Heir to the Sundered Crown (29 page)

“I am Ferran, Nightblade and defender of the realm. This,’ he said gesturing to Kaiden, who flashed a smile, ‘is Sir Kaiden. Knight of the Niveren Order, and we are here to rescue our friend.”

The legion captain spat.

“I don’t care who you are. My orders come from General Rason. The true King of Delfinnia. Stand aside or I’ll order my men here to gut you like fish. You understand?” 

Kaiden lowered his sword and pointed the tip of the blade at the captain.

“We will leave you till last. You can tell you’re false king that we will stop him,” the Knight said darkly.

The captain chuckled humourlessly. He hauled Yepert backwards and threw him heavily into a bush at the side of the road. He pointed at one of his men.

“Make sure he doesn’t move. I and the lads have some killing to do”

The captain and two of the legionaries stalked towards Ferran and Kaiden their weapons drawn.

“You take the goons. I’ll take the captain here,” Kaiden said to the Nightblade at his side. Ferran smiled and nodded in agreement.

Kaiden dashed forward and swung his sword in a wide arc. The sound of clashing steel rang out through the silent forest. The legionary captain blocked the attack with ease to counter with a thrust of his own. With lightning fast speed Kaiden parried the blow and countered with a quick jab aimed at the captain’s throat. The captain arched backwards. The tip of Kaiden’s sword missed its target by mere inches.

The two men circled one another. Both were skilled, both were quick.

Kaiden feinted with a shift of his shoulder. The captain read the feint and forced him back a step with a lunge of his own sword. The blades clashed and the fight began in earnest.

The captain bellowed as he swung his sword, narrowly missing Kaiden’s chest. Kaiden parried another blow and launched a series of quick thrusts and cuts, they struck coming together in a twist of sweat and straining muscle.

Kaiden took two quick steps forward forcing the captain off balance and brought his blade up in a neat slice, breaking the captain’s defence and cutting deeply into the growling mans chest. Only the captain’s armour had saved him from a mortal wound.

The captain grunted in surprise as Kaiden pressed his attack without pause, slash after slash. Each was parried by shifts of weight and movements of the legionnaire’s blade. Sweat poured into Kaiden’s eyes.

Desperation filled him as he tried to think of new moves to break his foes defences. He disengaged with a quick step backwards. Both men were panting and covered in sweat.

The two men stood glaring at one another; both skilled in the art of swordplay. For a heartbeat neither man moved, then suddenly and with explosive force the two fighters smashed into each other.

Kaiden began his attack; he darted in past the captain’s guard with a twist of his body and was out again before his opponent could react. He buried his sword deep into the man’s chest plate piercing the armour as well as flesh and bone. Blood burst from the mortally wounded mans mouth before he crumpled into the dirt, blood pooling under the corpse.

Kaiden planted his sword into the ground and leant heavily on the hilt, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. He glanced behind him to see Ferran standing over the bodies of the other two legionnaires. The Nightblade flashed him a cocky smirk. He had dispatched his foes without breaking a sweat. They had been no match for his magic.

“Good work Sir Knight. These two’ Ferran said gesturing to the bodies ‘weren’t all that good.”

He whistled sharply. A few moments later Sophia and Davik emerged from the trees. The Witch hunter had her bow ready and aimed at the remaining legionnaire who now had his arms held high in the air in surrender.

“Please. Please don’t hurt me. Don’t turn me into anything unnatural I beg you!” the soldier cried as Davik helped Yepert to his feet.

Yepert glared at the soldier. He felt sad that just because he was a magic user the man was terrified of him. He was just a boy after all. Davik disarmed the pleading man and shoved him to his feet.

“On your feet son, where were you heading?” the old warrior asked softly to the soldier.

“S-S-Sunguard,’ the man stammered. ‘We were ordered to take the mage to the capital to stand trial. Please I was just following orders,”

Davik drew his sword and pointed it menacingly at the man’s throat.

“We’re letting you go. I suggest you run home, cast aside your weapons and lay low. Now go,” he said. The soldier sighed in relief and scurried off up the road.

