Chapter 12-1

Chapter 12-1

A loud scream is heard as Challo and Gartooth upon her back dives down among the warriors as they fight plucking them from the ground like sweet candy as she chews the heavenly flesh of man; finding the dark souls of man most inviting with each rip of its flesh that is torn between her glistening white teeth and smiling hearing the soft sounds of crunching bones as they move around the maw of her mouth.

Clouds of smoke rise from the ground as if in a dark fog as men fight with sword and staff alike among the fog. Earthworms and their companions the Acklrin beast with their masters riding upon their backs, some slain by the swords of light. Some ripped apart by the beast upon her wings. Like its companion, Gartooth swipes down upon the throng of soldiers slicing taking no notice or care for either side as they feed upon them.

Captain Drealin strikes hard and fast as he sends a band of arrows towards the beast only one finding its mark. Challo screams diving for the air as blood streams behind her as her beloved falls to the ground in a mist of the fight. Gartooth making his way back towards the stone mountains, but not before he tries to strike the head of Ferlin from his shoulders only wounding his horse as his eyes take notice of him before he dissipates into shadow once more to avoid being hurt too quickly.

Gartooth yells with a cold vengeance as his heartaches in pain for his wounded Challo who waits for him among the hidden cliffs in the mountains pass. Taking care of her injury’s and removes the arrow of light from her side.

Syneral Rigs lights the air with green streamers of light as it flashed blue than green and sparkles like little diamonds that light the sky as the last of his charging army jumps into action. Their staffs and swords mixing from behind the trees with their arrows taking flight with a soft sound of rushing wind as it passes and finding its mark with simple ease. Watching those made of shadow fall and dissipates, losing their form having to regenerate enough strength to reform again. He curses because they can, not seal the gate, to stop them from coming back, time and time again.

Syneral Rigs watches and waits as the signal fire is lit from the harvesters that it is now pulled in and the remainder of the army has now joined in the fight. Their steel goldenrod's and banners of light surround the dark army cornering them from their last retreat across the desolate plains of Galena. He nods to the generals as they take up the fight yelling “For victory for the light of freedom everlasting.”

Taking up the battle horn and blows it with sure power as at last the victory is theirs as he takes Ferlin the shadow warrior his prisoner disrupting his escape with his men with the last final blow, using his staff of power to prevent him from dissipating into smoke and returning to his master.

The death count low this time and the wounded nearly fill the tents overlapping the entree way of its opening flaps. The cries of men could be heard as they are tended and bandaged, boys crying for their father's as they lay dead upon the green slopped grass fields now stained with their blood. Syneral Rigs slowly walks grounds and now vacant and its dilapidated homes surveying the destruction of another town in his wake. “How many?” He asks somberly waiting for his Captains answer. 

Captain Drealin slowly looked up from the fields answered with a grievest sigh. “Fifteen dead and 35 wounded sir.” His words sounded cold against the warm air. “Sir the Whitmore’s have arrived and they are now attending to the more seriously wounded.”

“Any word on Jaydan and Glen?” Syneral Rigs asked his eyes never leaving the distant war-torn hillside.

“None sir, but I imagine we will soon… undergoing the assumed circumstances by the last report sir.” Captain Drealin replied as he rocked back and forth on his toes waiting for further orders.

“And our newly acquired prisoner?” He asked as he places his hands behind his back and begins to pace kicking the hard dirt with the end of his boot. He sighs with some relief seeing the same scout still alive thinking at least there is some good news a least that weighs out against the bad; reminding him of words once spoken in the chamber hall of light from an old friend now dead a century ago. “Has it been that long?” Thinking as he repeats the words of the sonnet he had once spoken.

Blood Rain

Are we not darkness that swells upon the heart, of mankind as we watch the blood rainfall from the sky? We see the light, not into the hearts of men, yet shineth into the hearts of our heathen minds, thy dragon bone and flesh you are.

The pain, the sorrow, the scarlet red shows you behind the mirror of truth. Na… not of your victories and not of your true love, it shows you and your heart of jealousy of the light of the shadow now lost within your soul.

The blood rain quickens upon the ground beneath you. Your life sub-quenched your thirst. For the black raven of death is upon you. O darkness of the shadow upon the night of forbidden light.

You art cunning O shadow of death and sorrow. My heart bleeds upon rocks beneath me for I knowest your secret dearest red scarlet. It binds me not to you. My eye sees the blood rain upon my cheeks and upon my shores. It glistens like the stars upon the heavens of the seas of stars among us this very night.

Your body of flesh and bone that once bore you lay upon the rocks once more. My sword and my shield of mirror glass hide me from your cunning hurtful eyes.

O but a taste of death upon my lips as I drink eagerly. O how sweet your fragrance I quench my thirst for it is the thirst of the Blood Rain. 

