by Wolfe Locke
But even with the portal closed, I still winced, as did many of the other cadets as a loud banging could be heard coming from within the quieted doorway. It was as if the being on the other side was trying to bash its way through and break down the barrier, but the barrier held.
Several cadets, myself included, turned toward the Cadre that had sealed the portal to tell them of their success and thank them. I wasn’t surprised, but what I saw still was hard to see. Rather than seeing our mentors exhausted but triumphant, they had become like bronze. Each of them had become a statue connected to the blades that were jammed into the ground, and the white sigil underneath them remained.
The ritual that the Cadre had performed had not been without sacrifice, it seemed. I and some of the other cadets should have known that the Cadre had been channeling too much power for there to not be a cost. Even then, it's not like an alternative choice was available.
Focus on what they did, the portal is closed, and the flow of monsters has stopped. There was still the problem of those monsters that were still on and around the field, but with their reinforcements cut off, the numbers were much more manageable.
With the sealing of the portal, the oppressive force that had been affecting us cadets was gone as well and with it a return to our strength, aided by the white sigil that flared with life. Together we and other groups of cadets rallied our forces and began to dispatch the monsters that remained.
It still took hours, but eventually as the sun began to crest over the horizon, lightening the sky, the last of the monsters were slain, but our problems hadn’t stopped with their deaths.
The portal still remained. Although sealed, it still gave off a certain aura that told me and whoever else that looked at it that it did not belong there. But that was a problem for another time. All of us cadets stood on guard for a little longer, waiting to see if they needed to deal with any other surprises.
We were hurt and wounded and tired. Many of our brothers and sisters had not lived through the night to see the sun again. But more survived then didn’t. We had won and we had fought hard.
I watched as the cadets finally began to relax. Some of them started weeping. Some stared off into the distance with vacant expressions. I wasn’t sure if they would ever wield a weapon again.
Markus chose to drop his sword to the ground and sit down right there in the grass. For the first time in awhile, he had a grim expression on his face rather than his usual grin.
As for me, I still could not believe what had unfolded last night.
This shouldn’t have been possible. The academy was supposed to be safe. People died here. We all would have died here if it weren’t for those Cadre. They sealed it, sure. But what’s to stop it from opening again? I must be ready; I need to be better.
It did not even register to me that this had been my second sleepless night in a row. Even if I had realized, how could I possibly think about sleep now?
All of us cadets had just faced down an army of darkness, and we had only survived due to the sacrifice of four of our mentors. I couldn’t think about sleep. I needed to train. I needed to keep moving. I needed to do something.
That portal stayed there. It was like a dark monolith, waiting to open up once again and make them relive the same nightmare. Maybe next time, luck would not be on our side.
Finally, I moved from where I had been standing and saw glowing orbs everywhere, but it seemed no one else did. In a flash of movent, they all flew through the air directly towards me and once again, time stood still as my arm flared.
♄ Saturn’s Crest ♄
What was denied is now given in this respite. The power of the monsters that you’ve slain. A night against an army of darkness is not so easy to survive.
Strength – 8.32
Your strength is a bit better than an average man.
Agility – 10.09
Your agility is somewhat better than the average man.
Endurance – 7.06
Your endurance is that of an average man.
This message will now fade, and time will return to normal.
I felt the power surge within me, and my fatigue completely went away. With my mind cleared and my body renewed, I need to go. I had intended to go to Markus and convince the big cadet that we needed to be doing something to help sweep the remaining monsters, but I didn’t. I did not know how long the dome of protection would remain up. Would the other Cadre be able to get through it once they returned from the capital? If not, what could they do? They couldn’t face the beings from the portal again without reinforcements.
“Markus…” I began, but my body betrayed me.
No sooner had I taken a step than I crumpled to the floor once more. It did not matter how badly I wanted to keep moving or how much I wanted to help. I had reached the limit and was now surpassing it.
I didn’t hear Markus’s response; I didn’t even know if there had been one. For the second time in the last 24 hours, I collapsed, and as I lay on the grass of the academy grounds as darkness took me
Chapter 8: A Deal with Devils
* * *
Frost clung to my shoulders as I huddled up against myself for warmth, the sun had set to never rise again. The only light that could be seen was from the portal, but it offered no warmth. Only destruction. A sole monster stood in front of it, a monster that was vaguely human in an armor of blackest night. He turned to me with eyes of crimson.
Hours later, I woke up in a cold sweat, the mark on my arm burned and glowed. What was that about? My heart was beating out of my chest, I felt almost panicked. What’s wrong with me?
I looked around and tried to get off the bed, but everything seemed unfamiliar. At first, I didn’t realize where I was, and everything that had happened had become a blur, that is until Markus’s voice called out to me.
“Hey Valdanes, looks like you’re finally awake. I was beginning to wonder if all the fun had worn you.” Markus joked weakly
“What do you mean? I asked, looking at him oddly.
