18. An airy ride to fetch the Merlin

He gazed up at the twinkling stars. Marco’s eyes were locked upon the dark sky. He saw a very thin line-like thing coming straight over his face. A droplet fell straight on his eye lid. “It’s going to rain.”, he said to a soldier sitting on the dinner table outside the barracks.

“Yeah, the weather’s quite changed.”, Peter joined from behind.

The training camp was empty that night. People remained silent and spoke only if necessary. Peter guzzled up the rice dreamily. He did not look up or made an eye contact with anyone. A thunder roared and clouds broke down a heavy rain over Irasy.

“Damned!!”, Peter exclaimed. Leaving rest of their food, all of them leapt off to take cover in their barracks. Marco picked up some fruits from the table and followed Peter into the barrack number 204. Jack, Reiford and Debril were already present there, drenched in rain. Marco ignored Jack and crouched and leapt on his bed. He lay back against the wall and closed his eyes while eating an apple.

“It’s a bad storm...”, Jack said peering out the window.

“He shouldn’t have done this!”, Reiford spluttered angrily unable to bear the silence. “Why don’t you guys speak!”. The frown on his brows was helpless and sorrowful.

Jack turned slowly to face Reiford and muttered, “He certainly should not have. I could not still believe he was a felon.”

Sensing the calmness in Jack’s tone, he being Simon’s best friend, Reiford toned down a bit, “Wise man he is to kill himself before we could get our hands on him.”

“I wonder how Zimon was ready to spare him.”, Debril stated.

Marco opened his eyes and said, “The spell of the Dark Lord can corrupt the best of us and our king might have seen the guilt in his eyes.”

Everyone stared at Marco with a kind of unappreciated look. Realising what he had said, he quickly said, “Not that I am supporting Marlin in any way. I would have killed him myself if I was the king. But that’s the difference between us and Lord Zimon. He is the wisest of all and just of all.”

No one answered back. The windows shattered loudly as the rain poured heavily.

“Atleast no one would have died if those two thousand had turned up. We would have lost the battle though...”, Jack said as he gazed outside the window.

“Why lost the battle?”, Debril questioned.

“Dark Lord...”, Marco answered, “he is the trouble here.”

Jack nodded in agreement, “Exactly! He was wickedly powerful in match to Lord Zimon. And moreover, our city would anyway be seized by Farwohm.”

Marco could not stand so much of pressure. The nerve in his temple started to pump hard and he held his head to control the headache. Marco wondered what Zimon was going through currently. Marco closed his eyes when he was reminded of the people back in Legendia. He wondered how his mother was... ‘they are alive... please... they are alive’, he thought.

He looked at the sign on his arm.

“Where did that come from, sir?”, Debril asked, confused, looking at Marco’s arm.

Marco quickly pulled his sleeves down and sighed, “You’ll never know...”. He lay back on the bed full of hay, “I’m tired. Goodnight.”

Marco looked at Peter who looked numb and lifeless, “Goodnight Peter.”

Peter gave an unwilling smile and nodded.

Marco wanted to wake and think of million things going on in his mind but the smooth rain drops helped him to drift off into another uncomfortable sleep.

XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

Hamidh gently kept down the breakfast tray on the long dining table. Zimon kept on tapping his fingers on the table while Crevol and Olgreg chatted in their usual repartee way.

“Never dreamt of such dark times... wonder how the world will get rid of evil.”, Olgreg shook his head in disbelief.

“Our own kin betrayed us. What sins have we done that we have to witness such a day.”, Crevol retorted.

Zimon kept quiet. His eyes were dull and yet looked mightier than ever. He hadn’t slept the whole night. The morning breeze imparted a fragrance of the rain from previous night.

“William, aren’t you going to Legendia? There’s no news of our city yet.”, Crevol said.

Zimon gently nodded and looked up at Olgreg, “I have a request Olgreg... a very small one.”

“Yes?”, Olgreg replied sympathetically.

“Can I call Marco here? We need to leave for Legendia as soon as possible.”

