by M J Webb
Above them, Jake and Resus passed over the scenes of carnage and chaos until they were flying directly over the centre of the square. Once there, the mighty dragon stopped his forward momentum and hovered at Jake’s command. The Keeper’s eyes suddenly reverted to normal. His pupils returned in a flash and he began to shout, bawling out loudly in the ancient Ruddite dialect.
“Eesgrinall allavruud vinneroll mathuus,
Sennarr presstriolle Te’oull akraall,
Exolonne rechranne zsabrutt!!!”
Jake’s attention was focussed entirely upon the defenders of the square. His eyes suddenly changed once more, becoming bright red in colour before erupting almost immediately into a fiercely bright, white light, which raced down towards the ground with phenomenal speed. It came to a sudden and abrupt halt when it was about thirty feet from the cobbled stones below. A second later it spread out rapidly on all sides to form one giant, continuous dome, changing from dazzling brightness, to an almost invisible shield, as soon as it was formed. A slight haziness of the air was the only sign that it existed.
The impregnable barrier was similar to the one employed by the Heynai to protect Te’oull and it fell over the Estian warriors wherever they were fighting, separating them from their assailants in an instant. Where the fighting was at close quarters, the beam of energy hit the enemy warriors and cut them in two, right before their astonished and extremely relieved opponents. A huge protective wall of shimmering air now surrounded the warriors of the Estian Alliance. Within its confines, for the time being, they were all safe from harm. The enemy forces of King Vantrax were incensed. They tried everything to break down the indestructible barrier, but with no success.
The beam of light retracted back into Jake’s eyes and once again they returned to normal. A spell of unbelievable power and epic proportions had just saved the Estian Alliance from defeat, but for how long?
Resus was amazed, and very impressed. “Draas! We were right to side with you, Keeper, for so many reasons. The threat still remains though. How long will it hold?” the dragon asked.
“Not long. We have to work fast,” Jake answered. He immediately placed his hands upon the dragon’s neck and chanted again.
“Gerestvol arrunslarr mennieth,
Raatreonne ebulat pathradde!”
Jake looked down upon the swarms of enemy warriors who were now massing at the edges of the shield as he spoke. They were chomping at the bit, regrouping and waiting for it to fall so that they could complete their victory. “Now, Resus. Your time has come!” the young Keeper cried. “…Your eyes. Use your eyes!”
The dragon was a little shocked by the sudden suggestion and with a little hesitation, he pointed out the obvious. “But… There are too many of them, Jake?” he protested. “I would not have enough time before the army that approaches falls down upon us?”
“Just trust me. Together, we are a deadly combination you and I.”
Resus took a deep breath and shot a bolt of light from his eyes, aiming instinctively at the large concentration of warriors in front of Princess Zephany. The ray of light hit the air just above them and it immediately dispersed over a wide area, turning every single warrior underneath into black stone. The elderly dragon was astonished to see the awesome and devastating effect of his strike, but he kept on firing at large sections of the wizard’s army, taking them out in droves. Strike after strike reigned down upon the warriors of King Vantrax, every bolt of light transforming into useless rock any enemy within a hundred feet or so, but miraculously leaving the isolated pockets of Estian warriors nearby, completely unharmed.
Resus swooped down and circled around the square, continuing to fire until he was certain that all of King Vantrax’ troops and beasts had been destroyed. Before long, every warrior inside the city walls had been accounted for and the dragon turned his attention towards those outside the walls, but they had seen his deeds by now and having bore witness to his extraordinary power, they were fleeing for their lives. The Estians inside the protective dome began cheering and roaring their approval, celebrating their unexpected deliverance and liberation with such fervour, that their cheers and screams of delight could be heard for some distance across the land.
However, many of them soon lost their high spirits as they cast one eye towards the dark and sinister army that was still approaching. The mood changed rapidly in Te’oull as the news spread and realisation dawned. An anxious and nervous silence returned to the square. In a matter of minutes, thanks to the power contained in the newly restored box of stones, Jake West and his dragon had destroyed the armies which had conquered almost the entire continent of Estia. The teenage Keeper had lived up to every expectation. He had proven beyond doubt that the prophecies and legends were true, and he had fulfilled his destiny. But, Jake’s work was not yet done. Having just defeated the greatest war machine Estia had ever known, a new and far more deadly force now confronted him.
* * *
A vividly intense, unexpected and mysterious light had appeared over Te’oull without warning. It had then disappeared in a flash. Watching from a short distance away, the unexplained phenomenon soon had King Vantrax very concerned. It disturbed him greatly because it brought with it an unknown threat, one which gave the wizard an immediate and uneasy feeling of uncertainty, where moments before he had felt nothing but supreme confidence. To his horror, it quickly transformed into a wretched sense of impending doom. He was all of a sudden wracked with a fear he could neither shake nor explain, for to his eyes his forces were winning the battle, and just about to complete a long awaited, momentous victory. Despite all that he could see, his forces surrounding and just about to crush the last of the Estian resistance, it was an awful, invasive sensation, and it was one he just could not shake.
