Guardians of Lakaya: The Catalyst

by Richmond Camero

  “Hope you’re in good shape to fight,” Dror said, parrying an incoming attack from a skeleton. It was swept away and while off-balanced, Dror rotated and used the momentum to sever its spine from its torso. The skeleton dropped to the ground, its upper body crawling towards Dror. Dror kicked its head and sent it flying into another skeleton.

  “I need my staff,” Guier said, eying the Yggdrasil staff behind Gamus.

  “And I need my dagger,” Dror replied. His dagger was stuck on the ground near Borgus’ feet.

  Guier nodded at him and made his way to his staff. With the skeletons having no mass, it was difficult for Guier to hit them with his bare hands. He weaved through them, his feet shifting the moment an undead came near him. For the ones he couldn’t avoid, he grabbed whatever bone he could and pulled them down into the ground. He made it past the wave of guards without being injured. A few meters from his staff, Gamus came charging at him with a mace above his head.

  Guier went to a sudden stop and rolled to his right the moment the mace was about to hit him. The ground cracked as the mace hit it. Gamus’ weapon became stuck and he snarled. This gave Guier precious seconds to retrieve his staff. Guier turned around and with his staff, hit Gamus squarely in the chest with a lance of Lifeblood. Gamus was thrown away, his back on the ground. With Gamus down, Guier focused on the undead guards. One by one, he blasted them with his Lifeblood. Three skeletons reached striking distance and Guier smashed their heads. When he looked at their dismantled bones, they were writhing but did not put themselves back together. It looked to him that the creatures needed Necromancer’s powers to stay alive. Eliminating the rest would not be difficult for them.

  He hit the skeleton coming for him in the head. Guier tripped the other one using his staff and bashed it while it was on the ground. There were only a handful left and all of them were backing up Borgus. Guier ran toward Borgus, holding his staff up. A lance shot from it. The minotaur looked up just in time and blocked the incoming Lifeblood with the blades of his ax. With Borgus distracted, Dror finished the remaining skeleton guards with precise strikes from his daggers.

  Borgus snorted and charged toward Dror. Dror was about to help Guier when Gamus clubbed his face with the mace. Dror tilted his head to avoid it but the mace’s spikes grazed his right arm.

  “Don’t look away, you’ll lose your head!” Borgus shouted, driving his ax to Guier’s face. Guier blocked the ax with his staff and he winced, the weight of the minotaur straining his wounded shoulder. He pushed the ax up and rolled backwards. Then, he reinforced the staff with his Lifeblood and swung it into Borgus’ jaw. The minotaur dropped his ax and fell on the ground unconscious.

  Guier looked up to see that Dror was already standing above Gamus’s unconscious body. He walked towards his friend and clasped his shoulder. “Thank you,” Guier said.

  “You were lucky I decided to follow some group of Jenaians and Ceirish,” Dror replied, sheathing his twin daggers. They walked near the edge of the cliff to have a better view of the grounds. The Ceirish were carrying materials to build the towers while the Jenaians were still harvesting Lifeblood from the beacons.

  “I did not foresee that something big like this would happen,” Dror said.

  “Neither did I,” Guier said, walking beside Guier. “Does Gaea and the others know about this?”

  “I’ve already sent a messenger back to them. Perennia should already be on their way here.”

  They spent a few minutes studying the tall towers that held their fate.

  “What do we do now?” Dror finally asked.

  Guier looked at the structures. Then, he looked at the people on the ground, preparing for the end that they would bring. He tried to search for Apokalypse and the other Oblivian faces that he knew. He wanted to see something, to find something that would tell him what to do next. “I’m not sure,” Guier said.

  But Guier knew what to do. They have to stop Oblivia. Again. Only now, it seemed more difficult because they didn’t know yet how they would do it. Guier looked around and his eyes fell upon the two towers that the Oblivian forces were building.

  “Those towers,” Guier whispered.

  “What about them?”

  “They might be the key to stopping Oblivia.”

  Dror squinted at the towers. “How certain are you?”

  Guier frowned and shook his head. “I just thought, nobody in Oblivia could open a Gate. They must rely on something else for them to open a Gate between Terra and Anarri.”

