Chapter 10
Hot winds blew around him as the gate opened. Morgan stretched out his left hand with his staff as it comes to a halt in front of him. His eyes surveying the barren ground, where once stood New Downing. The soil rich, dark and healthy as he looked towards the high mountain slopes and along the valley floor.
His eyes bent hard on the forest trees of fruit trees and wheat fields almost ready for harvest. His anger wild as his small army stands ready to attack the town as they too look about the area of the missing town of New Downing. Morgan screamed. “How can this be?” Ranting as he stares towards the trees in his mist and back towards his men. “Have I not issued orders that these lands must perish. Yet what I find is the opposite once more.” Morgan bends down grabbing the rich soil watching it sift through his fingers unharmed.
Morgan immediately taking his staff plants it into the ground whispering “sententia umbra of vicis ostendo mihi thy occultus semita” (through the shadow of time show me thy hidden path). Morgan’s eyes begin to glow as advents placed in shadow spring forward. Time itself reverses while Morgan watched a barrier being placed and the earth heals and grows once more. He saw those cursed Whitmore’s standing in a field of dried, rotten ground. The ground comes to life once more and spreads throughout the valley. A bright light covers the ground around New Downing.
The light searing his eyes as he tries to shield them from the pain then dissipates leaving nothing except a forest of green trees and rich soil all around him bearing all kinds of fruit. Once again he tries to kill the land, with his long black raven staff, stretching it forth into the sky. Causing a cold raging wind and black lightning cress crossing the sky as Morgan spins his staff towards the trees, bolts of dark light like tentacles arms hit the trees. The wind howls, the trees themselves rock back and forth, loud cracks are heard as the trees twist and turn in the wind. The sky darkens as shadows engulf the land once more.
A pillar of light springs forth among the trees and spreads across the lands before him pushing back the shadow. A shill noise is heard as a woman dressed in blues and green robes with long yellow hair shine brighter than the noonday sun. She points her staff made of an old tree branch towards Morgan. His staff shatters into pieces in his hands. The woman draws closer; Morgan yelled to his soldiers “kill, leave nothing alive.”
It was too late as she interns quickly and pointed her staff towards the ground and the trees. The women call out. “nashda delobo canta.” Roots from the ground spring forward from the ground, trees begin to walk carrying tree limb clubs.
Hard acid rain falls to the ground burning the dark soldiers. Their green acid blood spewing out upon the ground with each hit, Morgan stands his arms and legs tangled within the vines scatter across the ground. Morgan tries to raise his hands as bolts of black light spew forth from his fingertips, cutting the vines, but it was no use as more and thicker ones take their place.
The woman draws near; as he looks upon her face, he recognizes the face from his past. Yet how can this be? Morgan tries to shake the images of his mother whom he had killed with his own bare hands. Now she stands before him once more as part of Nature herself. He remembers his hands squeezing the very life out of her many centuries ago and the taste of her warm blood flowing down his naked skin and upon his lips as his first real sacrifice to his master Hess. "How can this be?” Morgan screamed. “Your dead, this must be some sort of a trick of the mind.”
One by one his soldiers are taken down as she draws closer. Her eyes harden blue crystals, her lips red as rose petals. She slowly turns her head as her yellow hair blows softly in the wind around her. “Fear not of me my son, fear for the atrocities of what you have done upon my lands. For the grounds weep and the trees cry out, while my mountains crumble beneath my feet. My lakes and rivers pour out torments of pain as they themselves are dried and poisoned across the lands. My oceans rage as the storm beats hard against the black rocks of death. Fear them my son for I can longer hold them back. The shadow calls them home where they shall perish in the darkness. You, my son, have caused this and I can not allow you to bring forth my lands further into darkness.”
The spirit of his Mother spreads forth her hands as white light covers and encases Morgan. The surrounding winds recede and trees stop as they replant their roots into the ground. His mother cries watching her son scream in torment as the light covers him, her tears flow down her cheeks. With another wave of her hand, he and she are whisked away.
