Grandelyn

by Dionne Lee Nelson

  Chapter 19

  Restoration

  Brown sand and dust flew around aimlessly as 25 galloping black horses pulled the strong black and silver carriage that was holding Kalos. Fully clothed in his regular attire and holding Noire in his lap, Kalos was now on a mission. After the minions told Kalos of their discovery, he made plans to see what this Grandelyn place was. But it would take 8 years for him to get there. The Savage Kingdom’s horses and many of his strongest soldiers had all died of pneumonia and other illnesses due to the continuous monsoon in Ferocities. Even Kalos was very ill for awhile.

  Kalos took the men that remained and tried to bully lands whom had horses and healthy men. But by then Kalos and his withering army was no longer feared by the other lands. Each year that passed, more deaths in his legion occurred. His depression had consumed him and he was no longer a threat to anyone. He was defeated by his own slaves, and his medallion was gone. It was going to be hell to get it back, he realized.

  Eventually he found a land that had respected him, or rather his legend. He found a land called Torren. It was a very dry and deserted land, a huge departure and relief from Ferocities. Upon their arrival, the place looked completely empty. But as Kalos stood in the center of the sun-ridden land, a short, jaundice-eyed, charcoal- colored being crawled from behind a leafless bush. Kalos and his men jerked back as they didn’t know what this thing was that was coming towards them. This thing outstretched its arm to the men and collapsed.

  “What is THAT, Emperor?” Zodner asked with disgust.

  “The hell if I know. Come on. There is nothing here for us to see.” Kalos turned to leave. A buzzing sound ripped through their ears, sending the Savage Kingdom soldiers to their knees holding their ears in agony. The only one who was unaffected was Kalos and that was because of his mask. He turned back around to see a swarm of these creatures standing before him, crowding around the first whom collapsed. Kalos looked puzzled. What were these hideous things laid upon his covered eyes? It was about 50 of these dark, charcoal, skinny, crispy leaky eyed beings. Some were tall but the others were very short. They looked like burnt pieces of bacon with legs. Kalos was both sickened and intrigued by these things.

  “There is only one who can see with no eyes and that is you, Kalos, Emperor of Ferocities and son of Mandune” Said the smallest one of the bunch. His deep voice surprised Kalos.

  “You know of me?” Kalos asked with uneasiness.

  “Yes, Master. We have heard about you for years. No one can do what you do, or conceal what you have founded.” It sounded like this being knew way more than he should have.

  “Who?...What are you?”

  “I am Vysera. We are the Torrids. As you can see we inhabit this land of Torren. We don’t have much but we are strong in unity.” This small Torrid seemed to be the one in charge of the rest. He spoke with a lot of wisdom and he kept Kalos’s attention. “We know that you have found something special that can not only make your dreams come true, but ours as well.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “LOOK AT US!” His voice boomed like the crackling of thunder, as everyone shook with fear. “We do not wish to stay like this. It’s painful. Only you can take us out of our misery.” Kalos was very confused. Vysera realized that. He slowly limped over to Semp whom was trying desperately to get away from this thing.

  “What, what are you doing?” The small Torrid grabbed Semp’s arm. Semp began to scream out, as smoke and embers began to spark out of Semp’s arm. “Emperor, make him stop!” The Torrid menacingly dragged Semp to Kalos’ boots as he stared deep into Kalos’s mask.

  “You see this? Do you see how much pain this man is in? Well that is us. Every day, all day. We are filled with the anguish of burning flesh. We are living with the bellows of Hell inside of us and we want to make it stop NOW!” Thick wads of spit and slobber flew from the Torrid’s burnt mouth as he lashed out in anger. The other Torrids in the back looked ready to attack as mucus poured from them as well. Even Kalos became a bit afraid, though no one could tell.

  “Well what do you want from me?”

  “You have the key to change it all. You have what many have been searching decades for.” It took a minute before Kalos to realize what the Torrid was talking about.

  “Do you mean the Soul Realm medallion?”

  “Yes!” Vysera flung Semp’s arm away. “The Soul Realm can take this pain away, Master.”

  “I no longer have it.”

  “WHAT?” The ripping buzzing sound occurred again, causing everyone to shield their ears in suffering again. The small Torrid stood to Kalos as if he was the same size. “Where is it?”

  “My slaves stole my medallion from me and are now fugitives. I was trying to find them but lost my brigade along the way.” The Torrids looked at each in defeat. They could no longer live in those bodies; bodies which were cursed decades ago due to the chaos caused by the Soul Realm. Vysera turned back to Kalos.

  “If we join in unity we can help you get the medallion back. If we do this, will you free us of our distress?”

  “You have my word” Kalos said, removing his mask and staring into the sickly eyes of the Torrid.

  “Then, Master, let us get you what you deserve.” The Torrids made an alliance with the Savage Kingdom and they set out to find Grandelyn and destroy their enemies there.

  Kalos boarded his black horse-drawn carriages, gathered up the 20 remaining soldiers and a few of the bigger Torrids and began the rocky trip towards North-West. By now Zodner and Semp had known the directions well, and the aid of the 25 galloping horses helped make the trip quicker than before. It only took a day and a half before they found the outside palm tree with the fafuras.

  “See Emperor, these are the weird fruits we told you about” Zodner said.

