As Tarah advanced closer to her destination, the paths that she was taking was also getting darker–not only darker but at the same time it also became narrower. The path was in between two towering cliffs that looked like a deep crack, dividing the mountain into halves if seen from afar. As Tarah walked on this path, she was feeling unearthly nips crawling on her skin, making the tiny hairs on it stood up straight. The gentle brush of cold air seeped through the loose cloak that she was wearing, making it appear like a cloth canopy filled with air. The aroma of the sea breeze mixed with the serenity of the night sent crisp chills throughout her airways once it entered her nares. After a few minutes, Tarah arrived in front of magnificent stone gate. She pushed it carefully, opening it just enough for her small figure to fit through and then locked it before leaving. Tarah was now heading toward the next door about ten yards away from the gat
It was a quiet morning. The warm, golden rays of sunshine flashed through the gigantic windows of the eastern part of the fortress. New hope has come. However, this doesn't apply to those who have been deprived of it–those who have their tomorrows tied to dead end. King Marcellus and his two remaining men were brought to the hall by Doctor Bai after spending the whole night in the dark dungeon of the fortress filled with filth. Except King Marcellus, these two was shaking in fear of what's to come. A king never shivers even when facing death. He would be glad to die with them and for the people. But... He's not going to die on a foreign land especially on the enemy's hands. He had thought it through the night. Though if granted, he will never be the same again. This time, it would be a battle from within. Suddenly, the door opened and Purple Smoke was poised to enter with her chin held high. If someone hasn't seen her
Ferlah just arrived back at the Beggar's Town. The moment that stepped a foot on this place caused a stir on the unforgettable nightmares that she had went through. Seeing this place again was like she's seeing a colorless world. Even though the streets were so busy and bustling, she couldn't feel its spirit. Beggars aligned on the sidewalks with their hungry and shaking hands asking for alms. The worst was they didn't even get to have what they asked but ended up getting a far more different thing–being loathed by the majority and being pitifully beaten to death. For Ferlah, this place was not only named Beggar's Town just because it resembles the majority of the people living on it, but because it was a place of suffering where all kinds of bad and illegal things could be found. Life here was colorless. The rich keeps getting rich and the poor were stuck to being poor. Luckily, there were not too many children in
This place never fails to give goosebumps to everyone who heard its name. But for Ferlah, this has to be the safest place for them to hide for now. "Let's go inside. For sure they won't stop looking for us." Ferlah walked first ahead of the young man. However, the young man didn't move. He was sweating even more that the streaks of hair falling down unto his face were soaked. His face was looked like he had seen a ghost. "Come on. Why aren't you moving? Are you going to chose death than being with the dead?" Ferlah said and turned behind her upon noticing the young man didn't follow her. The young man suddenly walked towards her with long strides with keen eyes travelling around the surrounding as though he was afraid that someone might come out of nowhere or someone might be spying on them. He had come to a conclusion that he would rather be with the dead while he was alive than dying and being with them in the other wo
When they arrived at the gate, they hid for a while to observe the surrounding if ever someone was nearby spying on them. After for like five minutes of waiting, they concluded that no one's around and it was now safe for them to move forward. Still careful as they have been, the sneaked through more narrow alleys which according to the young man was less crowded most of the time. So far, nothing happened. But still they have to pass the last one at the end of maze like alleys. This one was the closest to the shore. Before they entered the last alley, they planned to just walk and act normally while simply observing around to avoid looking suspicious. Taking a deep breath, they mande a turn on the left. Once they arrived at the entrance, the sea breeze mixed with dust greeted them, filling their nostrils. The stone walls stood sturdy in both sides enclosing the alley, were old and gray with minimal cracks marked on its rough surface. As w
The storm has calmed down. Tarah was thankful that she haven't set off to sail through the sea for her journey to find the guardian and warn Eastias and Noartias about the incoming doom. If she had sailed in the middle of the storm, there's a huge possibility that the sea would swallow her dead. However, if only the person who set her up for this journey allowed her to take the land, she wouldn't risk herself travelling through water as it is far more dangerous. When she was at the last of the stone stairs down the shore, she take a look at narrow pathway in the middle of the mountain. She couldn't see the small cottage where she stayed with the woman because it was enclosed with mountains and huge rock formations which made it a perfect hiding place. The woman insisted to see her off but she didn't let her because she was too weak to walk through the rough, rocky pathways especially that it was in a zigzagging, downward d
Tarah couldn't fathom the fear that she was feeling right now. She wanted to run but her knees remained buried on the sand. It was like her body never get tired of the extreme feeling that had stayed with her for almost an hour. Until now, it felt like it hasn't calmed down a little. Instead, it got even worst, depriving her to relax for a second. The giant octopus was gone now. But how come there were these two people coming towards her? Where did they came from? As far as she can remember, she was all alone after the giant octopus gobbled down the woman she saved from drowning. No one knows. Suddenly, Tarah's vision darkened and the world spinned before her eyes. Coldness enveloped her whole body and seeped deeper into her bones. She froze. Her heartbeat was gradually skipping until it gave her shortness of breath. With a few more gasps of air, her spine and extremities felt wobbly, sending numbness throughout every nerve endings of her body. Before she knew it, the darkness had
Right when Master Ariah sat on the edge of her bed, she suddenly felt a huge lump on her throat. It was making her feel threw up as it was blocking her windpipe. And an urge to let it out made her cough heavily. As soon as she coughed, she covered her mouth with the handkerchief that she was still in her position after they went inside her room from the table. "Master!" Tarah exclaimed in too much concern while her eyes began to tear up. She was holding her on one of her shoulder. And then looked at Ferlah with begging eyes. "What should I do?"Ferlah stopped caressing Master Ariah's back and took her pulse. But just as she was about to check it, Master Ariah removed the handkerchief from her mouth. And everyone was panic-stricken when they saw too much amount of dark blood on it. "Dark frost poison..." Ferlah said out of her mind, surprised and at the same time shocked. This kind of poison was rare to find. And she wondered how Master Ariah found it. "How long has it been since she
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