The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark (47 page)

“My fellow people of Corin,” he started. “I have traveled a great distance, and now I have returned. I crossed the River Crasus. I walked the great desert. I have seen the Horde of Sompua, and I have come face to face with the fearsome Noboros. But in spite of all this, I live.”

The prince turned his attention to his father, who stood beside Abaros. Behind them, he could see his mother and sister looking on. “My great king,” Ramon said. “Please allow me to present to you the last true wise men of our great planet. Legend has called them many names, but I would like to introduce Smina, Corinthus, and Copelcius—the Philosophers of Corin.”

The three wise men dismounted their Ikrenums and made their way up the stairs toward King Oncelot. The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers, with some people jumping up and down. Women embraced their children. Men held each other in a sign of unity. The five young men primed for sacrifice slumped to the ground, each holding on to the shoulders of the man beside him.

When the three wise men reached the top of the royal stairs, the silence returned. In a startling show of unity, both Oncelot and Abaros bowed. As they both returned to their normal posture, Copelcius walked toward them.

“King Oncelot,” he started. “I would like to express my gratitude at the bravery of your son. He has shown that he is the son of a true king of Corin. I would also like to assure you that your efforts have not been in vain. The brave warriors who sacrificed their lives to bring us back safely did not die for nothing. Together, we will bring the balance and order back to our great planet.”

Copelcius raised both his hands high in the air as he finished his speech, and the cheers returned, with everyone holding hands in solidarity. Smina and Corinthus joined their compatriot, waving to the crowds.

Wiping the tears from his face, the king walked to the living legends and embraced all of them. “Come, O, Great Ones,” he said. “Rest now, and we will begin the rebuilding another day.”

As King Oncelot began escorting the three wise men to the royal chambers, Prince Ramon held on to his shoulder. “Father,” Ramon started, “has there been any word from Sabudu?”

Oncelot frowned, but quickly forced a smile. “I know of the events that took place in Sabudu,” he said. “But none of that is important now.”

The king turned around, ready to depart, before Ramon halted him once more. “What of Master Ndu?” Ramon said. “I must speak with him at once.”

“Master Ndu no longer resides beneath the castle.” Oncelot waved to the crowd as he spoke. “He left shortly after you set off on your quest. We know not where he has gone, or when he shall return.”

As the king turned to the awaiting Philosophers, Ramon nodded slowly. Taking a step backward, his mother and sister joined him. Their deep embraces spoke a thousand words.

In the midst of all the excitement, however, Abaros remained quiet. Casually, almost invisibly, he retired to his chambers.

Days went by, and word of the Philosophers’ return quickly spread to the many cities of the Light World. People spoke of Prince Ramon as their savior, and King Oncelot began to win back the trust of his subjects. It was an amazing and unexpected change of fortune, one enjoyed least of all by Abaros. He felt isolated and cast out, as his beloved planet seemed to be falling out of his grasp. His plan to bring the Philosophers back to the Light World should have cemented his position as the future leader of Corin, but instead it only seemed to rejuvenate the king and his family.

Oncelot believed that the best way to discuss the future of the planet with their newfound messiahs was in an open council session, a decision well received by the other members. On the day of the council, the mood around the chambers was bright and optimistic. The council representatives laughed and joked with each other, which had been rarely witnessed.

As always, the king took his place at the head of the council, where the three wise men joined him, along with his wife. Abaros, in a further blow to his diminishing confidence, found himself relegated to the general seating area, where he rubbed shoulders with Ramon.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the council,” said the king, rising from his seat, “a historic day is upon us. We are joined today by messengers from the gods, as we head into a new future for our planet.”

A huge round of applause echoed around the room, as every council member stood—all except Abaros. As the applause ended, everyone took to their seats. Lady Isabel remained standing and signaled her intentions to address the council. Oncelot took his seat and raised his right hand, giving her permission to speak.

“King Oncelot,” she said, assuming a forthright posture. “We have celebrated the safe return of your son. We have welcomed the Philosophers seated next to you with open arms. But we seem to have forgotten that our planet is still in a desperate state. All these pleasantries are meaningless, if the wise men beside you cannot give us answers.”

