THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX: BOOK THREE OF THE REALM OF ZERROS SAGA

by Shoraz

  “He is a guided soul Alkazar, and he is guided by the Most Highest and Most Divine,” Manaka said. “If we win this war Alkazar, everything will change. Zerros and the universes and everything under our control will know the truth, and peace and happiness will be abundant and plentiful for everything in existence,” Manaka continued saying.

  “I hope for this,” Alkazar said as he heard the roar of the four dragons and he held his sword tightly and waited for his chance to use it.

  Meanwhile, Jinnack and his battalion finally arrived at the Grand Castle and looked up at the majestic Phoenix who was still in a state of unconsciousness inside the mind of the Blue Dragon. As they made their way up to the top of the Grand Castle, Jinnack nervously looked around, and he shouted to those who surrounded the Phoenix and said, “We are here now, and we will protect the Phoenix. Go and help your brothers and sisters in the field of battle.”

  Upon hearing those words from Jinnack, about half of those who were originally tasked with staying with the Phoenix ran off into the battlefield to join their fellow Zerrosians in their battle against the army of the Blue Dragon while the rest of them stayed back to protect the Phoenix.

  “Is that it? Will no one else join them on the battlefield?” Jinnack shouted.

  “Our duty is to protect the Phoenix, and we will gladly do so until death reaches us,” one of the sentinels shouted.

  “Then so be it,” Jinnack said as he nodded his approval to his battalion and with that Jinnack pulled his sword from its sheath and walked up behind one of the royal guards and plunged the sword into his head.

  And with that the rest of Jinnack’s crew also raised their swords and readied their arrows and took aim at the group that was less than half their size and began attacking them, and the original group of sentinels and royal guards that had chosen to stay in the Grand Castle to protect the Phoenix, one by one, began falling to the ground in death at the hands of Jinnack and his deceitful battalion.

  Then, as the last of them fell to the floor, Jinnack shouted, “We are one step closer to having control of everything my friends. The promise of Razen is true, and one day we will all be rulers of our own universes,” and as he did so, his clan looked towards him, their faces full of joy that they would one day have powers beyond their imagination in the promised universes that would belong to them.

  Then, as Jinnack looked back at them his eyes gazed towards the Phoenix, and for a brief moment, a deep sense of guilt overcame him. But he then thought about the powers and supremacy that Razen had promised him and as thoughts of controlling his own universe went through his mind, the evil of his greed and insatiability removed any sense of guilt that he had, and he knew that he made the right decision by helping Razen as his mind flashed back to when he first met Razen and his decision to help the evil sorcerer.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Flashback: Razen first hearing about Jinnack

  As Razen lay on the floor of his enclosed cell, he pondered upon his master plan as Venetia sat on the throne of Zerros thinking that she had the upper hand on the wicked and deceitful sorcerer.

  Little did Venetia know that behind Razen’s look of despair and sadness hid the most evil and vile of intentions and she along with almost everyone else in Zerros – including the great Galiac – had fallen for Razen’s trickery and deceit, and were made to believe that Razen was being held in a state of imprisonment against his will. Which in reality was false as Razen had chosen to be imprisoned and be held captive which was all a part of his master plan in waiting for the Phoenix to return to Zerros.

  Then suddenly the door to his cell was slammed open and in walked Yram with a group of royal guards, and as Razen heard them he tried to scramble away from them, but as he tried to do so the shackles that bound him, kept him from moving very far and the royal guards pounced on him as Razen sought to fight them off.

  “Please I have done nothing, and I bow to your ruler Venetia. She is the ultimate ruler of Zerros and of everything in existence,” Razen shouted.

  “Word has reached us that you have been speaking to a royal guard and we have been informed that you have asked the royal guard to help you escape so that you may be free of Venetia,” Yram said.

  “I have done no such thing Yram, and it is only through the mercy of Venetia that I am alive today, and to her, I owe my life,” Razen replied.

  “I see through your lies Razen,” Yram said to him, “Bring the royal guard in,” Yram then shouted, and the royal guard that Razen had asked for help was brought into his cell.

