by Sanders, Dan
The Overlord stepped onto a black crystal disc in the centre of the chamber and pulled back his hood. He gestured for Xavier to join him. Xavier gripped his new staff and stepped onto the disc. It wobbled under his feet. The guards followed two at a time.
“Why are we going to the bottom of the volcano?” Xavier asked. “I thought it was forbidden.”
The Overlord mumbled under his breath. “This is your first day as heir to the throne. Watch, learn.”
The disc beneath hummed, glowed red, jerked, and dropped into darkness. Xavier held his breath. Black and red smears of light rushed by as they descended. At times, the disc slowed to reveal an entry to a floor before continuing its drop. As they dropped into the volcano, smooth walls gave way to rugged javastone.
Xavier tossed the small flame between his two hands. His hands shook.
“Father,” Xavier said, “I wanted to tell you something.”
“Speak up.”
Xavier took a deep breath and said, “I don’t trust Torek.”
His father looked down, his hawkish nose and protruding brow furrowed in suspicion. “Why?”
“I…I don’t think he has our best interest at heart.”
His father chuckled. “Everybody has their own best interest at heart. Only when another’s interest is aligned with yours can you say you have their best interest at heart. It has always been the way.”
“I know it sounds silly,’ Xavier said more confidently, “but I think he tells untruths.”
His father said, “For now our interests are aligned. Jalpari will always be my interest and should be yours.”
“Is that why we are not in the confederation?”
“We lead the Coalition of Independent States for that reason. So we can be independent of Eostra and the confederation asserting their outdated ways. It is time for change. And Xavier,” his father placed his hand on his shoulder, “you will be a part of this change. If that means partnering with people we don’t like or trust, so be it.”
He let his arm fall and looked ahead. The disc slowed and clanged on the stone floor below. A stone door slid open. A rush of hot flesh and steam engulfed them. Xavier threw his arms to his face. They pushed through the steam and stepped onto a rock ledge.
The floor was only halfway down the mountain. A chasm as wide as a small village opened below. Red lava trickled down the walls like blood on a wound. Xavier stepped with his toes on the edge and peered into the reddy glow below.
Teams of Earthlings with crystal helmets trudged along thin ledges in the half-lit darkness. The rhythmic clanging of their hammers rang off the veined crystal walls. Xavier covered his ears. His nose and ears hurt from the smells and sounds. Xavier could not make out the source of skittish sounds that scratched constantly on the stone.
When a blast of orange lava shot through the centre, the whole cavern burst into light. It was then Xavier first saw the Faoir flying through the steam and the darkness. He knew the Fire Fairy were keepers of the volcano but had never seen their work directly. A ring of five Faoir, with long red wings veined with gold, chanted into the darkness below. Xavier could not make out what they were humming.
Out of the steam a Faoir rushed to greet the visitors to the underworld.
“Sirakon,” Xavier exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“I am to be your guide,” she said smoothly. Xavier hardly heard her over the banging and hissing.
“But why are we—?”
Just then two dark clouds, tinged with green, drifted down from the top throat of the volcano. They paused in the neck, bobbing on the hot gusts of air, before hovering above the plateau where Xavier and his father stood. Xavier tensed, but his father remained relaxed. The four guards raised their spears. One young guard thrust his black Javastone spear into the closest cloud. A bolt of lightning ran down the weapon and into the heart of the guard. He flopped onto the stone plateau. One of the other soldiers tentatively kicked the man’s leg. He didn’t move.
The clouds shimmered, and transformed into two green-robed men hovering before them. Xavier’s mouth dropped open. He gripped his staff and felt inside his robe for the crystal dart gun the Professor had gifted him only days earlier.
The Overlord bowed before the hovering robes.
“You made it, finally,” the Overlord said.
“So this is the place of legend.” Torek’s raspy voice hissed with the steam. His white bony fingers opened to the darkness below. He gestured to the other robe. “This is my newest Melder, Blade Maddock.”
Blade nodded under his hood.
