by Doug Backus
“You have only delayed the inevitable. Deke will die. So will you along with everything else on this world. It is the way it is. There is nothing you can do,” he laughed.
“I know one thing, Solharn. This dreaded beast will not be helping you any longer,” Deo yelled as he raised the sword high above his head.
“Deo stop!” Deke yelled.
Deo paused, looking over at Deke. “It is not Phanthus, Deo. That is Solharn!”
“What does it matter Deke? Do you not remember that Phanthus has been trying to kill us since we arrived in Rhol?”
“I remember, Deo. But this is the last living dragon on Rhol. We will not be responsible for their extinction.”
“Deke, this dragon, by all accounts, assisted Solharn in capturing Queen Elissa! He is far too powerful a foe to just leave out here!”
“Perhaps, but when the Kilto elder visited me, he said something that I could not quite figure out until now. He said, ‘Your journey is to prevent the extinction of a world, but do not forget that the extinction of any single living thing can bring an end to what we fight for. To renew a life that can be saved is a step forward in completing the quest you were sent on.’
“Deke, I do not think he was referring to Phanthus. He is as much an enemy to us as Solharn is!” Deo shot back.
“I can think of no other creature in that predicament, Deo. I believe he was speaking of this moment and he has yet to be wrong on any advice he has given.” Deke reached for his amulet and motioned his hand toward Phanthus.
“Deke, stop! There is something I didn’t tell you. When you tried this with Delc...”
But it was too late. A thick blue stream of light flew from Deke’s hand and attached itself to Phanthus. Almost immediately the core of the blue light turned black, slowly draining the essence of Solharn from the great dragon. It took much longer than it had with Delca. Phanthus was enormous in comparison. Deo had seen how it had affected Deke the first time with a much smaller subject. He was unsure if Deke would be able to withstand the power of Solharn this time, but he could do nothing about it, aside from watch and pray.
Ω
Deke’s mind was wandering off to a dark lonely place. His body was slowly being filled with blackness. He no longer had any comprehension of where he was or, for that matter, who he was.
A low raspy voice boomed out from within his head. “Join me, Deke Brolin. It is your legacy. You are me and I am you. Together we can rule the worlds as one...join me.”
Deke was not afraid of the voice. In fact, the clearer the voice became, the better he felt. He could now see a dark form standing alongside a large lake. He could not recognize what it was. It was simply the silhouette of a shadowy figure. As its hands moved up and down, so too did the waves of water within the lake, sometimes reaching hundreds of feet high.
“Come, Deke. Together we can create our dynasty. A dynasty that will last forever, one that you and I control, a new existence, a new way, a better way.”
Deke moved closer to the strange form. He could see it quite clearly now but it still had not turned to face him. He felt more at ease than he could ever remember being. A feeling of power coursed through his veins. Deke slowly stretched out his hand. The figure turned in response and reached out to him. Solharn grinned as his long bony fingers slowly extended toward Deke’s. At last the boy had realized his true destiny.
Ω
Deo tried everything he could to snap Deke out of it, to no avail. Deke’s eyes were completely black, and he continually moaned a strange language that seemed to be based somewhat on ancient Lealian. Deo could only make out some of the words that flowed from his mouth in a monotone.
He talked about souls becoming one, of a black pool of darkness and power, the power of evil. Many of the words rang back to him, words vaguely familiar to him. All at once it came to him ….the rhyme that Mary in her crazed state had repeated to them. The poem was about Deke…and Solharn…the power of evil…souls becoming one, intertwined together, through the power of darkness. The poem was about what could happen should Solharn persuade Deke to join him.
In desperation, Deo ran at Deke tackling him to the ground. The stream of light connecting him and Phanthus broke at last. The dragon rose to his feet and stared down at Deo who was now lying across Deke. Deo covered as much of Deke’s body as he could, and turned his face toward the ground in anticipation of the flames that would soon envelop them.
Ω
Deke tried to run toward Solharn, but the faster his feet moved the farther away he got. Every second that passed created a greater distance between them, until eventually, Solharn was a mere speck in the distance. All at once Deke found himself face down in the dirt. He screamed with rage and flung Deo through the air as he sat up, crazed with anger.
Ever so slowly, things began to focus again. The memory of where he had just been disappeared as the memory of where and who he was returned. He had still not noticed the dragon. He was too concerned about Deo who was lying motionless on the ground a few feet from where he was sitting. Deke crawled quickly over to his friend.
“Deo! Deo are you alright?”
Deo’s eyes fluttered slightly. “Deke, behind you…!”
Deke turned quickly to see Phanthus staring down intently at them. Several moments passed until the dragon finally broke the silence. It was not the voice of Solharn that they heard, but that of Phanthus.
“The last thing I remember is Solharn betraying my confidence, and now I stand here before you human, the one thing that Solharn fears the most. I do not remember how I came to be here. Perhaps you could enlighten me,” he snarled.
