StoryTime

PART 1: CLASH OF THE MONARCHS

A dark mist swirled around the altar. The wind howled. The pedestal was carved with pictures of a fiery realm and hundreds of deformed creatures walking around. Giant pillars set alight rose behind them coughing puffs of smoke into the air. The creatures were laboring under two huge red eyes glowing through the darkness. On another picture, there was a throne as dark as night. On it sat a giant being with dark metal armor covering his body, and blood red spikes sticking out of chinks in his armor. Two horns, protruded from either side of his head, and he grinned horribly, showing his decaying teeth. Four other similar beings knelt in front of him, one was very short and fat, while another was tall and skinny with a black streak of hair flowing in the wind. One had half of its body turning to smoke, and beside him was a huge buff being with broad shoulders. Tied to the throne with a dark steel chain was a creature unlike any other. Its yellow eyes reflected the terror one felt when they saw it. It was a mutation of a spider and a scorpion. Its rib bones stuck out of its thick skin and scars covered its body. The beast was a horrible nightmare escaping from the illusions of a child’s dreams.

The pedestal started shaking and a purple glow washed over it. The smoke circling it started to rise until the whole thing was enveloped in a cloud of black. A purple flash of lightning came down and struck the pedestal. It stopped shuddering and the mist began to recede. Standing beside the throne were the four beings from the carving. They stood proudly as if they had just won a war. They knelt toward the pedestal and bowed their heads. Standing on the pedestal was the larger being who had sat on the throne, his metal armor shining in the firelight of two large braziers. “At last,” he said in an ominous voice. “We have returned!”

The beings around him punched their fists in the air and roared in approval. He looked toward the one, half made of smoke, when suddenly he solidified and spoke. “Yes, Lord Erebus?” he asked in a rasping voice like sandpaper. “What is it you wish me to do?”

“I would like you, Snatcher, to go see what the queen has been up to lately,” he answered. “Go find out what they’re doing and report back to me immediately.”

The Snatcher’s body began to shift and turn into smoke until he was just a cloud. Then he completely disappeared into the dark and silent night. For a good long moment Erebus took all of the kingdom in, recognizing familiar sights. He gestured to the rest of the beings. “Lucius, Caius, and Eidos you are going to help me rebuild this once great kingdom,” he said. “I am the Monarch of the underworld and my ancient fortress shall rise again.”

On a throne of light sat another giant being except she was the heavenly Queen of the land and cast a bright glow. The Queen emitted happiness and prosperity. She held a giant staff of gold in one hand while she beckoned a nearby being much like herself except smaller to come closer. “What is your bidding my queen?” she asked.

“I have sensed a presence I haven’t felt for a millennia,” she answered solemnly. “My brother, Erebus has returned.”

“How is this possible?” asked the smaller being worriedly. “We must defeat your brother for he is an enemy.”

“I fear it would not be possible for you alone to defeat him, Edea,” said the giant being as she touched the eagle wings at the end of her staff, testing their sharpness. “We must summon the five great Monarchs of our time. We must summon them before the foul kingdom can rise once again. If it should return I fear nothing can stop him.”

“Yes, my lady, I shall do as instructed,” said Edea obediently.

The Queen was now staring into the distance where a low gray cloud hung over her temple. The ancient walls had been untouched by evil for hundreds of years, but now a black shadow began to creep up the walls toward the cloud. “Edea, leave and do not return until all of the five Monarchs have agreed to come with you.”

“But, my lady....”

“Do as I say, Edea,”

Edea nodded solemnly and ran down the hill farther and farther away. When she became just a white spot on the dark green hills in the distance, Ehther turned toward the cloud again, gripping her staff with a grasp like steel. “You are not welcome here Illusory Snatcher,” she said in a calm voice. “Go back to where you came from and I shall do you no harm.”