“This is my son, Xavier,” the Overlord said.
A shooting flame below lit underneath the Lord Melder’s dark hood. Xavier saw Torek’s face for the first time. His pallid skin looked as if it had been sitting in mouldy water for lunations, and his dark fat lips like a dead man’s. The red dots of hatred glanced in Xavier’s direction. He shuddered, and leaned on his staff for support. A splash of molten lava the size of a small animal burst from below and landed next to the Overlord’s boot. Xavier jumped.
“Why do you need to see the Paytah?” the Overlord asked.
“For our army, of course.”
“What? I am building the Coalition army as agreed. We have no need for these beasts.”
“Your information is outdated,” Torek said. “I am informed that the confederation is forming an army with Melders of Eostra. Their new army will be used to threaten any nations still undecided at the end of the Errenor Cup.”
“That’s ludicrous,” Darius said. “It would be an act of global war not seen since the Silder’s Hollow two thousand years ago. Who is behind this? Is it Gwyngad?”
“The front for this army is General Vossen of Adros, but the real power behind this threat is the Melder Whiteoak, acting directly for Eostra.”
Darius banged his staff on the stone plateau. The hissing volcano swallowed the clang from the staff.
“Magas, Eostra. She can’t interfere.”
“It is said the Wellwyn Prophecy is come to be fulfilled,” Torek tossed into the conversation.
“Does that exist?” Darius said. “I thought it was only rumour, to give people hope against the deterioration of the Abandoned Lands. Do you believe it?”
“It is not important what I believe, only that they believe it. We must prepare regardless.”
“What about the vote in two weeks?” Darius said.
Torek nodded and said, “The vote is being held in Ibendari this year, at the end of the Errenor Cup. All the important Annwynian leaders will be in attendance, with representatives both in the Grael race and the gala ball. We must use that time to win support for the undecided nations to the Coalition.”
“How do you suggest we do that?” Darius challenged.
“Firstly, you must win back the vote of the Queen of Gardsvor.”
The Overlord glanced at Xavier.
“You don’t know, do you?” Torek chuckled darkly. “She has cast her lot with Gwyngad, that fat-cat King of Ibendari. The confederation holds the balance of power with thirteen nations. We have nine in the Coalition.”
“Yes, but there are twelve still undecided, if we include the Bardi,” Darius said.
“The Bardi won’t vote; they are Eostra’s chosen protectors,” Torek retorted.
The Overlord pondered this information. Xavier had never seen his father with such indecision.
“We will be prepared,” he said. “Our army is more powerful than any army the confederation could muster. They have not battled for generations. They are soft.“
“You underestimate the Melder support. They may even seek support of the Exotics.”
“The Exotics stay out of the affairs of Annwyn.”
“The stakes are much higher, Darius. You must be prepared. Our army must be ready to crush the confederation forces if they use the vote as a trigger to force our agreement.”
“But an army of Paytah? They answer to no man.”
Torek�
�s smile was in his voice. “I may have a way. Show me the beings, now.”
“How will you control the Paytah?”
“We will obtain the Adros Dagger.”
“I’ve never heard of that.”
Torek sniggered. “The Adros Crystal Lore masters have developed a powerful weapon, a crystal blade forged from the Twin Worlds that can cut through the fabric of space and time.”
“How is that possible? Do you know what that could mean–“
“Of course I do, you fool.”
Darius ignored the insult. “But how does that control these beasts?”
“It gives us bargaining power for when we seek another ancient artefact, the Harp of Harmony. Besides, anybody who resists will feel the might of the blade.”
Darius looked knowingly at the dark Melder before him. “The legend of the Harp says it can control the elements.”
Sirakon suddenly burst out, “That’s not true. It can only harmonise them for a season, not control them.”
She turned her eyes away at the angry gazes suddenly on her. Xavier was surprised and proud of her. He threw her a supportive look.
Torek spoke first. “Not when you have this.” He held out a red crystal that pulsed gently in the dim throat of the volcano.
