by Asher, Yarid
There were tears in both of their eyes becuase they never had a chance to say goodbye to their father and mother.
“What happened to the wand?” asked Urey “You use a Staff. What happened to the wand?”
“Its right here,” Azar held it up in the air and afterwards threw it towards Virgil “Use this, and break the old one.”
Everyone knew Virgil was Azar’s apprentice but they did not know why he had given him a master wand but then Azar explained “I trained with this wand and became one of the greatest wizards, and I believe Virgil will do the same.”
The wand was dark brown in color with a round tip and a thick grip made of the same wood. It was made of plain wood but had magic spells on it, which made it special and there was a maple leaf engraved on the grip which indicated that it was from a maple tree.
After everyone was done gazing upon the wand, Usere asked Neiham “How did you get those cards? Did you make them using potions?”
“No,” Neiham smiled and pulled out her deck “This was a gift from Azar. After he had become the best he could be, he thought that I was defenseless therefore he took the spirits of some special beasts, covered them in spells and put them in a deck of cards.”
Everyone loved the stories and all were having a good time until Leosher began talking
“Everyone—let us slumber now, for I am tired.”
All could do nothing but agree with their king and soon all slept on the cold ground with rags on top of them and their forearms as their pillows and soon, it was pin drop silence and pitch black darkness because the fire had died down as well and the moon was covered with clouds now. All were asleep except Leosher. He stayed awake, for he had some other plans.
CHAPTER 10
It was pitch black and the crickets chirped. There was a cool breeze and it was a full moon and the clouds had cleared away. Leosher got up and wore his sandals. He meant to be sneaky but he could not for there were twigs on the ground and whenever he took a step, they crackled and crunched.
He grabbed his scythe and he also took Urey’s bow, the one that was given to him by the mermaids and his arrows as well. He quickly ran into the open where he had a clearer view of everything and he saw that the fire was still on in the look out towers, and the Gelun soldiers were still on the lookout. He hid behind a bush and put the arrow in the bow and got ready to shoot. The soldiers were covered in armor and had very little weak spots to let the arrows hit them but there was one place where they were unprotected and that was their neck, their throats.
They did not have any protection on their necks because they need mobility in the head area but that mobility was going to get them killed. Leosher shot three arrows simultaneously at the soldiers in the tower and all three of them found their target. They hit them right in the throats and the soldiers died instantly and did not have a chance to even touch the bell or give a signal to the other soldiers.
Leosher did the same with the soldiers on the other tower in front of the gate. He shot three simultaneous arrows and all three hit their target and they died without ringing the bell. There was no lookout in the front of the castle now and the hind towers were too far to even notice whether the soldiers were gone or not.
Leosher shot 7 arrows on the slimy walls and made grips for him to reach the top. He crouched through the bush and finally, stood in front of the giant gate and the only thing between himself and the walls of the castle were the pits filled with oozy, muggy waters. The alligators in the ditch did not realize that there was an intruder, for Leosher stayed quite like a preying mantis. He stepped back a bit and then ran and jumped over the waters and hung on the arrows. It was magnificent to look at his agility. He began climbing up and soon he reached the top of the wall. He crouched on top of the wall snuck to the other two towers where he killed the rest of the watchers too but now was the difficult part. All of the soldiers had lined up in the Court hall and Geluna was addressing to them.
Leosher jumped in the yard which was filled with oak trees and the best part was that the stems of the trees were too close together which provided a great hiding spot for him. As he began walking towards the court hall, he could hear Geluna talk:
“Tonight is a great night. The enemy is camping on our border lines, thinking we do not know they are there but we do and tonight, we eliminate our enemy’s……”
Just as she was speaking, Leosher kicked open the huge door of the court hall and barged inside
“Geluna! Your evil reign over the innocent residents of Gelus is over, for I, Leosher Poppins is here to bring forth your demise!”
Geluna smirked and her soldiers got ready to battle, “Ah, how naïve, you fell right into my trap!”
“Trap?!”
Leosher was shocked, for he did not know what was going on, but then Geluna made it clear
“I never took your people as hostages. I stopped sending my troops to that town right after you resisted, for I knew it would be pointless to get my troops killed by your hands, and therefore, I built my army as strong as I could and waited for you to come here and fall into my trap so I could rip your heart out of your very chest.” She raised her hand and pointed her finger towards Leosher “Charge!”
The hundreds of soldiers that stood in the court hall acted accordingly and charged while she herself sat comfortably on the morbid throne she prized so much but the long hall was an advantage for Leosher. He stiffened his muscles and got ready to battle and just as the first soldier approached him, he took the bow and smacked it on his face. Then he did the same to the other and broke the bow. After he had broken the bow, he stabbed the soldiers with the broken piece and afterwards, he took the arrows out and used them as his weapon and stabbed the soldiers in their necks and sides and even legs. When he ran out of arrows too, he finally took out the scythe which meant the fight was about to get more interesting and there was about to be a lot of gore.
