by Asher, Yarid
Azar, Usere and Urey said the same but Leosher did not listen until Neiham finally asked him too. Her manner was sweet and motherly which drove Leosher to ask the gods.
He went into his bed chamber and blew out all of the candles. He pushed the bed away and created a space for him to sit in. He sat crossed legged and meditated until Asurot came into his thoughts. Both met in the same white void but this time, Leosher was clean.
“Leosher, why have you called me?”
“Mother, I have something to ask for.”
“I do not wish to help you for you have disrespected me and the other gods.”
“Mother,” Leosher smiled “I do not ask for a favor. I wish to make a contract with you.”
“Continue,” said Asurot, for she knew it was something special and he was serious “tell me what you want?”
Leosher said with a smirk “I want you to show me the way to the hidden valley and I shall do one thing you wish me to.”
Asurot laughed and replied “The seed of evil has been planted in your heart and the gods are afraid you might turn against them. I will show you the way but in turn, I ask for your word that you will give up the throne of Thraenus and Aseroth if you grow evil.”
Leosher and Asurot agreed on this and both were tied in a contract which could not be broken, no matter what.
“Leosher, a cloud shall guide you to the hidden valley and your provisions will be refilled. Now good bye, and have a safe journey—Son!”
Leosher got up and went outside and just as Virgil and Urey saw him, they came to him running, “Did you talk to the gods?” asked Urey “Did you ask them for help?” added Virgil.
“Where is Barian? Call him.”
Barian was summoned and Leosher talked to him “Follow the red cloud, in front of the ship, for it will lead us to the hidden valley however I will have to spot the valley.”
“Very well my lord,” said Barian “I will get us to the valley.”
He quickly went to the back of the deck to steer the ship and Leosher went back in his bed chamber and put his bed back in place and slept after that.
Azar and Neiham went to sleep in their own bed chambers too, for they were old and tired but Usere, Urey and Virgil stayed up attentively and helped Barian in navigating. Urey had the best eyes in the entire group, for he could see the farthest without any mistake and that was the reason he was one of the best archers in Thraenus. He kept his keen eyes on the cloud and never took them off.
Soon it was night fall and all went to sleep except Barian’s crew. They could not, for they were sailing the ships. After some time, during the middle of the night, the cloud vanished away. It was pitch black and the only bit of light that was coming from the cloud showing the way, had gone away as well. The crew was very scared for they could see nothing except their own mates with the help of the lanterns but that was all they could see and suddenly, there was a crash. The ships had crashed in something but there was nothing up ahead. It was like an invisible wall ahead. The crash was so hard that it woke everyone up and they all came out of their chambers to see what had happened.
Leosher was the first one to come out and he was left jaw dropped to see what had happened. Virgil and the others followed him but no one knew what was going on except Leosher.
“What is it?” asked Neiham “What is it my lord?” Azar asked the same.
“We are here” said he “This is the hidden valley.”
“But I do not see anything” said Urey. Usere laughed at him and smacked his brother in his head “Exactly, only Leosher can see it.”
Leosher walked on the bowsprit of the ship and then jumped. What seemed like air to everyone else was cold, hard ground for Leosher. Virgil and all the others saw him and followed him.
They stood on the bowsprit and jumped and just as their feet touched the ground, the picture became clearer. The invisibility of the valley only worked without contact but on contact, a creature could see it. As they moved forward, they saw that the entire land was barren, just like the land of Mortemus. It was rocky and lifeless. There was no grass but edgy and sharp rocks and crunchy, dead leaves. They were there from dead trees. Every step the warriors took, the leaves crunched and created loud noise. Even breaths echoed in the land. The ground had many cracks and was very brittle as well. There were many salt deposits and many dead fish at the edges. The land was huge. It was big and had many mountains. It was an island.
After walking for about half an hour on that rocky and dangerous road that led to the mountains, Leosher finally heard a noise that was not from his mens’s walk,
“Stop where you are!” a hooded figure riding a horse, stood on top of a hill and shouted at Leosher “You are not meant to be here.”
Leosher did not like being stopped therefore he yelled at him “Come down and face me like a man.”
The hooded figure rode down the sharp hill on his black horse and other hooded creatures followed him and soon they stood in front of Leosher
“We are the protectors of this valley, put here by Samael himself. State your business or perish.”
Leosher smirked and said mockingly “How naiive, I am here to kill you and get the weapons. I am the son of Asurot, Leosher, and the king of The Empire.”
“Yes, we can see it. You are the one who spotted it all, we saw it.”
“I want the weapons,” Leosher demanded “And I will kill anyone for them.”
The sky was slowly lighting up and it was almost dawn now.
“You do not have to kill anyone. We will let you go and take the weapons.”
Everyone was very shocked to hear that, and Urey finally asked “That is it? You are just going to let us take the weapons? I mean we have had to fight for everything till now.”
“I have a feeling they are hoaxes.” Leosher began talking. “Who are you?” He asked them.
“We are the Shamuns.”
“Shamuns?” Leosher asked “I have never heard of them.”
