Legend of the Murfs

by Mark Omodia

  Chapter 18

  Clash of Warriors and Immortals

  The Morr King Sett found it hard to sleep. He wept beside his son's corpse day and night. He became terribly quiet and his eyes reflected his dark desire for vengeance. He stopped taking care of himself and he was unkempt. He sat and watched while the army chiefs briefed him on their strategy for the next battle. He barely contributed to the strategy they proposed. Only one thing was on his mind - revenge. He anxiously awaited the next clash.

  The next time the Morrs stormed the Tau tribe, King Sett sent a group of soldiers to fly around and scout. As usual, they saw no one. The Morrs began to shoot flaming arrows into the forest from the sky. They burnt the entire Tau tribe from the top. But the Morflon had left there. They were not going to play the same trick twice.

  King Sett was furious as he inspected the ruins. He could have sworn the Morflon would still be there. He ordered the soldiers to level the ruins to dust. But that was not going to be the only time they would get the better of him.

  In the dead of night, while the Morrs slept in camp, the Morflon sneaked in and attacked again. They killed hundreds in their sleep before the Morrs realised what was going on. The Morflon burnt the Morr tents and stole some of their weapons. Once again, the Morrs were bested. King Sett was confused. It was obvious the Morflon knew these parts a lot better than the Morrs; after all it was their home. They knew how to blend with their surroundings and spring up from nowhere with an ambush whenever they wanted. They were beginning to get the Morrs scared. In a final effort to salvage a victory, King Sett sent spies to track the whereabouts of the Morflon. In record time, they returned with favourable news for King Sett. Finally, he could fight them, face to face, no more surprise attacks.

  King Sett marched his troops just beyond the Tau territory where the Morflon camped. The Morflon noticed Morr soldiers flying above them, pouring down some kind of fuel. The Morrs began to shoot flaming arrows down on the Morflon camp. The Morflon ran helter-skelter as they tried to avoid the heavy down pour of flaming arrows which set their camp ablaze. The Morflon began to shoot their catapults, hurling rocks at the flying Morrs, thereby temporarily reducing the downpour. But the Morrs soon found the catapults and one by one they brought them down. There was smoke and fire everywhere.

  The Morflon tried to retreat, but they were surrounded by the Morrs who outnumbered them. The Morrs above stopped their downpour and came down to fight. A fierce battle ensued. King Sett, who was eager to smite Morflon with his blade, quickly drew his sword and joined the frenzy. He made his way seamlessly through the crowd of Morflon, smiting them with so much viciousness. He mowed several Morflon down with so much hatred and viciousness. The gory image of his dying son filled him with so much rage as he slaughtered the Morflon like livestock. The Morflon spears could not stop him as he skilfully used his sword to push the spear aside and aim for their throats. He knew how to aim for their throats in one strike as he went berserk on them. He killed so many Morflon that his armour was drenched in their blood. He moved through them like a hot blade through butter.

  King Sett was not the only star on the battlefield. There were several others among whom was Morriah. In a stunning display of lightening quick agility, he banged on the Morrs. Morriah had a strong swing. With one bash from his club, he could crack a Morr's skull. He pounded on them, one by one, denting their helmets and leaving them fatally wounded. His speed was unrivalled. He used it to his advantage as he dodged the Morr blades and tactically deflected them with his club. He struck with precision, going for their jugular. Then there was Ozin. He moved the spear like it was a part of his body. He was one with it, poking Morrs with its pointy end. He beat the Morrs with the shaft of his spear, sweeping many off the ground. All Morrs were weary of him as he spun his spear, waiting for whom to attack next. He roared and jumped right back into action, sticking his spear through the neck of a Morr, right into his head. He went on and on, lifting the Morrs from the ground as he stabbed them with his spear. The drums of war had been rolled out and only those who could dance to its tune survived.

  Along the line, Ozin and King Sett came in contact. The two titans stared each other in the eyes as they roared. Everything around seemed to fade into the background. For these two creatures, the war did not matter at the moment. They had a score to King Settle. They walked round, staring at each other, and each one waiting for the other to make the first move.

  'I should have killed you', King Sett said. 'You and that human Eric'

  'Nature had other plans for us', Ozin said. 'I wonder what it has in store for you'

  'You will not be lucky this time', King Sett roared.

  'We will see about that', Ozin replied.