Olgreg called Hamidh and said, “Send for Marco here in haste.”

Hamidh nodded and quickly walked out the door.

“I and Marco will leave now and will return by today itself... by nightfall perhaps.”, Zimon said to the duo.

Olgreg was taken aback in amazement, “Whoa! What are you? A falcon?”

“Better than that!”

Crevol suddenly plunged forward and whispered with fear, “William, our treasure William...”.

“Relax Crypus...relax! I know what has been done of our treasure... leave that to me”, Zimon said calmly.

The colourful water rising from the golden fountain distracted them for a while. After a while, Zimon sighed and looked on his plate. He narrowed his eyes while staring at the spoon on his plate. The silver spoon rose up in air till his nose level.

“You summoned me, my lord?”, came a voice.

The spoon fell down on the plate cracking it into two pieces.

“Aah! You lost my concentration Marco... Come in.”, Zimon said.

Olgreg silently stood up and walked away, Marco being his eye sore.

“We shall leave now, Marco... for Legendia. I hope you are ready.”, Zimon said as he watched Olgreg leave the hall.

“Now?”, Marco said surprised. He thought about Peter, about how he hadn’t told Peter anything of that happened between him and Olgreg and also that he has to leave for Legendia now.

“Yes, any problem?”

“Er... no... I’m ready.”

“Then give me a few moments.”, Zimon rose up and quickly followed the passage to his room.

Crevol narrowed his eyes as he saw the king leaving them behind. When they were alone, Crevol leapt forward and whispered, “Marco!”

“Yes?”, Marco said as he peeled off the banana skin.

“Will you tell me everything of what happened during the battle in Salaha?”, Crevol asked uncannily.

“You know everything, don’t you?”, Marco asked curiously.

“No, I mean, nobody exactly told me how the Dark Lord and Zimon duelled each other.”

“Well...”, Marco described how the Dark Lord entered the battle field and how the duo fought each other until Zimon lost his sword and was knocked down by the Dark Lord.

“Then? Then what?”, Crevol asked, his eyes bulging out.

Marco was shocked that Crevol was not informed of the details. He said, “Then he took out his sword and almost killed our king.”

“Spared him, didn’t he?”, Crevol said as he narrowed his eyes, “He spared William? All this for nothing?”

“Elezabor said that the treasure must have been in his custody by then and he’s got nothing to do with Lord Zimon. Moreover he wanted the king to suffer his defeat.”, Marco finished.

Crevol took a long breath and closed his eyes humming softly under his tone.

Zimon stomped across the hall soon, “Alright then, make haste, quick!” He wore his old travelling robe and tied his hair in a neat knot. His staff shone as bright as ever.

“Er... William, I have just one small request.”, Crevol said smiling and all his wrinkles moved fervently.

“And?”

“I want the Merlin’s Mirror. If Farwohm’s men did not realize it was more than just a simple mirror, I deem myself lucky. I cannot risk losing such a precious possession anymore.”

“And if it turns out to be safe, I don’t think anyone would touch it now. I think it’s safer in the school rather than bringing that huge object all the way to Irasy.”, Zimon opposed.

“William, can’t you just fulfil one request of a friend without arguing?”, Crevol started.

“Fine!”, Zimon answered quickly and shook his head. Crevol explained Marco where he had left the mirror in the Grand School. When Marco understood his instructions, Crevol said, “Have a safe journey you both.”

Zimon nodded, “Come Marco.”

Marco looked at Crevol as the king turned away. Crevol winked at Marco. Marco gave back a very confused smile.

“Up here Marco.”, Zimon said as he climbed up the spiral stairs. They stood at a passage leading to two opposite directions. He pointed towards the left, “That’s where your old man and lady lives.”, then he walked in the opposite direction, “This is where my room is.” They entered the vast bedroom.

“How are we going...”

“Sshhh...”, Zimon hushed Marco as they entered the veranda.

