by Ryan Johnson
Another echo was heard: a soft cry of a ghostly, female voice. The echo sounded like it was in trouble.
“Now, this place is getting even creepier,” said Monico, annoyed by these sudden echoes. “Can’t these echoes or screams or whatever stop?”
“That is no ordinary sound of a creature,” said Flavius. “That sounded like a girl.”
“And where would a girl be in these parts?” asked Galvin. “That is probably the sound of a dying Siren calling in agony and torture.”
They all were glaring at him.
“What?” Galvin asked again.
“Ahem,” Marina cleared her throat. Her arms were fold and her foot was tapping.
“Oh, um, no offence, my Siren, ur, Highness, un, Siren Highness,” gulped Galvin.
“Better watch your words, Galvin,” warned Marina. “Anger me again and you will receive a bite from a Siren that you won’t forget for the rest of your life. Don’t forget I am the last Siren. So the chances of meeting another Siren are zero percent.”
“A thousand apologies about that,” said Galvin, shaking. He had obviously heard the tales of the bite sizes of a Siren’s teeth.
The female voice cried out again and again and again about every twenty seconds until it fell completely quiet all of a sudden.
“That was ten cries of girl,” said Vaeludar. “I hope there are fewer noises when we reach the Lost Castle at the very pointed end of the island.”
“Ten cries of a girl voice? Lost Castle? Pointed End? Of course,” said Marina, realizing about something. “No wonder these things are sounding too familiar.”
“What?” asked Vaeludar.
“It’s called The Tale of the Lost Kingdom,” said Marina. “It is also called The Fall of the Ruined City.”
“Ah, I remember that tale far too well,” said Vaeludar.
“I also know that,” said Flavius.
“I kept hearing that many times, and the ending to it,” said Wonomi.
“Yeah, the ending always makes me wonder what really happens,” said Monico.
“What? A story?” complained Galvin. “Stories are meant for little children? So much ‘and they lived happily ever after’. There is none of that in real life.”
“This story is not your traditional happily ever after story,” said Marina. “This story is about a castle city, like the same place we live, that fell to ruin by a single monster.”
“Yeah, yeah a monster that terrorizes a town, kidnaps the princess, then rescued by a wonderful Prince Charming, and all live happily ever after.”
“THAT IS NOT HOW IT GOES!” yelled Marina, standing up. She was turning into a different form: fins on her sides, going from her legs to her arms, eyes from a fish that glared red-yellow, teeth of a piranha, and claws in the shape of a great white shark.
Galvin looked frightened by Marina’s Siren form.
Vaeludar touched her fishy, scaly hands and she turned back into her human form. Marina was calm within seconds.
“This story doesn’t have a happily ever after or a prince,” stated Marina. “Let me explain: this story was a Siren’s story, passed down by my kin for generations. It was eventually passed on to humans. This is how it goes:
“It was a time long ago when every person was living in harmony. Like today, there were many people but hardly any creatures of myth living in this castle that was also a city within. Traders trading, hunters hunting, peasants working, merchants collecting, fishermen fishing, and the royal family doing royal things; the average life just like today’s life.
“However, in years’ time, the city castle eventually fell into greed and anger. Everyone became drunk; they started fighting over priceless items, gambling over land, selling ladies into slavery, abusing the children like rats, and the royalty becoming greedy themselves. But there was a princess who tried to bring the city to its former glory.
“As the castle city fell into a chaotic place, a monster of ice came from deep within the surrounding mountains, crawling out of the dirt like a worm. This monster was called an Ice Serpent, a distant relative of the Sea Serpents and the only of its kind. The Ice Serpent attacked the city where no guards were present to defend and killed the king and the queen. The Ice Serpent held the princess captive. And in one icy blast that didn’t kill, the people living within the city castle were cast out like the people today did with the Sirens.
