“Why are you taking her side? She destroyed a temple of yours as well if I’m not mistaken?” Ravaen argued with her.
“We still do not know if it was her! Listen to what she has to say first,” Kaira argued and looked at Evangeline. “Just tell us the truth, Evangeline. This has gone far enough,”
“Stop it, everyone!” Tamiron then chimed in and tried to pull Sevidon away but to no avail.
“I will not be accused of things I did not do,” Evangeline suddenly said and then she summoned a pinkish mantle that slowly shaped into an orb, as it slowly enveloped her. “I will be taking my leave.”
“No you will not!” Sevidon pushed Tamiron out of the way, to which he grabbed a hold of Sevidon’s upper armor. “Stop her! That’s how she was able to attack the tombs and temples! She is about to disappear!” Sevidon shouted once more as he struggled to lose Tamiron.
The magisters stood down as Evangeline prepared to leave.
His heartbeat raced as he looked at Sevidon and Tamiron. He then flew directly towards Evangeline, slowly being covered by the mantle.
In a second, both of them touched the orb and felt the ground leave their feet. Then all became black.
End of chapter XVIII
XIX: The Shrouded One
Sevidon’s head hurt badly as he slowly regained consciousness. The world spun beneath him as he tried to get balance. Beside him, Tamiron and Aderon struggled to stand up in wobbling knees. Tamiron eventually found his footing while Aderon used his wings to balance himself.
“Where are we?” Sevidon said.
“I don’t know,” Tamiron answered.
Sevidon’s vision cleared but everything was still dark. He could only make out some sort of structure and pillars that ran from the floor and up with pointed heads that seemed to be mounted on something covered in shadows.
He turned behind him and saw Evangeline also struggling balance from her magic. His anger flowed back at the sight of her and he immediately drew his sword and pointed it to her neck.
“Evangeline, what did you do?” he asked angrily, but she stood still and refused to even look at him.
“Stop this, Sevidon,” Tamiron said.
“I have heard enough Tamiron! After all of this, we are going to have a long talk about what you ignored to realize,” Sevidon snarled at him. He then turned to Evangeline, “I know what you did. Confess now before I lose the sliver of respect I still have for you.”
Evangeline only turned her head as she seemed to be scanning the ground.
“Why did you raid those tombs and temples? What were you looking for?” he asked her again but she only looked him in the eye with a frown.
“What is with that look? Are you mocking me? I can take you down if I wanted to. Now, confess!” he shouted as his hand shook.
He was filled with rage as not only she attacked those tombs and temples across the continent, but she burned the Grand Elven Library and most importantly, she defiled the tomb of his love, Averice.
“Confess now, Evangeline! I am at my wit’s end! You undermine us ever since we stepped at that wretched continent! Tell us what it is you are planning!” he shouted to her once more.
“Why did you bring us here?” Aderon suddenly said, gaining all of their attention. He drew his swords with his face painted with rage as he flew towards Evangeline. “How dare you bring us here!”
“Aderon stop! We don’t even know where we are!” Tamiron shouted as he drew his large mace.
“We are in the High Kingdom right now! A highly guarded tomb deep within the Aternor mountain range!” Aderon shouted at him.
“You are going to raid this place? Again?” Sevidon said, as he gritted his teeth in anger. “When will you stop?” he shouted.
Evangeline did not answer. She lifted her palms as she murmured a spell towards him. Sevidon braced his arms forward but the lightning struck behind him. The explosion flashed and light filled the eerie place. However, they were not prepared with what they saw next.
They were surrounded with a dozens of High Eagle guards.
Sevidon turned and found the cloaked figure hovering meters above the cavern floor. Its eyes glowed of pink and as now he realized, they were a darker shade than Evangeline’s. But no mistake, it was the same cloaked figure that attacked him in the elven library.
Evangeline was frozen, disappointed towards with her comrade’s empty faith in her. Her eyes then glowed of the same light as the shrouded enemy and flew behind them.
