The Estian Alliance

CHAPTER 21

3rd September - City of Te’oull - Siatol

The razor sharp tip of Princess Zephany’s blade pushed firmly against Melissa’s neck, breaking the skin and drawing blood. The young royal and Estian leader was just about to ram it home, ending the Sebantan warrior’s life. It was no more than Melissa deserved. She had taken the lives of many Estians in her relatively short life, in the service of her evil master. Princess Zephany was all too aware of that fact and at first she was too blinded by fury and a thirst for revenge to show any mercy. For her part, Melissa refused outright to beg or plead for her life. She kept her hand clasped tightly over the wound to her arm and looked up defiantly at her triumphant enemy, staring Princess Zephany directly in the eye with hostility, almost daring her to do it. The noise of battle was a distant distraction now for both warriors, cocooned as they were in their own little moment in time. But, in reality, the fight was only a matter of metres away from them both and they were still firmly in harm’s way. Zephany pushed a little harder with her weapon. Blood began to ooze out of Melissa’s neck and trickled down her skin from beneath the blade.

However, despite her incredible thirst for vengeance, for some reason she could neither understand nor believe, Princess Zephany hesitated. She looked around her at those who were fighting bravely for her cause. Several of her warriors had withdrawn temporarily from the fighting for a brief rest, including Lord Caro. They were now watching their leader to see what she would do. Zephany was astonished to find that her hands were trembling a little. It was not fear making them shake, she knew that. It was rage. She was angry at herself for being so weak, for not doing what she was there to do, for hesitating at the very moment when she needed to be strong. More than anything, she was annoyed at herself for listening to the unknown voice that had entered her head at the vital moment, the pang of conscience that had convinced her somehow to ignore her training and warrior’s instincts.

“Go on, finish me!” rasped Melissa. “It is what you want, is it not? I can see it in your eyes. You know I would act if the situation were reversed. So, why do you linger?”

Zephany’s eyes turned once again to Melissa. They were now burning fiercely with hatred. She wanted to take her life so badly it hurt. She wanted to gain retribution for all those rebels the Sebantan had killed over the years, or taken into slavery, the civilians she had rounded up for King Vantrax’ mines who were never seen again. But, she could not do it. She had been prevented from acting and the moment had passed. In any case, to kill her now in cold blood when she was captured and defenceless was not Princess Zephany’s way. Knesh Corian and her father, the King of Rhuaddan, had raised her better than that. She had been brought up as a future Queen to be wise, just and honourable… And this just did not feel right.

‘How will it look to my people, if by some miracle we survive this fight?’ she asked herself. ‘…Will it be seen as an act of courage if I kill her, of strength? Or will it always be remembered as the deed of a coward, as a dishonourable execution, which will return to haunt me in years to come?’

As she pondered the decision for the briefest of moments, she withdrew her blade slightly and Melissa felt the cold steel move. “No, you cannot. It is not in you, is it? You do not have what it takes.”

Zephany immediately tensed her arm in retaliation, as if to run her blade through the young warrior, and Melissa braced herself. But, she pulled her sword away at the last moment. “You are right. I am not like you. I am more, much more than you will ever be!”

She turned immediately to Lord Caro. “Hand me your belt.”

Caro took it off and threw away the scabbard to his sword which was attached. “Here, Princess, take it. Somehow, I do not believe my sword will be sheathed again, so I should have no further use for it.”

He handed the belt over and Zephany bound Melissa’s hands behind her back. Melissa hissed and cursed as the pain in her arm intensified. When Zephany had finished, the Sebantan raged at her with real venom in her voice. “Raar! That was a mistake! It was the decision of a weak leader, and you will regret it, I swear!”

Zephany turned her around and looked her straight in the eye. “Perhaps. Only time will tell if you are right and I am wrong, and we appear to have very little of that. So, we should know very soon. However, mistake or not, it was my decision to make!”

She handed Melissa over to one of her warriors and ordered him to guard her with his life. Then she led Caro and the rest of her followers back into the fight.

* * *

Sawdon and his huge contingent of mercenaries were continuing to fight their way relentlessly into the heart of the city. The Estian Alliance soldiers fought bravely to hold them back, but the powerful Thargw and his legions were far too skilled and experienced for them. They were relentless, ferocious, and they began making headway against the exhausted defenders of the city, capturing ground rapidly until the attack wheeled round on both flanks, encircling the Estians and pushing them back towards the main square, which had now become the centre of their desperate position.