They were standing in the back side of the palace. There were no residential areas visible from here. It was quite foggy outside. A beautiful pond was surrounded by two feet high yellow coloured grass. The air had a smell of trance that came from the gardens beneath the palace. The complete scenery was surrounded by clearly visible reddish hillocks.

“Isn’t your land so beautiful, Marco?”, Zimon asked watching Marco through the corner of his eyes.

Marco smiled heartily as the breeze touched his face, giving him a feeling of his closeness with Irasy’s nature. He said, “So this is what Irasy smells like.”

Suddenly Zimon started murmuring under his breath. His eyes were half closed. Marco tried to hear what the king was saying. Zimon smiled and chuckled, his eyes still half closed. “Hurry up! Hurry up!”, was all that Marco understood.

“Aahh!”, Zimon massaged his eyes and sat down on a nearby rocking chair.

“Whom were you talking to my lord?”, Marco asked.

“To Zulfain.”

Marco waited for a while before saying, “Who Zulfain?”

“You’ll see...”, Zimon nodded. “So, how’s Irasy? You visited any places?”

Marco took a long pause before saying dreamily, “Beautiful.”

There was an uneasy silence between the two. Marco finally spoke, “Would you... er... mind if I speak of Marlin?”

“I know what you want to speak, my lad. I have been betrayed by my own people a lot of times. I’m used to it now.”, Zimon took a deep breath, “Just that this betrayal has forced me to stop trusting my own people anymore.”

Marco gazed low with shame. Zimon did not look up but said, “But, I trust you Marco.”

Marco knelt down and kissed Zimon’s hand, “I will never let you down, my lord... I will never betray you and the Legendians... I promise.”

A loud crashing sound made Marco jump up in the air, “Whoa!”, he was completely petrified at the sight of the huge silver winged horse.

“Perhaps one of your worst landings, Zulfain!”, Zimon said as he mended the broken pieces of the vase.

“He’s so... such a beautiful creature, my lord.”, Marco said still shivering and bewildered.

“He comes from the Grol Gardens. I kept him in the dungeons under my castle to reach the treasure.”

“So...you were talking to him?”, Marco asked astonished.

“Yes, he was on the way.”, Zimon said patting the horse.

“And we are riding on him?”, Marco asked looking at the powerful wings.

“Ofcourse.”, Zimon replied, and almost in a whisper he said, “Hold on tight to the noose. He has a tremendous speed.”

While Marco started to realise what Zimon meant, he shouted, “Sit Marco, you first!”

Marco’s heart was thumping loud with anticipation as he climbed Zulfain’s back. Zimon followed behind him.

“Ready?”

Marco never in his life had clenched on to the hilt of his sword as tight as he did to the noose. “I don’t know.”, he replied.

Zimon pushed Marco’s back until his face rested on the Zulfain’s neck and Zimon rested his face onto Marco’s back.

“You’ll never know. FLY!”

Marco was pushed back with a frightening jolt as the horse shot up into the sky. Marco screamed at the top of his voice while Zimon laughed at the situation. After a while, Zulfain slowed down a bit when they were well above anyone’s vision.

“Thank you.”, Marco panted. He tried to see Zimon by the corner of his eyes but gave up as he freaked out to move a single muscle. He shouted as the wind was strong, “Why do you need this speed to reach the treasure just beneath the castle?”

“Beacause the treasure is not under the castle.”, Zimon shouted back, “Slow down Zulfain.”

Now they could relax their muscles and speak in a normal tone.

“What do you mean? Then where is it?”, Marco almost stirred.

“I’ll let you know it. But remember, it is only I and Zulfain who knows about the treasure. Not even Crypus! And now it’s you who’ll have to keep this secret forever.”

“Got it, my lord. But the treasure has been seized isn’t it?”, Marco wondered.

“The treasure entrance can’t be opened unless they use eleven words of Robec in front of the entrance.”, Zimon answered.

“So it is not captured?”, Marco said beaming, “You are full of surprises, my lord.”. He sensed his hopes regain.

