The Return of the Fifth Stone

by Vincent Todarello

  I held Lunaris close to me as the others scattered and scrambled to hide in safety. Our men armed themselves with sword and shield on the ground, and the Lapisian forces took to the air with their bows.

  The dragon circled above like a bird hunting its prey. It was the last of the four belonging to the Soul Collectors. It was Scievah’s dragon. When it dove downward, I could see that Scievah was not mounted upon it like the others. He was too cowardly to fight us himself. There were no soldiers. There was no army. This was just an attack, meant to shake our will. The remainder of his army was likely at his fortified palace, behind the castle walls, ready for our attack. The dragon was meant to thin our numbers.

  As the dragon swooped down, breathing fire and clawing soldiers as it passed by, I heard yet another distant sound. I thought it was an earthquake. The earth shook, but rather than a constant rumble, it was a pattern of short impact thuds.

  “Oh no,” I said aloud as my eyes fixed upon the source of the sound approaching in the distance.

  Lunaris wept. “What is it?”

  “The Pantagruelian.” I said the name with fear.

  It stood as tall as a tree when crawling on all fours. Its massive webbed feet struck the ground with thuds that caused dust to fall from the ceiling high above. Its face was angry, long, and triangular, with two large tentacles extending downward from its chin, and a horn pointing up and then bending backward from the top of its head. The beast’s skin was smooth, shiny, and without scales; a dark greenish grey color that matched the depths of the sea. Its eyes looked like that of an octopus or squid, large and round, but with a ridge above that angled downward into a valley between. Its mouth jutted outward on the bottom near the jaw, and a set of long, pointed, thick teeth were displayed even when its mouth was shut. Behind its face, on its neck, was a massive set of fleshy gills that were pink behind each slit. Its legs moved as though it could stand on two feet, and its back was hunched, showing a thick line of bones that ran backward from its head to its long, whip-like tail. Sticking upward from the end of its tail were what looked like razor sharp, pointed fins. Everyone began to panic as it approached.

  The monster would be a difficult match even with all four of the Divinae working together alongside our entire army. Luna was busy extinguishing the dragon’s flames. Without her, our men would be burned alive.

  The dragon soon landed, biting and swiping with its claws, giving its wings a rest. I ran towards it. I focused my mind on only the dragon, put my sword into its sheath and held my hand upward toward it.

  “Cease your attack!” I yelled. It turned its head toward me, and then angrily roared into the air. “You are under my command now. I am your master!” The beast stared blankly at me.

  I walked toward it. I thought back to when I tamed the warbear in the woods by our farm. This beast had been tainted by dark items, and was much more deadly, but if I were to break this winged lizor I could will it to attack the Pantagruelian. It snorted outward and dug its claws deep into the ground, as if pained or angered in some way by my presence.

  “It’s alright,” I said, as if it could understand me. “Your loyalty is now owed to me,” I commanded. “You will protect my people from the beast that approaches.” I pointed to the Pantagruelian. I was shocked to see the dragon turn its head in the beast’s direction. Somehow it comprehended.

  It roared again, then inhaled a deep breath, and exhaled flames into the air. Its body shook, as if casting off some unwanted object from its skin. Then it approached me, bowed its head, and kneeled with its front limbs beside me.

  “First a lion, and now a dragon?” I asked myself aloud with a chuckle. I climbed onto its back and took hold of the spines that stuck up behind its neck for support.

  The dragon beat its leathery wings hard and fast, and with a leap we were off the ground. The others below looked up to see what I had done, but there was no time for waiting and watching. The Pantagruelian had approached.

  I felt the thump of its feet shaking the air itself. It breathed in and out a foul stench, and green sludge fell from its ever exposed teeth. Its chin tentacles arched upward like tusks and whipped about wildly in the air. Its movements seemed sluggish at first, but when it began to attack, it was fast and fearsome. It swiped its front limbs outward, swatting at our men and stomping down to the ground to crush them under foot. It roared and growled with a deep gurgle.

