The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark (4 page)

Kraipo Shamana watched as the Guards struggled to keep the Noboros under control, awaiting the order to resume the attack. How long had he been away from his loved ones? A year had turned to fifteen years in what seemed a short time, but his devotion remained as strong as ever. The defeat his army suffered at Crazar had convinced him that Auphora would not intervene in any way, but his hope returned following the introduction of the Monoroi and, more importantly, the Noboros. Their sheer size and strength had almost singlehandedly changed the outcome of the entire war.

“You are still thinking of them, I assume?” asked Melot, mounted on his horse beside him.

Kraipo forced a smile. “I miss them so much,” he said. “I fear Amil might have given up all hope that I am still alive. But above all, I worry about Kirinki. I worry that he will take a wrong path. Perhaps even sell his services to someone who threatens everything we fight for.”

“Your wife is a good woman, General,” Melot said. “She will wait until the very end for your safe return. And your brother may be many things, but he is nothing if not wise.” Melot placed his hand on Kraipo’s shoulder. “You need to show a little faith.”

Nodding his head, Kraipo shifted his gaze to the God of Gods, still marveling at having the opportunity to fight in the presence of the Creator of all things. The thoughts of his beloved awaiting his return drove him toward what he believed was his destiny.

With Noboros finally falling into place and Auphora’s army forming an orderly battle line, the God of Gods made his way to the front, closely followed by Feliath and the rest of his children, who had not yet entered the battle. Baran had returned to his human form, and Auphora noticed his son’s piercing eyes following him, as he reached the Monoroi and the men leading his attack.

Shifting his gaze from the Red God, Auphora focused on the thousands upon thousands of human soldiers who stood beside and behind his eldest son, in what seemed like an endless sea of warriors. The look in their eyes hinted at fear, but they seemed willing to sacrifice themselves for the Red God. The Akarai soldiers interspersed with Baran’s humans were not too dissimilar to his own Monoroi. The black armor that covered their bodies did not reveal much of their true appearance, but their intense yellow eyes could be seen. A slight shiver crept up his spine when he saw the vast number of them scattered across the battlefield. There were far more than he had imagined, and he realized that much more blood would be spilled before the battle’s conclusion.

Up in the sky, a few feet from Baran’s ground troops, the horde of Zoatans hid most of the light from the sun, their pitch-black eyes hungry for blood. Their wings flapped in a steady flow, and they occasionally exhaled fire as their screams increased. They bore a resemblance to Auphora’s Noboros, but were nearly three times smaller. With their great flying, the threat they wielded worried him.

In a similar fashion to Auphora, Baran remained in close proximity to his children and their hyper lords. Standing next to Eclipse and engulfed in hellfire, the hyper lord Diavos drew his sword and exhaled smoke from his nostrils. The two horns protruding from his head were as sharp as they were thick. The hyper lord Levin, in contrast to the fiery glow of Diavos, remained a mass of water that outlined his gigantic ten-foot frame, while the sand that made up hyper lord Simus’s twelve-foot frame seemed to seamlessly mesh with the desert.

“Enough of this,” said Auphora after a few minutes of silence. The screams from the hovering Zoatans began to quiet down. “Surely there is no need for yet more blood to be spilled.”

The Red God looked to his side at the frame of Eclipse, who looked back at him. He held Eclispse’s gaze for a few seconds before facing Auphora. “You come to my planet, with the aim to take it from me, and yet now you ask for the war to end?” Baran edged forward. “If you really want to stop the spilling of blood, leave here now, and take your army with you.”

“You know I cannot do that.” Auphora also stepped forward gradually, his every move mimicked by Feliath. “There has been too much death for me to stand by and do nothing. It all stops now, Baran. There is no other way.”

“Then do not dare stand there, preaching to me, when you have no intention of leaving. More blood must be spilled, for I will not let any of you take my planet without a fight.” Baran’s hands trembled. “Have I not served you well all these years, Father? Have I not kept all of your secrets? This started as a feud between Feliath and me. Why do you take his side?”