  Both creatures rushed instantly to attack each other. Ozin spun his spear and performed stunts, while King Sett used his sword to block his every attack. This process went on for a while until finally; Ozin used his spear to knock King Sett down.

  'I heard about your son', Ozin said. 'It's a shame he did not make it. I would have loved to put a spear through his potty mouth.'

  King Sett was furious. He rushed to attack Ozin. Ozin tried to block with his spear, but King Sett moved his blade so ferociously, Ozin lost grip of his spear. He had to resort to dodging as he tried to get back to his spear. Just before he grabbed his spear, King Sett swung his blade. Ozin barely managed to dodge it, but he lost some fur in the process. When he got back his spear, he went on the offensive. For a while, the battle seemed to be going in his favour. He bruised King Sett several times with his spear, although none of them were fatal.

  'Really', Ozin complained. 'Is that the best you can do? Is this the one they call the king of the forest? Really! In all my battles you are the weakest leader I have faced.'

  While Ozin was coming to attack, King Sett got the best of him. In the split second when Ozin's guard was down, King Sett plunged his sword into his chest.

  'Of all the leaders you fought, I am the one that killed you', King Sett said, staring a shocked Ozin in the face and smiling.

  King Sett's countenance soon changed as to his shock, Ozin head butted him. This disoriented him and made him stagger a few steps back. Ozin grimaced as he reeled in pain. When King Sett got himself, he brought out a dagger. He quickly ran and stabbed Ozin again. He held his head, still reeling from Ozin's head butt as Ozin howled in pain, slowly falling to his knees. He was about to stab him again when Morriah rushed to the rescue.

  Morriah ran and slid on his knees, passing just behind King Sett. While he slid, he used his club to scoop King Sett's both legs off the ground. King Sett fell with a mighty thud. Morriah sat on top of King Sett and banged ferociously on him, hitting him several times on the head. He wept as he banged King Sett like a drum. Leaving an unconscious King Sett, Morriah went to Ozin who was coughing blood.

  'Ai! Hold on Ozin', Morriah said. 'It will be fine... Just hold on... stay with me... please.'

  Ozin was too weak to speak. He tried to talk, his body already getting cold. He began to cough and he was shivering. Finally, in Morriah's arms, he drew his last. He died with a smile on his face. Morriah wept amidst the ambient sound of clashing steel and ferocious roars. He howled in pain, totally oblivious of anything else.

  He was still crying when he heard a Morflon yell; 'Trinidos is not here!'

  He knelt there with Ozin's lifeless body, thinking about what he just heard. Where could Trinidos be? Surely the rubincense could not have made him stay away. Trinidos would have found a way to attack. After all, the Morrs had given them a surprise attack. Something was amiss.

  Meanwhile, in the valley, I was reacting to the rubincense. I was shivering and sweating profusely. I was not myself as my consciousness was distorted. Euphina told Gaiel to take me out of that area. I slowly recovered as Gaiel lay me down at a distance from where the others were.

  'Sorry Eric', Gaiel said. 'You are going to be alright.'

  We were there when we began to hear footsteps. We hid in th
e bushes nearby. From there we saw the Morrs, led by Trinidos racing towards the valley. My heart was pounding as I saw them march past. We waited for them to pass as we could not afford to let them know we were there. Gaiel put me on his back and took me into a cave.

  'Wait here', he said to me. 'I'll be back.'

  Following another route, he raced back to the King Settlement to warn the others. Gaiel raced back screaming; 'The Morrs are here! Trinidos is here!'

  The news was unbelievable. They did not want to believe him at first. Some stared at him as he told his mother and siblings that they had to run. Just then, the guards noticed the Morrs coming from a distance. They raced to attack them, trying to defend the fort. But they did not know it was a trap. The Morrs had split themselves into three groups. While the guards rushed to attack the first group of Morrs led by Trinidos, the other group, led by Oldric, came from the other side and held the unsuspecting Morflon hostage. The third group scoured the bushes in search of anyone hiding. Everyone panicked as the Morrs stormed in and forced them to their knees. The Morrs led by Oldric put out all burning rubincense.

  The guards that went to attack Trinidos met a brutal death. They threw their smoke canisters at him. As usual, the canisters disoriented him. The soldiers on his flanks fought the Morflon guards as Trinidos got a hold of himself.

  'I hate rubincense', he said.

