by Adam Watson
After the fifth had passed, he silently moved to the side of the bench. This was his chance to get a real sword. He had to act fast, he had to catch them off-guard, speed was of paramount importance – he needed to get that weapon before the moment passed.
He rushed out of hiding, plunging the dagger deep into the rear guard’s back, forcing him to release his grip on his sword. Dray reached past and drew it for himself. Blood sprayed as the sword impaled the guard from back to front. The guard slid off the sword and hit the ground hard; Dray now had the pointed dagger in one hand and the guard’s sword in the other.
He stepped over the body, the next guard was still drawing his sword when Dray stabbed him twice in the chest; once with the dagger, once with the sword.
The third guard charged and received a flying dagger to his throat for his troubles; he dropped to the ground, and Dray walked over his fallen body too. There were two guards left, but there was only enough room for one of them to get close.
These guards are not well trained. He knew he would beat them, he knew they weren’t leaving this place alive; if he allowed that he would have every guard in the city hunting them down - he had to finish this.
Let them come, let them make a mistake. He had trained with some of the best soldiers in the world during his time at Candelier - this was just another drill to him, another exercise to teach the rookies.
He could see the fury in their eyes; those beacons of fire, those wraths of rage. He knew their anger would unbalance them, he knew that mistakes would come, and he knew that those mistakes were what would ultimately lead these foul creatures to their deaths.
The fourth guard swung at him. Dray blocked it easily allowing the sword to slide down his blade. The momentary imbalance was all the time Dray needed, he pushed the demon to the side and ended its life by ploughing his newly acquired sword straight through its ribcage. Dray withdrew the sword, and the grey-skinned fiend spun and fell to the ground; blood pooling beneath it’s skewered body.
There was only one guard left, its eyes didn’t shine as brightly as the others and Dray took that as a sign of fear.
“YOU ARE THE NEXT!” he shouted at the foul creature. It shouted something back in its guttural, demonic language and swung at Dray’s head, Dray ducked and stepped back. The swings are too wild, the openings too many. On some level, Dray almost felt sorry for the thing. This wasn’t a fair fight, and it didn’t stand a chance. You have to fight tight in a confined space.
Dray’s guard was excellent, he executed his parries with a neat precision. Another wild swing flew past him leaving a clear opening. Dray’s sword skewered the demonic guard from the armpit to the neck; the light died from its eyes as it slumped to the floor.
The Oracle entered the room, eyeing the bloodied bodies on the ground.
“We should get going, someone’s going to miss them soon.” The statement made a cold chill run down Dray’s spine. The Oracle was right. Soon someone would check on them, and when they did, they would find a room full of carcasses - when that happened the gate to the Fourth Hell would surely break loose.
The danger level had just risen dramatically. It was dangerous enough traversing the streets knowing the place was overrun with Creed, but soon they would be hunted - nowhere was safe, they had a couple of hours at the most.
They rushed out of the smiths, if there was anything else of value there, they were happy to leave it. As they crossed the road, they could feel unseen eyes watching them. It could have been their imagination, but if there was someone watching them, they were going to have to lose them before nightfall.
The watcher could have been anywhere if indeed there was a watcher at all. There was no way to be sure one way or the other, but they both knew that they couldn’t take any chances, and so, for the next few hours they weaved in and out of the backstreets and alleyways in an attempt to lose any pursuers.
Strange things were happening in this city. It was once vibrant, full of people; a happy place, full of joy - that’s how Dray remembered it at least. The Oracle remembered it as a peaceful, tranquil place; which it was, around the Temple areas. Now, as they walked through the streets, it didn’t seem like the same city anymore. The abandonment, the solemn silence - the city had become a town full of ghosts, where dead bodies decorated the streets.
They were heading north now, avoiding the eastern quadrant where five dead demons now lay. Although they were moving away from any potential pursuers in the east, the northern quadrant was feeling strange and ominous. Deep below the city streets, the rumbling continued; sometimes there would be loud reverberations, sometimes deep booms and bangs could be heard, sometimes the ground just shook. There's more than one beast down there - and they were rampaging.
Darkness began to fall. They would need to find a place to hide and shelter before the storms raged. They would have to break into another house and risk confronting any inhabitants. It could be dangerous, but staying outdoors would be much worse – apart from the extreme weather there were too many things that crawled and flew in the night to risk spending it outside.
With those fears pushing them to haste, it wasn’t long before Dray and the Oracle found themselves in another small house, on another small bed. Dray lay on his back again, the Oracle snuggled into his side.
Outside a tempest raged as it did every night, bringing with it thunder and lightning. Dray wondered what ungodly power was behind the weather – it certainly wasn’t natural and it had never behaved like this before the invasion.
Even though the wind howled and screamed, they only spoke in whispers, and even then, only into each other’s ears - they dared not make any other sound, fearing the attention it might bring.
Despite everything they had been through, Dray felt content in that moment; he was with the Oracle, and they were both hidden and safe. He had his arm around her, and she had her head resting on his chest. They were undercover, enjoying the warmth of a woollen blanket, without hunger or thirst - life was good … if he didn’t think beyond this room.