Suddenly the cloud shifted and an arm solidified, then a leg, and then the body until there was a giant being floating in the air. When the last part of his body turned solid he fell from the sky and landed in a kneeling pose. He got up and said “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Ehther. I have strict orders from Erebus to come report back to him after I find out what’s going on. I was afraid that I might be here all day waiting for something interesting but you seem to have told me all I needed to know right away. Well goodbye.

He turned around and got ready to transform into smoke when a golden staff slammed into his back sending him tumbling down one of the hills. He got up quickly and turned around to Ehther. “You’re going to pay for that Ehther,”

He sprinted up the hill and drew his spear. He reached Ehther and swung it at her. She dodged and hit him in the back again. The Snatcher didn’t roll down the hill this time but he did fall down. The Illusory Snatcher Ran at Ehther again but she sidestepped and he fell on his back. She leveled the end of her staff at his face. The two elegant golden wings gripped his throat. “Sorry but I can’t stay around any more,” rasped the Snatcher angrily. Turning into smoke, he suddenly drifted away.

Caius was on duty this time watching the dark hills for any sign of enemy attack. He had been standing there for hours watching the horizon as the bright orange sun crept behind a mountain. Cauis spotted a familiar dark cloud of smoke rolling across the hills. He pulled out a giant horn carved from a dragon’s tooth and blew it two times. Eidos and Lucius materialized beside him glowing with purple light. The Snatcher solidified and came down into the fortress. “ Ehther is summoning the five Monarchs for a battle against us.

Caius reached out and grabbed his throat. “For the last time Snatcher there are eight,” he said furiously. “I am a monarch along with Erebus and his accursed sister Ehther.”

“Yes but you two gave up that position long ago to try to rule the kingdom until Ehther defeated you,” snarled the Snatcher. “As for Ehther she gave up her position for her idea of the greater good and became Queen of the land.”

“Caius!” bellowed a familiar voice. Erebus stepped out of the gloom. “Let go of him now!”

Caius let go of the Snatcher’s throat,walked toward Erebus and knelt. “I am sorry, Lord Erebus,”

“What is going on in my sister’s kingdom?” asked Erebus.

The Illusory Snatcher told them what had happened and how Ehther’s second in command was rallying the five great monarchs of the world. Erebus’s eyes glowed with a fiery light. Hatred? Malice? Fear? “So you failed your orders to stay low and not get seen?” asked Erebus angrily. “And then instead of returning and reporting to me you engaged in a battle with her? And even worse, she beat you in combat. You are my most trusted ally, but perhaps my loyalty was misplaced?”

The Snatcher knelt. “No Lord Erebus I stepped out of line and caused your legion of....”

Erebus hit him on the head. “You idiotic fool!” he bellowed. There could be spies watching us at this very moment!”

Suddenly there was a drop in temperature and a thick layer of frost covered the floor. Then came a blast of wind and a blur of green and blue shot into the sky far away.

Erebus gazed into the sky where the blur had disappeared and then turned around, toward his four comrades kneeling before him. “ESCHER!” he bellowed. “GARUM!”

Although they were far away from him, Escher and Garum could here the voice of Erebus as he yelled insults at his comrades. Escher held the golden tooth necklace believing that it had given the two of them good luck. “That was a close call,” stated Garum. “I didn’t think we would make it out of there alive, but that wind trick I did saved our lives.”

Escher nodded. “No matter how much I hate to agree with you, I have to admit It did save us,” even though he meant it as a compliment his voice was harsh and cold, just like the frost he represented.

“You know we do go together pretty well,” he stated. “The winds and storms with the power of frost.” Garum was fast and unpredictable just like the winds and storms.

They landed in a giant tundra where a giant being sat on a throne of pure ice and frost. The being turned toward the two of them. “Escher, what do you have to report?”

Escher knelt and then told them about what happened. “So, Edea was not lying. Erebus has returned and is creating an army of some sort.” Escher bowed. “Yes Lord Mobius.”

Mobius got off of his throne and walked toward Escher. “I must leave and go to the Queen’s palace. There we will discuss this crisis with the other four great monarchs of the world. You, Escher the Frost Vassal shall be in command while I am gone.”