Lady Isabel’s comments drew silence from the previously buoyant audience. The king slowly composed himself in preparation to respond, but before he could, Smina stood up, with his cane in tow. “Lady Isabel, I take it,” he said.

“Yes, my lord,” Lady Isabel replied, nodding.

“Can you come closer, please? I cannot make an outline of you from that distance.” His milky white eyes caused a few of the council members to flinch.

Calmly, Lady Isabel walked forward. “That is a lot better, thank you,” Smina said. He rested his cane on the floor. “Now, if I may answer your question, my lady. We have been away for a very long time, and I am very grateful to be back in the light. For that, you all have my gratitude. Make no mistake, however: there is still work to be done.” Picking up his cane, he made his way down from the royal seating area, walking around the room as he spoke. “There are forces at work, factions that want to see our great planet swept from the universe forever. Our foresight reveals this to us. It is for this very reason that you seek our counsel. It is for this reason that you willingly gave the lives of your bravest warriors.”

General Kratz rose to his feet. “You speak these great words, Lord Smina, but we are yet to see anything. Show us this magnificent power you possess. Let us believe in your vision.”

In that instant, Copelcius slammed his cane on the floor and stood up with force. “How dare you question us?” he shouted. “Do you know who you are addressing? We served as counsel at the right hand of Baran, yet you stand there and question us?” Copelcius trembled where he stood.

“I apologize, Lord Copelcius,” said the general, his head bowed. “Perhaps I did not choose my words accurately. I am simply stating that we need to discuss the matters at hand. You are correct. We did make sacrifices to bring you here, but we all accept that the good of the planet comes before our own.”

“If I may begin the discussion you all want to hear,” cut in Corinthus, remaining in his chair. “You want to bring back the gods of Corin, but you do not know if this is possible. I will begin by telling you that we have foreseen this, and the time is nigh.”

“What about the legend of Siroco?” interrupted Lady Isabel once more. “Ever since the great divide of our planet, we have held on to the hope that the Anointed One would be our savior, the one to make Corin great again.”

Lady Isabel’s comments brought first a wall of silence, followed by the coarse laughter of all three Philosophers. “Auphora is great indeed,” said Corinthus. “Tell me, Lady Isabel, what is the most powerful thing in the world?”

Lady Isabel shrugged. “I do not understand. The gods?”

“You see, that is the problem with the world, but then again, that has always been the problem. We strive for something to hold on to, and Auphora knows that. I know of the legend of Siroco. It is a story that keeps us going. The most powerful thing in the world is hope, and that is what Auphora has given you all these years, the hope that makes you sit and wait for something that will never happen.”

“So are you saying that you have not foreseen Siroco being the savior of our planet?”

“I am merely saying that the legend you all know as Siroco is not necessarily the person that can deliver us from bondage. He might exist, or he might not. I ask only this. If he is to be our savior, why does Corin remain a banished world five thousand years after the great battle? What is real, however, is Baran, his children, and their hyper lords. Only they can save us.”

“The legend does not state that,” said General Kratz. “Siroco is also meant to be the last of the Immortals. Why would such stories be created by Auphora?”

“What if I told you about another supposed legend,” interrupted Smina, “one about the first Immortal that ever lived? It was a long time ago, during the First Coming. You may have heard about the Demon Lord of the Ocean, but what you probably do not know is that he was born a man. His name was Shinian, and before reaching the age of stillness, he had morphed into a hideous creature, a giant snake with the snout of something even more savage.

“He was larger than a Noboro, something you would not want to meet in your nightmares. Although a beast in appearance, Auphora still saw the man in him and called upon him to help in his ruling of the world. Shinian served his god well and honorably for many years, but unknown to Auphora, Shinian secretly assisted the first king of the planet Sontana in his battle against a clan of rebel barbarians that were as ruthless as they were cunning.

“They set out on a crusade to free those the king held as prisoners, and the result was one of the first epic battles in Auphora’s universe. It brought the death of millions. Ridding the world of the rebels was seen as an act of courage by many, but Auphora saw it differently, and nothing could have prepared Shinian or the rest of the galaxy for what followed.