Deke mustered up all the courage he could as he spoke to the mighty dragon. “Solharn took over your body, just as he had done to my friend, Delca. I don’t know how, nor do I know when. Solharn spoke to me through you and then tried to destroy me. Delca and Deo fought you in order to protect me and my friend Mary. You lost the fight and fell from the sky. I had learned, quite by accident that I had the power to reverse Solharn’s possession of people, and I decided to free you of his hold. That is all I know,” Deke explained.
“And why would you bother to save me, human? It is me who has been trying to kill you since you arrived here.”
Deke answered the dragon in a loud steady voice. “For a couple of reasons, firstly, I have heard many stories about the dragons of Rhol. I know you are the last one that lives. Dragons must have been put on Rhol for a reason. To kill you, the last of your kind, would be a travesty. And that leads me to the second reason. I believe you have something to give this world, to help it survive.”
“And what might that be?” Phanthus asked.
“I don’t know, Phanthus. What do you want out of this world, your world?”
“Redemption!” the dragon bellowed.
“Then maybe that is your answer. Perhaps you haven’t found it because you have been searching for it from the wrong side. Fight with us Phanthus, with the people of Rhol, and you will find your redemption.”
Phanthus did not say anything for several moments. “I have never had any reason to trust anyone in Rhol, but you put your beliefs before all else. You believe in preserving life, not destroying it. You trusted that I would understand what you were doing and in turn, help you in your quest to save Rhol.”
Phanthus stopped speaking for a moment and looked around as if considering what he had just said. “And you were right to trust in me, so for now, I will trust in you. Now, apparently I have missed out on quite a bit. Please tell me what my mind has chosen to forget over these past few days, and let us determine what our next move will be.”
Deo could not believe his ears. Deke had been right, and now they would have one of the most powerful assets in Rhol fighting with them. Their odds of succeeding had drastically improved. Any fear that Deo once had was gone, aside from the screams that came from behind him causing him to jump momentarily. He didn’t need to investigate. Delca and Mary had quite obviously made an appe
arance.
Deke and Deo immediately calmed their friends’ nerves explaining what had just occurred. When they had calmed down Phanthus began to tell them how he had come to fight for Solharn. He told them of the wars that followed their pact. Deke could see the sadness in the mighty dragon’s eyes as he recounted the story of Elissa’s capture. Phanthus told them that he had felt a strange connection to the Queen. He believed that Solharn had sensed that connection as well and that was why he insisted that Phanthus stay behind when he flew off to imprison Elissa. It was because of that connection that Phanthus would eventually become enraged with Solharn’s ways.
Once Phanthus was finished speaking, Deke explained what they had been through. He finished with Mary’s explanation of why she believed Elissa was being held by the Phits. Phanthus concurred with Mary’s logic.
“Then, that is where we must go…,” Deke began to say.
“Ugh, those Chumpralas, I thought they had become accustomed to you after they calmed down, but there they go chirping again,” Mary said to Phanthus in frustration.
It was not Phanthus however, that had the Chumpralas so upset. It was the thousands of Phits that swarmed down upon them. They were everywhere, and were attacking Phanthus in particular. They tried their best to gouge at his eyes. He let out a stream of fire disintegrating several of them, but they came far too quickly, one after another. Phanthus was unable to gather enough breath to cast more flames in their direction. He attacked many Phits with his powerful jaws but it did little to prevent them from continuing their offensive. He would soon be overtaken.
“Phanthus, go! Leave us and find Palto! We will need his help!” Deke yelled.
Phanthus looked down upon them. His tail was waving frantically in the air at the Phits. “I cannot leave you here. You will die at the hands of this filth. You do not have the energy to transform again.”
“Do not worry, Phanthus. Mary knows these swamps. She will be able to find us refuge. Go! Before it is too late! Solace is where the battle will be. It will not be easy to convince Palto of your change of allegiance, but you must!” Deke yelled.
With a heavy heart, Phanthus flew up into the sky. He owed the boy his life, yet he was leaving him here in the midst of the swamps. It was not much of a thank you. If the Phits found them, they would stand no chance in their weakened states but he also knew the boy was right. They would need help if they were to save Elissa, and he was the only one that was in a position to get it.
Once Phanthus found himself in the open air he had no trouble escaping the Phits. He could fly much faster than them, and in time they were left behind as the wind carried him to Solace. The boy had made a valid point. Palto would be next to impossible to convince. They had been enemies for many years and there was no love lost between them. All he could do was to try. If he failed he would return to fight and most likely die, alongside the boy.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Solharn stood looking out over the Blackpool. He was still reeling from losing the connection with the boy. A few more seconds and they would have been joined. His power along with the boy’s control over the Amulet of Rhol would have made things much simpler. They...he would have been unstoppable. The boy was still not out of his reach. Solharn was confident that he was getting to the boy. He was slowly making him realize what his true purpose was, but he did not have the luxury of time.
The boy was a far more ferocious opponent than he had realized. Avoiding his armies and the many traps he had set for him was one thing, but what bothered Solharn the most was how quickly the boy had mastered the amulet. Solharn never expected that the boy would figure out that he could use both his and the girl’s paladin together by letting her feed off the amulet too. The sheer arrogance of the boy enraged him. Even while engaged in a conversation, he was able to change their paladins into small enough creatures that they were able to slip behind him unnoticed. The fact that he then changed them into two of the largest creatures in Rhol was also quite astonishing, but to hold their form for that long was extraordinary.
