by Asher, Yarid
Everyone laughed at his joke and went to sleep on the ground.
Soon, the fire died down and everything on the mountain slept. The stars shone bright and the moon smiled upon then.
It was snowing and the warriors were lying on the soft cushion of snow, sleeping but then there was a shrieking sound. Everyone was too tired so they did not wake up from their slumber but Leosher did. He got up and paid attention to the grunting. He found out that it was his horse, half eaten, dying in pain and in vain. Leosher immediately knew that it was trouble so he went to put on his armor but he did not have the time to. Just as he was walking to the camp, he saw a giant beast, in the woods, staring at him. He quickly grabbed one of his spears and chased the beast in the woods, barefooted and half naked, for the only thing he had on, in this cold and snow was his battle skirt. He chased the beast for some time and slowly they began reaching a hill which was glazed with ice and was highly slippery.
The woods were clearing up now and Leosher could see the back of the beast. It was covered with white fur and it was a little taller than a bear. It walked upright as well.
Both ran and didn’t pay attention, and accidentally began sliding down the hill while dodging trees. The beast used his long and sharp claws for traction and Leosher leaned back, on the ground and used his fingers and spear for traction. Leonidas jumped over cliffs, trying to get close to the beast and fortunately, he could now because soon, the slope ended transformed into a frozen lake and brought the beast and Leosher face to face. He couldn’t see his face properly because it was dark and it was a blizzard but the beast was taller than Leosher. Its teeth were bigger than those of a sabre tooth tiger and its claws were longer than those of a bear. Its fur was blue and white and its face was like a gorilla and a ferocious wolf. Its eyes were fiery red and its roar was long, loud and intimidating.
Leosher on the other hand was half naked, unprotected, bare-footed with fingers bleeding from all the efforts to find traction, and he was cold as well. The only weapon he had was his spear.
Both circled around on the frozen lake, waiting for the other one to attack but no one did. Suddenly, Leosher stopped and tightened his grip on the spear. The ground was cold and slippery and he aimed for the head of the Beast. He stepped forward and held his ground, and then suddenly, he lunged forward and shot the spear at the beast’s head that was standing far from him.
The spear pierced through the air and made its way through the falling snow like a falcon going for its prey. Just as the Beast caught sight of the golden tip of the spear, he started running towards Leosher on its four legs, like a hungry lion. The spear missed its target because it was cold and the slippery ground made it hard to aim and the snow blocked Leosher’s view and the beast ducked and began running. The spear was now stuck in the frozen lake and now Leosher was weaponless. He was bare handed with nothing to protect him.
The Beast tackled him and stood over him, like a man, on its two feet. Then it clenched its fists and tried to crush Leosher’s head with the bottom of his fists. He punched like a beast for it did not know how to punch, therefore Leonidas got out of the way. The punch was so strong that it made a crack in the ice under them. Leosher slipped from under it and tackled the beast to the ground. He started punching it until he was sent flying away, by the beast. He fell on the cold, hard ice, near his spear. The Beast got up from the puddle of his own blood that was left there, on the ice by the punches of Leosher, and ran towards him. It swung its long arm and scuffed Leosher’s chest with its sharp claws.
Blood started pouring out of his chest and soon, it was all over the ground. Just as the Beast was about to kill Leosher with a blow to the head, Leosher grabbed the spear next to him and stabbed the Beast in the stomach. The Beast quickly moved back and went far away from Leosher and just before the Beast was going back, Leosher pulled the spear out and got ready for another blow but the Beast accidently went over the crack it had made and the entire ground began to crack. Leosher, not knowing that the ice was cracking, shot his spear one more time. The spear pierced through the chest of the Beast and then hit the cracks, which broke the ground.
There was blood all over the ice and then suddenly, the whole place broke apart. Both, the dead Beast and Leosher fell in the icy cold water of the lake. They both fell in the deep and went to the bottom of the lake. It was still the blizzard therefore the lake froze again quickly, leaving Leosher trapped under it and as the time went by, the ice became thicker and thicker and after being trapped under the thick ice for some time and due to lack of air, Leosher passed out.
As his eyes were shut and he was falling down into the darkest depths of the lake, his mother, Asurot visited him for the first time.
“Leosher, my son, I am happy to see that you have turned into a young, strong and a handsome god. Though you might think you are an ordinary god, you are special, very special. All the gods marvel at your glory and strengths and power. While all the other gods have to tend to one specific part of Thraenus, you do not, for you are different. You possess the power to rule over everything. You are the prince of the gods and someday, you will become their king. Just remember one thing, all that the locals tell you, is sometimes not true. These stories have been passed down for generations and someone might have done some changes to them. Now, I have come to rescue you. You are a god with great power, get up and charge through the ice—look! For your brother is out there, looking for you, he is worried. Go assure him.” She said in her soft, angelic voice. Both were floating in a white void, but then she put her hands on his chest and rejuvenated him and he was back under water again but this time, all his wounds were healed.