The strange bond between them was growing, sometimes when they rested together like this, he thought he could hear her heart beating with his. He felt like it took away his stresses and filled him with strength. He knew it was his imagination, but the bond was definitely growing stronger. He liked having her near, he liked her warmth.
“Dray,” whispered the Oracle.
“What is it?” he answered. Staring at the roof, all he could see was the darkness. Outside, the wind continued to scream, the rain whipped around, pelting the city and dousing it with its deluge; thunder clapped and lightning streaked across the skies – the storm was electric and terrifying.
“We need to get out of this city.” Dray smirked, sometimes the Oracle liked to state the obvious. “No, I really mean it. We can’t stay here any longer, they’re going to find us.”
“I would love to get out of this city, by all means, show me the way.”
“Dray … they’re going to find us.” At first, Dray didn’t take much notice of what the Oracle was saying. Yes, they needed to get out. Yes, they were going to be found if they didn’t, that much had been obvious from the start, but then revelation began to open his eyes; a deep chill ran from the top of his head and wracked his body down to his toes. ‘They’re going to find us.’
Somehow, she knew what was coming. Somehow her divine gift showed her what was coming. It had been the same story of Oracles everywhere throughout the ages. This wasn’t just stating the obvious, this was another prophecy to come true. There was no question, no denying it. He knew, he knew down to the core of his soul, that this was going to happen, the Creed would find them – knowing this to be true filled him with dread.
“Do you know when? Do you know what happens after?” The Oracle moved up. He could feel her looming over him, looking into his eyes, staring, as if that could project the images into his mind.
“I’m sorry Dray, that’s all I know. They will find us soon, in the
city. I can see it. It’s only a glimpse in my mind, but I know it. Dray, I know it’s going to happen.” Dray could hear the desperation in her voice, she desperately wanted him to believe her. He took her in his arms.
“It’s all right Kayla, I believe you. You're the Oracle after all." The Oracle laid back down, Dray’s words seemed to comfort her almost as much as his embrace.
"Sometimes I don’t feel like the Oracle at all. I thought it would be different," she sighed. "I'm almost as new at it as you are being the Torac."
"Well, at least you've had the training. At least you know what is going on.” The Oracle thought about Dray’s statement for a moment. He sounded like he had a smile on his face and was making light of the situation, but at the same time she knew that he was troubled by what was happening - she was troubled too.
Yes, she had many years of training to fall back upon, she had undergone the rituals and coronation that both opened her mind up to Tempus and gave her the powers that made her the Oracle. She had wise mentors and teachers to help her every step of the way, teachers that knew who she was and who she was to become long before she did herself. They told her, as they had told every other Oracle that came before, that she had been chosen by Tempus and that being the Oracle was her destiny.
Dray had nothing. No training, no mentors, no books, no friends, no-one who could impart any knowledge onto him; he had nothing, except for her. All he knew was that he had a ring and an order to protect the Oracle. So far, he had done that well, but all he had received in return was pain and suffering. He deserves more. She had to help him.
"We need to find a way out of this city. We need to get back to the Order.” The Oracle was hesitant to continue, she had been avoiding the subject, but knew sooner or later she would have to confront it. “Dray? You know when Commander Galleon put that ring on you, it …” She wasn’t sure if she could continue, she knew that he would understand but she was embarrassed.
“It what?” asked Dray. There was a little concern in his voice, but it was only there because the Oracle was having trouble talking to him - that concerned him more than any kind of danger.
“It … it made ... some kind of bond.” Dray rubbed her shoulder, comforting.
“It’s all right, I know. I’ve been feeling something like that for a while.” The Oracle closed her eyes, she didn’t think Dray quite understood what she was trying to say.
“Dray these ‘feelings’ you have about caring for me … they’re not real. The ring makes you feel like that.” Dray thought about the statement for a moment. Not real? He sniggered at the thought. How can you say they’re not real? Was something truly clouding his mind? Was there some kind of power controlling him? He thought about the Oracle, she was beautiful, and he wasn’t just imagining it … was he?
An image conjured into his mind, it was an image of a beautiful woman. She had long, dark hair; big, beautiful eyes and a gaze that he could get lost in. It was the Oracle, and she was beautiful … no, he wasn’t imagining that.
“I don’t care what anyone says. How can I not care for you, Kayla? After what we’ve been through? I don’t need a ring or some kind of magical bond for that. No-one is making me do anything. I want to protect you and …” Suddenly he stopped as sorrow filled his heart. “Well … you’re the only thing I’ve got in this whole world, Oracle. My family is dead, my friends are dead, my Commander, everyone in my legion gone. Even the King I fought for is probably dead. There’s no going back to my old life. The city is destroyed, a corruption of darkness is spreading through it; tainting everything it touches. If I ever get out of here, I am never coming back.”
The Oracle could feel the pain in Dray’s voice, she could feel it through his skin, she could feel it through the bond. She knew his pain because it was very much her own - his story was her story.
“Dray?” she whispered.
“Yes, Oracle.”