  “Give some to me.” Kalos demanded. Semp ran to the tree, hit it with a near- by rock and two fell out. Kalos studied the fruit through his mask and said nothing. “Continue.” he called out.

  The horses continued to gallop along the way. By afternoon they pulled up to see the peaceful albino dragons in their rightful positions.

  “See those are the dragons we spoke of” Zodner said. Kalos eyed the massive beings and became annoyed.

  “That is just the gates’ design, you idiots!” He yelled through his mask.

  “No, sir, when you touch them they break apart and attack.” Semp voiced nervously.

  “Really? Well let’s just see.” Kalos defiantly got out of the carriage and walked to the twins. He could see through the gigantic gates all the beautiful sites that all looked too familiar. He was able to see Ash City from there. Images started to zoom in his mind. Images of people, horses, citizens; young and old, popular stores and bakery shops, things that seemed to have been there from the past all crowded his mind. His eyes roamed upward and he saw it. He slowly removed his mask so that he could get a better look. His eyes were now gazing upon the mountain, where the tallest and biggest building of Ash City was. The palace. Memories flashed through his mind. But the palace that he was now gazing upon looked nothing like the palace he was remembering in his mind. The palace he was looking at was tar covered, dull, and broken; the pillars, the walkway, the windows, all looked destroyed from his view. The palace in his mind was vibrant with color. The broken pillars, once stood strong and tall as they were created from the best pearls and marble. The walkway was majestic with water flowing beautifully through its entrance. The stain glass windows had glowed bright and shiny from the sun. Green plants and palm trees crowded the décor of the palace. Tropical animals as well as zebras and tigers roamed the city. And the people. The people of every color and creed were kind, generous, and hard-working. All the things Kalos was not.

  Kalos shook his head and put his mask back on. Grandelyn was still a curse in his mind. And looking at it now, it didn’t look as almighty as it once did; it was in a state of ruin. This pleased him. He continued to look upon Ash City and the palace
. From a distance, Kalos could see the Grandenite warriors coming from training. They were all well dressed in their black and white high defense gear and each was holding a sword and shield. They were sweating profusely from rigorous training. He was completely shocked; the last time he had seen these people they were his slaves. They were supposed to be wearing the ragged beige clothes that he supplied to them. They were supposed to be groveling at his feet to either praise him or beg for work. Now they looked tough and independent. They looked…great! But he would never let anyone know that’s how he felt.

  His eyes roamed back to the lower half of Ash City and he began to see more people. He glared at the regally-dressed hefty folks working and enjoying their newly formed lives. His heart raced. These are the people that killed my men and stole my medallion. He thought to himself. These people had made it without him and he loathed them even more for it. His eyes searched for the main one, Ariyah. But there was no sight of her. He wanted to try his luck with these Siamese twin dragons but thought better of it. Fixing his crooked mask, Kalos turned to his awaiting men.

  “Let‘s go back” he said solemnly. He slowly marched back to his carriage and wrapped Noire around his neck.

  “But, Master, what is wrong?” Vysera asked desperately. Kalos just ignored him and sat back in the carriage waiting to leave. Once again he felt defeated, but not for long. He now believed Zodner and Semp about the dragons. But now he needed more soldiers and a new plan to get inside that city to get his medallion back. After being in the beautiful atmosphere of Grandelyn and its wonderful dry yet cool weather, the Savage Kingdom returned to the dark, wet, and depressing Ferocities. Kalos demanded not to be disturbed. He and Noire sat on the soaked balcony of the palace tower. With Noire still wrapped around his neck, Kalos sat in a cherry wood rocking chair and contemplated to himself.

  “So Crystaline got them to the ‘promised land’ huh? Clever.” He began rocking harder in the chair. “But how?” he questioned. Obviously Kalos knew more about Grandelyn than he allowed his men to see. He pulled the fafuras out of his cloak’s pocket. He studied them. These were the only things that didn’t look familiar. He was afraid to eat one. He didn’t want to ingest anything that was foreign to him. As he rocked and squeezed the fruit in his water glistened hands, flashbacks of his past began to creep into his mind.

  He remembered…

  The throne room was regal, with tall ceiling curtains made of purple velvet, and ceilings, pillars and floors made of white marble. Golden-framed chairs aligned the aisle on top of the strip of purple carpet that led from the door entry to the royal pedestal. There stood three knights at the foot of the king. The king was both youthful and handsome. He sat patiently on his pearl and purple velvet throne. His smooth golden skin and black cropped hair complimented his white and gold suit well. The king, even at his young age, was very humble and content in his position as he looked upon the men before him.

  The three knights were each dressed in a different color of armor. One dressed in silver attire; sword and shield, the second one was in bronze attire; sword and shield, and the last one was dressed in black attire with silver sword and shield. The first two men were clearly years younger than the man in black. He was at least 45 years old, thin yet with a masculine build. The king smiled.

  “I have granted you three, permission to guard the corridors of this palace.” He said pleasantly.

  “Yes, sire” The two younger knights obediently said. But the older knight was not pleased.

  “I am capable of doing other things besides guarding your home and land.” He argued. The younger knights bowed their heads and stepped back, leaving the black dressed knight alone in the center of the floor. The king became annoyed.

  “What is your problem now, Kalos?”

  “You know what it is.” Kalos said with almost a growl. The young king had a look of uneasiness.

  Kalos’ thoughts broke as he listened to the continuous sounds of the drizzling rain splattering across his body.