"My lady, now that the immortality bracelet is in our hands, I don't think we can awaken the sixteen beads on it as soon as possible. We were both wounded and weakened," the master of the Northern Coast, Ariah, valley laid pitifully on the feet of Purple Smoke, there was a streak of blackish blood on one corner of her pale mouth.
Purple Smoke used her to trigger the mechanisms inside the royal graveyard. How unlucky she would be if she didn't give all her best to avoid those poisoned arrows! But she couldn't even consider herself lucky, one light, scratch from those is dreadful enough to claim her life within just three days. Now she felt hopeless. She thought maybe it's her fate to die in useless. Purple Smoke was now sitting on the seat which was supposed to be hers, proudly with her chin held high. Right after they arrived from their quest to find the immortality bracelet, Purple Smoke shamelessly took her seat and she couldn'tThe moonless night was silent and serene. The stars were twinkling above the vast darkness of the sky. There were no other visible light in the darkness except for the burning bonfires dancing on the calm blow of the night's breeze. King Astius and his men together with the senior trainee soldiers were resting inside their tents in the middle of the plains on the foot of Green Cone Mountain. Well, except for those who were on the night watch.The journey down the rocky trails of the mountain made them and their horses exhausted so they decided to rest for the night and continue their way back to Noartias which was half a thousand miles away. As the night went late, the night watch soldiers also felt their need to sleep but it was their duty so they have no choice but to stay on their post. They wouldn't want to embarrass themselves especially that the king was with them tonight. "Man, my bladder's about to burst. I really nee
"I told you I'm not your enemy, your majesty," the dark cloaked thief mumbled as she fell to the dusty ground, gripping the wounded part with the broken half of the sword on it. King Astius firm belief was troubled. He was stunned for a moment. If this is just a show, why would she save him? 'Well, what if they're just doing it to make their show realistic?' the other side of his brain argued. Méah quickly fell after her, aiming to kill her on her vulnerable state. She quickly took her sword and directed it to Méah. However, she suddenly felt weak. She could feel the coldness of the night consuming her whole body as she loses the rosy pink glow of her face. Her grip on the the sword's hilt loosened as her vision doubled. She hopelessly watched the sword fell out of her grasp. Méah's broken sword glimmered before her eyes, eager to claim her life. She was about to close her eyes when the glimmer
Soartias is a prosperous and unrivaled kingdom of the south. It is surrounded by massive mountains, which made it hard for bandits, thieves and anyone with bad intention to enter easily. The City of Kelf is where the stunning and jaw-dropping palace stood proudly in the middle of the plains of Saortias. However, it is ruled by cruelty and greed for money and power. King Marcellus is indeed a great king but not until her wife died and he was completely consumed by his ambitions, forgetting humanity and kindness to his people. Asking excess taxes to everyone–rich or indigent, and constructing laws that didn't only keep every person under his control but also reducing their choices and rights to live accordingly–are the most evident of his cruelty, for the reason that he have to invest more for the kingdom's defense and weapons, thus, collecting almost every penny to do those who can give and to discipline his people. King Marcellus isn't on
There was a dead silence for a moment which lingered the temperate atmosphere. It is almost noon but the weather is neither hot nor cold. The sun was supposed to scorching at this hour but the not-so-thick, grayish clouds concealed it just enough to prevent a prevent a person from perspiring a lot. While the lukewarm breeze brushed across their troubled faces, the nearby trees made their dance to its gentle caress on their branches, detaching a few golden brown leaves. "What have you done, your highness! Reckless as ever!" King Marcellus was thrilled with his anger. But Prince Anouk just laughed at him in disgust and asked him innocently, "Why? Aren't we supposed to kill every enemy who dared to step on our land? And besides, what's so special about this miserable old git?" While they were engaged with such conversation, Doctor Bai broke into a wicked laughter. They were stupefied for a second as they breathe out
The grayish clouds from up above had vanished slowly, releasing the restrained, scorching brilliance of the giant ball of fire. Doctor Bai drove the horse faster as soon as he climbed on its back. He could see the views from afar dancing briskly like they're flaming due to the humid weather. Despite this burning hell, he still managed to spot something running ahead of him. Although it was too little to see what is it, he knew it was the King Marcellus riding on his horse. He yelled at his horse to run even faster than before. He managed to close the gap between his prey. As he drew nearer and nearer, it was only then he noticed that the one he followed was just a horse and a sack of hay on his back of which the king's silver armour was wrapped around it, making it look more like the king. But he's sure this horse belongs to one of the king's men by the armour it wore on it's back and forehead. He's being fooled
It didn't take much time for Doctor Bai to barge into the palace. With the help of the scent of blood, he successfully found King Marcellus' lair. After making the thick wooden door of the king's chamber explode into tiny pieces with just an easy blow of a single leg, everyone in the room became alerted. He didn't expect that the room was too spacious and wide and luxurious, accomodating almost two hundred soldiers. It is no doubt that King Marcellus had been expecting him to come. These armed soldiers quickly surrounded him. Their hands trembled uncontrollably the moment they saw his glowing eyes, that their throats dried out from intense nervousness but not even taking several gulps could take it away. From that alone, they already knew that he was no human anymore. King Marcellus had warned them about this but they still had doubts whether it's true or not because there is a saying that 'to see is to believe'. Nowadays, news about
"Your highness, it's you." Once Ferlah opened her eyes, they were greeted with Prince Zaeius' worried eyes. "Where am I?" Prince Zaeius just nodded. His arms were crossed on his chest while standing beside her bed. "You're here in the royal palace's guest house. How are you feeling now? You've been asleep for a day." The moment she heard those words, she suddenly remembered Méah. Is she doing alright? "Where is Méah?" she eagerly asked him, rising herself from lying on the bed into a sitting position. "Hmm. Why don't you see her yourself?" Prince Zaeius heaved a deep sigh and lose the light in his eyes as he turned to the open window beside Ferlah's bed. Ferlah carefully pulled herself up, avoiding to exert more strenght on her injured thigh. As she drew nearer by the window, she wondered why the prince acted like that. But as soon as she finally had the perfect view of the backyard garden, she could only see nothing but rectangular mounds which appea
When Ferlah arrived at the royal palace's guest house, she just passed by on her own room and weny directly to Méah's room. She didn't bother to knock because it won't work. The moment Ferlah opened the door on Méah's room, she saw her sleeping on the floor instead of her bed. There were only just few things found inside Méah's room aside from her metal bed and the soft, white mattress spread neatly above it and a pillow and a quilt, a single closet stood against the wall just a meter away from Méah's feet if she would sleep on the bed. Well, the reason why the room appeared boringly, was an acceptable reason. She would just break anything if she would suffer the attacks from her illness again any way. Méah looked so tired and was in deep sleep; her small body curled to one side facing the door. Ferlah's heart broke seeing how miserable Méah has become. It's been a long time since she had last seen her and she could tell that she had lose
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