Chapter 42-André’s last words
They told the Sphinx to land on the lawn next to the group, he smiled and graciously did so, but of course he had to make a spectacular entrance, so he flew high into the sky and then like a small lightning bolt he tucked his wings and flew downward at breakneck speed, and just when the twins decided that he was going too fast to stop, his wings flew outward stopping them with a powerful jerk. How the Sphinx could withstand the force on his wings, the brothers didn’t know, but nevertheless, the sheer awe of his entrance did not escape them, so they carried themselves proudly on the great beast.
After his talons touched the ground, they alighted from his back and strode towards the large group who were all gazing dumbly at the two of them, and more importantly, the enormous animal behind them. Irgen and Idus waited for someone to speak, but to no avail, finally Irgen broke the silence:
“Father you wouldn’t mind healing our Sphinx’s talons would you?” André looked taken aback at this outlandish request, but he nodded and strode boldly forward with his staff to the side of the Sphinx, and quickly healed his wounds. Then he straightened up and asked:
“So I take it the two of you found out what was in the last tower?”
“Umm yeah…He was!” Idus said with a flourish as he lifted his arms as though to showcase the great beast behind him. “But I want to know what we missed while we were on our little adventure.” He added softly.
“What you missed?” André mused silently to himself, “Well it seems that the Fire clan has declared war on Water. This morning these two messengers reached me saying that Atlantis is besieged, and that young blonde messenger over there has brought the message that as long as we don’t show any sign of hostilities towards them, the Air clan, they will stay neutral. It is a ploy by the corrupt leaders of the Fire clan to allow the Tenebri time to regroup, while we are busy playing with fire, but it is a good one, because we all must leave and your training is hereby suspended, perhaps indefinitely… I see that you have figured out Xenophon’s riddle, I will say that now would be a wonderful time to get your staffs.
War is upon us, Helen and this young scout from the Air clan will go with you. You must hurry. Soon, sides will be chosen for each of us. I don’t know if I really trust the young woman, but Alex trusts her and says she will do. And I trust Alex’s instincts. We ride to war! You must pack your things and go!” He paused and lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear him,
“You remember Xenophon’s prophecy, I fear that I will not see the two of you again,” his voice began to break; “it seems I may be robbed of the opportunity to be your father. This past year was a time that I had long awaited, and I hope that you will find it in yourselves to forgive me because it would appear that fate is calling me on.” He stopped and his normal courageous face was replaced with a look of pure pity. He swallowed and took a deep breath before looking back up into the savagely blue sky. A tear broke from his fiery eyes as he gasped again with sorrow. Finally he looked down again. Irgen and Idus stared into those sad blue depths and suddenly something happened which they had not felt before. Something tugged at each of their hearts, and it was as if they were being woven tightly together. For that one moment, as they gazed into each others’ eyes, they felt at peace. A father knew his sons, and sons finally knew their father. The feeling was overpowering, never had they felt such love. They were finally a family. André closed his eyes contemplatingly before speaking:
“Do not fear, as Xenophon said, death is a road unto itself. We all must one day travel it, and it is not the end, no…no my sons it is a grand beginning, but my sons I must leave you with this word of council. You are never alone so long as the Knights exist. You are respected here and here you will always find friends, but I do not think it lies in your path to---at the very least start as one. Once you get your staffs, I advise you to join one of the clans, perhaps that is the only way to truly unite the order, by once again splitting the family that started this war.
I also give you one last piece of wisdom. In the event of my death, go to Thomas, he is your uncle and my brother. I was the oldest and as such gained the name of Tuerl, but my parents did not want that for him, so they gave him the name Blackington hoping to hide his true identity. We are the last of the descendants of Perseus. There are more instructions which only we know that still need to be passed on to you, but now is not the time. Now go, your armor is waiting for you inside the castle.” He reached forward and hugged his sons, before he turned and yelled to the Knights on the ground, and as he did so his armor changed from soft white to a stunning blue.
“Knights! We ride to war!” As he said this, a great whinnying was heard and out of the sky came the thundering hooves of a herd of horses. A dazzlingly black stallion broke from the clouds above them and landed with a crash and a whinny next to André, he jumped on it, and yelled as he thrust his heels into the horse’s side.
“Go forward my sons, and fear no evil!!! I will always be with you! And never forget that you are MY SONS!” His yell seemed to echo off of the mountains behind them, as he rode into the sky. Behind him followed their other trainers, with their mother shouting and waving a goodbye, leaving the twins, Helen, the blonde scout, and the Sphinx staring up into the bright afternoon sky.
When the noise of the Knights’ leaving faded into the distance, Irgen and Idus went forward and introduced themselves to the young blonde girl. As they did so, they found that she was gorgeous. Her bright blue eyes had an entrancing feel to them. Her bright blonde hair cascaded gently down her slender back, accentuating her shapely, sloping shoulders. Her gray armor emanated its own alluring light only adding to her stunning figure. They quickly found out that her name was Angela and she was 17. Idus seized the occasion quickly by saying with characteristic flair upon hearing her name:
“It’s a pleasure to finally make the acquaintance of an angel of the sky.” Irgen and Helen rolled their eyes at the corny greeting, but it made Angela smile so at the very least Idus had established a name for being “cute”.
After greeting them, they went and showed them their Sphinx, and now, they even bothered to ask him his name, to which he responded that his name was Lasante. After the introductions, the brothers decided it was time to go and see just what armor their father had left them. They entered the castle and went up to their dormitories, and there found a blazing red suit of armor for Irgen, and a shining silver one with white stripes slashing through it like lightning for Idus. As the brothers touched them, the armor came to life and wrapped itself flawlessly around both of them. Just then Irgen gulped as he remembered his dream from ages ago, and he remembered the feeling of this armor then, and it felt the same. He feared that his dream was coming true. Once they had their armor on, they went back downstairs and met the girls, before heading back out to Lasante and mounted him, two horses flew through the sky for the girls. As they rose to leave the now empty castle, Irgen asked:
“Well Lasante, does the White Citadel seem to have changed much?” He answered quietly,
“No, it does not seem to have aged in the slightest, but the glory of the brothers is gone from it, it used to be a sparkling wonder to see. It will be up to the two of you to restore it.” And with that they embarked in their quest for the staffs, and for hopeful glory.
The Brothers Tuerl & The Staffs of Zeus Page 43
