Dark One Rising

by Leandra Martin

  The unit commander on the west wall yelled down to his lieutenant to bring out the hot oil; they rolled it out and placed it on the swing arm. When a surge of men and creatures came at them, they let it tip and burned all who fought to climb up, keeping back lots, but not enough.

  A hump backed creature with red eyes and razor spines on his back reached the top and jumped off the wall, startling a younger man who was fighting off a swordsman that had also reached the top. When the young solider ran the enemy through he turned, looking into the burning eyes of his attacker. He swung his sword around, but too late. The creature opened its great maw and spit venom, blinding him. The venom burned like acid, and the man dropped his sword and wailed in agony. Another man down the wall heard his cry and approached, wanting to help his companion if he could. The creature looked up at him, screeched and jumped forward like a coiled spring let loose, biting his head, blood splattering the wall behind him.

  Three more creatures made it over the wall, attacking the troops with fury, leaving nothing identifiable in their wake. The men on the wall fought hard, knocking the army down the walls, only to be replaced with more. For hours, they fought, the sun slowly being swallowed up by dark heavy clouds, a cold wind chilling them. The rains came heavy, sleeting, an unrelenting downpour that soaked through their wool hosen, filling their boots and making it difficult to hold a sword or wield a mace. The men were cold and wet, and they were tiring. The rains didn’t seem to keep the creatures from reaching the top or slow them in the onslaught. After hours of relentless fury, the enemy would retreat to their tents for only an hour or two, then attack again.

  Eventually a signal fire was sent out, alerting its sister cities that they couldn’t hold on much longer. The signal fire burned high, sending signal to the coastal city of Boones Ferry as well, that the Triple Cities had been overtaken.

  The giants were beating the wall with wooden rams, every hit shaking the parapets above. The men, balancing too close to the edge, fighting off the ladders, slipped on the rain slicked walk and tumbled to the ground below. Those that did not die in the fall were trampled by the rushing horses and giants. The giants continued their ramming. Cracks started to appear along the bottom of the wall and ran up to the top in a diagonal jagged line. The mortar started to rain down until finally a breach appeared toward the east. The giants were making holes for the army to enter the barbican from underneath.

  Many days later, the last remaining troops that had valiantly held back the fury of the hell army had been rounded up, tied together and burned where they stood.

  Fallon looked around at how many he had left in his ranks. With quick estimation he deduced that he had lost over half his troops, hell born and not, and all but seven of the giants remained. He was not disappointed in his losses and was almost impressed at how hardy and strong the garrison had been. They fought harder than he anticipated they would, and some of them appeared to have been cunning, figuring out how to take out the creatures who came at them with fury. During the fight they were afraid but not afraid enough. He won this one, but he feared that the armies of Randor and Dainard would somehow grow stronger, and maybe the next battle would not be so easy.

  He called back his troops, sending the footmen to the tops of the walls to discard and burn the bodies that were dead and dying on the parapets. The footmen took their places on the walks, the wall now secured for Fallon and his generals. They entered the gates and trotted into the small bailey that held the warriors who manned the wall. All was quiet, but a singular stench hit his nostrils as he rode through the gate. The smell of hundreds of burning bodies piled in the center of the common, the wind carrying it across the parapet and down the road. The rain had let up slightly in the days of battle, but the men had to really stoke the flames to keep the fire blazing under the now soggy wood. Fallon was wet through, and his hosen under his mail was starting to stick to his skin, but the victory felt too good to hide from the weather.

  He yelled orders for the camp to be set up, the warriors taking the guard towers, the giants camping under the open skies. In a few weeks the foot troops would march across the border into Aaralyn. He would ride for a week, then invade Salador in the west province. With the Isamarians under his control, the southern king would have a difficult time finding enough men to fight him. He would set up his new regime and take the crown, then ride back into Azlyn and take Melenthia for his own. His victory would be assured. He could taste it. Once Aaralyn and Isamar were under his control, Dainard would be hard pressed to keep his province intact with Fallon’s hell army controlling all the borders. Soon Aelethia would have a new ruler, a new king to rule the entire kingdom, with Melenthia as his queen. At least until his heir was born, then she too would be of no more use to him. He would kill her, and he and his son would rule for all eternity. His pact with the Dark One was almost complete, his eternal life would soon be assured.

  CHAPTER 31

  She was quiet as they rode through the woods, the wizard at her right, the elf to her left. She kept glancing at Tomaz, trying to be inconspicuous, but after a few times, he noticed and smiled in her direction.

  “There is something on your mind, Princess. What do you want to ask?”

  “I was just wondering why you were enlisted to this task.”

  “I am the highest ranking warrior in the city. I was given the honor twenty-one yers ago when you were born, to present the sword to your parents. I have been watching you ever since.”

  “Why?”

  “We have been keeping you safe, and preparing you for this time in your life, without you actually knowing we were. We were the ones that gave your brother the insight to teach you the things he has, without actually interfering knowingly. You are better trained than even we hoped. Your brother was thorough.”

