The Legend of Alexandros: Belen

by Mr. A. C. Hernandez

  “This is the son of the Mighty Mabruk? Pathetic is what you are!”

  Alexandros charged toward Zuers; Zuers raised his fist, giving Alexandros a crashing blow to the chest that sent him to the ground with a loud thud. Zuers lifted Alexandros up by the throat and pounded him against the castle walls. Zuers hurled the young warrior into the air then slammed him down to the floor. The hobgoblin yanked the warrior by the hair to his knees then hacked off Alexandros’ long dark hair. Zuers tossed his long hair into Alexandros’ face, laughing. Alexandros clung to the wall, trying to stand, but Zuers charged him knocking him back to the ground.

  “And I thought the Alexandros men were fierce in battle,” said Zuers, smugly. “All you have shown is that you shall be as easy to kill as your father was. Pity, I had hoped for much more of a challenge, but I shall bring you to Barbarious…in pieces.”

  Alexandros impaled his sword into Zuers’ foot, pinning the hobgoblin to the ground. Zuers let out an agonizing screech that echoed loudly through the halls. Alexandros jumped to his feet with the speed of a lion and gouged out Zuers’ remaining eye with his thumb. The hobgoblin thrashed in pain, holding his face with his hands. Alexandros placed Zuers in a chokehold and snapped his neck. He ripped his sword from Zuers’ foot and tossed the creature to the side. Broken and bloody, Alexandros turned to find the Amazon Jasmine ready for battle.

  “I will not be so quick to kill, warrior,” she said. Jasmine charged forward. Alexandros grabbed her by the shoulders and flung her halfway down the castle hall. She crashed to the ground face-first against the castle’s stone walls.

  “There is an Amazon Princess awaiting you outside, betrayer…” said Alexandros.

  A look of great fear grew her face. She ran off, and Alexandros returned his attention to finding Barbarious.

  “How long has it been, dear mentor? Two? Three hundred years? You have not changed a bit.”

  “I wish I could say the same of you,” said Alistair. “You have allowed your hate to take over you, Barbarious.”

  “I allowed my true nature to take over, unlike you. You were always weak, Alistair. Now you wish to prove how powerful you are by confronting me?” Barbarious slowly raised his staff for battle.

  “Are we truly going to resort to this…?”

  “It will give me great joy and pleasure to take you from this world…and I shall do so in the messiest manner possible…”

  The two wizards then erupted in battle, as blasts of magic burst through the throne room, exploding the ceiling, completely destroying it. Stones plummeted down all round them. Alistair cast his most powerful counterspells, but Barbarious had grown strong in his time and fought through Alistair’s magic. Barbarious seemed to be overpowering Alistair. Barbarious grew closer to him, with his sinister demonic smile. The wizard Alistair became uncertain as to how counterattack the dark wizard—so he punched Barbarious in the face. The punch gave off a thundering sound that caused Barbarious to stumble backwards. Alistair just kept pummeling the dark wizard. Barbarious grew weaker with every smash and punch. Alistair lifted his staff, and just as he was about to cast a spell to end Barbarious, the vampire king William emerged from out of the shadows. He lunged onto Alistair, biting him on the neck. But Alistair was quick. He blasted William into the air, sending him flying straight into the fire-engulfed sky. Meanwhile, Barbarious gathered himself and called upon his most powerful paralyzing spell. Alistair crashed to the ground unable to move.

  “The mighty wizard Alistair bowing before me,” said Barbarious, softly. “Oh, how I love this feeling. I have waited for this moment for so many centuries…goodbye old friend.”

  The dark wizard’s eyes grew dark as he began to cast the very spell that took the life of the centaur king Tobias—until Alexandros appeared and hacked off the wizard’s remaining hand. A most demonic unearthly scream escaped Barbarious, and the most horrendous look of evil grew in his eyes. Alexandros jumped forward, hacking and slashing Barbarious. A bloody Alexandros hurled himself onto Barbarious, and without mercy sent his powerful fist nonstop into the wizard’s already beaten and bloodied face. Barbarious, as last resort, cast a mighty enchantment that sent Alexandros flying toward Alistair.