No, he could wait no longer. The boy was more powerful than he would like to admit. If the boy was able to save Elissa it would not bode well for Solharn, but he had not used his greatest power yet. It was a far greater power than Elissa could ever command. Elissa would never be as strong as him, mainly because she felt such a need to protect the ungrateful degenerates that inhabited the five worlds.
He had to agree that those degenerates had their uses. Without them, he would never have gained the energy he needed to exact his revenge. He laughed remembering how they begged for their lives. They did not even understand that it was not their lives he was after, nor their useless bodies. They were so beneath him. They didn’t even comprehend the energy of their outer souls; they didn’t even know they had one. It was their outer souls which gave him the energy he needed, not their flesh and blood. So he took their souls from them and left them to wander aimlessly as their bodies stopped growing and slowly decayed. Eventually they became Pintante. They had begged for their pathetic lives and he had given them that, temporarily. Without their outer soul, they became devoid of energy, devoid of their aura. Elissa could never do such a thing, nor would any other in the Order. That was why he was superior.
The souls he devoured on Rhol had given him the energy he needed to bring the people of Beltic to their knees. He had easily regained his power by feeding on the souls of the weak, hapless people of Beltic in the aftermath of that war. When he returned to Rhol, he continued with his depraved ways, soon gathering more power than he had ever experienced before.
Elissa’s power was all but gone. The power she used to protect the inhabitants of Rhol over the last ten years had dissipated, thanks to the boy’s appearance. Because of this, Solharn believed he could conserve the power he had gained to conquer the remaining worlds. The destruction of Rhol should have only required a little cleanup. It was unfortunate that he had underestimated them, especially the boy. No, it had not been his plan to have to use so much of his power to destroy Rhol, but he would regain it all. He had already conquered Beltic, but there were still three worlds remaining with thousands upon thousands of souls waiting for him to feed on.
Rhol would soon be his. He could feel the currents of power begin to course through his body as he began to conjure up the life energy of the souls he had appropriated. With his arms outstretched, his soulless figure began to slowly rise from the ground until stopping high above the Blackpool. Slowly he began to turn in circles. The Blackpool began to bubble and froth as hundreds of small funnels of the dark liquid began to rise up.
In minutes they were the size of twisters swirling around him, waiting to be released onto Rhol. It was not time though. Lightning struck out against the dark skies, torrents of rain poured down feeding the Blackpool. No, the twisters would not be released until they had formed great tornados, swirling masses of wind and energy that would leave a path of destruction in their wake, taking everything with them into the dark depths of the Black Abyss.
They would all feel what Solharn had when he was banished into its depths, the feeling of nothingness, of helplessness all while surrounded in an eternity of darkness. They would not escape it as he did. They would be in his command, slaves forced to do his bidding whenever he chose to call upon the energy of the souls. It would be a fitting end to Rhol, one that all of the Balance of Five would eventually face.
Solharn’s eyes burned like fire as the wind and rain whirled around him. Soon the transfer of energy would be complete. One by one the tornados would leave the Blackpool and surge out over Rhol consuming everything in their path, as if they had a never-ending appetite for destruction. They would feed off the terrain of Rhol and take any life that walked upon it. It would help them grow. It was almost ironic, Solharn thought. In a matter of days the energy of the very souls that had at one time fought so hard to save their precious world, would be responsible for destroying it. It was an irony Solharn relished in, an irony that
would bring darkness to the entire planet.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“To arms!” Palto screamed at his troops.
Without a second of hesitation, the mighty Pegapires flew from their perch. They did not know why Palto had suddenly decided to call them to battle, but it did not matter. They trusted him. Only when they turned in the skies did they understand the urgency of his tone. Phanthus had somehow managed to fly in behind them unnoticed.
But even as they flew from the cliffs, Phanthus had not reacted as they might have expected. In fact, he still had not moved, seemingly content with simply staring down Palto.
“I do not come to fight, Palto.”
Palto did not seem convinced by the dragon’s statement. “Then why have you come at all Phanthus?”
“In hope, that we could wage war as allies, not opponents.”
Palto did not believe a word he heard from the dragon. No more than a day ago he was willing to kill anyone that stood for Rhol.
“You must take me for a fool, Phanthus. You were an integral part of defeating Queen Elissa, and you are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of my people, innocent people.”
“Innocent, Palto? Come now. You have been around almost as long as I. Do you remember nothing of the way my kind, were quite literally slaughtered by your people?”
“Neither the Pegapires, nor the Lealians had anything to do with the slaughter of the dragons. It was you who attacked the innocent inhabitants of Rhol!”
“Then perhaps your memory does fail you Palto. The dragon attacks were only a reaction to the inhabitants of Rhol hunting us down and killing us for fame. We reacted to save our species. It was a war of survival. One that regretfully, became bitter when the dragons came closer to extinction, eventually leaving only me.”
