Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Draven proceeded cautiously through Spirighast. Just one mistake could spell his doom. He made sure to pay attention to the ground to see if there were any traps. Draven was soon to doubt that there were any traps afterall. He made it around a quarters way into the kingdom and stopped looking for traps. He just continued on normally to where The Phantom Lord hid. And, as it turns out, there were no traps. Draven made it all the way to the castle unscathed. He continued into the large domain that hid The Phantom Lord. Once he entered, the atmosphere around him immediately changed. The place dripped with darkness and seethed with evil. Draven was frightened. He made a large steel sword. The hilt curved inwards, and the grip was laced with leather. But, as Draven continued towards The Phantom Lord’s throne, the sword slowly rusted. Draven looked at the blade. I need to stay calm. He told himself. The sword returned to its normal state. He made it to the throne, but something was odd. The Phantom Lord wasn’t in sight. Usually he would be sat atop the throne, waiting for whoever dared to enter his kingdom. But he was gone. Draven would soon get his answer as to why he wasn’t sitting in the throne. He looked all around to see if he was hiding. Then, he looked up at the ceiling. A hideous monstrosity of a knight conceived itself inside the ceiling. Draven recoiled. The knight began to slowly remove itself from the marble ceiling. It dripped with some sort of blue liquid before collapsing onto the floor. It looked dead, but it wasn’t. Draven began to walk backwards slowly. The ghastly knight rose from the floor, and immediately dashed towards Draven. Draven jumped back, dropping his sword. “S**t.” he went to pick it up, and once he did the knight was already upon him. It grabbed at its back, unsheathing a giant claymore. So large, that no normal man could wield it. It swung it effortlessly at Draven. Draven held his sword up to block it, but the claymore went through his blade. It didn’t cut it, just phased through it. The blade was moments from reaching Draven’s head before it stopped dead in its tracks. “That’s enough.” a voice arose from the hall leading to the throne. Both Draven and the knight looked up. It was The Phantom Lord. Draven gulped. The knight lowered his sword, scurrying over to The Phantom Lord’s side. Draven sighed in relief. He looked up at him. “What are you doing in my kingdom, Draven?” he asked. Draven’s eyes widened. “Well, I have to go through here to get to Wildehollow.” he replied. “Is that so? And what is it you want in Wildehollow?” The Phantom Lord responded. “I’m going to kill Battery.” Draven replied. The Phantom Lord began laughing aloud. His large white cloak concealed most his body, and what it didn’t conceal was a ghost like mucus covering his skin. The Phantom Lord had no face, and his voice sounded almost like an echo. “Like you’ll ever have a chance at killing Battery. Listen here Draven, I’ll go with you and help you kill Battery. He’s tainted my land anyways, it’s about time I get revenge.” he said. Draven gasped. “You’d do that? You’d help me?” he said. The Phantom Lord didn’t respond. He glided away. Draven was soon to realise that he had made a powerful ally. With The Phantom Lord’s help, killing Battery would be a breeze. Draven then realised. Wait, I looked right at him without a problem. Draven had stared The Phantom Lord straight in the eye and didn’t flinch. The rumors were lies. Or maybe, Draven truly was fearless. At least, that’s what he told himself. Draven walked out of the castle. He saw the knight and The Phantom Lord waiting. “Hey, who’s the knight? Your bodyguard?” Draven asked. The Phantom Lord shook his head. “No, this knight was my greatest friend. I brought him back because I felt lost without him. He’s been my sole protector ever since.” he responded. Draven was shocked. He didn’t think someone like The Phantom Lord could have emotion, let alone be so open about them. “Come now, we’re going to Wildehollow, yes?” Draven nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

