Soon he arrived at the village and the first thing he saw were archers at the top of the gate. Before, they did not recognize him and would aim at him, but now they knew who he was.
“Brothers, it is I, Auron. I have come back with a great blessing from Pyramus.”
The archers above quickly signaled their men below and the gate began to open. Auron walked into the village with the crimson jewel and all eyes turned to him. He walked amongst the villagers. They gazed in awe at the gift of the fire dragon god. Auron raised the jewel in the air and shouted, “Behold! The Crimson Cosmo Jewel is once again in the hands of the Amaranth people!”
Shouts burst out as well as pillars of fire in excitement. The Amaranth tribe danced, jumped in groups and summoned fire into the air in celebration. For five long years the crimson jewel was in the hands of Ember and now it had returned to its rightful place on Amaranth Island.
Ajira
One year later.
On Danteh Island, the boy walked to a plateau that was home to the graves of many well known mages in the islands of El Nido. It was dusk and the sky was bruised with a jumble of reds and purples. The ocean breeze was soothing and despite the beauty of the day Ajira was sad. He was clad in black and as he got closer to the tombstone, tears left his eyes. The funeral was over but he wanted to return and spend some time with his father. He was only eleven years old and felt lost and alone.
R.I.P
Akielas Neous
Beloved father, husband, friend and hero.
Those were the words on the tombstone.
Ajira dug a hole with his bare hands to plant some flowers for his father’s grave.
“Why did you have to leave me dada?” the boy cried. “I am all alone now and it’s because of you. I have nobody now. I have no friends. You were the only one I had dada.”
He curled into a ball on the ground, unsure of what to do. He remembered his father telling him that when he returned from the war he was in, that he would never leave Ajira alone. After his father returned from the war outside of El Nido, he spent a year by his side then an illness took his father’s life. For months he had not been feeling well and by the time Akielas discovered what it was it was too late and he passed away. No cure was found in time to save his life. Some say that Akielas had been fighting the darkness for too long. That the long fight with the fiends had made him ill. An illness that chased him even after his enemies were long gone. Some said that Akielas just wanted to die and journey to the realm of light and meet his wife in the afterlife.
“The funeral is over, Ajira, it’s time to go home,” he heard Eckxio’s voice.
Ajira stood up and wiped the dirt off his pants. He kicked his father’s tombstone and yelled out of anger. He stomped on the flowers that he had planted then curled into a ball again. Eckxio sat next to him and wrapped his arm around the boy.
“I miss him too,” Eckxio said. “He was a great man.”
Ajira did not respond. The boy just cried and stared at the horizon as the sun was setting.
“What will I do now?” Ajira asked.
“You are coming with me,” Eckxio answered. “Your father left you in my care.” The Elf stood up and drew his sword from his back, raising it skyward. “I will teach you how to fight. You will learn the Elven sword-and-shield style of battle. You will learn archery and magic. Do you want to be as strong as your father?”
“Of course,” the boy answered. “No. I want to be stronger than my father.”
“Then come to Evee Iris with me,” Eckxio said. “You can come back to El Nido whenever you want. Unless you prefer to stay here with your aunt and uncle.”
“No way, I want to go with you,” Ajira said cheerfully. “Train me to be a great swordsman. Train me to use magic. One day I want to fight the darkness just like my father did.”
The End
Thank you for reading Rift Of Chaos.
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Also check out other books
The Ungifted Elf
Fall Of A Demigod
Tarja Of The Snow
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Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3) Page 32
