Chronicles of Eden - Act XII

by Alexander Gordon

  Inside the spiral stairwell within the royal tree Clover and Felucia watched in horror as the hollowed space below them was quickly filled with rising lava that was racing towards the two girls.

  “I hate this fucking world!” Felucia screamed out as they held onto each other.

  “DAN!” Clover shrieked with all her might.

  To add to their list of crazy shit happening that day, a giant boulder then struck through the wall nearby with a powerful blast, tearing through the wood and out the other side as it pierced the tree with a hard strike. The girls cried out in both shock and fright from something punching through the tree in front of them before the force of the speeding debris knocked them off the stairs towards the open center. Clover watched Felucia falling before her while staring at the elf in equal terror, the wraith’s green hair fluttering behind her against the view of burning lava crashing through the stairwell towards them. The two shared a brief moment suspended above certain death with eyes locked onto each other, bathed in the fiery light from the molten magma that was about to engulf them, before they were quickly struck by passing airborne projectile-girls that flew in through one of the gaping holes in the tree and then out the other with their two newest members. Clover and Felucia grunted in a daze then noticed they each had someone holding onto them now while they were flying through the air above the burning village.

  “Mother!” Cindy cheered as she held onto her mom.

  “Cindy?” Felucia exclaimed as her daughter was in her arms.

  “Clover!” Sivil shouted in disbelief, looking back to the elf she was holding onto upside down.

  “Sivil!” Clover retorted angrily before noticing what was in front of her. “You wear pink panties? Seriously?”

  Squeak floated in the air next to them with a confused look at seeing who they had picked up during their flight before all five girls noticed that they were soaring through the air high above the village, all of them then screaming as the reality of their situation struck them along with a force known as gravity. Squeak dropped first as her pickaxe weighed her down, Cindy and Felucia began descending after while screaming at all the fire that was burning beneath them, and Clover and Sivil began falling as well and seeing the forest rushing up to greet them.

  Tumbling down in the air Squeak saw the world spinning around her, along with ashes flying by and burning leaves as she approached a tree that was tilting on its base. The ant girl spun about before plowing through the branches and leaves of the timber, snapping them off instantly and taking a few hard hits to her chest and face from the limbs before she saw herself racing towards the forest floor. Striking her pickaxe into the tree with both hands she was yanked to the side at a sharp angle, the ant girl squeaking loudly as her tool tore through the wood as she started to spiral around the trunk, the handle vibrating and starting to crack as the steel pick ripped a gash through the timber in her descent. She held onto her pickaxe with all her might as she felt her momentum shifting to the side, swinging her around the tree in a slow arc before it started to tighten, spinning her around more heavily as she felt her grip starting to slip on the handle. With a sudden clack the pick jammed in place and the handle snapped right off, sending Squeak flying off to the side with a loud squeak. The ant girl somersaulted through the air before careening down towards the ground, squeaking loudly the whole way until she crashed into something that went both crunch and splat in a horrible fashion. Squeak kept her eyes shut tight as she felt herself sliding along the bumpy ground on something, then gradually stopped, with the ant girl slowly opening her eyes and jumping in surprise at seeing she was lying atop what remained of an arachne’s body. The monster was very much dead, not just evidenced by the frozen look of shock on her face with her eyes popping out of her skull, but also as her eight legs were strewn about behind them in the long trail of blood and gore that was smeared across the ground leading up to the point of Squeak’s sudden impact on her. Squeak stared at the sight with wide eyes as did surrounding elves and monsters of The Sisterhood, with the ant girl shuddering a little as she looked down to the remains of the monster that cushioned her fall before she slowly stood up and wiped the gore off herself with a disgusted grimace.

