Chapter 3

After discovering the portal, Ethellion and Nelphen end up in a battle against Shadow and the three birds. Meanwhile, in the past, the army of Capulus moves to aid Vegrasus, who are under attack.

Chapter 3

 

“What... the...” Nelphen came to a halt as Ethaniel caught up to him, purple eyes widening in surprise, “...What the hell is that?”  Ethaniel’s eyes narrowed, catching his breath as he stared at the portal ahead of him.  But even more surprising than the purple window, was the multiple bodies lying unconscious in the snow.  The old man moved forward, kneeling down beside the closest one.  The boy was tall, with fairly long brown hair and glasses, dressed in a blue shirt and skin turning blue from the cold.  Beside him was a short and young brunette... an older teenage boy who seemed the oldest of the group, a girl wearing no shoes, a blonde-haired boy, a girl wearing sunglasses... And finally, some distance away was another dark-haired girl, dressed in rather tom-boyish clothes.  “Who are they?”

 

The two of Pacaris had finally reached the peak, what was supposed to be Glacird’s nesting site.  But instead of the beautiful bird, they’d found... this.  Ethaniel climbed to his feet, a deep frown etched on his face, “...Get your Praestia out... we... we must take them back to Pacaris... and quickly.” He grabbed hold of a golden bracelet on his left wrist, which soon glowed.  Four different, large animals appeared in front of him.  A polar bear, a bull, an ostrich and largest of all, a bright green dragon.  Two leopards soon appeared in front of Nelphen.  “...Get them on the ani-“

 

“Look out!” Nelphen shouted, leaping forward and tackling his master out of the way as a blast of ice zoomed over them and smashed into the cold ground.  Shoving the assistant off of him, Ethaniel stumbled back to his feet, drawing his sword to confront his opponent.  An Osprey swooped down, before landing on a cloaked boy’s shoulders.  The two leopards advanced with snarls, but Nelphen hurriedly calmed them, before asking boldly, “...What business do you have here?”

 

Ethaniel’s eyes narrowed as he watched the ice bird on the boy’s shoulder, “...More importantly, what are you doing with Glacird, boy?”

 

Shadow chuckled darkly, “Glacird is mine... he is bound to me, so all hope you had of rescuing him is gone.”  Ethaniel and Nelphen looked to the sky at the sound of squawks, seeing a vulture and parrot circling above them.  “Yes... I am the reason both Infird and Silvird are missing... I control the three legendary birds.  But... do not worry, I have no intention of hurting you if you do not stand in my way.” 

 

“What do you want, then?” Nelphen questioned, clenching his fists.  His Praestia sensed his anger, crouching down lower in preparation to pounce should their master command, “Is this portal your doing?”

 

The boy raised his eyebrows, “Do I look like a sorcerer?  No... I am here to claim one of them.”  He moved forward, crouching down beside the girl that was away from the others, the dark-haired girl with the boyish clothes, and picked her up.  Ethaniel then moved forward to meet him, sword at the ready.  Shadow laughed again, “Do not even try, old man.  You cannot defeat me in battle.”

 

“Old man?!” Nelphen challenged in response, drawing a gun from his pocket and clicking it ready.  Shadow’s near invisible eyes swivelled to face him as he continued, “Don’t you know who he is...?  He’s the master Praedux of Pacaris... you are out of your depth.”

 

“Ah... Ethaniel.” Shadow nodded, as a sign of respect, “In that case, I apologise for interrupting your mission... But I am afraid my own is far more important than you.  Stand back or I will be forced to attack.”  He drew his own sword, flames erupting from the silver metal.

 

“What business do you have with her? Who is she?” Ethaniel questioned in a snarl.

 

“That is my business.” Shadow replied simply, beginning to back away, the girl slung over his shoulder. “You would do well to respect that and allow me to leave.” 

 

“I cannot allow you to do that... As one of the Praedux masters, I order you to put the girl down.”

 

“As a man of free will, I am inclined to refuse that order.”

 

“Then I am inclined to attack you.” With that, the old man swung his sword with surprising speed towards Shadow, who lifted his own firey weapon to block.  At a hushed command, Glacird left his shoulder and grabbed the girl firmly in her talons, taking her away from the danger.  Shadow regarded Ethaniel cooly, pushing the blade back and standing on guard.  The two began to circle each other, before Ethaniel attacked again.  This time, the bout of blows changed to a full battle, with Ethaniel on the offense and Shadow blocking each attack with apparent ease.  Nelphen, meanwhile, kept his eyes fixed on the hovering Osprey, and the unconscious girl hanging from her claws.  Neither Ethaniel nor Shadow noticed as his leopards moved forward.