“But the main entrance must have been sealed forever.”, Zimon said, “They must have tried to damage the castle walls. The enchantments in the walls seal the entrance once the castle is under attack and nobody will ever be able to open the entrance again... not even me.”

The entire smile on Marco’s face vanished in an instant, “Then? Is there no way?”

“There is...”

Marco let out a huge sigh of relief.

“...by reaching the exact location of the treasure, far away from Legendia.”

“And the entrance in the castle will open then?”, Marco asked confused.

“Yes, you’ll have to follow the hollow caves from the treasure to the castle and speak aloud those Robec words at the entrance... I’ll let you know all its details later. Now is not the time.”

They were passing through the Mounts of Crypto. Marco could see the soaring peaks of numerous mountains as if shooting right at him. “So I guess... Elezabor must be very furious on learning that they haven’t got their hands on our treasure.”

“Indeed.”

“So, will he be attacking Legendia again?”

“I guess he went back to Dark Dume for now so as to think on new strategies. Let’s hope Legendia stays out of trouble. I believe it is time to make haste. We must speed up now.”

Zulfain got relieved on hearing this. He gets bored of flying slowly.

“Uh-oh.”, Marco uttered.

The horse gained a lightning speed and Marco closed his eyes screaming madly in the sky.

XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

Legendia came into view in no time. Zulfain slowed down as they passed the Gateway of Legendia.

“It is as it was before.”, Marco commented.

“Nobody can destroy it.”, Zimon said.

The moment they passed over the gateway, snow started to fall. “Bless you my lord. You are welcomed by falling of the snow. Even the nature loves you.”, Marco said from behind Zulfain’s ears.

The other half of the city was horrible to look at. The farms and the meadows had been burned down. The farmhouses were all destroyed. “Take me down, Zulfain.”, Zimon ordered.

Marco kissed the ground as he landed on it. They were standing in the lanes of Urbas Society. It was afternoon but the sun was hidden under the clouds.

“It’s our king!”, one of the men from the bazaar spotted them.

Before anyone could react, Zimon turned to Zulfain and said, “Fly to my castle, now!” and Zulfain was nowhere visible.

They were surrounded by people in no time.

“My lord! You have come back! We are so pleased to see you.”, one of the ladies spoke.

“Good lord, save us! They have destroyed us completely. They slaughtered those who tried to confront. And we have no idea of what have been done of our treasures...save us!”, an old man said helplessly.

A teenager squeezed through the crowd and spoke, “Farwohm’s men attacked all our guards the next day of your departure. We had no one to guard us. They held us captive for weeks. They tried all means to break the castle but everything went in vain. They tried different ways to destroy the castle for three weeks. In frustration of failing in all their attempts, they started killing our men and burned down the houses. They took all our food and poisoned the water reservoir.”

Another middle-aged man in torn clothes spoke, “The secret warehouse was the only place from where we could fill our stomachs. But now the warehouse has run out of stock too. When they were all tired of their ruthless actions, they left our city few days ago. What is going on, my lord? We are so confused.”

“I summon all of you to assemble at the gates of the castle by sun set. Spread the word. I shall discuss later.”

They bowed to the king and gave a way for them. Marco’s eyes were restlessly searching for his mother amidst the crowd. She was nowhere to be seen yet. Marco followed Zimon and realized that they were walking through the lanes close to his house. Some houses had no roofs; some demolished lawns and some broken doors and windows. He spotted his house on his left. The windows were shattered while rest of the house looked fine. Marco ran up to the door. His hands shivered as he knocked the loose twin doors of his house. Nobody opened the doors. Marco knocked the door harder this time. No one arrived yet. Marco started to tremble and Zimon placed a hand on Marco’s shoulder. Just then the door handle clicked and the door swung inwards. Marco adjusted his eyes to the darkness in the house.

“Marco!!”, Eulbethra gasped and hugged him with all her strength.

“Mother!”, Marco wept with joy, “You alright love?”

“Marco, there was no new of you. I was so scared.”, she wept louder.

“Mother, look who’s come...”, Marco said stepping aside.

