by Yajat Sharma
“What happened?” the Scavenger asked.
“Urrax,” Aronicle croaked out. “He escaped.”
“What?” Lynx said. “But we used magical chains to bind him.”
“He has great power,” Aronicle said. “He is not just a demon. He is a dimensional creature.”
The Scavenger and Lynx shared glances. Lynx got up and went over to a shelf. The Scavenger turned his attention back to Aronicle.
“You know what,” Aronicle said. A cough wracked his body. Lynx returned with bandages and herbs. Aronicle gave a weak shake of his head. “It’s no use. I have very less time and there is something important that I need to share.” Aronicle coughed profusely but continued, “Urrax almost killed me. I stopped my pulse and heartbeat and acted as if I was dead.”
Lynx said, “Urrax is loyal to the Skull Warrior. He was a mole who took advantage of our trust. He was betraying our location to the Skull Warrior.”
Aronicle gave a feeble nod. “But Urrax made a mistake.”
“What?” the Scavenger asked.
“Thinking that I was dead, he conversed with someone, most probably the Skull Warrior, through a small sphere that he took out from his robe. I silently listened. What I could gather from the conversation is that the Skull Warrior is somewhere on the eastern side of the Dark World. He knows we are in the western part. He is gathering his army and plans to start his march to the western side in exactly two months from now.”
“The Tyhorox,” Lynx whispered.
“Yes. The Skull Warrior will move across the Sands of Destiny, after which is the -.”
“The Castle of Fate,” The Scavenger and Lynx said in a chorus.
Aronicle coughed again. “Yes. You have to intercept the Skull Warrior at the Castle of Fate. First, go to Slorm and wait there till my allies come and meet you. I have sent mental messages to them.”
Aronicle sighed and became restless. “The Skull Warrior and Urrax were mentioning the Poison, Bolt and Trident, which they want to take from us to make the Slayer. They did not mention the other two – the Warrior and the Sacrifice. We know the Warrior, of course, but not the Sacrifice, and we are also not sure whether they already have the Sacrifice or not.”
“Our priority is to treat you first,” the Scavenger said. Lynx was engrossed in applying herbs on Aronicle’s wounds.
“No use. I am approaching my end. Urrax had a magical sword. I also sense that not all of you will survive this. I have…” Aronicle coughed. Froth started to come from his mouth.
He looked at the Scavenger one final time and shouted in pain, “Win for me.”
Aronicle’s body turned limp.
The Scavenger bowed his head to Aronicle. Everyone surrounded Aronicle’s body and bowed in respect.
They recollected their memories of Aronicle, how he had helped the children gain their Elemental Powers, and his help in every step of their journey. They sat for a long time, paying homage to Aronicle.
The Scavenger’s voice disrupted the silence. “Aronicle shall always remain in our memories. We shall not let his sacrifice go waste. For him, we must win the war.”
Everyone nodded. The Scavenger continued, “It’s time to plan for the war.”
James asked, “What’s the Tyhorox?”
“What you on Earth call the Equinox?” Lynx said grimly. “In the Dark World, it lasts for exactly one week. The days from the start and end of the Tyhorox are extremely uncertain. Magical powers are at their peak. The Skull Warrior has planned it well. The Tyhorox is a time well suited for a war.”
“So,” James said, “after two months, at the start of Tyhorox, the Skull Warrior will start his march across the desert. Beyond the desert is the Castle of Fate, where we should plan to fight the Skull Warrior and his army. To form the Slayer, the Skull Warrior needs the Poison, Bolt and Trident from us. We are assuming that he doesn’t know that the Scavenger is the Warrior. And we still don’t know who the Sacrifice is.”
Lynx nodded. “That’s correct.”
The Scavenger stood up. Lynx and No One covered Aronicle’s body with a white cloth. “Rest in peace.” Everyone issued a small prayer for Aronicle’s soul.