  Falling through the air filled with burning leaves and fluttering ashes Felucia and Cindy screamed as they saw the fiery forest fast approaching them, the two shutting their eyes and holding each other close as they plummeted towards a building constructed next to the base of a large tree. It appeared to be a church of sorts, with its well-crafted wooden support beams that soundly held strong even with the ground shaking as it was, hanging tapestries of colorful floral designs that had yet to be touched by the nearby fire, finely fashioned steep roofing of green and brown tree bark that had flowers growing atop it, a belfry set in back with large wind chimes hanging within it that were clanging loudly in the breeze, tall stein glass murals of colorful floral and angelic elven designs set along the sides above smaller open windows on the ground floor, and large wooden doors that had engravings of a forest parting with sunlight shining down the center from the clouds. Of course all this magnificent detail went unnoticed by the two sand wraiths as they hurtled towards the building and crashed through a large circular stein glass window over the front entrance. Screams were heard inside as puffs of sand blew out from the open windows of the lower level while vents of steam began to shoot up from the ground next to the structure through its nearby flower garden.

  Clover and Sivil fell in a tumble together towards the burning forest below, both of them crashing through a tall tree’s branches and leaves with loud cursing and yelling, then out of the foliage down to where a crevice tore open in the forest floor with steam and fiery light quickly growing inside. The elves shrieked as they dropped towards the opening before a nearby tree toppled over with its long green tapestry swinging in front of them. The two girls grabbed the fabric that started to tear from the weight as they were yanked to the side from where a blast of molten rock and smoke erupted from the ground while the tree carrying them crashed into another at angle, with the elves then swinging hard just above the ground and past many surprised monsters before they were thrown into the air past the fallen timber with its decretory hanging finally tearing apart. The girls flailed about as they tumbled overhead many elves below before falling into a tree, tumbling through branches and vines while tossing out any obscenities they could think of, which was a lot, and finally dropped onto a circular terrace built into the tree where suspended rope bridges connected to from opposite sides.

  “Fucking… hell…” Clover managed to get out, her hand shakily searching for the railing of the balcony that she then feebly held onto. Sivil started to say something but was quickly interrupted by throwing up off to the side, the elf sputtering something amidst her bile before she slowly got onto her hands and knees. After wiping her mouth she turned to glare at Clover, the girl returning the harsh look while leaning against the wooden railing for support. Down below elves were gathering nearby and pointing to where two of their kind landed after a very bizarre fall.

  Before anyone could speak a loud crackling was heard, with everybody in the forest then seeing the royal tree’s trunk breaking where it was struck through by a ballistic boulder. The base of the timber finally gave away with its weak footing in the surrounding ground, the burning wood dropping into the lava with a splash while the break it had in its trunk snapped apart all the way around. As the roots and base of the tree melted into the magma they turned and floated at an angle, the twisting causing the structural integrity of the point of impact to shatter apart, with the large and heavy amount of tree above it crashing down through the damaged wood and tilting as it was now no longer secured by anything.

  “No,” Sivil breathed out. “My palace. My royal tree.”

  “Dan,” Clover fearfully said.

  Squeak silently watched with an open mouth as the tree began to tilt and turn atop its broken shaft, while all those around her did the same as the heav
y groaning of the mighty timber foreshadowed something that everyone began to fear just as much as the danger from the ground below them did.

  “That did not sound good,” Daniel worried as he stumbled in his footing. He quickly raised his sword before Jovian struck against it with hers, the clash sending out flames and bolts of electricity all over the area while Daniel was thrown back from the forceful hit. He tumbled along the ravaged floor, which seemed to shift slightly under him as the building rotated in place, causing his roll to skew off to the side towards the edge. With a heavy bump against the ground Daniel swung his sword overhead and struck it into floor, halting him just as his legs whipped around through the air over the edge of the building before dropping down on the floor next to the edge. Getting back onto his knees he looked over and stared in shock at seeing eruptions of fire and lava bursting throughout the burning elven forest below.

  “My god…” he breathed out. “Green Haven… it’s become Flame Haven. This is a disaster.”

  The gemini sisters continued advancing on him as they walked side by side, their multicolored eyes glaring at the human with rage while their swords emitted arcs of lightning and freezing frost-filled air. Daniel turned to them while stumbling in his footing as the building shook again, watching the sisters aiming their swords at him while he was once again backed into a corner.

