Authors: Doug Backus
“Oisin, I am
heading for the ground. I want you to get off. I will deal with the Balane,” Phanthus yelled.
“You mean you will die at the hands of the Balane. No! I will not leave you Phanthus!” Oisin screamed back.
“You are stubborn, Oisin. I owe you my life and now I am paying you back. We cannot win, Oisin. I will not fight these creatures. There is no point in both of us dying.”
“There is no point in trying to make it to the ground either, Phanthus. They are already upon us.”
Phanthus swerved quickly to the side and turned in midair, all the while creating a circle of fire around them. The Balane swerved up and around the flames in an attempt to avoid them.
“Now, we are heading for the ground Oisin. Do not argue with me.”
Oisin might have tried to argue, but he would not have the time as a wave of light encompassed them. He watched the Balane as they too reacted to the light. They seemed confused as to why they were flying. Their eyes once again returned to the familiar and soothing blue color. They once more seemed to be what he had always known them as, peaceful. Bewildered, they turned away from Oisin and Phanthus and flew back toward the Blackpool.
“Phanthus, they have retreated. The light, it has affected them somehow. Where is it coming from?”
Phanthus did not know, but the light had revealed something else to him. A stranger was standing high on a ridge of Mount Sibileo. The stranger wore a cloak that disguised their face and body making him wary of their intent. He maneuvered himself so that the mountain would hide them as he approached. He glided silently in from behind the shadowy figure, and landed a good distance back so as to allow himself time to react should he have to.
Oisin remained poised on the back of Phanthus. He too had now seen wh
at had captured Phanthus’ curiosity.
The cloak was the only movement that they could discern as it waved aimlessly at them in the wind. The individual it hid remained motionless, abnormally so. Phanthus walked forward, continuing to measure the distance that he would need to effectively mount an attack if it was required.
As the distance closed between them, he became far less cautious. Something was drawing him in. He felt a connection of some sort. Before he realized it, mere feet separated them. Still the figure had not moved.
“I am thankful
that you recognized your true spirit, Phanthus. It could not have been easy considering what the fear and ignorance of others did to your heritage, to your family.”
Phanthus
was astonished. There was no mistaking that voice, the voice that was so pure, so calming and angelic. It was the voice that had spoken to his very soul the night Solharn had taken her away. It was the voice of Queen Elissa. Oisin remained silent while Phanthus spoke. He could not believe who stood before his eyes.
“
Queen Elissa? How? How, did you come to be here? How did you escape?” inquired Phanthus.
She still had not turned, or moved as she stared out over Rhol
.
“I am sure both of us have stories to tell of a time when darkness consumed us and how we came to escape it, Phanthus. But those tales would take far too long to detail and in the end they would not matter. What really matters is how we use our newfound freedom to release those souls that still remain trapped within themselves, fighting for an opportunity to escape what will eventually consume them.”
“What can I do, Queen Elissa? Just say the word,” Phanthus responded.
“Fly away.”
“But why your Majesty? We can help! We want to help!” Phanthus begged.
“You will, Phanthus. You and Oisin both will. You are one now. You are Dragon Warriors.”
“Your Majesty?” Oisin asked inquisitively.
“You were brought back to life by the tear of a dragon Oisin. A dragon can only use one tear in their lifetime to save someone and when that happens
, it bonds them for life. It is a bond that can never be broken, not even in death,” explained Elissa.
Oisin looked at Phanthus
. “You did not tell me, Phanthus, that you sacrificed something so cherished to save me. Why?”
“It was not important Oisin. You were alive and that was all that mattered to me. I did not want to burden you with having to make a choice between Orulla and me.”
“I chose to ride with you Phanthus, and I still do, wherever that journey may take us.”
“Then heed my words Phanthus, Oisin. You will fly to the people of Kilto, to their sanctuary.
Even if all else is lost, they must be protected. They will be the last survivors of Solharn’s fight for Rhol. They are also the most spiritual. Only they will be able to guide the lost souls who search for their salvation if I am gone. Protect them to your dying breath, protect them as your ancestors protected them and I will be forever grateful to you.”
“Our ancestors?” Oisin inquired.
“Yes, your ancestors, the Dragon Warriors of Rhol. It is your heritage. It was what made you what you are now. The Dragon Warriors were guardians of the Kilto long ago, in ancient times. Each dragon had a warrior who rode with them before ignorance turned their fate around, before hate nearly brought them to extinction, but ignorance fortunately failed. It forgot about you Phanthus, and you, Oisin. You come from a bloodline of warriors who died along with their dragons. That is why you never knew your parents or your relatives. It was forbidden to speak of. Both of your bloodlines are joined again. Now, you must go and fulfill your destinies, the destinies of your people.”
“And you, Elissa?” Phanthus asked.
This time she turned and looked at them. “I will fulfill mine,” she answered, evaporating before their eyes.
Deke could still hear Elissa’s serene voice guiding him, trying to ensure that his mind did not fall victim to the dark magic, the enticements, and the promises Solharn preached. She had told him that it would be the most difficult temptation he would ever face. She warned him that he would struggle with the decision whether to join Solharn or stay true to himself. She reassured him that she would be with him and that he would hear her voice guiding him, but she had also warned him that there would be times when he would not listen to her, that he would try desperately to drown her out. She cautioned him that, as the distance closed between him and the Dark Angel, the temptation of relenting to the darkness would become far stronger.
