by B. D. Suever
Ethan’s eyes widened in shock. “You think I'm going to stop an army? I'm just a kid! I mean, sure I'm awesome at destroying demons and bad guys in video games, but I can't do that in real life.”
Joraya chuckled reassuringly “No, no, dear child. I do not expect you to take on this army. It's been foretold that when the Avent arrives, he will need to seek the Amulet of Light.”
Ethan frowned. “The Amulet of Light? What is that?”
“The Amulet of Light has been described as a diamond-shaped rune with a jade eye in the center,” Joraya said. “Some say that the one who holds the amulet has the power to help restore balance to the world or throw the world into chaos.”
Balance or chaos? Why does that sound familiar? Ethan thought. “I read something like that before. I think it was in a book I read before coming here,” he told Joraya.
“Book? What book?”
Ethan told Joraya about finding the book at the antique store, the rude lady who sold it to him, and how he remembered seeing a bright flash after reading a few pages in the book. He also told Joraya about the symbol on the cover of the book and how it matched the monument in front of the temple and the symbol on Joraya’s robes.
Joraya looked intrigued. “Fascinating. The symbol you describe is in fact the amulet. The elders in this village have held on to its secrets for centuries. We were tasked with keeping the key pieces to finding the amulet hidden away from the world. No one knows we hold the keys to finding it.”
Joraya led Ethan around the pool of water and to a stone tablet. Above the stone tablet was a picture of two men fighting. One was clad in light and the other was dressed in black. “Is this what you read?” Joraya asked, pointing at the tablet.
Ethan glanced down at the tablet and read the passage:
Darkness and light reside in the souls of all.
Without one there cannot be the other.
Two sides to the same coin.
Balance and Chaos.
As anger takes hold, the struggle for power is torn.
Should the darkness rise against the light, the world will be consumed.
A single ray of light is all that is needed to fight back against the darkness.
When the balance has shifted, the doorway will open.
“That's it!” Ethan yelled. “That's what was in the book. So, what does it mean?” He looked at Joraya.
The elder shook his head. “To be honest, we don't know. We know it talks of the coming of the Avent and light against dark; however, the rest of the passage is a mystery. It is very vague and does not describe what may come.”
“You said the elders of this village have kept the secret, but I've only seen you. Where are the other elders?” Ethan asked.
“You are observant for your age, young one,” Joraya said with a smirk. “There were two others with me. Both have left on a pilgrimage which took them to other villages.” He explained further. “One elder, Orius, left for the village of Gwantar to the south. There were many in the village who were sick, so he stayed there to help. The other elder, Mora, left for the capital city of Dragenmar. Yemenaris, the steward of the capital, summoned him. I know not the reason for his summons though.”
“Does this amulet have the power to send me home?” Ethan asked.
“I believe the amulet is the only way for you to return home,” Joraya said, nodding. “The Amulet of Light is a relic of immense power and the bearer of this relic can make many wondrous or devastating things happen depending on the person’s nature. I do not know for certain if this is in fact truth, but it is all I know from the writings we have found in ancient tablets and scrolls.”
Joraya led Ethan out of the temple and into the courtyard, where Nera was waiting for them. He paused and placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder. “I know this is a lot to take in all at once, Ethan. Do you feel you are ready to take this journey?”
Ethan hesitated. “I don't know. It's a lot to hear and a lot of it sounds scary. I kind of want to because it sounds like a cool adventure like in my games, but it scares me because it’s real life.”
“Fear is a part of growing, Ethan,” Joraya said. “It is how you handle that fear that defines the person you will become. But worry not; you will not be alone on this journey. Nera and Naveni will accompany you.”
Ethan took a big breath. “Well, if I want to get home I have no choice but to find this amulet and take on whatever comes my way. The problem is, I don't know where to start looking. This world is so strange to me.”