He swung it and there was genocide. This attack that was supposed to kill Leosher, had backfired and had turned into a massacre. There was mist made of blood all over the hall. There were fountains of blood and there were bodies flying every where. No one was able to land even a single hit on Leosher. He was too fast for them and he enjoyed spilling the blood of the devils that had made his people suffer. He proceeded towards Geluna and after he was close enough, he swung the scythe to slice her in half and he had succeeded. He had made a deep, long cut on Geluna.
All of her soldiers that were still alive were scared, for their Queen was dying on the cold hard ground, but little did they know, she got up again and her cut healed almost instantaneously. Leosher was shocked as well but then Geluna said in her beautiful voice
“How naïve are you? Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me. You spent all the time, trying to find the weapons and when you get them in your grasp, you never even bother to take them with you in battle.”
Leosher was astounded and astonished because he had made such a huge mistake and now he was going to pay for it. His scythe dropped from his hand and he himself fell onto his knees with his jaw dropped. Geluna walked over to him and grabbed him from his beard and shook his head violently “Now you will learn the most important lesson of your life, never let revenge cloud your mind.”
She took her scepter and rose it high up in the air. She mumbled something in her mouth and the scepter began shining with power and she smashed it against Leosher’s head and knocked him out. Geluna yelled out loud “Put him in the dungeons and prepare for battle, for his mates shall come when the sun rises.”
The soldiers listened to what their Queen had said and enchained him. He had a chain around his neck, his legs were tied and his hands were behind his back and tied to his heels. They covered his eyes with a bracelet and shoved a metal ball in his mouth to keep him from talking. They dragged him to the dungeons of the castle and put him in a cell where there was no light and the air was thick. It was damp and moist and cold. He stayed in the dungeon all night and stayed in pain, both em
otional and physical. Emotional was because he had been played and all his pride was ruined and the physical was because of the scepter. The power from the scepter had affected all of his body. He had been whipped and beaten by the soldiers as well. He was bruised and battered and it was hard for him to breath.
Just as the suns of dawn rose, there was a siren. It was a distress signal, made with the horn of a minotaur, that the soldiers had set on because the Empirion army was attacking the castle but the gates, though they were old and waterlogged, still kept up. The Empirion army was led by Virgil, who was furious, for he knew his brother was in trouble. They had a noble fir tree with its branches shaved off. They used it as a battering ram. They had put the head of a bull made of iron on its tip and the entire tree was held up by 13 men on each side. They stood in the waters where the alligators resided but they had already killed the alligators brutally and were now knocking down the gate. It was hard and precipitous work but they managed to continue and after a while, they broke into the castle.
The gate was crushed and there was a big gash in it. Just as the entire army entered the castle, they were welcomed by the Gelun army, all of whom were ready to fight. They had their tall shields place firmly in the ground and held the spears in their hands. The archers stood in the lookouts, on the tall oak trees and on the slimy walls, with their arrows ready and waiting for the general to start the fight. The general stood in front of the Empirion army quietly, and just when he saw that all of them were inside the castle, he shot a spear with his hands. He hit the soldier that was standing in the front of the Empirion army, only with a sword. He did not have a shield and was not wearing any armor either. The general had chosen the easiest target and drove the spear through the poor human’s chest. The army saw it and charged at the Geluns and a battle broke out and the archers of the Gelun army began shooting.
The Empirions were well aware that this was going to happen therefore all the men with shields gave cover to those who had none and no men were harmed by the arrows and afterwards, they charged on the Geluns. They were a phalanx that was good in fighting, for they were old and wiser. Most of the men were turned into stone, hundreds of years ago by Mortemus, when work was even more precipitous and battles were far harder. They charged through the Gelun men and knocked them down and soon, the Empirion archers took their places too and the real battle began. They shot arrows and killed the archers of the Gelun army. Virgil and the others, all charged into the court hall, through the jungle-like front yard and soon they confronted Geluna.
Virgil was furious. He took out his wand and yelled out “Corpus Exanimus,” while pointing it towards the troll that was standing in front of him and hit him with the spell. A bright green light came out of the tip of his wand and hit the troll. The troll was a tall, hideous beast with a pale and slimy skin with rags as its clothes and drool and zits on its face and yellow, monstrous teeth showing and a hairy body. He was a giant.
Just as the light hit his body, he shriveled up and fell on the ground. The spell had struck the troll like lightning and he did not know how to respond to it, for he was an imbecile. His body, after shriveling up, turned into dust and there was no trace of the troll left. All that was there was black, sand-like dust, dry and powdery. Azar quickly ran forwards and swept his staff on the ground and blew that dust into the soldiers’ eyes that were blocking Virgil’s way.
The brothers, Usere and Urey, took advantage of this moment and Usere charged at the men and whenever he had his back towards someone, Urey shot him down with his arrows and even though this was just an ordinary bow that he had taken from a soldier in the Empirion army, he was just as efficient and fast and skillful.
