by C. J. Strong
“You don’t have to be embarrassed on account of me, I’m just glad that you know how to swim now,” Uriella said as Yuralia went for her clothes.
“We should get back to the mission,” Andrum said as he exited the water with perfect posture and poise.
“That we should,” Uriella said.
It didn’t take long for either of them to get dressed, and they were ready to set out once more. This time however, Andrum and Yuralia held hands as they headed towards the forest.
Chapter 17
Gallagher and his friends fled from the strange creature, and ran back towards the village. The Zormite chased them the entire time, never showing any fatigue at all. Every once in a while Gallagher would feel his legs start to give out, but then he would look back and realize that if he quit running, he would surely be killed. This didn’t scare him, instead, it motivated him to run faster and faster. If Gallagher had to carry Valdar’s sword the entire time, then the creature may have caught up to him, but luckily Omna was the one carrying the sword and she did it easily. For some strange reason, Omna was incredibly strong. Although she wasn’t the fastest in the group, it seemed like she ran just as fast with or without the sword which was quite impressive.
With Valden and Babah leading the group due to their quickness, they were the first to spot their home village of Tindu. “We’re almost there!” Valden shouted out.
“It’s about damn time…” Gallagher said as he looked back at Moldur who was lagging behind. This seemed to encourage his portly companion, who then blew past him and the others at an incredible speed.
The monster wasn’t far behind and seemed to increase its speed as Moldur did, almost as if it was holding a grudge against him from earlier. Regardless, they reached the village before the Zormite caught up to them. Valdar the Strong was waiting for them with his arms crossed as they approached the entranceway to the village. Before any of them could catch a breath to tell him that they were being chased, Valdar transformed into an enormous lion and sprinted past them. As the Zormite came towards the village, Valdar pounced and slashed it with his paw. In an instant, the monster turned into black dust and evaporated into thin air.
Valdar then transformed back into his humanoid form and turned to face the children. “It seems as though you got yourselves into a bit of danger,” he said before walking over to Omna.
“Woah, that was amazing!” Gallagher said. Seeing Valdar in action for one of the first times was epic, but Gallagher wondered why he was able to defeat that creature so easily.
“We.. we’re sorry Master,” Omna said flinching as he took his sword from her.
“You’re all in quite some trouble. I specifically told you not to go. But judging by that Ghoul that was chasing you, I suppose you’ve all realized how dangerous it can be outside the village. So what news do you bring?” Valdar said as he kneeled down and ruffled his son’s hair.
“Nothing good. You were right,” Gallagher said with his head down.
“I’m sorry what was that?” Valdar asked as he turned his attention to Gallagher.
“You were right. It was dangerous! But we had to go,” Gallagher said. “None of us could just stand idly by without knowing what had happened to Moldur’s father.”
“…And what did happen?” Valdar said.
“He died a coward, that’s all anybody needs to know,” Moldur said as he left for his tent.
“A coward… that doesn’t sound like Murgor,” Valdar said before trying to stop Moldur from walking away. “I put your father in charge of that outpost for a reason. He had proven himself in battle countless times. Were their more Zormite Ghouls than that one when you got there?”
“No… There was nothing. Just countless bodies burnt to a crisp,” Moldur said.
“Burnt to a crisp? Mere Ghouls couldn’t have done that. That kind of magik can only be done by Nifflarian Spellbinders,” Valdar explained.
“But that’s what Murgor wanted to tell us, that Ulteria had fallen to Zorm,” Valden said. “Something about its leader being corrupted.”
Valdar looked to his son in disbelief. “Well then, thanks for the report. You must all be pretty tired from the journey, why don’t all of you get some rest and I will deal with your punishments later.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and started off towards the tents. All except for Gallagher, who kept his eye on Valdar as they went their separate ways. “Hey Valdar, how come you were able to kill that creature so easily?”
“Magik my dear boy, magik. Whenever a Tilturian transforms, their animal form uses it in their attacks. Now get some sleep,” Valdar answered.
Magic huh… I gotta get me some of that, Gallagher thought as he started to head to his tent. He couldn’t help but notice however that Valdar was not in fact going to his, but instead somewhere else. After just telling him not once but twice to go to bed, Valdar then doesn’t go to his? This seemed a bit suspicious, so Gallagher decided to follow him. Sure enough, Valdar was up to something. He was headed towards the barracks, with Gallagher not far behind.
Valdar sheathed his sword before entering, and Gallagher caught the door just before it closed. Inside were 3 other Tilturians, but only one of which Gally recognized.
“My scouts have confirmed it,” Valdar said as he joined the group.
“Are you certain?” Wulder the Alpha asked.
“Of course, I sent my best people to investigate. Zorm’s evil has spread across Ulteria, and they have obliterated Stonewall Point,” Valdar said.
“I knew we should have eliminated the pathetic Nifflarians when we had the chance,” another said.
“What of your friendsss inside the City Valdar?” an unfamiliar face hissed.
“I have not heard from them in a long while, Salitar, but I fear it is already too late,” Valdar said.