  “But what if it is something else?”

  Guier thought for a moment. “If it’s not a mechanism to open a Gate, I am sure that it is for something important. Look at the number of people working on it. Apokalypse would not put a lot of effort into building those towers if they are not important.”

  Dror smiled. “Good thinking. So what do you say we do?”

  “We destroy them.”

  Dror stared at Guier with his mouth half open. But Guier’s face was serious, his eyes set on the towers in front of them. “It’s a crazy plan but a plan nonetheless.”

  Dror was right. By doing this, they would bring all attention to themselves and they would have to fight the combined forces of Ceire, Jenai, and Oblivia. But they couldn’t do anything else unless Perennia arrived. They did not know what would happen if they delayed destroying or even damaging the towers that would open the Gate to Terra.

  “Let’s begin,” Guier said. “It’s time to bring chaos.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  More than a century ago, the land before Guier and Dror was watered with blood, the air around them perfumed by hopeful breaths and silent prayers. With all the unfolding events, it felt like it was about to happen again.

  “How do you want us to destroy this thing?” Dror asked.

  “I’ll hit it with all the Lifeblood that I can gather,” Guier said. “You make sure that I don’t die while doing it.”

  Dror considered their plan and shrugged. “Fair enough.”

  Guier stared at the towers. That’s the only thing that we can do for now.

  Only Guier had the capability to attack from that distance. Dror was unstoppable with his daggers but he could not channel Lifeblood like Guier could, nor did he have a long-ranged weapon to reinforce Lifeblood with. There was not much that they could do but to give it all in that one shot.

  “I’m starting now,” Guier declared.

  Dror nodded to him and said, “Good luck.” He walked several meters in front of Guier and sat down. All hell would break loose once Guier fired off his Lifeblood, but until then Dror had to conserve every bit of energy that he has.

  Guier held out the Yggdrasil staff in front of him. He let his Lifeblood flow through it and the black staff glowed. Faint at first, then brighter. Using the staff, he drew a Well around him, a circle used to gather Lifeblood from his surroundings. The circle was more than a meter wide, enough for Guier to stand inside. He held the staff in front of him and closed his eyes.

  The Well illuminated and the Lifeblood around him and from the earth gathered into it. From the edges of the circle, the forces of life flowed in wisps, gliding along Guier’s body into the Yggdrasil staff. He spent several minutes holding his position, a small gust of wind building around his feet. Dror stood up from his position and scanned for threats. There were none so far.

  Only a few minutes more.

  The wind around them grew stronger, the Yggdrasil staff grew brighter. Guier's hand was starting to tremble. He used his other hand to steady the staff. The winds grew stronger still, howling and blowing dust. Guier's ears rung and the staff seemed close to exploding.

  Finally, they were ready.

  Guier opened his eyes and nodded to Dror. Dror nodded back and brought out his twin daggers. He struck them together like a gladiator about to meet a powerful foe. Guier looked at the towers and aimed his staff. He took a deep breath.

  One shot.

  As he exhaled, he also let out the huge amount of Life
blood that he was holding. A bluish black lance fired from the tip of the staff. Unlike the ones that Guier usually channeled, this one was stronger. Guier was pulled back by the recoil. He planted his feet and held the staff with both of his hands. They watched as the lance traveled the distance to the towers.

  Twenty meters away. Guier saw several white creatures flying in the lance’s path. They were big skeletons of birds animated by Necromancer. The lance hit the skeletons and vaporized them.

  Fifteen meters and Guier felt his energy being drained. Sweat was flowing from his head and he was catching his breath. More skeleton birds came but were dismissed immediately by the sheer strength of Guier’s projectile.

  Ten meters. Guier and Dror watched in anticipation. Then, before them, something made their hope falter.

  The lance hit on an invisible barrier. It tried to force itself through, but the barrier held on. They opposed each other, neither of them willing to break down. Then after a few seconds, the barrier gave way but the lance fired by Guier became weaker.

  Finally, it hit one of the towers.

  Smoke billowed from the impact. Everyone present on Gulgalta was hushed by this unwelcomed development. All of them were waiting for the smoke to clear, to see what happened and to know which side has won. A strong wind clearing the smoke away.