“Let me help you, Ethan.” Joraya reached around his neck and pulled off his necklace. Attached to the chain was a sapphire rune with a strange symbol on it. “This is a key piece of the puzzle to unlocking the Ancient Library of Idalia. It has been in my family and protected by us in secret for centuries. This rune is also said to hold restorative powers and only the chosen can bring those powers out. In time, you will learn to unlock the potential within yourself to use magic without the use of the rune. But it will not come easy and will be a hard road for you to travel. Are you up for the challenge?”
“I think so, I hope so,” Ethan said. “I feel scared, nervous and excited all rolled into one.” He gave a smirk. He reached out and accepted the necklace from Joraya and placed it around his neck.
Joraya nodded in satisfaction. “Then I suggest heading to the capital of Dragenmar. There you should meet with Elder Mora and try to gain an audience with Yemenaris. You will need his permission to travel past the northern border to reach the Library of Idalia.”
Nera approached them. “Tomorrow we head for Dragenmar, Ethan. I suggest you rest up. We leave early, and you will need all your strength for your training.”
Ethan felt his heart drop. “Training? What training?”
Nera grinned. “It is a four-day march to Dragenmar.” Nera presented Ethan with a bow and quiver full of arrows, “I will train you in the art of the hunter and how to survive in the wild.”
“I will ask you one last time. Where is the elder?” Graff asked as his undead knight held a priest up by his throat.
The priest struggled to get his words out. “Not ... here ... left ... days ago.”
Graff motioned to the knight. The knight released his grip, dropping the priest. “Ok. If the threat of your own life doesn't sway you to answer my question then maybe the threat of other lives will bring answers,” he said, scanning the village for others to torture. He led his undead knights toward the town square, where a group of goblins had captured the villagers. “Let's see just how long you all can keep this from me. Initiate! Come!” he yelled.
A child emerged from behind the knights, dressed in dark hooded robes. He stood next to Graff.
“Choose,” Graff told him.
The boy walked around the villagers, looking at each person. He had a wicked grin on his face. He stopped in front of a family and pointed at a woman. One of the goblins grabbed her by the hair. She screamed as he pulled her towards the middle of the town square and threw her down in front of the initiate.
“Leave my wife alone!” a man said.
“Mommy!” cried a small girl.
“It will be ok, Marni,” the woman comforted her daughter as tears rolled down her cheek. She looked at her husband with a smile, as if to say goodbye.
The hooded boy stood over the woman. His wicked grin turned to a scowl. He muttered an incantation: “Niekmar Vua Stonava!” As he repeated the incantation, his eyes glowed green. Screams of agony echoed throughout the village.
The villagers watched as the woman's legs turned to stone. Her family looked on in terror as the stone enveloped the rest of her body. Her screams faded as the woman was encased in stone. Her daughter ran to the statue of her mother, hugging it and crying. The woman's husband knelt next to his wife, tears rolling down his cheek. “You monster!” he yelled. The man jumped to his feet and rushed towards the hooded boy, but before he could reach the boy, he fell to the ground writhing in agony. The hooded boy had cast his spell on the
father. The man screamed as the stone took hold of his body just as it had his wife’s. His screams echoed throughout the village until there was nothing but silence. Both the girl's parents were encased in stone. She sat there almost paralyzed with fear. She couldn't scream, cry or move.
A man stood out from the crowd, stumbling around. He was drunk. “Oy, I saw them there people pushing an old man into the cellar of the barn over there.” He hiccupped.
One man was on his knees in front of the drunkard. He elbowed him in the groin, causing him to fall over. “Be quiet, you drunken fool.”
Graff walked over to the drunk. “Get up and show me.” He looked over to his undead knights. “Burn this one,” he said, pointing to the man who had tried to silence the drunk.
The knights grabbed the man and carried him off to a hut where they were keeping other villagers that were to be burned alive. They tossed him in with the rest who were huddled at the far end of the hut, scared of what was to come. The undead knight slammed the door shut and grabbed a torch from one of the goblins. He lit the door on fire and lit a few more fires along the outer wall of the hut. The screams of the captives grew louder as flames engulfed the entire hut until finally they were silenced.
