Revelations of Doom

by Jedidiah Behe

  Cloaked figures stood around him, chanting and whispering to him. When they saw Eliath, some pointed and coughed raspy, hideous laughs, some cowered behind others. They were his fallen brothers, doomed and tortured remnants of a mighty race. They had chosen to follow the Great Deceiver out of the heavens and now suffered an eternal fate of condemnation. Because of this, their sole purpose was to poison minds and sew evil, to ultimately destroy man. Eliath was the only one who could see them now.

  Sometimes, while near death, or crazed and possessed, often thought insane by others, man was able to see these cursed creatures. Those that had seen gave the beings the name Skryxies, from an old tongue meaning: those that walk among the dead and speak to the living. Most men feared them greatly, but not Eliath. To him, they were only forsaken, lost souls, and he despised them for whom and what they represented.

  He could see that they had inhabited Thaluzont as well, giving him immense power and insight, beyond what those of his race already possessed, at the cost of his soul. Until Thaluzont spoke, Eliath did not know how many of his brethren inhabited the warlord. To Kyrianna and Commander Nenghao, it was his normal low, yet powerful and authoritative resonating tone. But Eliath heard many voices, hundreds. He stepped back in shock at the sound. There was more to this war than he had at first considered. Dar' Lahnrael was using this vessel for something far more sinister to have so many of his minions at work.

  "So, the princess of Vorea lives? I am pleased. You will serve me well once I have taken the city. I never knew you possessed such beauty. I may even keep you for myself and not share you with my General and his men." he gestured to Tavar and let out a low, rumbling chuckle. Judging from the look on Tavar's face, it was quite out of character for the man to laugh.

  Kyrianna did not reply with words but her expressions spoke multitudes.

  When Thaluzont spoke again, it was only for Eliath to hear, in the words of their Father.

  "So this is the protector of the divine child? There are many here who wish to rip the skin from your bones," Thaluzont said to Eliath as he gestured to the dark figures that moved all around him. They laughed wickedly and some even made as though they would charge.

  Eliath knew better. "Your lap dogs have no power over me. But if need be I can send them back to the pit from whence they came. Or I may even send them to be judged." The dark figures stepped back and some even vanished in a cloud of black mist at the threat. "As for you Thaluzont, your time on Deru is limited and I do not envy your existence thereafter. Dar' Lahnrael has eternity to spend torturing your soul."

  No emotion showed on Thaluzont's face but his eyes told Eliath of the anger that flared within him. "Why should I fear the afterlife? When I have accomplished all that I must, I will be granted immortality. If you wish to worship a god, worship me."

  Now it was Eliath's eyes that ignited and a pulse of holy energy spread from his core. "Spare me your blasphemous tongue. I pity those who must suffer for your ignorance. Do you honestly think that Dar' Lahnrael would give such power to that which he hates?"

  Thaluzont leaned forward on his mount, his gaze burning with even more intensity. Only a single voice could be heard now, one that Eliath knew well. "It is you who is being lied to. Your Father...has forsaken you for the love of the humans. He chose to replace us with something more amusing, casting us aside! Well a new age is being born. Soon he will realize that his precious humans are too easily manipulated and have all but become wicked beings. He will destroy most of them in a storm of fire and all that will be left is you and your insignificant brethren, a host of nothing more than ghosts of your former selves, useless and unwanted by your Creator, whereas those of us who chose to leave his dominion will become the new Gods of this world. The pathetic humans that survive the coming wars will worship us all and their spawn will grow to know of only us. Your Father's name will be unheard of, just as it was before."

  Eliath shook his head and smiled calmly. "How far you have fallen, Marthanil? Soon you will see the error in your ways. Your minions have failed in killing Lucian and he will be the one to bring about your end."

  Thaluzont's eyes seemed to smile as he sat back on his mount. "The boy is not here now, is he?"

  "He will be here!" replied Eliath with confidence.

  "Will he? I fear that your dear friend may not return from Yavasura."

  Eliath stammered, he had underestimated how easily Dar' Lahnrael's minions could find Lucian.