  “Belen, can you draw his fire?” huffed Alistair.

  Alexandros gave Alistair a cocky smile and charged Barbarious at full speed. Alexandros seemed to be coming from everywhere; Barbarious could not lock in on the young warrior. The handless Barbarious recklessly hurled powerful blasts of his darkest magic; then from out of shadows Alexandros arose and with all his might pierced the dark wizard in the chest with his grandfather’s sword.

  The wizard fell to his knees, looked toward Alexandros… then smiled. With his final ounce of strength, he cast a spell to destroy the kingdom.

  The battlefield split open and swallowed the warriors. Raphael placed Elora on his back to ride off the field to safety. Valchor gathered up elven warriors for safe grounds, but hundreds tragically fell to their death. Maddoc rushed to Vesall and the lycan clan. As the ground fell behind them, Maddoc battled until the very end, sacrificing himself so his clan could escape…and then plummeted to his death. Jasmine ran through the goblins and vampires as she escaped from the castle; she ran as fast as her legs allowed her until she collided with the Amazon Princess Aloysia.

  “You snake!” Aloysia screamed. “You dared to think I would not find you!”

  Jasmine drew her sword, but before she could raise her weapon, Aloysia jammed her mother Cassandra’s royal sword into Jasmine’s face, instantly killing the woman who betrayed her tribe. Aloysia kicked Jasmine’s limp body to the ground then removed the sword. She spit on Jasmine’s body then turned to join her people as they retreated.

  Winston soared through the air, Bixbin cradled in his arms, until he spotted his friends retreating into the forest.

  In the king’s throne room, Alistair dragged himself toward Alexandros, while the young warrior held his foot against the dark wizard’s throat.

  “Go, you must leave now, Belen…” said Alistair, pieces of the tower falling around them.

  “I am not leaving you here, Alistair. I am going to get you out of here, too.”

  “I must remain behind to assure Barbarious does not escape. Find the child, Belen. You do not have much time.”

  Alexandros gave Alistair a tight embrace then turned to escape the collapsing throne room. With the sword still impaled in the chest of Barbarious, Alistair sat, closed his eyes, and waited for the tower to collapse.

  Alexandros ran wild throughout the castle pushing past the reanimated corpses that roamed the halls; the walls shattering down; he checked the rooms as he ran by them. But could not find the baby…until he came to Princess Elora’s bedroom. He cautiously pushed open the huge double doors and saw the baby lying on a rubble-strewn bed. At first the baby did not move, and he thought she might be dead. Then she began to cry. He lifted the baby in his arms; she was thin and malnourished. She had his mother’s beautiful features; her eyes big, round, and dark brown like their father and her hair was short and light brown. Alexandros held his sister close to him, not understanding why the goblins or Barbarious kept her alive—but he could care less. She was now safe with him…

  The castle began to sink. Goblins were consumed into the earth; the surviving vampires flew off into the mountains, and the survivors of Alexandros’ army retreated into the hills of the forest—they looked on as the castle crumbled down. The bruised and battered princess watched, too, as her home fell into the earth. She held her breath, fearing Alexandros had lost his life in the rubble.

  Suddenly, bursting from the falling castle’s entrance, came Alexandros, running across the Siruac Bridge as it crumbled beneath him.

  “Winston!” he cried.

  Winston gently placed Bixbin down and swooped to the bridge, where Alexandros leaped onto his back. Winston soared off as the castle’s throne chamber exploded into a million pieces, taking with it the remainder of the castle, which sank in
to the earth until only a small fragment remained standing. Siruac was soon no more…just a stone that held up the once great kingdom of Siruac.

  Many had lost their lives; the goblins were now extinct; not one had survived the battle, and the goblins that had not died in battle had been swallowed up by their master’s final spell.

  “Belen!” Princess Elora called out joyfully as Winston soared down. “You are safe…” Tears rolled down her beautiful face. Winston landed somewhat hard, and Alexandros jumped off onto the grassy hills, the baby wrapped tightly in shredded bed sheet.

