by Doug Backus
Those were distant memories now. The lake had been transformed by Solharn into the Blackpool. Anything that lived in the lake was now forced to filter pure evil through their system. The water, if you could call it that, was more like diluted oil festering and bubbling. The smell of it would keep any normal creature away; it smelt of death and decomposition.
Over a short period of time the creatures that once relied on the lake to survive were consumed with hate as evil coursed through their blood streams. They all became unwilling participants in Solharn’s bid to destroy the planet. They were devoid of any life worth living and would savagely tear apart and devour anything that dared enter the dark black waters. The creatures had insatiable appetites and nothing they ate could satisfy their hunger. They became insane in their desperate search to find anything that would satisfy their appetite.
Phanthus was not fond of coming here and stayed well back from the water’s edge. This was because of the Balane. They too had succumbed to the evil within the water, and were particularly dangerous as they had the ability to fly. Their sheer size and strength coupled with their constant desire to feed would be a match even for him.
As if thinking about them had jinxed him, Phanthus saw what he had been hoping he wouldn’t. Directly in front of him was the telltale head of a Balane emerging from the water. The creature was swimming steadily toward him. Its crazed blue eyes were as big as saucers and circled in a crimson red. The Balane screeched and bawled as it stared at him, obviously crazed with hunger.
Phanthus let a burst of fire out over the lake in the hopes of discouraging the Balane, but the animal in his state continued swimming right through it. He was about to try a second time when he saw the one for whom he had been waiting. Solharn emerged from the Blackpool riding the back of the beast. As they approached Phanthus switched his focus to Solharn. He could see that the evil inside Solharn had grown. His body was much larger, and his face was now black and scarred. He was almost unrecognizable.
When the Balane neared the shore, Solharn jumped from its back high into the dark sky. His wings expanded in midair as he ascended toward Phanthus. As he closed in on the dragon he arched his wings to slow his speed and landed with a thud in front of him.
“I trust everything went as planned, Phanthus?”
“It was as you foretold, Solharn. The boy appeared and the protective fields dispelled. The Kaltaures did as they were instructed and attacked while the Lealians were in the temple. However, it was only moderately successful. The Kaltaures, being as stupid and greedy as they are, began to collect baubles before discovering that several hundred Lealians had escaped through an underground tunnel.”
“Idiots!” Solharn screamed. “What of the boy? I trust you retrieved the amulet Phanthus.”
“There were unexpected obstacles,” Phanthus started to say before he was cut off.
Solharn became enraged, “Obstacles! What obstacles you fool? You were entrusted with these simple tasks, and I can see it in your eyes. You have failed me!”
“There was a creature with him,” Phanthus explained. “It was different than anything I had ever seen. It morphed into some kind of bird, and flew the boy to the Sacred Realm. I gave chase, but was unable to catch him. If I had known about this creature, I would have been better prepared to deal with the situation. Is there a reason you didn’t tell me of this most unfortunate surprise, Solharn? Could it be that you did not know?” Phanthus angrily smirked.
Solharn raised his wings and torrential winds came out of nowhere. The Blackpool formed a giant wave behind him that towered over both him and Phanthus. It did not come crashing down but stopped in midair as if standing there waiting for a command.
“Do not tempt me dragon; you are here to do my bidding. You may think you are too valuable for me to destroy, but you would be wrong,” Solharn slowly spoke.
Phanthus forgetting in his anger who he was speaking to, aggressively moved toward him. “I have done your bidding and done it well. It is not my fault that you were unprepared for Elissa’s plan. I told you at the time that it was too easy.”
Phanthus did not have time to react before he was struck by the wave. He tried to fly up but his wings were pinned below the putrid water now swirling around his body dragging him back toward its evil depths. Phanthus clamped his mouth shut so as not to swallow the water, and dug his claws into the rock and dirt in a feeble attempt to withstand the wave that was sucking him to his demise. He could feel the black liquid enveloping his body as he sank deeper and deeper into the pool. Phanthus stuck his neck out in a final effort to keep his head above water. He could see Solharn hovering above him waiting for the inevitable to happen.
