Eckxio shuddered. It was as if Naunet could read his mind or had spied on Evee Iris for so long.
“I have never heard of such a tome,” Eckxio lied and clenched the hilt of his sword, waiting for Naunet to attack.
“You can’t fool me. You will give me the Grimoire Of The Land, or I will annihilate every pointy-eared rat in this village.”
Eckxio refused to be outsmarted. He raised his chin and said, “Fight me, and if you defeat me, I will give it to you.”
Naunet laughed hysterically. “Sorry, but this isn’t a negotiation. Simply give me the tome, and I will leave quietly with my fiends. If not, then say goodbye forever to your precious village. Your choice.”
Eckxio’s Elfin ears picked up the whistling sound of an arrow flying through the air. Naunet tilted his head and dodged the arrow as if he had predicted it. Eckxio looked up at the coiling stairs of a tree and saw Nezz. Then from within the swarm of fiends, a female Elf jumped, stomping on the head of a fiend with twin daggers. Naunet caught sight of her, and with one hand, he paralyzed her whole body in the air.
“Stupid pointy-eared rat,” Naunet said as he controlled the girl with his hand. He had not touched her. Using an unknown force, he levitated her. He swung his arm, aiming at Eckxio, and the girl was tossed towards the Elf. Eckxio ran and caught her. She fell in his arm as he held his sword and shield.
“Damn it, Latwie. What are you doing here?” Eckxio snarled.
“I wanted to help you?” said the young blonde Elf.
“You should have run away to safety,” Eckxio replied with anger.
“I am a warrior. I can fight. I am not scared.” Latwie stood up in a fighting stance.
Eckxio admired her bravery, but she did not have the ability to fight fiends. “Latwie, these are real fiends we are dealing with, not puppets to practice with. I am going to clear a path for you to run and…”
“I am not running away, Eckxio. Don’t you understand?” Latwie cried. Salty tears trailed down her cheeks. “These fiends. They killed my mother and father. I have no family because of them. I will get my revenge.”
Naunet laughed at Eckxio and the young Elf. That laughter enraged Eckxio. It was much worse than hearing Queen Veronica’s guffaw of superiority. It was loud and arrogant.
“Latwie, take Nana with you,” he said. “Her divine maju will protect you from fiends.” The paploo fairy flew out of his silver armor and swirled around Latwie.
“Get out of here!” Eckxio yelled.
“But I...”
“Get out!” Eckxio bellowed at the girl.
She ran crying, and Nana protected her, encircling her with divine maju, repelling fiends. It pained him to have to yell at the young Elf, but he did not want her to die. He had already seen so many Elves killed. He witnessed the death of Elves that were his close friends. Friends that he had trained in swordplay. Blood of dear Elves crimsoned the cobbled paths of Evee Iris, and brought sorrow.
“You still have not decided,” Naunet reminded. “Be grateful that I am giving you an opportunity. If Ember was here, she would show no mercy to a pointy-eared rat like you.”
“What are you going to do with the grimoire?” Eckxio asked. Fiends growled and snarled around him. In his peripheral, he saw his fellow Elves running away and some still fought fiends.
“That is not for you to know,” Naunet said, “however, I will tell you a little history.”
“History?” Eckxio repeated.
“Yes. The Grimoire Of The Land was written by two of Prodigus Kollos’s apprentices. They were master earth mages. In fact, every earth spell that exists today is because of them. Ednise Eidahlag and Eih Noss Eawick invented every single earth spell that we use today. Many details have been lost in the pages of history, but it is said that Ednise and Eih Noss were Elves. Thus, they passed on their knowledge to their own kind before any others. Prodigus Kollos advised them to share their knowledge with the world, but they were afraid that others would abuse the power of terramancy. The ability to render the earth and control minerals, even steel. It frightened them to know who would possess this power, this knowledge, but because they had high respect and love for their master, they did as Prodigus told them. They passed on their knowledge, and copies of the grimoire were made. Still, their fear came true. Humans did abuse of their knowledge for war and selfish reasons.”
Eckxio was confused after hearing Naunet’s story. He had heard of the Ednise and Eih Noss from the elder Elves before but was not sure what Naunet was trying to communicate.