  "Oh yes, dear Eliath. We know of Lucian's journey. Some of our brothers have gone to meet him on his return." Thaluzont laughed along with the hundred other unworldly retched voices.

  Eliath whispered a silent prayer and Thaluzont leaned forward shouting. "Your faith in the boy is foolish, as well as your faith in the Father and his care for him. Did you think for a moment that he would waste sending anyone to help Lucian when a war rages at his gates?"

  Eliath had no response. He hadn't known that another war had begun. How could he have known?

  Thaluzont laughed again, seeing the confusion in Eliath’s eyes. The act caused Tavar to become unsettled. He had never seen such emotion come from his leader. When Thaluzont spoke again, he directed what he said to the Princess.

  Kyrianna had listened in wonder as Thaluzont addressed Eliath. He spoke in a language that she did not know and although it came from the mouth of Thaluzont, it was the most beautiful language she had ever heard. Eliath responded in the same language and with his voice being softer and more kind, it nearly put her in a trance. She wondered what it could be, what they could be saying. The two men spoke for a few moments and she could tell that the conversation was not pleasant.

  At one point Thaluzont burst into a deep booming laugh. Not only was Eliath visibly disturbed but it appeared that so was Thaluzont's General, Tavar. She wasn't sure but it looked as though Tavar couldn't understand the conversation either. For a moment Kyrianna thought she saw Thaluzont’s dark eyes flare, but instead of glowing brighter, they seemed to turn darker still. She could feel the air around Eliath move. It was the strangest thing she had ever felt and couldn't begin to guess what had caused it. A few moments passed and Thaluzont laughed again. When he spoke it was startling because this time, he was speaking to her.

  "Our terms are simple, either hand over the city and live out your pathetic lives a little while longer, or we will break down your walls and take it. Your men will suffer horrible deaths and the women’s screams will be heard throughout all of Los."

  She hadn't known what Thaluzont and Eliath had talked about, but Eliath seemed as though he had nothing else to offer. That in of itself disturbed Kyrianna deeply.

  "You expect all my people to give the city to you and join your army, to allow our women to be passed around as slaves to your men and our children to be sent alone to the north in wagons? If you truly believed that we would agree to these terms than you are more of a fool than I thought."

  Thaluzont slightly tilted his head to Kyrianna. "It would mean little to me either way, but just to sate your questioning mind, I never thought you would give in to the terms. My wish is to wipe your pathetic race from this world, but the thought of you all enslaving yourselves by some small chance was quite amusing."

  Kyrianna had heard enough. "I will see you on the battlefield."

  "And soon after that my dear Princess, you will be looking up at me from the dirt, or perhaps from my chamber floor," he said without emotion.

  Kyrianna leered at him. She was not afraid to meet him in battle, but thinking that she might actually be able to defeat him was something else. The picture he had placed in her mind, lying on the floor beneath him, helpless, did not seem so unfathomable. It was that self-doubt that troubled her most.

  Commander Nenghao had said nothing. He was still staring at Kyrianna and Eliath as they rode back to the city gates.

  "What language was that you were speaking?" he asked Eliath.

  "One that was spoken ages upon ages ago. Thaluzont is no mere man. The
two of you must know this. Do not underestimate his power."

  Kyrianna and Nenghao just looked at each other. Neither had any idea what that meant and Eliath offered nothing else. No more words were spoken as they returned to the city.

  Tavar followed behind Thaluzont as they made their way through the massive army. He was still a bit struck by the amount of emotion he had seen come from his master during the conversation with the Princess and that man called Eliath. It made him uneasy to witness. Everyone bowed when Thaluzont came in sight, whether out of fear or reverence, it made no difference to Thaluzont. Tavar kept his eyes down as he spoke to his master. “Did you even think for a moment that they would have agreed to surrender Lord?”

  Thaluzont grinned ever so slightly as he answered. “Never, I simply wished to see for myself this one called Lucian. His name has stung my ears these past weeks and I was truly intrigued as to what this thorn in my side looked like, so that I could find him on the battlefield. But regrettably it looks as though our assassins will deal with him along the road back from Yavasura.” A deep chuckle or possibly a growl escaped his lips. “A shame really, what will those fools place their faith in when their beloved Chosen One is dead.”