“Take a minute, it’ll come back to you.” He paused and for the first time I noticed how tired and beat up he looked. I’d never seen Markus look so… old.
Hazy memories began to move through my mind, not just of the vague dream that I had. Images of a ruined future flashed through my mind. More coherent thoughts and memories were slow to come, but eventually they did and when that happened, I sat bolt upright. I’m wasting time, I need to get back to the portal and find out what happened.
A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I wobbled on the bed. Only Markus’s sudden hand on my back kept me from falling over and tumbling out of bed.
“Easy there, buddy. You overextended yourself to the extreme and you haven’t completely made up for it. You’ve only been out a few hours. I should have known when you started using the Lightning Blade. Still congrats on that, right? Silver incoming? Seriously though, are you alright?” Markus asked getting serious.
“Yeah, yeah.” I muttered and waved away his concern. After some time, the dizziness began to fade, and it was replaced with a deep fatigue that went down into my bones. A hollow ache within me, but it wasn’t something I could dwell on in the present.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Is everyone ok? Is the academy ok? The last thing I remember the Cadre had just sealed the portal.”
Markus sat back down in the chair next to my bed. “A lot of casualties, but less than I thought there would be. Mostly Bronze and Iron rankers. After the last of the monsters had been taken down yesterday, the medical unit rushed out to help the wounded. A lot of cadets were hurt bad. Like, never be a swordsman again, bad. But most made it out alive.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I should have done more. You basically carried us on the field before the Cadre arrived.” I admitted, knowing Markus was a big reason I was still alive.
In my mind, I replayed the past day over and over again in my head. Everything from brushing and feeding the horses. The black fog, my dream, the mark, and then the imps. Then the battle with the hordes of monsters coming from that gate, and then the white sigil and how the Cadre had sealed the portal.
I held my head again, I didn’t want to think of any of it.. This time it had nothing to do with the dizziness and everything to do with what had happened. A Valdanes I call myself after that poor performance
“Do you know if the rest of the Cadre been notified? The ones who were out at the capitol.” I asked.
“No.” said Markus. “The barrier that the Cadre’s sacrifice put up is preventing anyone from getting in or out of the academy grounds. Besides, the rest of the Cadre aren’t due back for some time yet. You know these meeting can take forever.”
“So, we’re stuck then.” I replied, feeling defeated.
“Looks like it.” Markus admitted with a shrug. “But, hey. We have our lives. At the moment, that’s good enough for me.”
It wasn’t good enough for me. That entire thing was way too close. If the Cadre hadn’t erected that barrier than the entire academy would have fallen, and then the world. Just like what I saw in my dream.
“Hey man, don’t be too hard on yourself, that was your first real battle, it’s different when it is not in training,” Commented Markus, noticing that I had gone silent. “We did all we could. You did all that you could. It was only because of us that the Cadre were able to get that barrier up, and they wouldn’t have done that without our help.”
I knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier. “It doesn’t feel like we did all we could. People still died.” I replied.
“Not people.” Markus replied with a tone of irritation. “They were more than people, they were cadets, servants of the kingdom, and they died in service. That is exactly what we train for. This is why we’re here.”
“No.” I replied with a thought towards the sealed gate. “If any of them were supposed to die, it should have been on the front lines. Not here, when they were just learning the sword. Like you said, most of the dead were Bronze rankers. They barely knew how to hold a sword to begin with.”
“I know.” Said Markus with a sigh. “But that doesn’t mean they didn’t know what they were getting into. They went down fighting because they knew that it was their duty. You shouldn’t be pitying them. You should be honoring them.”
I sighed deeply. “I just don’t feel very honorable right now. I’m a Valdanes, I should have done more.”
“I get it, trust me. But we had to do what needed to be done, and you did fine. I’ve still got time on you.” Markus replied, trying to comfort me.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, I just feel so tired.” I admitted. “Has anyone discussed a plan? We’ve got to figure something out.”
Markus leaned back in the chair. “The remaining Cadre have something in mind, a few survived thankfully, and they’re trying to come up with something. They weren’t as knowledgeable in ritual magic as those who erected the barrier, but they’re trying to figure out how to take it down.”
“And the gate?” I pressed “What about the gate? Anything? Do we have any information about those monsters?”
“Nothing so far.” Markus replied. “Every one is reporting the same thing, though. We all get the same feeling of bad energy just by looking at it, like something walks over your grave every time you look at it.”
I had to laugh at that, it was like the dream I had of the dark figure. “Glad I’m not the only one. That can’t be good though.”
“Definitely not.” Markus agreed. “Just being near that thing makes me feel like I’m about to dirty my breeches.”
The two friends shared a laugh between themselves. At this point, it was laugh or cry, and crying wasn’t going to do them any good.
“Ok. Enough of that.” I told him, “Any other updates I should know about from when I was out?”