  The Divinae quickly approached the beast, attempting to draw its attack away from the Haareti that still scattered. Gelande hurled streams of fire that were twice as powerful as dragon’s breath or the fireballs from dark wizards. It was a hot blue flame, fast and straight, that blasted the beast in its chest. Felsson slowed its movement by raising razor brush and entangling roots in its path. He pelted the beast with rocks and boulders summoned from all around us.

  The beast plunged through it. The fire seemed to hurt it, but its thick skin was almost impervious to the heat. In a moment when it was slowed from Felsson’s manipulation of the lands, I flew in towards the beast with my dragon. It exhaled a deadly breath of fire upon the beast’s face, blinding it temporarily. The dragon flew in close, and clawed at one of the beast’s eyes, which were each larger than my head. We retreated up and backward as the Pantagruelian writhed in pain. We had done some damage to the creature, and it could only see with one eye. The dragon obliterated the eye it clawed, and blood streamed down the beast’s grotesque face. It roared and screeched, and brave, fearless soldiers below ran in close to slash and hack at its feet and legs, slowing it even further.

  We battled the Pantagruelian for the better part of that day. Luna soaked the ground beneath its feet with water, causing it to sink into a thick, bog-like mud patch. It struggled to move. Then Hemela sang forth a deadly harmonic that seemed to cause great pain to the beast. It twitched with anger and pain, screaming and roaring into the air in agony. I flew over head and my dragon once again breathed fire into the beast's face, and then clawed at the other eye.

  As we climbed back up into the air to retreat, Hemela’s harmonic ceased, and the beast yanked with all its might to free its front limbs from the mud beneath. Dirt, rock, and water flung into the air all around, and the Pantagruelian stood upright on its hind legs. It swatted blindly in the air with its front limbs, and all the Lapisians who took to the air to fight the beast scattered away to safety.

  I saw from the corner of my eye that its flailing limb was coming right at us. With a jerk, the dragon turned its body to shield me from the blow, absorbing it all upon its side in a selfless act of protection. I felt a thud, heard a crunch, and suddenly my body was separated from the dragon. The beast had swiped a lucky blow, and batted my dragon from the sky as it reached up into the air.

  The dragon soared across the sky and fell to the ground, severely injured. My body began to fall, and the ground fast approached. With all my might I stretched out my wings and arched my back up toward the sky again. I felt the air slightly catching underneath my wings. I yelled, exerting all the energy I had in me to try to lift myself into the sky as a Lapisian could do with ease. Just as I was about to flatten myself on the ground beside the Pantagruelian, I began to glide. My body lightly grazed the ground, kicking up dust and debris, but I did not fall. I climbed! It seemed I was unable to take flight from a standing position, but, from a fall, I could soar and glide with my wings. Flapping my wings didn’t do much, but I was able to elevate my body ever so slightly as I soared.

  I maneuvered my way toward the fallen dragon, and came to a sloppy, but safe landing beside it. I examined its body and saw the place where it was injured. All along its ribs, under its wing, was collapsed from the blunt force of the Pantagruelian’s swinging limbs. The dragon struggled to breathe, its lungs no doubt destroyed beneath its thick, scaled skin. I pitied the creature. It was abused to become what it was, and it knew not of its master’s evil plot.

  I placed my hands over the animal’s wounds, concentrating with all of my focus to heal it. The lizor
shifted a cat-like eye toward me, acknowledging my attempt to help it with a look of helplessness. It moaned in pain. I could see that the creature could not move its head or neck. The bones along its back had been broken. The dragon slowly closed its eye as it remained fixed upon me. The lizor died, and, oddly, my heart broke for it.

  The others bested the Pantagruelian, though we lost many soldiers in the process. The beast sank deep into Luna’s mud, and Hemela sang forth her deadly tune, nearly shattering the beast from within. Felsson’s rock onslaught broke its limbs, and Gelande’s fire charred much of its thick, wet skin to a foul smelling crisp. Our men stayed clear of the deepening mud, and the archers fired arrow after arrow, incessantly raining the thick, long javelins into the creature. It collapsed upon its own legs, the weight above too heavy to bear on its broken, weakened limbs. It slowly sank into the mud, panicked, screaming and writhing itself deeper and deeper. It was soon smothered, never to rise again. We defeated the ancient horror, the fabled and invincible pet of a demon. Scievah was to be next.

