Dusk of a Hybrid

by Ryan Johnson

  Only time will tell if this threat will emerge. For the time being, Valverno was clear of having the Lizard Clan join the ranks with the Eagle, Cheetah, and Tigress Clans and surrounding the Lion Clan and the Seaport City.

  “Question or argue with my choices I make. I mustn’t become a reincarnation of Shimabellia’s dead king. I know him from the inside of his heart: he almost stole Marina from me and almost burned her alive when she was captured. He was evil at heart and I mustn’t become him. Killing a clan is not in my jurisdiction as a demigod; this is a second chance of life for them, but not the dead leaders. I offered them but they kept refusing, and they died still loyal to Uragiru. And I believe in second chances and the soldiers of the reformed Snake Clan have earned the right to have a second chance.”

  “Very well then,” said Bjorg. “But just as we said, if the Lizard Clan does anything funny or anything that looks suspicious, we clans won’t hesitate to strike first before this newly, reformed clan does.”

  Valverno sighed and turned away. He proceeded to walk out the door and as he stepped at the entrance, he turned back and said, “Do what you deem is necessary, if the Lizard Clan does betray us.”

  “We will,” the three said in unison.

  Valverno nodded his head and exited the tent to have the three clans leaders keep up their eyes on the maps and any potential battlefields. He folded his wings and softly ascended into the sky. He rose into the air in a manner of seconds and he looks once more at all the tens stretching as far as his eyes can sea.

  Off in the distant of fifty miles or so, there was a small oval shaped fortress lingering to the right alongside the water of the vast seas. That was the city Teutates and the Lion Clan were currently holding positions in and the three clans had it surrounded by land.

  He himself could invade the city, but the Lion Clan was going to have catapults and large crossbow machines that could fire right on target. Valverno had the power to rebel anything firing upon him, but he didn’t have the power to have anything to penetrating his skin and he was vulnerable by being pierced by any metal weapon or a falling boulder.

  He turned to the south and headed off in the direction of the fleet was going to be coming in. He flown to see what the current position the fleet was at, already knowing they were still sailing, but didn’t know what spot the Lizard Clan was already at.

  He flew south from the encampment and distancing himself miles from the shorelines. It was some time before he saw the first row of ships sailing north with the rising winds starting to blow to the west.

  Valverno sighed with relief there was no sign of battle fragments on any of the warships as far as he can see.

  The ships were sailing at a high speed with the tide of the waters pushing the warships by the waves. The waves of the sea were flat and easy enough for the warships to push through. The thousands of warships were enough to invade the entire western coast of Shimabellia. And the memories Valverno sees how the soldiers are trained they would have the strength of fifty thousand men.

  He flew toward the front of the fleet and casted out many crystal orbs. He sent hundreds at once and cleared his throat for an announcement: “Lizard Clan, here is my first order to you: patrol a Seaport City by the seas. The clans of Eagle, Tigress, and Cheetah are patrolling the city by land, so you are going to patrol the city by sea. The seaport city holds the Lion Clan and their leader: Teutates.

  “The reason for you patrolling you on sea is the three clans don’t trust any of you because yesterday this clan was called the Snake Clan, a clan that uses poisonous techniques on any enemy. As your new leader, I forbid this newly, reformed Lizard Clan from using any poison and start using just plain, sharp metal weapons for battles and wars.

  “And if you need supplies of food and drink, negotiate with the clan leaders’ located twenty degrees down southwest of the Seaport City. You people may choose a second-in-command you may deem worthy enough of leading you when I’m not around. But for the time being, I’m your leader and what I say goes through your ears and into your minds: patrol the city by sea day and night. And if you see way sign any ships exiting the city, tear it down.

  “As of now, the Lion Clan is our enemy and Lusìvar is. And our allies on this island are the three united clans: Eagle, Cheetah, and Tigress. And with you, that is now four united clans under my wing. For the time being, patrol the city by sea and keep your distance from the land. Does everyone understand?”