Tamiron held his head. Sevidon checked on him, “What’s wrong?”
He struggled to speak as he shook from fear. “I’ve felt this before. This presence, I know this.” He tried to get a grip of himself. He walked forward and stretched out his left arm and after a brief moment a shield threw itself to him. “Who are you?” he shouted but the figure kept mum.
“Do not waste your time, he will not talk,” Evangeline said then casted another spell.
It was about to strike the enemy but a purple orb suddenly appeared around him, shielding him from the attack. The enemy waved his arms and mysterious symbols flew out of him. A grumbling sound echoed and they knew it came from the tomb. It grew louder and louder until a circular slab of rock was pulled from the tomb, destroying everything its path. Their they saw, engraved at the rock was a black eagle.
“How dare you raid this place you scum! That is a forbidden relic!” Aderon suddenly charged the enemy and struck the invisible shield. Aderon gave all his might to break the shield but he suddenly thrown away by a purple flash.
A coffin made of rock flew out of the tomb. The enemy then waved his hand and the coffin was immediately wrapped by a pink sheet that turned into an orb then disappeared.
“Now, let us begin,” the cloaked figure suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice and with another wave of his hand, the ground buckled beneath Sevidon and Tamiron.
Evangeline and the rest steered away from the debris as Tamiron emerged and jumped towards the enemy. He flung his mace with much force until the invisible shield shattered like glass. The enemy was held back and immediately threw spikes of earth towards Tamiron which he quickly dodged.
“Evangeline what are we dealing with here?” Tamiron asked as found footing in the debris on the ground.
“A plague! He is an embodiment of a plague! We need to stop him here and now! Do whatever you can to stop him! We need to kill him. That is the only way! Try to distract him at all costs, keep him occupied for me to end this!” Evangeline shouted as she summoned ten orbs that arched across her and one by one they charged towards the enemy. But the enemy was fast and dodged all of them.
The enemy then reached for the ceiling and destroyed with another purple flash that brought it down to the four of them in smoke and ash.
Aderon suddenly appeared out of nowhere and struck the enemy multiple times to which the enemy deflected each one of his attacks then casted a lightning spell that hit Aderon in the chest, throwing him to the already crumbling cavern.
Tamiron jumped from below and appeared meters away from the enemy and threw his mace towards the figure as hard as he could. The enemy attempted to strike the speeding mace but failed as Evangeline struck him in the back with a spell. The mace struck him in the head, shooting him out from the sky as he helplessly fell down to the mountain side.
Sevidon ran up from the ground and found the enemy momentarily weakened from the attack. He found his chance and plunged for the enemy but the figure was able to dodge it. Aderon appeared from behind them and tried to overwhelm the enemy but he was too fast for them.
The enemy then jumped from afar and stopped midair.
Tamiron recovered his mace and said, “We need to take him out of the sky.”
“You just did,” Sevidon said as both men panted as they caught their breaths.
“It’s not as easy as I made it look,” Tamiron replied.
“Maybe use your gauntlets then?” Sevidon suggested. Tamiron only looked at him and shook his head.
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br /> “I’ll pluck him from our skies,” Aderon suddenly said as he flew towards the enemy. “I will not let him get away from this place alive!” Aderon shouted, furious at what the enemy did to the tomb that was now buried beneath snow and rubble.
They fought mid-air as the enemy dodged every single one of his attacks, but his cloak was getting torned the longer they do fought and Aderon only came at him faster. He was already screaming when the figure had enough and immediately casted a spell to Aderon to which he was able to dodge.
“Catch!” Aderon shouted as he kicked the enemy towards the ground hard.
Sevidon and Tamiron then charged at him and a fierce duel ensued. With every strike of the mace and every swish of the sword, the enemy had an answer, summoning an ice wall and blowing the wind against Tamiron. The mace came bearing down on every shield that the figure pulled against him, and every shield came crashing down to might of Tamiron’s Mace of Revereigh. Sevidon used his ability to call unto weapons and struck the enemy in every possible direction. With big flash of pink, Evangeline cornered the enemy so that he will not be able to cast any spell.