  #

  “Valdren the dragon tamer!” Peitus cried out. “Even Tillius would marvel at this feat.” All of the others began to cheer, and I smiled with embarrassment at their praise.

  “And you can fly now!” Gargaz roared as he landed beside me.

  “Almost,” I corrected him. “The real champions here are the Divinae,” I added. “Without them we would have met our doom.”

  “We must strike Scievah’s palace right away,” said Gelande. “If he knows where we are, then he will try to thin our numbers again and again, until we are useless against his fortifications.”

  “He will pick us apart,” my father added. “Our numbers have already dwindled.”

  “Yes. But I have a plan, one I have been crafting for many cycles.” Gelande looked at me. “Valdren, you must come with me. Say your goodbyes to your family and loved ones.”

  I nodded in agreement. This was to be the last time I would see everyone. No more fresh, warm meals on the farm, no more loving embraces with Lunaris, no more laughs and stories with Patreus and his family, and no more time spent together with my father in the wilderness. I longed for those days of innocence; days I would never see again.

  Peitus was first to say farewell. He shook my hand as a warrior would, and then embraced me as a brother would. “Stay safe, you worm,” he joked. “Do us proud.”

  Patreus and Fiama were next to approach. “You’ve become such a noble young man, Valdren,” Fiama said.

  “As was Deius,” I offered. “He brought us victory on the battlefield, and he is my most cherished friend.” Tears began to form in their eyes.

  “You know he would have wanted to come with you.” Patreus let out a nervous laugh before the tears broke free from his eyes and fell down his face.

  “He most certainly would have,” I said, hugging them goodbye.

  My father was next. He smiled broadly as he approached me. “You are everything I could have ever hoped for in a son. You are brave, fearless,” he said.

  “I am not without fear, father.”

  “You strike out alone to destroy the most powerful force Haaret has known on its lands. Your name will be remembered throughout history, and likenesses of you will be carved by artists and craftsmen for many cycles to come.” He hugged me. “I’m proud of you. Now go kill that demon! And beware of his tricks.”

  Lunaris was last, still looking beautiful in her wedding attire, but with the mess of battle stained all about her. She too fought alongside the others against the Pantagruelian.

  I laughed as she approached. “You’ll forever be a tom boy."

  She laughed too, but only to hide her tears. She hugged me tight, squeezing me close to her. “Is this the last time we will see each other?” she asked.

  “No,” I said. “We will be together in Eterna, and we will always be in each other’s hearts.”

  She put her head down between my neck and shoulder. I could feel her warm tears hitting my skin, and then turning cold as they trickled down my arm. I ran my fingers through her hair one last time, and picked her head up to give her one final kiss.

  “Goodbye, my love,” I said.

  I stood beside the Divinae as the crowd looked upon us. I saw my lion lower its head in sadness, and then kneel before us with its eyes proudly fixed upon me.

  I laughed. “Goodbye, loyal pet. Look after the others.” It roared upward, as if voicing in the affirmative.

  Soon everyone joined in the majestic animal’s gesture and knelt before me and the Divinae. After a moment everyone stood again, and I left with Gelande.

  CHAPTER 29

  “Where are we going?” I asked Gelande as we moved hurriedly across the plain to the southeast. My head occasionally spun around as I scanned the landscape for the dark figure that was following my father. I wondered if it was in fact following me.

  “To a high, dark cliff that overlooks Scievah’s palace,” he explained.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “You will make your attack from there. Keep moving, quickly!” he hurried me along. We were almost running.

  Ahead in the distance I could see both the spires of Scievah’s palace and the dark cliffs rising up into the dimly glowing sky. We hurried along, and soon approached a hidden pathway leading up into the dark cliffs. As we climbed up, I could see more of Scievah’s palace below. It was like a fortified castle. Surrounded by a chasm that nearly encircled it, the palace stood three times as high as the palace at Mir’Dinaas. Deep down in the chasm I could see red hot magma bubbling. It hissed and gurgled down below, and a thick white steam rose up, enveloping the flags that waved Scievah’s wicked crest high above the outer walls.

