore they got up and being unable to do something or help them, hid in a corner and waited for the massacre to pass.

Virgil saw them and created a shield around them using “Auxilius Armus” to protect them. Azar and Neiham nodded in appreciation and Virgil continued fighting. The shield had proven to be the best move Virgil had mad in the whole fight, for after the shield was created, Azar felt safe and finally devised a plan on how to eradicate the vampires.

He paid close attention to every move the enemy made and he saw them move, he saw them fight and most of all, he saw them avoid brightness. He finally realized that the vampires avoided brightness, for it burnt them. He quickly yelled at Virgil “Use Exsilio Ignis!”

He nodded and waved his wand and pointed it up to the sky “Exsilio Ignis!” and a bright ball of fire came out of the tip of the wand and lit the dark, thick forest on fire. This was not a good idea, for his men were in the forest too but the bright fire was the end of the vampires; they were forced run out into the brightness of both of the suns of Thraenus and just as they reached the shores, they caught on fire and blew up immediately, for their cloaks had burnt off of them.

Virgil looked around to see what damage he had caused and all he could see were blazing flames and men running out. There was smoke everywhere and there were bodies piled everywhere, burning.

Azar ran out of the shield and stood close to Virgil “Use the water to take out the fire.”

Virgil smiled and ran through the mayhem, out to the shore and he firmly pointed his wand out towards the sea and gently flicked it while reciting “Pondeo Supervolous!” It took a bit of effort for the spell to work, for the water was not in a definite shape and the spell was to lift definite objects.

Slowly, the waves got higher and thick drops of the blue water began rising from the waves, through the mist and soon, small but strong tornadoes rose up from the sea. There were about 6 of them, waiting for a flick of the wand to take the fire out. Virgil could not believe that he himself was levitating water in the shape of tornadoes but it was happening and without wasting anymore time, he swung his wand over his head and pointed it towards the burning forest. His clothes fluttered and his hair waved in the strong air. The tornadoes rushed from behind him and from around him and into the forest and tackled the fire to its death and left Virgil proud of himself and Azar mind blown by his pupil’s accomplishments.

The tornadoes sucked up all of the fire and took it out, completely. Virgil finally let loose of them and they fell down like a tsunami. The corpses of the fallen soldiers flowed out of the forest with the water and those who were still standing, cheered, for they were now the first force to defeat the vampires. Even Katos, the king whose region they resided in, was scared of them which was why he had recruited them in his army, rather than trying to eradicate them.

Virgil walked proudly towards Azar and smiled “How did I do? Was that good enough?”

“Yes, that was excellent.”

Neiham hugged Virgil and thanked him and just as she was finished, the elf twins came out of the forest. They had untied themselves and were a little injured with cuts and bruises on their bodies.

“That was fantastic,” Urey said with a look of excitement and happiness on his face “How did you do that?”

Usere kept calm and did not let his excitement show on his face but he did show happiness and appreciation “That was amazing—thank you for saving all of us.”

Virgil smiled at Usere “It was my job to protect my men” then he turned Urey “I just simply used a levitation spell to raise the water in mid-air and the tornadoes were just an accident,” he laughed and scratched his head “a positive accident though.”

After he was done talking, he rounded up the men on the shore and all of them stood on halt, waiting for their general’s word on how to move through the forests and into the lands. Virgil ran and stood on a tall boulder and began talking,

“My brothers, today, we have made history,” Virgil yelled out. The veins on his neck popped up for it took lung strength to yell out and address an entire army. “We are the only ones who have dared to go against the vampires, and we are the first ones to have actually killed more than one by just using a sword. Now, although you all might want to celebrate, we cannot yet, for we have a bigger army to go against, the Agnithiun army, the biggest and the strongest army on the face of this planet. Even though they are intimidating, there is one thing we know, they were not the ones who defeated the vampires, we were and therefore, we are braver, stronger and sharper—now let us conquer Agnithius, in the name of our king, our lord—Leosher!”

There were cheers all around the beach and the morale of the men was high, for they felt proud of being a part of the Empirion army, the only army that had dared go against the vampires.

Virgil got off of the boulder and walked to Usere “How many men have we lost?”

Usere smiled jokingly “The question that you should ask is, how many men do we have left and the answer to that would be that we have lost more than half of the number of men we started with.”

Neiham overheard the conversation and joined in “And the Agnithiun army was four times the size the Empirion army was, when we were still in The Empire, now, we are highly overpowered and outnumbered. I would say that we fall back.”

Virgil looked at her surprisingly, “You know the prophecy, and you were the one who made it—how could you say that?”

Urey who was standing nearby, talking to a Minotaur, left his own conversation and joined in “But Virgil, Neiham is right. We do not possess the power to defeat the Agnithiun army, and now, Master Leosher would not be able to help us, for he is scared, the prophecy might come true.”

Virgil laughed “We have the gods on our side; no one shall stop the march of The Empire.”

They all smiled and Azar slowly walked in front of the men, “We shall march forward again, remembering those who have fallen, but reminding ourselves that those who fell did not lose their lives in vain, we shall defeat Katos and bring peace in Thraenus, and we shall stop the tyranny of the rulers.”

He began walking in the forest and the army followed him and Virgil quickly approached him “Master,” he said while whipping out his wand and offering it to him “You should take this. You shall remain a wizard and help us defeat the Agnithiun army; after all, you are the strongest wizard in all of Thraenus.”

Azar smiled sadly, “I was the strongest wizard, but now I am old. I cannot fight the way I could when I was young. Though I have experience and wisdom and power, I do not have strength or the stamina to last in a battle. Therefore, from this day forward, I shall not be a wizard anymore.”

Virgil was shocked, as well as Neiham and the Elf twins, who were walking by them as well.

“What?!” Neiham said immediately “How could you take such a big decision without consulting with me?”

Azar laughed “Without your cards, you are incapacitated for battle too. You should retire from battles and fall back as well, just like I did.”

Usere and Urey stayed quite, but Virgil showed his concern “What about me, master? Who is going to teach me all the spells?”

“You have the book, use it.”

Urey laughed and mocked Azar wittily “Yes, use the book.”

Usere elbowed him in his arm to shut him up and that worked and just as he got quiet, they all got quiet and made their way through thick, smoked forests and finally reached the edge. It all looked fine until they moved out of the forest and when they stepped out of the forest, they saw that on the stony wasteland stood Katos with all of his army, waiting for them. As far as the eye could see were Agnithiun soldiers wearing chest armor and loincloths. This was the only kingdom out of the original three, to include female soldiers in their army.

Alongside Katos stood Colossus and Barian, both with a huge grin on their faces. Barian did not have even a speck of shame on his face, for he did not regret betraying The Empire and its leader, Leosher. He was fully determined that he was protected under the cruel hand of Katos and even Colossus, who had lost his kingdom, did not seem to care, for he thought he was going to get it back right now.

“All of this was a plan,” Virgil yelled out to Katos while walking towards him. It was quiet a distance he was going to have to cover. “It was all a plan and we fell right into it.”

Katos smiled and said in his heavy and hoarse voice “Yes.” He stood tall, wearing nothing but a loincloth and holding nothing but a beat-up, yet strong sword. He was tall and muscular and fast. His body was very toned and was very strong, for while the other two rulers had slacked off, he had been training non-stop. He was in the best physical condition out of all of the rulers. He had a bald head but had a thick beard on his face, for beards were a sign of manliness on Thraenus. He also had countless scars on his body and was brown, just like Leosher.

Katos began walking towards Virgil too “Now bring out Leosher.”

“You are not getting to him that easy my friend,” Urey joined Virgil. Even though he was childish and witty, he was courageous and undoubtedly brave. Though the Emprion army was greatly outnumbered, they were brave and had the will to fight till the end.

“You are going to have to go through us to get him” Urey said proudly and when the Empirions saw Virgil and Urey walk forward, they all marched forward to back Virgil and Urey up. Katos was impressed with their bravery but always making fun of them for their foolishness. They did not stand a chance against the Agnithiun army, for the Agnithiuns were almost 6 times the size of the Empirions.

“You are brave,” Colossus tried to be brave but because he was fat and stood like a coward, no one took him seriously. Katos looked at him angrily and he stopped talking immediately, but then Katos looked at Virgil again, who was still quite far even though he was pacing towards him, “I will get Leosher, even if I have to slaughter all of you where you stand—prepare for death!”

Katos raised his sword high up in the air and then slowly, brought it forward and pointed the tip towards the Empirions and yelled “Let the slaughter begin!”

The vast wasteland roared with war cries and trembled with the speedy march of the Agnithiun army and just as Virgil saw the Agnithiuns march, he yelled out to charge too “For peace!” and while he was running, he prayed to Asurot and asked for only one thing, help!

The men charged and ran and soon, just as the armies collided, the slaughter of the Empirions began.

CHAPTER 17

Leosher now grew very restless, for he did not know what was going on with the Empirion army. He did not know whether they had made it to land or had they sunk somewhere in the ocean, and that suspense was eating him from the inside.

Adne and Meagon who had come to the castle now, tried to comfort him but he was growing restless by the minute. He sat in his golden, magnificent throne, with his servants and family around him.

Leosher was getting angry, for he regretted not going on the journey. He loved to fight in war but now he had missed the chance of going against the strongest enemy he could face in this era.

Just as his anger was increasing by the minute, something crashed on the crystal bridge and although it did not break the bridge, the impact could be felt beyond the castle walls. Leosher got up and ordered some of his servants to go check whomever or whatever it was and after a few minutes, the grand doors opened and Asurot and Arusus walked in. Both wore golden robes that loosely hung to their bodies and both had French braids on their heads. They both looked magnificent.

Asurot walked in gracefully “I see you have grown angry.”

“Yes, but why do you care?”

“I am here to help.” She looked at Arusus and smiled “You can go talk to Meagon and Adne, while I speak to your brother.”

Arusus nodded and walked over to Adne and Meagon who were standing before the throne, while Leosher walked down the huge steps of the Throne and over to Asurot who was waiting for him and they both walked in the lawns of the castle. Though it was an island, the Strinthiun architects had designed it very carefully. This castle had ports, views of the sea from the castle and huge grasslands however Colossus never used the grasslands because he despised anything that involved work.

Leosher and Asurot walked on the soft and moist grass “Why are you here?” Leosher asked with a slight anger in his voice but it seemed like ever since he became the king of The Empire, he has had this anger in his voice “You do not belong here.”

Asurot smiled and looked down at the grass “Son, let me tell you something, you might be able to talk like this to all others but I am different. You are no different to me than any other gods and all the other gods, even my brother has to respect the queen of Aseroth.”

Leosher thought it was a joke and laughed but Asurot remained serious “Anyways,” said she, “That is not the reason why I came down to Thraenus, I came here to inform you that your brother and the Empirion armor are currently undergoing a slaughter. They were attacked by Katos and his men, and are now fighting for their lives and Virgil has asked the gods for help.”

Leosher laughed thinking that she was lying again, just to make him care “Well that is horrible.”

Asurot looked at him, filled with anger and disappointment that this was the king Thraenus was going to get, she quickly grabbed his wrist tightly and just as she did, they were instantaneously engulfed in a fiery ball of inferno and shot up in the sky. A tail of sparks and fire followed them out, far away from Thraenus, somewhere through the deep dark voids of space and soon, they saw a bright light that shone directly upon them, showing them the way and in a blink of an eye, they had reached Aseroth.

The ground was fluffy and white, just like clouds. The pathways were made of gold and there were magnificent huts because all the gods except for one, Dadurot, lived there. Since he was the guardian of the underworld, he could not leave it or the inhabitants of the underworld would cause havoc and most likely, be released.

The huts were made of the smoothest marble and the pillars were gold and platinum. All the gods of Thraenus roamed around these streets and now, Leosher could finally see his dream coming true, him being the king of all of them but they weren’t here for a tour of Aseroth. Asurot took him to the meeting halls where they stared down at the battle scene, where the slaughter was taking place.

