by Brandon Chen
The werewolf turned and saw that Tanya was slicing the trees apart with ease, her chain whip ripping through the creatures’ trunks. Faelen growled, baring his fangs as he rushed back into the battle. A minor setback, that’s all this is. It’ll take a lot more than a couple lumbering trees to halt my advance, druid.
***
Yuri rubbed down his soaked hair with a towel, having taken a hot bath. It’d been so long since he’d last bathed, and he felt refreshed after spending an hour scrubbing the dirt, grime, and dried blood off himself.
He’d changed into new clothes that the king had granted him, eager to try them on. His attire included a black cloak that wrapped tightly around his body, one that was enchanted to shield him from Lichholme’s bitter weather. He wore a white shirt, the color of snow, and heavy pants that were woven to keep him warm. He slid into leather boots that rode up past his ankles, matting warm fur against his skin. On the table beside his bed was a pair of gloves and an extra long-sleeved shirt that he could wear in case the cold of Lichholme truly was unforgiving. Everything seemed to fit comfily.
Across the room from Yuri, Terias was sitting on his own bed. He whetted a dagger while he waited for Yuri to finish using the bathroom. The soldier was dressed in comfortable nightwear, a blue robe with slippers. “I still can’t believe that you’re alive,” Terias said. “Senna scared the crap out of me when he told me that you got turned into a werewolf. I went to his room to check on him an hour ago. He still seems convinced that you’re one of those beasts.”
Yuri felt a knot twisting in his stomach, but he hid his nervousness behind his smiling facade. “Well, I don’t look like a werewolf.”
“That’s what I told him.” Terias shrugged. “He’ll come around in time. I wouldn’t worry about him.” The soldier got off his bed and walked towards the bathroom. “Are you nervous? About this journey, I mean.”
“Nervous?” Yuri rubbed the base of his neck. “I am, but I’ll try not to let it get to my head.”
“Yeah,” Terias said, opening the door to the bathroom. He let out a startled yelp and staggered backward. The young man lost his balance and fell onto his back, cringing and holding out his arms as if bracing for an attack. “H-How the hell did you get into our bathroom?” he yelped, flustered.
Yuri turned to find a woman standing in their bathroom, clad in tightly-fitted ebony armor of leather that made her look like an assassin. She had her dark hair tied back into a ponytail, and a black cloth masked her mouth and nose. An array of knives and shuriken were strapped to her belt, and a short-sword was sheathed across her back. Her apathetic gaze sent shivers through the two young men. Yuri saw a long scar cutting across her left eye, carving into her skin.
“I snuck in. It wasn’t too hard,” the intruder said simply.
“There are no windows or alternate doors into our bathroom, and you weren’t in there a moment ago,” Yuri said with a raised eyebrow. Even with his enhanced senses, she’d snuck by undetected. How was that possible? “Who are you?”
“My name is Kura. I’m a warrior of Iradia, one of the best,” the stranger boasted. “Lord Reimos has summoned me to escort you through the precarious land of Lichholme. But I’m unimpressed with what I see thus far.” The assassin looked down at Terias, who was still on the floor. She smirked. “Nevertheless, I merely wanted to introduce myself before we leave tomorrow. After all, we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just sneak into our bathroom,” Terias growled, climbing to his feet. “Haven’t you heard of privacy?”
“Are you going to force me out? Then do it.” Kura said, staring at the soldier with her cold gaze. When Terias averted his eyes, the female warrior smiled, victory gleaming in her eyes. “Well, I’ll see you boys tomorrow morning. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be an arduous day.”
Yuri and Terias watched as the woman left their bedroom. Terias folded his arms over his chest, pouting. “I hate her already,” he murmured, storming back into the bathroom, scanning the area to see if there were any more intruders. “This certainly will be a laborious adventure if we have to deal with the likes of her the whole way.” He closed the door behind him as he prepared his bath.
Yuri laughed. He walked to his bed and sat down, embracing the tranquility of solitude.