“Giving into despair, the people left and mysteriously disappeared; leaving the castle city and the princess captive by the Ice Serpent that guards the castle by mountains of ice. And through time, the voice, which was just like the voice we just heard, was her voice calling out to someone, to anyone to come to her rescue and kill the Ice Serpent that holds her as its prisoner.
“And that is where the story ends,” concluded Marina.
“The ending is ambiguous, Galvin,” said Flavius. “There are many, many theories of what happens after the story. Some say the princess was to be held by the Ice Serpent for all time.”
“Other say she died, lives as a ghost, her ghostly voice calls out to her rescuer to came to her aid and be placed to rest in the afterlife with her deceased parents,” said Wonomi.
“And others say she’s still alive,” said Marina. “Calling out for help, for she and the Ice Serpent are still out there. She’s to remain alive as long as that Ice Serpent lives because there is a bond they both share that won’t leave this world as long as they both live. There are many more theories of what happens after the story ends.”
The sound cried out again, but it was quieter and fainter and clearer than the last time. This instead of a cry for help; it was a name being called. The voice faintly said: Vaeludar.
Vaeludar was shaken up when his name was being called by the mysterious voice. He got up to his dragon feet. His wings whipped wide open, curvedly folded. His hands were clenched into fists.
The voice called out his name more faintly, and this made everyone and the Griffin stand up.
“Did that just call your name?” asked Wonomi.
It happened four more times within a range of ten seconds.
Vaeludar stood emotionless.
“Vaeludar?” said Marina, touching his left wing. “Vaeludar, are you alright?”
“I am alright,” said Vaeludar. “Men, it seems this tale is true. Since this tale happens to be told by the Sirens, then these events were witnessed by Sirens. For a story to be told by any man or creature there must be witnesses to watch these certain events. Believe me when I say, the Sirens were from the northern parts of the island and that means they saw the Ice Serpent with their own eyes.”
“That would make sense then,” said Flarefur, “for a tale to be told.”
“This princess must either be a ghost or still alive by a spell, waiting for me,” continued Vaeludar. “It seems that Ralenskrit and Belverda may have gone to the place where we are going: to the castle where the princess was held. In the meantime, get some sleep. I’ll take first watch for the night.”
Vaeludar sprung into the air and landed on a high point of a rocky wall. For the rest of the night, he kept his watch for any dangers lurking in the night.
WALKING IN THE MOUNTAINS
V
aeludar stared to a bitter, dull dawn; the sun’s light was so dull that it couldn’t shine through a darkened sky or reflect its brightness in a fantastic pink horizon. Instead, Vaeludar saw a blank sunrise with a dark sky and dried up clouds. With the dull dawn arriving, Vaeludar knew the time had come to get going.
He walked to the spot where he left the sword and sat down. He pulled out the sword for a quick glance at the mysterious cloud inside. The glow sparked in Vaeludar’s hybrid eyes. In the blade, Vaeludar could see a large portion of a tall-squared building with four towers built on the four corners. Three were coned towers and the floor was flat, which would be for watch guards. It was in a flat valley with black burnt mountains with some trees in green. Then the imag
e faded within the cloud.
That had to be the Lost Castle, but I can’t say for certain, he thought.
Vaeludar sheathed the weapon back in its scabbard. As his right hand slid the sword in, he hung it to his back again and tied the strings around his chest. Making sure it was good and tight, Vaeludar straightened out the strings in a tie that would not be undone.
After he had finished tying down the sword to his body, Vaeludar swung his body around and made sure the sword wouldn’t fall from him. He had found it was a magic sword, and a rare one at that. If he were to lose the magic sword, he would never be able to find a replacement. This was a lifetime opportunity to wield such a powerful weapon, and he didn’t want to lose such a magnificent weapon.
He stood up and walked to the camp. He saw everyone still sleeping, except Flavius, being the only person up. Vaeludar didn’t see Marina anywhere upon the campsite, which meant she was out someplace else and wondering what mountain territory they were in. He saw Flavius waking everyone else up.