Polaris thought about the old lady, wondering who she could be. Of course, he had no clue. He barely remembered his parents. He barely remembered he even had parents. To think that old lady was a friend of his parents was astounding. It was amazing that something from so long ago could connect to the present and even help him. Like an old historical figure being revealed to be still alive. He thought that that encounter was wonderful. Of course, all of his ambition was soon to go away. Polaris slept for the rest of the day before waking up the next morning. He used his new ability to cross more distance with less time. But he soon realised that there was a cooldown on the ability. Around seven seconds or so. So, he could slow time down for five seconds, or in real time one second, but then had to wait seven seconds to use it again. Polaris figured out the kinks of the ability quickly. He had to in order to use it effectively against Battery. Before Polaris could use his ability to continue running, he felt a sting in his right arm. He looked over to see an arrow sticking out of it. He looked all around him. He didn’t sense any movement and didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. Another sting came from his leg. He looked down, and yet another arrow protruded from his leg. He grabbed at the sword on his back, swinging it forward. He placed it into his mouth, getting down on all fours. He prepared his senses for the next arrow. A small gust of wind came from his back. He immediately turned around and saw an arrow racing towards his head. He stuck a hand out, grabbing the arrow before it reached him. It rested only inches away from his head. Polaris could hear now what was attacking him. He heard what sounded like horses galloping in circles around him. He looked all around, but couldn’t see a thing. Another arrow was shot at him. This time, he could see it, swiping the sword in his mouth at it, knocking it away. The constant horse galloping around him changed. He heard a slight disturbance in the gallops. What then sounded like three horses now turned to two. He looked around as he heard another noise. One of the gallops was coming closer to him, heading straight for him. He looked to where the galloping came from, and saw a fiery red horse coming towards him. It was very fast, and almost unreactable. Polaris flicked his finger forward and time began to slow down. He examined the horse, as well as the person atop it. The horse was hairless all over the body. The only place with hair was the head. Its skin was a bright, fiery red. Its eyes a bright orange. He examined the person riding the horse. They too were bright red, covered in armor head to toe. They wielded a large sword that was a dark black color. It had no hilt and seemed to be only a blade with a small grip. Polaris looked around. The gallops of the other horses were normal. They weren’t slowed down. Polaris looked back at the horse coming towards him. He quickly got out of the way as time began to resume as normal. The horse reared back, stopping its gallop. The person on top the horse looked back at Polaris. They raised their sword above their head before pointing it at Polaris. Polaris then realised that the other gallops were nearing him as well. He was prepared for a fight. Another horse broke through thick bushery around them. This horse was white, and had a lot of fur. Its mane was long and gorgeous. The person on top the horse wore a large grey cloak. They wielded a glowing white bow. Their face was that of a skeleton, and so wasn’t the rest of them. Polaris swung his sword horizontally. The horse continued right into the strike, but before the blade connected, the person on top of the horse shot an arrow right into Polaris’ chest. He recoiled as the horse trampled into him. Polaris dug his claws deep into the side of the horse, throwing it behind him. The horse flipped as well as the rider. Polaris scrambled to return back to his feet. He quickly grabbed at the sword, placing it back into his mouth. Once he looked up, the third horse came towards him. The horse was black and had little hair. The rider wore a large black wool coat covering his face and skin. He wielded what looked to be an olive branch. The horse continued charging at Polaris. Polaris looked at the hooves of the horse. Each step seemed to ignite the ground. The horse opened its mouth, revealing large sharp teeth. Polaris’ eyes widened. This horse was much different from the others. Polaris flicked his finger forward and time began to slow down. Polaris continued examining the horse. He stood back up on two feet, grabbing the sword in hand. He held it low below the horses feet in order to trip it. Time began to move at a normal pace and just as Polaris planned, the horse tripped and began tumbling. He looked around. The riders all stared at Polaris. No, they were staring behind him. Polaris quickly turned around and was met with yet another horse. This horse was pale and ghostly. Its eyes were completely red. Its skin seemed to writhe. The rider wore no armor or clothing. They looked almost like a corpse, with small flakes of pale skin still stuck to their skeletal remains. The horse did not move, and neither did the rider. “You are Polaris, great grandson of Tareek.” they spoke. Polaris recoiled. “Grandson of Tareek? You must have the wrong person.” he said. The rider shook their head. “No, you are