Morgan awakes finding himself chained to the altar of sacrifice, deep inside the Cross Bone Gate Prison. The same place where he released Hess, not more than three years ago, his mother with tears in her eyes for her son, as she slowly placed the enclosure shield upon the door. She and some of her handmaidens gather around a small altar made of stone. Placing their hands on the stone as it glows into bright greenish light with the symbol of a tree in the middle of the stone.
A soft tear rolled down her cheek as she closes the door to his cell sealing him in. Morgan screams out trying to bust the chains and the shackles around him yelled. “Mother how dare you do this to me? You shall pay for this when I am free once more.”
His Mother bends down placing a small acorn in the ground. Her hands glowed as she waved her hand above the planted seed. Her handmaid's water and attend the seed, watching it grow into a large tree. The tree slowly bows before her as she gives him a name Halberd King of all forest trees; the watcher and the guardian of trees.
His large knurled trunk and numerous tree limbs sway back and forth as he walked around the Cross Bone gate prison. With a final kiss on his tree trunk cheek, Morgan’s Mother returns back to Jasper's estate, charging Halberd too guard well the gate and her son with a mothers tear falling from her cheek.
* * *
A loud scream is heard in a distance forest; Jeff turned to his side hearing the scream as Hess stops, his black eyes wide without fear, with images of Morgan chained in the Cross Bone Gate Prison. His breath heated with anger as he grips the horn on his saddle watching the trees around him come to life as a bright green pillar of light is seen.
Hess quickly turned his horse towards the trees watching and listening to a Tree Guardian converse with the forest. Jeff slowly with caution stands behind a large rock among the forest unseen, his eyes in shock seeing a giant man tree standing in a stream of water nursing smaller trees as he brings them back into the light.
Hess stood on the shore points his black bone staff towards the guardian, his eyes flicker red and yellow with anger as black lightning spews forth from the staff, trying to wrap its long tentacles around the Tree Guardian. The Tree Guardian paid no mind to Hess as he continues to nurse his young trees into soldiers.
Anger swelled inside Hess with wave upon wave he lashes out upon the guardian with no effect as more tree soldiers come to life and spread out among The lands of Tobye about 100 or so miles from township of Bristol Village where Lady Gwin resides, and 5oo miles from northern sea of Quratsa where is rumored King Salsern lives the King of all the living water realms,
Hess ordering his soldiers to attack and cut down the trees. Hess with his dark sword in his right hand his staff in his left. The tip of his staff lights into a raging fire as he pointed it towards the trees. Hess smiles wickedly watched the dead dry wood burn. Tree soldiers screamed in pain as the fire engulfs them.
Hess’s soldiers chopped at the large trees, watching them fall and crawl towards the river of Tobye. Hess yelled orders to his Dark Prince. “Take a group and head them off and poison the river,” he said pointing to the river. Jeff nods then send off a battle cry to convince Hess of who he is and pretends to poison the river. Hoping the lie can still be maintained and still be hidden at the same time praying that EJ is safe and will not be there by the time they reach him across the sea of Quratsa.
The Tree Guardian screamed out in pain as he weakened standing in the river trying to heal his soldiers as the life he had just created has weakened him as they died before they were old enough to sub-stain themselves.
Hess pointed his staff yells with power in his eyes and hands as they glowed the words “katlin dejor matort’na” a hard wind springs to life with a black wave of power shreds the trees into dry kindling.
The Tree Guardian falls backward, his limbs quake hitting the black water now filled with poison, from not the Dark Prince, but form his army of soldiers…Watching as the Dark Prince tries to counter it so he might live to fight another day when he and has new trees can become stronger, allowing himself to close his eyes and seep back into the ground.
* * *
Morgan struggles with all his might as chain after chain falls from his limbs. Morgan tired from the struggle, crawls to the door using the last of his strength, and pushed with both hands. Repeats the words over and over “naysh loto bain tonta” watching hundreds of hands pry the door open. A dark wind with many voices seeped through the cracks of the door.
The green tablet on the door shattered into several pieces as the door stands open once more. Morgan falls slowly to his knees, his strength gone, but he is free at last. With his remaining strength, he slowly dissipates to his chambers upon the Dark Mountains of Sybril.
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