“Now do you believe me?”

Leosher was shocked, for he was watching the slaughter of his own men, happening in front of his own eyes.

“I know you did not join them, for you were scared the prophecy might come true.” Leosher nodded and she continued “Let me tell you something, saving your men is more important. Trust me, we will take care of the prophecy ourselves, all of the gods, and their soon-to-be king, you, together.”

“How do I get to the battle grounds?” Leosher said while still keeping the serious look on his face “Can you take me there?”

“I have a better idea. You shall ride Ezhak into battle.”

“The Dragon I freed?”

“Yes.”

“How do we call him here?”

Ausrot smiled and looked down at Thraenus, with her hands behind her back. She stared for a few seconds and then she turned to him again “He is flying right where you need him. All you will do is jump out of Aseroth and you shall find Ezhak underneath you.”

“But I do not carry my weapons with me, how will I fight?”

Just as he said that, a shout came from behind them “Do not worry about them, because I brought them here for you brother.” It was Arusus. She had Leosher’s scythe, the golden spear and the Gladius sword to kill the rulers “Now all you need to do is slay the evil doers.”

Leosher walked over to her and wore the sheaths and afterwards sheathed the weapons and with the same angry look on his face, he said while curling his moustache “You shall see that The Empire will have expanded over entire Thraenus by night.”

He jumped out of the meeting hall and coincidentally, this was the same place where he was dropped out of Thraenus and now, this was the place he was jumping down from to fulfill his destiny. He quickly made his way through the dark outer space and into the atmosphere. The air made his cloak and his hair flutter but when he was about halfway from Aseroth, Ezhak came underneath him. The giant beast looked even more intimidating than he looked before, for now he was preying on big animals such as Elephants and he had grown in size a bit. His scales were even more sharp and his tail was longer and had more thorns and horns on it. His roar was louder and his armor was stronger. His teeth were bigger and his fire was hotter and his skin now had a red hue. Each of his wings spanned over more area than 7 elephants, standing side by side and the wings were razor sharp and had developed the ability to cut through many things.

Ezhak was now reaching his full potential, for when he was guarding, he was restrained because of malnutrition and loneliness but now he could fly freely, anywhere he wanted and make as many friends as he wanted.

“So we meet again,” said Ezhak in his roar-like deep voice with a lisp “It is pleasant to see you again, my lord.”

“My lord? How is that? This is our second meeting.”

“You freed me from my worst nightmare, therefore you are my master,” Ezhak’s voice rose high nearly to the point of yelling “And from this day forth, I shall dedicate my life to you and I shall fulfill your every desire, even if it means my death. My life belongs to you and to you only!”

Leosher was filled with pride now “I am flattered,” He paused and looked around but all he could see were white clouds “Let us go battle the Agnithiun army, take me there.”

Ezhak nodded and dove down. He looked around with his keen eyesight and smelt blood with his keen sense of smell. He followed the scent of the blood and thick sweat and soon, the battle site was in plain view.

“There it is,” Leosher said while pointing “Take me there, for we shall massacre our enemy.”

Ezhak flew quickly over to the battle and it did not take any time at all to get there. The wind from his wings was felt by every soldier and every eye was set upon him, and a cloaked man riding the beast, sitting on his neck, his master, Leosher.

Soon, showers of arrows were shot in an attempt to eradicate the biggest threat the Agnithiun army had but Leosher and Ezhak dodged it quickly.

Virgil, who was trying his best not to get killed, was relieved when he saw his brother in the air. Usere and Urey were surrounded by soldiers too, but they held their own. They were using the same technique they used against vampires but they were tired and were very happy to see Leosher, for now they knew there win was certain. Azar and Neiham hid far behind, in a bush and made no sound but when Leosher came, they got out, for now they had hope.

Barian, Colossus, and Katos, all who sat on a giant boulder and watched the genocide were now a bit concerned, because the tales of Leosher’s brutality were famous.

“Master, what shall I do?” asked Ezhak.

“Burn them alive,” Leosher said with an evil grin on his face.

Ezhak opened his huge mouth and blue sword shaped flames were shot out. They started out blue and by the time they reached their target, they turned yellow and burnt the enemy down to ashes. His fire burnt through everything, even rocks.

Now the Agnithiun army saw their demise in the shape of Leosher and Ezhak. All they saw were giant blobs of fire and Ezhak and Leosher were hidden behind those fires, and just when the fire reached its peek, Leosher jumped through it and shot the golden spear at Colossus. They were too far apart but the spear did not miss its target and Colossus couldn’t do anything, for it was all too sudden. It was aimed for the chest and it hit in the chest, right in the middle, through Colossus’s white robes. The spear was shot with such immense strength that Colossus was dragged halfway across the barren field with the spear until it finally came to a stop and nailed him to a boulder and killed him instantly. Both Katos and Barian were very shocked, for Colossus was sitting between them just a second ago and now he was gone.

Leosher came crashing down to the ground, feet first. The ground trembled when he came down and many soldiers around him fell to the ground because of the impact. Leosher paced towards his brother while slaughtering anyone who stood in his way.

“Are you alright, brother?” Leosher asked, and for the first time since his coronation, he showed care “Are you hurt?”

“No brother, I am not hurt but I am very happy to see you.” Virgil hugged Leosher but an Agnithiun soldier tried to kill Leosher just as they hugged but lucky for Leosher, his friends, Urey and Usere were looking out for him. Urey shot an arrow right through the soldier’s head and killed him and soon, joined the Poppins brothers “It is surely nice to see you here, we needed help.” Urey said while shooting arrows at the enemies.

Usere smiled as well “I am sorry to break your moment, but we are at a battle field right now. I believe we should finish the battle first.”

Leosher looked around for Neiham and Azar but when he was unable to find them but then he looked at Virgil “Find Azar and Neiham and guard them. I know both of them are incapacitated. Take Urey and Usere with you.”

Virgil smiled “I will brother, but remember:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

Leosher nodded and turned around. He swung his scythe and killed all within the reach of his scythe. He accidently killed some of his own men but he did not seem to care, for the only thing he cared for was killing Katos and murdering the traitor, Barian. He began running towards Katos and Katos, who had not let Leosher get out of his sight since he arrived at the battle site, got up and stood tall at the boulder.

“You were a great ally,” Katos said in his hoarse voice “But now, it is the time you left the mortal world and went to the underworld, to serve a greater being.”

“Are you thinking about killing me?” asked Barian shockingly.

“Yes I am,” Katos laughed “What did you think I would give you all the money I promised? You are a moron if you believed that. I have no purpose for you anymore, and therefore you will die now.”

“Not so fast,” Barian took out his sword and stabbed Katos in his stomach. Katos looked shocked and his jaw dropped. His eyes widened and his knees bent. He held the blade with both his hands but for some reason, there was no blood.

“Now you see, I am not the one who is dying,” Barian mocked him “I am the one who gets to live.”

“How naïve” Katos smirked and slowly stood straight again and took out the sword and threw it away. His wound healed and soon, there was no sign of it. Barian was very shocked and all the booze vanished away and now, finally he was back to his senses.

“You spent all this time journeying with Leosher and learned nothing? Only the wielder of the weapons can kill us rulers.”

Katos took out his own sword and grabbed Barian from his neck and slowly began to choke him. Barian was unable to move, for he was in too much of a shock but when he finally realized that he was in a choke hold, he struggled to break free but Katos was too strong. He lifted Barian up in mid-air and held him up there, with just one hand, and watched him struggle.

He looked at Leosher with the corner of his eyes and saw that he was approaching him, making his way through the soldiers, at a fast pace but steadily, wiping out the Agnithiun army. He looked at Leosher for some time but shifted his focus back on Barian and swung his sword and stabbed Barian in his gut, multiple times but it was so fast that it looked as if it was just one blow.

Barian died instantly and became lifeless in a second. Blood spurred out from his huge wound and covered Katos’s bare body in blood. He threw his lifeless body away in the on the rocks like a rag doll and shifted his focus to Leosher who was still coming at a fast pace.

Katos now grew impatient; therefore he jumped off of the boulder and onto the stony, barren field. Leosher saw him and smirked, for he knew this was going to be a challenge defeating Katos, for he had been training in the art of fighting for over two millennia and he had immense strength and speed.

Leosher unlatched his red cloak from his shoulders and dropped it on the ground, for it fluttered every time he moved fast and provided an easy target for his enemies to grab a hold of him. Afterwards he took his coat off, for it provided resistance and he did not aid him in any way. His body was fully toned; each and every muscle his body consisted of, was showing through his skin.

He dropped his scythe on the ground, for he knew it was useless against Katos. Now that he was ready to fight his greatest and strongest enemy yet, he began running with all his might. Now no one dared step in his way, for they knew they were for sure going to die if they did. Same was the case with Katos, no Empirion soldier dared step in his way. Both of them had a clean path and a singular target they had their eyes set on.

Leosher ran towards Katos and Katos did the same and in about a couple of seconds, both were close enough to begin the fight. Both tried to ram each other but both were quite strong. Their hands clenched together and the fight began. They both clashed with such force that the impact was felt all over, even to the corner of the battle site, where Virgil and the rest were fighting.

Leosher almost broke his own back when he crashed into Katos, for Katos was highly trained and it was his plan to do so but Leosher was a god, he had a strong back and an even stronger will. Leosher swung Katos around and flung him away to get out from the back breaking stance.

He quickly chased the flying body of Katos and right before it hit the ground, he kicked it up in the air. Katos was sent flying up in the air like a weightless baby and Leosher was undoubtedly besting Katos, for the impacts were so great that every man on the battle field stopped to witness this historical and magnificent fight because this was the fight that was to determine whether good or evil won and this was the fight that was to determine the happiness or the misery of Thraenus, for now, if Leosher lost, Katos was to get the whole world to himself, and most probably, Saulus was to destroy Thraenus.

Leosher squatted and jumped as high as he could and he reached Katos, who was falling out of the sky but somewhat, still awake. Just as Leosher swung his leg to kick Katos in the gut and send him back on the ground faster than the natural falling, Katos punched him in his chest and delivered a haymaker to his face. Leosher was launched towards the ground and there was nothing he could do to avoid hitting the ground. He fell on his back and crumpled the ground around him, with the impact. Many of the soldiers standing around the crash site were hurt but those who managed to jump out of the way were happy and they kept on watching the fight.

Leosher got out of the debris and walked out of the dust cloud around him, with a smirk on his face and a little blood coming out of his nose and the right side of his lower lip. He wiped it out with his arm and stood tall again. There was quite a distance between Katos and Leosher but both stood and stared at each other but after a few seconds, Leosher ran towards Katos again. He jumped and ran and did all he could to get to him as fast as he could.

Many of the soldiers were not even able to keep up with Leosher’s speed but those who did, included Azar, Virgil, Usere, Urey and some of the highly trained soldiers of the Agnithiun army.

Leosher approached him and smacked Katos in his chin with his elbow but Katos stood firmly and was only pushed back a little, for the blow was strong, but not strong enough. Katos’s feet did not even move but rather slid a little bit.

Their hands were clenched together again and both were sweating, for the blazing heat of the afternoon and such a heated fight was taking its toll. Their bare, brown bodies shone brightly under the two suns’ light and the sweat made it even more magnificent. Both tried to take down the other one but all their tries were futile, for both were very strong.

“You are strong,” Katos said while licking the blood off of his face “But I am stronger.”

“You are not strong—just disgusting.” Leosher said after Katos licked his own blood “Being disgusting and savagely does not necessarily means you will win a fight.”

“It is my belief and lifelong dream to be as savagely as I possibly could.”

“Well that belief is about to be proven wrong and that dream is about to be shattered.”

Leosher roared with rage “AHHHHHHHHH!”