“Lynx, make the portal. We go now,” the Scavenger said, “Insanity and Aronicle both were good men and excellent warriors. They sacrificed themselves to help save the Dark World.” The Scavenger paused for emphasis. “Some of us may share the same fate. The journey forward is perilous. If anyone wants to back away, now would be the time.”
No one said anything. The Scavenger looked around and saw nothing but determined faces.
“Good.” The Scavenger turned to the waiting swirling vortex of blue sand. “Then let’s go.”
They emerged onto lush green meadows in front of a big white gate. The Scavenger pushed open the gate, revealing a marble path leading to a platform of about five feet height that had a big bowl. Several long black sticks extended from the base of the bowl. There were four marble paths in the primary directions (north, south, east and west) and between each path was grass with strange symbols embossed in it.
It was the Slorm. All of them walked over to the platform.
“What now?” Matt asked.
“We wait. For how long, I don’t know,” the Scavenger replied.
Everyone waited for the allies to contact them.
After a very long time, there was a shimmer above the long sticks protruding from the bowl.
After a few minutes, there was a low growl in the air. The colours of the spectrum started to appear all around, creating a blinding array of light that shone brightly.
A massive creature shot out from the clouds up above and landed beside the platform.
The creature had a scarred face with snakes covering its neck, spitting venom into the air.
Three more such creatures dropped from the sky one by one.
Matt had a strange expression on his face. He whispered to the Scavenger, “What kind of creatures are these? We don’t want such ‘allies’.”
A second after he had said this, the creatures transformed into handsome looking warriors decked in armour.
“Welcome,” one of them said. “I take it you are the Scavenger?”
“Yes,” the Scavenger replied. He held up a hand and, one by one, shook the warriors’ hands. “And you must be our allies.”
“Yes,” another said, looking around. “The great Aronicle summoned us before he left for his heavenly abode. We have come…” His gaze stopped at No One. “You!”
No One held up a hand. “No, it’s not what you think ”
The warrior leapt at No One. His hands had turned to claws.
White bones grew around No One faster than light. A barrier formed around them and the warrior’s claws bounced off it. His face had turned to that of a tiger, and an inhuman sound escaped its throat.
“Look, it’s not what it is!” No One’s voice came from behind the barrier. “You don’t understand!”
“Shut up!” the man said. “You left us buried under the ground in a tomb made up of bones!”
“That was a mistake!” No One shouted. By now, all four warriors had surrounded No One. Their faces too turned into animals and claws took over their hands. They tore the bones surrounding No One to pieces. But No One just raised his hands, and more bones grew around.
The others looked at the unfolding events in utter confusion.
“Look, I can grow these bones around me forever,” No One said. “Can we just talk for a minute? Please calm down.”
The warriors stopped, breathing hard, and their faces turned from animals to men. The bones around No One disappeared too.
“What’s going on?” the Scavenger asked a warrior. “Why are you attacking my friend?”
“Your friend,” the first man said, “is in reality, the King of the undead.”
“What, like Hades?” James asked.
“No,” the same man replied. “Hades is the god of the dead. He’s a myth.” The man scowled at No
One. “He’s the King of the undead. And he’s quite real. The problem is that he favours evil and chaos. Also, he locked us up in a tomb made up of bones.”
“I told you I didn’t know which side I was on at that moment!” No One explained to the Scavenger. “I was confused. But, my mind has complete clarity now. I know what’s right. You have to believe me!”
“Wait.” The Scavenger looked at No One. “But in the forest, when we first met you, you were being chased by some warriors and -”
“That was an act,” No One interrupted. “I heard you were searching for the Knight. I wanted to join you. Those warriors helped me. I disguised myself in the garb of a beaten warrior, and those warriors chased me. I knew you are good guys and would help me.”
The Scavenger sighed. “I should have known you were someone special when I first saw you. Five eyes.”
No One nodded. “No matter how many disguises I take, the five eyes always remain.”
“Because you can’t disguise the fact that you’re evil!” one of the four warriors said, snarling.