  “All will be ready at your command my Lord. The army eagerly awaits your signal,” said Tavar as he followed in Thaluzont's wake.

  Thaluzont gave no indication that he had heard the General as he continued on, undaunted. His thoughts were on Lucian, the boy that prophecy spoke of, the one who would put a stop to his army. A low rumble of laughter came from deep within him. Prophecy...what fool puts any stock in prophecy? He would make his own destiny. It would be as his Master said. All would bow before him, seated at the thrown of power.

  †††

  Once Eliath and Kyrianna were inside the city and Nenghao went off to report to the council, Kyrianna stopped Eliath.

  "When you were speaking with Thaluzont, I heard Lucian's name. What were you talking about?" she asked.

  Eliath studied her for a moment. "Thaluzont fears Lucian. Pray that he returns to us." he paused for a moment. "I should have gone with him."

  Kyrianna didn't miss the emotion in Eliath's voice giving a subtle hint that something was wrong. "Is Lucian all right? Has something happened?" she said in panic.

  "I do not know child. I do not know," he answered quietly, his words trailing off.

  Kyrianna didn't know what to think, she had never seen Eliath act in such a way. He started to walk away but she grabbed him, spinning him around to face her and screamed in his face. "Tell me what Thaluzont said, please, I must know. There might be something we can do."

  She was amazed at the pain in Eliath's eyes as he spoke. "Thaluzont knew of Lucian’s journey to Yavasura, he said that he had sent assassins to attack him along the road."

  Kyrianna eyes went wide. "Then we must send some men to meet with him. They can escort him back safely."

  Eliath was already shaking his head. “Lucian should already be returning by now. There are many roads between here and Yavasura, even if we knew the one he was traveling, we could not make it to him in time."

  Kyrianna was on the verge of a breakdown. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and how negative Eliath was being. Suddenly her temper flared and she grabbed Eliath again by the shoulders. "Would you believe such lies from that man? He would tell you anything to make you lose hope and that is exactly what you are doing. How could he possibly know of Lucian’s whereabouts and even if he did, I have seen Lucian in battle. He is not one to be taken lightly."

  Eliath looked at Kyrianna, his face still held a sunken expression. "Thaluzont no doubt knows of Lucian's exact whereabouts, and there are other matters that you know nothing of. I fear that Lucian may be in great peril."

  Kyrianna shoved at Eliath but he did not budge and instead she had to backpedal to keep from losing her balance. "Was it not you who told me to have faith in Lucian, how quickly have you forgotten yourself? He will return to us, he promised me he would." She saw a glimmer of hope returning into Eliath eyes as he smiled crookedly at her.

  "You are quite an impressive woman, Kyrianna. Forgive me for my doubts. I do have faith that Lucian will return, I am only upset that I allowed him to talk me into leaving his side. Lucian would be proud of you for having such strength."

  Kyrianna rested a caring hand on his shoulder. "Lucian would be proud of you as well. Now let us prepare for battle and kill these monsters so that there is nothing left for him when he returns."

  Eliath squared off his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Just you stay behind me. I would not like to face Lucian if something were to happen to you."

  Kyrianna gave Eliath a strange look. "Does he care that much for me? He doesn't even know me and when we first met I tried to kill him."

  Eliath stammered, he did not mean to imply such a thing to Kyrianna. He felt that Lucian did care for her, but the boy did tend to be a mystery when it came to his feelings. He did not want to presume anything or say something that might embarrass Lucian. So he covered what he said as best he could.

  "Lucian simply sees how important you are among your people. And he holds much value in the life of his friends."

  "Then why not ask you to protect Tarriel?" asked Kyrianna slyly.

  Eliath looked at her squarely, betraying no emotion, "Because he knows that Tarriel would take offense to such a thing and probably attack him when he returned."

  "Yes, I suppose you are right about that," said Kyrianna, yet she hardly believed it.

  Commander Nenghao rushed up to them in a sweat. He was fully donned in his battle garb.

  "The enemy has begun to form up ranks. It looks as though they may attack soon."

