The Sacrifice of a Hero: Revival

by Michelle Joy

  Alfred was once the best friend at least from Frayne’s point of view; he couldn’t still believe that Alfred betrayed him and the Night Watch Knights, how could he do that? It was impossible to believe. Frayne felt that that trip would be the last he would ever have with Rose; he knew that he might not see his rose again, it would break his heart, but what could he do, he couldn’t escape his destiny. Frayne was leading the ship towards the darkest part of the world. A road to the unknown underworld, only Frayne knew the way. His only uncle, Master John left the direction for him sculptured on a rock on the highest mountain in Northumberland; the quest to find the direction towards the treasure location was as hard as deciphering those paths he drew on the map; it took Frayne a long journey and time to be able to decipher each code. Frayne followed the instructions his uncle left for him; it was really a hard quest because the signs that led to the location of the treasure could only be seen from with the lights of the torches and the wind made it harder. The lights of the torch should strike the rocks from a specific angle. Frayne was carrying tiny blue, leather, ivory chest in one of his hands while he was carrying a scroll of rolled papers that were hanging at his right side. Whenever they thought they were getting closer, the passage seemed to be endless; there in the narrow streams right below the high mountains, outlaws could appear anytime, just to kill anyone who could encounter their way; the paths had always been treacherous, especially when it would be raining all the time as they entered the bowels of the underworld. Their next step was to descend the huge rocks and go down into another sub ground tunnel and through those large rocky – slab doors that opened gently with no more than a push of one and only hand. On the way could be seen many broken wagons, decayed skeletons that belonged to human beings. The sound of the ocean waves as it crashed over the dead bodies was fascinating; it helped Frayne to relax in that long trip, but he couldn’t stop thinking of the fact that it could be the last trip he would go. Salt leaked down the carved stones and dripped down the huge walls, there were large serpents the dampness attracted them. Soon later, everything seemed to be finally retreating from the bright light into the dark shadows of that cave. A cave that coaxed its narrow way nearly a mile into a high mountain, the walls above it seemed to arch other hundreds of feet up.

  Frayne, his knights and Rose pursued their way towards the depths of the unknown, the deep darkness of the unexplained secrets of an unknown destiny with the spooky sounds of the unseen. It was only then when they reached a very long corridor that was lined with rocky pillars. There were paintings of mythical, legendary birds, many animals and unknown creatures that were fading on the dark walls. Frayne stood right in front of a golden bright embellished fresco of a Night Knight, who had a long beard that looked as if it was real; in that picture, the knight held around golden shield and bow. He had always made sure to stand there so that he would be able to recognize where the place of the keystone was. Frayne took off his golden necklace, on it there were two pieces that matched, they represented the symbol of the Night Watch Knights; it showed two huge knights riding only one black horse. One of the knights in the photo was made of gold together with the horse while the entire picture representing them was decorated with shining emeralds and colored diamonds. The other knight wasn’t made of gold, but rather of silver, but was also decorated with red rubies and colorful pearls. Frayne locked the two pieces with extreme care; everything had to be done with precision, otherwise, nothing would work; the door wouldn’t open, the treasure would be left hidden, but as long as Frayne knew the place, everything was fine. Frayne inserted them into its precise fresco right there in the front of the rocks. He turned that unique keystone slowly until he could see the movement of the heavy weighted stones as they started to change their positions. The process was really slow, but at last, the golden fresco started to turn slowly revealing a huge door that was made of only one chunk of a rock. In that stone, there were no joints, not even one crack. Frayne looked at the door as it opened slowly and gave a deep sigh, Master John used to call it the door of the unrevealed secret. It was the door that sealed the secret passage way that led to the hidden treasure of the Night Watch Knights; it had always been a charm to see and to learn about. It was really a mystery itself, with a thin line that separated it from the real world; one could stand in front of that stone door for years, but would never be able to discover the real entrance. Frayne finally removed the emblem he was carrying letting the rest of his companions to get inside that huge sanctum. The slabs that were carved with special care were grooved to make sure they fit perfectly.

  What a place! No one could close their mouths as they were looking at room that was filled with shining gold, with mountains of silver, huge chests that were brimming with rare gems that seemed to have been brought from all over the world, there were bejeweled armors made in gold and silver too, and many holy relics that belonged to Egypt, especially to that mystical Khufu Pyramids. Four well - known pharaohs made of gold were sitting on their thrones, each of them wearing fancy golden crowns that were inlaid with unimaginable jewels, they were representing the direction each face was looking at. The cold North was represented with icy and blue Rubies, the south was represented with hot and warm diamonds that were symbolizing peace and joy, the west was the one that traced the direction towards the moon, while the most attractive figure was the one with the black pearls that represented no more than the dead souls, east was represented by the sun with it red fire color. The last one was associated with the most powerful deity, the god of fire.

  The words of the god of fire would stop everyone who would hear it in his tracks; paintings of the first and the greatest masters were covering the walls. One of those paintings was extremely interesting with its depiction of a knight who was dressed in a golden armor and shining silver. The crystal emeralds that were blobbed with diamonds were displaying a vision of an imaginary world like a fairytale reflecting a whole universe. There were really huge Large; golden as well as silvery vines inside the room and what was attractive was the fact that each had an equal distance from each other as if everything was calculated to be symmetrical.