  Many loud shouts echoed in Valverno’s hybrid ears. Many voices he could faintly hear was the word “Yes” and the rest were war shouts and cries of agreement. Valverno firmly had the extreme loyalty of this clan.

  Then he let the clan go on ahead, and he remained floating still in the air as he watched the countless of ships sail by him sailing north. They sailed with great speed he was hoping to see, and they seemed to have their ships settled of blockading the city Teutates was holding position in.

  After the last of the ships sail to the north to watch over the city the Lion Clan by sea, Valverno decided to go back to the fortress and try to figure out how such a building survived Pangaea’s destruction and remain on the surface while his old home city remains buried beneath the surface of Shimabellia.

  REMEMBERING THE PAST

  At first, Valverno needed to go back to Shimabellia. However, he was flying back to the fortress. Valverno needed to go back to the island he ruled as its sovereign ruler. However, he had an uncertain feeling like a weak stomachache feeling about the fortress. He wanted to take some time and gaze at the fortress and think how it could be still standing.

  All he could guess it was forced to be an actual castle for sheltering an army there. He didn’t know what materials the fortress was made of, and wanted to know what metals and minerals were used and what the fortress may have been used for.

  Since he learned the knowledge of the three leaders of the disbanded and reformed Snake Clan were Dark Pangaeans, he needed to investigate the fortress and learn the details of how it remains on the surface. His old home city from the ancient country remains buried and this ancient fortress remains on the surface.

  The fortress holds many secrets he needs to uncover, and if by chance, Lusìvar could be using this place as a hiding place. There were lots of secrets Valverno needed to uncover and see what kind of secrets were waiting to be found. If there were any magic staffs or weapons hidden inside any of the towers, he would have to destroy them.

  It would be time consuming for him to transport those items to many people posted everywhere on Isla Maeli’s eastern coast and Shimabellia’s ports. And it would take more time for any of his allies to travel to this black fortress to get any weapons they could use against Lusìvar or Teutates.

  And while no one would be there, Lusìvar may get a few items of his own or under the noses of people who could be stationed here. Valverno wasn’t going to take any chances with an ancient castle that dates back tens of thousands of years and have it hold any secrets; he was going to explore the entire complex and destroy anything he sees as a weapon.

  Valverno wasn’t going to take any risks of leaving any unknown secrets out in the towers. Even if there are no weapons or items of great value being held in any of the towers, Valverno was going to search thoroughly.

  Lusìvar was still out there. And any weapon Valverno won’t have would be a weapon for Lusìvar. If Valverno can’t have his armies have the weapons, then he can’t let have Lusìvar have any of his own.

  And with the greatest haste, Valverno was flying back to the fortress. He was going to take the opportunity to see how such a marvelous but considerable dangerous fortress still standing from ten thousand years of time and decay.

  This time he didn’t have to wait for any sailboat or a hundred soldiers to march out; he was flying at the fastest speed he wings can carry him. It was a good opportunity for him to study and examine.

  H
e drew to a sudden halt once his eyes came into contact of the fortress. Once again, he felt a dreary eerie after his hybrid eyes saw one of its towers. He was feeling uneasy and uncertain about the black fortress and he needed to take some personal time to study the place and make sure there weren’t any weapons or any magic staffs that could be used for war. And if there were weapons, he thought of destroying them or hand selecting a few to give to a handful of soldiers.

  He raised his hand and a soft wind began to blow beneath his feet. Then his helmet he tossed away and his army he tore off earlier flew back to him. Valverno grabbed the flying helmet in his hand while wait for the other armor parts to cover his naked half-human body.

  After a short time, Valverno placed the helmet on his head to insure his back head was protected from any swing that may come at him. He no longer has the magical means that makes his skin once impenetrable and has to wear such strong, broad armor.

