by M J Webb
“No, Sereq,” interrupted Jake, humbled by the fact that he was receiving an apology from such a surreal source, “you saved my best mate. That’s exactly what I would’ve told you to do, if I was asked. I see that now. I’m sorry for my reaction, it was stupid of me. Anyway, life’s too short for regrets, innit? As me granddad used to say, ‘There’s no use crying over spilt milk’. We have to move on. So, what happens now? Ben, can you help him? And what about us? Are you gonna help us to fight?”
“Srr… Yes… And no. That is why I appear before you now, to explain our decision,” replied the spirit’s ghostly image. “Jake, prepare yourself, for you may not like what I am about to say. You may not understand.”
“What? What does that mean?”
Jake was not the only one present who was confused. Tien also cast a puzzled and enquiring glance at the ancient spirit. “Yes, what are you saying? You have lost me completely. Why will he not like it? Something is wrong here, I can feel it. What are you neglecting to tell us?”
Sereq looked down upon the old man who had served him and his kind faithfully for over three hundred years. His eyes were brimming with sympathy, compassion and sorrow. “You have been a trusted and noble ally, wizard. We Heynai thank you for all you have done on behalf of our people. Your service to us and them, your supreme sacrifice, shall never be forgotten. I am afraid that we are not destined to meet again, my friend. Our time on Estia is finally at an end. We must leave you.”
Tien and Jake were both too stunned to reply. However, it was abundantly clear that they were thinking the same thing; ‘The spirits are immortal, aren’t they? How can they die? And how can they desert their people at such a time? Why now, when they need them most?’
Jake shook his head slightly when he failed to come up with the answers to his own questions. Sereq felt his concern and saw his shock and dismay. “We must leave you all, for good. It is not something we do gladly, for the battle is not yet won. But, it is for the benefit of all of Estia, for the future of all our worlds. This decision has not been taken lightly, Jake. There has been much heated debate surrounding it. We do not wish to leave with the fight still raging, the outcome unknown. It has to be this way. You have to trust me on that. Now, listen to me once more, please?
Our parting gift to you all will be time. If all goes well, we will afford you the time you need to prepare your defences and restore the power in the box of stones. They are central to our cause and you must not be distracted from your efforts to repair the box. It will be the key to victory. Use this time we win for you wisely, Keeper, I beg you?”
“But, why Sereq? You have not explained and I need to know. And how? How are you going to do it? How long can you give us? Whatever you’re going to make happen, how long will it last?” cried Jake. Words flowed freely and swiftly from within the youngster now, riding on waves of differing emotions he could barely control.
“Keeper… We have lived a long, long time we spirits, on our journey through life and death. We have seen much that we would rather forget and in the final analysis, I am ashamed to admit that we have failed our people. As hard as we tried, and you have to know that we fought against evil with all our heart and soul, we could not protect them from the pain and suffering they endured, not as we would have wished. Those who opposed us were too strong and our powers were not sufficient. We eventually won the wars we fought, but we lost many a battle along the way. And there were casualties, many, many, innocent victims. For that, we are deeply sorry, more than you will ever know.
However, there is a chance now to end all of the suffering. You are here with us and the final war has finally begun. This is the only way we can see to help them. They can survive without us now, for they have you and Princess Zephany to lead them, to protect them. They are frightened and lost at this moment in time, but they will take comfort from the fact that they have proven their mettle on the field of battle these past few days, and they were not found wanting. Their hearts are strong. They are not as helpless as they might have believed before you came… Jake, we Heynai can do nothing unless the advancing hoards are halted. That is the plain and simple truth of the matter. As I have said, the box of stones is the key to everything, the weapon which will defeat them. It is not yet fully restored, but it has to be!
The eternal flame of energy which fuels us, that which allows us to remain with you, still burns brightly, Jake. It came closer than ever before to being extinguished at Dassilliak because of the risks we took, but it survives. That fire is the most powerful force in this land, or beyond. It is the very essence of life itself. And it is ours to give.”
Jake immediately shook his head, vigorously. He just couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he determined that he had to object. “No, no, no! Give? By ‘giving’, you’re talking about suicide!” he raged, as he realised immediately exactly what Sereq was saying. He refused outright to accept the sacrifice on offer, failing to realise that he was seeing things totally from a human perspective, looking at the problems they faced with a young boy’s eyes.
But then, ‘he was a boy, wasn’t he? He had his whole life ahead of him. So why shouldn’t he react like the youth he was?’ It was hard for Jake, hard to appreciate the fact that the spirits were already dead. They had lived on borrowed time for hundreds of years. He was awash with emotion and it was clouding his judgement. There were lasting moments as a Keeper when he could suppress and control such feelings, but this wasn’t one of them. Just as he was about to say more, Tien placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Let him speak, Keeper. There is more, and we need to know,” he said, understanding that the leader of the Heynai was impatient to finish what he had begun, and state all that he had come to say.
““What? More? How can there be more?!”
