The Orphan Wars (Book One) (21 page)

"R
aise your head up!" commanded Nemeth.  "Raise your head up with pride Terazhul! "

Terazhul raised his head and looked into Nemeth's eyes.  Nemeth look
ed into the eyes of Terazhul, winked at him and then smirked.

"See, you did it!" exclaimed Nemeth.  "I just wanted you to get one final look at the
warrior who managed to defeat you!  By the way, I don't know if we've been formally introduced.  My name is Nemeth, I'm 10 years old and I'm better than you…"

Nemeth locked his hands even tighter and gave Terazhul an overhead belly to belly throw.  Vulpes ope
ned his mouth wide and caught Terazhul in his mouth.  Vulpes had no problem sinking his teeth through Terazhul's leather armor and into his body.  Blood began to ooze out of Vulpes' mouth.

"On second
thought, I don't think I want you for a pet at all," laughed Nemeth maniacally.  "I hope troll is good enough for your last meal you bastard!"

Nemeth drew his sword and twirled it in his hand.  He ran up the giant redwood
tree for several steps and performed a backflip causing him to land on Vulpes' head.  Nemeth howled loudly mocking Vulpes.  Nemeth cast a spell called War Enchantment on his sword which makes any weapon inflict double the normal damage when used.  He gripped his sword with both hands tightly and delivered several downward thrusts at Vulpes.  These downward thrusts were so powerful they pierced through the top of Vulpes' upper jaw, through Terazhul's body and through the bottom of Vulpes' lower jaw.  The head of Vulpes appeared to be nothing more than a fountain of blood after the devastation and carnage Nemeth caused.  Terazhul and Vulpes collapsed to the ground to their deaths.  Nemeth looked at his blood covered sword and let out even more maniacal laughter.  Nemeth hopped off of Vulpes' head to the ground below. Jaida floated over to Nemeth.  The giant redwood tree in the center of the room rumbled briefly and then sank into the ground as if it never existed.  A small altar arose from the ground about 20 feet from the dead bodies of Terazhul and Vulpes.

"
Look over where the giant redwood used to be!" exclaimed Jaida.

A small glowing object could be seen from where Nemeth was standing.  Nemeth walked over
to the small glowing object, picked it up and stared at it in awe.

"What is this Jaida?" asked Nemeth.

"This is one of the gemstones I was telling you about earlier!" exclaimed Jaida.  "This is the Forest Emerald!  Place it in the center socket of your sword!"

Nemeth took the Forest Emerald and put it into the center socket of his sword.  The gemstone locked into place and the sword glowed bright green momentarily before returning to normal.

"I hope this is more than just a decoration," said Nemeth.  "When the sword wasn't covered in blood and guts it looked just fine.  Please tell me this emerald does something useful."

"You now possess an incredible amount of forest magic in your sword now," replied Jaida.  "You're going to need some
training to make full use of it.  However, the type of magic you saw Terazhul using are some examples of what you'll be able to cast now."

"
That's great news!" exclaimed Nemeth.  "I'll have an unbelievable advantage in combat now!  It's all sinking in now!  We've defeated Terazhul and Vulpes!  Now all we have to do is destroy the Black Orb!  Thank you so much for your help!"

"
I hate to interrupt such a touching moment," said a distant voice.  "However, there are more important things that you need to do.  You need to hand over the Forest Emerald to me."

"Master, look up into the sky!" shouted Jaida.

Nemeth looked into the sky above and squinted.  He saw what appeared to be a man in a dark purple cloak and hood levitating at least 60 feet into the air.

"Come down here so we can talk!" shouted Nemeth.

"This isn't going to go well," whispered Jaida.  "I'm unable to gather any information about the man in the dark purple cloak."

The man in the dark
purple cloak slowly descended about 30 feet from his original position and continued to levitate in the air.

"Who are you?" asked Nemeth.  "What do you need the
Forest Emerald for?  I earned it fair and square."

"My name is Xantil," replied the
man in the dark purple cloak.  "The Forest Emerald belongs to me.  I saw the entire battle you had with Terazhul and Vulpes.  You somehow managed to slaughter them.  They were both two of my favorite minions.  It will be difficult finding a suitable replacement for them.  Care to explain why you are here?"

"Terazhul had to be destroyed!" shouted
Nemeth.  "He invaded Lord Dragomir's Academy.  He cast a Forestial Corruption spell there that could have destroyed the entire world if it spread far enough.  I had to save my friends and my home."