On the edge of a cliff, Sevidon, Tamiron and Evangeline had cornered mysterious cloaked figure. Aderon came down from the sky and struck the enemy then kicked him down again. Evangeline’s eyes glowed intensely of purple and pink.
“Troj asbastacos!” Evangeline casted and below the enemy, light flashed from pink to red as huge tentacles suddenly appeared from it, catching and immobilizing the enemy. “Klei Arnum!” she followed it with another spell and this time the earth surrounding the red lit ground moved and formed into a huge hand and gripped the enemy to a standstill.
He did not struggle at all. “Icea fron Dalca!” Evangeline casted another spell and this time multiple ice spears formed around the enemy’s surroundings. Evangeline then held her right arm towards the sky and began to cast, yet another spell, “Soros Xarpion Credo Qualma!” and from above the sky turned red as thunder erupted. A huge hole then formed above and from there a huge ball of fire appeared.
“What is she doing,” the stunned Sevidon said as he watched Evangeline summon a ball of fire as big as the sun. Tamiron was dumbfounded and Aderon’s lips shook.
“Evangeline, stop this! This should be enough, he’s not moving!” Sevidon pleaded with her.
“He is too dangerous to be kept alive,” Evangeline replied coldly.
Sevidon saw in her face the intent to end a life, a look that he had not seen from her before. His heart beated fast for he already knew the inevitable.
“Evangeline you’ll destroy the mountain, stop this!” Aderon immediately shouted to her.
“We need to know who he is serving, Evangeline! We need him alive!” Tamiron shouted at her.
“I will not waste this chance,” Evangeline said coldly as her hands trembled and then she dropped her hands. “I will not permit the things to come to happen! All ends here!”
The tentacles and the earthen hand tightened their grip further and the hundreds of spears hurled towards the immobilized enemy and struck him. The sky erupted in a huge pillar of fire and the night had turned to day.
Aderon, Tamiron, and Sevidon was thrown away from the sheer force of the explosion. All three of them were caught graciously by Evangeline’s orbs. The smoke was thick but it slowly disappeared as well.
“Evangeline, the village! An avalanche!” Aderon called out as he tried to free himself from the orb.
She immediately saw this and Evangeline froze the avalanche over to a stop, sparing the small village below. She looked towards the enemy as the smoke slowly cleared. She gasped to see a purple orb and inside it was the cloaked figure, unscathed.
All of them were stunned, including Evangeline. Cold sweat ran from their heads as they saw the unthinkable.
“How did he,” Sevidon stuttered, still unable to make of what he witnessed.
Tamiron was equally stunned, “All that power. It did nothing.”
Aderon looked to see if the tomb was still there, but it was no more. It was obliterated by the power they were all pretty sure, should’ve killed their shrouded enemy.
“We will meet again, in time,” the figure said.
Sevidon and the others then looked at Evangeline, who was now shaken in fear, for she herself could not believe that he had survived her power and walked away unharmed.
The figure was surrounded by a pink sheet that turned into an orb, then disappeared once more.
Evangeline was exhausted, shaken as she slowly descended from the sky until she began to fall from the sky. Sevidon and Tamiron caught her before she reached the ground. They tried to wake her up, while Aderon landed on the edge of what used to be a mountainside tomb was replaced by a huge crater.
Aderon knelt out of grief as he wept the lost lives of his comrades, that not even their bodies made out of that supposed final blow to their enemy.
“Evangeline,” Tamiron tried to wake her up.
“Hey,” Sevidon then called on her but still nothing.
Both of them only looked at each other, as they saw in each other’s face the disbelief as Evangeline finally breathed heavily.
“What did you mean about what you said? Before you casted all those spells at it?” Sevidon asked her again. But she did not even flinch nor react, she was too weak to speak.