Graff followed the drunk over to the cellar. He was accompanied by two goblins. The goblins opened the cellar door and found the elder hiding at the bottom of the steps. “Well, what have we here?” Graff said with a smile. “Get him out of there.” The goblins pulled the elder from the cellar and tied his hands behind his back. Graff looked at the drunk. “I'm curious. Why would you give him up?” he asked.
The drunk was swaying back and forth, his words slurred. “I figures if you get what you want then I can go backs to drinking.”
“Pathetic. Kill him,” Graff commanded.
“Wait ... what?” Before the drunk could finish his thought, a goblin thrust his sword in the man’s chest, dropping him to the ground.
Graff walked over to the limp body. He placed his hand on the drunk’s chest and muttered an incantation: “Nienmar Dua Avakqua.” The drunken man’s eyes opened with a purple glow. “Cowards make excellent scouts,” Graff said with a sinister grin.
“You!” Graff pointed to a goblin.
“Ye- Ye- Yes, m'lord?” the goblin asked, cowering before him.
“I want this village burned to the ground and no survivors. I don't care how it's done, just take care of it,” he commanded.
“As you wish,” the goblin said with a smile.
Graff handed the elder over to his undead knight. The knight lifted the elder onto the back of Graff's horse. “We have many secrets to discuss, Elder.” Graff motioned towards his undead knights. “Back to the Underdwell,” he said as they headed out of the village.
The lead goblin watched as the silhouette of Graff and his knight’s shadow faded in the mist. “All right, lads! You heard the man! Time to clear the village!” He walked up to the priest near the church “'Allo, Mr. Holy man. I plan on starting with your lovely church 'ere.” He patted the priest on the shoulder. The goblin pulled a fire bomb from his pack. “See this 'ere? This be a gift from my buddy Mortar. I light this 'ere fuse, toss 'er in yer church, and BOOM! He he ha ha ha.”
“Cowards always get what's coming to them,” the priest told the goblin.
“Ye callin' me a coward, Mr. Holy man? Best watch what ye say to the one who holds yer life in his hands,” the goblin threatened. “I can make it quick and painless or slow and extremely painful.”
The goblins in the village square unsheathed their weapons. The savage looks they gave the villagers caused them to scream in terror. “Where be the children? I want them first!” one goblin yelled. The others laughed and cheered him on.
As the goblin scanned the crowd, he noticed a woman shuffling around. “Trying to hide 'em, I see.” He walked over to the woman and pushed her aside. A small boy was huddling behind her, crying. “Best be worried, lad. I'll be sure this will be the worst pain you’ve ever felt, hehehe hahaha.” He grabbed the boy by the hair and pulled him to the middle of the village square. The crowd of villagers gasped, pleading with the goblins.
“Please, take me instead!” a man screamed.
“He's just a boy!” yelled a woman.
“Silence, all of you!” the goblin yelled back. “Now boy, have ye any last words ye wanna say to all these lovely people 'ere?”
The boy looked up at the goblin, tears falling down his cheek. Suddenly, his look of fear turned to anger, and he spat in the goblin's face.
The goblin wiped the spit from his face and grabbed the boy's hand. “BOY! You will regret that!” he yelled. He raised his sword, aiming to chop off the small boy's hand.
Before he could take a swing, the goblin felt a piercing cold in his hand. As he looked up at it, he saw ice begin to envelope his hand. He screamed in pain. The piercing cold felt like daggers plunging into his arm. Ice moved farther up his arm all the way to his neck. The other goblins looked on in confusion. One goblin ran up to help his comrade but before he could reach him a spear made of ice thrust into his chest, flinging him backwards. The other goblins became frantic and tried to run away in the opposite direction. A flurry of ice surrounded their feet and held them in place. They chopped at it with their weapons. The villagers scrambled to get away from the town square. Many of them hid in a nearby barn and watched what was happening to the goblins.