  "Are all our forces in place?" Kyrianna asked.

  "Yes Empress and the war machines are set. But we are still outnumbered seven to one!" he said in a high pitched voice. "Where are the reinforcements? My scouts have not reported any armies approaching from the south."

  Kyrianna looked to Eliath who offered nothing and was about to speak when Solomon walked up with Tarriel.

  "It looks as though the enemy is preparing to attack," said Solomon, looking none too worried. Tarriel was grinning from ear to ear.

  "Yes, and we are sickly outnumbered. They will over run us within minutes if we do not get reinforcements soon," screamed Nenghao.

  "My people will be here soon,” said Tarriel, who had no patience for cowardice. “We have no choice but to hold out until then. Now you can run around in circles and soak your leggings with urine or you can join us in the ranks and show your fellow soldiers some zeal.”

  Nenghao looked as though he had been slapped in the face but after a moment he drew back his shoulders and nodded to Tarriel. "You are right. Our men need to see that we are not afraid to fight. Vorea has the thickest walls and the finest archers in the land, not to mention our war machines that can rain havoc upon the enemy." He gave a low bow to Tarriel and the others and then was off.

  Solomon smirked at Tarriel. "Well done, this city will need confidence right now. My people are at least a half a day out yet and I presume it is the same for the Culdorans and the others. We must hold the city until then."

  "Confidence?" said Tarriel. "What we need is for these men to fight like lions, or Culdorans perhaps." she grinned and winked at Kyrianna who only rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as well at the proud warrior woman.

  "Nightfall is coming. They will probably attack at first light. But we will leave a vigilant watch in case they attack tonight," said Kyrianna

  "That would be a catastrophe for both sides," added Tarriel. "It would be mass confusion. The soldiers wouldn't know who they were attacking."

  "This would be worse for us,” said Kyrianna. “Thaluzont cares nothing for his men and he has many to spare. Every man we lose to one of our own blades brings him closer to victory."

  "Well then let us hope they wait till morning," said Solomon.

  As if in response to the
conversation, the sound of drums echoed off the walls and caught everyone's attention. It was coming from the horde. Thousands of drums, all pounding out the same slow rhythmic beat. It was a signal, the signal of the coming attack.

  The Power Within

  Lucian was passing through a valley between two small mountains. Once he made it through this pass and rounded the northern most mountains, Vorea would be in sight. The trail was cut into the side of the slope almost a hundred feet from the base because of the small river that ran through it. He had only slept a few hours here and there atop the horses. When the road was straight for a time he would slow the horse he rode to a walk and fall almost instantly to sleep. Luckily he hadn't fallen off yet. Now, being so close to Vorea, he could not and would not sleep, too anxious to get back to the pending battle. He wondered if the attack had come yet or not. He hoped it had not and that Vorea hadn't already been overrun by the northern army.

  He was snagged out of his thoughts by movement that he caught from the corner of his eye. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he pulled back on the reigns, slowing the charcoal grey gelding. The sound of rocks sliding down the cliff face to his right made him turn his head just in time to see the large form soaring through the air toward him. It was growing dark and he couldn't make out what it was, but it was huge and collided with his horse, toppling the animal over and sending him airborne.

  Lucian twisted in midair, pulling his legs under him and landed in a squat. His anger flared as he watched what he could see now was a large worvak, tearing the throat out of his horse. Thunder reared and kicked at the threat, striking it on the shoulder and sending it skittering backwards. The beast crouched, ready to leap at Thunder. Lucian reached for his sword and realized that it had been strapped to Grey. He pulled free the finely made dagger that Tarriel had given him and leapt at the beast. No sooner than he was off his feet, did he feel a crushing blow to his side and he slammed hard onto the mountain side. Another worvak had lunged at him from behind and was now rolling down the slope with him, ripping at his armor with its large talons and its toothy maw was clamped down on his upper arm, shaking vigorously. Luckily the beast’s fangs could not penetrate his. As they rolled he worried for Thunder and slammed his knife into the worvak's thigh, aiming for the artery. The beast let go of his arm just as they splashed into the river.