“What is the purpose of you telling me this story?” Eckxio asked.
Naunet chuckled and gradually levitated off the ground. “Magic is our biggest sin,” Naunet hissed. “Don’t you understand? Magic is the very reason for many of the world’s past wars. Think of the war between Burnahdujf and Verday. The two countries have been at war for centuries. The world was once ignorant of magic. At some point in history, there was no such thing as mages, but then, three faithful men discovered the first mystic art. Pyromancy. Prodigus Kollos was one of those mages. It was his idea to return the knowledge and ability of magic to the world. He thought that people would enter an era of freedom and enlightenment if magic was no longer kept secret. Prodigus thought that things such as poverty, slavery, the idea of monarchs and war would end. However, as you can see, the opposite is still occurring, even millenniums after the geezer died. Eckxio, I want you to give me the grimoire, so that we can correct the sins of our….”
“Shut up!” Eckxio bellowed. Naunet flinched at the Elf’s strident command. Eckxio refused to allow Naunet to continue blabbering.
“I think I know what you are going to say, but I don’t want to hear it,” Eckxio said. “You are living in the past. What gives you the right to pass judgment because of what someone in history did? I don’t know about you, but we Elves live in the present. To Necrovania with your intentions. I will never give you the Grimoire Of The Land.”
Eckxio dashed forward. Naunet used cryomancy and cast an ice spear. Eckxio rendered the spell and absorbed the maju into his gorgon eye. He lashed his sword humming with divine maju. Naunet pulled a black spear from the darkness of his cloak. Both weapons collided. Sparks flared, and Naunet’s kaminyte spear broke.
“Impossible,” Naunet said in disbelief.
Eckxio swung at his foe again, and Naunet flew backwards, dodging the zuestoss steel.
“Come back here and fight me, you bloody coward!” Eckxio yelled. Fiends pounced at him, and he unleashed the divine light of his Tharos sword. The light pierced through the fiends and turned them to ashes. Eckxio looked up at Naunet and saw the young archer, Nezz, on a bridge nocking an arrow, shooting at the enemy. An arrow plunged into Naunet’s shoulder, and the white masked foe yowled, releasing black smoke from his body. Naunet yanked the arrow from his shoulder with a grunt then flew into the elder tree, bursting through wood. Eckxio’s heart hammered his chest at that moment. His father and mother were inside that great oak. He ran into the grand tree, praying Naunet would not find them before he did, but before he could reach the entrance, Naunet flew out with the village chief.
“No!” Eckxio screamed.
Naunet had Eckxio’s father hanging by the collar then placed a dagger on the neck of the old Elf.
“Here I have Sherwood, the king of Elves,” Naunet said and snickered. He levitated higher to avoid any attacks. “You know what to do if you want me to spare the life of this geezer.”
Eckxio clenched his teeth. He noticed Nezz nocking another arrow above and aimed at Naunet.
“Nezz! Hold your fire!” Eckxio yelled, and the young archer withdrew.
“We can’t let him take Sherwood,” Nezz shouted from the bridge above.
“I know, but we have no choice.” Eckxio sheathed his sword on his back. “Naunet, I will give you the grimoire, but you must promise me that you will leave and dismiss your fiends. Never again shall you invade this village.”
“I have no intentions of v
isiting a village of rats again,” Naunet responded.
Eckxio looked up at Nezz and yelled, “Come with me!” Nezz ran across the bridge and into the tree. Eckxio and Nezz met at the bottom of the grand oak tree by entrance.
“Eckxio! Don’t do it!” Sherwood yelled, hanging by his collar in the hands of Naunet. “Take the grimoire and run, son. It’s not worth it. Forget about me.”
“Sorry, Dad, but I can’t just let you die,” Eckxio replied and went into the grand tree. The inside had vine ornaments and mandaraks as paintings, hanging on the wall. Sherwood’s throne was a verdant seat with deer horns spearing at the apex. Branches lush high with leaves fruiting berries. Eckxio walked behind the throne with Nezz and placed his hand on a mandarak. The magic circle glowed and revealed a stairway going underground.
“Are we really going to hand over the grimoire?” Nezz asked. The boy’s hands shivered. Eckxio looked at him and saw himself experiencing war for the first time when he was in his teen years.