Darius said, “The Zora Stone. How?”
“Too many questions. You see my plans and can have confidence in our ability to lead this army of mindless beasts.”
The Overlord smoothed his hair and wrung his hands. He nodded to Sirakon patiently hovering before them. She swooped away leaving a trail of fire sparks twisting in her wake, and spoke to the circle of Faoir chanting above the spitting pit. The chant faltered. They changed their tune. It became urgent, demanding, but also tentative. Sirakon returned and landed next to Xavier on the ledge.
“Why do they do that?” Xavier whispered to her.
“The Faoir are the only beings who can control the Paytah,” she said. “But it takes powerful Lore and great effort. A break in the concentration will release the beings. They feed off the flesh of all life forms. Only the power of the Faoir, keepers of the Fire Lore, can tame them.” She gazed dejectedly at her chanting companions.
Xavier drew closer to Sirakon. She wrapped a wing around his shoulders. He gently pushed her wing away and looked up at his father, embarrassed.
The sound changed. At first it was a quiet screeching in the distant. The squeals grew louder, pounding off the walls in drum beats. Xavier grabbed his ears as the squeals became shrieks. He squinted into the steam below. As his eyes adjusted Xavier saw shiny black dots crawling all over the walls. Thousands of ants with huge round tails and six crooked legs raced over the blackened face of the fiery chamber.
Three of the giant fire-ants had crawled into the crevices immediately above them, each the size of a large horse, with giant curved mandibles, the black tips snapping incessantly. One of the ants busily twitched its antenna, scouring the darkness. The antenna stopped twitching and pointed at the royals on the ledge. Xavier saw his father’s eyes widen. He pointed his staff at the Paytah.
Torek hovered and watched and nodded. Blade kept glancing between the Overlord and his master.
The Faoir chanting became more urgent, commanding in their ancient tongue. The three Paytah scrambled back down into the steam. They spat blue fire from the gaping orifice in their heads.
Just then one of the Paytah broke free from the chant and scuttled back up the ledge. Before anybody could move the curved mandibles appeared over the parapet where Xavier stood. It squealed. It wrapped its beak around the guard lying on the ledge. Xavier jumped and crashed into the guards behind him. He twisted his ankle. The giant ant closed its grip around the dead guard. There was a crunch of bone and the tearing of flesh as it dragged the body over the ledge. The guard’s helmet fell into the pit below.
“Forgive, my Overlord, but this is their home and—” Sirakon said.
“Silence,” the Overlord snapped. He smiled at Torek. “So Torek, how was it you planned to control these beasts?”
The Melder hovered away from the ledge and stared down into the abyss. “The Adros Lore masters have made a great weapon. My Melder, Blade, will retrieve that weapon and with another artefact of great power we will subdue these great beings.”
“I understand the war for independence must be won,” Darius said, “but what you ask is a grave risk to the people of Jalpari.”
Torek ignored the plea. The Overlord looked down at his son. Xavier wondered what his father was thinking. He couldn’t tell from the look he gave him. It was as if he was saying goodbye. The Overlord swallowed and said, “I will grant your request, on one condition.”
Torek looked surprised, but Xavier could see this only by the extra rustling of his robe as it hovered near the blackened floor.
“You will take my son as your Melder apprentice.”
For the second time Torek’s hooded face turned to Xavier. “What?”
Xavier’s world was spinning. How could his father send him away, especially to this monster? It was always just his father and him, together, alone. He always did what his father wished, to make him proud, but this?
His father grabbed him and looked into his eyes. “It is not the path I had planned but sometimes opportunities arise. Son, this is for you and for the people of Jalpari.”
Xavier stiffened at his father’s grasp. He pulled away and said, “I will not.”
Darius slapped his son’s face. Xavier grabbed his cheek, stepped away and straightened his shoulders. He saw Sirakon’s fearful look of support. He had to make a stand now.
“You cannot make me. I am of age now, Father.”