“I’m glad you’re with me.” She too would have to face a new life outside of Candelier City, and she too would have to find a new life in a new city. They had a bond now, one that transcended the ring and the will of Tempus. They could take comfort in knowing that neither of them would have to face their new life alone. Dray squeezed her tight.
“I’m glad too.” Dray decided to change the topic, there was no point lamenting on what was lost. What they needed to do now was work out how they were going to survive the city. “You said ‘they will find us,' do you know if we escape?” The Oracle didn’t answer him, but her silence told him everything.
“I don’t know Dra …”
“Don’t worry Oracle,” he interrupted. “I’m sure we will escape, after all, Tempus is with us.” The Oracle couldn’t help but smile. It was funny in a smug, sarcastic way, but it was also true. “Kayla, I’ve been thinking. I know a way out of the city, but it could be dangerous.”
“What is it?” asked the Oracle, suddenly intrigued.
“The city barracks are built into the walls, there are staircases and passageways that run inside them to the towers. I know there’s a way to the other side of the walls through there. The only problem is that the army holds the walls, and the barracks are guarded like a fortress. I don’t think they will just let us in, not after what happened at the west gate. If the guards knew who we were, they might, but I think everyone I knew is dead … they were all in the castle.”
“I’m sorry, Dray.”
The Oracle thought back as images came flooding into her mind. Racing towards the gate, losing her grip, tumbling off the horse; the pain, the chaos that ensued afterwards - the blood, the butchery, the rain of arrows.
It was the guards themselves that angered her the most. They were the ones who shut the gates, they were the ones who trapped them in, they were the ones who left them to die. Because of them, she had to drag herself through a river of the townsfolk’s blood to escape. She had found sanctuary in a horse stable of all things. Luckily for her, the butchery had already taken place in there. No, the guards weren’t likely to help them. They were more likely to kill them both on sight.
Yes, she was the Oracle, but they didn’t know that. There was no way to prove it either, not to a guard. No, she needed to find a way back to her Order; their Order. The Elder Hierarchy would know what to do, and now Dray was as much a part of this as she was, in fact, he was going to play a crucial role if either of them were going to survive.
“We need to get you to a major temple where you can undergo your rituals,” stated the Oracle. “Only then can you begin to take control of your powers.”
“What do you know of this … Torac?” asked Dray. “Is it some kind of guardian?”
“Every god and goddess has an Oracle through which they communicate their will to the world. The gods choose such people to be their representatives. The Torac is a kind of guardian, they too are chosen by the gods, their primary purpose is to protect their Oracle.”
“How did they know I was your Torac?”
“They didn’t. The high priests in the temple were sure that the Torac was near, living somewhere in the city. They began to search, there were many possibilities, and you was one of them. As time passed, Commander Galleon became convinced that you were the one. He watched you, he said you had superior, almost unnatural fighting abilities. He was convinced.”
“But how did you know for sure?”
“Only by performing and successfully passing the associated rituals is it safe to announce that someone is the new Torac. The next step is to give them the ring: the first Ice Band of Tempus, but it is a dangerous step. If that person is not the true Torac chosen by their god, they will die when the ring is put on - only the true Torac can wear the ring.”
“But I haven’t done any rituals.”
“When the Creed attacked the city, the Temple of Tempus was the first to fall, somehow they appeared within and destroyed everything from the inside out. At the time they attacked the castle, the majority of the army were massacred trying to protect the K
ing. I woke up mid-battle, when I walked out of my room, everyone was dead.
“Commander Galleon left his men to find me, he said that my life was more important than any other. He told me to come with him and that he was going to get me out of the city, but instead of taking me out of the city, he carved a path to your room. I didn’t even know he had the ring, and no-one could be a hundred percent sure that you were the one. I guess he felt that he had no choice, there was no time for a ritual; he had to take a chance. He saw something special inside of you Dray, he was certain you were going to be the next Torac … and he was right.”
Dray closed his eyes, he needed a moment to process; it was a lot to take in at once. He didn’t know much about Toracs and guardians, in fact, he didn’t know much about a lot of things, but one thing that he did know was combat; combat and war. He knew how to take care of himself, and he knew how to take care of others. His life’s training had given him that knowledge, his own pursuit to be the perfect warrior is what turned that knowledge into a skill that he could use.
“Dray,” the Oracle continued. “The bond between us can’t be broken until one of us is dead. I’m sorry it was forced upon you.”
“It’s all right Kayla, it’s not your fault.” It seemed the whole situation had been forced upon him in a cataclysmic event. General Vortis, who had commanded the king’s army when Dray was still just a boy, had been the one to take him into the cadets.
“Dray,” he had said. “To some people things happen like a great cataclysm, destroying everything they thought they believed in. Your parents are gone, and they’re never coming back, but only you can make the choice now. Dwell on this knowledge and let it destroy you, or be a phoenix, and rise from the ashes.”
It wasn’t until later in life that Dray understood what General Vortis was trying to tell him. The General had said one last thing before he left for the North Wars, a strange thing, but it stayed with Dray his whole life, even up until this moment. “There is a greatness in you, and you will be reborn many times. Remember my words when you are. Now go and seek your destiny.”
