King Ambrose was enjoying the the mesmerising morning view out the window where his bed lies next to. While being flooded with random thoughts, he came to a realization that he had two near death experience in just one month. He still couldn't fathom the fact that the feared history is really going to happen. The ancient history that turned into a legend and then to myth until only a few remained to believe its existence. And now those who do not believe will have to ponder hard on their thoughts. But whether they believe it or not, nothing escapes from what was written on the ancient prophecy. "Here it is. The book that I am telling you about. I found this before the royal library was renovated. It was supposed to be burnt along with the trash since it looks so old and torn. I guess my love for books saved it." Queen Jiyanah's voice captured King Ambrose's attention. When he turned around, her saw her with a book covered in thick, brown paper. She then sat on the edge of the bed.
"What is it mother?" Princess Jiyanah interestedly asked. "I have meditation books in the royal library. It will help Méah to learn to control her thoughts and emotions." Queen Jainah simply glanced at Méah. "Chah, get those books here now," she said to Chah. "Yes, your majesty." Chah bowed and left place as soon as possible. Méah did not expect for the queen to do this. She have known that the queen disliked her in the first place and had built a wall between them. And now, she somehow felt like the queen had loosen up towards her. But whether Méah liked the queen's idea of helping her or not, she would still have to acknowledge her and appreciate it for the sake of respect. "Thank you, your majesty. I gladly appreciate it," Méah said, sincere and serious. Queen Jainah just nodded once lightly at Méah. But her face was still the same–cold and serious. "Oh, by the way, mother," Princess Jiyanah interrup
"Are you sure you're going to be fine?" Princess Jiyanah asked Méah with worried eyes. "I don't know. But I will try to be," Méah replied honestly. "I don't know why mother have to do this to you." Princess Jiyanah sighed at Méah's answer. Of course she couldn't help not to worry about her. "Don't worry too much. I will make sure to carry out this task successfully," Méah assured the princess because from the looks of her, she's stressfully worried. "Alright." The princess nodded lightly at her. She then turned to the group of a hundred soldiers behind her. "Listen everyone. Whatever happens, you are not to leave your brothers. You have to stick with each other. Together you will stand strong. The fight of one is the fight of all," she told them to remind them and of course to make sure they won't abandon Méah if something happens on their way knowing that some of them might still have the influence of the queen's past plan which was to lea
"Those two outside your tent were Roy's trusted men. Her highness had been suspicious on them the moment the news broke that you are going to be the new general instead of Roy. I did not believe it at first but when I saw them look at sharply during the dinner, I was convinced that her highness's suspicion was true. It might sound ridiculous to you since I know how strong you are and need no one to defeat a whole army of enemy but her highness told me to kind of watch over you for her. She was too worried about you," Vlad explained. Sweats rolled down Méah's forehead. Her whole face was now glistening and damp with sweat. She just realized that feeling when she saw them at the entrance of the tent awhile ago indeed meant something. It was her fault for letting it slip off her mind, thinking that it could be just because of her tiredness. "I actually felt something weird when I saw them earlier," Méah revealed. "Thank you for informing me." "No need t
"General!" Vlad cried as he froze when the sharp, cold edge of the dagger touched the skin on his neck. His chest was pumping rapidly as he chased his breath. There drops of sweat dropping off his forehead down. He could feel his hands grew sweaty cold and shaking. Méah automatically turned to Vlad's call for help. But when she felt the man under her feet move, she stepped harder on him as she pushed the sword closer to the skin on his neck–one move and the blade will pierce through it. "Don't try to do anything stupid!" She yelled at him, slowing panicking from the inside. The man just scowled at her. "General! Help me!" Vlad pitifully begged Méah. Méah couldn't think properly at this moment. How will she be able to help Vlad when she was also had someone to deal with at the same? If she goes to save him right away, the man will surely escape. And so she have no choice anymore. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to gather all her strength.