Opposite Sawdon, Queen Bressial was in command. There was absolutely nothing that she or anyone else could do to halt the retreat. The simple fact was that there were just too many of the enemy to fight. All she could do now was organise the defences as best she could, to try somehow to delay the enemy’s progress. Roadblocks were hastily erected in the narrow city streets, warriors climbed on top of roofs waiting to ambush the attackers from above, trying to take them down with the few spears, axes and throwing knives they had left. In desperation, they hurled anything they could find and it became a frantic defence bordering on panic. The Thargws in particular were relishing the hand to hand fighting that had developed, and none more so than Sawdon. His huge, muscular frame was clearly identifiable in the chaos of battle. Warrior after warrior from the Alliance tried in vain to kill him upon sight. Some of them even managed to conduct co-ordinated attacks involving three or four of their comrades, but Sawdon’s superior senses, ability, experience and reflexes allowed him to evade their weapons and kill them all. He was like a machine, and he just kept on coming, driving his Thargws forward. It seemed as though no one and nothing could stop him.

Before long, Bressial’s units met up with those commanded by Brraall. The great tribal warrior informed the Queen that Jake and the others were not far behind him. Handing over command to the tribal leader, Bressial quickly detached herself from the fight to report their dire situation to the Keeper.

* * *

Nytig lay on the floor at Jake’s feet. His outstretched hand held the Lichtus tightly within its grasp. Jake looked down upon it with wonder and amazement, absolutely dumbfounded at this unexpected and unbelievable stroke of good fortune. He could not imagine how or why the stone he had searched for and needed so badly was here. It had fallen at his feet like a gift from the Gods. ‘I have travelled across worlds to fetch help, so that together we might be able to take it? I’ve almost been killed trying to bring my family back here in order to take on the wizard? Why? Why did I have to do that, if it was going to be this easy?’ he asked himself.

He placed his foot firmly on Nytig’s wrist, pushing down so hard that the prostrate servant squealed in pain. His fingers opened up, allowing the stone to fall gently on the ground. Jake then bent down and picked it up.

“Is that…?! It is!” said Ben, as he stepped forward, equally amazed and shocked as his friend. Everyone there heard his startled response and they all gathered around Jake, including Harry and Jean.

“Kuh! I do not believe it. We have been searching all this time for the stones, braved untold dangers and given everything we have to find them, only for the last, the one we all thought would be impossible to take, to be handed to us without a fight? Something is not right here. There is some power working for us that I do not understand, some wonderful, magical force that is helping you to achieve the impossible, Jake. I have said it before, and I know that I am right,” stated Verastus, smiling broadly at his young friend.

The Falorian giant suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, ain’t it great? We’ll take that helping hand any day, won’t we? Look, we can ask all the questions we want later. We’ve more important things to do right now, like deciding on what we’re gonna do with him!” said Ben, pointing down at the pathetic figure of Nytig, who was still lying on the ground at their feet.

“I say we kill him!” replied Verastus, immediately and without hesitation or feeling. “…He serves the wizard. He took the stones from us the last time we caught him, and he almost caused Ben’s death. Besides, I think it highly likely that we are all about to die anyway, what is one more life added to all those who will perish here? If the dragon captured him, and gave him to us, that is one blessing I shall take with me to the afterlife. Any friend of King Vantrax is an enemy of mine and I will shed no tears for them as my sword enters their flesh. Listen to me… You all need to face facts; we are losing this fight. We can afford no warriors to guard any prisoners we take. We will need every one we have just to stay alive.”

As soon as he had finished speaking, he took out his sword and drew it back, ready to strike the servant down.

“No!”

The Falorian halted his sword arm just in time, when the tip of the blade was less than an inch from Nytig’s back. A loud scream had stopped him before anyone else could object. It was a high pitch shriek, a woman’s frantic cry. It made them all jump because it came from such an unexpected source. Jean had all of a sudden felt compelled to intervene. She broke away from Harry’s arms and rushed to Nytig, throwing herself down on the ground and covering him with her body, shielding him from further attack.

“Mum! What the heck are you doing?!” shouted Graham, completely bewildered and concerned for her welfare. Jean raised her head slightly to respond, as Verastus withdrew his sword to hear her words. But, Jake beat her to it.

“Grandma,” he began, for the very first time calling her by the name he had always wanted to say to her, as he’d so often imagined in his dreams, “what is it to you whether he lives or dies? Why do you care? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound heartless, but Verastus has a point. We cannot guard him and we cannot let him go.”

“What is it to me, Jake? I will tell you… He is everything to me! He is the one who saved me, the one who freed me and gave me back my life. Without him, I would not have survived, I know it. At the very least, I would have spent my whole life in chains. I would have been kept holed up in the dungeons of Heron Getracht, allowed out in the day to wash, cook and clean, and locked in the filth and squalor of the cells by night. I could hardly bear it any longer. I was dying a little each day and praying for the end, for release, one way or the other.”