  A third of the tower was falling. Apokalypse saw this and she gave a loud shriek. Along with it, a large chunk of the tower hit the ground with a loud rumble. Several of the Oblivian soldiers on guard and the Ceirish workers perished in the destruction.

  Apokalypse raised his fingers and pointer at Dror and Guier. “Kill them!” She shouted.

  The whole army started to move — the skeletal minions of Necromancer, the bare-handed Ceirish giants, and the Jenaians with their spears and devices.

  “Now, what do we do?” Dror asked Guier.

  Guier tested his strength. “I don’t have much left in me.”

  “We should—” A platoon of skeletons started crawling out from the ground beneath them. Dror severed the head of the ones closest to him. Guier swept his staff tripping several skeletons.

  Guier saw that the Jenaians were getting near, accompanied by bigger skeletons. The giants loomed closely behind them.

  “We’ll be dead if they reach us,” Guier said, fending off another skeleton.

  “Can’t agree more,” Dror grunted and buried his dagger in another skeleton’s spine. “Let’s retreat.”

  They got rid of the remaining skeletons that reached them. Guier scanned the area and saw the glass containers filled with Lifeblood brought by the Jenaians. He fired a lance of Lifeblood to two of them and the containers exploded. The impact disrupted the enemy’s charge, buying them several precious seconds.

  Guier and Dror ran away from the army. They ran as fast as their lungs and legs could allow them. They reached the Tuderin Pass when they heard a manic laughter behind them.

  Necromancer was on their tail. In his hands, he carried a curved sword.

  Necromancer charged towards Guier. Guier’s footing faltered. He tripped and in an instant, Necromancer was above him with his sword raised. Guier raised his staff to block, but he knew he wouldn’t make it in time. Then, the space in front of him tore apart. He heard a loud clang, metal against metal.

  Kosmos was standing in front of him.

  Necromancer was surprised by Kosmos’ sudden appearance. Seeing this, Kosmos punched Necromancer hard in the face. Necromancer fell down to the ground. Kosmos immediately created a Gate and motioned for Guier and Dror to pass through.

  When Necromancer looked up, they were already gone.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  A few miles from Gulgalta, Gaea saw Kosmos lead Guier and Dror into a Gate. Beside him, he felt a whiff of Lifeblood. The space near him opened and through it, Kosmos and the others appeared. Guier sighed with relief when he saw Gaea. He was surprised by what Gaea brought with him.

  The Perennian Army.

  Directly behind Gaea were the Reets. They towered over Gaea, their bodies twisted like aged roots tinged with moss. Their hands and limbs were massive, made out of their clustered branches. The features of their faces were almost indiscernible, except for the hollows of their eyes and mouths. Then behind them was the infantry. They were wearing silver armor embedded with Perennia’s emblem. The archers came next equipped with their longbow.

  “Good to see you, Gatekeeper,” Gaea said to Guier with a smile. “I hope you are well.”

  “I’m not without bruises,” Guier replied. His brows furrowed. “Terra’s in danger.”

  “What do you know?” Gaea asked. Serem appeared behind Gaea and nodded to Guier. Guier recounted his experience when Necromancer attacked him and when he escaped by creating a Gate to the other side. He told them about Lakaya and what he felt about the amount of Lifeblood in the area.

  “Lakaya?” Gaea asked.

  “Yes,” Guier answered.

  Gaea looked at Serem and Kosmos, and they returned his grave look.

  “I never thought that this day would come,” Gaea said. “Lakaya has been in our careful watch for a long time. This Lifeblood that you tell us about, we have already felt a fragment of it before. We never realized that it would cause disruption here in Anarri.”

  “Something may have caused it to increase in power exponentially,” Serem said. “There are a number of theories that I can think of but,” Serem shook her head, “we cannot be sure until we probe further.”

  “But what of Lakaya?” Guier asked.

  Gaea thought about the decision they made before, the guardians they’ve chosen. “You could say we made the necessary precautions. But for now, we have to survive this day.” Gaea threw a questioning look to Kosmos and Serem, and they both seem to agree. “If we survive this day, we will have a chance to save Anarri and Terra.”