  Trinidos roared as he sprang into action. He slapped the Morflon guards, one by one. His slap packed a punch. The guards fell as one slap from Trinidos was enough to break their necks. He just sped past them, slapping them to death. One slap was enough to deal the fatal blow. Once they had taken out all the guards, Trinidos roared.

  The Morflon were filled with trepidation as they saw Trinidos walk towards them, flanked by his soldiers. They had a surreal feeling as he walked by, looking at them with disdain. Some were so afraid, they passed out. The third group of Morr soldiers came with a handful of Morflon who they had caught in the woods. They brought me as well. I was taken before Trinidos. Azadus, Euphina and her children all had their jaws dropped as they watched, afraid of what Trinidos would do to me.

  'So you are the one Sett raved about?' Trinidos asked, seemingly unimpressed. 'Apparently the Morflon like you as well... tell me, what is it about you that they all love so much? What makes you so special?'

  I trembled as I stared at him. I was terrified. He had a larger than life persona. Compared to him, I was puny. I quivered as I looked into his steely eyes. He walked round me, stroking his beard while examining me. His countenance showed he was not impressed.

  'King Sett nearly lost his throne because of you', Trinidos told me. 'He said there was something special about you. But after seeing you, you know what I think... How could someone as stupid as King Sett ascend the throne?'

  He grabbed me and stuck his hands into my abdomen, digging into my body with his claws. I coughed out blood and blood also trickled down his fingers from my abdomen. He stuck his claws deeper into my innards. Everyone was shocked. Euphina wept. Gaiel sprung up to attack, but he was quickly brought down. He lay on the ground as some soldiers put a sword to his neck.

  'You are just as pathetic as the Morflon', Trinidos said to me.

  He removed his hand from my innards and left me to fall to the ground. I reeled in pain as I bled out on the ground, creating a pool around me. He began to walk round the Morflon again.

  'No one would save you!' Trinidos bellowed. 'You shall join your males in the afterlife... that is if there is any for the likes of you.'

  He then summoned Oldric.

  'Kill them all!' He ordered Oldric. 'Burn down this King Settlement!'

  Trinidos noticed Oldric did not move. He stood defiant, questioning the morality of Trinidos' order.

  'I thought I just gave an order?' Trinidos yelled.

  'Great one' Oldric begged. 'They are the vulnerable... the female and their young...'

  'Are you challenging my authority?' Trinidos retorted.

  Oldric was silent. Trinidos was furious.

  'I would say this one last time', Trinidos roared. 'Kill them all!'

  Trinidos' voice echoed around the valley as there was pin drop silence. Everyone, Morr and Morflon, watched to see what was going on. Oldric was silent.

  'No', he replied when he finally summoned the courage.

  Trinidos was furious. He roared as he moved to strike Oldric down. But Oldric was prepared. He opened a smoke canister which disoriented Trinidos again. The Morr soldiers were confused. The Morflon were shocked. They just watched on. Oldric began to chant the words to make Trinidos sleep. But Trinidos was able to knock Oldric down. Oldric lay on the ground while Trinidos got himself back.

  'You insolent fool!' Trinidos yelled. 'I will pull out your treacherous tongue from your living body!'

  Trinidos grabbed Oldric by the neck and forced his mouth open. He was about to put his hand into Oldric's mouth when an arrow hit him. Suddenly, smoke canisters were everywhere and the valley was red again. Much to the relief of the Morflon, Cylas had returned with help. A few creatures had agreed to help Cylas in the war, and boy did they come at the nick of time. All the Morflon ran helter-skelter, each trying to get as far away from the battle as possible while Cylas and his crew fought against the Morrs.

  When the rubincense subsided, Trinidos got a hold of himself a little bit. He struggled to keep body and soul together (literally) as he knocked his enemies down one by one. In the heat of the battle, the rubincense was reduced to the barest minimum, much to the delight of Trinidos.

  Gaiel too joined in on the action. When he saw a Morr trying to attack Lya, he disarmed the Morr and took his sword, killing him with it. Lya was stunned as she looked at Gaiel who was confused as it appeared to be the first creature he had ever murdered. They had not spoken to each other since their misunderstanding at the Rho clan so they felt rather awkward. They just stared at each other.

  'Run Lya!' he said.

  Lya took to her heels along with the other Morflon who did not really know where they were going. Recent activities had overwhelmed her and she did not want to be a part of the war.