“What do you think we should do Salitar the Serpent Lord?” Wulder asked.
“We must strike while the iron isss hot, if Zorm has influence over the Nifflarian people then he must have only recently taken control. We cannot afford to fight him on both fronts,” Salitar commanded. “Wulder, Guldar, pull all your troops from the north.”
“But sir, if we do that, then what’s stopping Zorm’s armies from invading all of hEtar?!” Guldar said as looked at Wulder for approval.
“We will take Ulteria by force, and from there we can reinforcssse ourselves for what is to come,” Salitar said. “Valdar, ready your troops. You will be the first wave. If you cannot get ahold of your contacts from inside the city then attack head on.”
Valdar and Wulder nodded their heads in agreement as Guldar shook his head.
“Me and my reptile army will attack their fleets by water and land taking out the Southeast of the city, Valdar you just make sure that the rest of the gates are ready for Wulder and Guldar and their armies by then.”
“Absolutely, it will be done,” Valdar said before bowing to the group and preparing to leave.
As Valdar turned towards the exit, Gallagher quickly jumped back from the door and it creaked shut. He then took off running back to his tent before the leaders could see who was spying on them. Once Gallagher came into his room however, Omna was waiting for him.
“Omna! You’re never going to believe what I just heard…” Gallagher said.
“That we are going to war? That’s typically what it means when Master starts to act differently.”
“These kind of things happen a lot?!”
“No, not frequently. But when they do, a lot of people die.”
“As much as I like danger and adventure, I don’t think I’ll ever fit in in this world.”
“That’s right. I forgot that you keep insisting on that.”
“It’s the truth! In my world we have war, but it isn’t something that is a part of our everyday lives. At least from where I come from it wasn’t. Plus we don’t have magic or whatever and we can’t transform into beasts from the animal kingdom.”
“Wow�
�� that actually sounds kind of boring actually.”
“You’re right, it was. Which is why I love it here so much. But war can be kind of scary, even I know that.”
“I’m not afraid. Master takes good care of me. As long as he is around then we have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, it was pretty awesome how he slayed that thing that was chasing us.”
“So, tell me more about this world you come from,” Omna said as she sat down on Galagher’s bed.
“Well I used to live in Los Angeles—“
“Los Angeles?”
“Yes, it stands for ‘angel city’ or something like that.”
“You mean you come from the City of Angels?!” Omna yelled as her eyes grew big.
“Yeah, I think that’s what they call it. How did you know?” Gallagher asked.
“Before Master found me, I used to live with my people, the Márnamians. I was really young, but one of the first things that I was taught as a child was about an ancient prophecy. It foretold that a person our people named the Savior would come from a place called the City of Angels.”
“Huh… That’s weird. Well where exactly is this City of Angels place supposed to be?”
“That’s just the thing! No such city exists in all of hEtar,” Omna said.
“Well that’s pretty strange then,” Gallagher said.
“It all makes sense now…” Omna said. She paused before jumping up and hugging Gallagher tightly. “You! You are our savior Gallagher White.”
Omna squeezed him as tight as she could, which surprisingly nearly broke Gallagher’s back. “Uhh…” he said as he tried to get her to let go. “I can’t save anyone if you kill me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Savior,” Omna said as she released him.
“So what else do you know about this Savior person?” Gallagher asked as his redness started to fade away.
“Well, I’m not sure exactly how the saying goes. It was a long time ago and I was just a toddler.”
“There is a saying?”
Omna nodded her head and said, “Yeah, I think it went something like this.” She cleared her throat and then began to sing, “Savior from the City of Angels he will arive, destruction of the darkness he will bring, and eternal peace will contrive, all thanks to the Savior and the king.”
As she sung, Gallagher was surprised by her voice as much as the words she was singing. Omna sung beautifully, like nothing he’d ever heard before. He was so caught up in watching her, in her voice and how lovely she looked, singing with her eyes closed and head back, that he didn’t even realized she’d stopped until she cleared her throat. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Gallgher tried to make up for his dumbfounded expression, Omna staring at him expectantly and a little confusedly.
“Oh, uh, um wow. You have a really beautiful voice Omna,” he said, smiling with what he hoped was a natural and easy smile, “And it’s a nice song but it doesn’t really give any details about this supposed Savior person.”
“You are the Savior, I now know it to be true,” Omna said before grabbing his hand and sitting down on the bed with him. “I can’t wait to tell everyone.”
“No, please don’t. Let’s just keep this our little secret for now. I don’t want everybody thinkin’ you’re crazy. Especially when we have bigger things to deal with.”
Just then, Valdar peaked his head through the tent with a stern look on his face. “Hey, are you two up for another adventure?”
Chapter 18
Andrum felt like a new man as he and his group re-entered the Forest of Sorrows, and in many ways he was. In just a short period of time he had met and joined souls with the spirit of Xurion, gotten a book which could literally change time, and made love to the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Things were definitely going his way and he had grown a lot since him and his friends had left for their mission. But that was something that weighed heavily on his conscience, his friends. Xurion had told him that both Yuralia and Ashurd were still alive before he left the pyramid, and sure enough Yuralia still was. He had to change history with the book in order to save Yuralia, but maybe he could use the book in a different way to save Ashurd. After careful consideration, he stopped for a moment shortly after they had entered the forest.