  “To my father’s dismay.”

  “Unfortunately your father was not aware of your destiny, and he died before we could tell him.”

  “He wouldn’t have allowed it. Just like he didn’t like the gift you gave to me on my birth. He certainly would have refused the idea of me saving the world. He was a stubborn man.”

  “Not so unlike his daughter, I would surmise.”

  She smiled genuinely. “I will miss him.”

  “I know. Despite his indifference in your destiny, he was a good man, and a good king. Do not let the sadness turn into anger, or the evil will creep in easier. You must not allow the pain in your life to cripple you, or your fear. You must do everything we teach you, without questions, no matter how much we push you. We know you are strong. You must believe it too.”

  Her thoughts wandered to Dain. She never knew being away from him would be difficult. He must have read her thoughts.

  “You will see him again, but you must keep your mind clear. His love for you, and the willingness he has to die for you, will help your strength to grow. Only the true love of another will keep the evil from being able to penetrate your soul completely, but it still can if you let it. Do not think of what might come, or what he is doing, concentrate only on what you are doing.”

  “I’m still finding it hard to believe that someone as ordinary as me is supposed to save the world.”

  Sol glanced at her and smiled.

  “I was told once when I was a boy, that sometimes the smallest creature can have the biggest impact.”

  “Alek said that to me. He said he heard it from you.”

  “I’m glad to know someone actually listens to me.” He smiled, then went back to the previous subject. “No one is insignificant. You’re only ordinary if you choose to do nothing to change that fact.”

  She looked over to him and smiled kindly. “I’m afraid.”

  “I know, as you should be. But we’re here to teach you all you need to know in order to do what needs to be done.”

  “I have to kill Fallon.”

  “You do.”

  “I don’t know if I can.”

  “That’s what we are here for.”

&nbs
p; “You’re here to teach me how to be a killer?”

  “We’re here to teach you what you must know, in order to do what is necessary.”

  “Why can’t someone else kill him?”

  “It is your destiny alone.”

  She looked concerned.

  “Do not worry Melenthia, you will be safe in the Elvin city for as long as it takes,” Tomaz said.

  “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about what might happen to the cities in the kingdom, or to Dain and my brother while I’m away.”

  “They know what is required of them. They know the risks,” Sol added.

  “I don’t want anyone to die for me.”

  “They will do what needs to be done for the kingdom, just as you will do what is needed for it. No death for what is right, is in vain. Dain made a pledge to you that he would stand with you until the end, and that will make the difference in your fight against Fallon.” Tomaz reassured her.

  “His love makes a difference?”

  “Love makes the biggest difference. Without it, the world is lost.”

  They continued on through the Sorcerers Wood in silence. Her thoughts wandered and she didn’t think she could get through the next few months without thinking of those people she loved the most; her brother and Dain. He had come into her mind more times than she could recall in the last few days. She longed to be next to his warm body, his strong arms wrapped safely around her. She longed for his touch and for his presence.

  Her father had been gone for over a month, Kevaan the ruler of Aaralyn now. She longed to talk to him again, to have him tell her things would be alright as he had done when she was a small girl. She was no longer that small girl, and although she knew where her path had to take her, she still longed for someone to reassure her things would be okay.

  He, Alek, Tarak, Henri and the other men, had left for Isamar at the same time she had headed out, and she hoped that they could convince the tribal councils in that land to join them and fight for freedom. They were a stubborn bunch who rarely took to strangers. She knew that even if the strange things were coming into their realm, they would be hard to convince to give their fealty to Dain and Kevaan. They had spent their entire lives in the solitude of the desert, trusting no one and having allegiances to only themselves. But they must sense something amiss, they must understand that only together will they destroy Fallon and his demons.

  They rode on for another few hours, then stopped beside a small stream, in a clearing a mile inside the Dark Woods, to eat and rest for the night. Her backside was sore and her back and neck were starting to get stiff. Her stomach had also been letting her know for the last hour that it was empty.

  They dismounted their horses and tied them off on the trees to the right of the small glen. They went immediately to the soft grass under their feet. Melenthia walked back and forth across the glen, as Sol and Tomaz created their haven for the night. She stretched, like her brother had taught her to do before every duel, and she could hear some of the vertebrae in her back pop at the deep movements. She swung her arms back and forth and realized, for the first time, how weary she was.

  It took the two about twenty minutes to get everything just so, then Sol placed his hands over the pit they had made in the center of camp, closing his eyes and saying something under his breath. A small flame sparked on the wood, then a bigger one engulfed them all, the crackling and popping of the sap in the not quite dry wood, making music in the gray evening gloom.

  She sat down beside it and stretched some more, sighing. “Do you not have flint with you, or are you just showing off?”

  He looked at her for a brief moment, silent, then a small smile cracked his mouth under the beard. “I thought I would save time, as I can hear the complaining of your stomach from over here.”

