He walked a little further and realized in the distance that an elf was facing hundreds of skeleton fairy. It was Thelron, and seemed to be giving orders to the creatures. Urentir knew the brother of Edryon was already trying to influence the small creatures, but he was surprised when he realized Thelron had just finished to create a dimensional portal. The fairies then flew rapidly along with the elf into the other dimension. Urentir felt that maybe the elf was trying to get more ancient and forbidden powers. After a few minutes, the portal disappeared into some trees.
When he entered the underground city of Vallanish, Thelron felt that he would ever gain the respect of gorth, the king of reptants. After gathering all the fairies near the gates of stone from the entrance, he said:
“Here you are secure. Work for the reptants. Build up their weapons, and you will be healed and oriented by the shamans. Let’s not waste time.”
Gorth approached the fairies, riding on a huge war rhino, and then Thelron remembered with pride when the reptants had helped to exterminate the race of orcs, ten years ago.
“You aged early, Thelron. Did you do something wrong?”, said the king, rearranging his medallion with the reptants’s war symbol.
“Yes, your majesty. Things of the past but I can not improve it. I brought the fairies, as your majesty asked me.”
“Excellent. Soldiers, the chest! Bring it here!”, the king shouted.
Thelron, looking at all the gold, rubies, emeralds, and artifacts that seemed to be very valuable, which were within the chest, felt satisfied, but still wanted to show Edryon that he was not as selfish as people thought.
When he began walking near his stable, Edryon heard a strong laugh that made him on alert. He realized it was not a elf or human voice, then Edryon remembered when he had faced Multorgh, the ogre who humiliated him in front of a crowd. It was the same strong and scary voice, Edryon then ran to get closer to Snow, and saw the ogre warrior hitting violent blows against the wings of the animal, which looked increasingly weak. The gray elf was waiting for this moment, but had not prepared to face the ogre once again.
Edryon moved in front of Snow, and prepared his laminate arm, but did not dare to attack Multorgh, even if the will were immense. He would think of a way to fight the ogre without staying in big handicaps. Multorgh watched, showing a dry smile, contemptuous and cruel, while his teeth chattered against each other, foaming at the mouth a huge yellowish liquid. The ogre had already stopped beating the skeleton griffin, but now he prepared to beat the elf again. Multorgh held his ax with skill, and quietly walked up in front of Edryon.
“It’s really an insignificant creature. I will count to ten to get out of here now, and pretty fast.”, said the ogre, touching the blade of his ax into the gray elf’s neck.
Edryon walked away, took courage and drove a fierce shot past the ax handle. He was surprised because he did not get to knock the weapon from the ogre, and then Multorgh replied, showing a grim smile:
“All right. You want to be here, having fun in the stable, you can stay. I do not care.”
When he turned to leave the local, Edryon heard Multorgh screaming, he looked very angry:
“1…”
Edryon took two quick steps.
“2…”
He did not want to be losing a battle to the damned ogre.
“3…”
He should find a solution, because he was a dragon hunter, the best of them.
“4…”
When the elf left the stable, he heard a loud rumbling sound coming from above, and then Edryon replied the ogre:
“I’m going! Be quiet!” “5… 6… 7…”
Edryon concentrated, but suddenly he noticed two black feathers flying against strong winds, it was some sign that there were crows around. It would be the right time to try to call the animals, then he looked up, but Edryon got scared when he saw Tharonnak flying upon a cornfield. The red dragon seemed angry as he was passing on some farmers, taking a few of them with his huge claws, and chewing without any mercy. Edryon tried to ignore the ogre, and ran toward Tharonnak.
When he approached the cornfield, he received a strong kick, which led to fall near a hill of red earth, full of ants. Multhorgh then came closer to the gray elf and said:
“Stay here, wimp. I’ll show you how to fight against a dragon.”