Leosher was now rejuvenated. Asurot left just after he woke up, for she had already helped him enough. He looked through the thick ice that his brother and the others were looking for him. He tried to signal them but he could not for they could not hear him. He found no way to let them know of his presence but then suddenly he looked at the Beast. His spear was lying in the Beast’s chest because the beast had falling over it. He swam near him and picked up the spear to get out. It had been at least half an hour since he was down there. He held his spear tightly in the cold waters and threw it up. The power in his hand was visible through the dark waters. The water boiled around his hand, for this was his last attempt because he was almost out of breath, and because he had put all of his effort into it. The spear charged with an extraordinary strength and speed and pierced through the snow but now, Leosher had passed out. Virgil saw the spear jump out and quickly told everyone about it.
Usere quickly ran and cut a hole in the ice with his sword and just as he did that, Virgil jumped in the icy cold water of the lake. He went down, down to the depths and tried to find Leosher but it was too dark. He got scared because he saw the beast, floating in the cold water, with blood rushing out of its body. Virgil lost his breath and came to the surface but he took a deep breath and dove again. This time, the elf brothers joined him as well. Both brothers took their robes off and dove in the water with Virgil. Urey went to the left side to find Leosher and Usere went to the right side. Virgil was the only one who went back to the place where the Beast was and he finally caught a sight of something moving. He quickly approached it and saw that it was his own brother. He grabbed his hand and pushed him up towards the hole. Leosher got up there like a corpse and Neiham pulled him out but something else was moving in there as well. It was the Trident Eels. These were electric eels with three head and their shock was unbearable. Urey and Usere finally joined Virgil and all started to move up to the hole but the eels wrapped around their ankles and pulled them down. They were sending electric shocks through their bodies to knock them out and eat them afterwards but Azar saw it. He took his staff and pointed at the eels in the water.
A blue light shot out of the head of his staff and incinerated one of the eels. Usere got free and cut the head off of the eel that was wrapped around Virgil. He got free and just as he was about to free Urey, Azar shot ano
ther beam, killing the last eel. All of them came out of the water and finally got at peace. The chaos stopped and now everyone came at rest.
Neiham went and healed the wounds with her potion which was an elixir contained in a small, leather bottle. It was made to heal any kind of wounds, internal or external, apparently. It was dark blue in color and was made by the rare blue lava rose that only grew once a year, on top of Mount Dabaccan but only a few knew how to make it. That place was known to be where the gates of Ratarus were but no one was sure about it. Only a few drops of the elixir healed the warriors and rejuvenated them all and all of their fatigue and tiredness was now gone. Leosher did not need healing because his mother had already done so, but after he caught his breath, he got up and thanked them all.
“What happened, Son?” asked Azar “Why did you come here in the first place?”
“I was sleeping but then I heard a noise, I saw that a white, giant beast that was eating my horse.”
“It must have been a Yeti” said Neiham while giving Leosher his cloak, armor, sandals and his spears “What did it look like?”
“It was big with a lot of white and blue fur. It had long and yellow teeth. There was fire in his eyes and blood on his hands.”
“Well it is good that you are okay” said Virgil while patting him on his back “Now let us go back and get some sleep. You should sit by the fire, for you have been out the longest and you have been wet the longest too. Let us go!”
They all left for the initial place they were waiting at and all sat around the fire, in the orange light with the warmth around them. They sat in a ring and listened to the stories that the Elf brothers had to tell about their adventures and soon, everyone fell asleep and the fire slowly died down in the snow.
CHAPTER 4
It was still night when Asurot appeared in Virgil’s dream.
“Virgil, do not be scared for it is I, Asurot” she said in her angelic and runic voice “I have appeared in your dream to tell you something.”
Both stood in the same white void that she had appeared in when she came to talk to Leosher.
Virgil marveled at her beauty but she was like his mother “I am ready” he said “Tell me.”
“You are like my son, for you are Leosher’s brother; remember that my blessings will always be with you but I warn you, for there is the seed of evil and chaos in Leosher. He will grow arrogant and power hungry and his thoughts will become clouded with evil if you do not take care of him properly. He will turn chaotic and I want you to stop that. Keep him away from bad, be his guardian and I will reward you heavily.”
“I do not want a reward” Virgil replied “He is my brother and I have to protect him at all costs. Even when others might leave him, you will always find me at his side, fighting beside him, through all the battles and wars.”
“You have made me happy son, you are marvelous. As a reward, I will grant you one wish.”
Virgil stood there stunned in the white void with nothing in front of him except the glorious Asurot. He thought for a moment and then he said “I do not have a wish yet, but I will tell you when I have something to ask for.”
Asurot nodded and departed from his dream and left Virgil at peace.
The next morning, everyone got up and got ready. Leosher put on his armor and his cloak that he had taken off before going to sleep and he tied his hair back with a piece of string. After all were ready, they sat on their horses and began their journey except for Leosher, for his horse had been eaten by the beast. He rode with Virgil.
Azar led all of them and after going a bit further down the icy mountain, Azar turned around on his horse “Tonight, we expect to get to the Land of the Death. There are many legends about a Beast that turns people to stone. She lives in a morbid, stony land. Only the brave and the strong willed have been able to pass through the land and I expect the same from all of us. There is only one thing that you have to do in order to get through and that is, close your eyes and walk through calmly. Her songs are known to lure men, but beware, for you will be walking towards death if you are lured. Even if you turn around accidently, keep your eyes shut and you will be safe. Once turned into stone, there is nothing we can do to save you.”