  Gaiel may have had a cocktail of emotions as he killed his first Morr, but that did not stop him from slitting more throats. Everything happened too fast for him to grapple with. He just went with it. He was eventually knocked down with a sword through his back.

  All this while, I lay on the floor. My body became cold as my heart began to beat slower. I became dizzy as I saw blurry images of creatures running round the valley. I lay on the floor as I breathed my last. My eyes were wide open, but I saw nothing. My heart beat one last time... or so I thought.

  A sudden flow of energy moved round me. My wounds began to heal rapidly. My bones grew larger and began to take another shape. Fur tore its way through my entire skin. My back began to bulge and soon a large pair of wings burst out. In a matter of seconds I was a Morr, not just any Morr - the immortal Radok. It turned out he woke up after all, and I was his vessel.

  Radok roared as he came to life as though he felt a breath of fresh air. He took a piece of cloth and wrapped it round his waist. He began looking round for Trinidos who was really hard to miss as he slaughtered his opponents with so much panache. Radok made his way towards him, knocking down all who tried to attack him. He grabbed the unsuspecting Trinidos by his collar.

  'What are you doing?' He asked Trinidos, looking straight in his eyes in disappointment.

  Trinidos was stunned. He knew no mortal Morr could handle him the way Radok just did. Radok threw him down and roared in order to get the attention of all in the valley.

  'Cease this foolishness!' he roared.

  In time, a good number of the warring creatures paid attention to this commanding figure.

  'Look at you two fighting', he continued. 'You are brothers, of the same ancestry'

  'Who are you?' Trinidos asked. Frankly, he spoke the mind of everyone.

  'I am Radok!' he replied much to the amazement
of all.

  'You lie!' Trinidos said. 'If you were Radok you would support this battle.'

  'Just because I was a general does not mean I would encourage bloodshed', Radok retorted.

  'Radok's body was never found', Trinidos said. 'You are a hoax!'

  Trinidos tried to attack him. A battle ensued. Everyone soon came to a standstill as they all watched Radok and Trinidos slug it out. Trinidos was a skilled fighter, but Radok used military experience to subdue him. He knocked him to the ground, pinning him face down with his foot. Everyone took him seriously now.

  'You should not fight each other', he yelled. 'You are one. You are...'

  Radok thought of a name. Everyone's ears pricked up, eager to hear what Radok would christen them.

  'You are... Murfs', He finally said.

  They looked at each other, some nodding their heads.

  'That's alright', some said.

  'It has a nice ring to it', others said.

  Radok was a good speaker. They listened to every word he said. But while he spoke, he loosened his grip on Trinidos who had just spotted a smoke canister nearby. Trinidos broke free and dashed for the canister. They both stared at each other, waiting for the first move.

  Trinidos smiled as he thought he had the upper hand. So he thought. As expected, he removed the ring from the canister in a bid to throw it towards Radok, who was already flying in his direction. Radok pushed him down just before he could throw the canister. This caused the rubincense to engulf them both. Everyone watched as the drama unfolded. Pinning Trinidos to the ground, Radok chanted the words;

  Farewell, you worthy child of nature

  Go back to your slumber

  Your children who you have nurtured

  Bid farewell in so great a number

  Go back to the places divine

  Trinidos go back, go back

  You have our permission to leave

  Trinidos go back, go back

  Radok was also disoriented as he chanted the words to make Trinidos sleep again. He fell on top of Trinidos.

  In a short while, dust settled and the red fog was gone. All the creatures drew nearer, cautiously. They were clueless as to what was going on. They just stood there, gazing at the two immortals, lying unconscious on the ground. Radok's body transformed back to mine.

  The Morr soldiers surrounded Oldric, who wondered what they were going to do to him. He gripped the handle of his sword, ready to unsheathe it for a showdown. He was soon put at ease as the soldiers genuflected to him. He was shocked. It was clear they shared his sentiments, most of them though.

  The creatures put up a final front; each on either side, staring each other down as they snarled. On the side of the Morflon were Cylas, his allies, Azadus and the several surviving Morflon. The Morr side was led by Oldric.

  'Your immortal Trinidos', Cylas said, pointing at his body on the ground.

  'Your immortal Radok', Oldric replied, pointing at Radok's body.

  They just scowled at each other, threatening to fight.

  Oldric ordered his soldiers to take Trinidos' body and retreat. They did so while the Morflon stood guard, watching them. After a tumultuous afternoon, it appeared that the war was over.