“I have a plan. I just hope it works,” he replied. The two Elves went down the stairway. It was dark, and the air became thin. Eckxio used his gauntlet, and the gorgon eye shined red, lighting the way. The stairs snaked around a shaft. It was a dungeon, and the walls were covered in cobwebs. When they reached the bottom, they saw a chest that sat on a pedestal. Without hesitation, Eckxio popped it open and lifted the heavy tome that was inside. He shone his red light around the grimoire. The cover had an illustration of a rocky valley and mountains. Eckxio skimmed through the pages and tried to read the old codex. The grimoire used the Elfin alphabet, but the words were different. He understood a few words but could not read a full sentence. There were pages in the Elfin language. He remembered when he tried to learn terramancy at the age of fifteen. He never learned any magic. He only knew extromancy.
“Nezz, listen carefully. I need your help for this plan. You and I are going to take down Naunet and save my father,” Eckxio plotted.
“What! But ...but…I am too young for this. What can I do?” The young Elf seemed as though he was going to panic. He was nineteen and had never tasted war or killed another person.
“Many of our people died or ran away. Our mages and warriors are defending other parts of the village. We have to do this on our own. Just follow my lead, and my plan should work.” Eckxio placed his hand on Nezz’s shoulder and looked at the boy with a wide smile.
“I believe in you,” Eckxio said, and Nezz smiled back, breathing in new confidence. Eckxio whispered his plan to fool Naunet. Nezz nodded his head, ready to take action and face danger. Both Elves returned to the throne room upstairs. Eckxio stepped outside the grand oak tree, and Nezz stayed inside.
Eckxio carried the large grimoire that was longer and thicker than his right arm. He grimaced at Naunet and shouted, “Here it is. Now, let my father go.”
“Place the grimoire on the ground and step back. My fiends will take it,” Naunet said.
“Eckxio! Don’t do it. Forget about me and kill this bastard!” Sherwood yelled.
Eckxio refused to allow Naunet to hurt his father. He never let his comrades down, especially not family. He placed the grimoire on the ground as Naunet requested, and took three steps back. A fiend, eight feet tall, oily black skin wielding a jagged club, came and took the grimoire. Before the fiend touched the grimoire, Eckxio drew out his Tharos sword and unleashed its divine light like a beacon. The fiend squealed and turned to ashes. Naunet was blinded by the light, unable to see Eckxio.
“Nezz, do it now!” Eckxio yelled.
The boy ran out of the grand tree and shot an arrow at Naunet floating above. The arrow plunged in the forearm of their foe. Naunet let go of Sherwood, and the old man fell from thirty feet in the air. Nezz dashed using aeromancy, casting wind for speed. Sherwood fell in the boy’s arm, but Nezz could not hold the weight, and they both dropped to the ground.
“Well done,” Eckxio cheered and swung his magic sword, releasing a wave of white energy towards Naunet. The white masked man dodged the spell. The energy wave flew upwards and deformed, once it touched a tree.
“There is no way you are getting the grimoire. If you want it, you will have to fight me.” Eckxio glared at Naunet. At that moment, he felt unstoppable as if he had everything under control. Many of the fiends had been defeated, and the white mages were taking care of the rest. He lifted the grimoire with his right hand; it was heavy. He felt earth maju resonating from it. The gorgon eye on his left gauntlet blinked, and its iris changed to green. The gorgon eye is absorbing the maju from the grimoire, Eckxio thought. Is this tome really that powerful?
The gorgon eye then changed to black. At that moment, Eckxio became confused, but then he felt someone else’s presence.
“Don’t think you have won, just yet,” Naunet said and snickered.
Abruptly, Eckxio’s feet sunk into ground. He could not move. Then his lower body sunk deeper and he was now trapped.
“Someone is trying to dig my grave using terramancy,” he guessed. “Nezz! Take the grimoire and run away with my father.” He threw the grimoire over to the boy with all his strength. As heavy as the tome was, it glided through the air. Nezz dashed using aeromancy, but suddenly, a cloud of black smoke appeared between the boy and the tome. Whoever had emerged from the dark cloud caught the grimoire. Nezz was pushed back by an unknown force.