"Lord Dragomir
's Academy!!!???" laughed Xantil.  "I wonder why Terazhul decided to leave this temple unguarded and go there of all places.  It is very unusual behavior for my minions to disobey me.  Also, you can't possibly consider that place to be your home.  You are just a boy, but you aren't a baby.  You're old enough to know how that place really operates.  They do everything in their power to turn every single one of you orphans into brainwashed slaves!  Each one of you orphans suffers a war inside of you.  Each one of you orphans is also at war with one another.  These wars can never been won.  You are not a normal child.  Is it normal for children to get trained to become ruthless killers?  I saw the demonic look on your face when you were fighting.  You are covered in blood from head to toe.  You should be care-free like most children are.  Do you not dream of happier days?  Ah, but forget about all that.  Remove the Forest Emerald from the sword and hand it over.  You can keep that sword even though you stole that as well.  I've decided to appoint you as the new guardian of this temple.  You're quite good with that sword and you'll need to use it as a weapon in case anybody is foolish enough to try and break into this temple again."

A look of frustration came across Nemeth's face.  There was a lot of truth to what Xantil was saying.  It was almost as if Xantil could rea
d Nemeth's mind.  Nemeth desperately wanted to cry, but held back his tears.

"
You do have some valid points," replied Nemeth.  "But I'm not going to be forced to do anything by you Xantil.  If I were to become a temple guardian I'd just end up being a slave to you instead of a slave to Lord Dragomir's Academy.  That's not something I plan on becoming.  Terazhul was essentially your slave but his actions were his way of trying to escape from this temple and from you."

"Well then," replied Xantil.  "I'll just have to take the Forest Emerald by force.
  This will be a good test to see if you were ever worthy of being the new Keeper of the Forest."

"Master, we have to teleport out of here immediately!" exclaimed Jaida.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" questioned Nemeth with a nervous tone.

"
The altar that arose from the ground is the quickest way out of here," replied Jaida.  "I am able to open a portal on that altar using my mana.  It should take about 30 seconds to open up.  Once the portal is open, think of the exact place where you want to teleport to and then jump inside of the portal!  Got that?"

"I
hope so," replied Nemeth slowly.  "I'll defend myself against Xantil in the meantime."

"He's flying around," said Jaida.  "I doubt he'll come down and make himself susceptible to attacks.  You really shouldn't have destroyed that Escoba Retama X!"

"Stop talking about that stupid flying broom and go create the portal!" exclaimed Nemeth.

Jaida
floated over to the altar and began to transform into a portal.  Nemeth made sure that his sword and shield were gripped tightly and he was ready for any attack.  Nemeth proceeded over to the altar. He pointed his sword at Xantil.

"Come down here now and fight me!" commanded Nemeth.
  "Only a coward would fly around and not attack me face to face!"

"
I think I'll stay where I am," replied Xantil.  "Allow me to show you what I'm capable of.  Do you care to guess whether or not I already have some other gemstones myself?"

Xantil summoned a large
purple sphere of magical energy in his arms and raised it high above his head.  Xantil threw the sphere on the ground below.  When the sphere impacted with the ground below, it created a deafening explosion.  The sphere transformed into a 25 foot tall purple ring of energy that stretched in diameter throughout the entire room.  Nemeth braced himself behind his shield.  As the purple ring of energy collided with Nemeth, he fell to his hands and knees.  There were no visible wounds but he experienced a pain so great that he never felt before in his entire life.  His copper shield became warped to the point of it being completely useless.  He tossed it aside with what little strength he had left.  Nemeth wanted to scream to relieve some of his suffering, but found he was incapable of doing so.

"I was mistaken," said
Xantil.  "It only took one of my attacks to bring you to your knees.  You wouldn't have made a very good replacement for Terazhul after all.  Ah, you pitiful little orphan.  I hope for your sake that you make it to the afterlife.  I imagine you will get to meet your parents and they will see that they didn't lose much when they abandoned you…"

Nemeth looked around and saw that the altar was still intact.  He
saw that Jaida had successfully opened the portal.  He thought that Jaida must have been immune to Xantil's attack, at least while transformed.  Some of the pain that he experienced earlier was going away but he was still very lethargic.  Nemeth knew that another attack from Xantil would happen any second now.  With every last bit of strength in his body, he crawled towards the portal.  He struggled to get to his feet.  In the corner of his eye, he could see another purple ring making its way towards him.  He thought of the Serend Lake region of Lord Dragomir's Academy and stumbled through the open portal.  Xantil's attack nearly missed him and moments later, Nemeth found himself lying on the ground near Serend Lake in Lord Dragomir's Academy.  His left hand barely had his sword grasped around it, but it was fully intact with the Forest Emerald securely placed in the center socket.  The portal closed and Jaida appeared once again.

"Master, you need emergency healing immediately!" exclaimed Jaida with concern.  "Check for a Rejuv
enation Potion in your backpack!"

Neme
th was unable to move an inch.  He was planted face first in the grass.  He noticed that the grass had returned to its normal color.  If he were to take his final breath, he hoped that this was a sign that the Forestial Corruption spell had been broken.  Perhaps someone else could destroy the Black Orb if he died right now.  It was obvious at this point that he needed help from someone else.  Jaida floated around the area and saw a plethora of students in dire need of medical attention.  Some people appeared to be normal and were tending to those injured by the Forestial Corruption spell.  However, the wounded far outnumbered those that were healthy.