“Oh! My lord! Good gracious, you’re all fine.”, Eulbethra hugged Zimon.

“How are you Eulbethra?”, Zimon asked calmly.

Eulbethra jerked her head back in surprise. She clutched her own clothes tightly and looked at Marco.

“I know everything, mother. I met uncle Olgreg and aunt Fiera too.”, Marco told her what happened in Irasy. Later he asked how Julie Lim and Emma were keeping.

“Both are fine but we all are starving badly. Mister Duilian helps me with bringing the fish from the lakes but it’s all running out as the whole city depends on the lake.”, Eulbethra suddenly looked at Zimon, “Oh I’m so sorry my lord. I didn’t even ask you to have a seat. Please don’t mind the mess here.”

“Oh no my lady, I would have loved to stay in here but we are falling short of time. We must leave for Irasy by evening.”, Zimon said.

Eulbethra turned tensed and clutched Marco’s arms tightly again, “You’re leaving again?”

“Yes, mother. The war is not over yet. There is so much to explain you but it will have to wait.”

“But-?”

“I promise you mother.”, Marco cut her off, “I will return... and will return victorious.”

Zimon leaned on his staff by clutching it by both his hands and said, “And I won’t leave Legendia unless I assure yours and others safety. You must gather at the castle gates by the sunset. I will address to all of you.”

“Take care, mother.”, Marco said smiling, “The glowing diamond.”

Eulbethra smiled back.

XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

The snow was still falling. Marco shivered as the breeze hit him. Zimon wrapped a grey blanket around himself that Eulbethra gave. “It is noon still.”, he said, “I must fly to Hul and Elgenim. If time does not permit, I will just go to Hul. Some arrangements are needed to be done for our people. They can’t survive here much longer without food and water.”

“Alright then, I guess I’ll walk upto the Grand School and fetch the mirror for Mr. Crevol.”, Marco said.

“Yes and return to the castle thereby. I will be reaching there soon, perhaps.”

The city lanes were quiet and nobody was out in the open. Zimon closed his eyes and started conversing with Zulfain. Not long enough, Zulfain was present right in front of the king.

“Make haste, Marco!”, Zimon ordered.

“Yes, my lord.”

And Zimon vanished from the ground. Marco had to pass through the castle in order to reach the Grand School. The castle looked unchanged except for the slightly mangled gates. He was nearing the public and party halls down the lane, when he spotted a young kid of eight sitting on the sideway. The boy started crying on seeing Marco.

“Hey! That’s alright. I’m your friend.”, Marco whispered and knelt down and cuddled the boy with affection. He slipped his hands into the pocket and took out a milk wafer he got from Irasy. “Here... have this.”. The boy stopped weeping and stared at Marco innocently.

“Alright... I’ll leave... eat it.”, Marco turned and hurried off to the Grand School.

“Thank you.”, the boy muttered softly.

Marco turned and felt his eyes watering with agony.

XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX

The door was covered with dust. The lock had been broken. The snow swooped in the school through an opened gap in the door. Marco stepped in and closed the door. The chairs were all smashed down and thrown all over the floor. Marco observed the walls of the school. Some books laid untouched over the bookshelves hung over the walls.

“Probably Farwohm’s men are illiterate people.”, Marco sighed.

As far as Marco remembered Crevol explaining the location of the mirror, he had to approach a small arch opening at the left corner of the classroom. Its height exactly fitted to that of Crevol’s. It was dark inside. A lantern was hanging near the doorway. Marco lit the lantern and ducked a bit and entered the opening. The room was utterly congested. All he could see was books and books and books; small and large kept on a table at the far end and a book shelf on the right wall. This would have never interested any intruder. The space between him and the table was six feet. The book shelf took all the area on the right wall. Marco noticed the table top was immediately occupied by what looked a rectangular object covered with a thin black cloth, over which heaps of books were scattered across. It was nothing but the Merlin’s Mirror; so insouciantly placed, yet so deceptive. No one would bother to remove all the heaps of the books to find what is underneath the black cloth, which Marco had to now. Marco threw the heavy books on the floor, some looked old some new and cleared his way down to the mirror. He picked up the mirror and started to exit the store room when he tripped over the thick books on the floor, lost his balance and fell sideways towards the bookshelf. To avoid collision with the bookshelf, which would have been a huge mess if he did, he quickly placed his hand between the top two shelves in a space just above the books. The mirror was still gripped in his right arm. Marco did not realise that the brick where his hand rested on, was pushed inwards. It clicked back when he removed his hand. “What...?”