Mobius disappeared in a flash of bright light and frost. Escher turned toward Garum. “I am afraid I cannot continue with you to the kingdom of the great Raiza.”

“I understand,” said Garum. “Goodbye.”

Garum turned into a green blur and shot across the tundra.

Garum appeared in an old jungle after his flight, right beside a giant throne made of a small hurricane cloud. On it sat Raiza, the great Monarch of the storms. Her regal green tinted armor shined elegantly in the bright rays of sun peeking through the dense foliage above. “Did you discover anything about Erebus’s return?”

“Yes my Lord, it is true.”

“I must answer the call of Ehther and go to her sacred palace to discuss her plans,” said Raiza. I am leaving you, Garum the Storm Vassal in command.”

The villagers all stared in awe as Raiza disappeared in a harsh blast of wind that made the stucco tree houses shake on their thick branches.

A giant table carved to be a three-dimensional map of the world stood in the center of the room. Around the table were five thrones. One was made of pure flame while another was a hurricane. One was carved of stone while yet another was ice and frost. The fifth chair was made of a thunder cloud emitting blasts of thunder and bright flashes of lightning that forked in all directions. At the head of the table was a throne made of pure light. On the other end of the table was a ruin of pitch black obsidian scattered across the floor. A purple mist surrounded the rubble and seeped through cracks in it.

The five legendary Monarchs appeared in a cloud of their element sitting on their thrones. Ehther was the last to appear and she did so in a brilliant flash of blinding light. The Monarchs argued about what they were going to do until Ether raised her hand for silence. “You all know why I have summoned you here today,” she said. “And because the threat is imminent, I shall get right to the point. Erebus has returned to the normal world and has brought with him four of his followers, all of them being great warriors. These four are Lucius, Eidos, Caius, and the Illusory Snatcher.”

Mobius stood up. “What of Tragoedia?” asked Mobius. Has that foul beast returned?”

The room seemed to darken at the mention of his name and the mist seemed to thicken. “Thankfully Tragoedia has not returned,” answered Ehther. “But the threat is still real and nothing will matter if Erebus comes out of this battle victorious. Therefore we must discuss battle plans.” The Monarchs discussed plans far into the night until finally they decided. Ehther raised her hand for silence again and spoke. “The plan has been decided and hopefully all those of good intention shall prosper.”

The Monarchs all stood up in unison and walked outside the palace into the gardens. Planted in the gardens were hundreds of different kinds of flowers and plants, many of which were poisonous. The garden was also used for growing rare herbs to heal diseases incurable by any alternative method.

The Monarchs walked through the palace gardens and past an odd looking plant that looked like it was made of ash. It had long black tendrils growing out of the gray stem. They moved around grabbing random things and turning them to ash. Raiza the Storm Monarch stopped to look at the it. She motioned for Ehther to come over. “What is that awful looking plant?” she asked.

“Death,” said Ehther. “The plant is called Death. It was first discovered by Erebus when he was still a Monarch. It heals death but only in Monarchs and Vassals. It is rarer than all other plants in the world, and is the only one known to heal death.”

Raiza could tell it pained Ehther to speak of her brother after everything that had happened with him. Raiza could still remember the days when there were eight Monarchs. Ehther and Erebus, along with his most trusted friend Caius, were equally powerful as the rest of them. The Monarchs never agreed on anything so Ether decided to become queen of the land and everything good. Erebus became jealous of his sister’s new rank and decided that he would become king of the underworld and everything bad.

Ehther confronted her brother while he was building his mighty fortress. Erebus saw no bad in what he was doing, he had become blind by his power. They fought in an epic battle, but the two were equally powerful. The battle raged for hours until finally Ehther knocked Erebus’s weapon out of his hand. She finally had a chance to defeat her brother, but how could she? She made a split second decision that she could not kill her brother. Instead, she banished him to the underworld along with his friend Cauis. The look on her face when she returned from that battle was exactly as it was now. Ehther took to training herself to become the best warrior possible so nothing like that would ever happen again.