“In an act that could only be described as pure evil, Auphora banished his loyal shepherd for many years to the depths of the Oceans of Fundoo. It is said that he has lived there in solitude ever since. Can you imagine living two eras as a prisoner, because you tried to serve your god the best way you could?” Smina paused to wipe his nose. “And so,” he continued, “the curse Auphora placed over him was so severe that most who tried to summon him dropped dead where they stood. Now I ask you, why would anyone, let alone the God of Gods, mask the true story of one of his greatest disciples? It is so you will believe Shinian was evil. So you will have no knowledge of the betrayal he suffered at the hands of his master. The name we know him as, The Demon Lord of the Ocean, is nothing but a name Auphora conjured. And his true name, Shinian, is now known only by those aware of the true story.

“The story of Siroco is the same, a ruse sent from Auphora to maintain control. If this Siroco were truly the last Immortal that ever lived, and the savior of Corin, we would not still be surrounded by constant daylight, with our brethren across the divide embracing only darkness and ripping the flesh from their bones.”

The room remained silent. King Oncelot continuously caressed his hands against his face, as the validity of everything he had learned since birth started to come into question.

“So are you saying that we can resurrect a hyper lord without angering the gods?” Lady Isabel asked finally.

“Your naivety astounds me,” Smina said, walking back to his original seat. “Do you think it is as easy as that? To just resurrect a hyper lord, and all our problems go away? A hyper lord by himself cannot handle the might of Auphora. No, we have to go further. We must bring back all the hyper lords, and then, once the children of Baran are released, they and only they can bring back the Red God himself. Only then can we achieve greatness.”

“But where do we find these humans to act as hosts to our hyper lords?” asked Ramon, rising to his feet. “In Tustodes? Or do we have to search further in the land?”

“You will not find a human host in Corin that can survive such a bond,” said Copelcius.

“I do not understand, Lord Copelcius,” cut in the king. He was as puzzled at the words as everyone else in the room.

Copelcius smiled broadly. “King Oncelot,” he said. “We have foreseen that there is a human whose destiny is to bond with the Hyper Lord of Fire, Diavos. This human is from the planet Earth.”

“Earth,” hissed General Kratz. “That cannot be. They are a sworn enemy of Corin and are the very people that led the fight against us.”

“Yes, General,” cut in Smina. “And yes, Earthians would prefer nothing more than for our planet to burn. But ever since the hibernation of the gods all those centuries ago, the Earthians have become weak. And like every other planet that has betrayed us, they do not have a deity, which is why this is the best time to destroy them.”

“Destroy them?” asked King Oncelot. “I thought the reason for doing this was to end our dependency on other planets, not to wage war on a planet that has stayed out of our affairs for centuries.”

Suddenly, Abaros rose from his seat. “Those very sentiments are what make me rebuff this regime!” he shouted. “We have a king with absolutely no honor. We cannot let Earth bask in their glory over us, while we wither away. The time to strike is now.”

“Lord Abaros,” said Corinthus. He assumed a position at the far side of the room next to the general. “I had begun to wonder where your words of wisdom had disappeared to.”

“My lord, I was only waiting for the right time to speak, and now I find it ridiculous that the mere thought of destroying the planet that betrayed us seems like an act of treason to our king.” Abaros’s breathing became heavier. “Along with Crandor, Earth deserves nothing but to burn in the heavens.”

“I am merely saying that my intentions are not to start a war that could rage on for centuries,” said the King calmly. “My sole agenda is peace and not angering Auphora.”

“And what did you think Baran would do when he returned? Or any of his children, for that matter? Stand idly by as the planet that helped to banish him to solitude flourishes, while ours slowly continues to perish?” Abaros’s cheeks turned bright red with fury.

Smina raised both hands, trying to bring calm to the room. “Abaros. Lord King. You both speak from the heart,” he said. “The last thing we want is the wrath of Auphora. But at the same time, Earth remains our eternal enemy. This is not about war or even revenge. It is about freedom, and that is all we will strive to achieve.”