Looking on, Harry West was moved to tears by his wife’s actions and words. He stepped forward immediately, determined to be heard. “Jake, if all that is true, we owe this man a great deal. It is a debt of gratitude that we can repay here and now? He cannot hurt us. He is only one amongst thousands of enemies here. We are not cold-bloodied killers, Jake. We are Keepers, sworn to defend and protect?”

Jake turned his head to Verastus. “Put away your blade, my loyal friend. There will be no execution here. Nytig, stand up and look me in the eye.” The wounded and terrified servant slowly rose to his feet. Blood was running down his chest and back as a result of the wounds he received from the dragon’s claws. “Be very brief, but explain to me why and how I now hold the wizard’s stone.”

Nytig seized upon the opportunity to try and describe his actions, grateful to still be alive. He spoke as fast as he could. “I… I am not a bad man, though I know I have served a master of evil who has done terrible things to these people, to my people. I did a good deed once, long, long ago. And I have paid for it ever since. That single act changed my entire life. The suffering that followed robbed me of my courage and my conscience, of all my virtues. They were stolen away from me in a foolish moment, and beat out of me if they ever dared to try and return. Fear… Fear overtook them all. I have been afraid ever since, scared to take a stand. But, seeing you today, witnessing all three Keepers defying his power, his magic…? I felt something different inside of me. I realised all of a sudden that I had found something worth fighting for, something to believe in. I do not know why, but I knew that it was something I did believe in once, before I lost sight of what it meant.”

“What? What was it?” asked Ben, surprised to find himself taking pity on the wretched figure before him.

“Freedom.”

Even Verastus seemed stirred by his words. “Yes, all very good. It does not excuse your actions though, and how were you captured with the stone in your possession? The wizard never removes it. Tell us, for I am certain that it does not leave his sight?”

“I was not captured!” snapped Nytig. “…I was taken by the dragon when I was running away, on the fields outside the city wall. I had stolen it.”

“What? You took it off King Vantrax?” asked Harry.

“No,” replied Nytig, quickly. “It fell off, and I picked it up without him knowing. I do not know why, but when he killed King Artrex, the chain suddenly snapped. It was as if he had angered those in the afterlife, and they were showing their displeasure?”

“Nittrii-Hebul!” stated Jake, speaking his thoughts out loud without realising it. Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for an explanation. “Err… It does not matter now. There will be time later, with any luck. We have a battle to win. Right now, you need to restore this box!” he said, looking straight at Tien and pointing at his bag. He took out the box of stones and handed the bag and the rest of its contents to the wizard. “How long will it take?”

“Yeah, a little hustle if you please, Tien? We’re kinda on a clock, you know?” added Ben, smiling.

The wizard took no notice of Ben’s comment as he took the box from Jake. “That depends. The Eratian stone still needs to be cut to size,” he replied.

“Right, well… Hold up, time out. It’s indestructible, isn’t it? You said it could not be cut, that many had tried and failed?” said Jake.

“Yes, I did. It is. But, now that I have a reolite stone of sufficient size to work with, anything is possible. I will begin immediately, and I will contact you when I am finished. Srr… I will need help? Jean, Graham, Harry, come with me.”

Tien led them in the direction of the empty building. At the entrance, he stopped and turned to the others. “…In the meantime, while I am busy at work, you lot have a battle to wage. Keep those warriors away from me for as long as you can.”

Jake suddenly felt another surge of confidence swelling his breast. “Okay then, you heard him,” he declared boldly as he drew his sword, “let’s kick some ass!”

Everyone drew their weapons and prepared to fight. “What… What of me? What shall I do?” yelled Nytig.

“You?” replied Jake. “You are a free man now. You do as you please.”

Nytig rapidly became choked with emotion. His wounds ached and he felt completely exhausted, but he was exhilarated at the same time to be given his freedom. His first instinct was to run. But to where? He could hide, but they would find him eventually, wouldn’t they?

He glanced around him as he searched his soul for answers, deciding what to do. A discarded sword lay on the ground not far away. After a moment or two, he walked over to it and picked it up, just as Queen Bressial came running into the centre of the group. She looked at Jake with astonishment when she saw the servant of the evil King who had held her captive for years amongst their number.

“No time to explain now, your majesty. We need to hold them back, use every warrior we have. Nytig here has just volunteered to serve you, of his own free will. He will fight by your side and lay down his life for you if needs be, until the battle is won.”

* * *

Princess Zephany was completely shattered. After an initial period of success where a monumental effort from her warriors had actually managed to push the enemy back towards the wall, they were now once again on the back foot. They were all retreating slowly towards the main square, heading for a reunion with the soldiers fighting alongside Jake. Lord Caro and the knights of the Estian Alliance had been immense so far, but the streets of Te’oull were now crammed with enemy soldiers who had broken through on all sides. The large force of Estian’s now falling back on the square were surrounded.