Raiza stood there staring at the plant as it wrapped its tendrils over a nearby stone and turned it to ash until Ehther turned around and walked away. Raiza watched the ash blow away in the wind. Raiza left the plant and quickly caught up with the group. They reached the edge of the garden and formed a circle. Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Mobius the Frost Monarch parted so Ehther could walk into the center. Everyone in the circle raised their right hand and muttered and ancient spell. Their hands each glowed a different color, the color of their elemental status. The color instantly turned into what it truly was. Red into fire, green into wind, white into lightning, brown into stone, and blue into frost. The powers drifted into the air and formed into one above Ehther’s head. Then it turned into a clear mist that enveloped Ehther. She breathed it in and then exhaled. The mist disappeared as a glowing aura of power took its place. Ehther had become the master of air, stone, frost, fire, wind, and thunder, as well as the light she already possessed. The Monarchs who had drained their power into their leader in the hopes of defeating Erebus, collapsed into a pile, exhausted from their transfer of power.

Ehther gazed wistfully at the five Monarchs who had put their elemental energy into her, while leaving themselves defenseless. If she failed the Monarchs would surely be defeated without their power. She stood up and shot into the air using the powers of Raiza to give herself flight.

Ehther landed in a barren wasteland covered in trees as black as night. They reached toward the stars like clawed hands of some terrible beast. The ground was rough and dry, as if it hadn’t rained there for months. Built into a nearby mountain was a fortress. It was made of obsidian and cast a purple glow. Tall spires went high into the sky. Ehther instantly recognized it as the old fortress of Erebus. The kingdom had been destroyed years ago to rid the land of its foul essence, but Erebus was rebuilding it.

Ehther walked up to the gates and drew her spear, which she had traded in her staff for in order for better chances of victory. The tip of the spear glowed seven different colors one for each element the Monarchs controlled, including black, for Erebus and Cauis. She banged her spear against the wall and waited for somebody to come. The bang echoed over the silent hills reaching the ears of those many miles away. The first to come was Lucius the Shadow Vassal. He blew a horn and Eidos the Underworld squire appeared by his side. Next Eidos blew a horn and Cauis came by with the Illusory Snatcher right on his heels. Finally came Erebus, his pitch black armor glinting in the moonlight. He walked over to the middle of the gates and sat down in an obsidian chair with flames suddenly igniting and putting themselves out around it. Erebus looked like a figure of legend sitting in his throne, glaring down at Ehther.

“Come down and fight me one-on-one, brother,” she forced the word brother out of her mouth as if the word were poison.

Erebus chuckled. “Such ferocity, Ehther,” here I was thinking you were the Queen of all things good and here you are ready for battle. I must first test your worth of battling me sister. You shall fight my four allies here. Cauis, Lucius, Snatcher, and Eidos. Only then would you have proven your worth.”

“Fine, if that is what you wish I shall defeat you comrades and then you.”

Erebus motioned for Lucius to jump over the side and attack. He followed the instructions without question and leapt off the edge toward Ehther. Ehther flung her hand out and a giant fist of stone hit Lucius, but he was ready, he flung his hands out and the giant fist of rock was devoured by a cloud of shadow.

This time Lucius pulled his arms back as if to punch and then a wave of shadow rolled over Ehther, enveloping her in a giant cloud of black. Erebus laughed. “I thought she might make it to me and be a worthy opponent, but she couldn’t even beat Lucius.”

Lucius looked up from the battle gritting his teeth. “Are you implying that I am not a very good fighter?” he asked angrily. Ehther took her chance. First she melted the sand beneath his feet into magma and then she used the power of frost and turned the magma into rock. Lucius struggled in his stony prison. Erebus signaled for Eidos to go attack.

He jumped over the edge and ran at Ehther. He was instantly swallowed up by the ground. Ehther, thinking she had won, turned her back on Eidos. Eidos shot out of the ground on a skeleton horse and attacked Ehther. After about five minutes of aiming blindly, trying to hit him, she shot a blast of wind that rocketed him thousands of feet into the air. He came down hard and made a crater in the ground.