  “Where is Alistair…we all thought he was with you…?” she asked.

  Alexandros looked down with sorrow.

  Elora gasped. “How did he…?”

  “He sacrificed his life to end Barbarious once and for all…we would not be here if not for him…”

  Valchor slowly made his way through the crowd. “Alexandros…” he stammered. “You…look terrible.”

  Everyone let out a small laugh as Raphael softly smacked Valchor in the back of the head.

  “I only said what everyone is thinking…” Valchor said, defensively.

  That night everyone slept peacefully; the crackling flames the only sound. The cave remained incredibly crowded with all who had survived the grueling battle, but it was not a concern. They all now shared a bond that would forever be unbroken.

  Earlier that night, Elora nursed the baby and properly cleaned her up. Alexandros sat very still, his face and clothes covered in blood; he had bandaged his wounds, but did not wash away the blood. Elora gently handed him the baby.

  “She needs a name, Belen. Have you thought of one yet?”

  “From the moment I saw her I knew what to name her… her name is…Adina.”

  As the night went on, Elora and the baby soon fell fast asleep beside Alexandros—who had awoken upon hearing rustling outside the cave. He slowly rose to his feet as the sun calmly began to rise.

  “Hello, Belen,” Alistair whispered.

  “Is this really you? How are you alive?”

  “Yes, Belen. It is I. I remained in the castle until I knew you and the others were absolutely safe then escaped myself.”

  “Barbarious, is he…?”

  “Barbarious is dead and buried for all eternity. He will never return. You and the others can now live out your lives in peace, Belen.”

  “And what of you? Where will you go?” Alexandros asked.

  “I still have some business to attend to. I will be gone for some time…Take care, Belen. It was an honor to know you and to fight beside you.”

  “Thank you, Alistair…for everything. I could not have done this without you.”

  Alistair stepped back and faded into the sunrise.

  The day went on with a serene and blissful calm. Vesall and the Amazons bade farewell and returned to their homelands. Vesall returned as the new leader of the lycans—and as a new leader came new rulings. He took the lycans from the shadows and allowed them to choose how they wished to live. Humans returned to the village of Ovunas, but this time the lycans lived with them side by side in peace. The lycans had defended the village from Barbarians, the villagers shared harvested food and welcomed the lycans to their village in return. The Amazons never returned to their native lands; too much had been lost to them and too many of their sisters had fallen tragically; instead, they moved to a new glorious location to begin again. Every year Amazon Queen Aloysia held a memorial for Cassandra and the sisters who had lost their lives.

  The elves returned home to Evedsatu. King Dokohan stood so very proud of his son Valchor; he even offered Valchor his throne as a worthy king. But Valchor refused the offer and bade his father farewell to journey to the deepest ocean. He flicked Lucinda’s scale into the sea. Lucinda, upon feeling the call, dove deep into the water. When she found Valchor, they smiled, and he hurled himself into the sea. They returned to her lagoon to spend their time together.

  Raphael journeyed to the marshlands to find the centaurs, and together as a nation they rebuilt their society. In time Raphael became a true king; his laws were fair and his people cherished him. Raphael soon fell in love with a most lovely centaur woman; together they had four children. The first boy was named Raphael; the second, a girl, was named Anna; and then twin boys were named Simon and Tobias. Ralphael and his wife lived in Ezdacir and maintained contact with their human friends, Alexandros and Elora.

  Alexandros returned home to Souvaolo. He rebuilt his family’s home—and his entire village. It took many years, but with help from others, he completed the task, and Souvaolo was resurrected. Elora and Alexandros married right away and in time had twin boys named Mabruk and Vincent; together, they raised three children. They never told baby Adina they were not truly her parents; all that mattered was that they were a family. Winston remained with his human and lived in a home beside Alexandros’ home that was built special just for him. Bixbin also lived in Souvaolo. During the battle he’d been tragically blinded in his left eye—but this did not stop him from becoming the most sought-out blacksmith the world has ever known.