“That is because we are highly secretive and live only on the hidden valley. We were put on this island by Shamaun to protect the weapons, so none other than himself gets them. We are highly trained to fight and are meant to be loyal to Shamaun, but since it has been so long, we cannot waste our lives anymore. Therefore, we shall let good prevail in Thraenus before we die.”
“How can you help me, traitor?” asked Leosher while smiling “I want the weapons.”
“Ah yes, you might want to call us traitors, but it is not betraying, for we are lending a hand in Thraenus in being a better place.” The leader smiled and continued talking “I will lead you to the gates of the sealed cave but you will be alone after that.”
“That is all I need, lead me there and you are free to go.”
Leosher and the leader agreed upon that and then Leosher looked at his men and told Virgil to set camps because him and his men were going to rest well before embarking on another part of this journey.
Virgil listened and the camps were set up now and after all was done, they all feasted and loved the day. The feast lasted till the night and all men forgot their sorrows for a some time and enjoyed with their brethren. Leosher was the only one who had not begun eating dinner therefore he went and talked to the Shamun Leader
“Would you like to join us tonight?”
“I am happy that you have given us the opportunity to spend the night with you but unfortunately we cannot, for we have to roam the island in search for stray visitors, and another reason is that we do not eat, we get our sustaining energy from the suns. We will meet you right here, where we stand, tomorrow morning at dawn, be ready.”
They left Leosher and his men alone and soon, they vanished away in the mountains. Leosher sat in his camp, alone and looked at the night sky and admired it and also thought about how much he had changed. When he had begun this journey, he was vulnerable like a normal creature; he would get hurt when he fell. The arrow of the Gelun army pierced his torso and he yelled in pain but now, it would
just be a mere sting. It was a fast yet remarkable change.
Virgil saw his brother sitting alone in the camp and joined him and sat next to him
“Brother,” he said “How are you now?”
“I am well Virgil, I am proud to have you as my brother.” He paused for a moment and then said “Where did you learn the magical arts? I have noticed you using them.”
Virgil laughed “Finally, I have been waiting for you to ask. I am Azar’s apprentice now. He saw something in me and decided to make me the successor of his magical talents. He also gave me a wand to channel my energy through. I can teach you all the things I will learn after I am done with my apprenticeship.”
“I like the way you are progressing but I am a god. I do not need to learn the magical arts because my kind created magical arts.” He paused and stared at the dark ground below his feet “I have changed, have not I?”
“Yes—-Drastically!”
There was a moment of silence between the brothers but then Leosher said in a sarcastic way “In what way? I may ask?”
“You have grown evil; you are ruthless now. The man, who would not hurt even a fly, has become an animal. You have become power hungry as well.”
“I am glad that now I know how you feel” said Leosher while smiling “Now tell me, when I become the king of Thraenus, would you like a part of my kingdom to govern?”
Virgil smiled and raked the ground with his hand “I do not wish to rule over creatures that live and breathe like the way I do. They deserve to be free and do whatever their heart tells them to,” He paused and wiped his dirty hand on his robe. Afterwards, he pulled out a letter from his pocket “Now brother, I would like to tell you that I just received a letter from Lamfari.”
Virgil handed him a letter sealed with Lamfari’s red seal, which meant that it was of high priority. The seal was a big, red blob of high grade sealant that only nobles of the land used, and since Lamfari now lived in The Empire, he was considered a noble and high priest. The seal had Lamfari’s intial on it, a big“L”. Leosher grabbed the from Virgil and he continued talking
“It has not been opened yet, for you are the king and you are the only one who is authorized of opening the high priority letters.”
Leosher nodded quickly got up from the rock he was sitting on and broke the seal and unfolded the parchment:
Son,
The queen knows that you are coming for her and she has her forces ready to battle you. She will do anything to defeat you and therefore you need to be more careful. Meagon and your Mother are fine and are hoping for your triumphant return.
Your servant,
Lamfari.
Leosher smiled, for he was too arrogant to care whether Geluna knew about him. He did not even think about her being a threat, therefore he looked at Virgil and smiled “Brother you shall go to sleep now, for it is midnight now and I have to sleep too.”
Virgil listened and replied “Have a good night’s rest brother, for tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow we will finally be half way through our journey, and one more step closer to your goal.”
Both hugged each other and then Virgil left the tent. Leosher took his chest armor off and his cloak off too. He lay on the rocks and since he was poor when he was growing up, he was used to hard times, which is why the rocks did not bother him and soon he fell asleep. Virgil also went to sleep but he did not have a tent like Leosher did. Azar, Neiham, Usere and Urey and Barian went to sleep as well. It was all quiet now and not even one man stayed awake. All were too tired to stay awake.
The moon shone brightly and there was a misty breeze, coming over to them from the sea. This was the air god’s, Caelus’s gift. This was the most he could do, for he had no faith in Leosher and did not want to anger either sides; neither the good side, nor the evil side….