“Can we talk about that later?” the Scavenger said, stepping in. “Introductions first, please.”
“I am Paragon,” one of them said. His face flipped to that of a lion before turning back to that of a human. “I am the leader of us Gods.”
“I am Rath,” another said. His face changed to a tiger.
“I am Venoz,” the third one said. His face turned to that of a snake.
“And I am Oni, the fourth one said. His face resembled that of a bear.
“Do you always take the form of animals?” the Scavenger asked.
“No,” Paragon said. “Not always. But we favour it. We can control many other things like metal, air, portals or other magic elements. Anyway, that’s not important.”
The Scavenger asked Paragon, “But I still don’t get who are you, and why did Aronicle choose you as allies?”
“I will explain all of it to you,” Paragon said. “Earth’s not the only planet that has life in the Universe. There are many. Gods and Demons reside in different planets. Demons favour chaos, darkness, evil, death. But Gods favour the opposite.” Paragon glared at No One.
“When Arcane created the Dark World, he didn’t entirely trust either the Gods or the Demons. He thought of Gods as good forces but... unstable ones. Let me tell you, Arcane wasn’t wrong.” The warrior looked at No One briefly and looked back at the Scavenger. “Due to the mutual mistrust, a war broke out between the Gods and Demons that continued for several centuries. It was finally over when only a few Gods and Demons were left. The impact of the war was so huge that it destroyed several planets, incurring millions of casualties. The protective layer created by Arcane around the Dark World also got broken. This is where the Slayer comes in. Once the Slayer is formed, the protective layer will get repaired by its energy.”
“I can connect what you have said with what Lynx told us long ago. Where are these few Gods that remain?” the Scavenger asked.
“We’re the only ones left. Aronicle chose us as allies as we share common values of goodness. We have come to assist you in your mission,” Paragon replied.
“I am honoured. I am thankful that four, I mean, five Gods are with us now,” the Scavenger exclaimed, looking at No One. “Our strengths have increased many times due to your joining us.”
“Yep.” No One grinned.
Paragon fumed at No One. “This evil creature has to leave.”
“I told you, I have changed sides!” No One said exasperatedly. “What part of that do you not understand?”
“Changing sides, my foot!” Rath snarled. “You are one backstabbing wretch! I don’t trust you.”
“Look, you can recall the past instances where I have helped,” No One said to the Scavenger. “Do you think I could have done that if I had plans to betray you?”
The Scavenger looked straight in his eyes and said, “No One, I trust you. You are going to be with us.”
The Scavenger turned to Paragon. “Look here, Paragon, you told us that even Lord Arcane considered the Gods as unstable. Similarly, No One also might have had some unstable characteristics in the past, but now he’s all right. I trust No One. He is a God, after all.”
Paragon looked at No One. “Okay. We will keep an eye on you. Any wrong moves, and we won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“Of course,” No One said in a tone conveying thanks to the Scavenger and the others.
“Before anything else, are there any more surprises?” the Scavenger said. “I feel like my head is about to burst.”
“No, I think that’s all,” No One said, grinning.
Paragon said, “We need to move towards the Castle of Fate immediately. It will be our base for the war.”
The Scavenger nodded. “Yes. From there, we will prepare strategies and ask all those opposed to the Skull Warrior to join us.”
Paragon interjected, “Why can’t we send the message at once? It’s simple for me to do so.”
Paragon closed his eyes. A few seconds later, there was a sudden murmuring inside everyone’s head. It said, “To all those who are opposed to the Skull Warrior’s rule – we are fighting back. The Scavenger, along with the Elemental children, has arrived. Come to the Castle of Fate immediately. We need all the help we can get.”
Matt clutched his head. “What was that?”
Paragon smiled. “All the people in the Dark World will hear this message in their heads. Well, not all. As soon as the message senses some evil in any mind, it will not display itself in that person’s head. We need to ensure that there are no traitors in our army.”