This time the Illusory Snatcher came down along with Cauis. She had no idea how she was supposed to battle the two of them at once. Cauis attacked and she dodged hitting him in the back. Suddenly she had an idea. First Cauis got up, very angry. Then he put his two hands on top of each other and then swirled them around creating a purple and black vortex.

At the same time Snatcher was charging at Ehther. She dodged and he went straight into the tornado. She then used her power over the wind to stop the vortex and sent the Illusory Snatcher straight into Cauis. Erebus bellowed in anger, then he got up off his throne and jumped over the edge.

Ehther thought she was prepared for anything, but when a thousand ghost Vassals and Monarchs crawled out of the ground at her feet she wasn’t so sure. There were Monarchs of every kind, all of them coming after her, their hands glowing with their elemental energies. Pretty soon Ehther would be bombarded with every aspect of the earth. She pondered for a moment and finally thought of something.

Ehther’s solution was very simple and it consisted of doing no more than saying five words. “I command you to leave,”

The ghosts dropped their arms to their waists and dispersed leaving behind only a faint trail of glowing mist. Even though the Monarchs were dead they still knew their queen. Erebus charged at Ehther, spear drawn. The gap closed in mere seconds and they both knew the battle had begun. Their spears clashed against each other and sent sparks flying in every direction. Erebus tried to jab at Ehther but she dodged and struck him in the face. Purple blood oozed from Erebus’s wound down onto his armor. He lifted his right hand and his face glowed purple and black. The wound instantly healed as if it were never there.

This time Ehther ran at Erebus, but he was ready. He stepped to the side and she fell into the sand. The sand was not sand at all. It was millions of shards of glass. She got up, her helmet torn up from the glass shards. She summoned the power of all five Monarchs and sent a blizzard, a hurricane, a firestorm, a thundercloud, and a giant boulder straight into Erebus. He smashed his face on the giant boulder and fell to the ground. He just laid there, not breathing. Ehther turned away from her brother’s body too soon. It glowed the same tint as it did when he healed himself, purple and black. Then he rose, his eyes glowing red with hatred and anger. He slammed into Ehther and all around him the black chips of glass flew into the air surrounding her. They formed a glass cage around Ehther. Erebus picked up the giant cage and brought it inside his palace.

After reviving Cauis and the others he sat on his throne yet again and commanded them to bring him the cage. After it arrived he laid his hand on it and muttered an ancient curse. The power flowed out of Ehther as Erebus absorbed it. After just seconds, Erebus had absorbed all of her power. He glowed white for a split second as he absorbed the power of light. He left just enough power in Ehther to keep her alive so she would be able to witness his triumph.

Garum was worried. He had sent a spy to find out what was going on with the Monarchs. After just an hour the spy returned with devastating news. The Monarchs had transferred all of their power to Ehther. Of course Ehther could always just give the power back to the Monarchs, but only if she survived. Next he sent a spy to see how Ehther did fighting Erebus. The spy hadn’t returned yet. He walked down the hill a ways and noticed a green streak in the sky. It touched down right in front of Garum and started to speak. “ Ehther, she attacked Erebus and he defeated her.”

Garum studied the face of his spy. He definitely was telling the truth. “Summon the Vassals for a meeting,” he ordered. “Now!” The spy turned into a green blur and shot into the sky. Garum had no idea how he was going to get through this, but for the sake of the world, he had to.

The six vassals were lined up in front of a large table in woods. They sat down in unison. Garum spoke about what had happened for a few minutes before asking the Vassals for any plan. Escher stood up. “If our queen Ehther could not defeat Erebus with the power of all five monarchs at her side, how could we possibly defeat him?”

The Vassals sat there just watching each other until Mithra stood up. “What if we combine all of our powers into one and attack?” asked Mithra the Thunder Vassal.