It seems we’re off to a slow start this morning, thought Vaeludar. I’d better help in a sudden awakening or we’ll end up taking all day to get ready to travel.
Then Vaeludar whipped his tail into the ground loudly like a lightning bolt striking from the ground from a thundering rainstorm. The noise was loud and sent quite a shockwave into the ground. The ground shook quite a bit and suddenly went back to normal.
This sound and little weak earthquake awoke his companions from their sleeping and drew them to their feet. The unexpected noise and earth tremor caused them to form lazy kidlike soldier-ready battle stances. Even Flavius drew out his sword ready for battle.
Then they all stared at Vaeludar who said, “No need for battle, soldiers. I caused your rude morning awakening. I think it’s time to eat and head out.”
“Just when I was having a good dream,” complained Wonomi.
Galvin and Monico were the only ones who shook their heads in disbelief. Flavius only glared at the hybrid that did his job for him.
Remembering the Griffin, Vaeludar saw Flarefur eating off a bone and didn’t pay any attention to Vaeludar’s rude awakening. The Griffin didn’t seem to care what the hybrid did to wake the others; it paid more attention to its breakfast than to anyone else. And right beside the Griffin was Marina nibbling on a small fish.
After some time, Vaeludar’s companions were eating their fill of breakfast. Vaeludar himself ate some honey-glazed meat he thought would be best for him. The claws of Vaeludar’s left wing held the meat he was eating. It was half an hour before they finished their big breakfast of meats. Now their stomachs were filled and their stamina was at the fullest potential.
“Great! We all had our fill of food, and now let’s get going before the day runs out,” ordered Vaeludar, tossing the chicken bone. “And I do mean now.”
Vaeludar waved his hand forward like a sergeant waving his hand at his soldiers to move forward. He wanted to move out quickly before any danger came running into them. They were in uncharted territory and they had no idea what they’ll find out in the great wilderness of the mountains that border the land of the south and the unknown land of the north.
As he was inspecting the others, Marina came walking to him. The Siren was armed with a bow in hand and she was ready to do some hunting. However, she came walking to see Vaeludar with an emotionless face.
“What is it, Marina?” asked Vaeludar.
“I don’t feel alright about this place. I mean, it looks too plain and evil for just any travelers to go about. It doesn’t feel right.”
“Some things never feel right. We must start travelling as early as possible and cover as much ground as we can by day. By night, that’s when enemies will be lurking about. We are traveling to the north to find whatever this armor artifact is and get back here as soon as possible.”
“Are you sure we must?”
Vaeludar looked at Marina with a stern look. This face meant it was going to be a “yes” from the hybrid leading the expedition. Then he looked away and walked passed the siren archer. “We move out now. Flarefur, you know the way to the river, lead on.”
The Griffin nodded his head and walked ahead of everybody.
The day came and went by that fast while everyone was walking and not flying. While Flarefur was ahead, everyone followed behind. They followed Flarefur past two mountain passes in very steep trenches where everyone, expect for Vaeludar who climbed with his wings, had to walk very slowly. After passing through the trenches, they had to go through the high elevations of two tall mountains. They were pathways Vaeludar thought were trade routes once upon a time before being abandoned.
The air in those parts was breathable but very, very thin. This slowed their walking tremendously. They had to stop every ten minutes or thirty if they were lucky they have the strength to walk. Even Vaeludar and the Griffin couldn’t breathe that easily. They had to walk slowly in the high passes for four hours or four-and-a-half hours before descending downwards on another trading path.
They took a two-hour long break on a flat ground of a mountainside. They ate almost one bagful of meat. Flavius carried two bags of meat, along with the bag of wood, and one of them was toasted off. Wonomi carried three bags of fruit that no one was eating. Everyone else was carrying light loads, except for Vaeludar and Marina who toured the capital city instead of looking for supplies for the trip.