The day faded into dusk and the stars began twinkling above the moonless stars. The melodies from the night creatures mingled with the soft brush of the waves on the shore. The blow of the breeze grew colder as the night fell darker, giving more icy chills on the skin rather than its usual soft, gentle caress. Three men hid behind the gigantic rocks near the shore; each were carrying sharp swords on their waists. One had age struck him at its finest though still stood mighty and strong whilst the other two were twice younger than him. They watched as the lonely, white fortress disappeared before the vast view of the ocean ahead. After it was concealed by the darkness after the sun had sunken down, a light broke into one of the window at the center tower that faced the vast grounds. And then it spread to the bridge which connected the eastern and western towers. But that wasn't all of it, on top of the center tower, a much more blinding light poured out as though
"Stay back," Bo whispered to them younger ones and motioned his hand to keep a far distance from him. Keir and Prince Zaeius did as they were told and prepared their swords. Bo felt the coldness of the iron doorknob crawl throughout his palm as soon as he touched it. However, he still bravely turned it clockwise to open it. They held their breath as soon as they heard it clicked. Bo pushed it slowly into a tiny opening just enough for him to see what was going on inside. To his confusion, he didn't see anything but a pitch black room, not even a single dot of light along with its eternal silence. But they were sure they had seen a flash of purple light earlier. Bo looked at the two behind him who was also trying to take a peek inside. "I think we were cheated on," he said to them seriously. "But rather, we have to play along with this trick. Come." Bo slipped inside silently first and the two followed after sharing a confused look. They c
"Ferlah!" Prince Zaeius ran towards her. Keir and Bo followed him from behind. Ferlah was chasing her breath as her vision was threatened to get covered with black patches. Her purplish mouth gaped half open on her pale face, trying to breathe more air. "Ferlah, hang on! Take this!" Keir sat down beside the prince as he offered her a pill of pain reliever from his pocket. Ferlah struggled to swallow it in so Keir held her head up and she finally manage to do so. She couldn't utter a word anymore as she felt her tongue froze from the pain that was attacking her entire body to the bones. After Keir had gently put back Ferlah's head on the floor, blood began pooling underneath her. She was heavily wounded by the arrows on her tentacles. Though she had pulled out all the arrows with her power, it still cannot save her from being critical. For the arrows were poisoned by a purple poison, a poison that only Purple Smoke have but not
The golden rays of the sun broke out through the thick, dark clouds that were slowly dissipating away. The sun sat above the golden capped mountains in the west, about a few minutes before it would rest from a long day of work. The bright light vanished and the small crystal ball fell on Keir's chest. Then it slowly disappeared as soon as it touched his skin. Kalen was greeted by the silence of the world. The thick fog was cleared and the sky was full of hope. But for him, it wasn't the same sky anymore. It was the sky of new life and new beginnings. He looked around and everyone was lying on the ground. There was no trace of Purple Smoke. But he recognised Méah's figure lying ahead of him for half a mile away by her clothes and armour. However, as much as he wanted to check on them, he would have to chose his brother first who was lying right next to him. But judging on Keir's injuries, Kalen decided not to touch him. The arro
"Useless!" Purple Smoke screamed in both fury and disappointment. She hated it when someone fails her and had a long history on it. To her anger, struck Méah with her palm on the chest. Méah flew a few yards away from where she stood. But she didn't complain. For Purple Smoke was her master and the only one who has the authority to do anything to her. She rolled on the ground for a couple times and spat out black blood. She was on knees but her face was still blank and didn't show any hint of pain. Purple Smoke faced Keir and the princess's body. Her vision quickly darkened. "Love. This is what love bring to people. What a pity. They're even willing to die because of it." She grinned. While she was feeling the moment of victory, she heard a swooshing blade coming from behind her. She quickly avoided it and saw Kalen. "Oh, another silly boy. But I like you already. You're braver than your brother." "I w
After they ran away and the battlefield was almost emptied, Purple Smoke was furious when she saw Méah kneeling on the ground, frozen like a statue. She couldn't believe a simple trick could affect Méah. "Come, my dear." Purple Smoke walked in front of Méah. She bent down and held Méah's chin up. Black and purple veins appeared on her neck down to her arms. Then all of it crawled into Méah's chin down to her neck, spreading towards her back. Her injuries were healed and the arrows were burnt into ashes. Méah stood up straight. "Avenge yourself. Kill them all. Kill." Purple Smoke whispered to her ears. "But first, I want you to do something." Then, Méah suddenly disappeared in Purple Smoke's eyes. She was now off to do what she's told to do. Purple Smoke burst into a boisterous laughter. But she eventually stopped when a loud blow of horn was caught in her ears. Among all the four kingdoms, only one would use horn