“From what I can tell we are trapped, Princess,” shouted Caro, as he killed yet another Sevitrian.

“Yes, it would appear that way,” agreed Zephany. Her sword was now drenched in the blood of the many enemy warriors she had killed. She swung it once again to remove the head of a Falorian who was attacking her, before bringing it around and slicing off a Pralon’s arm. Then, she thrust it into his chest to finish him and stepped back, ready to engage her next opponent. None came, and she found she had a brief respite from attack. “We will continue to make for the square. It is the only option and the only defensible area of ground. If we can establish a perimeter there, we can hold out for some time.”

“Hold out? Yes, but to what end?” asked Caro.

“Simple, Caro; deliverance. We fight for as long as we have to. To give Jake the time he needs to save our people. Hopefully, our commanders on all sides will think the same, and our forces will meet there in large enough numbers to hold the lines.”

Lord Caro launched yet another attack upon an approaching enemy warrior. The Falorian sustained several nasty wounds before he fell. Once he was finally dead, Caro replied to his leader. “As you command, Princess. Your unshakeable faith in this Keeper is inspiring, if you do not mind me saying so? I do not know from where you draw your strength. Tell me, is it the legends, or the boy?”

Princess Zephany cast a quick glance in his direction and smiled slightly. “It is a little of both, I think. The legends stated only that a Keeper would come. Beyond that, they were pretty vague if truth be told. Jake arrived here just as written, but he was still only a boy to me and my people, nothing more. He was unproven, and like myself he was so very young. How were we to pin all our hopes on him? Times have changed so rapidly that all such doubts have now been cast aside. It is not the writings we were brought up to have faith in, but his actions right now, that are giving us hope and making him a legend.”

* * *

King Vantrax stood with Notorold on the fields outside Te’oull, surveying with mixed emotions the great battle being fought before him. The evil spirit though, was looking eagerly in the opposite direction, staring expectantly at the eastern sky. Vantrax could not discern much from the confused scene in and around the city. All he knew for certain was that his forces were advancing far too slowly. Given their superiority in numbers and ability, the battle should have been over by now, and he was growing increasingly impatient. “Graar! How long is this going to take?! Where is your army? The battle will be over before they arrive!” shouted the wizard in a fit of temper.

Almost immediately, he was shocked to find that his throat was being squeezed violently by an invisible force. His windpipe constricted so rapidly that he could not breathe and he clutched his hand to it instinctively, in an effort to tear an imaginary pair of hands away and save his life, as his whole body rose upwards and he was turned to face his former master. At the very point of losing consciousness, the vice-like grip was suddenly released, and he fell to his knees.

“Do not forget who it is that you address, Vantrax! I alone have made you what you are today. It was I who gave you the chances you squandered to rule this world… I who allowed you to raid zsorcraum for your creatures. You owe everything to me, for I risked everything and more to aid you!” raged Notorold, his jaw extending outwards menacingly as he roared in the wizard’s face.

“No… No, I do not. I remember it all and I am grateful to you, I swear! I know what would have happened if you were discovered. I am fully aware what was at stake. But, you were not discovered, were you? I apologise for my foolish outburst… I am merely anxious to see this war won. I have waited so long for this day. I have come so close to victory before, only to see it snatched away from me at the last moment.”

Notorold withdrew slightly and his jaw retracted. “We need not fear. It was not I who was deemed to have broken our laws. Cast your eyes to the horizon. What do you see?” he asked, his voice menacing and ominous.

King Vantrax gazed towards the east. The sky was a perfect blue and nothing seemed untoward. “I do not see anything,” he replied, disappointed.

“Then look harder!”

The wizard looked again at the sky as instructed, staring intently at it for a good few seconds. Suddenly, the pale blue colour began to change. It turned gradually to grey, before growing slowly darker and darker, until finally it became jet black.

“Raar!” roared the wizard, excited at the thought of finally fulfilling all of his ambitions. “At last! It is them, is it not? They are here! It is the army from zsorcraum. You have done it, you have raised the legions of death!”

Notorold gave a wicked smile. His eyes suddenly became brighter as he felt his powers growing inside of him. “It is as it should be. Everything is now as we always planned. Soon, I will be strong enough to lead this fight. The power from the fires is rising to aid us, Vantrax. It is entering this world and it cannot be contained. This army of spirits I have raised will not be defeated. The mortals are finished. We will destroy everything put before us, before our enemies from the afterlife can respond. And once they are gone, it will be too late. This world is ours!”