But the serenity did not last long. Soon he was swamped by thoughts of Violet. The boy shook his head, knowing that it was best if he just stayed away from the princess. The longer the silence dragged out, the more Yuri itched to check on her.
The boy suddenly stood and ambled out of the room, realizing that if he left the next morning without seeing the princess, he would forever regret that decision. After all, there was always the possibility that he wouldn’t return. The chilling thought of death made him shiver.
It took about an hour of asking around to locate the princess’s room, but eventually he found it. He was surprised to find that there were no guards at her doorway. He rapped his knuckles against her door gently and blinked when the door cracked ajar on its own, giving him a narrow view of the princess’s room. He gulped, knowing that he probably shouldn’t peek, but found himself doing so regardless.
Princess Violet was standing at her balcony, looking over the city; she had an excellent view. She was wearing a white nightgown, and her hair was down, flowing to her lower back. The beautiful woman glanced over her shoulder at the sound of creaking door and saw Yuri standing there in the doorway. “What are you doing here?” she said softly. It was clear that she had been crying. Dried tears lingered on her face.
“I came to see if you were okay,” Yuri said, closing the door behind him. “I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you since our dinner in Horux. I was worried that you hadn’t made it.” He walked a few steps into the room and paused. “I just wish that I had been able to prevent Faelen’s escape. Then none of this would’ve happened.”
“Who was it?” Violet whispered. “Who released him?”
“I don’t know. I think it was a man named Junko. He’s an ally of Faelen’s.”
The princess’s eyes widened with surprise as she spun around, turning to fully face Yuri. Her eyes were watery now, and Yuri wondered if he had accidently said something wrong. Violet’s lips parted slightly, trembling. “Wait, Junko is … alive?”
“You know of him?”
“He’s my brother!”
Now Yuri was baffled and he gawked, unsure if he had heard Violet correctly. He did see some resemblance, the primary feature being their uniquely colored irises. But if Junko really was Violet’s brother, then he was the prince of Horux and heir to the throne. There had been stories surrounding Violet’s older brother, who had been kidnapped at a very young age by a group of raiders, just after the princess had been born. It was said that those brutes had killed the prince, but they never did find the body.
Yuri ran a hand through his hair in disbelief, closing his eyes. That mysterious man … he was powerful, perhaps even more so than Faelen. Their encounter had been brief, but it was enough for Yuri to understand Junko’s formidable strength.
“I need to go on this journey to Lichholme,” Violet blurted out, shattering Yuri’s train of thought.
“Huh? Wait, no—”
“I can’t just stay here in my chambers, doing nothing! If it’s leadership that my people need, my parents will be there to fill that role,” Violet exclaimed. “But if my brother truly is out there and helping Faelen, then I need to help stop him.”
“Violet, it’s too dangerous. Even for ordinary warriors—”
“I don’t care! I can handle myself,” Violet said, growing annoyed. She took a moment and exhaled her frustration, trying to calm down. “Look, I don’t intend to stay in Reidan, regardless. I’ll take a horse and follow your party tomorrow. By the time you reach Northern Escalon, the group will be forced to take me in. All I need is for someone to leave a trail that I can follow. Please, I need your help, Yuri. I’m sure you understand
how I feel. Everyone thinks that I’m too feeble to do anything except sit here and be an idol for the people, while others are out there, risking their lives to fight the real battle. I want to do more than just make speeches and tell the citizens of Horux that it’ll be all right. Because the truth is, unless your party succeeds and the Iradian forces are able to contain the werewolves, it won’t be all right. No one in Escalon will be safe. Knowing that so much depends on what happens over the next few weeks … I can’t stay here. I just can’t.”