His roar was heard all over Agnithius and it even reached the gates of Aseroth. He pushed as hard as he could, with all his might. His muscles pumped up and began bloating. He suddenly was rushed with power and began pushing Katos back and Katos only made one mistake, he did not walk back but instead, he stayed firm and stiff but the stiffness had made him brittle against the brute force Leosher was putting forth.

“Give up already, you are never going to defeat me,” Katos tried to discourage the slightly disfigured Leosher, but he did not listen and instead kept on pushing with even more power.

“I never give up, I am the prince of Aseroth, King of The Empire, and soon-to-be the king of Aseroth, and you ask me to give up? How petty!”

When the Agnithiuns saw their king being overpowered by Leosher, some of the men, three archers, to be precise, shot three highly poisonous arrows. These arrows were rusty and black in color and were made of the strongest iron, just for the sole purpose of killing Leosher. They were twisted at the tip and had an incredibly sharp point.

The arrows pierced the torso of Leosher from the back and stuck outside from his stomach. Blood spurred out of his stomach and the expressions on the brute giant quickly changed. His eyes widened and anger on his face transformed into a frown, full of pain. He started spitting out blood and began going down to his knees.

Katos took advantage of this moment and punch him on the top of his head. The ground around them was crushed and a crater of debris was created and Katos launched Leosher underground and just before the ground broke, Katos jumped away, for he knew that his plan was going to work.

Virgil who saw his brother get attacked, quickly swung out his wand and pointed it at the group of archers who had shot the arrows at Leosher, and yelled “Corpus Exanimus.” Green lightning sprang out of the tip of his wand and struck the soldiers and immediately the archers shriveled up and turned to ash, but now, the battle was reignited. Urey and Usere retied themselves together and they began the genocide. Virgil threw his wand at Azar and said with a straight, angry face “Protect Neiham and yourself, I have some business to tend to.”

Azar nodded and did not resist at all, for he now knew that Virgil was angry now. Virgil took two broad swords off of the dead soldiers that were lying all over the ground and charged into the battle.

Now the battle was finally balanced, for now the Empirion army had Leosher and Ezhak who were undoubtedly one of the strongest on the battle field. Ezhak, who had settled down on the ground to watch the fight stood tall again and spread his gigantic wings and sliced the men. He did not fly in the air, but he stayed on the ground and sliced the soldiers with his sharp wings and breathed fire on all of them. He melted them and burnt them.

While everyone else was fighting, Azar and Neiham shifted their focus on getting Leosher out of the pit. They made their way through the fight, carefully and steadily and when he finally made it to the rubble he used the “Pondeo Supervelous” spell. He quickly cleared the rubble and there was a deep, slanted tunnel that went down, very deep. The giant pit that Azar and Neiham stood in now had a giant tunnel as well. It was so deep that they could not even see down to the bottom, all they saw was darkness.

Katos, when he saw that Azar and Neiham were trying to their fullest to get the injured king out, jumped into the pit himself. He grinned at them and laughed at them “You think you could save him right from under my nose? How naïve!”

He got close to Azar and got ready to crush his head. He had his hand wrapped around his face and Neiham tried to get it off of his face but Katos smacked her away and the poor old lady was knocked out.

“You think you are going to get with this?” Azar said while tears rolled down his cheeks, for he loved Neiham the most.

“I am going to kill her and I will get away with it. There is nothing you could do.”

Azar swung Virgil’s wand and used the Corpus Exanimus spell.

Green lightning shot out of the wand and struck Katos in the middle of his chest. There was a huge blast and there was thick black smoke everywhere in the pit. It was produced because the spell had been destroyed. Azar had forgotten that Katos could not, no matter how much one tried, be killed without the gladius sword.

Although Katos had not died, the blast pushed him away and Azar was dropped from his tight grip but soon, he sprang back from the thick smoke and grabbed Azar from his neck and lifted him up off of the ground again.

“You see,” Katos said in a tone that suggested he was annoyed by this act of Azar “I am invincible!”

He yelled out and little did he know, he only helped Virgil locate him in the thick smoke that still had not cleared away. Virgil was only able to see a little bit of the arm that Katos was using to keep Azar in the air but Virgil swung his sword and cut whatever he saw.

There was a loud, hoarse scream filled with anger and pain that came out of Katos’s mouth and that was a sign that Virgil had hit his target. Katos’s arm had just been cut off and Azar fell on the ground with the arm around his neck. He took it off of his body and crouched over to where his sister was lying down, resting, for she could not handle the smack that Katos had delivered.

Leosher, who was still underground, heard the scream and came back to his senses. The other reason he came back to his senses was that he was so deep down in the ground, he had reached magma and that magma was now slowly burning his godly body and that pain stings woke him up. The wounds were burnt and shut close by the magma and now, Leosher had stopped bleeding. This feat of superiority over the beings of Thraenus was incredible, for if it were any of the species which were originated from Thraenus, they would have been burnt to ashes but Leosher, who was a god, was instead harmless and even his hair were not affected by the magma.

He got up and stood knee deep into the thick, fiery molten rocks. He pulled the arrows out and tried to find his way out but the light from the hole that Leosher had come down through was blocked by the smoke which made it impossible for him to find the tunnel he had made while falling. He tried and tried to find but all he could see was the red and yellow light from the magma but that was dim as well. He was left no choice but to rip through the ground.

The smoke had now cleared up and Virgil was shocked to see that Katos had created a new arm for himself. The old one had turned to ash and it seemed that Katos was not hurt at all, except for the temporary pain but now he was mad and there was a frown on his face and his fists clenched.

“Why do you imbeciles keep forgetting, you cannot kill me!”

Virgil’s shocked face turned into a smile “I was not trying to kill you, I was simply trying to get you to leave Azar and Neiham alone, and I succeeded.” Virgil swaggered ahead “Now I know I might die this second, but let me tell you something, I will die in peace, for I know that my brother, your god, with kill you brutally. I will also die in peace, for I know I have been on the good side and played a part in the freedom of Thraeniuns from evil-doers like you, Colossus, and Geluna.”

Katos laughed at him and mocked him “You have not defeated me and what makes you think Leosher could kill me? I am invincible and am one of the most experienced warriors of all time.”

Virgil stared in Katos’s eyes and smirked

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning……..”

The ground vibrated viciously but no one knew what the cause was. It was incredible, just like the waves of the sea. It knocked men down and toppled the walls of dead bodies that had formed over the course of this historic battle.

Katos sprinted towards Virgil with a clenched fist and the aim to knock his head off of his shoulders, and Virgil stood watching, for he was helpless. He did not have his wand and even if he did, it would be pointless therefore, he continued reciting the poem, the creed him and his brother Leosher had:

“We cannot begin to describe,

the amount of pain that is inside.

The beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun……..”

Katos swung his arm to punch Virgil’s head off but the ground blew apart and Leosher rose out and grabbed Katos’s fist in mid-air. There was a huge clash and an earthquake was let loose because of the impact of the fist with Leosher’s hand. He stood there, holding Katos’s fist tightly, and said with an angry face:

“We remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

Although Virgil was flung out of the pit along with Azar and Neiham because of the impact, he was overjoyed, for his brother had just saved him and pulled him out of the tight grasp of death.

As they flung out, the fight began once again but this time, Leosher was even more ferocious. He did not care what occurred around him and had his eyes focused on Katos.

Leosher, who held his fist in his hand, broke his fist and yanked him closer to him. He afterwards elbowed him in his face quite a few times and dislocated Katos’s jaw. Katos in return kicked Leosher on his head. Katos stood on one leg and swung the other, aimed at his head.

He tried to get Leosher to his knees but the kick only bent his knees, slightly, and did not get him down. He kicked again and again, hoping Leosher would get down but all of his tries were futile. Although Leosher was not on the ground, Katos had emptied the surrounded area, for the blows were too impactful and shockwaves were too strong.

Leosher spun and got Katos’s leg off of his shoulder and tried to punch him but Katos was not weak either. He grabbed the fist and tried to punch with the other but Leosher caught it as well. Now both were in the same clenching position they were in when Leosher was shot, but this time Leosher did not waste any of his time and put all of his strength and might into the push and Katos made the same mistake again and tried to push back with his legs firm and not backing up which gave Leosher an advantage, for Katos was now brittle.

Leosher pushed and struggled but he had godly strength and that was too much for Katos and finally, Leosher broke him in half. Leosher broke his back and threw him on the ground and although the fight was over, the battle was not, for Katos was not yet dead and could fix his back if given enough time. The Gladius was the only way he could be killed and the Gladius was lost somewhere on the battle field.

Leosher looked around and at the edge of the pit, stood his brother. Leosher looked at him and yelled “The sword! Find the sword!”

Virgil nodded and ran towards the crater that had formed when the fight began. He knew that when both Katos and Leosher began the fight, the impacts created craters all over the battle field and he had to look where the fight had started, for that was the place where he would find the Gladius.

He ran around looking for it, with Usere, Urey, Azar, and Neiham while Ezhak kept the enemies off of them and Leosher stood in the pit right next to Katos, trying to catch his breath. His body was still a little disproportionate, for his muscles were too big for his body but now they were slowly returning back to their actual size. Leosher knew that Katos was going to get up and attack, therefore he stood with his fist clenched at his sides and one leg forward and his strong leg, the right leg, back, ready to fight. His body shone under the light of the two suns Thraenus had, for he was covered in sweat. His black trousers were stained with blood that his wounds had created and the dust in the air had clotted on them and a part of the pants and the boots were missing because of the lava.

“Well,” Leosher stood ready and laughed at Katos “I am the one who stands tall, and watches your demise.”

“You imbecile,” Katos laughed and said while stuttering with pain “The fight has not ended yet—it has just begun!”

Katos jumped off of the stony, barren ground and swung his fist. Leosher who already stood on guard backed up and kicked Katos in his face and dropped him on the ground again “You may be able to heal again and again, but I still am the winner. Give up and accept your defeat.”

“I have never been defeated and will never be defeated!”

He tried again. He got up again and attempted to punch Leosher in his throat but again, Leosher backed up but this time, he did not strike back, for with the corner of his eye, he saw his brother holding the Gladius.

“Leosher!” Virgil yelled and threw the sword towards him. Leosher acted quickly and while dodging the continuous punches thrown by Katos, he caught the Gladius and smacked the handle on Katos’s forehead. He fell on the ground, not because of the blow but because he was too tired now. Though he had trained a lot, he had never expelled so much energy in such a little time.

“Welcome to your end,” Leosher walked to Katos who was on the ground, “And trust me, It is going to hurt.”

He lifted the sword up high and swung it and cut Katos’s head off of his shoulders and ended the misery of Thraeniuns. Now the war had ended and Leosher finally was the king of whole Thraenus, he just had to be crowned. Virgil ran down in the pit, leaving a trail of dust behind him, and hugged his younger brother and at that moment he had forgotten that his brother was a god and had even forgotten that he was a royalty. He acted like the poor man from the outskirts of Gelus, he used to be, and hugged his brother.

“I am so glad the war is over.”

Leosher pushed him back “No, not yet. The Agnithiun men are still fighting.”

He swaggered out of the pit with Katos’s head in his hands and climbed the highest boulder in the barren fields. Everyone could see him from that point and Leosher could see everyone. He held Katos’s head from his hair and he lifted it up high, for he wanted each and every man in the gigantic field to see what had happened to the Agnithiun tyrant, Katos.

“Drop your weapons,” Leosher yelled out. He was so loud that he could be heard at the edge of the battle field. “Drop your weapons if you wish to live and have the desire to survive. Seize your glory, however much of it you have left. Do not let it go to waste. Your king has died and here is the proof. Join me and live, oppose me and die, you have a choice and it’s all yours. Remember, whether you live or die depends on this very decision you make!”

Just as the Empirions saw Katos’s decapitated head in their king’s hands, they cheered with their weapons high up in the air and there was a chant “Long lives our lord, Leosher, the ruler of East and West, North and South.” And soon, the Agnithiuns admitted their defeat and pledged allegiance to The Empire and joined in the chant and as far as the eye could see, there were soldiers of all kinds and races and sexes, chanting only one name, Leosher.