Edryon rose, wiping the dust off the dirty brown pants, and then he saw Snow at the top. The ogre was mounted on the skeleton griffin, which made Edryon to fell increasingly powerless against him. He do not knew what to do, because he felt that Multorgh seemed increasingly powerful.
Tharonnak filled his lungs with air, and then broke many branches of the trees around him, mingling with strong winds. The dragon seemed ready to face any enemy, so when he prepared to drop a big blow of fire, Multorgh skillfully jumped on his neck. The ogre spiked his huge battle-ax in the scales of the monster, ripping chunks of flesh in a fury that left most citizens of Hanneris amazed by his show of power. Edryon looked up, still trying to understand the situation, he felt that he could be facing Tharonnak, then shouted:
“You bastard, have no right to kill him!”
After a few more minutes of intense machetes, attempts to claw and bite, the dragon fell in the middle of the road. Multorgh was on top of his head, gripped in his scales, and using powerful attacks. Tharonnak then stood up, shouted so strong that it shook the whole city. Edryon ran toward the Snow, the animal had landed near some homes, and looked very weak. Suddenly, when the gray elf turned to watch the combat, he saw a crowd which was gathering to watch the dragon’s death.
While riding with a group of twenty clerics in the middle of a road from Hanneris, Salur noted with sadness that some people were still badly injured, others were sick, then the leader of the clerics got down from his horse and said:
“I want you to find any survivors. We can not allow more lost lives.”
The clerics were divided into three groups, Salur looked away a crowd that had gathered near a huge creature that appeared to be dead, and then realized it was Tharonnak.
Salur decided not to go there at this time, as he should heal wounds the most people he could find. The city had been through many tragedies, and he felt it his duty to bring justice and divine help to his people. He heard a strong cry coming from behind a house that seemed to be abandoned, then Salur crossed the road, running with three scrolls in his hand. When he approached, he realized it was a blue-eyed baby, wrapped in a very dirty brown cloth. The child was in the arms of his dead mother, with a look of despair on his face.
Salur opened one of the scrolls, he should act with caution because the baby looked pretty hurt, his arms were covered in blood, and his only one leg that was left over was pretty sore. The leader of the clerics looked for the child, and then read all the magic words of the scroll. His hands were involved in a brilliant blue light, which emitted a pleasant warmth in his arms. When approached to touch the wounded parts of the baby, he was already dead. Salur looked at all the people that he could not save, and his face filled with tears. Three clerics came mounted on their horses, and one of them said:
“Salur, we found two boys alive, they are right now. But they lost their parents, so let them inside one of the temples.”
“Bring them here.”, Salur said, “I want you to take care of them as if they were your children.”
A soft rain began to fall on his silver armor, then the leader of the clerics sat near some ruins. He remembered with sadness all the recent attacks suffered, he did not want the city to continue being invaded and destroyed. He felt that the King William II was not ruling very well the Kingdom of the Lights.
After a few hours, the rain had ended and the sun was about to hide behind the mountains. The three clerics returned, along with four priests and two boys, they seemed to be twins. They should have about ten years old, were very thin, and their hairs were blond. They looked scared to all sides, but at the same time showed great appreciation for the clerics. Salur ap
proached the children, and said:
“Do not be afraid. As of today, you will begin a new life. What’s your names?”
One of the boys looked at the cleric, then Salur noticed a large scar on the left side of his neck. He replied, with great difficulty:
“Laoss.”
The other boy took a while to show any response, but after a moment said:
“Do you will kill us too?”
Salur kept his broadsword of steel and carefully approached the child, then placed his right hand over his blond hair and said:
“Son, you have been saved. God choosed us to bring you a new destination. What’s your name?”
“Samall.”
The cold night had come, and then the clerics gathered around a huge bonfire outside of Hanneris, while they discussed what would be the future of the two boys.
“I think it would not be a good idea if we take these two with us.”, said one of the clerics, “They will just bring more costs, we will have to spend more of our food as well.”