  Gaea commanded the army to prepare to set forth. He then spoke with Guier and Dror.

  “Dror told us that the Jenaians allied with Oblivia,” Gaea said.

  “Yes,” Guier replied. “And not only the Jenaians, the Ceirish too.”

  “Damn those nasty giants!” Kosmos exclaimed.

  “It can’t be helped,” Gaea replied. “Without someone to lead them, it’s easy to convince them to join someone as powerful as Oblivia. And with these two forces under Oblivia’s command, I imagine Apokalypse has a much bigger cause this time.”

  Guier nodded in assent. “They are planning to open a Gate to Terra.”

  Kosmos scowled. “How will do they do that?”

  “Those towers,” Dror said pointing to the damaged buildings.

  “I think it will take them into the heart of Lakaya,” Guier said.

  “How did you know?” Serem asked.

  “I am not certain but when I created a Gate, I did not visualize a specific place in my head. I think the huge amount of Lifeblood in Lakaya overflowed into Gulgalta, connecting the space between Anarri and Terra.

  They stood in silence for a minute, then Gaea spoke again. “Our priority is clear — to completely destroy those towers and stop them from opening a Gate to Terra. If we fail, then we will divert our strength to stopping them from crossing to the other side.” Gaea waited for anyone to speak but they remained silent. “We’ll march in half an hour. Dror and Guier, Serem will help you regain some of your strength.”

  Serem guided them to an open field where some soldiers were waiting. When they left, Gaea looked in front of him. It felt like a scab of on old wound was opened again. The gravity of the situation weighed down on him. It wasn’t just them involved. If they failed to fulfill their duty, even to put a dent in Oblivia’s plan, they would put Lakaya in danger.

  Lakaya, Guier thought and shook his head.

  Gaea remembered the time when they decided to share their responsibility with the mortals. At that time, they felt that they had no choice. They had sensed an increase of Lifeblood activity in Lakaya. Not fully recovered from the Rebellion, they had considered the id
ea of sharing their abilities with the mortals. Serem was against it. She argued that the problem wasn’t for the mortals to deal with. But Gaea insisted. He knew that they didn’t have the power and the resources at that time. If anything happened to Terra, they would not be able to do anything. Serem eventually conceded.

  So they planted seeds of their powers in three mortal souls.

  Their action seemed reasonable at the time and it still seemed reasonable considering the events brought up by Oblivia. But there was still a part of Gaea that felt guilty about it.

  “You’re thinking about them, are you?” Kosmos asked.

  Gaea was surprised. He forgot that Kosmos was still there. He gave Kosmos a pained smile and said, “If we cannot win today, then they’ll be the one facing the consequences of our shortcoming.”

  “We’ll make it.”

  Gaea nodded.

  “It’s time,” Kosmos said. “Perennia is waiting for your command.”

  Gaea walked to the field where the Perennian army was waiting. They stood at attention when they saw Gaea in front of them, waiting for him to speak. He looked at the eyes of those in front and those his eyes could reach. “Today, I must ask you again to risk your lives and carry your weapons to fight. Today, we will stand once more for the purpose embedded in our blood: the protection of life. As Perennians, it is what we live for. And it is what we will die for. We fight for Anarri and for Terra, but most of all, we fight for Perennia!”

  All of the shoulders shouted back, banging their swords in their shield and stomping their feet on the ground. The Reets roared and it pierced the sky.

  They were ready and they would not fall down without a fight.

  The Perennian army started to march toward Gulgalta. When they reached it, they stopped at the edge of the field. The Jenaians and the Ceirish had already cleared the field and were standing in formation. Gaea was in front of the army and saw Apokalypse on the other side of the battlefield. His eyes pierced through her. Apokalypse may have taken control of the field, but he would not let her win. He raised both of his hands. The ground below them cracked and large roots appeared. They moved swiftly but gracefully, coordinated by Gaea’s hands. He guided the roots to the other side of the field, straight to Oblivia’s ranks. It hit Necromancer’s skeleton guards and a third of them fell down with one sweep. Some of the Jenaians behind them were caught by the lashing roots and were either killed or severely wounded. Gaea pulled the roots back closer to him, poised for another attack.