There was a humongous smirk on Leosher’s face, for he was too proud and now, finally, he had achieved his goal and soon he was to be the king of Aseroth as well. Usere, Urey, Azar, Neiham, Virgil and Ezhak stood in the crowd and smiled with pride, for now, finally, Thraenus was to see its golden age, finally, Thraenus was to be enjoyed as the gods intended.

Leosher stood high above all the men as a sign that he was higher than them and addressed them,

“My men, today, we have created a unified empire, today I have become the strongest and the most powerful being on Thraenus, and soon, I shall be the most powerful being in the Universe and when I do, we shall conquer every other realm, every other world with life on it—till then we say:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.”

CHAPTER 18

Leosher got off of the boulder and made his way through the chanting men, towards his brother and his majestic ride, Ezhak.

“I shall leave for my castle now; join me whenever you get the chance to.” he said to Virgil and looked at Ezhak “Are you ready?”

“Yes my lord. We shall leave when you are ready.”

Virgil took Leosher to a side and whispered in his ear “You should console Azar and Neiham, for they both have been incapacitated. Neiham’s cards and Azar’s staff, both are ruined.”

Leosher nodded and walked towards Azar and Neiham and said courteously “What has happened to you is truly sad but it is a part of life,” his face was straight and emotionless, for he did not care about what happened, “I am sorry for your loss but you will have to move on.”

All were shocked with this behavior of Leosher but none had the audacity to speak up against him, for even though they thought they were close to him, they had no idea whether he would listen to them or get them beheaded.

Ezhak kneeled down and put his head down on the ground to let Leosher climb up and just as Leosher sat on his back, the area was cleared and all the chanting behind them stopped and within a second, Ezhak’s huge wings spanned and launched them into the skies. Leosher held unto his neck tightly and Ezhak flew fast. He bobbed a bit but flew as fast as he could and soon, they were high up in the skies, soaring over the clouds, heading to the castle where Leosher was to rest.

“My lord was it hard for you to defeat Katos?”

“You speak nonsense; I had no trouble killing Katos.”

“I am sorry if I have offended you, I did not mean to do so.”

“You should be careful from this day forward,” Leosher said with a smirk on his face “For now, I am the uncrowned king of Thraenus and Aseroth.”

“Indeed my lord.”

They both got quiet, and it was not long before Leosher and Ezhak made it to the castle which was located in what was once called, Strinthius but now, it was The Empire. They stopped at the crystal bridge and made their way to the golden castle. The huge golden gates opened and out came Adne and Meagon who had been waiting for Leosher and Virgil. Both came running towards Leosher but slowed down when they saw the giant beast next to him. They thought he was a threat but in reality, it was an ally, Ezhak.

Leosher swaggered towards them and hugged his mother and Meagon.

“Where is Virgil?” asked Adne anxiously, while looking behind Leosher, hoping she would catch a glimpse of him “Tell me where is he?”

Leosher said emotionlessly “You care more about him than me.”

“It is not what I meant. The thing is, you are in front of my eyes, I can see you, and I know you are okay. I am concerned about Virgil, for I cannot see him and nor do I know where he is. All I knew was that he was at war with apparently the strongest army The Empire has ever seen.”

“Mother, you are in the presence of the ruler of the strongest army Thraenus will ever see. I have defeated Katos and now, Thraenus belongs to me. And to help you calm down, Virgil is alright. He will be joining us as soon as they can, in a few days, because now the Agnithiun army is a part of the Empirion army. They will be using Agnithiun ships to get here.”

Adne smiled and kissed Leosher on his forehead. She was short, therefore Leosher had to get down a bit but it was successful. Then he looked at Meagon and smiled and looked back at Adne “I wish to get married to Meagon right now. Tell Buntius to gather everyone from everywhere, for they shall see the marriage of their king and after the marriage, I shall be crowned the king of all Thraenus.”

Adne smiled and Meagon blushed with shyness and they all walked inside but Leosher went straight to his bed chamber where he took a bath and cleansed his body. No sign of his wounds was left after the magma burnt them, only the clots were on his torso and after the bath, they were gone.

He got out of the bath and wore his signature clothes, black coat, black trousers and black boots. Though he had left his clothes and robe on the battlefield, he had more than one. He wore the clean ones and latched a new cloak on his shoulders. Afterwards, he walked up in the court hall where his golden throne sat on a high spot, under the bright rays of the suns coming in through a window.

He walked up the huge golden steps and turned around. His cloak fluttered over the throne and then he sat back down.

He summoned the Dwarves and ordered them to prepare the castle and decorate the castle for the marriage and crowning. He also summoned the servants and told them to gather all of the residents of Thraenus, for he wanted everyone to see his accomplishment….

It had been 3 days since Leosher had defeated Katos and now finally, it was the marriage and coronation day. Virgil had returned back to the golden castle with all the men and every resident of Thraenus had gathered in the middle Empire to watch the coronation and watch their fate turn and see the dawn of happiness, a new era, to see the dusk of the world they were given and to see the dawn of the world they had dreamt of.

It was early morning, about dawn, when Leosher jumped out of his satin and silken bed and put on his robes and got ready for the coronation with the help of three elves who prepared Colossus for ceremonies and now were working for Leosher. He wore a silken white toga that his servants had prepared for him the day before. It had a gold, huge clip at the left shoulder that held it all together and had black silken piping at the edges that contrasted and gave it a vibrant look. Leosher’s long, luscious hairs were left open, untied, and they fell onto his shoulders. His thick beard was combed and his moustache was curled to show his pride and power.

The servants used elixirs to get rid of some of the scars on Leosher’s brown face and hid any of the imperfections on his face with powders. He wore heavy gold jewelry around his neck and had small hoops made of gold in his ears. He wore an olive branch like crown and had huge bracelets on his arms which covered his entire forearms. He wore the rings on his finger and had leather sandals in his feet. He wore anklets as well but those were not visible, for the toga covered them.

He went out of his bedchamber and walked glamorously on the red carpeted floors of the castle and went out to the court hall where everyone was gathered, waiting for the ceremony to begin. He walked up the golden steps and sat on his golden throne and waited for Meagon to come out.

It was not long before she too came out of her bed chamber and escorting her was Adne and Buntius. She wore a red, puffy gown, encrusted with rubies. She wore white gloves and had red sandals on. She had rosy cheeks and dark, shadowy eyes. She had a feminine look on her but also a strong physic. She had light freckles on her pale skin and her lips were rouged. Her long hair were braided thickly, and dangled over her left shoulder. Her blues eyes sparkled and her teeth shined like pearls and she wore heavy diamond jewelry in her neck and also, diamond earrings in her ears.

As she walked on the golden path to the throne, Leosher was star struck, for he had never seen such a beauty in all his travels. She was the perfect girl for him; she was wise and cunning whenever she had to be. She knew the use of potions and knew how to make potions. She was great with a sword and had a strong physic but had a very feminine touch to her as well which made her look vulnerable and weak to her adversaries. She was to be the perfect queen, delicate looks but a strong will and polished skills.

Adne, who was escorting her, wore a white toga as well and wore jewelry but not as much as Leosher and Meagon. Almost every other citizen, who could afford it, wore white togas, for they were the formal dresses but those who could not afford any, wore their regular clothes, mainly corsets for women and pants and shirts for men. The marriage and coronation was to be held in the back of the castle, which had the largest grounds but since it was the whole Thraenus that had come to the ceremony, all the gates were open for the people to see, and after the ceremony, the king was to go to the highest point of the castle, a cliff made of darkened gold and marbles that looked over the crystal bridge and the rest of the empire. The king was to go to the cliff and address to his people.

When the royal couple and their companions walked into the grounds, the guards began letting people in as well and just as the castle doors opened, hordes and hordes of people came in. There were all kinds of people, Humans, elves, dwarves, fairies, werewolves, nephilims, orcs, and goblins. There were people of all shapes and sizes, all sexes and races and surpisingly, the gross and nasty races such as Nephilims, Orcs, and Goblins showered and looked a bit clean for this very day.

All everyone wanted was to see the ceremony but soon, just after the gates opened, the castle was crowded and millions of Thraeniuns were left on the bridge, in the sea on ships, and on the land. There were huge ships in the sea that were filled with people who wanted to see the king and his queen. Merchants and traders had come up with this idea, to charge people money so they could get closer via ships and boats and those who could not afford, were left all the way in the back of the gigantic crowd.

There was a lot of noise, children crying, women laughing and giggling, and men fighting and trying to make way for their children to see. This was the first time in Thraenian history that a crowd of this magnitude had ever been assembled and this was the first time in Thraenian history that the people were happy and had no fear of death or getting their children taken away from them or being enslaved.

There was a huge stage set on the green grass of the castle grounds, made of gold and ivory for Leosher. It had small thrones on it which were to be used for the coronation and the wedding.

Meagon was escorted up on the stage by Buntius, Adne and Neiham and Leosher was escorted by his brother Virgil, Usere and Urey, while Azar took care of Lamfari who was to bless both of them and pronounce them married and when everything was set, the crowd was quiet, Leosher and Meagon were on stage and the crowd in front of the stage was settled down, fire came down from the sky. There were numerous bright beams of fiery light that rained down from the bright, spotless sky.

It were the gods, for they had come down to see the prince’s wedding and were also here to attend the coronation of the soon-to-be-king. Asurot was the first to land and following him were Arusus, Leosher’s heavenly sister, and Remases-the sea god, Fulmeus-the god of lightning, and Caelus-the god of air. There were many other gods as well and between them was Dadurot who did not look happy at all. He, instead of being happy, had an angry look on his face. Even though he tried his best to hide it, he could not.

Although all the other gods wore gold togas, Dadurot wore a dark ivory, thick coat of armor. He was the only individual who did not have white or gold on at the ceremony. Even the poor, who could not afford togas, wore something white. This act of Dadurot was disrespectful but all thought he had lost his mind from being in the underworld most of his life.

His armor had thick spikes coming out and was not loose at all. It hung tightly to his body, like a knight’s armor, only dark, dark black like the night of Amavus. It had some silver lining on it but that too had been darkened by all the intense heat in the underworld. He had a broad sword latched on his back and he was the only god who had brought a weapon with him. He wore steel boots and had gauntlets on his hands, just like the one Leosher had used to kill Geluna. He had a helmet made of dark ivory which covered all his head and face except lips and eyes. That too had little spikes on it.

Asurot, who was still the queen of all the gods, was not pleased by this act of Dadurot and therefore, she addressed to him.

“Brother, this is no way to come to the crowning of the prince of Aseroth!” she whispered in his ears while the other gods made their way through the crowd, towards the throne-like chairs that had been put there for them to sit on.

“What do you mean?—I am dressed appropriately.”

“You look depressed and are ruining the unity and the tone of the crowd. The crowd is intimidated by the look of you.”

“They should be, after all I have been living in the underworld, miserably. They should be terrified of me. That is exactly what I want.”

Asurot was a little angry and annoyed now and Dadurot himself could feel the tension but he kept his cocky attitude and kept talking angrily.

“You cannot ruin my son’s lifelong dream.”

“It is about your son, it has always been about you and your son. First you get the throne of Aseroth and get to rule the Heavens and now, your son. And I, the founding father of this world, is stuck in its underworld, ruling the dead.”

“I do not have time for this impetuous behavior right now. Visit me afterwards in the heavens and we shall talk about this matter.”

Dadurot laughed mockingly “You and I, both know after the coronation, there is no possible way we could give me the throne. I will talk to father on this matter.”

“Do not bring father in this. This was our decision to make Thraenus and now it is our duty to take care of it. Father already has 7 other realms to take care of.”

Dadurot laughed and in an instant, got serious again, all that laughter faded away “Sister, do what you want because I have always been suppressed by your wants.”