  Baskets that were filled with a countless number of diamonds were put everywhere on the ground of the cave; the amethysts were adorable. Everyone who accompanied Frayne was astounded by what they saw; they couldn’t hide the splendor they felt. Rose and the rest of the knights admired the fascinating work that Frayne’s family and their loyal warriors tried to accomplish for more than five hundred years just to keep that invaluable treasure away from the eyes that wanted it to vanish; a treasure that nothing could replace. No one had ever been able to imagine such a true magnificence. There were some solid wooden platforms lying on the floor.

  “This place is the last room that ever existed,” Frayne told his companions.

  “The king and a huge number of his knights must be searching for us desperately, so we have to be careful and transfer these treasures during the day light, do never do that at night because you will risk being caught because of the light of your torches, and one that happens; everything will be lost once and for all. Everyone will attack us starting from the king to his huge army, they will all attack us and when that happens, I won’t be able to protect you, their swords will outpace mine and no matter how hard I will try to save you, we will be all dead before we can even notice, then they would take the treasure; our treasure and we will have nothing to leave behind for the knights who would follow us. No one will be able to make it alive, so make sure that no one leaves the place, for it means your perpetual death. Whenever you need to sleep, just sleep on the ships, time for us is more valuable than anything else; be wise and remember my words,” The light inside that room of the sanctuary was beyond imagination; it looked like beams of bursting the sun, it was shining noticeably from a breach above the reef. The sun rays were dancing up and down slowly like a secret spell, and bouncing from a garden to another; in its movement, it created a beautiful animated colorful specter of
colors that pulsated around the huge room in a unique show off an Egyptian secret mystery and exotic charm that highlighted the Egyptian ancestry.

  Rose was completely speechless. She, together with the Night Watch Knights were really engrossed in the unexpected beauty they were looking at that they couldn’t even listen properly to their general Frayne. Samuel, whose nickname was the tree, was a handsome knight who had an extremely long and golden hair with his thick beard. His eyes were crystal blue. Frayne handed Samuel four huge parchments.

  “Look here, these in front of you, are maps of the Heathens,” Frayne explained. “You should be able to navigate the same trade wind that the Viking Long ships us; just follow the route I have showed you and you will make it out, I prepared everything to make it successful. When the ships are perfectly loaded, set your sails in the morning when you see that the tide is right for you, and if ever you feel that you lost your way, just keep in mind that you should set the fleas above a flat surface so that you can point out your way.” Frayne explained as he picked up one of the maps from Samuel and unrolled it against one of the walls in the chamber. He raised his hand high in the air and pointed his finger towards a wide river on the vellum, “This is the Fjord River,” Frayne said before pausing for a minute as if he traveled in time and space; Rose patted his shoulder bringing him back to reality. Frayne moved his hand slowly saying

  “And this is the Hawk Sea, it lies there between the Northern Coast of both Russia and Norway, you will notice that for some reason, the waters of that sea are warmer and they are most of the time without ice during the year. In this place exactly, I want you to build up your life again; the people who live there are called the Oak Wanderers, you should treat them very well, because they will be great friends for you all, I trust they will take good care of you,” Frayne added as he pointed at the Kaila Sea and the Ocean. “Beware to get any closer from that sea, they are known for being frozen most of the year, all the months indeed, so no one has ever been able to survive in those regions, never ever get close from it,” Frayne said, showing Samuel the location where Master John related to him the story of the Viking hero who had built a well – sealed castle and fortress in the Pearl Mountains, with the help of the God of Norway.

  “It will be easy for you to defend yourself and your companions from any intruders and invaders,” Frayne told Samuel, “You must protect the Night Watch treasure at any cost, even if it will cost you your entire life, and don’t forget about that golden bow, put your life at stake if needed, just to protect it, promise me that will do that,” Frayne said holding Samuel’s shoulders tightly; then he let him go and picked up a big rock with his muscled hands. Frayne used that sharp rock to shape the location of the castle on that map, and then he rolled it up and handed it to Samuel.

  “Stop talking this way, Frayne, please,” Rose begged. But Frayne gave a gentle smile and carried on his speech.

  “At the moment you arrive there, you shall get ready for the merciless winter that you will face in Russia, gather as many knights as you can and chop as many trees as possible, and gather everything you can find from firewood and kindling too. Try to hunt as many preys and animals as you can from the woods, stock everything up for winter. There in Russia, the skies will be clear all day long, you won’t even feel the wind sometimes, yet you will never be able to see the sun. Even the air you breathe will turn out to be ice as soon as you exhale it; everything will be covered with snow even your hair; your beard will all be trimmed with the ferocious frost of winter. If you get lost in the frost or just a few miles from the castle and you will freeze immediately,” Frayne continued.

  “I have heard so much about that, I heard it from someone,” Samuel commented, unable to hide the anxious look that swept his face.