  “Did he ask you for help?” Yram asked the royal guard as she pointed to Razen who was in shock that the royal guard had told Yram about his request for help from the evil clutches of Venetia.

  “Yes he did my master, he asked me to set him free,” the royal guard said.

  “I did no such thing,” Razen shouted, to which the royal guard shouted back, “Do not play with my life Razen. You asked me to free you so that you may destroy Venetia and her clan and destroy the Blue Dragon once and for all.”

  Then suddenly, before Razen could say another word, the royal guards in the cell held his hands and feet while two other royal guards began beating upon his face and body as Yram left the cell.

  “No, please stop,” Razen shouted, but it was to no avail as the royal guards continued their forceful assault upon the evil sorcerer.

  Then, after quite some time, the assault finally stopped, and Razen was left in a state of disarray and confusion as he lay on the floor of the prison cell, and as the royal guards left, a lone sentinel was allowed in to look after Razen after his brutal beating.

  “Let me help you my friend,” the sentinel named Asche quietly said to Razen.

  “It’s okay, I’ll be fine. Stay away from me, or you may suffer the same fate as me, my friend,” Razen said to Asche.

  Asche then closed the door to Razen’s cell and said, “I will help you Razen. Tell me, what can I do to help you?”

  “Thank you my friend, but we must be careful. We cannot trust anyone,” Razen said to Asche.

  “There is someone I can trust, as I have known him for a very long time,” Asche said as he tended to Razen’s wounds.

  “Be careful who you trust my friend, the spies of Venetia are everywhere. You have been the only one that has treated me well since my imprisonment by Venetia and one day I will repay you.” Razen said.

  “I do not wish for anything in return from you Razen, I just want to help you escape the clutches of Venetia,” Asche said.

  “That is very noble of you Asche, but this one you claim to trust, who is it?” Razen asked.

  “He is from one of the clans of Zerros, and he has a band of Zerrosians who are loyal to him,” Asche replied.

  “Tell me Asche, this Zerrosian that you speak of, are you sure that he can be trusted?” Razen then asked.

  “Yes Razen, I know that he can be trusted and I know that given the chance he will do what he can to help you and the people of Zerros from the wrath of Venetia,” Asche said.

  “What is his name Asche? Who is this Zerrosian you speak of?” Razen asked, to which Asche replied, “My friend, the one I speak of, his name is Jinnack.”

  The end of the flashback of Razen first hearing about Jinnack

  CHAPTER THIRTY–ONE

  Back on the battlefield, the army of the Blue Dragon raced towards the army of Zerros and were now only a short distance away and approaching fast as Alkazar, Manaka, Yokelis and the rest of the army of Zerros awaited the attack.

  As they waited, they saw some of the sentinels and royal guards from the Grand Castle running towards them, and Alkazar wondered why they had left their post at the side of the Phoenix.

  “Why are you here? You should be protecting the Phoenix,” Alkazar shouted as they arrived.

  “But Alkazar, Jinnack told us that he will protect the Phoenix and that we should come to the battlefield to fight alongside you against the army of the Blue Dragon,” one of the sentinels
named Ovri said.

  “Strange, very strange,” Alkazar said not knowing that Jinnack and his clan had killed those who were tasked with protecting the Phoenix and were now in the Grand Castle ready to help Razen and the Blue Dragon kill the Phoenix once and for all.

  Then suddenly, Alkazar heard the roar of the four dragons as the diamond army was on the verge of reaching the army of Zerros, and as he saw them and looked into the eyes of those around him, he saw the fear in them and he shouted, “Have no fear my fellow Zerrosians, the time has come, and this fight is for Zerros and everything in existence. For Zerros!” and as he said those words he raised his sword, and he began running towards the army of the Blue Dragon and as he did so the rest of the army of Zerros began their charge as the battle for Zerros was about to begin.

  Then, as the army of Zerros and the army of the Blue Dragon clashed in the battlefield, the powerful and almost indestructible army of the Blue Dragon began their decimation of the army of Zerros, while Jinnack looked on from afar from the Grand Castle as he and his group of deceitful Zerrosians waited for their chance to begin their onslaught upon the mystical Phoenix.

