Chaoter 06: Battles and Betrayals

Chapter 6: Battles and Betrayals

 

 

The sun rose to the watchful face of Gorec.  He turned, and walked towards the camp. “Sunrise, time to prepare for the attack.”

Dyorn left his tent, glaring at Gorec.  “Come now, you must be faking the sunrise.  It is too early.”  His voice was groggy, hinting to the fact he just awoke.

“Afraid not Dyorn, it is the natural sunrise.  Quite beautiful is it not?”  The sky painted in purples, blues, reds, oranges, and yellows, calling it beautiful would be an understatement.

“You always were one to be softened by a sunrise.  I hope that when I have a son, he will be a bit like you…your tenderness is a necessity for any warrior.”

“Now, now, don’t flatter me Dyorn, you will not earn any more time to sleep.”  Dyorn chuckled.  “Come on, we have work to do.”

“When you are right, you are right Gorec.  Though, at times I do hate to admit it.”

Gorec chuckled.  “Hate it or not, Dyorn, it is true.”

Lyra exited the tent, with a yawn.  “Morning already? I thought we still had a few hours.”

“Afraid not, milady.  Once Alora returns we will go over our plans once more, then set off for the lake itself.”

“Speaking of Alora, where is she Gorec?”  Dyorn questioned, looking around.

“She went back to our first camp, I left a few things there that will be needed.”

Dyorn nodded, and at that time, Alora returned.  “I have everything love…shall we set forth?”

Dyorn once more nodded.  “Let’s go…we have a lot of ground to cover, and not much time to do it in.”

 

They set off, and a few hours they approached the Lake itself.  Darkness fell, as they arrived, and Alora looked around than spoke to Dyorn.  “It is only midday…why is it so dark?”

Dyorn turned to Alora.  “Because…” But he was soon interrupted by a dragon bursting through the trees.  Rows upon rows; hundreds upon hundreds, thousands upon thousands of orcs; Ice Demons; Basilisks; and Griffins were behind it.

“Because, my precious, we would have it no other way!” The dragon roared.  “Prepare yourself for your deaths.”

Dyorn and Gorec both tore their blades from their sheaths, and charged.  “Let’s make quick work, Gorec.”  Dyorn bellowed above the shrieks and cries of his slain opponents.  “We must concentrate on the Dragon and fast!”

Gorec’s blade flashed through the air in time to split a charging Ice Demon into two.  “I do agree Dyorn.”  He then turned to Alora.  “Help us, melamin!”

Alora stood and gapped in horror at the throng of opponents before them.  She was afraid, though she wouldn’t show it.  With each creature she saw slain, she saw her grandfather, hoping he still lived.  She struggled to find a way out of her fear, and yet couldn’t make it.

A voice sounded in her head, it was her grandfather.  “I am fine, my precious, yet you know that all ready.  Why don’t you fight?”  The voice was menacingly cold against her mind, chilling her to the bone.

She thought, but found she couldn’t find a reason to fight.  Her closed her eyes, and soon she saw a blazing white light in front of her.  “Alora, my darling, you must fight.  The one you love is there, risking his life to save yours.”

Alora’s heart skipped, that light, and that voice, it was her mother.  “Your right…I must fight.”  The light vanished, as did the both voices and soon she was in the throng of it all, her own Crystal Blade slicing through the air.  “I am here Gorec, my love!”

Dyorn looked around, and saw no end to them he roared in pure hatred and soon a fireball crashed into the forest; setting it as well as every one of the creatures ablaze.  “Now, Lyra, it is your only chance!”

Lyra nodded, and in a flash, the Silver Dagger of Souls was in her hand, and flying through the air with incredible accuracy.  It struck the dragon, causing a small cut, before bouncing off and landing blade first into the ground.  The dragon laughed before turning pure green, the poison taking effect.  Soon it fell to the ground, taking half of his army with him.  The rest vanished, having been an illusion.

Gorec stopped in mid swing, and glanced about.  “Illusions…the majority of that army was an illusion.  I should have known!”

From the Dragon’s corpse rose another being.  He was clad fully in black, his eyes a bright blood red.  In his hand was a blade; shaped as dragons claw…only it was pure red.  “Ah, but Wuith, you didn’t know, none of you did.”  His young face turned to look at Alora, and he smiled, his black hair waving in the breeze.  “Not even my precious knew.  Though, she had been warned…weren’t you dear?”