He was afraid. At any point of the war and what had happened last year, this was the first time he had been afraid; afraid to the point that he could not think clearly of how to prepare for something they did not even know or understand.
High Eagle guards appeared with spears pointed on all of them as they hovered above them. One of the guards then landed in front of Sevidon, while Tamiron covered the still barely conscious Evangeline.
“Raise your hands!” the guard ordered them.
“We mean you no harm,” he explained to the guard.
The soldier then pointed a sword at his neck. “Then explain what happened here,”
He did know how to even begin. He tried to keep his calm while his hand trembled in the cold and in fear.
“Stop,” Aderon suddenly spoke from afar.
The guard and Sevidon looked at him and guard was somehow surprised.
“Prince Aderon!” the guard shouted, “What are you doing here?”
“There’s no time to explain,” Aderon said as he still knelt on the edge of the crater.
The guard looked at the others then said, “Then I am afraid that we have to go to the High King, your Grace,”
At that point, Sevidon and Tamiron were unsure of what was about to happen.
End of chapter XIX
XX: The High Kings Wrath
There the guards escorted Evangeline, Sevidon, and Tamiron, along with Aderon to High Palace. After a day’s journey, they faced the king who they could see gripped hard on the Talon Throne, enraged. Aderon met the eyes of his father, King Aeros and instantly felt the fury that was about to befall all of them. Aderon’s shoulders tightened as he awaited his father’s words.
After a moments of silence, the king stood and said, “Care to explain the crater on my mountain?” he roared at them in blazing fury.
“We will be able to explain this, your Highness,” Sevidon walked forward.
“Oh, is that so?” King Aeros walked down from the throne and said, “Be a lovely guest then and do tell me.” He gestured to Sevidon as he flashed him a notorious smile.
Aderon saw Sevidon looking directly into his father’s eyes. Big mistake, he thought. He knew his father did not like to be looked at upon like they were equals, especially from an outsider. His smile meant his father was playing with them.
Sevidon and Tamiron then looked at Evangeline who was pale and quiet, her eyes on the floor.
“I do believe, that the High King is aware of the recent raids that had happened all over the eight kingdoms,”
“Yes, of course I am aware. Now get on with it,” King Aeros said as he still held his fake smile.
Sevidon cleared his throat and continued, “We may have found the culprit and—”
“And she is with us, I suppose?” King Aeros gestured his right hand towards Evangeline, who still didn’t flinch.
Dumbfounded, Sevidon opened his mouth to explain but was cut off immediately by the king.
“Do not play games with me, Halfling!” the king shouted and Sevidon quickly bowed his head and fell back in line.
“Father no, it wasn’t her,” he quickly chimed in. He quickly got the attention of his father and he slowly walked towards him.
“Oh, my son. I didn’t notice you over there. You already move like them, even in your own home,” King Aeros grinned.
“Well father, I was told by you, that in the presence of foreigners I will have to address you in an official manner,” he explained himself.
The King Aeros stopped in front of him, “Then why address me as father, and not your king?”
He completely forgot. He stuttered as he tried to explain but the king said, “I will let this slide, for I do know that these people are your comrades. Now let us start this again, explain to me again the crater on my mountain?” King Aeros asked.
“We were here following the culprit of the raids across the land, and no, it wasn’t her. But a different entity, a hooded figure,” he said as brief as possible.
King Aeros crossed his arms and sighed, “And judging by the crater, you killed this culprit? All of you?” he tried to clarify as he gestured to all of them to let him do the talking.
He took a deep breath for he knew that his father will not be pleased by the next things he was about to say. “No, he got away.”
“Oho!” King Aeros said as he walked away from them. “Did you hear that, adviser? They let him get away.” His adviser stood idle and nodded to the king.
“We did not let him get away, my King,” he clarified. “We did everything we could to stop him from getting away, the Grand Sage made sure that the enemy wouldn’t even live in the first place.”
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