 

Copyright © 2009 Eric Shepherd

Kollie walked towards Captain Drealin and Syneral Rigs with some fresh bandages while the rest of his dear family helped the wounded towards the gated field as the sick tent is being taken down. He sighs looking across the fields seeing the mounds of dirt where the dead now buried are, wondering. “If only they arrived sooner,” he sighed. “But death is a part of life.” He whispers into the heavens as the stars start to break the sky as if waiting for an argument from them.

Kollie slowly takes his wife’s Rena’s arm as she catches up to him as they walked towards Syneral Rigs. His face now haggard and worn from a long day even longer still because of the recent battle. He himself wonders how Jaydan can handle all the stress as he looks into Kollie’s and Rena’s eyes as they drew near to him. He knew he was not alone.

Kollie nods as he takes Syneral Rigs hand. “I came as soon as I could.” He said as thoughts of a distance battle still weighed upon his mind. He watched the change of the guard from Ferlin’s tent as he is marched towards the gated field bound with magic collar chained around his neck. His eyes bound tightly as they guide him to prevent him from seeing where he was going.

It was far more than a simple greeting considering how much they have seen the past year alone. Cities long buried and it inhabits destroyed or misplaced by Morgan’s cruel hand. Yet life goes on. Syneral Rigs embraced his friend like a long lost brother, but he could see more was going on behind those bright blue eyes of his.

Kollie brow furled as he stood watching the group step through the gate, leaving this valley and heading to their next destination which was Loland dell along the seashore of the Sea of Quratsa near the old abandon town of Glendale and its ruins where once stood one of the largest castles looking over the vast valley no lain in rubble since the last wizards battle over 700 centuries or so ago. Not more than 3000 miles from where they are now, but with a gate of power it was like a single step. Yet the news he had was about to change that.

Kollie looked at the map and placed his finger on a small town not more than fingers span. He had been told that is where they needed to find a scarce mineral deposit that would aid them in creating armor and weapons. Yet the problem being none of them had any knowledge of the old ways, well not yet anyway. Glen wasn’t all that helpful, stating he would know what needed to be done and how when the time comes, and not before as he buries himself in catacombs of several wizard libraries that haven’t seen a living soul in so long the dust so thick you could trip over it.

He hated the fact he was so young when it comes to magic and the laws driven by them. He and his family had gained much over the last few years or weeks depending on where you stood in the world or worlds behind the looking glass. You would think remaking worlds are easy compared to forging metals and strange minerals you have never heard about.

Yet you would be wrong. Recreating worlds or portals of lands are easy because it was like reaching into the planet itself and finding its blueprints. Making things that you have no blueprints to follow is almost impossible, but then again being a newly made wizard from a place called earth where he and his family were born and raised would seem fictional.

He was still fairly new when it comes too what he was told he would be able to do, like Tara forming entire planets, and suns and moons, restoring what was lost and bring forth a new generation of people that have long been extinct and restoring them to the lands they came from. Healing wounds and sickness that some say cannot be healed, are only a small part of his abilities his family and the generations of his children, children’s will be able to do.

According to the lost records, he and they could be close to god like. But the more he and his family learn, the more responsibilities they will have, and most of all having to make the hard choices, knowing even with all this power and all things they will be able to do, they will be held accountable for it. Sometime they will have to say no, sometimes they will have to live with the fact they can not, do something’s without any consequences, by the laws governing them, which they are bound by those laws.  

He gave a simple smile as he looked up from the map and said. “You need to go here, my friend, take 300 hundred men or so and go to this small village and reclaim it. Then once you have we will discuss what we will do next. I warn you thou, it won’t be as easy to take it for it is enchanted with strong magic and creatures known as Gragens. I am told they guard well the mountains and the valleys. They are an old race, left over from the time of Boldren the King of Fire Dragons. They are smart, and very cunning, which is why I am going with you, in hopes of convincing whoever is ruling them now, too join our cause and provide us with the minerals we need.”

Syneral Rigs sighs. “We do what must my friend, for if we don’t…we could lose this war before it has even begun.”

Reviews

[Miles W.]

Holy hannah. Here we go. Everything coming together, things happening with characters interacting rather than talking, and this is where your descriptive writing really shines through in my opinion. You expand on just about every visual element that is necessary for this scene. The battles were great to read, the spells and abilities were well described, and you had a great sense of timing when it came to knowing when to have characters speak and when to keep the focus on the visuals. If I had any nitpicks, it would be only the sonnet feels a bit weird with the pacing, and that the battle itself for this chapter at least feels a bit short. Again, you do have one more chapter after this one, and it is building I feel to a good conclusion for this chapter in your overarching story. It might have felt a bit short, but this isn't the final stopping point for the battle. Interested to see how you finish this all up and get ready for the next book in the series.