Asurot nodded and left to go to the front where all the gods were to sit but Dadurot moved all the way to the back of the crowd with an evil look on his face. He knew that something had to be done and he knew that his father was to come down to Thraenus to approve Leosher being the king of Aseroth.

Now, after all were settled and the gods were in their places, some of the men from “The Union” lifted the fully groomed and cleaned Lamfari, and brought him up to the stage on which Leosher and Meagon sat. Lamfari slowly walked into the center of the stage with the help of one of the men and then stood up as straight as he could, but not much, for his hunch did not allow him.

He curled his moustache with his eyes closed and stood silently for a moment. It was quiet in the yard and all over the world. All the people stood silently and waited for Lamfari to begin talking. Those who were outside were quiet as well and there were only minimal sounds such as the rustling of the grass and the waves in the water and the fish-eating birds in the sky.

There was a cool breeze that rubbed against the golden walls of the castle and rustled the green grass. The clothes of all standing in the yard, and outside the castle fluttered slowly. Only those who stood inside the castle missed the breeze but all other loved the cooling sensation.

Finally, Lamfari cleared his throat and spoke out loud in his feeble voice “Today, we have gathered here to witness two of the most important events of this era. This day, we shall receive the king of Thraenus and we shall witness the marriage of the king, and from this day forth, we shall receive the bloodline that shall be the ruler of Thraenus for all eternity.” He paused and smiled “Now Asurot, if you would please join me.”

After saying that, he simply waved his hand and a man guided him towards where Leosher and Meagon sat. Both looked marvelous and stunning. Lamfari was taken behind them and Asurot joined him behind them. Lamfari put his hand on their heads and Asurot followed him. Lamfari looked sideways, thinking that he was looking at Asurot but instead was looking to his right, and said “Repeat after me, my mistress.”

“Today, we stand here, witnessing the marriage of the soon-to-be-king of Aseroth and Thraenus and a beautiful commoner, Meagon. May both be flawless for each other and may together, they be unbreakable. May, together, they make a flawless empire that would stay in their bloodline for hundreds of generations and may the gods stay with them and may you stay kind hearted, even though you rule over everything that possesses a heart. Today, we, your kingdom, bless you,” the whole kingdom raised their right hand and pointed towards Leosher and Meagon “And we pronounce you man and wife.”

There was a rush of joy that swept the whole kingdom and each and every heart that lived on Thraenus and was present around the event, was filled with joy. Though the people outside the castle walls did not hear the ceremony, they blessed Leosher and Meagon and rejoiced.

After the marriage ceremony had ended, all the people in the yard were cleared and were told to keep their eyes up to the dark marble cliff that stuck out of the highest tower of the golden castle and looked over the crystal bridge and extended all the way to the back, the end of the castle where it looked over the high seas as well. It was a long ark-like thick beam that stretched over the castle and that was where the coronated king, Leosher was to stand after his crowning and address to his vast empire.

This was a period of rest, for the king was not coronated yet and in order for Leosher to be the king of Aseroth, he had to be coronated by Saulus, the father of the universe, the creator of the universe and the father of Asurot and Dadurot. After the yard was cleared of all the people including all the guards, Azar, Neiham, Urey, Usere, Virgil and Meagon, there were only a few individuals left in the grassy, cobble stoned, orchard-like yard.

Only the gods and Lamfari were left in the yard and soon, the sky went dark, pitch black, for it all was covered with thick dark clouds. It was highly odd for high morning to go so dark immediately. Dark clouds that covered the sky contained a thunder storm in its bosom and it was not from Fulmeus. There was lightning in the sky and loud thunder all around Thraenus. Children cried, for they were scared and the high winds made the waves of the sea high and made the boats the people were in, rock. But then, suddenly it all stopped. The water was calm again and the thunder had stopped. It was pin drop silence again and out of the thick black clouds came a bright beam of light. It was so bright that many had to cover their eyes, for they could not bear to look at it. It landed in the yard and even the gods had to shut their eyes, for it was too bright. It looked like the rainbow, bright and filled with colors.

And just as the light began dimming, out came a glorious being, a divine being, a holy being. When he came out, his glory sprinkled all over the world and all the dead plants and the nearly dead ones around him were rejuvenated. Even Lamfari, who looked like a hag, had been rejuvenated a bit with the glory that radiated from the creator of the Universe. Lamfari’s wrinkled skin tightened a little bit but since he was very old and Saulus did not intentionally do so, he was not healed and rejuvenated to his fullest.

The thick beam of colors faded away from behind him, the dark clouds receded and the thunderstorm stopped, for had Saulus commanded it. He wore a gold toga, and had milky white, silky hair. His beard was long and his moustache was brushed. Where ever he walked new, miniature, multi-colored flowers blossomed. He was bare foot and white in color and floated a little above the ground. His eyes were blue and there was no wrinkle on his clothes and body. His skin was tight and his arms were strong. He was immensely strong and glorious. His voice was deep, so deep that it felt like thunder but it was so soft that even silk envied.

Asurot quickly walked forward and bowed to greet her father.

“Hello father, how are you?”

“Good my child, how are you? I have not met you in ages.”

Dadurot coughed in the back to show that he was present too. “Ah, you my son,” Saulus smiled and walked towards him with his arms wide open “How are you?”

“I am fine, just a little disappointed, for I believe I should get the throne.”

Saulus smiled and his pearly white teeth showed “’tis is not a matter of beliefs, but a matter of what is right and just. I shall see who deserves it and who does not.”

For a being as divine as Saulus, he had a good sense of humor and very minimal regality. Only his speech and voice and appearance made him look divine and stuck up, but his personality was fun loving and bubbly. He loved his creations and the creations of his own creations.

“Now where is the one you all call, Leosher, my grandson. I have been observing him and I must say, he is quiet an interesting being.”

Leosher walked up to him with his back straight up with pride and arrogance.

“I am Leosher,” He said in a deep and firm voice, “And yes, I am marvelous, must I say.”

“Yes, you have changed your personality quite drastically,” Saulus smiled “You began the journey as a peace loving, soft hearted, poor man but now, you are a power hungry, brutal and a lavish man.”

“Yes, I was quite surprised too but I am proud of it as well.”

“I did not say it was a good thing—I am disappointed in you. You may have served your purpose well but you have changed. You are not worthy of the throne unless you change your ways.”

Leosher was shocked and his arrogance was shattered, for he thought he was to be the king of Aseroth and now, he found out that he was not to be.

“My lord, my grandfather,” Leosher tried to convince him “I shall leave my nasty ways and shall follow the ways you desire me too.”

“I am not surprised,” Saulus said while looking around, “Go kill her.” Saulus said while pointing towards Arusus.

Arusus herself was shocked, for she thought Saulus, the creator, had gone insane but instead, this was a test for Leosher. Saulus wanted to see how brutal and heartless Leosher was.

Leosher, who was so power hungry, wasted no time and grabbed his Scythe which was a gift from Arusus, and quickly moved forward and swung his Scythe. Arusus was scared and she grew pale but she did not move, for she knew Saulus had something in his mind and just as the scythe was to touch her neck, it was stopped forcibly. It was stuck in air, as if something held it back but there was nothing holding it except Leosher and he tried his hardest to push it forward and slay his own sister to get the throne but all his tries were futile.

When Leosher looked at Saulus, he was shocked because Saulus’s arm was pointed out towards him and his finger pointed towards Leosher’s scythe. Saulus had stopped the scythe with just a flick of his finger. He looked graceful even when he was stopping Leosher who tried his best to finish the order.

“You will not get the throne.”

“Why not my lord, have I not attempted to follow your orders?”

“That was a test and you failed it. You have shown that you are too brutal and power hungry to rule as the king of Aseroth. You will be a threat to the other 7 realms which are ruled by peaceful rulers.”

Asurot stood at a side while her son, Leosher, begged Saulus to change his mind. Since there was still arrogance and pride in Leosher, he did not fall on his knees to beg but he still pleaded Saulus to let him rule.

“My word is final and ultimate; there shall be none to oppose my rule.”

Saulus looked at Dadurot who had a smirk on his face and then at Asurot, who grieved on the inside but had no emotions on her bright face. Then he looked back at the arrogant Leosher “You have served your purpose well but now it is time. It is time for you to live as a normal human.”

Saulus raised his right arm again through his golden toga and pointed it towards Leosher with an open hand, with his palm showing and in just a matter of seconds, white light began pouring out of Leosher in the shape of fumes and smoke. It was as if Leosher was being burnt alive but in reality, there was not even a scratch on him. As the smoke left Leosher’s body, he slowly became a normal man. His body shrank a bit in size and the glory faded away from his face. There was not much difference in him except his width. He was just a bit leaner now but still he was arrogant as ever.

“What have you done to me?” Leosher was left jaw dropped and his eyes were widened. He was numb with shock “I feel weaker and vulnerable.”

“I have simply made you a normal human. You are no longer a god and Asurot’s blood has vanished from your veins. You are no longer her son and no longer my grandson. You do not have a right on the throne of Aseroth and Thraenus anymore.”

“I was merely a pawn in the battles, used by the gods, manipulated by them—given false hope” Leosher tried to make Saulus feel guilty but he did not budge, he stayed firm and strong.

“You were not given false hope, you were given the right to be the king of Aseroth and Thraenus but you stripped it away from yourself. Your brutality and the hunger for power have taken the right away from you.”

Dadurot who thought that he was to be the king now, asked his father anxiously “Father, who is to be the king now?”

“The one you all call, Virgil—call him inside.”

Dadurot’s jaw dropped again as well as all of the others in the yard, for they had thought that a god was to be the king but instead, Virgil, a common wood cutter was to be the king. Saulus had chosen him for his good judgment, righteous decisions and humbleness which were the total opposite of Leosher. Although Leosher was an extraordinary war planner and strategist and was extraordinarily clever, Virgil’s humbleness beat him.

Soon, Virgil was summoned inside the yard and Saulus addressed to him.

“You have proven yourself to be worthy. You have been humble in all your journeys and though you were the brother of the king of The Empire, you did not change and stayed the same, humble and hardworking man that you always were, and therefore, instead of Leosher, you are receiving the throne of Aseroth and Thraenus, you are the one who shall rule both.”

Virgil was shocked for he had not expected such a reward for his humbleness but he was sad at the same time, for he knew how much his brother anticipated the thrones. Though he was sad, he knew that Leosher was not to be a good king, for he was too self-absorbed and only cared about things when he gained something out of them.

“No—no my lord, I am not worthy for such a magnificent throne” Virgil said.

“Yes my lord,” Leosher joined “He is not—but I am. Give me the throne.”

Saulus smiled at Leosher and looked at Virgil “You are the best candidate for the throne and though your brother is sad, it is your decision.”

Leosher looked at Virgil and walked up to him “Brother you know I lust and long for these thrones. Please decline.”

“I am sad to do this but brother believe me, it is for the better of all. Do not let it come between us.”

Leosher was left in shock and Virgil looked at Saulus and nodded in approval. All the other gods stood by him and blessed him and Virgil’s white toga slowly turned into a knight’s armor. He was covered with gold from head to toe. His chest had a giant roaring Lion engraved on it which symbolized strength and kingship. His helmet covered his cheeks and nose, with his mouth and chin showing and eyes as well. There was a red mane on top of his helmet and on the shoulders there were latches where the cloak was to fit.

Saulus put his hand forward and out of nothing but some sparks, was forged a new sword. It was a long sword, about an arm and a half’s length. It was ordinary looking. It was silver in color with red grips and a big, red ruby in the middle of its circular pommel. Its handle, the grip, was made of the finest leather in the entire universe, the red leather. The sword was sharp and sturdy yet simple, the type of sword that the ruler of Aseroth and Thraenus needed to rule.