Polaris. Horsemen, stand.” they said. The other riders stood back on their feet, and so didn’t their horses. “Do not be afraid Polaris, we are friends of someone you hold dear.” The pale rider said. Polaris raised an eyebrow before resting his sword. The rider climbed down from their horse. “We know about Cliff, Polaris. He was a good friend to all of us.” they said. Polaris looked around. “Before anything else comes from your mouth, who are you?” he asked. “We are the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Well, not the real ones, at least. You see, all of our muzzle abilities mimic those of the horsemen of the apocalypse. The horseman with the white horse has the ability to gain the trust of any man. He resembles leadership. The horseman with the red horse has the ability to turn soldiers against each other, making them fight within themselves. He resembles war. The horseman with the black horse has the ability to turn any person malnourished. All they must do is consume a part of the olive branch or be touched by the olive branch. He resembles poverty and famine.” the pale horseman explained. “And what do you resemble?” Polaris asked. The pale horseman walked over to the rest of them. “I resemble all three. I have the ability to persuade others into what I believe. I have the ability to cause distrust within armies, producing uncooperation. I have the ability to seriously fatigue anyone with just the touch of a finger.” they explained. “So you’re just all of them combined, but weaker?” Polaris asked. The pale horseman nodded. Polaris looked over at the other three. They were stood up next to their horses. “Hey, why haven’t they said anything yet?” he asked. The pale horseman looked over to him. “They can’t. I’m the only one of them capable of speech.” they explained. “Oh, I see.” Polaris replied. “Ah, I must’ve forgotten to say our names.” The pale horseman sparked. He pointed to the white horseman. “He is Faith.” he said. He pointed over to the red horseman. “He is War.” he said. He pointed over to the black horseman. “He is Famine.” he said. Polaris looked back at the three horsemen. “And I am Death.” he explained. Polaris switched glances over towards Death. “Fitting names, I suppose.” he joked. Death had no reaction. He looked away and began walking. “If you are to join us, you’ll need a horse of your own.” Death chimed. Just then, loud gallops could be heard from the forest. A large brown horse pushed through the clearing, stopping right in front of Polaris. The horse was more carnivorous, as instead of hooves, it had large claws. It’s teeth were razor sharp, and it was covered in a thick coat of fur. Polaris’ eyes widened. “Are you sure this is a horse?” he remarked. Death turned around. “This horse was once Tareek's. Since you and him are related, it only seems fitting you have his horse." Death said. "How do you know I am related to him?" Polaris asked. Even he didn't know this until now. “Tareek's dying wish was for his daughter to name her son Polaris. Of course, you cannot be his grandson, as you're only 24, and Tareek has been dead for almost 100 years, but it's more of a hunch of ours. You two even look quite similar." Death explained. Polaris looked over at the horse. The thing looked like a wild beast, not something to be ridden into battle. "Tareek was quite fond of our method of attack. He enjoyed it like a sport. If he was still alive today, Battery would already be dead. No doubt about it." Death said. Polaris walked over to the horse. “Don’t worry, it won’t attack.” he explained. Polaris began to climb onto the horse. It supported his weight and didn’t seem to falter in any way. The rest of the horsemen climbed onto their horses as well. “Alright horsemen. This is our plan. Now that we have Polaris, we are going to attack Battery’s kingdom of Wildehollow. It will be no easy feat, but it will be accomplished. With all of our abilities, we should be able to fight back his army. Killing Battery will be the only part slightly difficult. Unlike most of our attacks, we will go in head first. We will attack purely out of strength and courage, and not strategy and intelligence. Do you understand?” Death explained. The horsemen nodded. Polaris looked at Death. He nodded as well. “It is decided. We are the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We cause chaos wherever we roam. And today, it will be Wildehollow that is overthrown. Horsemen, ride.” Death commanded. He led the horsemen to Wildehollow as they all galloped behind him. The horses were much faster than Polaris. With speed such as this, they could easily make it by sunrise tomorrow. Polaris could not await Battery’s impending doom. No longer would people suffer, and with the help of the four horsemen, his mission would be that much easier.