“Solharn, you can’t do this! I will do what you ask!” Phanthus pleaded.
Solharn laughed. “Yes, you will, Phanthus. Yes, you will.”
In his panicked state Phanthus opened his mouth to spew a torrent of fire toward Solharn. He was surprised when nothing came out except the black water that had already filled his lungs. Phanthus felt numb as his memories and thoughts slowly faded away. Whatever good he once had was replaced by evil.
Only after Phanthus was completely submerged within the Blackpool did Solharn use his powers to raise him from its murky depths. Phanthus had turned completely black in color, unable to think or speak for himself.
Solharn ordered him to bow to him and laughed when the dragon complied. Phanthus was no longer what he had been. He was now just a pawn to the evil that coursed through his veins. He belonged completely to Solharn now.
“Come dragon. We will go to Solace and finish what was started decades ago.”
Chapter Thirteen
Deke stared in disbelief at Kiran and Deo. “Maybe there’s been a mistake of some sort, Kiran. Maybe someone else was meant to find the amulet! I am sure Queen Elissa didn’t mean for the fate of Rhol to lie in my hands.”
“You are the person that was meant to find the amulet Dietrich, of that I am sure. The Queen was very specific when she entrusted me with when to avenge Rhol. She told me that a boy from the world Earth would come, and that he would have the Sacred Amulet of Rhol with him. She said that the boy who possessed it would have a special power, a gift that nobody else possessed, not even her. She said the arrival of this boy would cause the protective fields around Leal and Tamon to dispel and the last fight for Rhol would begin.
We thought that time had come about three years ago, when a girl came to us from your world carrying the amulet. I thought that I was mistaken in the fact that Queen Elissa had foretold of a boy arriving. I was aware that the protective fields surrounding Leal and Tamon had not dispelled at her arrival, but I foolishly didn’t take heed of it, thinking that they would in time. I should have been more cautious, but with Solharn and his armies destroying Rhol, I was not thinking as I should have. The girl left here in search of Queen Elissa. She was strong and determined. She and her paladin, Delca, proved to be very worthy and soon found themselves near Mount Sibileo. That was as far as they would go. The fields had not dispelled and without the help of the Lealians and the Pegapires she was doomed to fail. Solharn learned of her plight and was moving in on her quickly. Realizing this, I sent my protector Lorca to find them and bring them back, but it was too late. Solharn sensed they were near and sent a Balane down from the Blackpool. Not the ones I described to you earlier, but one possessed with evil. Seeing the Balane the girl ran to the base of the mountain and changed her paladin into a Kruntulla, which she and Delca had seen on her journey, and narrowly escaped.”
“A Kruntulla?” Deke asked.
“They are powerful beasts, native to Rhol. They walk on two legs, but have four arms which enable them to climb or dig at a very fast pace. Their size varies depending on how old they are. A hundred year old Kruntulla can be sixty feet tall, and as strong as any creature that exists in this world. They live deep within the many mountain ranges of Rhol, but after Phanthus was left in charge by Solharn, he convinced them that they should not h
ide in the mountains. He told them they should venture out and take what was rightfully theirs. Most Kruntulla were happy with their surroundings and paid no attention to Phanthus, but others agreed with him and forged their way out into Rhol inflicting pain and misery on anyone not loyal to Solharn.
Delca put up a good fight against the Balane but the girl was not ready to transform her paladin into such a large beast. The harder Delca fought, the more energy it drained from her. I suspect she was eventually drained completely. Lorca found the girl lying by the Blackpool unconscious. Her Paladin was nowhere to be found and the Sacred Amulet of Rhol had vanished. Lorca returned to Solace with her, and eventually she awoke. She had no memory of what happened to her paladin or the amulet. We thought Solharn had been successful in stealing it back, and had left the girl to suffer the fate of a Pintante after destroying her paladin.