Alora turned pale…as if she had seen a ghost. She was looking right into the eyes of a ghost, her grandfather.  “Yes, I was warned…” She turned to see Dyorn begin to charge.  “Stop, Dyorn.  Think, if Lyra’s blade could not destroy him inside of the Dragon, than how can you even think to do better?  Besides, he has told me, his death will not come at our hands.  Anyway…” she stopped for a moment.  “I think letting him live will prove more torture than any death you could contrive.”

Her grandfather’s eyes flashed, before he lunged, grabbed her from behind, and held the sword to her throat.  “Kill me or she dies!”

Gorec was the first to react, but soon found himself in Dyorn’s mighty grasp.  “Alora!  I promise I’ll save you!”  He threw his elbows back, trying to fend Dyorn off.  “Let me go!  I must save her!”

Dyorn brought his lips close to Gorec’s ear.  “Don’t you see…he’s playing us.  He wouldn’t kill Alora, he is just trying to make us kill him!”  He leaned his head back.  “Let her go, you fiend.  You told Alora right, your death will not come at our hands!”

Gorec nodded, and sheathed his blade.  “Dyorn is right…your death will not be brought by us!  But…pain, that I can inflict, and given the right cause, I will!”

He pressed the blade tighter against her neck.  “I can kill her in a blink, and you do not care?  I doubt that, Wuith Isthar.  I can see into your soul, you want to kill me.  You want to feel your blade slice through my body like butter you want to stain the ground red with my blood.  You cannot fool me!  If you want to save her, you must kill me.”

Alora looked pleadingly to Gorec.  “Please, my love…save me.”

“NO!”  Gorec yelled.  “I will save you, my dear.  But, it will not be by killing you!”  His eyes met that of Alora’s grandfather’s.  “I know many ways to kill, and yet many more to torture.  If you were going to kill Alora you would have, you want me to attempt to kill you and die in the process!”  He closed his eyes for a moment than smiled. “Runyalanta gonea.”  He said as calmly as can be.

Alora’s grandfather roared, and threw Alora aside, dodging the meteors that fell from the sky all about him.  “So, you are not as dimwitted as I thought.  No matter, you all will be dead soon enough.”  He laughed, and turned to Dyorn.  “A good friend of yours has taken something dear to your heart.  If you wish to die soon, go and retrieve it.”  He paused.  “But, if you wish to live, heed my words.  Travel to Entantium, there you will need to seek a weapon of great power.  If you wish to reclaim what is yours, seek it and then return.  But know this, if you return without it than your efforts will be in vain and your life is not going to be the last thing you lose.”  With that he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Dyorn sheathed his sword, and looked around.  “Is everyone all right?”  Seeing them nod he took a moment to think of what he had said.  “Alora, would he lie to me to allow your father to claim a further grasp on my throne?”

Alora thought for a moment.  “It does not sound like something my father would do.  My father and grandfather, for as much as I can remember, never got along.  My grandfather wanted him to be more like you, Dyorn.  I think that is why my father strove to be your friend, he wanted a bit of your power.”

Dyorn nodded.  “I see…so then it seems we must travel to Entantium than.”

Lyra looked to Dyorn.  “What if it is a trick?  He was working with Brell, so he could be trying to deceive you.”

He sighed, and looked towards the Tower.  “Well, I do suppose there is only one way to find out.  I cannot lose my kingdom, and if it means having to travel to Entantium to reclaim it than so be it.”

“Dyorn, I think I know of what my grandfather speaks.  The Sword of Power…or Blackturner’s Bane.  It is a sword that he created when my father got out of hand.  It is the only weapon in the known world strong enough to destroy my father.  My father stole it, and hid it somewhere in Entantium I believe it was hidden in Cairn Fios the town closest to the Entantium tower.”

Dyorn nodded.  “Your words sound true, Alora, so it seems as if we have no choice but to find this sword, the Blackturner’s Bane.  Let’s go, we have a lot of ground to cover and not much time to do it in.  Each moment Kagain sits on my throne his influence spreads further.”  He sighed once more.  “Let us hope his influence has not spread to Entantium or else all is doomed.”

 

The group finished their travel through The Lake of the Dead, and came across their first camp before Lyra decided they should camp.  “Dyorn, we cannot go much further.  We have just had a terrible battle, and a devious trek through the woods.”

Dyorn sighed, but he knew she was right.  “Than we will have to cover twice as much ground tomorrow.  He looked around the camp, and strapped his shield on his back.  “I will stand first watch, sleep well.”  He positioned himself against a tree, to keep him awake through his watch as everyone found their tents and fell into a deep slumber.