  One stormy night, the old woman Gertrude stumbled upon Souvaolo with friends she found wandering astray near untamed lands not too far from Ovunas. She and her wanderers with the blessings of Alexandros remained in Souvaolo where she became the village innkeeper. Alexandros and Elora lived in their village for many winters and had several grand journeys that followed.

  The End…

  How he learned to fly…

  * * *

  Long ago on a valley top a special egg was laid; the egg was off-white with light purple speckles. The mother of the very special egg was a most beautiful Dragon; she had no name and was a rare breed of Dragon, known as an ice Dragons since it lived in the snowy valley hilltops. Her clan made its home in a valley near the high wintery mountains where the Dragons were able to fly and live without much noise or interruption of the human world. She reached close to twenty feet in length, although her breed was able to control its growth rate. She was all white like the snow that fell upon their mountains. Her wings had a lovely light-blue inner lining, and her eyes were like two light-blue sapphires with specks of purple. Her long lilac-colored mane fell down her back; on her head were two long black horns. Every Dragon in her clan was snow white in color, but Dragon eyes all had their own special colors—every color imaginable, but for the color purple.

  Her nest, on a hill top close to the snowy mountains, was filled with leaves and made up of dry mud and clawed-down trees. She had but one egg, and it was her first. For so long she’d been unable to bear children; once she had this one, she took such grand care of it.

  On a night when it began to snow lightly, she felt her egg slowly begin to move beneath her. She carefully backed away and watched joyfully as the egg began to hatch. First popped out a tail, then both back legs, followed by both front legs— until, finally, a little head poked out. The baby appeared somewhat lost as it looked around. The mother gently licked her baby clean. The baby giggled and squirmed and looked up to his mother…with the most marvelous purple emerald eyes.

  “Hello, my child…” she said in a soothing tone. “What joy you are to me; you are the most beautiful hatchling to ever come to be, my dear.”

  The baby began to slowly break completely from the egg. The baby stood on all fours and wobbled as he walked around his nest; he tripped and fell as he tried to walk on his own. The baby Dragon sat almost puppy-like and looked up to his mother with his eyes wide open. She wrapped her tail gently around her baby who climbed onto her snout and curled into a ball. The baby shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep for the remainder of the night.

  The sun rose the next morning to several newborn Dragons. The valley fields soon filled with baby ice Dragons. Mothers soared high in the sky with their children who had already at birth learned to fly.

  “Come dear, it is not at all difficult to fly. Just flap your wings and allow the winds to lift you.”

  “
Mother, I cannot do this. It is much too hard to do,” the baby Dragon said with a squeaky voice.

  “It is not hard, my child. Watch as I do it.”

  The mother Dragon leaped into the air and soared into the sky. The child watched on as his mother flew high above him. He rapidly flapped his tiny wings, but could not seem to rise off the ground. Disappointment filled his face.

  “Mother, I cannot do this…can I be a land Dragon?” The new born asked in a squeak. “You will fly, in your own time,” she said, upon returning to the nest. “I am most positive of it.”

  His mother rested that day; she remained in the nest while her newborn explored the valley. He looked on in awe as he saw a huge frozen creek. Dragons were poking holes into the ice to allow them to drink, but the newborn was much too tiny for that, so he moved on. He skipped along, looking everywhere, taking it all in as he passed through the valley top. He came across the edge of the valley; the canyon below was a far long drop, and his eyes widened as he looked down. He flicked a small pebble from the ground and watched it fall into the canyon. He began to back away slowly when another baby dragon bumped him from behind. This baby Dragon had sapphire eyes and, like all ice Dragons, was all white.

  “Hello,” the newborn said to the sapphire Dragon. “Are you exploring, too?”

  “I come to fly. My father teach me early this morning to fly off the edge.” The Sapphire Dragon said with pride.

  “Father?” The newborn asked.

  “Yup, my father teach me…do you not a have a father? Well, if you do not have a father, then I guess not every baby Dragon is special enough to have a father.” The sapphire Dragon said very snappy.

  The newborn’s eyes filled with tears. “Am I not special then…?”