The walls started rumbling and the bookshelf started to descend, while the wall behind it opened from the middle until a door-less cupboard appeared; not wider than two feet. Its height covered from ground to ceiling. Marco stood there like a statue. All the shelves in the concealed cupboard were empty except the middle one on which rested a book. Marco did not step any closer to the cupboard. The separated walls suddenly joined back into one and the book shelf ascended. Marco was sweating badly. He went near the wall and stared at the unusual brick above the displaced books. Marco slowly pressed the brick again. Same phenomenon occurred. This time Marco reached in and grabbed the small thin book. After a few moments, the walls rumbled and the shelf returned to its position. The book was covered with a huge mass of dust and webs. He cleaned the book with his cloth and bought it close to the light. It was a black hard back book and a very old one. It seemed to be very fragile. Marco narrowed his eyes as he read the title words on the outer cover inscribed in golden letters. It read:

DISCLOSING DARK ARTS

Written by,

Iahwin Rhaoufaldo

Marco’s eyes widened due to excitement. Instinctively, he slipped the book in his inner pocket of his jacket. “Who’s in there?”. Marco was shocked on hearing the voice and hurried out of the narrow room and blew the light off. The snow fall could be seen distinctively swooping in through the open doorway. A figure of an old man blocked the doorway. He had a stick in his hand.

“Who’s that? What do you want?”, the old man bellowed.

“It’s me... M..Marco Jules.”, Marco was shivering as the breeze touched his sweat drained body.

“Oh, it’s you sire... I’m so sorry. I heard you and Lord Zimon were in town.”, the old man apologized., “I’m the caretaker here...just left to fill my hunger by some berries down the orchard.”, he looked around at the mess, “I couldn’t do much to keep Farwohm’s men away from the school though!”

“Yes, I ... I can see that.”, Marco sighed, “Er...actually... I came here to take back the Merlin’s Mirror with me. Crevol asked me to.”, he added quickly.

“Sure, sire. Whatever you want.”, the old man said and grabbed the mirror in Marco’s arms, “I’ll bring it to wherever you want.”

“Thank you. Let’s take it to castle, shall we?”

“Ofcourse, sire.”

After a while, they reached the castle gates. Marco took the mirror from the old man, “You can leave now, er...?”

“Wiscon Joseph, sire.”

“Wiscon, yes thank you and don’t forget to be here at sunset. Please spread the word.”

“What took you so long?”, Zimon asked from behind.

“You came back already?”, Marco asked in amazement.

“Yes, just checked the city’s condition. I was comfortable with Hul’s surroundings so did not go to Elgenim. Alright, let’s hurry up.”

There were no guards throughout the city and thus none at the gates. They reached the Great Hall. All the portraits were smashed down yet not a single scratch on the walls.

“Is that you Zimon?”, a creepy voice came.

Zimon stopped and looked around. The long velvet carpet was torn and throne was not present.

“I’m over here, behind the statue.”, the voice said.

Zimon and Marco walked to the fallen statue, when suddenly Zimon started running, “BLABBER!!!”, he blurted.

“What...what’s done to you?”, Zimon clutched his head and knelt down near the golden chair, “Oh my!”

The four legs of the chair were all missing. The rest of his body was thrown away on the body nonchalantly. The golden eyes looked up at Zimon, “So pleasant to have you in front of me. I thought you’d never turn up before I die.”

“Don’t say like that. I’ll do something.”, Zimon agitated and agonised, pointed the staff at Blabber.