“Are you alright?” Sophia asked Yepert. She hugged the boy tightly causing him to blush. ‘they didn’t hurt you did they?”

“No. I’m fine really. How did you find me? I thought Alira had you all.’ Yepert asked.

“As a Nightblade I know some short cuts through the wilds. The Golden Empire’s engineers may have been brilliant but they weren’t very good at making their roads the shortest route” Ferran explained.

Yepert then described all what had occurred since that night in the forest, and of what Rason had told him. Finally he finished his tale. He noticed something. Someone was missing.

“Where’s Luxon?”

Sophia looked away, tears in her eyes. Ferran looked away too, unable to meet the boy’s concerned gaze. Kaiden however placed a hand on Yepert’s shoulder.

“The witch; she did something. Cast a spell I think. She mentioned something about the void. That Luxon was the key.’ Kaiden sighed heavily; ‘He never returned and we couldn’t find him after Davik here freed us. I’m sorry.”

 Tears threatened to come from the lad’s eyes. His best friend in the world was gone. The knight squeezed his shoulder.

“What do we do now?” Davik asked tiredly. The old man was leaning against a nearby tree and rubbing his wounded leg. The speed at which they had crossed country had taken its toll on his body. Every part of him ached. When they had found the boy he had been in no state to fight.

Ferran rubbed his chin deep in thought.

“Rason is heading to Eclin. We know that Cliria and the general are allies in some way. Could she be looking to join him?” Sophia offered.

“The legion ally with a witch? Never. If his men knew that he was in league with one they would stop following him in a heartbeat,” Davik replied.

Before being made the King’s bodyguard he had been a commander in the legion he knew how legionnaires thought, what they believed in.

“It’s all for nought. Even if we do find her again none of us have the power to oppose her. I say we return to Caldaria and get help from the mages,” Ferran said. “What do you say Sir Knight?”

Kaiden was sat on the ground his eyes closed in prayer to Niveren.

“My order went to Eclin. The Heir is there. I will not speak for you all, but I am heading north. Balnor is a few miles to the east.’ He said pointing down the road. “There we can resupply, get fresh horses and even maybe allies. I feel that much will be decided in the mountain realm,” the knight said slowly.

“I will go with Kaiden,” Sophia said. ‘It is my sacred duty as a witch hunter to put an arrow in that bitch’s black heart.”

“I too will go with the knight. I have unfinished business with the general.” Davik said as he limped over to stand beside the Knight and Witch hunter.

Ferran nodded in understanding.

“Very well, me and the boy will return to Caldaria. I will bring as many Nightblades and mages as I can muster and hasten to Eclin. The priority is to safeguard the heir and destroy the witch. If we succeed we can end the war.”

***

35.

Umbaroth soared over the strange world of the void. Holding onto the mighty dragon’s neck for dear life was Luxon.

Despite Aljeron’s insistence that he wouldn’t fall he clung on tightly. The wizard was stood next to his young pupil an amused expression on his face.

Passing below at an astounding pace were vast black forests and purple seas full of bizarre life forms. They had passed over a gigantic plain which was covered in huge luminous mushrooms which monstrous six legged creatures ploughed through.

The void was an entirely different world, and one that Luxon was finding stranger and stranger by the day. He had lost all track of time but knew that he must have been in the void for over a decade. Time flowed differently in the strange place, his worries for his friends had faded to a feint memory, but Aljeron assured him that in the real world only a day or two had passed.

The dragon’s massive wings cast a shadow on the lands below. Upon seeing the dragon most creatures turned tail and fled. A huge host of pucks had caused a stampede as they fled back into the forests of black trees.

Luxon was realising how much of a danger the void posed to his home. If Danon or his followers ever succeeded in opening the void rift as he had done thousands of years previously then the beasts would flood through. He remembered the history classes taught by Master Ri’ges back in Caldaria.

The creatures of the void had poured through the rift, their numbers beyond counting. In the first days that followed, entire towns and cities were overrun. Countless men, women and children had perished.

“We’re almost there,” Umbaroth said in his deep rumbling voice over the sound of whistling air. Luxon almost heaved as the dragon began to descend. Even though he knew he was just a spirit in this place, his mind still held on to the belief that he was there psychically.