I believed that any hope of saving Rhol was over. It was not until we learned from a spy within Solharn’s armies, that he too, was concerned about the whereabouts of the amulet. Eventually he surmised that the girl must have thrown it into the Blackpool, and so he sent a Kaltaures soldier to earth in search of it. Thankfully you found it before the Kaltaures did, and when its powers brought you here to Rhol the protective fields around Leal and Tamon were dispelled.
Solharn predicted this would happen after the Kaltaures soldier reported back to him about you, and he was able to plan an attack on Leal before anyone was aware of what was transpiring. Phanthus was sent to destroy you, and luckily he failed. Since your arrival everything that Queen Elissa foretold has occurred. It is how I know that you, Dietrich, were meant to find the amulet.”
Deke’s mind was in overdrive. Could it be a coincidence that a girl from earth arrived three years ago, the same time his friend Mary went missing? Before he could ask the question Kiran answered it for him.
“Yes, Dietrich. You know the girl of which I speak.”
“Hello, Deke,” a familiar voice came from behind him.
Deke turned quickly. He smiled when he saw his long lost friend, and ran to embrace her. Mary was alive. Tears rolled down Mary’s cheeks as she hugged Deke. She did not want to let him go.
“Deke, I had hoped this day would come,” Mary said choking back her tears. “How have you been? It must have been horrible for you when I suddenly disappeared. You must have felt…,” Mary could not speak anymore as she began to sob uncontrollably.
With all that was going on Deke had forgotten the anguish he had felt when Mary had gone missing, and the pain he had suffered when the searches for her had come up empty.
“I gave up hope that you were alive. I wasn’t myself for years,” Deke said looking at Deo, “but someone...something convinced me to return to the place I’d lost myself. Now that I’ve found you we can return together, Mary.” Deke said trying to boost Mary’s morale.
Mary began to cry even harder, and Deke continued to try to console her, “Mary, all that matters now is that we have found each other again. We will find our way back.”
“I can never return Deke,” Mary sobbed.
Deke could not stand the thought of his friend’s heart breaking. “Of course you will Mary. We’ll go now if you want. Kiran, we must get her back. I’ll return, if that’s what’s meant to be, but there must be a way to help Mary.”
Kiran looked at Mary. She could not speak. Deke’s arrival had brought back too many emotions that she had kept bottled up inside for years. Kiran decided to tell Deke what Mary couldn’t.
“Dietrich, Mary can never leave. When one’s paladin is destroyed that person can never move on from the world where it happened; they are trapped.”
Deke could not believe what he was hearing, and could not stand seeing Mary in such distress. “It’s ok, Mary. I will stay here with you. You’ll always have a friend close by.”
Kiran continued, “Dietrich, that is not all that happens when a person loses their paladin.”
Mary pulled herself together momentarily, and gave Kiran a sharp look before cutting into the conversation. “It will be great to have a friend close by. I’ve longed for the day we would see each other again. You’re a true friend Deke.”
Kiran let it go. Mary knew Deke better than she did, and she would tell him the fate that was to bestow her in her own time.
“Then there’s nothing more to worry about except the task at hand,” said Deke.
Mary smiled, “And I promise you this, Deke, I will be by your side no matter what we encounter.”
Kiran felt that Mary might regret deceiving Deke by not telling him what would become of her in the next few months, but she also knew that if she did it would not help him in his quest to restore the Balance of Five. If Mary told him of her fate now, he would become obsessed with trying to save her from becoming a Pintante. Mary was thinking of Rhol, and since there was nothing Deke would be able to do anyway, there was no point in divulging her secret. She would tell him when she had to for his own safety.