“Kalleist!!! What was that?!” King Vantrax yelled, looking at his former master, hoping that he would supply the answers he desperately sought all of a sudden.
Notorold did not know for certain what had caused the light, but he swiftly became aware of a new presence on the battlefield, one which had not existed earlier, or at least was concealed from him if it did. It was a presence which worried him greatly, because it seemed to carry with it immense power, an almighty force of energy that was so great he could sense it.
His silence did nothing to calm the wizard’s fears. “Yaarrgh! What is it? What is wrong? Why do you delay your answer?” he shouted.
“It… It is not right. Something is wrong here. They… They have not come?” the evil spirit replied.
King Vantrax was furious now. He could not understand what was happening, and his frustrations were boiling over. His warriors and beasts were fighting hard to take the city, giving everything they had to hand him the victory he sought, and the great army of black spirits appeared to be doing absolutely nothing to help!
He was on the verge of an historic achievement which would eclipse all others in Estian history. So, Notorold’s cryptic reply to his urgent need for answers enraged him even further. “Who?! What are you talking about? The city is ours for the taking!” he screamed in frustration. “Unleash your spirits now, and finish what we have begun!”
Notorold moved his head slowly and deliberately to look King Vantrax in the eye. “It did not work! Why did it fail? We were supposed to draw them out into the open, where they could not hide, where they were not protected. This was the battle we planned all along, one we could fight on our terms, one we were certain to win and could not lose.”
“Draw them out?!” fumed the wizard. “The spirits? You planned all of this to wage war upon them?!”
“Yes! To destroy them all.”
“Raarrgh! You used us as bait? You used me?!” Vantrax screamed, incensed by the deceit and treachery of his mentor. His fists clenched tightly and in his rage he instinctively moved a little towards the spirit, but Notorold immediately gave him a look which suggested he was just about to strike the wizard down. King Vantrax saw this and backed off, withdrawing a little eve
n though he was still seething.
“Yes is the answer you seek. I used you, but why are you so surprised? You would have done the same to me if the situation were reversed. You forget that I know you too well. You and your armies were the enticement we needed to set the trap. Nothing was left to chance… But, it has not worked? They have not come. I do not understand. Where are they? Why have they forsaken him, abandoned him? It is not their way and it makes no sense?”
King Vantrax was still absolutely livid and conscious of the fact that he needed to direct all of his attention towards winning the battle, but he wanted to understand what had happened. He needed to know. “Him? The Keeper?”
“Yes, of course, the Keeper. You imbecile! Who else?” raged the spirit.
Before King Vantrax could reply, a solitary dragon and rider suddenly appeared over the city square. “There he is!” cried the wizard, surprised and alarmed. “Quickly! Attack!”
Notorold was just about to give the order, but it stuck in his throat as he witnessed another light shining down upon the defenders of Te’oull. King Vantrax was suddenly filled with a further sense of foreboding, only this time it felt as if his whole world was just about to crash down around him, as if everything was slipping away from him and he could do absolutely nothing to prevent it. He felt as if he were dying inside. “What…? What is happening now?!” he yelled. His heart began racing and sweat started to pour down his brow.
Notorold was just as horrified and exasperated, dismayed by the sight before him. He roared his answer in the deepest of tones, with all the energy he could muster. “The day, the battle, has turned! The teachings of old… They are coming true!”
He looked straight at King Vantrax. His eyes were on fire now and his ghostly face was a picture of grim determination, of desperation even. “We have shown our hand. They know we are here. So, we have no choice now but to act. We have to stop that dragon! We must kill that Keeper!”
The dark spirit immediately waved his army forward. It was very much to King Vantrax’ relief. However, Resus and Jake had already begun attacking the wizard’s warriors who were trying to take the city. The spirits would not intervene in time and they would be powerless to prevent the intrepid pair from completing their work. Notorold and his great spirit army had left it too late.
As Resus and Jake switched their point of attack to those on the surrounding fields outside the wall, King Vantrax could only sit and watch his vast armies being destroyed, massacred before his eyes. All he could do now was hope that Notorold and his supernatural force could prevail and save the day, destroy his enemy and do what his legions of hired killers had failed to do.
* * *
The joyous celebrations of most of the Estian warriors inside the protective shield were halted, as some of their more observant comrades drew their attention to the army of spirits bearing down upon them. Some of the defenders panicked at the sight of such an enemy and they began running for any kind of cover they could find. But, most of the Estian warriors did not panic, preferring to stand their ground and trust that the shield above them would hold. Resus and Jake had ensured that the survivors amongst King Vantrax’ armies were too few and in too much disarray to return to Te’oull and continue the fight. The shattered remnants of King Vantrax’ army of mercenaries were in full retreat, and they would trouble the Alliance no more.