After they were well fed with meat and with no fruit or vegetables in their stomachs, they rested for an hour-and-a-half. After sleeping for that long, with Marina staying up for the time, they woke up to the sound of the female voice calling out Vaeludar’s name.
Vaeludar and his companions followed the Griffin, and this time they were making a lot of ground. Since the break passed noon, they walked for three hours straight on the shallow sides of smaller mountains there were big rocks and rounded boulders.
As they took another break on flat ground, Vaeludar ordered Flarefur to find the river again. The Griffin flew off in search of the river again, and this time he flew from a lower altitude than up high; there was a strong wind gushing from the northwest that made the Griffin fly closer the mountain-ground.
Hours had passed and a sunset had a grimly, eerie feeling. The clouds were red and the sky was purple, with a very small hint of blue sapphire. The horizon of mountain was even farther than what Vaeludar’s dragon eyes could see. It was no wonder why people got lost and were never seen again: the terrain of mountains stretches across the land of the mile and more so on. The entire mountain range he and the group were crossing was the mountain border that divides what lies to the north and the known territory to the south. There were a few mountain ranges that didn’t go onward for several dozen miles, but this mountain range did.
Marina, Flavius, Wonomi, Monico, and Galvin grunted with exhaustion. They covered a lot of ground in a day, but they still had more ground to cover and more walking and rock-stumbling to do.
During their rest, Flarefur returned to the break site of the resting companions. “I couldn’t find the river because a fog is coming,” said Flarefur.
“How far away is the fog?” asked Vaeludar.
“Only a few hours away, but I managed to find some ruins of some kind. A village in other words. I didn’t pick up any sight of any people, so the village must have been abandoned for a long time. If we hurry, we might be able to take shelter there.”
“How far is this abandon village?”
“It is only a two-hour walk long if we can make it there. We can rest there until the fog lifts overhead and fades. If we hurry, we can make it to this village long before the fog covers our view and we’ll be exposed. And I don’t want to find out what happens when the fog hits.”
Vaeludar was exhausted already. He looked at the others who wary of their tiring travel in the air they were breathing. And worse yet, a fog is coming their way, which would mean they would have limited visibility. With his hybrid ey
es, Vaeludar had trouble seeing in fogs that suddenly came to Geraldus village.
And he could guess another reason why travelers never came back: a fog that comes from out of nowhere. He wouldn’t want to be one of the many people that disappeared in the fog and be lost forever in a fog.
He needed them to keep going even if they were in an exhausted state. Once they got to this village, they could take a break and rest up. And when the fog lifted, they would have already regained their strength to walk once again. Also, it could mean they will sleep during the night, even more time to regain what they lost and reset their walking in the morning.
“Can anyone still walk?” asked Vaeludar.
“We can,” said Wonomi and Monico.
“I can’t,” said Flavius.
“I can walk all night if I need to,” said Galvin.
“I definitely cannot,” said Marina.
The people in the king’s army could still march onward, but the people Vaeludar the hybrid personally knew could not keep walking onward. He thought Galvin, Wonomi, and Monico come from a military force and train extensively everyday of their lives. He didn’t think much of Flavius since he mostly watches over the twin boys and of Marina since she was a Siren and Sirens’ muscles were so crude like human muscle.
“Flarefur, is it possible you can carry both Marina and Flavius?” asked Vaeludar.
“I can carry the two people who need carrying but the others who don’t need any carrying can walk on their own,” answered Flarefur.
Vaeludar nodded and looked back at Flavius and Marina. Both of them were sitting on the ground breathing softly. He walked over to help Marina. He saw her legs were showing red veins on her skin; he guessed it meant her leg muscles were too stiff to move. Without question, he lifted her up with his own two hands.
“Whoa! What are you doing?” asked Marina. She was caught by surprise like a fish swimming away from a giant shark. She was startled the moment she was picked up and she found herself being carried like a princess.