  Now, Valverno soared to the nearest tower, which happened to be the smallest tower of all the tall towers, and descended of the walls. He placed his hands on the black color and felt it smooth. Then he dug his claws into the rocky material; he unexpectedly felt smoothness running along the claws of his fingers.

  The walls were hard and firm that his claws weren’t making scratches. Valverno quickly removed his claws from the wall, seeing how they weren’t scratching or denting the material.

  “I don’t believe it,” Valverno whispered. “This is as strong as my skin when I still had the witch’s experimental DNA strains in me. How did the ancient Dark Pangaeans manage to build this fortress, yet alone how did it manage to stay on the surface while my home city ended up being buried?”

  Valverno flew down the tower’s only bridge connected at the lower level that stretches to a slightly taller tower. He landed softly on the bridge’s rim and entered through an open arch going into the small tower.

  Inside, the tower’s interior doesn’t stretch very high, some hundred feet before stopping at a ceiling. Valverno leaped into the air and flown at a great speed. He smashed into the ceiling he thought would be more effective than to be opening the door, if he was an intruding houseguest.

  The room he barged into from the ground held a large collection of many weapons. There were wooden clubs, hammers, and maces hanging from the ceiling on chains. Swords hang on walls, and few shields placed above the sword displays. Spears with different sword-like blades were stacked on stands pointing upwards.

  There were enough weapons for a large legion of a thousand of fighters or more. Valverno gave a horrified look to see such many deadly components that could have been armed for the soldiers of the ex-Snake Clan.

  If this tower had many weapons the other towers do, then the Snake Clan would have been planning on invading the entire island of Shimabellia. They had the warships, a fortress for defense, and the weapons for breaking armor and bones.

  Despite the dreadful appearance of the weapons, Valverno could cheer; he felt he gained another victory. He didn’t just stop an army; he also stopped a large supply of weapons that could have been used to carry out attacks on the island he was ruling. He may have been claimed a ruler of both islands, there was hardly any good settlements on the island of Isla Maeli.

  Isla Maeli is said to have lands that weren’t good for fertilizing for farmland or grow crops. Isla Maeli is considered to be a wasteland than a habitable island. For the longest of time, Isla Maeli had a reputation of being a prison where evil people with evil hearts were sent to die in exile than to be executed on the capital city of Shimabellia.

  And Valverno was seeing Isla Maeli had more stuff on it than he thought. There was the Seaport City his rival Teutates and the Lion Clan resides, and there was this fortress the ancient Dark Pangaeans used as a fortress. Now, it was in the hands of the demigod.

  After he was done browsing the weapons, he jumped down into the hole he made and floated down to the bottom floor. He exited through the archway he entered into the tower and followed the bridge to the next tower.

  Again, he flew to the top of the tower by smashing through the bottom of the tower’s room floor to see more of the same weapons he saw in the first tower. There was the same number in the first tower. This time Valverno took a moment to see what material the weapons were made of: he was shocked when it was the same black rock that was used to make the fortress of towers and bridges.

  The weapons and the fortress’s towers were made of the same material of rock. Valverno had the idea of the evil personas of his ancient Pangaean brethren were cable of using magic, but he had no idea they had the skills of building a fortress and a stash of weapons from the same rock. He couldn’t tell what kind of rock the fortress and the weapons were made from, and these weapons could really have great harm to Valverno’s army.

  Valverno drew out the Crystal Sword and slashed it at one the weapons. This caused a powerful shockwave that sent out a large windy explosion that blew all the weapons to the walls.

  The demigod stood where he was standing and felt the strong wind blowing in his body. He crutched the claws of his feet into the ground, so he couldn’t go flying off toward the walls.

  After thirty seconds, the wind had ceased and Valverno removed his foot claws from the ground. He saw the weapons were piled near the walls and none of them were damaged. The one weapon Valverno slashed was a mace and no dents have been made; it was in one piece.

  Valverno was surprised to see a weapon had been able to resist the Crystal Sword’s magic power. Any ordinary weapon made by any mortal would have been snapped in small pieces like sand or at least torn in half. But these weapons weren’t made by dragons or humans; they were made by Pangaeans.

