Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (21 page)

“I can’t believe you found this! Thanks,
Tusdar,” said Vartan, securing the bow before gesturing towards the
waiting dragon. Both Vartan and Tusdar climbed onto Nymira’s back
and grabbed hold of her icy-cold armour as securely as
possible.

“My word! Why is your armour so cold?” asked
Tusdar.

“That is an effect of magical armour. I’m
sorry, but I can't do anything about that,” said Nymira.

Vartan smacked Tusdar gently across the head
with the back of his hand and laughed. “Tusdar, are you
really
that timid? Is your seat comfortable? Would you like
me to get you a blanket? How about some tea?" Vartan chuckled
through his words. Tusdar nodded quickly and tried to hold back a
smile.

“All right, Nymira, we’re ready, finally,”
laughed Vartan.

Tusdar looked around them shakily and his
voice waved as he asked, “Are you sure that this is safe?"

Nymira stretched out her heavy wings, leaned
down momentarily and with a thrust and a large gust of wind under
them, she took flight. Both men grunted at the sheer force as they
held on tightly. Nymira climbed higher into the sky at immense
speed, the air rushing past their beaming faces.

“So this is what it feels like to fly?
Amazing!” yelled Tusdar.

Vartan took in the picturesque view around
them and shouted, “Yes, Tusdar, yes it is."

“I feel like we are flying past stars that
are barely over our heads,” proclaimed Tusdar. “I could almost
reach out and touch them!” He extended an arm to the sky before
snapping it back into place as Nymira banked to her left.

Just as Vartan looked to the sky, a shooting
star flew past the countless stars that poked sparkly holes in the
black sky.

“Indeed, it
is
a beautiful night,”
said Vartan, “but we cannot afford to be distracted and lose our
focus. We need to stay completely out of sight, as Greenhaven is
only a few moments ahead of us. Kassina will surely be watching the
skies for any signs of dragons. Do not speak a word out loud until
we are well out of earshot.”

As they cleared the canopy of Greenhaven’s
hills, the fallen city and black clouds of smoke came into view.
The section of land where Tusdar and Aidan fought the golem was
almost completely empty, save for some defeated skeleton warriors
that still clung to life. Fired arrows remained unclaimed in the
ground. Vartan shared a glance of confusion with Tusdar, but as
they flew over the city, they immediately understood why it was so
barren. They could only observe below them as the last group
formation of Kassina’s Dark Army marched over the still-lowered
gate of Greenhaven.

“May the gods help us. That is a huge army.
Where are they all going? I thought it was Greenhaven that they
were after,” asked Tusdar.

"So did I," said Vartan. He concentrated hard
and chanted the words to the spell of Farsight.

“
Permissum meus opto eo ulterius quam meus
animadverto.
”

Vartan opened his eyes again and his vision
soared through the air with blistering speed towards the marching
Dark Army. Thousands of skeleton warriors and archers in battalions
of hundreds marched in formation, and in between those forces was
the golem that had captured Aidan. With each step of the golem, a
thunderous beat filled the air and set the marching pace for
Kassina’s Dark Army.

“I can see the golem and it marches with her.
There are
thousands
of them, Tusdar, but I cannot believe
Kassina left Greenhaven undefended. I wonder just how strong her
forces are and if any are left behind,” said Vartan. As he pressed
his vision forward, Vartan saw many immense wooden catapults being
dragged heavily on the ground. The warriors pulling them alongside
carts of ammunition were visibly struggling with the burden.

“It looks like they are prepared for a siege,
but I am not yet sure of where they are going,” said Vartan. “That
is
strange; I’d have thought they would use horses to move
their weapons.”

Nymira replied, “It is likely they drained
all the horses in Greenhaven of blood, or the horses may have been
slaughtered in the fall of Greenhaven. From memory, the forces are
marching in the direction of Veldrenn, and I think we all know what
that means. Vartan, should we warn them?”

Vartan went silent as he carefully considered
his next move. The vision of his parents still troubled him deeply,
but was it just a dream? He could not be sure. He could never live
with himself if he didn’t save his parents when he had the
chance.

He spoke softly. “At their speed, they are
days out from reaching Veldrenn. It is most likely that Andrielle
already knows they are coming; the elves have their own scouts. I
must
see to my parents’ safety, and then we will return as
soon as we are able to warn them. If they have deserted
Greenhaven... they must have taken Aidan with them, let me
see."

Vartan looked further into the marching army
and caught sight of Kassina’s cart as it moved through the Dark
Army’s ranks, dragged by two oversized, undead horses. Just beside
the dark sorceress’s cart, Aidan lay stretched out on a makeshift
rack. He was held tightly by harsh ropes that were tied firmly in
place, cutting through his flesh. Surrounding Kassina’s cart stood
a legion of raised undead knights, who mindlessly obeyed her every
barked order. Their armour was rusty and showed signs of decay from
being resurrected from their burial grounds. Two of them carried
Aidan’s rack and were slowed from its weight. Aidan struggled
fruitlessly against the ropes, causing them to dig further into his
torn flesh. Vartan heard his strained voice as his vision neared
the cart.

“Damn you to the fires of Mount Wayrin, you
wench
, Kassina! I hope your end comes soon and I get to
watch your flesh melt from your rotting bones!” screamed Aidan.

Kassina’s mocking laugh echoed through the
thick forest. She turned to Aidan and snarled, “Shut your trap
before I order one of my knights to shut it for you! I found a use
for you for the time being, but don’t tempt me to change my mind.
Forward! We will crush this so-called ‘Elven City’ beneath our
feet.”