Darius smiled and said, “You think so?” The Overlord lifted his son with Thought control, holding him at arms’ length. Xavier’s feet kicked above the fiery chasm below. He pushed into his father’s mind but failed to loosen the mental grip. He heard the distant screams of the Paytah below. A sandal fell from his foot and disappeared into the steam. Sirakon hovered next to Xavier, reaching out to him, crying.
Xavier took a deep breath of the hot air and said, “I will not leave you, Father. I will not.”
Darius glared at Xavier. He raised his hand again and turned his arm into a burning flame. He pulled Xavier closer so he was back over the ledge. The Overlord said, “You will obey and go.”
“No.”
Darius slapped Xavier’s face with his flaming hand and dropped him on the ledge.
Xavier screamed. Sirakon flew to the crumpled boy and commanded the flames. They evaporated at her touch. The sound of sizzling skin subsided. The three men watched the young fire-fairy tend to the boy’s wounds. She turned and glared at them.
Sickness and fear and anger welled up in him. He pushed Sirakon aside and sobbed quietly. “Please. Mother said we had to look after each other.”
Darius stared blankly at Xavier. He straightened and turned back to Torek. “Enough, take him.”
Torek floated across the stone precipice and grabbed Xavier’s arm. The two Melders from the Abandoned Lands, with their new apprentice in their grasp, evaporated into three black clouds tinged with green. With the next explosion of underworld steam they erupted from the throat of the Jalpari Volcano.
Chapter 9
Rabbit Rail
RABBIT CENTRAL, BURROWS OF THE ADROS RABBITS,
ANNWYN
Rabbit Central was alight with enthusiasm and music. Word had spread that the Chosen One was in their midst, and a rabbit like them, though larger. Everybody was excited because it meant Eostra had been among them personally, an event that created an overnight legend. Emily had become a celebrity and made thousands of adoring fans all wanting to be part of Adros Rabbit history.
Emily was daunted by the attention. What she had done to deserve such an honour? What did she have to live up to?
Rupurt had been assigned as her personal rabbit trainer. At the dawn of each day he dragged a fumbling Emily and her oversized feet into the main
hall. Harli had made it clear to Emily’s new fans that under no circumstances were they to laugh at Emily while she was learning.
For the first few days Emily refused to participate. She had decided this was a dream, and would wait until she banged her head and woke from the nightmare. Day and night she sat on her rock with Rupurt patiently sitting on his blue haunches.
One day Emily cried all morning. Her fans had dispersed to their daily chores. Rupurt gently led Emily to the large forest in the hall where the green grass was thickest and water ran over a small underground stream. Even the water glowed light-blue.
“Please tell me what is bothering you Emily?” Rupurt said, patting her forepaw. “Perhaps I can help?”
“I had a dream,” she said between sobs.
“Is that a good thing?”
“I was a bird again in my old home oak tree. I saw my friend Noogie and the boy human, and they were safe. Oh Rupurt, what is happening to me?”
Emily dropped onto the soft grass again and cried. Rabbits of all colours paused briefly before hopping about their business. Rupurt left her until she had finished crying, as he did each day. He asked her the same question he had asked her each day.
“Can I show you how to hop? You will not fall over again and being a rabbit might be fun.”
Using her paws, Emily lifted her long ears and looked at Rupurt. His bright yellow eyes stared back at her, slowly blinking. “You have been kind to me Rupurt, and very persistent. Perhaps I should learn so you don’t have to keep picking me up when I fall. Then you might leave me in peace.”
Rupurt laughed. He patted her paws and patted her hind legs and said, “Being a rabbit is about rhythm.”
Rupurt moved into a clearing and sat on his haunches. “Let us start with a gentle step-hop. You move from your hind legs onto your front legs then bring your hind legs to your front legs, and quickly tuck your tail underneath. It keeps you balanced.”
Emily tried. She leaned forward on her front paws as instructed and then pushed off her rear paws, but pushed too hard and fell on her large round nose. Her tail was mounted high above her ears.