Salur rose, wiping his mouth smeared with wine, and then replied:
“I’ve been thinking for a long time… Edryon has been absent for many days, and I do not know what goes on in his head. I feel that the city needs new fighters, clerics, or maybe… Laoss and Samall, stand up, starting today, you will have an opportunity to serve God.”
15
A New Hope
Astupid ogre like that could not have achieved to destroy
Tharonnak, the dragon of hell so easily, and so there were constant thoughts of rebellion in the mind of Edryon. The gray elf walked down the road as if all his efforts do not even have any value because Multorgh had never been a warrior of confidence, even among members of his tribe, who inhabited the Black Mountains. Dragon hunters had no right to humiliate or underestimate their opponents, and Edryon knew that the ogre warrior had never undergone any special training.
Now was not the time to be thinking about that bastard who had destroyed Tharonnak, but the elf would have had the pleasure of defeating the dragon with his own spear. When Edryon realized that he was near his home, he stopped briefly, and was wondering what he should do to forget that bad feeling of betray. Maybe it was better to go back and settle with that ogre who though he was the greatest warrior of Fynge, and thus he would have no more problems, and so all the citizens of Hanneris would know the true and only dragon slayer.
Each time he remembered the ogre that cutted his left ear with an ax, his willingness to face him again was growing to the point of forgetting even his most important missions. He opened the front door of his house with a violent blow, and approached his eight crows. The training against the zombies seemed to have been successful, because the birds were more agile and aggressive. He did not know what would be the right time to use them, so he choosed to save them for other battles.
Edryon was very tired, and felt much pain throughout the body, so he decided that the best thing to do would be to rest, if he had not found dozens of skeleton fairies. The creatures were flying everywhere in his house, dancing and spreading food scraps that were kept in the kitchen cupboard. Edryon immediately plugged his ears, lest any of them come into his eardrums, but also had to act fast, because they might attack him, sucking his blood. He ran close to his armorial, and grabbed a shield of steel bigger and stronger.
Then he felt that perhaps this was the right time to test his war crows, the birds crow quite agitated, and appeared anxious. He opened the huge iron cage that held the animals, and when Edryon released it, the ravens flew quickly toward the fairies, attacking with precision, striking with their sharp beaks on the fragile bodies of the horrific creatures. Edryon then felt more proud this time, he seemed to have found an efficient way to tackle even the small enemies. The fairies fell pierced in the middle of the room, squirming and trying to beat its wings one last time.
When Edryon walked near his armorial, he heard a strange noise coming from outside his home. It could not be more fairies, because their sounds were sharper and weaker. Edryon was concerned to learn that the noise continued, but this time it became stronger. He left his home with his lamined left arm well prepared, he no longer needed to use his war spear in every fight. He approached with care to his stable, he realized that Snow looked pretty weak. The skeleton griffin uttered a cry like that of a dying lion.
Edryon looked at the animal, Snow barely moved, then the gray elf felt that despite the griffin being resurrected by Thelron, it was no good to be with much hope. Snow was now an undead, a winged zombie, and Edryon still was not used to his new condition of existence. The gray elf jumped in front of the skeleton griffin, and made rapid movements with the arms, to see if the animal responded with his head, but Snow was still quiet and not showing many signs of affection. Edryon walked up close to his skeletal wings, leaned his hand on one, and rocked gently.
The elf then felt increasingly sorry for not being able to do anything to help him. He looked carefully around to a barrel of flour that was inside the stable and noticed that near the place there was a large piece of bone. Edryon felt he could never travel with his compagnion in his adventures, a huge hatred invaded his thoughts when he remembered the attack of the giant worms. He took the piece of bone and approached the rear legs of the skeleton griffin, and realized that the animal’s left leg was weaker and destroyed.
Two days later, Urentir remembered when Thelron had entered with the fairies in the magical mysterious portal, and for a moment thought that he should warn Edryon about the strange behavior of his brother. He looked surprised for a crowd that was forming around a new building, and realized they had opened a new tabern in the town of Hanneris. Although not very fond of public places, Urentir remembered with sadness the destruction of the Sgnilliv’s tabern, he did not want the goblin to suffer so much with the latest events in his life.