“Damn it!” Eckxio yelled.
It was another white masked foe clad in black, just like Naunet. This one had two horns rising from the mask and was shorter.
“Looks like I arrived just in time.” A female voice echoed in the mask of this new foe.
“Oh good, Hertha. Now that you are here, you can take the grimoire and finish up. I will leave the rest to you,” Naunet said.
“Wait! Where is all the mythium? Did you find any?” Hertha asked.
“Unfortunately no. This Elf with his holy sword destroyed our fiends. We cannot detect mythium without the fiends. Have fun.” Naunet tossed his cloak over his body and disappeared with a cloud of smoke.
“Akielas did tell me that there were more of you. I suppose you are not Ember, either.” Eckxio’s legs were still stuck in the ground. He tried to dig himself out using his sword. Hertha paced towards the Elf as he struggled.
“How unfortunate of you,” Hertha said, mockingly. She giggled childishly.
Eckxio hurled his shield at her. She shifted into a cloud of smoke; the shield went through her, then she became solid again.
Shite, is this the end for me? There is not much I can do, Eckxio thought, stuck in the ground unable to move.
“Don’t worry. I am not going to kill you. I just want to put this grimoire to the test. Let’s see.” Hertha flipped through the pages of the large tome. As she was busy reading, Eckxio thought of ways to strike her, but he could not cast any magic without his paploo fairy. His ability, extromancy, was difficult to use on the earth element since it was so vast. He could not redirect earth spells, since the maju did not travel in a linear way.
Wait; there is still something I can do. He thought of an idea. His gorgon eye did not have much earth maju, but it was enough to dig himself out. The eye on his gauntlet turned green. Eckxio pressed his hand on the ground around his body and began to spread the dirt and rocks. He opened the earth around his waist and was able to budge. He pushed the maju using extromancy. He was never good at directing earth maju, since it was so stubborn, but now, he found a new technique.
“Ah! there it is. Chapter seven. Mastery earth spells.” Hertha finally found the chapter she was looking for. “This is going to take an incredible amount of maju, but let’s see how it works. Terriora krego!”
A thud echoed in the village, like the steps of a giant. Hertha levitated and thrust her palm downward, forcing her maju into the ground. A fissure opened the ground setting Eckxio free. Cracks ran across the village creating islands.
Eckxio stood up as the ground began to shake. He ran to attack Hertha but lost his balance. Hertha lau
ghed as she caused disaster upon Evee Iris. The village began to fall apart with the earthquake. The land sunk. Houses and trees stood diagonally. The earth separated and levitated islands with trees and homes in them. Eckxio stood on a small island and watched as Evee Iris turned to ruins. It was now nothing but splinters and pieces of land floating in the air. He gazed up at Hertha as she ascended higher with the grimoire.
“I have to take her down, somehow.” He refused to give up, even with his village turning to ruins. He looked below and saw the forest outside of what was once his village. He had never seen such cataclysm. Her terramancy was so devastating that defeating these masked villains seemed impossible now.
He turned his sight back to Hertha and saw that her body was shaking and releasing green steam. He could feel her maju decreasing until it dropped so low that the village began to fall down to the forest again.
“By the dragon gods. This can’t be the end,” Eckxio prayed and watched as islands, broken trees, shattered homes, and splinters fell to what was once Evee Iris.
Willow
She healed the wounded in Mouah Cross. Hundreds of Greamos bled, and their insect shells cracked. Their antennas broken and their wings torn. Even children were injured. Homes inside trees had tumbled to the lake below. Willow walked the bridges of Mouah Cross, spreading her healing spell.
“Naturass reju,” she whispered. She spun and danced, sending healing waves. Wounds closed and pain eased. Tears of the Greamos became drops of hope. Willow’s magic was strong with great endurance. Growing up in the forest had made her a powerful mage. Combining the elements of earth and water allowed her to use herbomancy, and with such magic, she could mimic the effects of herbs and countless plants that she had used before.
Smiles returned to their faces, and children laughed again. The Greamos men began to rebuild their fallen homes in the trees. They fixed the network of bridges little by little. It had been two days since fiends invaded Mouah Cross. Two days of mourning the dead.
Sin of Mages_An Epic Fantasy Series Page 14