Vartan reeled back his vision as if his sight
was tethered to a long rope. His vision snapped back into his skull
and the discharge of the spell disorientated him momentarily. He
shook his head and refocused his attention to the path ahead of
them.

“They have Aidan with them. He’s still alive
and looks mostly unharmed. Nymira, I need you to move as
fast
as you can,” said Vartan.

“Of course, Vartan. I suggest you both hang
on as tightly as possible—and try not to scream when we are so
close to Kassina,” said Nymira.

She ascended into the sky before suddenly
diving towards the ground, letting gravity give her a burst of
speed.

The rumble of the approaching army's march
shook their bodies and vision as they hung onto the tree branches.
Nicolai wiped a cooled tear from her face as she turned to her
fairy soldiers. They were all dressed in golden armour, and wielded
small silver swords and shields bearing the mark of a leaf.

She lowered her golden helmet onto her head
and shouted, "Fairies of the elven forest, we knew that this moment
would come since their scouts found us. We have already lost some
fairies dear to all of us, and I will not allow their deaths to be
in vain. Our homes are in their path and beyond that lie our
greatest allies, the elves. We have to do everything we can to stop
them and to buy Queen Andrielle some time. We may be small in size,
but we can make a big difference. We all know what we have to do,
so let's fly together and fight together."

The fairies clicked their tongues and
cheered. The forest filled with their cries as Kassina's army
neared. Nicolai drew her sword and yelled, "Fairies, attack!"

The forest edge lit up with their glistening
armour reflecting the moonlight as the swarm of fairies drew their
swords, flew high and charged at Kassina's army.

The queen of darkness stood wide-eyed. She
had only moments to react before the quick-flying fairies reached
her front lines.

"
Fairies
are attacking us? Kill them
all!" she growled, dismissing the attacking army with a flick of
her hand.

The flying army landed on the helmets of the
Forces of Darkness and stabbed wildly at their glowing eyes. The
dark army’s shrieks filled the air as they swatted at the fairies.
Some of Kassina’s forces drew swords and smashed them into their
own helmets in an attempt to kill the attacking fairy army. The
comparatively large swords were easily evaded as the faeries leapt
between their targets, sending her ranks into disarray.

Kassina's rage filled her body as she
launched to her feet, swung her arms and pointed with her
fingertips to burst a fairy open with a bolt of lightning. Its
armour shattered as its body evaporated into a cloud of blood.
Kassina boomed, "Do I really have to do
everything
myself?
Archers, take aim and fire!"

Nicolai flew through the path of the
resulting blood cloud, grunting as she spat the metallic taste from
her mouth. She heard only her breath as she surveyed the situation
through her helm, helplessly watching as another fairy was
destroyed by Kassina’s hand. "Retreat to the cover of the woods,
now!"

The fairy army flew upward and a volley of
arrows followed the shiny cloud of fairies. A few unlucky fairies
were speared by the arrows and plummeted to the ground, whilst the
rest disappeared into the safety of the forest canopy.

Kassina's snapped, "So the little insects
have run away to hide. Get back in formation! Let's see how much of
their forest will remain when we are done with them. There are many
ways to flush out our enemies!"

Chapter 14: Rain of Fire

“Dreams… will I ever realise them? Can I even
have
them anymore?

Everything that I knew of my future has been
shattered like a broken window. I have to sacrifice the future with
Helenia that I always dreamed of to save our world.

How am I ever going to tell her?”

(Sir Vartan of Greenhaven)

Helenia took in a deep breath and refocused
on her fighting stance, steadying herself and placing her legs far
apart. Sweat dripped from her chin. Wearing armour for the first
time made sword fighting difficult for her, and she quickly tired
with its weight.

“Now Helenia, listen to me. I want you to hit
me like we practiced earlier. Remember your training, and most of
all, do nothing else but focus. Clear your mind,” said Faowind,
holding his sword in a defensive posture.

Come on, Helenia, you can do this,
she
thought as she tightened her grip on her sword. With a deep grunt,
she swung her sword with all of her strength. It struck Faowind’s
in a fiery clash of metal.

“That’s very good, Helenia. Now follow up
with combination attacks. Keep moving and hit me as hard as you
can. You are doing very well,” said Faowind with an approving
smile.

Andrielle stood on the outskirts of the
training grounds, near Karven’s mighty form, watching her daughter
train for hours with Faowind.

“You know,” said Karven, “she really does
have great potential as a fighter. You must be very proud of
her.”

“Of course I am proud of my daughter, but
although I have allowed her this special request, I am only letting
her to train for the direst of circumstances,” said Andrielle. “Can
I ask you to watch over her when we are attacked? It is inevitable
that war is upon us, but we need at least one royal to live through
it.”

“Do you really need to ask? Of course I will
watch over her, and protect her with the best of my abilities
during battle. I will, of course, also be watching over you,” he
replied.

“Your words warm my heart, dragon king. But I
want you to know that I would gladly put my life before hers and
will do so without hesitation. If my life is taken from me, can you
please do me the favour of taking her away from all of this? I
can’t bear the thought of us both dying out there,” whispered
Andrielle.

“Great Elven Queen, I would do almost
anything that you ask. But do you really want your army to be
deserted if Helenia were to become queen on the battlefield?” asked
Karven.

“No. I suppose you are right, Karven,” sighed
Andrielle. “Let us hope that it does not come to that
decision.”