“Jake!” Resus shouted all of a sudden as they flew over the battlefield looking for more targets. “We have company!”
Jake looked over his shoulder in the direction of the dragon’s gaze and he saw immediately that the mighty creature was right. An entire army of hideous, black spirits was approaching rapidly. The youngster had only seconds to act or they were certain to die. In true Keeper style, he did not hesitate, instinctively knowing what to do.
“Inqsurramm!”
Jake turned his head towards the nearest spirit and lifted his right hand, using his left to hold on tightly to the dragon. His two fingers extended quickly to aim his strike and a beam of bright white light shot out of the tips. The light hit the first of the spirits and passed straight through to hit another, and another, and another, until a spirit in every rank of the vast army had been struck. Each one it touched was immediately vaporised. They each disappeared with an ear-splitting, high pitch wail, never to be seen or heard from again.
The army of spectres from the hellish fires of zsorcraum however, was too large for one Keeper to destroy. And now, it began fighting back!
Several bolts of deadly black light whizzed past Jake’s head, only missing him by the faintest of margins because of the swift evasive action taken by Resus. The dragon weaved violently, soared and dived furiously in flight, as he tried his utmost to anticipate and react to each of the many strikes launched by the fast approaching spirits. The merciless wraiths were now close to swarming around them. Jake was trying in vain to keep them at bay, firing beam after beam of light to kill as many as he could, as fast as he could. His new powers were allowing him to stay on the dragon and keep firing despite the creature’s erratic movements, but he knew that he was outgunned and outmatched. He could not kill all the spirits around him and they just kept on coming. It was only a matter of time before they were hit.
“I can’t hold them off, there’s just too many of them!” he yelled, as he continued to fire.
“I know. You can only do your best. Look out, Jake! This one is not giving up!” Resus suddenly shouted, glancing over his shoulder at a more determined spirit he could not shake, no matter how hard he tried.
Infuriated by the failure of others and sensing the need for immediate action, Notorold had latched onto the dragon’s tail. He was firing multiple bolts of death from his eyes for all he was worth. He watched with increasing fury and frustration as one by one they narrowly missed destroying their target. But, he was getting closer and closer all the time with each shot, and he knew it. He was encouraged and became more determined than ever to shoot the dragon and the Keeper down.
Jake tried his hardest to fire back, but each time he turned his head to see where he was and get off a clean shot, the evil spirit anticipated it and crossed to the other side of Resus’ body, out of sight. And behind Notorold, bearing down upon them also, were vast numbers of black spirits with equally deadly intent.
“It’s no use, I can’t get him. We’ve had it!” cried Jake.
* * *
Inside the walls of Te’oull, the remainder of the spirit army from zsorcraum began attacking the defenders of the square. The protective shield was still holding, but the spirits attacked it with real force, intent and venom. Some flew straight into it and came to a crashing halt. Others fired their beams of death at the hazy air and scored numerous direct hits. Many landed and tried to prize it open with spells, and even brute force. Eventually, the evil spirits realised that only their collective action would work. They all took up a position directly over the square and bombarded the shield from above, with concentrated fire from their eyes. They began aiming at one central point in an effort to weaken it and create an opening. The rays of lights crashed down upon the shield with deafening force and frightening intensity, as the Estian warriors below covered their ears and shook with fear, helplessly awaiting their fate.
As the shield began to weaken under the weight of the combined attack, so did Jake. He suddenly began to shake and sweat. Within seconds, he felt very weak and his eyesight began to blur, but he still maintained his concentration and kept up his fight against the spirits which were pursuing him.
For minutes, the bombardment continued with little effect as far as the attackers and defenders could see. But, after a while, it seemed as though the shield was losing its power. The hazy air was turning into white and yellow light, as each new strike hit the one point which was being attacked. For a fleeting moment the shield was down, but after each strike the barrier quickly mended itself and immediately reverted back to its original state. The terrified Estians below the dome witnessed this and they
looked on with increasing concern, powerless to do anything and afraid that they were all about to die. They knew the shield could not take much more. The spirits were relentless and there were so many of them. The Battle of Te’oull had entered a new and deadly, final phase. Once again, despite their bravery and all they had been through, the tide of battle had turned and the Estian Alliance seemed to be doomed. Their saviour, the Keeper, was far too busy fighting for his own life to aid them. It was Jake who was somehow maintaining the power in the shield, the only thing which now stood between them and oblivion. The Estians knew this and they also knew that, if he fell, so would the shield.