Saulus smiled “I pronounce you the king of Aseroth and Thraenus, now you are a god yourself, and everything that comes from your lips shall be absolute and all the gods and creatures that fall under your rule shall listen to you. You have power over storms of great magnitudes, devastating earthquakes, plagues, famines, droughts, sickness and everything that causes harm. You possess power over everything that moves in Thraenus and Aseroth.”

There was a slight smile on Virgil’s face but anger and sadness on Leosher’s.

“You are supposed to make righteous decisions,” Leosher yelled at Saulus “This is not righteous. I was the rightful descendant of the throne, not him. He is just a normal man from the outskirts of Gelus. I was the one who suffered through all the pain, defeated Geluna, Colossus, Katos, The Leviathan and many other beasts. I have the right to be arrogant, for I was unbeatable; none dared stand against me. My wrath and brutality are the reasons you all stand here and coronate this imbecile.”

Saulus smiled “I like your determination to get what you want; therefore I shall give you another chance. Kill your brother and the thrones shall be yours.”

“This is another test and I will not fall for it.”

“If it were, I would have told you but it is not. This is your chance to gain the right to rule everything you see.”

“But I do not have the power in my hands to kill Virgil for now, he is a god.”

“Here, take this,” Saulus opened his palm at his side and a spear appeared in his hand. It was black in color and was sharp enough to pierce Virgil’s thick armor. “Use this and I promise I will not interfere this time—claim your throne.”

Virgil was a little scared for he did not trust his brother when it was the matter of him gaining power and the anger and the lust in his eyes showed that he was to do anything that got him closer to receiving the thrones, even if it meant killing his own brother.

Leosher stepped back a bit and clenched the spear in his fist. Sweat rolled down the side of his face and anxiety was obvious on his face and just when it seemed he was to throw the spear and kill Virgil, he stopped and took off his clothes and wore nothing but a loincloth now. No one knew why he did so but he did and then got focused again. He clenched the spear in his hand and ran towards Virgil, who stood firmly, hoping that his brother would not kill him but deep down, he knew that he will die this moment.

Leosher ran towards the now glorified Virgil, and shot the spear but fell to his knees. The Spear did not hit Virgil but instead pierced the ground where he stood and Leosher stayed on his knees “I cannot kill my own brother, no matter how much I want the power!”

Asurot was filled with pride, though Leosher was no longer her biological son, she still had motherly feelings for him. Virgil was happy and the love for his brother was ignited to new heights. All were happy but Dadurot, he laughed at Leosher and mumbled “How pathetic, I would have killed and slain all of those who stood before me to get the thrones, and I plan to do so.”

Virgil quickly moved forward and picked his brother back up to his legs again and hugged him “Brother you have no idea how proud I am of you this day, you are truly great. It makes me feel good that you still have the spark of good in you.”

Even Saulus was happy and smiled “You have proven that you still can be good and will be good. Although I cannot give you the thrones, for they are Virgil’s, I give you your godly body. You will no longer be a god but you will have the capabilities of a god and you shall use them to do great things and aid the gods whenever they need it. I also grant you the right to have the scythe that your previously godly sister gifted you, as your weapon but none other than you shall use the scythe.”

Leosher was happy for now he was to be as strong as he was before but still a bit sad, for he had not gotten what, according to himself, he “deserved”.

He put his clothes back on but was still angry and after all was done, Virgil was given the red cloak just like the one Leosher once worn and he was crowned with a golden crown. He took off his helmet and put on his crown. The crown was made of solid gold and was lined with silver and ivory. There were hundreds of gems on it and it glimmered. It was the most lavish thing that Virgil had ever seen. The crown had seven points on it and each point had a ruby which was about the size of a bull’s eye.

He looked magnificent and all the gods marveled at him. The golden armor and the crown contrasted with the red cloak which made him look even vibrant.

“Shall we go now?” Lamfari said while looking around, trying to imagine what everything looked like.

Saulus approved his request and Arusus led the way. She was in the front, the second was Virgil, at his left was Asurot and at his right side was Leosher. Behind them walked every other god and Lamfari, but before reaching marbled cliff, Saulus went back to his business. He left Thraenus and handed everything, every responsibility regarding Aseroth and Thraenus to Virgil and left to visit the other 7 realms.

When they walked up the stairs and finally reached the black marbled cliff with gold lining that looked over the lands, all those who saw them, were shocked. All those who stood at the crystal bridge, in boats in the sea, and all those who stood on the lands were disappointed to see what they saw. Many could not believe their eyes. Those who were too far to see clearly were informed by those who did see and the reactions on their faces were not good either. All expected Leosher to be the king but instead they saw Virgil with a crown and the cloak.

Buntius and Meagon were devastated as well. Buntius, because he thought his daughter was married to the king of all the land and the house of the gods, but now it was just a thought, not reality; And Meagon because she knew how much Leosher longed for the thrones. She did not care if she was to be the queen but the only thing she cared for was Leosher. The moment she saw the throne being stripped away from her beloved was the moment she became angry. The seed of anger was planted in Meagon’s heart and now, she was willing to do everything in her power to get the thrones for her young husband.

There was a sudden commotion all over the land but all that stopped when Virgil raised his voice and began talking:

“My people, now I know that you all expected Leosher to be your king and rule over you but due to a sudden turn of events, I am what you get. Though Leosher is the king you deserve, I am the king you need and I promise you,” He smiled at Leosher hoping that he would smile back but he did not “I will be a better king than him.” He then looked back at the people and continued “There will be drastic changes but not today, for today, we all shall celebrate. Today we shall celebrate that after 2 millennia the evil reign of the 3 rulers is over. We shall celebrate, for today, you, I, us all, shall sleep in peace, peace at last!”

There was a chant of happiness and all cheered, for now they knew they were free and now all knew that the new king was not like Leosher but was better than him. There was a smile on every individual’s face, no matter a child or adult, man or woman, all cheered. All discrimination had ended for that one moment and all felt that they all were family. All were happy except Meagon, Dadurot and most of all, Leosher.

After Virgil’s address was over, he patted Leosher on his shoulder and walked back into the castle while the others followed him. Leosher stood at the cliff, frozen with sorrow and misery, for he saw all the people he would have ruled over but now he could not because of his brother.

Slowly, the lands and the waters were cleared and all the people went back, away from the castle to get ready for the feast that the king was holding that night. This was the feast planned by Leosher but now, Virgil was the one giving it, for he was the king. Virgil went in the court hall and walked up the golden steps and sat on the throne that Leosher had designed for himself. He had put golden lions at the sides of his foot stool to show that he was powerful and he had added 6 more steps to the throne to show that he was even higher but now, instead of him, Virgil sat on the throne. It was obvious that Virgil was to be a better king, for even though he was now the most powerful being on Thraenus, he was humble as always. He showed respect to everyone and gained respect in return.

He sat upright, unlike Leosher who always slouched on his throne with a chalice in his hands which was always filled with rum. Virgil sat upright and attentive. He was surrounded with his loved ones, including Azar, Neiham, Urey, Usere, and Adne. Buntius and Lamfari were also there. All the gods had left and went back to Aseroth, except Dadurot, for he went to the underworld.

Adne was happy for her son but at the same time, she was a little sad for the other one. Though she was sad, she did not let it get to her head and she enjoyed the moment. Everyone close to Virgil was present in the courthall except Leosher, for he was still on the cliff, sitting and grieving, alone but soon, he was joined by his wife, Meagon.

CHAPTER 19

It was night and the clear sky was filled with stars and fireworks. There were celebrations all over the lands. There were tents all over the land in front of the castle and the tents were filled with different kinds of things that people used, to enjoy. This was a festival with different kinds of food and things to buy. There was a circle in the middle of the gigantic fest which was the place were a band of women was dancing. There was fire around them and they danced with drums and songs.

There were kids of all kinds playing with each other and running after each other all over the place. This was the biggest festival many had ever seen and for many, this was the first festival they had ever seen.

Many brought gifts for the king, who was not acting like a royalty at all. He was laughing and playing with kids, drinking wine and rum and eating all kinds of things people offered. He was having fun and was enjoying the fest as if this was the last day of his life. Urey and Usere were the same, they enjoyed as much as they could and they accompanied Virgil in everything he did and loved serving him.

Azar sat in a corner with his friend and smoked from his pipe. He made various shapes out of the smoke such as a ship, an arrow, a circle, a heart and the most magnificent was a dragon. He also was setting off all kinds of fireworks using the wand that he had borrowed from Virgil. Though he had retired from wizardry, he was using magic for this one last time to give everyone a good time.

Neiham accompanied Adne and both watched the people dance with the drums and the trumpets and ate many kinds of foods. Buntius sat with the men of The Union which included Lamfari. They all had fun too, all drank rum and wine in big wooden mugs with iron rims, except Lamfari for he thought intoxicants would drive him evil.

All were happy except Leosher. Meagon was no longer mad at Virgil but she still was angry that her husband did not get what he deserved. Both of them sat on the cliff and watched the whole festival from above. They watched the dancing and could hear the cheering and the drums and the blasting sounds of the fireworks that were being shot by Azar.

Everyone was having fun except for Leosher and Meagon, both of whom still sat on the castle’s lookout.

“Leosher, are you alright?”

“Yes I am fine. What am I, a child that you need to ask?”

“Can you please let your arrogance go for just a moment?”

“I am not arrogant—you are being unreasonable.”

Just as they were talking, a flash of light occurred behind them and out of the smoke came of Dadurot. He wore the same things he wore in the afternoon. The only thing different about him was his smirk; it was more evil this time.

“What are you here for?” Meagon got up and said possessively, “You do not belong here; you belong down there, in the festival with the rest of them, enjoying.”

“You are a feisty one,” Dadurot said with a lisp “The perfect match for someone as talented as Leosher.”

“What do you want Dadurot?” Leosher got up angrily with his fists clenched and said in a heavy voice “I do not have time for your garbage.”

“I am your well-wisher, let me explain,” Dadurot moved forward and started talking to Leosher face to face, over the sound of the drums, trumpets, cheers and blasts from the fireworks while colorful lights flashed in their faces from the fireworks.

“I was the creature that visited you in your dreams. I was the dark creature that tried to move the shield away from your face. I knew this was going to happen to you, for I knew that they were using you.”

Leosher was shocked “I am sorry I did not listen to you but now, how do you plan on helping me?”

Dadurot laughed under his breath and continued talking “I can help you achieve the status that you desire, I will help you bring down Virgil, I will help you bring Aseroth tumbling down, but there are some things you shall do for me in order for your desires to be fulfilled.”

“What do I have to do?”

“You have to serve me, sell me your soul and be my slave.”

Meagon knew that Leosher was heartbroken to such as point that he would do anything to get his power back but she herself was a bit skeptical and that was smart and intelligent, for Dadurot was not a trustable person, he was known throughout all the other 7 realms as the wickedest of the rulers of the underworlds of all the 8 realms.

“Leosher, beware, for I do not trust him. He is a wicked and twisted individual.”

“Be quiet Meagon, you do not know how much pain my heart is in this moment.” Leosher looked back at Dadurot “I am ready, I sell you my soul, but what do I gain?”

“You gain dark energy. You will be able to use the dark energy which is undefeatable.”

Leosher was slowly drifting into selling his soul but Meagon, being a good wife tried to stop him “Leosher, evil never beats good; darkness never beats light. You do not know what you are about to do.”

“Shut up Meagon!—this is the only way I can beat Virgil.”

Dadurot grinned and continued “I proclaim you my dark horse!”

He grabbed Leosher’s shoulders and opened his own mouth, wide open. Dark black smoke and golden light came out of his mouth and went into Leosher’s body through his mouth, nose, eyes and ears. It was overwhelming for Meagon to even see.