Yuri stared at Violet, biting his lower lip. He walked to the balcony, leaning against the marble railing as he gazed at the full moon in the sky. “I know what you’re going through. Feeling powerless — it’s a sensation that I’ve been accustomed to my whole life. I was always beat down by guys like Terias or giant soldiers like Senna, who made me think that I would never have a chance to escape poverty. I trained myself to fight so that I wouldn’t have to feel weak, so that I could have power. But in the end, none of that mattered. When I went home after Faelen was released, I found my family slain. That realization, that there was nothing I could’ve done to prevent their deaths … it’s haunting,” he said, his lips quivering. Lowering his head, he closed his eyes, feeling them beginning to moisten. “And when Asmund was bitten, I had to watch as he transformed into a monster before my eyes. What could I do? Even if I could go back in time to that moment, I know that I couldn’t do anything to prevent the inevitable.”
Violet watched with shock as Yuri’s body began to morph and he grew in size, stretching his clothes slightly. The boy morphed from an ordinary human into a ferocious beast that looked at her with glowing eyes. But it did not lash out and attack her. Instead, it spoke. “But if I were given the chance to make a difference … I would grasp it in a heartbeat,” Yuri said, causing the princess’s eyes to widen. “You deserve that chance. When we depart for Lichholme, I’ll leave a trail behind us for you to follow.” Following Violet’s gaze to his dark fur, he snorted. “I’m surprised that you aren’t screaming with fear right now, to be perfectly honest.”
“Senna was right … you were infected. But you ate a Phoenix Heart, didn’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to maintain such control,” Violet said softly, fighting the urge to step backward in the presence of such a terrifying creature. “Why don’t you just tell everyone? I’m sure they would understand that you aren’t a threat.”
“Archerus says that people fear that which they don’t understand,” Yuri said, his body already shifting back into its human form. He stretched his back, cracking it. “It’s better if it stays a secret until we leave Reidan. We wouldn’t want any complications before our departure.”
“Is Archerus a werewolf too?”
“Yes.”
Violet pursed her lips and smiled. “Well, I’m honored that you decided to show me your secret, Yuri.”
Yuri blushed slightly and scratched the back of his neck, feeling heat burning his cheeks. “Y-Yeah, well I just feel like I can trust you, for some reason. You’re easy to talk to.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For letting me come on this quest with you,” Violet said. “I know that everyone else would disapprove. They don’t think much of me. But for some reason, I knew that if I asked you to help me, you would. You see me as more than just a helpless princess, don’t you?”
“Helpless? Hardly,” Yuri said, grinning. “You’re undoubtedly brave, volunteering for a precarious journey to Lichholme. Most people I know would piss themselves at the very thought of going to such a forsaken land.” He walked forward and got down on a knee, taking one of the princess’s hands and planting a kiss upon her soft skin. “I suppose we should both call it a night. After all, we’ll have to wake up early for tomorrow’s expedition.”
Violet smiled. “Indeed.”
The Creator’s Wall
In the morning, Yuri and his companions met at Reidan’s front entrance. A party of mounted knights was already prepared to depart when Yuri arrived. Leading them was Zylon, an inspiring smile on his lips. He gave Yuri a slight nod of acknowledgement as he approached the young man. The immortal watched Noah, who was stuffing supplies into his magical bag. “Keep an eye on my son, will you? I only have one,” Zylon said, winking.
Yuri nodded. “He seems strong,” he said, glancing in Noah’s direction. “I haven’t seen much magic myself. We don’t have many magic users in Horux. But with the power of creation, I’m sure that he’ll be fine. At least, I think that he has a better chance at survival than the rest of us.”
Zylon chuckled. “All that he knows is from training. He has yet to experience real battle.”
“Yet you’re sending him on a journey this dangerous?” Yuri said incredulously, mentally questioning Zylon’s parenting.
“One grows the most in situations of great risk,” Zylon said, pulling on the reins to turn his horse around. “I’m sure that on this adventure you’ll find that you will change as well, hopefully for the better.” He raised his hand into the air and waved to the young warrior. “I wish your group all the best on your end. Don’t take too long. I don’t plan on spending the rest of my days fighting werewolves.”
Yuri smirked, folding his arms as he watched the immortal gallop away. While the adventurer had the body of a middle-aged man, everything else about him seemed to reflect his experience. The way he spoke, how he rode his horse, even his walk seemed heroic. The immortal, they called him. But how old was he really?