“Keeper… You will need to remain calm and focussed from hereon. Though your youth and background will hinder your development, you must control your inner feelings so that they do not affect your thinking. Be assured, you are the one spoken of in legend. You will…”
“Prophecies? Yeah, I know. I’ve heard it all before, how I am ‘The One’ who will make everything right. Ever since I got here it’s been, ‘prophecy this, and prophecy that…’ That’s all very well, but no one has told me what they actually say!”
Sereq smiled a little, amused by Jake’s response. “Kah, the impatience of youth. I wish I could say that I remember it well… Listen to me, Jake. Tien will explain all to you in the fullness of time, if he has the chance. Trust me, when you really need to know, you shall. Though, it may not form part of this particular journey. Too much knowledge too soon can be… Counterproductive, shall we say?”
Jake was not at all happy with that statement. He accepted though, that there was probably a very good reason for all the mystery and he could see that right now, with all the uncertainty and danger that lay ahead, his opinion on things was not that important. Anyway, this was one decision which had already been made, so any further debate was futile. “Well, okay, but I don’t like it, Sereq. I want you to know that right now. I need you. I don’t think I can do this thing without you. Besides, you said you’d always be here with me?”
The ghostly image of the spirit nodded to acknowledge his own mistake. “I know. I should not have… A promise is a promise, and it is not something to be taken lightly. Events can overtake us sometimes, they can spiral out of control. I did not foresee this. Only by leaving you now, do we have any hope of stopping the wizard and his army of warriors. I am certain of that. If we stay, if we fail in our efforts to delay their march, you will all be killed.
…Listen to me. Do not be alarmed, all is not yet lost. We will create a shield between you which cannot be breached. Be warned though, we have no way of knowing how long it will last. However, I promise you now that we will hold it until the last ounce of strength is drained from us. You will have days at most, enough time to gather your forces and complete the quest for the fourth stone, I hope. Th
at will then just leave the final gem, the last battle with the wizard. It is a fight you must win!”
“I see,” said Tien. “Then, this is goodbye, Sereq. Or am I leaving too?”
Jake’s fear suddenly intensified. The hairs on the back of his neck shot up and stood rigidly to attention, as an icy cold shiver ran down his spine. The thought of losing the old wizard as well as the Heynai was too catastrophic and terrifying to contemplate. To be left completely alone with no one to guide him? That was his worst nightmare.
But, to his immense relief, Sereq calmly shook his head. “No, Tien, you will remain until victory is won and the forces of evil are defeated for good. That was the vow you made long ago and nothing has changed.”
Tien nodded obediently. Then he looked straight into the eyes of the young Keeper by his side. “So be it. I will serve you to the best of my ability, until the end of time if I have to. “
“Err… Thanks. But I thought you were tired of all this?” replied Jake, greatly relieved to hear it. Tien did not reply to his question for he sensed that time was running out. Jake sensed it also and they both turned to the spirit once more. “We’ll all do what we can, what we must, I promise. But, what about Ben and the others?” asked Jake.
Sereq now looked more like a businessman who had just missed his train than a ghostly spirit, he appeared worried and anxious. He answered nevertheless. “The warriors of King Vantrax pursue them hard. Even as we speak they are hunting them down. Despite the dragon’s best efforts to slow them, Ben is still very much in danger. He is not yet safe. We shall do what we can for him. Now, I really have to go for I have lingered too long. If all goes well, Ben will join you soon and you will be protected from further attack until our strength fails us, until we are gone. If we are not successful in our endeavours, if the spell does not work, the full force of the enemy will be upon you before sunset.”
“Oh, that’s just great, cheers,” replied Jake, sarcastically. “…You really know how to raise someone’s spirits, don’t ya? Ha ha… Hey! ‘Raise someone’s spirits!’ D’ya get it? That’s good that. Even Ben would be proud of that one… Oh ‘eck, I’m turning into my best mate!”
Sereq shook his head slightly at the suddenly very immature looking ‘saviour of worlds’, but he did not reply straight away. Jake’s laughter subsided naturally and not a sound could be heard. Tien and Jake looked at Sereq, waiting impatiently for him to speak. Despite the urgency, the leader of the Heynai seemed to be taking his time deciding on what to say as his final farewell. He took one last look around at the surrounding landscape, staring with tear filled eyes at the land he loved and was willing to sacrifice everything for. When he was at last ready, he spoke. His voice was calm but for the very first time since the boys had appeared on Estia, it was laced with pure emotion.
“Look after our people, Jake. Protect them, as a member of your family has done since first we met with your ancestor. We were right to place our trust in you and your kind. Your family have proven to be courageous and loyal. We Estians are a good people when given a chance to prove it. We can be brave, gracious and kind, when shown that there is an alternative to war. We just need reminding of that fact from time to time. It is not our people’s fault that these virtues are now buried deep within their souls, that it sometimes takes the appearance of a Keeper from another world to unearth them, for many have known little else but conflict and pain in their lives. They have witnessed the dark magic before and they are scared. They need you to show them that they can prevail, to lead them to victory.”