“Don’t be a fool, Zimon. You know I can’t stay alive once my body parts are broken.”, Blabber said.

Zimon moaned in dismay.

“They wanted to know the entrance to the treasure. I refused to answer so they chopped my legs off.”, Blabber said weakly and looked at Marco, “Aah... there’s my next king. Wish you could have sat on me in your time of rule.”

“Yes, Blabber... I... I am so unlucky.”, Marco said, his eyes numb.

“Aah! Weep not my friends. I’m just a chair. In fact I am glad that I won’t be bearing Zimon’s heavy weight anymore!”

“Shut up Blabber.”, Zimon said calmly with tears running down onto his beard. “I must...”, he cuddled the chair and remained silent.

“...leave?”, Blabber asked, “Oh, I understand that. I’m just glad you came before I wither away. The city needs you. The world needs you.”

Zimon stood up very slowly leaning over his staff. Marco helped Zimon.

“I’ll miss you.”, Zimon said.

“I won’t!”, Blabber laughed.

Zimon closed his eyes and gave a pity smile and called out to Marco to make a move. Marco tried to bid farewell but the words didn’t come out. They exited the castle the very next moment. It was nearly sunset.

“How much time does he have?”, Marco asked.

“Two or three more days probably.”, Zimon said softly.

People started gathering at the castle gates. The entire lane got filled by a huge crowd in no time. The mirror lay on the floor behind Marco. Marco could spot his mother besides Julie Lim and Emma, waving at him.

“The whole city is not here yet, so I hope that my message shall be passed throughout the city as soon as possible.”, Zimon addressed to the crowd, “This is the worst moment of our life that we face today. I am very ashamed of announcing that we lost the battle and have been betrayed by none other than our very own Late Marlin Wills!”

The crowd gasped in horror.

“But I say and I vow that we are not going to give up because Legendians never lose. The battle is still on and I am going to finish the Dark Lord and all the evil from this world forever!”

The crowd cheered heartily in response.

“But before I proceed further, let me tell you that your next king has been chosen and he is none other than Hymes.”, he looked at Marco and pointed at him, “Marco Hymes.”

The crowd looked bewildered and confused altogether. Zimon continued, “Yes. His real name is Marco Hymes, son of Troswood Hymes, the late Emperor of Irasy. It’s a long story but that can wait. I have immense faith in him and I want you to have the same.”

The crowd did not hesitate to bow down and call out in a descent sound, “Hail, Marco Hymes.”

Marco bowed back at the crowd in appreciation.

“As per your safety,”, Zimon started, “I have arranged for your arrival at Hul. I order every one of you in this city to migrate to Hul until further notice.”

The crowd broke into panic arguments.

“Calm down!”, Zimon clapped his hands, “Farwohm’s army won’t turn up again. They have already lost their mission. I am however sending reinforcements from Irasy to safeguard Hul. There is plenty of food and water there. You must depart tonight through the banks of River Keto.”

The people remained silent. They were still scared.

“Glad tidings are soon to come. We must not lose our hopes. It is good that always wins. Yes, we have lost a lot of men but there sacrifices will be made worth and the fruit that we achieve will surely be sweetest of all.”

“Long life, Lord Zimon! Long Life, Legendia.”, the men screamed with happiness.

Zimon and Marco waited till the gates cleared and the men returned to spread the news to the whole city. Marco waved back to his mom, as she left.

“Let’s fly Marco.”

Zimon was already sitting on the back of Zulfain with the mirror tied on the belly of the horse. Marco sat behind Zimon this time.

“Wait!”, Zimon cried out.

The king looked at the castle. He gazed at it for a while; glowing in the moon’s silver light. He murmured, “You are so beautiful. I will miss you...”

Zimon still did not take his eyes off the castle. Marco couldn’t understand the feelings playing in Zimon’s heart. “It will always be beautiful, my lord.”, he assured calmly.

Zimon took a deep breath, “Alright my friend.”, Zimon patted the horse gently, “Fly!”

Zulfain leapt off into the sky...