  She rubbed her stomach with one hand and smiled back. “Well, since you put it that way.”

  “It is a simple spell, one I think you could pick up quickly.”

  “You want to teach me how to light a fire with my thoughts? How is that going to help me with my training?”

  “We must start with the simple before we can move to the more difficult. A baby does not walk just out of the womb, it first crawls.”

  “Okay. Teach me.”

  He took a couple of handfuls of dirt and threw it on the flames that were now dancing in the impending darkness. When he was certain it was out, he looked at her and said, “Close your eyes and breathe deeply in and out. Clear your mind of everything; all the people you care about, all the events that have happened up to now, any thoughts that creep in about what there is to do. Concentrate only on what you want; lighting the fire. Think about the flames, think about the warmth that will emanate off the glow.” He gave her a few minutes. He could hear her breathing, steady and calm. “Can you see the fire in your mind?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Can you feel the warmth of the flames on your face?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Now repeat after me. Taba un feyla, un alla.”

  She repeated his words.

  “Not quite. Listen to the words and the pronunciation of them. That’s the key. You need to say the words right, but you also need the right inflection and the right pronunciation. Try again.”

  She repeated the words again, this time speaking them with the inflections he had spoken. A small spark popped inside the campfire pit. It stayed for a moment, then went out. She opened one eye, then the other. She looked at the wood and frowned.

  “Nothing. What did I do wrong?”

  “Nothing. There was a small spark. I don’t expect you to burn down the entire forest on your first try. In the coming weeks, I want you to try that one on your own. With each attempt, if you really mean the words, the spark will get bigger and bigger, until you can light the fire without even thinking that hard about it.”

  “Okay. For tonight, for my chilly bones and my empty stomach, do you think you could take care of it?”

  He laughed. “My pleasure, Your Highness.”

  Within a minute, the fire was once again blazing in the pit, Tomaz had just come into the clearing, carrying some more firewood and forest berries. He opened a knapsack and dumped a loaf of bread, some cheese, and an assortment of dried fruit, onto a cloth and pushed it over toward her. She looked down at the variety of items and picked out a couple of dates and a handful of raisins, ripped off a hunk of bread and cheese, and placed them in her lap. She started to eat even before the magician or the elf had time to pick their choices. She half smiled embarrassed when they looked in her direction, obviously amused.

  “Sorry,” she said, betweens swallows. “I didn’t realize just how hungry I was.”

  “It’s quite alright, Melenthia. You must keep up your strength for your training. You will be expected to eat when you are told and to get the rest you need. Your training will be tiring and drain what strength you have. But, with each day that passes, your training will become your strength, and you will require less breaks.”

  “How long will my training take?”

  “That depends on you. If you concentrate, keep your focus and strive to learn, it won’t take more than necessary. If you let yourself be distracted with thoughts of others or fear or worry, it will take longer.”

  She stared at him. “I’m going to be gone from my home, training with the Elves but you don’t know for how long?”

  “No. The time that passes will depend on you.”

  “I shouldn’t be away that long. Fallon could destroy everything before I’m finished. If I’m gone too long, there may be nothing left to save when we’re done.”

  Sol looked over to Tomaz, and he nodded back. “You will be gone for unmeasured time in Vallis, but for the rest of the kingdom, only a little time will pass.”

  “How can that be?”

  Sol explained. “Vallis is the oldest city in Aelethia, with a heritage going back thousands of years before man ever settled here. It doesn’t follow your calen
dar, or any of man’s set schedules. It moves at a natural pace, one with the universe, the pace our Mother Creator intended. You’ll find that when you’re there, the peace and serenity will start to flow through you. You won’t need to know the time, or what day it is. Everything happens in its proper order. While you’re there, you’ll naturally fall into the patterns and time frames that flow through the city. That’s precisely why Tomaz looks only to be in his twenties, when in reality, he’s over a hundred.”

  She glanced up at him, eyes wide. “You’re over a hundred years old?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is everyone in Vallis that old?”

  He laughed. “Some. Some are older.”

  “Do Elves live forever?”

  He laughed, not in mocking but with genuine amusement. “No. Elves die just like everyone else, when their time comes, but we do not get sick or develop diseases as you humans do. We can be killed by sword or lance, just as you can, but old age comes slow, and when we go, we become one with the earth. The soil and our bodies become joined. Our spirit remains in the trees and on the wind.”

  “This is a lot to understand.”

  “Yes. I do not expect you to understand. Few do. Just know that you will be safe in Vallis under the protection of the Elves, and your training will go the speed it needs to. We will make sure you are truly ready.”

  “How will you know?”

  “You’ll know. Then we will too.”

  She continued to eat in silence. After she had her fill, she felt sleepy and leaned back against a tree bole to rest her eyes. She must have drifted off soon after that because she didn’t remember anything except Dain’s face in her dreams, the gentle breeze on her face as she dreamed of his arms around her and his pale blue eyes gazing at her with love.