And with that, Sereq’s image vanished. The most powerful of the Heynai, the greatest ally the Keeper had, was gone. Jake looked instinctively at Tien, waiting for the old wizard to say something, but once again Tien had nothing to say. He was dumbfounded and he just shrugged his shoulders, genuinely lost for words.
Jake West had no such issues. Once it was clear that Tien was not going to speak, he knew exactly how to respond; in the same manner that he faced all challenges put before him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.
“Well, here we go again, eh? In for a penny, in for a pound. Game on!”
Tien couldn’t help but smile at hearing the familiar turn of phrase. He still shook his head in disbelief though. ‘Kuh… It is hardly the awe-inspiring rhetoric of a great warrior and leader,’ he thought. ‘…But then, it is typical of the way in which these two young boys from a far away land seem to approach every problem they face? In fact, it is the kind of frivolous response and attitude with which they seem to approach life itself. Kah! By the spirit of Nitrii-Hebul, how I envy them!’
The more he thought about it, the more the wizard came to realise that, ‘…Actually, those words, and that reaction, will do nicely.’
Jake spotted a faint smirk appear on the old man’s face. “What?” he asked, as they turned around and strode purposefully through the gates to the city. “What you grinning at, eh? Was it something I said? Yeah well, I’m sorry if you don’t approve but that’s just me, innit? What good is worrying gonna do? As me granddad always says, ‘Smile in the face of adversity, deal with what’s in front of you and laugh at disaster when you can. If you do, you’ll come out smelling of roses in the end.’
To be fair, he’s full of all kinds of crap like that, me granddad. Ha ha…”
Chapter 3
28th August - The City of Dassilliak - Perosya
Only three of the five Lords of Srenul had managed to survive the devastating collapse of the mountain at Dassilliak. It was an extraordinary event which had entombed forever more the remaining two knights. The terrifyingly evil warlords were buried beneath tons of falling rock and would never be seen again. The remaining warriors raised by King Vantrax from the fires of Zsorcraum, who had once brought Estia to the very brink of destruction, had enjoyed an amazing, unbelievable escape. When the mountain had caved in and it began to collapse around them, they had somehow managed to throw themselves to the very edges of the tunnel, using their phenomenal speed and agility to save themselves from oblivion. Incredibly, by some means they evaded the majority of the falling rock and narrowly avoided being crushed. And once the dust had finally settled, their far superior eyes were able to see again in the darkness. They were then able to slowly free themselves from the mountain, using their immense strength to clear a path back to the cave entrance. Once there, the enraged leader had punched his way through the rubble, sending debris flying in all directions to finally reach daylight.
Waiting to greet them at the collapsed entrance to the cave was an equally incensed and frustrated King Vantrax. Once he was informed of the events within the mountain and the Keeper’s flight, the evil wizard was horrified and further infuriated. The almost impossible escape of his enemies once again, when it had seemed to him for certain that he finally had them trapped and the war was won, was almost too much to take. He just could not believe what he was being told and he flew into yet another fit of extreme rage.
When he had finally calmed down, his thoughts turned toward the present. He knew immediately that he had to plan for the final pursuit, the hunting down and destruction of the remnants of the once great Estian army. He became determined not to dwell on the events at Dassilliak, even though the blood was boiling in his veins and the whole victory his forces had achieved there, felt like an enormous defeat. The Alliance and the rebels had been badly mauled at the great city by his invincible troops, all he had to do now was find them, bring them to battle, and finish what had begun.
The immense Thargw, Sawdon, stood by the King’s side as he contemplated his next move, eagerly awaiting his master’s words like a hound with the scent of fox in his nostrils. The three surviving Lords of Srenul also waited obediently to hear his command, standing alongside the sole remaining graxoth and sraine, the creatures raised to hunt down and kill Princess Zephany and Jake.
“Raaarr!!! Aghrast!!!”
King Vantrax suddenly roared out loud. His face was bright red with rage once mor
e as he let out one final scream of fury. The others remained silent, sensing that no words would suffice at such a time, and that it would probably not be wise to speak while their leader was in such a mood. The evil wizard then remained quiet for a few minutes more as he calmed himself, breathing rapidly, but gently stroking the hair on his chin as he deliberated. After a short while, he stood up and strode purposefully over to the cave entrance. He remained there for several seconds, surveying the fallen debris and pondering with utter dismay what might have been, reflecting for the last time upon just how close he had come to achieving the victory he so desperately craved. Finally, he turned around to address the small crowd of warriors who had joined with the others to hear what their King had to say.
“This battle is over, but the war goes on! All of you, listen to me now and listen well. We have come too far to stop now. This is the final conflict. It is the last pursuit we shall ever have to make. The Rebellion, or Alliance, call them what you will, are defeated. They have lost the best of their army here, and at Erriard. They are fatigued and they are demoralised. We have all but destroyed them. All they have left now are a few old warriors whose best days are far behind them, they cannot withstand our might. They are no match for us. They run from the fight like scampering rachtis because they know they cannot win. They are in dire need of rest, and they need to lick their wounds and replenish their energy. But, they shall not have it!