The three of them were in utter astonishment when they saw the enemies were swarming again. They had no idea where they came from but now they seemed stronger than those that they fought with earlier. King Astius shoulders dropped. At the other end, he saw the Deep Caves and everyone struggling to defend it. The enemies were about to break in. "What the hell! They're like locusts!" Keir cursed under his breath. Suddenly, they heard screams coming from behind them, the main gate from the city of Noartias. As they turned around, they saw the remaining of their soldiers, the war veterans and majority of Eastian soldiers who were assigned to defend the city. They were rushing to the battlefield, ready to give their life for the sake of the world. And then, they joined them to launch an attack on the battleground. Weapons clashed hard against each other. Some tasted flesh, blood and bones. Blood were splattered everywhere, leaving a crimsom
"Oh no! They're here! They're breaking in!" Queen Jainah cowered into the corner of the room in the royal underground where they were hiding. Princess Jiyanah sat down with her, arms snaked on one arm of her mother. King Ambrose wasn't there with them because he was out in the battlefield. Unlike Noartias, Eastias don't have any shelter like the Deep Caves but they have a vast underground shelter that they called as the Underground Shelter, enough to cater the whole kingdom's population. It has one entrance which can only be found in the secret chamber of the royal hall. The five exits extend in five directions away from the kingdom's borders. Four of it share the same distance while the other one was the longest which almost reaches the border's pf Noartias. King Zarduz was the first kingdom to surrender to Purple Smoke. Being named as the weakest, poor kingdom, King Zarduz chased the opportunity to get power, enough to purge a strong kingdom l
Ferlah brought King Astius to the Deep Caves. After that, she left back to the battlefield outside. More enemies were coming. They don't seem to decrease at all. The more of them die, the more of them come. Prince Zaeius and the mysterious woman in red were trying hard to defend the door of the shelter. General Kapono was defending the walls together with the rest of the soldiers since the enemies were trying to climb up through tall ladders. Seeing all of these, King Astius didn't think twice to carry out his responsibility. He climbed to where the archers were stationed on the walls. "Aim for the enemies! Kill them! Leave none of them alive!" He shouted. Upon seeing his presence, the soldiers' morale was boosted. Their spirits soared high and their hearts filled with hope. From afar, Ferlah could be seen battling alone. She couldn't risk to transform herself so that she won't get exhausted when it was time to go
When King Astius and the rest of the troops arrived at Noartias, they were flabbergasted by the army of the enemies flocking inside. Only a few of the war veterans were left standing, fighting bravely despite being outnumbered. King Astius was suddenly eaten by guilt. He blamed himself for not seeing the trap ahead of them which made him led the whole Noartian army into deception. The moment they stepped a foot inside the kingdom, the bloody clash began. The enemies looked like a swarm of locusts, attacking them in every possible way. There were clamours of death and courage as well as the shatters and clatters of weapons. Blood were spilled everywhere and the parched ground quenched its thirst through it. While King Astius was slaughtering the enemies, he suddenly remembered the prince. Fear struck him hard. He wished his son was safe in the royal underground as it was difficult to find. But judging from the prince's behaviour, he probably
"Méah!" With eyes closed, Prince Zaeius screamed in terror and sat up from his sleep without even knowing. He just had a horrible nightmare about Méah dying, covered in blood and vanishing into thin air. However, even though it was just a nightmare, he began to pray to himself that it would only remain as a nightmare. As his breathing slowly calmed down, the throbbing pain came raging from all over his body, starting to penetrate deeper into his senses. He let out a painful hiss with a twisted expression as he went weak and limp, slumping himself back into the soft mattress of his bed. An agonizing groan followed that made him shut his eyes in a tight manner. With this, it all came back to him. But despite after being rescued and seeing the woman he loved in that situation, the flashes of tortures that he had gone through in the hands of Purple smoke held a consistent spot in his memory. That no matter how hard he tried to set
The awaited dawn finally came. It was summer but the breeze, though it blew calm and gentle, felt like a touch of a blizzard's chill. Passing through the steep trails of well-tilled earth, forests, rivers and marshes, a couple of hundred thousand men set off from Noartias to the battlefield under the command of King Astius. This was the last number that he could bring with him. And not all of them were soldiers. Some were mere folks, men and women but brave and courageous, who voluntarily swore to protect their kingdom, their homes and their families. Every abled person in no particular age requirement were allowed to go to battle with them as long as they can walk at such distance and can ride on horses and fight with willingness. However, as he couldn't leave the kingdom and the people alone unguarded, he left this task to the war veterans of less than thirty thousand. Half of them guarded the kingdom with Kalen among them and Bek was told to stay with o