“What madness is this?” the lead goblin yelled. He yanked the priest to his feet. “Is this yer doin, Holy man?”
“No. I swear, I have nothing to do with this,” the priest replied.
The lead goblin threw the priest to the ground and ran towards the village square to help the others. Just as he got there two ice spikes thrust into his legs, dropping him to his knees. “AGGGGHHHHHH!” he yelled in pain. He looked up and saw that the goblin that had the boy was frozen solid. The other goblins had ice daggers thrust into their chests. He was the only one left alive.
The priest gathered the remaining villagers and ushered them into the church. “Hurry, hide in here and stay quiet.” He remained outside, curious about what was happening.
The lead goblin couldn't move. He reached down and tried to remove the ice spikes in his legs. As he touched them, he felt the sharp sting of the cold in his hands. The more he struggled to pull them out, the more ice covered his legs.
Click ... Click ... Click
He heard her heels clicking as she approached. A young woman stood over him, a wicked grin on her face. Her long sapphire hair covered a portion of her face, revealing only her blue eyes. The black leather outfit she wore was intricately designed. Her purple cloak was tattered and torn, and the symbol on the back was that of a dragon surrounding an eye.
“Erenmar witch!” the goblin yelled.
“At one point, yes I was, love,” she said, “but they found me to be a little ... how shall we say ... too extreme for them, so they kicked me out.”
“What business do you have with us?” the goblin asked.
“With you? None. My business is with the priest of this village.” The witch looked up at the priest. “You got in the way, and I was bored.” She sighed and pointed her staff at the goblin. “So, I say thank you for curing my boredom.” She giggled. The glow of the sapphire crystal at the top of the staff became brighter as the ice surrounded the goblin.
He screamed as the ice moved throughout his body. “AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!”
She pulled the staff away just as the ice was about to cover his head. “Do you feel it? The cold embrace of death? You should have listened to the priest. Cowards always get theirs,” she whispered into the goblin's ear. “Perhaps I'll leave you like this. Frozen body, unfrozen head. You'll feel the pain forever. Plus, you look kinda cute this way.” She patted the goblin on the head. “I could use a new statue in my courtyard.”
The witch walked past the goblin and headed towards the priest. “Wait!” the goblin yelled. “You can't leave me like this.” The goblin was
writhing in pain.
“I can't?” the witch said. “Who says I can't? I can do what I please, love. Just as you do what you please when it comes to terrorizing people.”
“Crazy witch! Release me or else!” the goblin yelled back.
“Or what?” she laughed. “You are in no position to threaten me, dear.” She turned to walk toward the priest but stopped. “You know, on second thought, you're right. I shouldn't leave you like this.” She spun her staff in her hands, turned towards the goblin and shot a large ice spike at him, shattering his body. The goblin's head rolled to the witch's feet and she stopped it under her heel. “What a waste. He would have looked so cute in my collection,” she grinned.
The priest approached the witch. “Thank you for your help.”
She turned to him and pointed her staff at his chest. “Do not take my help to mean we are friends, my dear priest. You made a grave mistake letting that drunken moron know where the elder was.”
The priest held his hands up and backed up a few steps. “I swear I had no idea he would give him up like that.” The priest raised his voice. “Wait, you were watching the entire time? Why didn't you do something earlier? They turned this girl's parents to stone while you watched!”
“As I told the goblin over there, I do what I want when I want,” the witch explained. “I needed to see what the Necrom were up to before I could make a move.”
The priest, clearly far from happy, accepted this. “What's done is done. Thank you again for helping us. You said you had business with me?”
She nodded. “Did they hint as to the reason why they were here? Perhaps one of them slipped and said something?”
The priest sat down on a tree stump to gather his thoughts. “I don't think so. They were just adamant about finding the elder.” He looked up. “Wait, as they were leaving, I heard their leader say something about having secrets to discuss with the elder. I'm not sure if that's helpful at all.”