Deke held the amulet in his hand. He knew what he was supposed to do, w
hat Elissa had told him to do, but was it fair? Was it fair to deny him a life of power, a place in history? That life was within his reach. It lay at his fingertips at this very moment. He could become more powerful than Solharn. He could rule the worlds. What harm would there be in that? He was a good person. He would not be too hard on his subordinates. Everyone would be satisfied with the life they led. They would worship him and if they didn’t, then and only then, would he release his wrath upon them.
Elissa’s voice was becoming much fainter now, a distant whisper in the back of his mind. Deke held the amulet in his hand and he felt the power surging through his body as Solharn wrapped his long slender fingers under the chain. They were connected. The feeling
was overwhelming and revitalizing. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before, a feeling that he had always yearned for. He could still just make out Elissa’s voice. How dare she interrupt this moment with her trivial blabber.
“Concentrate, Deke. Do not forget what we spoke of. Do not forget the purpose of your journey.
Do not forget why you made this your journey. Your fate lies with the light, not the darkness,” Elissa’s voice rang out.
What was she talking about? He remembe
red everything she had told him. He considered her warnings but it was his choice to make and his alone.
Elissa could read Deke’s thoughts.
“You have not remembered everything Deke. You are right that the choice is yours but you cannot make that choice until you have weighed it against all the choices you have already made.”
She was desperate now
, Deke thought. It made no sense. What choices was she referring to and what did it matter. He could barely hear her now and it wouldn’t be long before she was gone. Then he could concentrate once again on his new life, his new path.
Elissa’s voice became broken and faint
. “The path Deke, the reason...you...path…Mary...” and then her voice was gone.
Deke
laughed. ‘What path?” he said aloud.
Solharn looked at him strangely thinking
, once again, that Deke was speaking to him. “The path? The path is through me Deke. Remember what I told you. You have much to learn, but with my mentoring you would become everything that you have dreamed of. You must give me the amulet and then you can start to walk the path you seek, the path to power, the easy path.”
That sounded very familiar to Deke, the easy path. Where had he heard that before? Elissa had mentioned a path
...or a journey...or was it a reason for his journey? He was so confused. Why did Solharn’s words bother him so much?
What else had Elissa said?
,
he asked himself, scouring his mind for answers. Mary, she had mentioned a person named Mary. She was his friend. Now he remembered. A lost friend, but he had found her. Yes! He had found her and that was the reason he started this journey. That was what Elissa was referring to. He had tried to run away from her memory. He had taken the easy path. That was it! He had already walked an easy path, and that path led to a life of misery and loneliness. It was the next path that he had taken, the harder path, which had led him to his friend. That was the path that had brought him redemption. He did not want to take the easy path. He did not want anything to do with it, nor did he want anything to do with Solharn.
“Are you listening boy!” Solharn roared.
“Yes, yes I am,” Deke responded.
“Well?” Solharn bellowed.
Deke would not answer. He couldn’t hear Solharn anymore. He was in control. His mind was his own and he would use it to follow his true path.
Elissa’s voice spoke to him once again and this time it was clear, clearer than it ever had been before. “Now, Deke. If you are still with me, now is the time.”
He loosened his grip upon the amulet and looked down upon it lying in the palm of his hand. Then he released it, not the amulet itself, but the power within it, the energy of the souls. A great explosion of light burst through the amulet’s core and followed its natural path.
The chain provide
d the necessary conduit to Solharn. The light streamed through Solharn’s body and exited through his eyes and mouth. Anywhere the energy could escape, it did and it did not stop. It exploded across the mountain, across Rhol.
Kaelyn had arrived bearing her sword but it was no longer poised to strike. It simply dangled in her hand as she watched what was transpiring in front of her.
Palto soared in behind her and stopped. His passengers jumped off, more than happy to feel the soil beneath their feet, but unsure of what was happening in front of them.
The
y could see that Solharn’s energy was depleting and that Deke, who still held the amulet, was the source of his turmoil.
Solharn’s speech was garbled, almost robotic
. “You are too late, boy. You cannot defeat me. You will never defeat me. You may have released the energy of the souls and taken back that which was mine, but the power of the abyss will never be yours. It will never be at your disposal and will always be at mine.”
Solharn fell to his knees unable to pull his hand from the chain that was fused to him, propelling the energy of the souls through his body. He bowed his head and placed his other hand upon the ground making it appear as if he was using it to support himself. He used whatever strength he could muster to call silently to the Abyss, the
Blackpool. Slowly the dark liquid emerged from the pool and slithered across the ground toward his hand.
He would keep them o
ccupied with his garbled banter as the darkness glided closer and closer to his fingertips. He laughed inside of himself knowing that they were oblivious to the wrath that he would unleash upon them in moments. He still was unable to move, but he could feel the energy of the Abyss as it inched its way towards his fingers.
They just stood there staring, waiting for him to surrender. They were all fools.
Had they learned nothing about him, nothing about his power? They did not respect him as they all should have, but they would respect him soon enough, he mused to himself.
The dark liquid, the dark energy
, wrapped its way around his fingers and gradually began to stream into his body. He was connected again to the dark power he commanded, to the dark energy that only he could conjure and control. He did not let on as his strength slowly returned. They were so easily deceived. He felt whole again. It was time to reveal to them all, that he could never be defeated. It was he and he alone who would command the balance.
Nobody could see the
grin crackle its way across Solharn’s face. He would take care of the boy first. It was a shame that he would have to die. He could have been such a useful tool. But Solharn knew he would have to break the connection between himself and the boy before he could unleash his unbridled essence upon them. For that to happen, he would have to kill him.