No One chirped, “Well, to further confirm that I am no more evil, let me tell you that I received the message in my head.” No One shared the message with Oni, and Oni nodded in confirmation.
The Scavenger had a bewildered expression. “Thank you, Gods. I can’t even imagine the level of concentration and magic needed to do this. Any normal sorcerer couldn’t even dream of this.”
Paragon shrugged. “Being a God has its perks, I guess.”
“It sure does,” the Scavenger agreed.
“Is the Castle of Fate occupied?” James asked.
The Scavenger nodded. “By the Kings of Necron. They are necromancers, but good ones. They’re old and can’t fight, but they are experts in controlling huge armies. Fortunately, the Castle of Fate is still with the good forces, but can be run down anytime by the Skull Warrior.”
“The Castle of Fate is a strategic place. It is fit to be the capital of the Dark World.” Lynx looked at the Scavenger. “When the Scavenger ruled the Dark World after the defeat of the Death Lord, he had planned to convert the Castle of Fate into the seat of the Dark World. But alas, the times changed.”
“Time will change again. Let’s proceed,” the Scavenger said.
Paragon raised his hands and muttered a spell. Everyone started feeling dizzy. Within a few seconds, as the feeling left, they all found themselves in different surroundings. There was endless barren land stretching in all directions. They had been teleported to a desert.
19
They emerged in front of one of the biggest castles in the Dark World. It had a massive gate on the sides of which were white walls with holes for cannons and artillery. Small outposts lined the top of the walls, where archers and warriors stood, their bows pulled back, and their arrows pointed straight at the Scavenger and his group.
A man shouted at them from the walls, “Identify yourselves!”
“I am the Scavenger, and with me are the Elemental children and the Gods and my friends.”
There was a collective gasp, and then all the bows were lowered.
“Please come in, Lord. We have been waiting,” the man said, and the gates slowly moved apart.
The Scavenger, along with the others, walked inside. Behind the walls were tall towers made of greenstone. Everyone was awestruck.
They walked maybe three miles before they came to a huge moat, full to the
brim with water and floating wooden logs. Only on closer look, it was revealed that these were not logs but crocodiles.
They walked into a massive hall, decorated with carpets and a large chandelier on the ceiling. There were two sets of stairs on the far left and right sides of the walls, spiralling upward and ending in a platform in front of which were railings.
And on the platform were the Kings of Necron.
There were five of them, dressed in regal attire and carrying ornate swords on their belts.
As soon as the Scavenger entered the room, the Kings bowed and extended a warm welcome and led them to a room, wherein they sat around a round table.
The Kings of Necron introduced themselves. They had strange names – Ekthatep, Othos, Aproph, Kakhom and Thekten.
Ekthatep started the conversation. “For the past few days, we have been getting terrifying visions and dreams. We keep on hearing the same thing. The Skull Warrior’s coming. Be ready to surrender.”
The Scavenger nodded. “I empathize. It is the truth that the Skull Warrior will be arriving with his dark army, and that’s why we are here.”
The Kings gasped as their speculations were confirmed.
“And it is also a fact that there is no other option than a war with Skull Warrior,” the Scavenger said firmly.
Thekten nodded. “We Kings are old but refuse to surrender before the Skull Warrior. We are ready to extend any help. This Castle will be the base for the war.”
The Scavenger nodded. “I assure you, we will win. Let’s wait for the allies to come. Till then, we wait.”
The next two days were spent moving around the castle and planning defences. The armoury of the castle was equipped with every kind of weapon. There was a big dining hall in which the warriors gathered at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The training arena boasted one of the best training facilities for the warriors.
The children spent the days practising their Elemental Powers for the upcoming war. The mood was tense and silent.
The Scavenger took over as the General of the Army. He got more buildings and halls erected for the accommodation of the warriors that were expected soon. The forest behind the castle was cleared for more space. The mechanics, rangers and archers started manufacturing weapons, traps and armours. The castle was galvanized with a renewed energy.