The morning came soon, and everyone was up well before the dawn.  By the time the sun rose they were far from the Lake, with the Tower of the Accursed looming ahead.  “The Tower of the Accursed.  Dyorn, this is the last chance you have to change your mind.”  Gorec said, as they took a moment to rest.

“I cannot turn back, the thought of losing any of you is more than enough to decide what my path needs to be.”

“You really are a great Emperor, Dyorn.  Many things could have been different had you not inherited the throne.”

“Gorec, now is not the time for flattery.”  He looked to the sun, than back to the Tower.  “We can reach the by morning.  But, we have to move, there is still plenty ground to cover, and there are darker things to worry about beyond the Lake.”  Once more they set off on their quiet journey, everyone alert.

 

After a few more hours of marching towards the Tower they camped, the Tower only a few hours more walk.  “There it is, Dyorn.  The Tower of the Accursed.  It is hard to think that something so beautifully made can be used to easily unmake two worlds.”  Alora commented.

“It is not the beauty of the tower I am marveling, the complicated network of spells put into it.  There was a Ciencaster involved, there is no doubt about that.”

“A Ciencaster?  Dyorn, are you sure.  I thought you said that Brell was the only mage involved with the Towers.”

“Lyra, my dear, Brell was the only mage involved here in Dragonia.  There was a Ciencaster involved in Entantium.”  Dyorn sighed in frustration.  “I knew I should have spent more time studying the Gating spell.”  He closed his eyes in concentration.  “Lema ed' ando…Lema ed’ ando.  Damn!  I cannot think of it!”

“Lema ed' ando en' templa.”  Lyra said without a thought.

“Lyra, you know the Gating spell?”

“No…I mean yes, I suppose.  It just came to me.”

Gorec threw a cautioning glance to Dyorn.  “Strange…strange indeed.  Dyorn, could I speak with you in private?”

“Of course.”  They walked off from the camp, out of hearing range.  “What is on your mind, Gorec?”

“Dyorn, I noticed something strange about Lyra when you and Alora were off battling.”

“’Something strange’?  What do you mean?”

“Well, she has not been herself since our first night at the Lake.  I asked about the letter from Kagain, and she said that I sent it.  Also, there is an evil about her.  An evil that would rival Kagain.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I am trying to say that Lyra is not Lyra.”  Dyorn looked at him oddly.  “I mean of course she is Lyra but she is something, or someone, else.”  Gorec sighed.  “We should be careful, that is all I am trying to tell you.”

Dyorn thought for a moment.  “Gorec, you have been my friend all my life, and my advisor for the past three years, I trust your opinion.  There is something that you must also think of, perhaps you are just overlooking something.  Everyone is wrong occasionally, besides you have not quite been yourself since Alora joined.”  He said with a slight smile.

“Dyorn, I have been right enough to notice evil.”

“I never said that.”  He sighed, and shook his head.  “I will think it over, if I notice something that is a bit more convincing than we shall act.”

“That is all I ask, milord.”

“Than let us return.  We have a long day ahead of us, and if it is as you said it shall be longer.”

“Go on ahead, I need a moment to think.”

Dyorn nodded, and turned to head back to camp.  “Gorec, please don’t think that I do not trust you about Lyra, it is just in times like this some tend to create problems that do not exist.

 

Deep in the night Lyra awoke again, and walked deep into the shadows.  “What do you have for me Brell?”

“They are going to Entantium, to find the Blackturner’s Bane.”

“Is Dyorn honestly dumb enough to believe a single sword will stop me?”

“There is more.  Your father has betrayed us.  It was he that told them what to do.”

“I have no father.”  Kagain, as it turned out to be, sneered.  “How is your impersonation?”

“They suspect nothing.  Well, all except Gorec expect nothing.”

“I knew that disgrace to wizards would figure something out, has he told Dyorn?”

“I believe so.”

“Did he believe him?”

“No.”

Kagain grinned.  “Perfect, Dyorn and Gorec not in agreement.  That makes my takeover much easier.”

“Don’t forget my end of the bargain.  I do not help anyone without a reward.”

“Yes, yes, Brell.  How could I forget, you remind me of it at every chance!  Once Dragonia and Entantium become one I will allow your puny lake to grow and take over parts of Entantium as well.”  Kagain sighed.  “I cannot hold this much longer, I have lost much of my former strength.  When is Dyorn going to make the jump?”

“Tomorrow.”

Kagain nodded, and vanished, his voice rising from the ground.  “Until we meet again.”