“This has nothing to do with your feud with Feliath!” Auphora shouted. The front line of his army started getting restless. Some raised their spears. “You have taken things too far in your search for the Red Elixir, even though it will not give you the power you crave. Its true power is unknown to you, and yet you are willing to kill billions to acquire it. This is far past your feud with your brother. It is blood lust. You want to take my place.”

“How dare you stand there and speak these words to me?” Baran began to charge forward, but Eclipse held him back. Following a deadly stare at his son, he took a deep breath and retreated. “You forced my hand, Father,” he continued. “None of this would have happened, if only you sympathised with my needs. Is it so wrong to have a legacy? After all, you have.” He spared a glance at all three of his children before returning his gaze to Auphora. “I sought the Red Elixir not for evil, but to ensure the survival of my own children. You forced me to conquer your planets to acquire what you could have given me.”

Feliath abruptly raised his hand, as Auphora opened his mouth to talk. “Please, Father, let me speak,” he said. “I think there are things to be said here.” Feliath folded his arms. “For too long Baran has masqueraded this as a feud between us, but his greed knows no bounds. This must be where it ends. I speak not only for Earth, but for people everywhere yearning for freedom and peace.”

Baran’s face turned bright red at Feliath’s words. He took a few steps backward, toward one of his Akarai warriors. The number of people around the Red God made it difficult for Auphora to see anything. A flurry of movement ended with Baran charging forward, holding a spear. With a forward thrust, it left the Red God’s arm, flying through the air before landing a few feet away from Auphora, lodged in the chest of one of his generals. Death came instantly for the unfortunate human, and Auphora could not hide his disgust at Baran’s actions.

“You dare kill one of my men, while I stand here trying to solve our problems diplomatically?”

“The time for talking is over, Father.” Baran lifted his hand once more, holding on to another spear. “Since you choose not to leave my planet, you are forcing me to do whatever is necessary to defend it.” With a sudden swing of his arm, the second spear sailed through the air, headed directly for the God of Gods.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Auphora opened his robe, pulling out his cane at the same time. The tall, crooked staff emitted a bright, green glow that materialised into a shield of light around his body, shattering the spear to pieces upon impact.

The attack on Auphora caused a frenzy at the front line of his army, as they all drew their swords and edged forward. The Noboros became harder to control, and they continuously tried to wriggle free. Auphora knew that the battle was now imminent. Following a nod of his head, he descended toward the rear of his army, closely followed by the rest of his children. Aware of what Auphora’s actions meant, Baran quickly did the same, with his children and their hyper lords trailing behind.

With the Red God now a relative distance from the front line, a number of his human generals lunged forward on their horses. “ARCHERS, attack.” They repeated the command several times, and a sea of arrows rained down from the height of the towers of Semsena.

The shields of Auphora’s army offered little protection from the massive volley of arrows, and many fell to their deaths. A second wave was enough to trigger the commencement of their own attack, led by the Monoroi and humans in the front line, who charged in with their swords and spears. Multiple waves of arrows continued raining down, killing many, but with each step, they edged closer to Baran’s warriors, who stood with their swords drawn, waiting for impact.

For Auphora’s army, it seemed like an eternity passed as they ran toward their enemy, with their vision obstructed by a sea of arrows cutting them down. Among those who survived the onslaught of arrows, Kraipo continued to lead his men. Situated a few yards behind the front line, they marched toward the awaiting Akarai and humans who fought for Baran. Upon reaching them, their resolve was brutal.

The armies clashed, the sheer force of Auphora’s troops toppling Baran’s, with many crushed under the hoofs of the galloping horses. Swords struck brutally, even as spears flew through the skies, killing scores of warriors. The arrows of the thousands of archers on top of the tower continued to strike down Auphora’s soldiers. Sensing their disadvantage, Kraipo, Melot, and a number of his battalion focused solely on the archers and began the selective elimination of them with arrows of their own, but it did not happen quickly enough.

Watching from a relative distance, Baran’s face bore numerous expressions. The outcome of the battle remained in the balance, and with his archers proving so effective, he could not have hoped for a better start.

“Perhaps we should send the Zoatans into the battle now, Father,” said Eclipse.