 

The two large cats pounced, but Glacird simply flew upwards, out of reach.  Silvird and Infird swooped down, straight into the two Leopards and sending them flying back into the snow.  The cats snarled, before glowing purple.  They opened their mouths wide, and sparks of purple flew from their fangs towards the birds.  Infird immediately dove down, flapping his wings powerfully, the strong air deflecting the attack.  While his Praestia battled against the defensive Infird and Silvird, Nelphen sneaked around towards Glacird.  The Osprey tilted her head as she watched the human beneath her.  He drew his gun, aiming it up at Glacird.  Of course he wouldn’t shoot such a creature, but maybe it’d scare it...  He put his finger on the trigger...

 

“Put the gun down.” A sharp voice commanded from behind him, and he turned his head to see Shadow aiming his own gun right at Nelphen’s skull.  Ethaniel stood, disarmed, his hands grudgingly raised as Shadow’s other hand held the blade to the man’s throat.  Shadow gave another chuckle, “The old man fights well... and you... well, you’re quite sneaky, aren’t you?  But... nobody attacks my Praestia and lives to tell the tale.”  Nelphen’s purple eyes narrowed, and he felt fear bubbling up inside of him.  “I am sorry to do this to your Praestia... Goodbye.”

 

“No!” Ethaniel snarled, barrelling into Shadow and sending him sprawling.  A bullet fired from Shadow’s gun, and Glacird screeched, dropping the girl in fright. Nelphen leaped forward, catching her before she tumbled off the side of the peak.  He pulled her up, turning in time to see a fist flying at his face.  He cried out, before recoiling from the attack, head hitting the snow behind him.  He stumbled to his feet, standing protectively in front of the girl as he stared warily at Shadow, who appeared very... angry.

 

“You are getting in my way...” The boy hissed, advancing with his gun drawn, “Stand aside... I do not wish to anger one of the Praedux masters by shooting you... but if I have to, I will.  Stand aside!”

 

Nelphen lifted his own gun, aiming it shakily at Shadow’s head, “I will not... You have put all of Otellus in danger... you’ve broken the law by capturing the birds, and I will not let you kidnap this girl.  Lower the gun.”

 

Shadow laughed, now sounding slightly insane as he advanced closer to Nelphen, causing him to back away until he was on the very edge, still holding onto the hostage, “Do you think I care? Do you know the power I have at my disposal...?  If you shoot me... you kill the three birds, and you doom the world!  I am not giving up, I can shoot you and the old man without trouble... cause neither of you can kill me!  Ha!  If you value your life, stand aside.”

 

“N-No...” Nelphen continued to protest, his gun-arm trembling even further, beads of sweat rolling down his face, “People will know what happened... They’ll find out. You won’t get away with this... surrender the birds, and you won’t be executed.”

 

“Fool!” Shadow shouted, before readying the gun, finger on trigger, “I gave you your chance... If you wish to die, then so be i-“

 

All of a sudden, one of the leopards pounced at Shadow, sending him sprawling to the ground.  The cat slashed open his cloak and chest, causing him to scream in pain.  For the first time in the encounter, Shadow seemed afraid... though not as much as Nelphen. “No!  Get back! Stop!”  The three birds came swooping down, only for the other leopard to leap up into the sky, batting Infird away.  There was a screech of fury, and a yelp of pain as the second leopard hit the ground unconscious.  “N-No!”  The birds were continuing...  Nelphen quickly closed his eyes, summoning the two cats back and out of danger...

 

Bang.

 

A gunshot fired... Nelphen opened his eyes.  Shadow got to his feet, hood fallen from his head.  His silver eyes stared grimly at Nelphen.  He walked past the purple-haired boy, picking up the girl without any fight from Nelphen.  The assistant stared in shock as the leopard that had been attacking Shadow began to fade away.  Blood poured from the gunshot wound in the cat’s chest, dying the snow beneath it red.  He felt weak.... his legs gave way, and he fell to his knees.  “Nelphen!” Ethaniel cried, scrambling over to him and catching him as he fell forward... the bond was broken... His Praestia was dead... His soul was broken... No Praedux can live without his Praestia. The only way was for both to die.  “No... Nelphen...”

 

Nelphen stared up at his master, lips moving but saying nothing.  His eyes moved to the side, seeing his beloved leopard completely gone, leaving nothing but blood.  He felt himself fading away... Before there was nothing.

 

*             *             *

 

“...You attacked the leader of Pacaris?!” Xagraver exclaimed in anger, glaring at the cloaked boy before him, “The enemy knows you carry the birds!  You’ve jeopardized our whole position!”

 

“So?” Shadow gave a careless shrug, “Did you intend to claim control of Otellus by sneaking around and having no-one know what’s happening? No.  There was no point in capturing the birds unless we intended to use them... and to use them would be to blow our cover anyway.    There was something I needed... And Ethaniel and his assistant got in the way.”

 

Xagraver frowned in disapproval, staring at the teenager, “...What was so important to jeopardize your mission?”