"My master Nemeth needs help!" shouted Jaida.  "Aria?  Bastilone?  Are you ou
t there?  Is anybody out there that can help him?"

"I'm Aria!" shouted a
female voice.  "Where is Nemeth at?"

"Follow me!" exclaimed
Jaida.

"Bastilone!" shouted Aria.  "Come over here now!  Nemeth needs our help!"

Jaida led Aria and Bastilone over to Nemeth who was still lying face down on the ground.  A look of deep sadness came over the face of Aria.

"What is that thing floating around?" questioned Bastilone in a deep tone.

"I am Nemeth's Guardian Spirit," replied Jaida. "My name is Jaida."

Bastilone
gave Jaida a look of disdain.

"
What kind of guardian are you to allow this to happen to Nemeth?" asked Bastilone in a negative tone.  "Just look at the condition he is in!  He's covered in blood stains and can barely move."

"Bastilone, stop it!" exclaimed Aria. 
"Jaida is obviously on our side otherwise she wouldn't have called for us to help him.  There's no reason to say such nasty things to her."

Aria kneeled down beside Nemeth and
put her hands around his.  She began to gently shake his body.

"Bastilone, help me t
urn him over," said Aria frantically.

Bastilone and Aria turned Nemeth over on
to his back.  Tears began to fall from Aria's eyes.

"What's wrong Aria?" questioned Bastilone in a concerned tone.

"Well, it was one thing to heal myself and then heal you," replied Aria.  "But then we started going around trying to heal the others that are wounded.  I've depleted all of my mana.  We're barely recovered ourselves.  If I don't get a Mana Potion, I'm not going to be able to help heal Nemeth."

"Look in Nemeth's backpack
," said Jaida.  "It is a magical item called the Infinite Backpack.  You will see a variety of items in a miniaturized size swirling around in a vortex.  You simply need to touch the item you want and it will grow to its normal size.  He has a lot of potions in there.  One of them surely has to be a Mana Potion."

Aria reached into Nemeth's backpack and began frantically searching for a Mana Potion.

"I've found one!" exclaimed Aria.

Aria chugged down the Mana Potion.  A bright white glow surrounded her body momentarily.  Aria's mana was
now fully replenished.  Aria put her hands over Nemeth's chest and began to cast the Rejuvenation spell.

"Rejuven Curacion!" shouted Aria.

Nemeth's body began to glow bright yellow.  Nemeth began to look somewhat healthier.  He sat up slowly and began to look around at his surroundings.

"Come back to us Nemeth!" exclaimed Bastilone.

"Where am I?" asked Nemeth quietly.

"You're back at the
academy," said Aria.  "We're near Serend Lake."

"Aria, is that you?" questioned Nemeth.

"Yes, it's me silly," answered Aria.  "Bastilone is here too."

"What about Jaida?" asked Nemeth.  "Please
tell me that Jaida is ok."

"Do not worry about me master," replied Jaid
a.  "We are concerned about your health."

"So has the Forestial Corruption spell
been broken completely?" questioned Nemeth.

"Yes master," replied Jaida.  "Defeating Terazhul
has broken the spell.  We must now focus our attention on the destruction of the Black Orb.  Only you are able to destroy the Black Orb and only with that sword."

Nemeth started to look very discontented.

"How am I supposed to destroy the Black Orb?" asked Nemeth.  "I can't even walk on my own.  Then I'm supposed to swim out in the middle of Serend Lake and still have enough power to destroy the Black Orb with my sword?"

"Are there any professors around that can get Nemeth over to the Black Orb?" asked Jaida.

"We haven't seen any professors in a long time," replied Bastilone.  "The last time I saw one was back at the graduation ceremony we had yesterday.  Something very suspicious is going on with the professors.  But we can't concern ourselves with the professors now.  I have an idea on what we can do.  Let's head to the edge of Serend Lake now.  Aria and Jaida, follow my lead.  I'll carry Nemeth."

Bastilone carefully hoisted
Nemeth over his right shoulder.

"
Tighten up that grip on your sword and keep it that way buddy," said Bastilone.  "Everything is going to be ok."

They travelled over to the edge of Serend Lake.  The
Black Orb had stopped emitting pulses of light.

"It would be much easier to fly over there," said Bastilone.  "If only we had a flying broom like the Escoba Retama X…"

"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Aria.  "Flying brooms are for witches only!  Besides, I'm going to cast a spell on the lake.  It will create a temporary bridge from the edge of the lake all the way to the Black Orb.  I'm going to need to even more Mana Potions.  I need to get all the Mana Potions out of Nemeth's backpack."

Aria reached into Nemeth's ba
ckpack and took out 15 remaining Mana Potions and placed them on the ground near her.  She picked one of them back up and gulped it down which restored her mana completely.  Aria held her arms outward with her palms facing upward.

"Alright here I go!" exclaimed Aria.  "Puente Seguri!"

A grey, semi-transparent bridge began to form from the edge of the lake and extended out to the Black Orb.