“Excuse me ladies, but I have to take care of some business behind those trees over there,” Andrum said as he came to a stop.
Yuralia let go of Andrum’s hand and he separated from the group. He wasn’t lying to them, he did in fact have to take care of some business, just not exactly the same kind of business that he had implied. After looking around and making sure they could no longer see him, he summoned the book Xurion had given him. This time however, his intentions were not to change anything, but merely to learn about what had happened to Ashurd and if there was a way he could save him.
As Andrum opened the book, magik radiated from it in the most magnificent of ways. Letters and words seem to pop out at him as the pages endlessly turned and he found himself engulfed in its amazing power. This was not like the previous times he had used the book. Those times, with Xurion’s help of course, he was in control. This time it was as if the book was the one controlling him. As more and more pages turned, Andrum felt light headed and a bit overwhelmed. Maybe it was because he was no longer in the Eternal Lands, or perhaps it was a repercussion from changing time, but regardless of the reason, he could no longer control the book. Just as Andrum was about to lose consciousness due to the raw power of the magik around him, the book finally settled on a page.
Andrum had no idea what he was about to read, but curiosity overtook him. As soon as he read the first words on the page, a flash of light blinded him. When he re-opened his eyes to look around, he noticed that he was no longer in the forest. He also noticed that not only could he not feel the book in his hands, but he couldn’t feel at all. It was as if he was floating in some sort of other dimension. Andrum thought it was an out of body experience, but it was as though the book itself was guiding him through it. Instead of fighting it, he tried to ease his mind and relax. If the book was trying to tell him something, then it was most likely for good reason.
After spinning around in nothingness for who knows how long, he finally stabilized and his vision began to clear. He was back at Yuralia’s village! Only this time, everything seemed to be frozen in time, and although he was there, he wasn’t truly there. Andrum still couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t feel the breeze against him, nor smell a single thing. The only thing he could do was see. He tried looking around, but without a head or body to turn, it was difficult. It was only his soul which was there, and he somehow knew that. Andrum could no longer think with his mind, nor move his body, but at least he still had his soul. He accepted the fact that he was just a passenger on this journey, and as soon as he did he was able to move. He moved not necessarily in the traditional sense, but what he wanted to see in his surroundings he was able to see. Once moving no longer became an issue, he began exploring the village.
The village seemed to be completely empty. Andrum floated from place to place, and even discovered new places in the village that he had never even seen before. This wasn’t just his memories that he was floating through, and he now realized that. He also realized that he could actually phase through objects. Gravity didn’t apply to him, and neither did anything else. If he wasn’t actually there to begin with, then nothing was going to affect him.
Maybe this was the same feeling that others have once their bodies die, but Andrum knew that his body wasn’t dead yet. Souls were always just being guided by their remaining magik to the Eternal Lands, Andrum however was being guided by something else, and he could feel it. After exploring the village thoroughly, he eventually found himself looking at the village gates. The presence he had felt guiding him was strong here. He didn’t know why, but he phased through the gates and found himself looking at an enormous crowd of Nifflarian people.
At least he found everyone, but they w
ere frozen in time just like everything else. Andrum tried talking and touching people in the crowd but it was as if he was making his way through a still frame photograph. The crowd also seemed to be centered around something. Every single person in the crowd had an excited look on their face, and most had their hands up as if they were cheering. Once Andrum had made his way through nearly everyone, he found himself looking at what the crowd seemed to be looking at.
It was Ashurd… he was alive! He must have survived the fight with Ondull after all. Ashurd was dressed in full body armor and was wielding a battle axe. But just as Andrum started to study the scene, an enormous earthquake happened. It was as if the world around him was shaking, and he was starting to fall back into the void that brought him there. He tried to fight it but again everything shook, this time it felt as if a lightning bolt had struck him. The visions he had just saw were starting to fade, and Andrum’s floating feeling turned into a free fall. The farther down he fell, the more he could start to feel his body once more, but he wasn’t ready to go back. Ashurd was just there…. Andrum needed more time.
After free falling back into consciousness Andrum opened his eyes and jumped up, trying to make sense of things and shake away the cobwebs. He found himself back in his own body, in the forest, with Yuralia and Uriella standing around him. He could see their mouths moving, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, and he looked down to notice the book still open, gradually falling to the ground.
As soon as it landed, it slammed shut and Andrum could hear once more. “What the hell is going on? You went to the bathroom half an hour ago!” Yuralia screamed.
Andrum blinked a few times and then looked up. He didn’t know what his excuse was going to be this time… but he didn’t have time to explain the truth. “Ashurd is alive, and I know where to find him.”
“Oh, is that so? And does this have anything to do with that book you were just looking at?” Uriella asked.
“Book? I knew there was something you were keeping from us,” Yuralia said before leaning down to pick it up.