Everyone listened to the warning carefully and when everything was set, they continued their journey towards the hidden valley. They came down the mountains and walked on the grasslands. These grasslands were beautiful; there was nothing but plains and grass. It stretched as far as the eye could see. They also went through the green forest, the only place on Thraenus where everything was happy and cheerful. But today, something was not right in the forest. This forest was known to be the home of the friendliest animals but today, all were scared and hid in the bushes with fear whenever they saw something move. The animals were restless. The lions roared and the monkeys were in great disturbance.
Urey, having the keenest eyesight, for he was an archer, went ahead and saw what was going on and what he saw was astonishing. He saw that Geluna’s army was racing towards them. It was a heavy infantry with cross bows and spears and swords. Most of them had daggers and they had the flag of Geluna, a golden, barren and fruitless tree on a red cloth. She was fond of plants.
Urey came back to the others and told them that they were extremely outnumbered but Usere being a strategic mastermind, told everyone what to do except Neiham. He took Leosher’s cloak and rolled it around in the dirt so it would look shabby and then he put it on Neiham, to make her look poor. Then he told his plan “I am going there with Neiham. She will be my mother and we will be traveling out towards the sea to meet my brother. I will signal you and you will ambush them. We have to follow the plan if we want a chance to win or we all are dead meat. Now go!”
Virgil tied the horses in a bush and then climbed a tree and Urey and Azar hid behind a bush and Leosher hid behind a big, thick, tall tree.
Just as all were in places, the guards came towards Usere and Neiham, and luckily they had no idea that they were about to be ambushed.
“Where are you going?” the leader of the infantry asked Usere in his thick voice “And who is this old woman with you?”
“She is my mother sire, and we are headed to the shore of the great sea to meet my brother” replied Usere, trying to talk in a high pitched voice.
“Do you have any weapons?”
“Yes sire, just a sword for my protection.”
Now, Urey got his arrows ready and Virgil got his battle axes ready. Azar put his staff on the ground and got ready for heavy attack and the tension increased by every second.
“Do you have any money?” asked the leader.
“Yes sire.”
Usere took out a ragged pouch, out of his pocket and he also took out his sword. He placed the pouch on the tip of the sword and pointed the sword towards the leader to offer the money. Though he was covered in heavy armor from top to bottom, there were some spots left unprotected like his hands and his throat, which were the areas Usere aimed on.
The leader moved forward to grab the pouch but little did he know he was making a huge mistake. Usere spun the sword in a spiraling motion and cut his hand off and yelled out “NOW!”
Virgil jumped on the soldiers and began fighting. Urey began shooting arrows and Azar shot fireballs out of the twisted head of his staff. Neiham took two mud balls out of her pocket and threw them on the ground. The mud balls quickly turned into two clay boars that attacked the soldiers. The beginning of the fight was great but now slowly they were getting overpowered.
Virgil was now surrounded by the soldiers and was about to get killed but Leosher, looking out for his brother, took both of his spears and shot them. They both hit their targets. They pierced through the soldiers’ chests and killed them.
Now armless, Leosher was bare handed, again, just like he was against the Yeti. Leosher knew he had to help somehow, therefore he improvised and pushed down the heavy tree he was hiding behind. It was hard, for the tree was at least half a century old. He st
ruggled but he did it and the attack wiped out almost half the infantry. Then, Azar, getting tired of all of this, created a giant fiery phoenix out of his staff. The phoenix came out as a ball of fire but slowly gained shape. It was glorious in the dark forest and burnt the soldiers, but there was a downfall to this technique too. The whole forest caught on fire because of the fiery phoenix and now, they were caught in a forest fire.
Neiham quickly shouted out “gather around the horses!”
Everyone listened to her and stood in a circle around the horses. The hot flashes and the fire were around them and the trees collapsed around them. The forest fire was spreading every second and standing just seemed pointless.
“What are we doing just standing around?” asked Leosher anxiously “We can be running and trying to save our lives.”
Neiham smiled at him “Son, observe.” She pulled her stack of cards and chose one of them. She put it on her hand and closed her eyes and in an instance, a blue elephant made of water rose up out of the ragged brown card. The elephant levitated in the air until Neiham clapped her hands together without bending her elbows. The elephant suddenly turned into a blob and then into a water bubble and protected them all from the forest fire.
Now they were enclosed in a water bubble like a new born’s caul. She then pointed her hands up to the heavens some of the water broke out of the bubble and began pouring down from the sky. The water was endless, it was unlimited. The forest fire died down and everyone was safe now. Neiham let go of the water and soon, the shield turned back into the elephant and the elephant went back into its house, inside the card.
“Thank you Neiham” said Leosher “You have saved much of our time.”
“That is the reason I brought her with me” Azar smiled proudly “I knew my sister has a lot of skills.” He looked at the sky and then continued talking “Anyways, we should keep on going now.”