“You don’t have to worry much about the front lines,” Moriaki said, clamping his hand on Yuri’s shoulder as he stepped beside the boy. The druid beamed proudly as he watched his friend gallop off with his squadron of knights into the distance. “Zylon is one of the strongest magicians in the world. Buying time against a couple of beasts won’t be too much of a challenge, I imagine.”
Yuri chortled. “To be honest, I wasn’t worried so much about your task as mine,” he said, thinking about the pact that he had made with Malyios. But he didn’t dare speak of it. “I’ve heard tales of Lichholme’s danger. The monstrosities that exist there are frightening. I fear for the wellbeing of those traveling with me.”
Moriaki nodded, his hands dropping to his side. “You’ll have to proceed into the territory with caution,” he said, his expression suddenly hardening. He looked around him to see if anyone was listening and then leaned in close to Yuri’s ear. “You’ve been having dreams, haven’t you? About Malyios.”
Yuri’s eyes widened with surprise, his heart pounding at the very mention of the name. A chilling sensation crept under his skin. He shivered. “How do you know?”
“I can sense his unholy energies clinging to you like a leech. I would recognize the mark of Malyios anywhere. You’ve made a pact with him, haven’t you? How else would you know the location of a field of Phoenix Hearts?” Moriaki said, his countenance reflecting worry. “I don’t know how you came into contact with such a nefarious being … but I would be careful when dealing with a God of Demons.”
“He’s the God of Demons?”
“He’s one of them, and is by far the most dangerous. Malyios has created some of Terrador’s most horrific creatures, including the werewolf,” Moriaki said, biting his lower lip. “At the cottage, I never finished telling you about how Faelen became such a powerful werewolf, did I? Malyios is the one who granted him his demonic power and transformed him into the beast that he is, making him Terrador’s first werewolf.” The druid gazed into the distance and sighed, realizing that he needed to catch up with Zylon. “I wish I knew more about Faelen’s past, but even Archerus’s vast knowledge of werewolves contains little understanding of the first werewolf’s life. It would seem that Faelen’s tale has been lost in the fabric of time.”
“Would Archerus know anything about Malyios?” Yuri asked as Moriaki walked towards Reidan’s massive gate.
“There is not a lot of recorded information on the deity. He’s been sealed in Oblivion
for eons,” Moriaki said over his shoulder, tossing something to Yuri. The boy caught the item and examined it, recognizing a small seed. “I have a feeling you’ll need that where you’re going, Yuri. I have to go. Best of luck to you on your quest, and be careful.”
Yuri was about to ask what the seed was, but the elf had already transformed into an eagle and taken off into the sky, soaring after his comrades. Puzzled, the boy tucked the seed into his pocket, unsure of its purpose. Perhaps its function would be revealed with time.
He bit his lower lip, thinking about what Moriaki had said. Malyios is locked away in Oblivion? Then our pact … he must want me to free him. He frowned. But he never specified in the accord that I am to release him from Oblivion, or even that I was required to meet him there. All I have to do is go through the portal, so then what are his plans? Turning around, he saw that the rest of his group had gathered and were preparing to depart. If Malyios created werewolves, that would mean that Faelen has been to Oblivion before, since there’s no way that they met before the god’s imprisonment. Could it be that Faelen’s power originated in Oblivion?
“Hey,” Archerus called, snapping the boy back to reality. The man raised an eyebrow at Yuri’s startled expression, pointing to Kura and a few of her fellow warriors that would be accompanying them on their quest to Lichholme. “Kura is giving a talk before we depart. Better listen up.”
Kura introduced a dozen men and women, whose names Yuri instantly forgot. She went on to explain their vigorous travel pace and what route they would take to reach the entrance of Lichholme. A giant glacier separated Lichholme from the rest of Escalon, but there was a supposed fissure in the ice that cut a straight path to the forsaken land. Every hour had been planned out, and Kura emphasized that they had to stick to their strict schedule. Time was a precious commodity and every second counted.