  “We’re going to make you scream,” the girls taunted. “We’re going to make you scream. We’re going… to…”

  Slowly they trailed off as they stared at something in confusion behind Daniel. Glancing over his shoulder he then jumped as he saw the view of the horizon having been changed to that of a burning elven village with lava erupting through its forest floor. Standing on his feet he then felt his center of gravity shifting, his boots sliding a bit on the gravel as the palace was no longer level atop the tree which was now teetering.

  “The royal tree…” Daniel faintly spoke. “It’s about to fall over.”

  ‘So much for keeping them busy up here. This entire plan is falling apart. Do something, Daniel, you can’t let these monsters go on another killing spree. Especially with your mates down there.’

  “What the hell?” Jovian wondered.

  “I think we’re all going to fall,” Jacqueline plainly said.

  “Nah,” Daniel replied as he yanked up his sword, his eyes then turning to the sisters as he gripped his blade tightly. “Just you two are.”

  With a sharp swing he flung a blazing arc of energy towards the girls, both of them blocking the attack with their blades that gave off blasts of lightning and ice that quickly turned to haze and steam. The sisters growled and got ready to charge before Daniel raced towards them from the billowing smoke, and then right past them.

  “Daniel!” the girls screamed as they gave chase, all of them running up an increasingly slanting slope as the tree’s base sunk into the magma while its severed shaft crushed part of the lower trunk’s side from the sheer weight. With that the tree finally started to fall over, trailing fire and ashes behind from its top that was ablaze and burning brightly.

  “NO!” Sivil and Clover cried out, for completely different reasons, while every elf in the forest screamed in horror as the royal tree began to fall. Squeak screeched while grabbing her hair as she saw the tree dropping towards the northern forest while plenty of monsters there started crying out in terror from what was coming their way.

  “RUN!” a witch cried out as monsters of both sides began scrambling to evade the massive timber that was coming towards them. Elves quickly grabbed their children and bows while fleeing, with some leaping off suspended walkways and even out of their homes in desperation. Goblins and trolls raced to get away while an ogre turned to run before tripping over a fallen tree and dropping face first into a hut with a mighty crash. Mites flew around blindly and into each other while arachne were skittering as fast as they could along their webs, which managed to catch a few of the buzzing mites that nobody paid any mind to while they droned and thrashed about in the sticky thread.

  “What the hell is going on over there?” a troll asked from a camp further behind the forest, herself and many other monsters watching as Green Haven appeared to be on fire, have towers of smoke rising into the sky, bursts of lava sprouting into the air, and its tallest tree now falling over.

  “Should… we go see?” a goblin slowly asked.

  “Fuck that,” a witch argued shaking her head. “We’ll wait for the dust to settle, then go see.”

  “Good idea,” a gremlin agreed as they saw other members of The Sisterhood fleeing the northern forest with some of them being on fire.

  Wind started to howl past the tree as it fell, its severed trunk splashing into the lava while its furthest branches were aiming downward to strike at the forest beneath them. From hearing the horrendous crunching of the timber digging into Eden as it collapsed, the escalated screaming of those below who were trying to get the hell out of its way, and the yelling of the murderous gemini right behind him, Daniel only focused on sprinting forward with all his might to reach the other side of the palace while loose debris was now rolling and tumbling past him back towards where he most certainly did not want to be.

  “Daniel!” Jovian yelled as she wound back with her sword.

  “You won’t escape us!” Jacqueline scorned as she did the same.

  Daniel ran with his boots starting to slip with each step he took then swung forward with his sword, the momentum being just enough to help him clear the edge of the palace while spinning him around to see the gemini lunging at him from below. Following around with his swing he wound back with his weapon with rising flames burning off its steel, a brief moment of floating above the temple being felt as Daniel glared at the murderous twins with his sword poised to strike.