“Perhaps.” Baran remained a picture of concentration. “But doing so will make Auphora unleash the Noboros. He is holding them back for now—long may it last.”

“That is true, Father. But you know it is only a matter of time before they join the fight. Let us use the Zoatans now. We could yet lessen Auphora’s army considerably before our advantage is lost.”

After a few moments of deliberation, Baran looked toward one of his generals, lifting his left hand with two fingers raised. With a nod of the head, the general put a curled horn to his lips, which began to let off a deep tone, almost a growl. Within seconds of hearing the sound, the Zoatans in the skies flapped their wings aggressively, followed by the intense exhaling of fire.

They charged down toward the swarm of Auphora’s troops, with their sharp claws extended and ready. Akarai warriors sat astride some seven hundred of the winged beasts, while a thousand more flew unmanned. Distracted by the fighting on the ground, hundreds of Auphora’s soldiers fell on the Zoatans’ first pass, either scorched by the flames of the flying predators or thrust to the ground by their sharp talons.

Kraipo’s battalion suffered the majority of the initial attack. Riding beside Melot, he realized that his army had decreased from almost a thousand riders to no more than four hundred.

After taking a few moments to refocus their attention, however, his men joined at least five hundred Monoroi and other riders as they attacked the beasts of the skies. Their spears and arrows steadily slaughtered Baran’s winged beasts, but their number seemed endless, and Auphora’s warriors struggled to attack both the enemy ground troops and the winged predators.

Yards from the fighting, Craxin frowned at the constant death before him. He walked toward Auphora, wiping sweat from his forehead. “We must act now, Father,” he said. “Let us join in the fight and end this war.”

“Patience, my son,” Auphora smiled softly. “Baran has been hasty in many of his decisions thus far.” He shifted his gaze to the riders standing next to him, who had not taken their eyes off him the entire duration of the battle. “Release the Noboros.” His voice carried an air of ruthlessness.

The riders immediately signaled the rest of their compatriots, who slowly lifted their horns to their lips, quickly followed by a piercing, raspy sound. As the sound filtered across the war zone, other riders lifted horns to their mouths and bellowed the same note. The cascading effect continued for a few seconds, until every rider with a horn simultaneously blew it. With their orders clear, the Guards of the Realm marched forward with the Noboros, who were spread around every corner of the battlefield. Sensing how close they were to the fray, the beasts eagerly tried to break free completely, but the added effort of the men holding on to their chains kept them under control.

As the Noboros neared the fighting, they became even more agitated. The arrows from Baran’s archers dropped several of their keepers, and the beasts nearly tore loose from the grip of the remaining guards. With his arms outstretched, Auphora gave another signal, and the horns sounded again. Upon hearing this, the Guards of the Realm loosed the Noboros. All at once, the chains holding back the legendary beasts were released, and they charged into the thick of the battle.

The tremors that followed their every step alerted Baran’s soldiers at the front line, and the fear they felt caused immediate hesitation, giving some of Auphora’s troops the time to strike them down.

The approaching Noboros could be seen by most of the opposing army. Their eyes shone a pale red, and the scales that covered their hulking bodies and their four massive legs gleamed in the sunlight. Their tongues flicked menacingly, and fire burst from their nostrils as they charged into battle. Many of Baran’s soldiers scrambled around in chaos, while others bunched together, with their spears held out and their shields braced in front of them.

The Zoatans swung around in the sky, leaving their attack on Auphora’s warriors to meet this new threat. Exhaling fire, they dove toward the enormous beasts, only to be plucked from the air by the Noboros’ massive jaws. Those that did not feel the bite of the Noboros were soon consumed by their scorching flames. Within a few more seconds, a wave of Noboros clashed with Baran’s ground troops, slaughtering men and Akarai alike, and the fight quickly turned in Auphora’s favor.

Baran, watching from the rear, could see that the Corin army was no match for the Noboros. And with his Zoatans also being steadily plucked from the sky, he felt the battle was slipping from his grasp.

Just then, two Noboros managed to wriggle through the front line and charged straight at the Corin gods. The archers who remained atop the tower fired continuously at the beasts, but the arrows could not penetrate their scaly skin.