After a quick descent the dragon landed with a slight thud. Despite its huge size Umbaroth was surprisingly dainty when he wanted to be.

Luxon slid off the dragon’s back. Using magic he slowed his descent. The dragon was the height of a two story house after all.

His powers were growing by the day. Already he had mastered the lower and middle rings of magic. Today he would be taught the upper ring.

His feet touched the ground softly; Aljeron applauded his skill at levitation.

“Well done. Remember that magic can be used to enhance your body. The upper ring will grant you the power to increase your speed and even your strength. Be warned though that such spells are immensely tiring,” the wizard explained as he too floated down to the ground. “The Nightblades specialise in such magic. They make it look easy,” he added.

Luxon looked around. They had landed on a small island in the middle of a vast lake. Strange purple water lapped gently upon the shore. He could see brightly coloured fish like creatures swimming. They glowed in the twilight light of the void; they turned blue, orange and yellow. The void was full of strange beauty.

“I wouldn’t get too close. The Mokoin tend to drag their victims off of the shore. Then they drown them and then eat them,” Aljeron warned pointing at the brightly coloured creatures.

Luxon stepped back from the water’s edge slowly. Things were beautiful, but underneath it all everything could kill in the void.

“Why are we here?” Luxon asked.

Umbaroth settled onto his haunches, placed his huge head on top of his front legs, folded his wings, and closed his eyes.

“I for one am here to sleep,” the dragon muttered. In a few moments the mighty dragon was snoring loudly.

“We are here to teach you. Today, you will learn how to fight with magic. As a wizard you will face many challenges,” Aljeron explained as he led the way through a copse of trees and into a clearing around the edges of which were bushes covered in sharp leaves. 

Aljeron gestured for Luxon to stand in the middle of the clearing.

“I call these strange bushes razor plants,’ the wizard said pointing out the nasty looking plants. ‘It is here that you will learn to shield yourself from harm. I will also teach you the first of the four elemental upper spells. The first of which is wind.”

Aljeron closed his eyes for a second. He opened them again and stared at one of the razor plants. He pursed his lips and blew. To Luxon’s amazement the plants began to stir. A soft wind began to blow through their leaves. Aljeron blew harder and the wind picked up strength. The wizard kept blowing. With every puff the wind grew in power until it howled like a force ten gale. Luxon staggered under the winds assault. The razor blade like leaves of the plants began to snap off from their branches to be hurled around in a vortex.

Aljeron stopped blowing and raised a hand at the swirling howling winds.

“Once the wind is strong enough I can direct it and control it as though it were something solid and alive,” he said, his voiced raised in order to be heard over the noise of the winds.

He gestured with his arms and the vortex swirled along with them. Luxon laughed. He had never seen such a spell cast. He was beginning to realise the gulf between being a mage and a wizard.

Aljeron lowered his arms and the wind dissipated. The razor leaves dropped to the ground like a deadly rain shower.

“Now for your test. I will use the wind to stir up the leaves. You must then use only magic to protect yourself. If you do not then you will be cut to ribbons, as you are a thaumaturgist you should instinctively cast the correct spell,” the wizard said seriously.

“That’s reassuring,” Luxon mumbled warily. 

Aljeron smiled.

“Prepare yourself.”

The wizard once more blew. The winds stirred once more and the razor leaves were lifted into the air.

Luxon set his feet and concentrated. A single leaf shot towards him its jagged edges spiralling erratically as it was buffeted and rocked by the winds. It flew closer and closer. Luxon felt sweat break out on his forehead as panic threatened to overwhelm him. He cried out as the leaf struck. The pointed edge cut his cheek as it whipped past.

“You had best do better,” Aljeron chided.

Luxon scowled at the wizard. He put a hand to his cheek, it came away bloody.

“If I am hurt here in the void what happens to my body in the real world wherever it may be?” Luxon asked as he pressed his hands to his wounded face in an effort to stem the bleeding. He focused his magic and a white light emanated from his palms. The cut was healed. He was glad he had mastered the healing spells of the middle ring before this little test.