  Beyond the chasm were stone walls twice as high as the wall around the Sepulcre, and thick enough for several men to stand shoulder to shoulder atop it. The sole entrance into the hold was a massive pair of gates; first an iron set at the front of the wall, and then a thick wood set behind, at the rear. Archer slits were built into the wall at regular spans, and war machinery was fixed behind the walls, elevated on platforms so that the catapults could clear the height of the wall when launched. They were loaded with boulders and ready to fire.

  A series of stairways and levels rose up beyond the catapults. Some areas were sleeping quarters, others supply houses and weapon storage. I could see hundreds of soldiers preparing for battle, arming themselves and setting up attack points throughout the grounds.

  The massive stonework wound its way up to a large, fanciful grass courtyard, outfitted with fountains and ornately trimmed hedges and stone walkways. Its artistry rivaled the manicured Lapisian gardens we saw up in the clouds. In the rear was Scievah’s opulent palace; its spires rose up higher than his other palace in Ahaareta, but still resembled the antlers of a stagdeer. Up top, in the center horn, was an open windowed chamber that glowed with light. Scievah’s quarters, no doubt.

  We climbed and climbed, and soon we were perched even higher than Scievah’s tower. We could see everything from there. I could not tell if it was day or night, but the entire area was dark.

  “I will stay with the army to press the attack on the palace. You can watch it from up here,” Gelande said.

  “Am I just to watch?”

  “No. Here, rub this over your wings.” He pointed to the soot that covered the cliff walls and nearby rocks. “It will make your white wings blend in with the rocks, so that you cannot be seen.”

  “What will I do, and when?”

  “You will wait for my signal, and then jump off and soar into Scievah’s tower where you will defeat him alone,” Gelande instructed.

  “How will I know your signal?”

  “I will release plumes of fire into the sky the likes of which have never been seen. You will not mistake them,” he explained.

  “How will you do that?”

  “I will get behind the walls of the palace and ignite explosions without magic that will disorient Scievah’s army.”


  “Explosions without magic?” I asked incredulously.

  “Yes. I have found a mineral that furiously explodes when jolted with fire. Few know about this discovery.”

  “Illuminite? The mineral that is in my blade?” I asked.

  “Yes, Valdren.”

  “But how could a blacksmith forge a blade out of a mineral that explodes when exposed to heat?”

  “It is combined with other minerals from Alapis that change its properties. The Lapisian minerals also make your blade light as a feather. I gave Kalvis the plans to make your weapon, along with the minerals,” he explained. My blade was truly magical. “I’ve placed barrels of illuminite all around the palace at various places where I know Scievah’s men will be stationed,” he continued.

  “But how will you get in? The walls are thick and fortified, and the chasm surrounds it.”

  “Our forward forces will divert them to the front of the palace while I take a group of elite Uhaareti fighters with me through the secret entrances I burrowed in the back. There will be many surprises for Scievah this day. This is my war, Valdren,” he continued. “No doubt Scievah has doubled his guard knowing that I have turned against him, but we will not fail despite our thinned numbers. I’ve been patiently planning this for what seems like an eternity." He pointed at me. "But up here, this is your time, Valdren. You and you alone must fulfill, or not fulfill, your destiny. It matters not whether we all die in fighting to take the palace. All that matters is that you put an end to Scievah.”

  “What if I fail? What if he is too powerful and I need help?” I asked.

  “Don’t let your faith fail you now, after all you have seen and done. Believe in yourself, and you shall succeed. And this is the only way, Valdren. It is the only way to draw all of Scievah’s forces and guards away from him so that he is isolated and alone. We will attack ahead of you; this time we will be the diversion to trick Scievah, and we will have our stones back from the demon who stole them. Felsson and I will feel it when Scievah is destroyed, and then we will come and retrieve the stones.”