  Frayne shook his head in his usual pride.

  “Was it…?” Despite the fact that Samuel didn’t utter the name, Frayne didn’t dare to spit it out; he didn’t want to pronounce the name of the man who was nothing but a fool. A chilling silence dominated the place before Samuel intervened to break that icy silence,

  “If you want me to keep your pendant, I will do it with pleasure,” Samuel suggested in a try to keep the pendant that had always represented the fraternity between all the knights belonging to the Night Watch Knights,”

  “Thank you, but I’d rather keep it, I don’t want anything about me to change all of a sudden, nothing at all,” Frayne replied in a deep tone. “The King shall believe that the treasure that belongs to us the Night Watch Knights is sealed once and for all, so that if his guards manage to catch me and try to use my pendant, they will find nothing, but a huge empty cave,” Frayne explained thoroughly before moving on his way. Everyone was speechless; they all stood in awe looking at each other in pride.

  Chapter three: The knight’s last will

  No breath of frost, of air breaking the waves

  Those rolls below the cave and the grave

  Hear my fair clime, it is where spring smiles

  Thy presence made me glad about thy heart

  Every time they hailed your pride and sight,

  Don’t lend me the loneliness of glowing delight.

  Look to them as they are dimpling the cave’s cheek

  Reflecting the shadowy tints of enchanting peaks

  Don’t be caught by the tides of past that lave

  Those wondrous Eden of thy Northern wave:

  Move forwards and break the crystal blue seas,

  Sweep all the blossoms from the oak trees,

  For only there thy Rose, will crag and vale,

  Like the lost queen of the glowing Nightingale

  A long moment of silence dominated; everyone looked still like death, and only Samuel’s voice woke them up.

  “What about Rose, Frayne?” Samuel murmured when the woman walked away unable to hide the sorrow that was converted to hot tears in her eyes; tears that Frayne didn’t want to see as he looked at her getting away focusing on the rainbow of colorful lights.

  “She has to leave with us, don’t you think?” Samuel added.

  “But, she will never try to betray me,” Frayne responded in a firm angry voice.

  “Well, I believe that time has the ability to change things,” Samuel commented.

  “I said no; don’t try to convince me, Rose will stay right here with me, besides, I haven’t told her yet that Orchidos is walking amongst us. I just want to give her some happiness for whatever time that is left for us to live,” Frayne said as he moved forwards to reach Rose’s shoulder and grabbed her gently then held her hand as if he was holding a real rose.

  “Please, come with me, Rose, there is something I want to show you,” Rose followed Frayne without discussion or any questions until they arrived at a ceiling fence that was made of golden rails, Frayne pointed his hand towards a box that resided inside an unnoticed box. The image wasn’t clear and it took Rose a few minutes to be able to understand what she was looking at.

  “Is that…? Umm, maybe it is what I think,” Rose said looking at Frayne seeking an answer. “No, it couldn’t be it, I thought I’d never see it, wasn’t it lost forever?” Rose added; a look of the puzzle was drawn above her face.

  The sound of thunder sticking the place was heard as Rose grabbed Frayne’s hand tightly, “This is the most wonderful thing I had ever seen, Frayne,” Rose said, struggling to keep her balance.

  Rose raised her hand until she reached up and placed her hand smoothly on Frayne’s neck; she couldn’t but cuddle his birthmark, it was glowing with colors, as if it was igniting heat; it was a bearable heat that his mother used to call it “Rider of the Golden Heat of Sun” A white horse with spread wings; each with a color, one with a red fire color and the other with a purple color, both the wings danced under the shimmering rays of the hot unassailable red lava, flying horse representing the soars of the past. Its rider had always been known for being a ferocious and handsome lad of a haunting aspect, he had always been known for being a Knight of t
he Night Watch; he had always been a warrior of the god, with his longs and thick dark hair that was speckled with rays of moonlight; his face was glowing with the reflection of golden dust. He represented everything of the wide universe to the spots of the sparkling stars, to the darkness of the wide space; all of those were his perpetual companions.

  “Order them to make the holy chest made of oak tree wood, it should be two and a half cubits of length with just one and half cubit of width and don’t forget that it has to be a cubit and a half of height, be precise in everything,” Frayne yelled in an authoritarian thunderous tone as he recited the information. Rose couldn’t hide her admiration; Frayne had always been her hero, a warrior of God, a knight to the very end. It was then when Frayne handed Rose his hand lifting her to with his robust hand to the world of the heaven; he screamed as loudly as he could in his thunderous voice for everyone to hear him,

  “Now, cover it with nothing, but gold, pure gold, from both the inside and its outside, then put a molding surrounding it, don’t forget to forge exactly four of golden rings, and then make sure to fasten them into four feet, there should be two rings on each sides, and after that make poles made of Oak wood and polish them with gold. After that, insert those poles into the right rings above all the sides of the chest. You have to carry the chest, but before that, you should know that the poles have to remain inside the rings of the bow, no one has the right to remove it, any mistake means losing everything. Follow my instructions precisely and we will meet you all later to grant you the rest of the command,”