“Mary will help you on your quest to find Elissa. The amulet itself will guide you as it did her. She has already travelled through many parts of Rhol, and knows of the dangers that lie ahead. I have been able to spend the past several months with Mary, giving me time to explain some of the secrets of Rhol that you will need to assist you if you are to find Elissa. I was not foretold what was to happen after you got here Dietrich, but I do know that you, Mary and Deo will be in grave danger on your journey to save this world. Protect each other at all costs. Solharn will be focused on destroying all of you and retrieving the amulet. Oh, yes, one other thing, take this chain. It will carry the amulet for you and protect it from becoming lost. It is important that you never let it leave the confines of this chain. Do you understand Dietrich?”
“Yes, Kiran,” answered Deke.
Lorca suddenly entered the cottage. “I am sorry for interrupting Kiran, but Solko has just entered the Wall of Solace. He comes with Preta and carries a young Lealian with him. They have news and request your presence.”
Kiran climbed on top of Lorca and instructed Deke, Mary and Deo to follow her. In moments they were at the very spot where Deke had first observed the Sacred Realm of Solace.
“Welcome Solko, Preta. It is good to see the Lealians and the Pegapires have joined once again. What news do you bring?”
Solko bowed to Kiran, “Thank you Kiran, but the news is more dismal than it appears. This is Oisin. We brought him to the wall as quickly as possible to heal the wounds inflicted upon him by the Ralcriff. He had few hours to spare.”
“So you have joined with the Lealians then Solko?” Kiran enquired.
“Not quite Kiran. Once the fields dispelled around Tamon we knew it was the time Queen Elissa had told us to wait for. We immediately raced to Leal to join with them in the fight for Rhol. When we arrived there we found no one. The village had been destroyed, burned to the ground. We found several of the Lealian’s lifeless bodies strewn about the village, and several more within the temple, but most were burned beyond recognition. We also found the bodies of several Kaltaures soldiers among them. Fearing the worst, we began to search for any survivors. We found a tunnel leading from the temple going underground and had renewed hope that some had survived. But when we began to follow it we found that it had collapsed.
Palto ordered that we follow him. He told us that just after the Queen had ordered us to retreat to Leal and Tamon, Roland had told him of his plan to dig a tunnel which would lead to the Valley of Aura as a safeguard. We flew as fast as the wind would carry us. When we arrived we could see hundreds upon hundreds of Solharn’s armies gathered in the fields surrounding the valley. It was Palto who saw the Lealians first, three of them surrounded by Kaltaures soldiers. Knowing that this could be the last three alive, Palto immediately ordered the attack. We took the Kaltaures by surprise due to a thick fog which concealed us. We were able to save two of the three Lealians; a girl named Kaelyn, and Oisin who stands before you.”
Oisin had not been t
old the news. “Palvoy is dead?” he asked staring blankly at Solko.
“I am sorry, Oisin. He died trying to save Kaelyn and you. If not for him you two may well have been killed. His actions provided us with enough time and distraction to save you both.”
Kiran looked deeply concerned. “Is it what you surmised then? Only two Lealians have survived?”
“No. According to Kaelyn several hundred still remain in the tunnel about three to four hours outside of Aura. Their leader, Roland, is dead. His son Jayden, the last remaining blood line to that family, is gravely injured. He was infected with the poison of the Ralcriff quills at the same time as Oisin.”
“Then Jayden will succumb to the poison in how many hours?” Kiran asked now very concerned.
“About three,” Oisin interrupted looking down toward the ground.
“Palto is racing through the tunnel to Jayden as we speak. He hopes to bring Jayden to the wall before it is too late. We are hoping the Lealians arrive in Aura soon to join us in the fight. Without them we will take on too many casualties. The girl Kaelyn, at her insistence, is in battle with Issa as we speak,” Solko advised.
“Very well, we will wait for Palto to decide what our next move will be. He will be able to inform us on the progress of the Lealian warriors,” Kiran said.
“That is yet another problem,” Solko indicated. “When we flew here with Oisin we were able to arrive at the entrance to the mountain just ahead of an army of Phits and a rather large Kruntulla. I fear by the time Palto gets here they will be lying in wait for him.”
Kiran thought for a moment contemplating the next move. “Lorca, gather all the people we can. The armies of Solharn are upon us.”