  Back on the battlefield, Manaka fought valiantly and defended himself and those around him, including Yokelis from the soldiers of the diamond army.

  “I don’t know how much longer we can hold them off for,” Manaka shouted to Yokelis.

  “Do what you can Manaka, we have to hold them off to give the Phoenix a chance to kill the Dragon,” Yokelis replied.

  Meanwhile, the leader of the diamond army – Vylkrie – looked on as his diamond army plowed and sliced through the army of Zerros and he then pulled his mighty sword from its sheath and began wielding it and one by one began killing anyone that stood in his way.

  As Alkazar saw Vylkrie rampaging through dozens of Zerrosians, he began running towards him and raised his sword ready to kill the mighty leader of the diamond army. As Alkazar made his way through the wave of fighters, he clashed swords with a few soldiers of the diamond army but through it all he kept his eyes focused on Vylkrie as he slowly made his way towards him with one goal in mind which was to kill the leader of the diamond army.

  Then finally, after making his way through the crowd of fighters, Alkazar came within reach of Vylkrie. Then, as he ran towards him he grasped his sword as tightly as he could and as they fought Vylkrie pushed Alkazar to the ground, and then as he was about to plunge his sword into Alkazar, Alkazar moved out of the way and tripped Vylkrie, and he fell to the ground.

  As Vylkrie fell, Alkazar saw his chance to end the life of the leader of the diamond army, and he began to thrust his sword as hard as he could towards the back of Vylkrie’s neck, but before the sword made contact with Vylkrie, one of the soldiers of the diamond army pushed Alkazar out of the way, and Alkazar quickly turned around and plunged his sword into the chest of the soldier of the diamond army who then fell to the ground in death.

  As Vylkrie stumbled up to his feet he looked towards Alkazar only to see him raising his sword and again ready to thrust it into Vylkrie, and as Alkazar’s sword came down, Vylkrie raised his sword in defense, and he shielded himself from a certain death blow from Alkazar.

  “You fool, I will kill you because of your stupidity,” Vylkrie shouted as he quickly stood up and prepared himself for Alkazar’s imminent second wave of attack.

  “And I will kill you because of your arrogance and because of the evil that lives within you,” Alkazar replied as he looked at Vylkrie.

  Then suddenly, Vylkrie sprang towards Alkazar and lashed his sword towards him, and it hit Alkazar on his shoulder as he tried to evade him. Then, Vylkrie again lashed his sword towards Alkazar, and Alkazar quickly stepped back to elude the sure to be painful and most likely lethal strike from Vylkrie.

  Meanwhile, in the skies above Zerros the four dragons fearlessly roamed the sky and breathed shards of fire and ice upon the army of Zerros and as they fought back and shot arrows at the four dragons they barely made a dent in their almost unbreakable armor as they continued to annihilate the army of Zerros from above.

  As Astaria and the sorcerers fought on the ground below, they looked to the skies above, and as they saw the carnage that the four dragons were leaving in their wake, they knew that they had to do something to stop them.

  Then Astaria suddenly transported herself to the sky above, and the four dragons stopped their fight against those on the ground and focused on Astaria who raised her hand and bravely motioned for the dragons to come to her, and as they saw her, they began to furiously fly towards her.

  Upon seeing the four dragons flying towards Astaria at peak speed, Qabreal knew that he had to act quickly to save Astaria from a sure death at the hands of the four dragons.

  He then teleported himself right behind the dragons, and unknown to them he was now flying towards them from behind, and just as he fired his magic towards them, a shield deflected it away from them and then suddenly there was a mighty roar and the powerful Blue Dragon was now finally awake from his dreamlike state and was hovering in the sky above. While from afar Razen kept a close eye on his powerful friend – Zarax – as he looked down at the battle below as the army of the Blue Dragon continued their onslaught against the army of Zerros.