The process was long and painful and Leosher was slowly lifted up into mid-air and slowly Dadurot let go of him. Leosher levitated in mid-air while the smoke and light entered his body and gave him dark energy. The more dark energy that went into his body, the more evil he grew and after a few seconds, Leosher emitted a blast of golden light and a little bit of black smoke and fell on the ground and when he got back up, his eyes were golden and body was dark black with golden veins showing throughout his body. There was a golden tribal mark on his left forearm and tt looked weird because sometimes it looked like a drawing of a dragon but sometimes it looked like hundreds of sharp twists and turns. It constantly moved around as if it swam on Leosher’s arm.

He was truly a dark horse which represented evil, a magical dark warrior in Thraenian mythology. Leosher looked angry and intimidating. His voice was hard to understand, for it was too hoarse and just his presence made the ground shake. Dadurot laughed at his creation but Meagon cried, for she was scared for Leosher because so much dark energy was surely going to attract the guardians and so much evil was surely going to get him thrown into the darkest pits of Ratarus.

“I am here for you…” Leosher said in his hoarse voice but he stuttered a bit, for he was not comfortable calling someone his master, “….Dadurot!” he did not call him his master. He was too arrogant and prideful to do so.

“You are undoubtedly the strongest being on the planet again, but first, if you wish to keep these powers, kill Samael, and free Shamaun and his forces from Ratarus. They will aid you in taking over the whole universe.”

Meagon still was not comfortable “Leosher please, we will figure something out, please do not do this. You look hideous and this man is evil, do not make him your master.”

When Meagon said that, Dadurot smacked her in the face. She fell backwards which made Leosher very mad. He screamed in anger and suddenly tore out of his “Dark horse” cocoon and returned back to his old, brown self. He had left his demon form which was controlled by Dadurot and now was back to normal again. He was very angry and he walked forward and stood very close to Dadurot “If you EVER touch her again, I swear I will rip that arm right off!”

Although Dadurot had not anticipated this reaction from Leosher and him getting out of the demon form, he stayed calm “It was an accident—calm down.”

Dadurot knew Leosher was too strong minded to be controlled but he took the risk, for he planned to use Leosher to get the thrones and in the end, kill him to get them for himself.

“Are you alright,” Leosher looked at Meagon who was one the ground, “Get up.”

She got up and walked towards Dadurot and stood in front of him “You are off the hook this time but trust me, if you do that one more time that will be your end.”

Dadurot smiled mockingly and then looked at Leosher “Now that you are back to your old self, go kill Samael and get closer to your goal.”

“Where can I find him?” Leosher asked “Tell me and I shall kill him.”

“You will have to find him, for his location is a secret to save him from the guardians, none know about his location.”

Leosher nodded and kissed Meagon aggressively and jumped off of the cliff, unto the crystal bridge. He went inside the castle and went towards the army stables where he planned on getting a horse. This was the place where all the animals were lined up for the army to use in battle but since all were at the festival, there was none guarding them. The castle was empty except Ezhak who was sleeping soundly in the farthest yard of the castle, the yard where Leosher’s marriage had occurred.

Even the stables of the castle were magnificent. They had gold plated pillars and cobble stoned floors which were covered with hay and feces of the animals. It was a long room with two windows, North of the entrance and a giant door, West of the entrance. That was the door which was used to take the animals out to pasture in the yards of the castle and those who did not pasture, were fed meat but separately.

The stalls where the horses were kept were East from the entrance where Leosher came in from. They were filled with strong horses, the horses of the best kinds. Most of the horses were white and brown but there was one that caught Leosher’s eye. It was in the corner and it was black, total black just like the night.

It had a mane like that of a lion and it had very muscular and toned legs and had long hair on its legs. Its eyes were big and yellow and his teeth were pearl white. Its tail was hairy as well and it was tall, about as tall as Leosher was.

Leosher liked this horse and quickly pulled him out of its stall and jumped on it but stopped for a moment, for he did not feel the flutter of the cloak he usually felt, which reignited the fire in his heart.

He did not have his scythe either but then he remembered that it was still in the yard, waiting for him to claim it. He grabbed the horse by its mane and rode it out to the yards where Ezhak slept. He was sleeping next to the scythe and a part of his long, scaly tail was on it. Leosher saw the golden scythe with the help of the light that was produced by the fireworks and the moon. It glimmered.

He walked over, quietly, trying not to wake him up and tried to pull the scythe out from under him but his tries were futile, for he could not do so unless he picked his tail up.

After a few careful, yet futile tries, Leosher yanked it out from under him because he had gotten tired of waiting and even though Leosher succeeded, he had woken up Ezhak and soon he stood tall in front of him and scared his horse back into the stables. Ezhak looked furious in all the colorful lights from the fireworks.

He stood tall in front of Leosher “What are you doing here my lord?”

“I am not the king anymore. You do not have to call me your lord.”

“I do,” Ezhak said while stretching his huge wings, and yawning “You were the one who freed me from the guardianship therefore, you are my lord—anyways, why are you here? And what were you doing with that horse?”

“I am going to find Samael and kill him and that horse was my ride.”

“Why,” he asked “Why are you to kill Samael?”

“I have my reasons, now go back to sleep for I have work to do.”

“Do you know where he resides,” Ezhak asked while trying to smile but his smile came out like a grin, “Because I know and I can take you there if you let me, my lord.”

Leosher thought for a few moments while staring at the ground and then looked back at the gigantic beast “Yes, take me to him.”

Ezhak nodded and kneeled down and put his head on the ground so Leosher could get on his back and just as Leosher jumped on, Ezhak bolted in the sky. Leosher held unto a thorn at end of his neck tightly and held his scythe in his other hand tightly as well and Ezhak flew over the festival and soon he went above the clouds.

“Where is Samael?”

“He resides in the south eastern parts of what used to be Agnithius. He resides there with his wife and some of his own military. You will have to be very careful, for his army is made of the best fighters.”

“I will be, and how is it that the guardians do not see him?”

“I do not know much my lord,” Ezhak said in his growling voice “But I believe his wife, Temuna has to do something with it.”

“Well how do you know it?”

“I was flying around and I recognized him but lucky he didn’t see me, or probably he has forgotten about me.”

It was to be a long journey but due to the fact that Leosher was riding a dragon, the time it took was much shorter. Ezhak flew as fast as he could and brought Leosher to the ragged castles of Samael by the dawn of the new day.

Leosher jumped off of him and stood before the gates of the castle which was a shabby pile of rocks. It looked as if it would break with a single touch but somehow, it had been standing strong for a long time.

The castle was in a discreet location. A part of it was on a rocky cliff which looked over the sea. It was located in the southernmost part of what used to be Agnithius, at the very tip, and Mount Dabbacan, the place where Ratarus resided, was visible from there but vaguely. The castle was surrounded with a thick green forest and the front of the castle was barren lands.

Leosher stood before the huge wooden gate with Ezhak at his side and his scythe gripped tightly in his hand, ready to fight.

“Samael,” he yelled out “I know you reside here and I am here to wipe you out of existence. Now you and I both know that this is the day you die, come out and fight.”

There was a moment of silence and only the wind was heard but then came out a roaring voice “You must be truly mindless to come here. Do you know to whom you address?”

Samael came and stood on top of the high walls of his castle. He wore a battle skirt, almost like the one Leosher used to wear when he left the outskirts of Gelus. His torso was bare and he had a long black beard and thick mustache. His hairs were short but had a thin, long braid that came out of the back of his head. He wore ragged sandals and was covered in dirt and all of his glory that he once had was gone and now he looked dirty. He also had two battle axes in his hands, which he was to use to fight Leosher.

When Leosher saw him, he smirked “I know exactly who I am talking to. You are the coward who hid from the guardians for over 2 millennia. You are the coward who hid and blew away 2 millennia of his life, being scared of imprisonment.”

“That was wise; I am wise, what you are not, for you do not know what I am capable of.”

“You are not capable of doing any task, not even the simplest. You have no power, for you divided all your power into your friends, which I have slain already.”

Samael laughed at Leosher’s arrogance and continued conversating “Do you seriously believe that nonsense? I am the cunning scoundrel who imprisoned his own father. Do you think I would leave myself helpless? I gave those three imbeciles my own powers, but only a third. I still have more power than you could ever handle. And to top it all up,” Samael was joined by his wife, Temuna, who was one of the remaining wizards. She wore a green dress and had fully rouged lips. She also had black nails and her hairs were dark black dreads. She was also brown in color, almost like Leosher, just a little lighter, and had a fresh skin.

Samael continued talking “I am married to this rogue beauty, Temuna. She alone can kill you.”

Leosher laughed and mocked him “I cannot wait till I get my hands on you. I will kill you and I promise you, it is going to hurt.”

Ezhak laughed to support Leosher and spit some fire on the ground but he stopped laughing, for he knew both of them had no chance against Samael.

Samael and Temuna laughed too and suddenly, the wooden gates of the castle fell and Samael’s men ran out. They wore thick armor made of steel but since the armors were old, they had holes and flaws in them which were patched with rocks. They had ragged swords but the swords had a dark aura which was the dark energy of Samael.

He only had swordsman. There were no archers or any other type of soldiers, just those who wielded swords and the number of soldiers was low as well; there were only about 50 men but those 50 men were highly trained and though they looked as if they could not beat Leosher, they were filled with the same evil Leosher had. It was as if the dark energy was given by the same person, and most probably, it was.

The soldiers were pale and their eyes were fully blood red. They had long dirty nails and were bare foot.

It was not long before the battle began, when Samael, who stood on the wall, signaled the men by pointing towards Leosher and yelling “Kill him!”

There was distance between Leosher and the men but just as the men started covering the distance, Leosher made his move. He threw his scythe into the crowd with such a speed and strength that many could not see it coming towards them. He followed the scythe with the same speed and strength and just as the scythe hit its target it took out at least 5 of the men and killed them and following the scythe was Leosher’s knee. He jumped in the air and came down onto the crowd, knee-first. The impact was great which dismantled the forces even more.

Ezhak helped Leosher by throwing fireballs into the fight and buying him enough time to get back to his scythe so he could begin the massacre.

Leosher slid from under the legs of one of the soldiers, who stood with his sword ready to kill him, and grabbed his scythe. He quickly got up and swung it with the aim of decapitating the soldier, and he succeeded at it. Leosher killed the soldier and continued to fight. He was untouchable, for that much dark energy in a god’s body who was meant to be a great fighter, was overwhelming. He was too fast for any of the soldiers’ sword to even scratch him. He was too strong for them to hold him down and he was too cunning to be tricked.

The battle was over quickly, for Leosher and Ezhak were too good in battles to die and Ezhak’s doubt was proven wrong, for he saw Leosher standing in puddles of blood and a mountain of bodies.

“Your end is here,” Leosher looked at Samael and smirked but for some reason, Samael smirked back and Temuna was not standing beside with him.

“Are you sure?” Samael said “I am not the one who is about to die” and just as he said that, Temuna came out of the gates and pointed her wooden wand which was wrapped in vines, towards Leosher. Black ropes shot out of her wand, just like the ones Lutman used. They were nasty and shiny and looked like tar, only more elastic.

The ropes wrapped around Leosher’s body and incapacitated him. They were overwhelmingly strong, for even Leosher was not being able to break free. Ezhak quickly spat fire at Temuna to kill her but Samael intervened. He grabbed Ezhak’s neck and swung him. It was a spectacular scene, for Ezhak was thrown away like a rag doll and he passed out just as his head hit the ground, for he had never experienced such a thing, but Samael thought he had died, therefore he left him alone.

“Leosher,” Samael laughed “Did you really think you could break free? My wife, Temuna is undoubtedly the strongest witch in the whole world, and the most beautiful too.”

Temuna smiled and spat on Leosher’s face and said in her shrieking voice “You are to die in our dungeons, and your body shall rot!”

She flicked her wand and another strand came out which ultimately covered all of Leosher and then, the whole thing turned into marble. Leosher was now encased in a black marble coffin. Temuna looked at Samael and kissed him “He is an imbecile. Now take this, and throw it in the deepest dungeons of our ragged castle. We shall use his power to kill the guardians and be released from this eternal run.”