  “Down you go!” he yelled, slashing forward with his sword just as the gemini did the same. An explosion of fire, ice, and lightning devastated the temple, sending flaming debris, bolts of electricity, and shards of ice outward into the tree’s branches while the building’s top level shattered apart from the force. Daniel tumbled out of the cloud of smoke in the air and down the slope of the palace wall before crashing into a table on a small terrace, a strained grunt escaping his mouth as he lay against the broken plank while still holding his sword. On the other side of the building Jovian and Jacqueline screamed in anger as they were thrown down towards the forest ahead of the falling royal tree while trailing smoke.

  “C’mon, Daniel,” he grunted as he slowly got onto his feet atop the cracking glass door leading into the temple. “This is not where you can stop and catch your breath. Move it. Dammit, move your ass!”

  He jumped to the side as the glass shattered beneath him then started running down along the wall of the temple while frantically brainstorming of how to survive this crazy scenario he was in. Stumbling a little with his feet he managed to jump just in time to avoid the sudden stop of temple wall to run along, with himself soaring a bit in the air before landing on and then running down the royal tree itself while seeing the lake of magma far ahead that had the stump of the tree sinking into it.

  “This is not at all going according to plan!” he shouted in frustration and disbelief. Looking around quickly he saw Green Haven on fire, patches of lava bursting through its forest floor, monsters screaming and running everywhere in a panic, and heard what he could easily assume to be the catastrophic roar of the royal tree’s branches striking into Eden behind him. Glancing back he saw smoke and dirt erupting behind the tree’s top while a furious tremor started to hit. Quickly searching around him he saw in a blur what looked to be trees rushing up on both sides, fire and smoke flying through the air, and the sounds of terrified monsters being quickly overshadowed by the deafening crash of the royal tree. With a sudden heavy quake rocking through the timber Daniel was thrown off it and into the air, sight and sound becoming completely blocked for him by the deafening impact and dust filled air. Taking a blind swing he struck his sword into the t
runk of the royal tree beside him, his hands quickly grabbing the handle and hanging on tight as he was yanked down from the blade slowing his fall and tearing through the bark while still descending rapidly. Shutting his eyes tightly he braced for what would happen next, fearing the end was about to hit him any moment now.

  ‘It wasn’t supposed to end this way! What the hell, Eden? I was trying to help these people! Give me a break, goddammit!’

  After a while he noticed he wasn’t moving, his eyes slowly opening and focusing to see clouds of haze and cinders swirling around while he was holding onto the Hellfire’s Edge, the heated blade setting fire to the tree while melting the wood around it. Looking down he saw he was a few feet from the ground, a shaky breath being made before he dropped down and wobbled on his legs that felt like they were drained of strength. He took a few deep breaths before slumping down against the fallen timber onto the rubble that now cradled the grand tree, his eyes staring off into space while he heard muffled screams from monsters nearby. The Hellfire’s Edge melted through the wood and dropped to the ground with a clang next to him, startling Daniel who quickly looked around as he was still reeling from his experience before seeing the blade resting on the dirt at his side. He shakily held a hand out, took hold of the sword, then leaned back against the tree while praying his heart wouldn’t explode given how hard it was thumping in his head. As the reality of what just happened replayed in his mind over and over again, a single thought managed to be voiced by him.

  “My mates are never going to believe that happened.”

  After regaining his senses and silently thanking god for the lucky break, Daniel slowly got back onto his feet and shook off the shock of what happened as he reminded himself of his task. Looking to the side he saw the dust gradually settling, revealing a bright crimson haze from the magma pool further down that had swallowed up the base of the tree and was setting the part of it that was resting in the lava on fire. To the other side he saw the length of the tree that lay ahead along with several toppled ones that it had crashed through, with the towering branches of the royal tree seen against the haze further away as they were raised high into the air while still burning profoundly. Glancing around he saw elves and grunts of The Sisterhood scrambling about through the dust and between the trees as everyone seemed to be in disarray, none catching a glimpse of the human that was hidden behind veils of powder that blended in well against the fallen timber.