 

“You tell me.” Shadow replied simply, walking past Xagraver to sit in his throne, legs crossed, “What did I just tell you?  The portal opened there, I wanted to see for myself... They saw me and attacked, the purple haired guy sent his kitties at me, I shot one... He died.  He has all eight children, cue prophecy starting.  Happy days, right?  But on the bright side, you have a totally awesome mercenary who has totally awesome birds and a flamey sword.” He smiled sarcastically, and Xagraver shot him a look of disgust.

 

“So while you were there killing unimportant assistants...” The traitor growled, baring his teeth, “You let that old fool get away with the key to our undoing?”

 

“Your undoing, Xavy, not mine.” Shadow countered, twirling one of his silver strands of hair in his finger, “I went there on my own will, to check things out... You ordered me to catch the birds.  Had you added: ‘If you happen to see Ethaniel and his unimportant assistant, kill them’ then I would’ve.  But alas... you did not plan ahead well enough.” Shadow couldn’t help but chuckle at Xagraver’s look of deep annoyance.

 

“...Get off my throne.” The man ordered, and Shadow gave a careless shrug, hopping back to his feet, “And get out of my hall.  Go to Pacaris, and keep track on their progress...” He paused, “Shadow... Take this.” He pulled a watch from his pocket,  tossing it to the mercenary.

 

“...A watch?” Shadow questioned, raising his eyebrows as he looked to it, “How thoughtful of you. I can keep track of how many blissful hours I have away from you.”

 

“It’s a communication device!” Xagraver roared, startling even the guards why Shadow simply stared back at him, “Use it to speak with me!”

 

“Why would I want to do that?”

 

“Get out!” The guards moved forward as Shadow burst out laughing, before he shoved past them and left the hall, still laughing.

 

“Bloody moron...” Both Xagraver and Shadow muttered as they parted.

 

*             *             *

 

Eight years previously...

“Lady Estellia...” The red-headed queen turned to see a well-armoured man hurrying over to him, before falling to one knee in a bow.  Estellia gestured for the man to rise, and he did so, “I have received word from our scouts to Vegrasus... the ford is lost.  They have been pushed back, and Xagraver’s army intends to move across the plains... Lady Vermina is marching from Vegrasus herself to meet them in battle.”

 

Estellia gave a disappointed sigh, “...Pity.  Give me the exact report of the battle, Sergeant Durain. Have a seat.” She sat down in her own chair inside the large tent.  The army of Capulus had set out a couple of days before to aid Vegrasus in their battle against the army of Voxilitis and Xagraver.  Unfortunately, they had struck first at the ford that split the two regions.  The outpost there held three thousand men, but Estellia had heard nothing of the battle until now.

 

“Yes, your majesty...” Durain nodded, taking a seat opposite her and spreading out a map on the table between them, “Xagraver’s forces lay siege to the outpost seven days ago... Their force contained fifteen thousand.   Vegrasus managed to hold them at bay for a while, thanks to their defensive positions... but eventually, Voxilitis broke through.  Three thousand reinforcements for Vegrasus arrived in the afternoon, but... against the massive army, they stood no chance and retreated... They killed near four thousand of the opponents, but lost the same, if not more.”

 

Estellia sighed, before nodding, “I see... Send a messenger back and say that our army of eight thousand will arrive by dawn tomorrow.  We have camped long enough, we leave now.  Rise the men... we will meet Xagraver in battle at the Vegrasus Plains... and we will send the traitor into the underworld where he belongs!”

 

“...As you wish, your majesty.” Durain nodded, getting to his feet and bowing.

 

As Estellia had promised, the army of Capulus arrived at the plains as the sun began to rise, to see the two armies already clashed.  Eight thousand men of Vegrasus fought against the enemy’s even further reinforced twenty.  The battle lasted for half a day, and were assisted by another three thousand men from the nearby city of Divumur.  But again, the sheer number of enemies grew too much, and Queen Estellia sounded the retreat.  Between the two forces, twelve and a half thousand men had been killed, while their enemies had lost eight thousand.  The defence was failing, and Estellia knew it.  It was now, that inside the walls of Divumur, that Estellia gave her decision to Sergeant Durain.

 

“...We must call for reinforcements from Silvitrum.” She announced with a sigh, “Our numbers are too few, and none of the other regions even have a fighting force or will refuse to help. Send a messenger to Boralei, and request assistance.”

 

“...Yes, your majesty.”

 

Days passed, and Voxilitis lay siege to Divumur, yet still there was no sign of Boralei’s forces.  Again, the eleven thousand defenders fought against the fifteen thousand enemies.  Armed with battering rams, towers and ladders, it wasn’t long before the city was over-run, and the forces were again forced to retreat, this time losing Divumur.  Despite their loss, they lost fewer men than their enemies, giving them enough time to retreat to the one final city that stood in Xagraver’s way before he could sieze control of Vegrasus... Etrilkim, the capital.  Although Estellia had no way of knowing, the army from the northern forests had set off, and eighteen thousand men of Silvatrum, led by Boralei, were on their way to reinforce the hopeless forces that stood against Xagraver, the traitor...