He looked at the wooden board that was beside the entrance door, with the name “The King Thornak”. He was surprised to learn that Thornak, the dwarf, had managed to build his tabern, after so many months, working and saving money. He entered the local, while guarding the sword in his sheath and walked, pushing some drunks who insisted on staying in front of him. Urentir resolved in not staying on the tabern for so long, but he wanted to find Thornak to congratulate him on his achievement. When he passed close to four elven girls who were dancing beside a broken table, he noticed a gray elf too drunk, struggling to stay upright, it was Edryon.
“Look who’s here!”, cried one of the elves who were drinking wine, “Urentir, the failed commander!”
The druid tried to control himself, to not harming the elf, then ignored him, he tried to remember that he still wanted to find out where Kordius was hiding. Then he approached Edryon quite nervous, and pulled him by the arm, not so friendly.
“Listen here! It’s no time to be filling up with wine in the middle of these idiots! Edryon, you’re not a loser like them, you will still show that you’re able to overcome it all.”
Urentir, when he realized the gray elf was almost unconscious, carried him in his arms, moving quickly and kicking some drunks who kept taunting him. He left the tavern, so he felt that with every passing day, the townspeople seemed to have lost respect for him. After taking the elf on his war horse to the home of Edryon, he descended from the animal and noticed that the front door was ajar. A dim light illuminated the interior, then Urentir thought Thelron might be there.
When he came walking down the hall, carrying Edryon, the druid observed, surprised, a fog coming from the Thelron’s bedroom. He felt that it would be a good time to try to talk to him, but when he left Edryon on the wooden floor, Urentir heard his voice:
“What are you doing here?”
“Calm down. I came to bring your brother. He was very drunk at the tabern, and so I figured it would be better to bring him.”
“There is no need to be spending your time with useless things. Edryon knows very well what must be done.”, Thelron said as he closed the do
or of his room rapidly.
“Okay, I will not be here arguing with you. I’m going to the Kingdom of the Elementals.”, Urentir said, and then approached the backdoor of the house.
“Going up there alone? I don’t understand, a commander who had it all: respect, admiration, honor, all these things… threw it into the air. Urentir, it’s time to be someone that shows his value.”
The druid thought to answer it, then finally responded:
“At least I’m not a coward, and I would never leave alone… a brother.”
Upon hearing the words of Urentir, Thelron closed the trembling hands and shouted:
“Get out now! I am not a loser like you!”
The druid left the place satisfied, as he had succeded to steal two magic scrolls from Thelron, without him noticing that. He opened one of them carefully, he realized that writing was still very well preserved. It would be the right time to try to create a dimensional portal to take him to the Kingdom of the Elementals. He began to read every word so that the magic ritual could be well done, and after he finished saying the words aloud, a strong red bright appeared before his incredulous eyes.
The light was increasing in intensity until to become a great magical portal which radiated energy throughout the region, illuminating the clear night, covered by stars. Urentir entered the portal, while thinking of a way to travel the strange realm without any great danger. He felt numb his arms and legs, and when he opened his eyes again, Urentir was on the other side, in another dimension. He looked surprised to the land, covered with ashes, he never thought a day he would go through so many different places, but at the same time interesting. He rushed quickly as he rode astride with his white war horse.
Urentir noticed a light in the distance what looked like a city, or other type of construction. He felt his arm wet, and then looked at the darkened sky, filling with dark clouds. A light rain began to fall on his armor, then he sought to increase the pace of the ride. After three hours of travel, the streak had become a kind of town, and actually seemed like a great fortress. Urentir looked at the huge stone wall around it and there were many fire elementals, who guarded the local. The druid descended from his horse, and then thought he could have found the Kordius’s fortress.
Edryon (Book 1 of Edryon Trilogy) Page 12