“Not really.” Markus responded, “The academy has been pretty quiet. Almost too quiet. At this point, we’re all just licking our wounds and bidding the time.”
The two friends talked for a time. They discussed what had been going on while I was out, although I found out Markus had only woken up a few hours previously and thus didn’t know much more than me when it came to what was going on..
I was just about to leave my bed, giving it up to someone who really needed it, when it happened.
A massive, grating sound of metal shredding pierced the air with a high-pitched whistling noise. It was like the sound of a sword coming free of its sheath, but was many times more intense. It was a sound I guessed could be heard all over the campus, because I saw everyone else in the medical area covered their ears with their hands. I did the same.
I was facing away from the window, so it was Markus who first saw what was happening when he rushed over to the window, his hands around his eyes to check it out.
“Oh, my gods. Its opening. The portal is opening back up” Markus muttered, and I could practically see the blood drain from his face.
I looked out the window and toward the gate. The gate had closed sometime while I was asleep and was now being pried open, revealing the portal instead once more.
Overhead, through a call box in the room, there came a thundering voice. “Cadre, cadets, to arms!”
I recognize that voice, its master Toldarn. He was normally the Cadre that was in charge of teaching the Bronze rankers’ basic offensive techniques. He must have been the highest-ranking Cadre left at the academy if he was making the call to arms.
Markus and I didn’t hesitate. Even after all we had been through. Even after what we had seen. Even with how tired I felt. I grabbed my Katana from where it lay against the wall and took off sprinting out of the medical wing and down the hall.
Markus and his oversized claymore were only a step behind. It was only when we reached the grass near the gate that I realized I was wearing nothing but an undershirt and my academy issue pants. The rest of my uniform was still back in the medical unit. Grabbing the rest of it had not even been a thought in my mind. My primary goal was to get to the gate and get ready to defend the school once more.
Floods of Cadets ran from the main building and onto the grass. Even though they were still many, the gaps in our ranks was noticeable. Those gaps are only going to grow.
Still, even though we had already been through hell, we raced to do our duty.
As I neared the gate, I saw a group of Cadre already in front of it with their swords drawn, including Master Toldarn. I was the first of our group to reach them, and when I did all of my previous fatigue was forgotten. I formed up behind the remaining Cadre. Six in total, five male Cadre and one female. Markus was right behind me and we were both told to wait for the others before asking questions.
I shifted nervously and Markus shrugged before leaning against a wall to wait. Gradually, the rest of the cadets arrived. They ranged from Bronze rankers up to a few Gold rankers. Our one Platinum filtered in but stayed at the back. He was given a position in our ranks to basically do whatever he wanted. Inwardly, I cursed the fact that there were no Diamond rankers currently at the campus. If we had one of those, the entire battle yesterday would have gone differently. I sighed. We’d have to work with what we had on hand.
I looked around at the other cadets and I could see the fear in the eyes of the Bronze rankers. Most were shaking already and I could tell if things didn’t get better, many of them would wash out from nerves. The Iron rankers like myself were steadier, and the Gold rankers including Markus watched the gate with their swords drawn, their faces a mix of concentration and determination.
We all watched as the gate began to creak open more, and the uneasy feeling from last night began to come back. An aura of despair, absolute. It hit us cadets like a Warhammer. Instantly, I fell to my knees as the
mark on my air flared.
Doubt filled. A doubt unworthy of a Valdanes. What are we doing? This thing is unnatural, we can’t possibly hope to stand against it. We’re not strong enough. I’m not strong enough. We need to run, we have to get out of here, we can’t stand against what’s coming.
My Katana and my will wavered for a moment, and I had to struggle against my fear. Then, one of the Bronze rankers broke down and began to cry.
The sound brought me back to reality and dispelled the effect of dread the aura was having on me. I felt embarrassed, but I knew I wasn’t alone.
The cowards never tried, and the weak died along the way. That’s what’s Elder Valdanes used to say. I better not forget that. I don’t fight for myself. I fight for the kingdom, and my comrades. I need to be strong.
All it took was one look around to know the same feelings of doubt and despair were going through the minds of every cadet and Cadre present at the gate. Some handled it better than others. Markus seemed completely unaffected.
Suddenly, the ground started to tremble, and the ground rocked as the earth shifted and tilted. A jagged chasm opened up. Markus lost his balance and almost fell headlong into it, but I was able to spring forward and catch him. With my augmented strength, I was easily able to pull him back towards safety.
Markus just looked at me in awe after. “Thanks man, didn’t know you got so strong? When did you fit in strength training?”
I shrugged, it wasn’t the time for it and we redirected our attention back towards the gate.
This time, there was no rush of dark enemies from the other side, No infernal parade. I didn’t see a single imp or troll. Not a single enemy. And yet I felt that same sensation of fear roll over me, and soon I realized what it was as a hush came over the world and three massive figures emerged from within the shadows of the gateway.