Soon it was dawn and the suns shone from over the mountains and from the opposite side as well. The warm rays of the sun hit Leosher’s face through a hole in the ceiling of the tent and woke him up. He was fully rested and rejuvenated. His bruises were healed and his tiredness was gone. He wore his cloak and his golden armor and stepped outside, for it was time for the hooded men to return and it was time for them lead the Empirions to the gates of the sealed caves. All of the men woke up from their peaceful slumber and there was a lot of movement and commotion. They were packing up their reservoirs and getting ready. Virgil and Usere were leading the men and Urey was at the armory getting arrows for his bow. Neiham was gathering herbs and flowers for her elixirs and Azar was as usual meditating with a pipe in his mouth with his white beard shining like silver strings.
Suddenly, there were loud noises and soon, there was a cloud of dust gushing towards the camps. It was the men wearing their dark robes and riding on their dark, furry horses with maces in their hands. All of the Empirions left what they had been doing and gathered around in a crowd as they saw the giant clowd approach them. Azar stepped out of his meditation and stood in front of the crowd to confront, for they still did not have enough trust in the Shamuns, the traitors. The cloud stopped in front of Azar and as the dust went away the leader said to Azar
“Where is your king? We are here to help.”
Azar looked around and tried to find Leosher but he was nowhere to be found,
“Our king, Leosher is resting and shall wake up in a bit.” He paused and looked around “You are welcome to stay here and wait.”
Just as he had said that, Leosher made his way through the thick crowd and stepped up to the leader. He had to raise his head up to talk because the horse was tall and the leader was tall as well. He stood there like a dwarf but with his pride and glory
“Let us leave for the gates and do our duty.” He looked at Virgil afterwards, “Bring me a horse.”
Virgil nodded brought him a horse. The elf brothers and Azar and Neiham also sat on their horses while Virgil shared one with Barian and soon the entire army and the Shamuns left the bottom of the mountains and traveled towards the top, towards the ice, where the gates were and the weapons were being held.
It was a hard journey to the top and many were injured on the way. The rocks were sharp as swords and the roads were narrow, incredibly narrow. Some even fell off of the roads, and fell to their death. They also had to jump high above the holes of lava and geysers of hot steam. It was a long, tough journey. A journey that should have taken half a day, lasted for one and a half days, for they had to spiral above one mountain and jump over to the other and then spiral it again. They also had to stop for the injured soldiers, and also had to eat as well.
Soon they entered the icy parts of the mountain which meant that the gates were close by and just as they were getting closer, they heard loud noises; noises were those of a giant beast and they were horrifying, like a roar with growl. The voices created avalanches and they could see fire continuously coming out of the top. Though the mountain spurted fire, it was still too cold for the ice to melt. It was not lava from the bottom of the mountain but it was fire, blue and red fire. It started out blue and turned red at the top. The Shamuns paused for some time and stopped. It was as if they knew something.
“What is it?” asked Leosher “And what is that noise?”
“It is the guardian of the weapons. He is the reason that my men and I shall not go inside with you.”
Leosher smiled and began walking again, for now he knew and saw the great gates at a distance, waiting to be opened. It only took about another hour for them to spiral around and reach the top of the mountain and then jump to the neighbor mountain, which held the caves in its bosom. The men heard the noise again and this time, they were close and they could feel the wrath in the roar. The ground shook with terror and the men trembled but since Leosher led them, they walked firmly, for they knew he would save them from any trouble.
They walked and soon they all stood in front of the huge doors. It was gigantic and was purely made of iron and steel. It had locks on it and also had countless cranks on it. There were hundreds o
f latches on it as well. There were bolts and spikes and horns and every type of security system was on that gate and was probably the best gate on the face of Thraenus. The entire gate was covered in a thick layer of ice as well, for it had not been opened for a long time.
When Leosher stopped the crowd following him, and went closer to take a closer look, he saw that there was a star shaped hole on the door and a key had to be inserted in order for the door to open. He looked at the leader of Shamuns “Where is the key to the gates?”
“It is here; near the gates” said he “you just need to find it.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Leosher was furious “We made our way through such a hard terrain to come here and see that we have to find the key?”
Just as he was talking, Virgil came to him and calmed him down “Brother please, do not be furious. We will find the key.”
Then he looked at the Leader who was standing on side with his head down, “What does this key look like?”
“I do not know. None has ever been this close to the gates except you, the Empirions and Shamaun himself. Us Shamuns never tried to find the key and this is the first time we have even seen the gates. The key must be buried here, under the thick ice.”
Leosher took out his scythe from his sheath that hung behind his back, and held it up to the sky and just as he did so, sharp bolt of lightning came and struck the scythe. The impact was so great that the men standing close by were sent flying away and the rest moved back. The bolt was sent by Fulmeus, the god of lightning.
Leosher stabbed the ground with his charged scythe and the ice broke into small pieces. The ground split apart and the gate now had a huge crack in it and was cleared of ice but there was something wrong, the gate did not break apart as it was intended to but Leosher did not worry. He simply backed up a little and ran towards the gate and kicked it open. The thick gate flung open, leaving Leosher panting. A gush of hot wind came out of the caves, which suggested the caves were warm, but since the gate was open, the inside of the caves quickly became cold.
Virgil looked at Leosher shockingly “How did you do that?”