  If it were the Dark Pangaeans or just regular Pangaeans in general, their skill of forging weapons was unspeakable high and would make human-made weapons look like kids’ toys.

  And with the many weapons Valverno saw, they could have been forged in the days before the country of Pangaea fell and the Dark Pangaeans planning on invading with a large force. But whatever story was behind these weapons and the fortress would remain lost forever; the Dark Pangaeans were long dead.

  With the death of the Council of Three, the last of Dark Pangaeans were dead and extinct. The remaining Pangaeans numbered two: Valverno and his half-sister Sora; they were the last of their kind.

  Valverno considered Flavius to be a Pangaea since he was descended from a White Knight, who was a true Pangaean. But when a Pangaean got in touch with a human, it would have turned the Pangaean into a human, and the same thing could be said about Teutates.

  Both Teutates and Flavius were descendants of Pangaeans, but somehow both ended up making it with humans and became humans themselves. In their blood, they are human, but their powers were of Pangaean.

  For the longest of time, Valverno kept forgetting he didn’t give his power to the original four White Knights; they already had power given to them not from gods but from their parents. Each Pangaean had a certain special type of magical power like a healing power of a Unicorn’s horn. Pangaeans always held a magical staff in order to harness their Pangaean magic.

  But there were a few Pangaeans who didn’t need a staff. Valverno’s mother, Celestreá la Mùne, was a special type of Pangaean; she was magician who could summon up Spirits from the afterlife.

  This wouldn’t be Spirits of the Dead or human ghosts; the Spirits would have been godlike celestial Spirits that would called the Gods’ First Children, supernatural ghosts that lived between the Mortal Realm and the Realm of the Dead long before the Titans of the First Generation ever walked on the Mortal Realm. And in other terms, they were called Angels, and his mother was one of them. His mother was, in fact, the leader of the Angels who decided for some reason to descend to the Mortal Realm and leave the Realm of the Gods behind. And in mortal form, she could summon powerful Spirits and Angels from the other Realm and fight beside her, but
this power is a power she rarely used. She only used it if Pangaea was under attack, in which case never was. So, there was no need for Celestreá la Mùne to use her own power, but it was something Valverno gazed upon when he was a kid.

  In her mortal form, Celestreá la Mùne was a Celestial Mage who could summon up Spirits’ from the Realm of the Gods at any time. Celestreá la Mùne was always considered to be a goddess living among mortals. The few, who were like Celestreá la Mùne, were the parents of three children who would go to be White Knights of Shimabellia and Isla Maeli, the two successors of Pangaea.

  Valverno spent many long minutes pondering to himself of the past and how the future could have looked like, if Lusìvar had been killed long ago with the rest of the surviving Titans imprisoned somewhere. After he spent his time thinking about the past, he shook his head hard and jumped down the hole and landed on the bottom with flying.

  Valverno flew out a second archway of the opposite end he entered from and soared into the sky. He wasn’t going to take any more time browsing to see what the other towers had. If two towers had weapons stashed away, it would mean there would be more in the many hundreds of towers he was seeing before him.

  “Elder brother, I’ve found you,” called a familiar girl’s voice.

  Valverno saw Sora come flying his way. “Sora, what are you doing here? I thought you were searching for the Siren’s Cove on the southeastern corners of Shimabellia”

  “I was or what was left of it,” stated Sora. She gave a loud sigh and an expression that meant bad news. “This Siren’s Cove isn’t a ruin or a village where Sirens may live; it was a gravesite inside a cave. It is a place where Sirens go to die when they reach the end of their lives.”

  Valverno blinked; this wasn’t the news he wasn’t expecting to hear. He thought the Siren’s Cove was a place where Siren lived, as a hiding place to hide from the outside world. He was so dead wrong; it was a resting place for Sirens. More importantly, she mentioned no armor artifact found.