Neiham ran to the dungeons where they kept Leosher hostage, and tried to save him while Barian stayed in the front yard and fought the soldiers, alongside the rest of the Empirion soldiers. Virgil swaggered towards Geluna who was sitting on her beautiful tree like throne, smirking. She wore a beautiful gown like dress made of vines and her arms were wrapped in large leaves. She had a golden scepter, with a large, blue gem at the tip. The sceptor was an outlet for her energy, just like Azar’s staff and Virgil’s wand, for she was a witch too. She was light brown in color with dark eyes and long, luscious hair. Her crown was made of gold and wood, and contained many precious stones.
Just as Virgil was a few steps away, she got up, out of her throne and held her scepter tight in her hands and got ready to fight.
Virgil flicked the wand and said the spell again “Corpus Exanimus.” The same light came out of the tip of the wand and shot towards Geluna like lightning, but she was standing all ready to fight back. She waved her scepter and deflected the spell easily, and grinned and mocked Virgil
“How petty,” she laughed at Virgil “You have to say the spells. Your wand does not even know your own feelings.” She raised her scepter up to her face and looked at it “Let me show you how the masters do it.”
She pointed the tip of the scepter towards Virgil and the same light came out of it. Virgil now knew if he was to get hit by this spell, this would be his end and his brother would not be able to take over Thraenus and make it a peaceful place for everyone to live in. Therefore, in an instant, he raised his wand and yelled out “Auxilius Armus!”
Everything paused for a moment. Everyone gazed upon Virgil and his spell as the dark court hall shone bright with the white shield that had appeared around Virgil. It was the same spell that Azar had used against the ice giants to push them off of the cliff. The shield spread apart and blocked Geluna’s spell but soon, the shield broke because Geluna’s spell was continuous and very strong.
Azar was filled with pride, for his student, Virgil, was fighting one of few witches that were left and she was the strongest witch in existence right now.
When the shield broke, Azar’s pride was set on pause and he had to help his apprentice. He was standing by Virgil, fighting the Gelun trolls, when he jumped in front and put his staff in the way. He stomped the ground with his staff and the shield came out again, but his shield was far stronger than Virgil’s. He was a master, therefore, he did not have to say the spell; his staff understood him and his feelings.
The shield quickly blocked the spell and Geluna was left devastated. She raised her hands in the air and suddenly, her crown began spit out some eerie smoke. This smoke was green and made it seem like it had life in it. It rushed outside where the oak trees were, in the front yard, and engulfed it all within it. It breathed life into all of the oak trees. Their branches shuffled and twisted together into clumps that resembled the arms. The bark of the stem became their face and the stem became the body. The tree monsters forcefully pulled their roots out of the stony ground and made them their feet. Their roots were like a shapeless monster that wrapped around the enemy and squeezed the life out of it and trapped it inside itself for sustenance.
They quickly cleared up the front yard, for they were monstrous green beasts that were a product of sorcery. They were hundreds in numbers, and were against the small, yet brave and courageous men. The Empirion army was no match for the green monsters and soon they squeezed the life out of them and quickly ran inside the court hall. They were brainless creatures. They bumped into each other yet they were smarter than the trolls. Trolls were the most idiotic and the most thick headed creatures on the face of Thraenus.
Geluna had a grin on her face when she saw the monsters arrive in the hall. She sat back on her throne and watched the monstrosity take place. All of the Empirions that were left to fight, including Virgil, were surrounded by Geluna’s green monsters and the Gelun army but they still did not lose hope, they still kept fighting. All of their efforts were futile, for they were surrounded and the group was closing in on them. And even though Virgil had the gauntlet which his brother had scavenged from the hidden valley, on his hand, it was a numbers game. The gauntlet only proved to be of little help against the wooden giants.
Just as all hope seemed lost, there came Neiham’s fire serpent
. It came from the top of the room, from the balcony where she was standing. The serpent swept the room and gave the Empirions room to breathe and gain their balance back. Some of the monsters caught on fire as well which balanced the numbers a bit and just as the serpent vanished into a cloud of smoke, Leosher jumped from the balcony into the circle to help his brethren. He was still bruised and battered from all the abuse he had suffered. Neiham had offered him the elixir for his health, but he refused because he was too prideful.
He did not have his scythe with him either, because it was taken away from him and it was sitting next to the throne of Geluna. Leosher swaggered with a limp, to his brother who was fighting the enemy and took the gauntlet off of his hands. He put the the wooden fist on and looked straight ahead at Geluna with a hawk’s vision, angry and determined. His anger sharpened his reflexes and instincts and as he walked towards Geluna, many of her soldiers, minions rather, tried to kill the already injured Leosher, but he punched their heads off, without even looking. He was locked onto his target and none stood in his way, not even the giants, for Leosher simply kicked them out of his way. He swaggered up the steps and stood before Geluna, angry and vengeful.