  CHAPTER THIRTY–TWO

  As Razen looked on at the battle down below, the Blue Dragon looked at him, and as he nodded his head and looked towards the Phoenix, the four dragons who were now ready to attack Astaria and Qabreal began to fly towards the Phoenix and as they made their way towards the mystical bird of fire and light; Astaria and Qabreal hoped that Jinnack and his group of Zerrosians would defend their ruler.

  But unbeknownst to them, Jinnack and his crew were on the side of evil and had no intentions of protecting the true ruler of Zerros – the Phoenix.

  As the four dragons made their way towards the Phoenix, the army of Zerros began to fire their arrows at them in hopes of stopping them but it was of no use as they continued to make their way towards the majestic Phoenix and as they flew towards her everyone looked on in shock.

  Then suddenly, out of nowhere, their state of shock turned into utter fear and terror, and they couldn’t believe their eyes as Jinnack and his deceitful group of Zerrosians began firing arrows and weapons towards the Phoenix in hopes of killing her and getting their reward of powers beyond imagination from their masters – Razen and Zarax.

  Upon seeing Jinnack and his group of devious Zerrosians attacking the Phoenix, Razen shouted for them to stop and looked on in disappointment and displeasure as he knew that if they had only waited a bit longer, the four dragons and possibly Zarax himself would have made it towards the motionless and defenseless Phoenix which would have most certainly ended the life of the Phoenix and most likely would have brought victory to Razen and Zarax, which would have surely meant eternal despair for Zerros and everything in existence, including the universes themselves along with everything that existed within them.

  Then suddenly, to the surprise of Jinnack and his crew, the three covert sentinels – Sevki, Galtra and Shonar – who had originally transported Ava from earth to Zerros, came out from inside of the Grand Castle where they had made their way to as the battle started, and began to attack Jinnack and his crew in hopes of saving their friend the Phoenix.

  Then, as the body of the Phoenix felt the burn of the arrows and weapons upon her, Ava’s mind and soul was finally ready to return to her body that was made of eternal fire, ice, and light. And as she exited the dream, she looked down and saw as some of Jinnack’s crew were attacking the three covert sentinels, and she instantly put a shield around them and began to shoot fire from her mouth onto those who were just attacking her, and they were instantly obliterated into nothing.

  As Jinnack saw that the Phoenix had returned to her magical body from her dreamlike state he ran for cover and managed to escape and ran inside of the Grand Castle while the rest of his crew perished at the hands of the Phoenix.

  Then as the four dragons
saw the Phoenix annihilate her enemies they quickly flew back to the battle on the ground in fear of their mighty adversary. And as they did so, Astaria and Qabreal met them head on, and the two mighty sorcerers and the four dragons fiercely battled in the skies above Zerros as their powerful forces of magic clashed against each other.

  Then, as Zarax looked on as the mythical Phoenix rose above the Grand Castle, he began flying towards her, and as he did so she made her way towards him as well, and as they landed on the ground on the outskirts of the Grand Castle they looked at each other ready to attack one another in a moments notice.

  As Zarax looked at his arch enemy – Ava the Phoenix – he saw and felt the supremacy that lay in wait for him, and as the feeling of power coursed through him, he couldn’t wait another moment and lunged towards the Phoenix as shards of blue fire exited his mouth and scorched the body of the now gold, silver, and blue Phoenix, as the power of the light that John gave to her within the mind of Zarax coursed throughout her body.

  As the fire made its way towards her she flew out of the way and just as she did so, Zarax rammed into her, and as she fell to the ground he lunged his head forward in a biting motion towards her, and she defended herself by raising her wings and slapping his face away.

  As she slapped his face, Zarax fell backwards, and Ava flew straight towards him and showered him with slivers of eternal fire, and as it touched his skin, he winced in pain, and he then shot blue fire towards the Phoenix, and she barely managed to get out of the way.

  And as she did so, the Blue Dragon came flying towards her at full speed, and they both slammed each other to the ground and continued to battle each other in the ultimate fight of good, which was the Phoenix, who was fighting to give true happiness to everything in existence; versus evil, which was the Blue Dragon, who was fighting to rule everything in existence, and spreading his wrath and evil throughout the universes within the nearly boundless Realm of Creation.