“I like the way you think.” Samael appreciated her and picked the coffin up and took it inside his ragged castle and went into the dungeons. They were dark and wet. They were the strongest part of the castle, for this was the only place which was not built by stacking up giant boulders. There were many cells with bones in them; these bones were of soldiers that did not listen to Samael and Temuna. There was water dripping from the ceiling and the walls were green with algae.

Samael walked down the spiral staircase and walked over to the darkest part of the dungeons with the coffin on his shoulder and as he proceeded, the light became dimmer and dimmer and when he reached the end, it was the deepest point and the darkest as well. There was not even a speck of light and it was incredibly cold just like the middle mountains, and it was wet as well. There were puddles of slimy water on the ground and the floor of the cell was mud.

Samael threw the coffin in a corner and left the dungeons and it was pin drop silence now, and there was nothing in the dungeons except the imprisoned, fallen king, the dark horse, Leosher…

It was now night and Ezhak had woken up. It took him time to recover but he did and now he stood tall again but he still was injured and he knew that he was not of match for neither Temuna, nor Samael, therefore he flew back to the golden castle where he told Virgil that Leosher was in grave danger.

They all stood were in the court hall when Ezhak barged inside.

“Virgil,” said Ezhak, “You have to help your fallen brother. His very life is in danger and you are the only one powerful enough to save him. You are the lord of Thraenus and Aseroth; you have the power to kill Samael.”

“Where is he?” Virgil stood up “Take me to him.”

Meagon, who was also in the court hall, heard that Leosher was in danger, and instantly she wanted to go help him,

“I demand to go with you, for my husband’s life is in danger and I shall do everything to save him.”

Virgil thought for a moment and then looked at her “Get ready, for we must depart now. I do not know how much time Leosher he has till he dies, Asurot has a cloak on him and none can sense him or his presence.”

Meagon snatched Usere’s sword and Urey’s bow and got ready and though she wore a dress, it was not a fancy one. It was a normal dress which warrior women wore. The only thing that she did not possess was armor but with Ezhak and Virgil on her side, she did not need any.

“Virgil, the fastest way to get to Samael is by flying, therefore, both of you shall ride me there.”

“No—you are already injured, and even if you were healthy, I have a faster way, but first, let me heal you.”

He put his hand on Ezhak and closed his eyes and within seconds, all of Ezhak’s wounds were healed.

“Now,” he continued talking “We shall go.”

Virgil put his hands on Meagon and Ezhak and in an instance, they turned into a golden ball of fire. They flew up in the sky like lightning and landed in front of the castle of Samael. It only took them about 4 seconds to get there, because Virgil had read the location from Ezhak’s mind when he touched him.

This was the way how the gods traveled but Leosher never quite learnt it. Virgil utilized all of his resources, for he was wiser than Leosher and did not have power on his mind all the time.

They stood in front of the castle and Virgil shouted “Samael, I know you are in there and I know you have my brother. Come out now and you shall not be punished by death. You will only be returned to the guardians and will only be put in Ratarus, where you belong—now come out and face me.”

There was silence but then Temuna walked out of the broken gate and her hands were in the air, as a sign of surrender but there was no sign of Leosher or Samael. Just as Meagon saw Temuna, fire came into her eyes and she charged at her. She slapped Temuna in the face but Virgil raised his hand and pulled her off with a flick of his wrist.

Temuna was angry but was helpless for Virgil was too strong for her.

“Where is Leosher?” Meagon yelled at her “Bring him out or you will perish.”

Temuna smirked “You are naïve. You do not know what you speak. You are weak, you cannot possibly think you can defeat me. I am too strong for you, stronger than any wizard.”

Just when Temuna stopped talking, came out Samael with the marble coffin on his shoulder. He swaggered towards Virgil and when he was finally close, he spoke to him “I shall make you a deal. I will give you your brother alive, and you will grant us freedom from the guardians.”

“It is too late, for the guardians already know you are here. I told them telepathically and they will be here any moment now. You have no choice but to give Leosher back.”

After a few moments of silence, red smoke appeared beside Virgil and out of the smoke came the guardians. They were looking as grim as always. They wore their thick red cloaks and floated around in mid-air. Their feet were bloody, for the grounds of Ratarus were molten rocks and spikes and their faces were black and their eyes were red. They had hoods on their head and had whispering and grim voices.

The leader of the guardians said in his whispering voice “At long last, we have found Samael. Today we shall take you back to Ratarus and wipe the stain away, wipe our humiliation away.”

Virgil was the only one who did not look at the guardians but all the others did and although the guardians were grim, none were scared of them, not even Meagon.

“Keep them away from me or I will kill Leosher” Samael said right after the guardians talked.

Virgil smiled, “You cannot kill my brother before my eyes.”

He snapped his fingers and the marble melted away and Leosher jumped out of it and put the scythe against Samael’s throat. All were surprised except Virgil, for it was his plan all along. He knew his brother had a fighting spirit and he would never give up. His plan was going exactly the way he wanted but then things took an unexpected turn.

“Leosher, move away from him. He will not harm you. It is his time and he has to go to Ratarus now.”

Leosher laughed “I will not let him go, for he has destroyed my pride. I will kill him and gain it back.”

“Not if you want to go to Ratarus,” The leader of the guardians said “If you kill him before our eyes, you will have no choice but to come with us. You will be locked away for eternity, for you are disobeying the king of all gods.”

Leosher laughed again “The king of all gods is my brother, and I am sure he will not let me be imprisoned.” Leosher looked at Virgil and smiled “Right brother?”

“No—I am afraid I will not be able to do anything. I am expected to do what is right and therefore, I shall do what is right.”

This infuriated Leosher but he did not stop. He swung his scythe and killed Samael. He had followed Dadurot’s orders, not because he had to, but because he wanted to, for he thought that Dadurot was going to give him the throne.

Virgil was angry and Temuna was devastated. She ran forward to catch the falling body of Samael but she could, not for it turned to ash. She fell on the ground crying and put the ash on her bosom, mourning for her late husband.

Meagon ran to Leosher, for she was happy to see him. She hugged him but Temuna was not happy at all.

“I will take away your love, just like you took mine away.”

She turned herself into pure evil energy and shot herself towards Meagon with the aim to kill her but Leosher got in the way and put his left arm in front of her and the energy blast was absorbed by his body and this was the day when both Temuna and Samael died; this was the day when Thraenus was rid of all its enemies.

Virgil yelled at Leosher “What have you done—you fool!”

“I did what was right. Now, tell the guardians not to take me to Ratarus.”

Virgil said with anger in his voice “I am afraid I cannot, for it would be unjust. You have to pay for your mistakes.”

Leosher was jaw dropped, for he had expected his brother to help him but instead, he did not. Leosher ran towards Virgil and put his hands on his shoulders, and just as he did, something drastic happened. There was a blast and Leosher was sent flying into the walls of the castle and the walls collapsed on him and buried him. No one knew what had happened or why it had happened but all thought Virgil had done that on purpose.

When Leosher walked out of the rubble, they all noticed that the arm that was struck by the blast had turned black. There was lava flowing through his darkened left forearm. His nails had turned into sharp claws and the hand had immense strength. This was the result of the blast. All the dark energy was stuck and trapped inside the forearm and the blast occurred because it clashed with the pure white energy that Virgil was filled with.

His hand was stuck in the demon form and he could do nothing to bring it back, because there was too much dark energy trapped in that one specific area.

Virgil could not do anything either, for he could not take out the dark energy out of Leosher’s heart and his mind. Dark energy was home to evil and evil was home to dark energy and Leosher was evil, and could not be stripped away from the dark energy until he became good.

After Leosher walked out of the rubble and stood close to all again, the guardians began talking to him.

“Come with us” said the guardian while approaching Leosher, who was jaw-dropped with shock “You deserve it.”

“Stop,” Virgil yelled at him “I will escort him there myself, but first I shall make some changes.”

He dismissed the guardians and sent them back to Ratarus and then walked over to the cliff. He looked at the distant Mount Dabbacan, the place in whose bosom existed the worst place known to Thraeniuns, Ratarus.

“It should not exist on Thraenus; it should exist in a remote dimension where nothing else exists.”

He raised his hand and flicked his finger and suddenly, the giant mountain shook and was stripped away from Ratarus. It jumped out from its bosom and levitated in the air. It was like a mountain, a smaller version of the volcanic Mount Dabbacan. It levitated over the Mount Dabbacan until a giant hole opened up in the sky and engulfed it. It was a dimensional gate that sucked Ratarus in and in an instant, Ratarus no longer exited on Thraenus but instead, in a place no one except Virgil, knew of.

After he was done, he turned around and had sadness on his face and tears in his eyes “Brother, say your goodbyes, for this is the last day you will see your loved ones.”

Leosher was no longer shocked but had anger on his face but he said nothing, for he thought it was Virgil’s fault he had to go to Ratarus for eternity.

He hugged Meagon and kissed her “Take care, and remember my dream. You are my last hope. Conquer the world, conquer Aseroth and wait for me, for I shall escape Ratarus. I am destined to escape and come back. I am destined to rule; you just wait for me, loyally, and faithfully.”

She nodded and burst into tears because she loved him too much but Leosher was cold hearted and focused. Then he turned to Ezhak who had tears in his eyes too “You were a good servant. You served your purpose well but now, I burden you with a new purpose. Serve Meagon and do whatever she says. Accompany her in everything she does, and take care of her and yourself as well.” Ezhak nodded and backed away. Afterwards, Leosher walked over to the cliff where Virgil stood and stood next to him and said to him while looking over the sea, “I am ready—let us go.”

Virgil snapped his fingers and a small dimensional gate opened in front of them and both walked in and when they did, they saw a gate at the end. The gate had no knob but only had thorns and spike on it. The door was red hot as well, and only gods and the guardians could open it. This was a Ratarus that Virgil had designed. When he moved Ratarus, drastic changes were made.

When Virgil opened the gate, the guardians welcomed them. The gate led to a thin bridge. Only 3 fully grown men could walk side by side on this bridge. It had lava flowing on either sides and had nothing to keep one from falling. It was a rocky bridge with a sudden end and it looked over Ratarus.

This Ratarus was a mountainous terrain. All these mountains were cells and there were many cells and all these cells were hot, hot like lava, for the ground was molten rocks. There was a huge mountain at the end, which was the cell of Shamaun, Samael’s father. All of the prisoners were allowed to roam freely on the molten ground except one, Shamaun, for he was too treacherous to be left free.

The sky of Ratarus was dark and filled with stars. The air was thick and filled with fire and sparks and smoke. There was no water and food, all starved and were only given food once a week, just to keep them alive.

After the guardians thought Leosher was scared enough, they began talking to him “This is your home from now on, and there is no exit except the one you stand before and this exit is guarded by us, therefore you cannot escape it. This is your punishment.”

Leosher laughed and thought in his head “This might be guarded, but I am Leosher. I will escape it and get my revenge on Aseroth.”

Virgil took Leosher to the end of the bridge and told the guardians to stay behind and talked to him alone “Brother only if you had listened to me, you would not have ended up here. Only if you had stayed good, only if you had not gone power hungry and stayed the same, innocent Leosher, just like the one you started out. If you had done that, you would not have ended up here, but alas, here we are, and there is nothing that can be done anymore. Therefore, we shall say our goodbyes.”

Leosher smirked and nodded “You might want to think no one can escape, but I will and I will get my throne. There is nothing you can do to stop me and when I get out of here, you will be the first one to die….”

Virgil got angry and kicked Leosher off of the cliff. The time seemed to have slowed down. Both had tears in their eyes and both, even though loved each other, were angry at each other. Both brothers recited their creed, Leosher for revenge and motivation to get out of this place, and Virgil recited it out of sadness, and out of anger, for he knew this was not the end, and Leosher was going to come out and when he was, he was going to be there to stop him:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny….”