Ehther did that, with no luck,” answered Garum suddenly thinking of something. “But, what if we combined a fraction of our power into the others?” “You mean like you putting some of your power into all of us?” Escher asked. “And us doing the same? Then we have the numbers as well as the power. It could work!”

“All in favor,” said Garum.

All of the other four Vassals raised their hands. They all got up and raised their right hands. Garum was the first to summon his elemental power. It started out as a green glow in his palm, then it turned into a glowing green orb, which separated into five other orbs. Four of them shot into the other vassals while the other simply returned to Garum. For a moment he felt weak and helpless, but then four orbs of different colors floated into him making him feel stronger than ever. After all the light faded from their hands Garum spoke. “To Queen Ether!”

The other Vassals echoed his battlecry and shot into the sky in a streak of red, white, blue, green, and brown.

After just seconds they landed in a black dessert. They quickly learned that the sand was in fact black glass when Landrobe the Rock Vassal tripped and feel on it. They helped him up and continued walking through the hot dessert. They kept using Escher’s power over frost to cool themselves down but it was still far too hot to be walking around with a full set of heavy armor on.

At last they arrived in front of a black fortress will metal bars for windows and spikes sticking out in various places to resist attack. Although they were made to aid in defense the black spikes helped them climb over the wall very easily. There was no guard on duty, which surprised Garum. He had been expecting a huge army waiting for them at the top of the wall. Suddenly one of the iron doors in the side of one of the towers slid open and out lumbered a huge beast radiating raw energy. This one had to be Cauis. If they attacked him, no matter if they won or lost, they would lose the element of surprise and possibly doom the whole mission. They had to find a way to get in.

Thankfully before Cauis could spot them, another being bellowed from below for him to come back down. Cauis lumbered back to the tower and descended down the steps. Once he got down, the Vassals could hear him and someone else arguing. “But what if someone tries to break in?” asked Cauis.

“No one would be dumb enough to try to get in here except Ether, and the five Monarchs, which are...”

“What did I tell you about the five Monarchs Snatcher?” asked Cauis.

The Vassals didn’t stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. They crept into the door before it closed and ascended into the darkness above.

They came across many foul things at the top of the stairs including a giant Level Eater (A huge ladybug like creature native to the land of the Monarchs). It spewed a thick green webbing at the five of them as they crept closer. “What is that?” asked Escher. “Since when do Level Eaters spew webbing out of their mouths?”

The other four Vassals supplied no answer. They continued up the stairs before reaching a large door similar to the one in which they entered. They managed to push it open and step inside. Of all the things they could have seen guarding the room it was a flower. The other Vassals looked as confused as he did, but nothing could surprise them more than when it spoke. “I am Dandylion, guardian of my master’s lab. I must ask you to leave at once,”

A crazy looking man with a long beard and wild looking eyes, as if he had had too much sugar, walked into the room. He clutched a book in one arm and a sword in the other. The tip of his weapon was leveled at Garum’s chest. “What business do you have here?” he asked. “If you are here by order of Erebus to clone you or turn you into a giant web-spitting Level Eater, you can tell him I am done with his orders.”

“We are not here by order of Erebus,” he said. “We are here to destroy Erebus and rescue our Queen Ether. Unless you will try to stop us, in which case I will have to kill you as well, we will be on our way.”

The old man lowered his sword. “I have no wish to aid Erebus in his evil doings. I am a slave of his and am being forced to create monsters for his army. I am the Mathematician by the way.”

He reached out his right hand and almost impaled Garum with his sword. He apologized and dropped his sword. They shook hands and then walked down the stairs. They reached the room with the giant Level Eater. Escher raised his hand as it glowed blue. “NO!” shouted the Mathematician.

He jumped in front of the Level Eater and the Vassals. “Do not kill him!” he said. “If you do we shall have no way to escape this retched place.” “I am afraid we are not leaving,” said Garum. “But we shall abide to your wishes and not kill the Level Eater.”

The Mathematician looked surprised. “Not leaving this place? Are you insane?”

“We have to defeat Erebus, or the whole world will be his evil domain.”

“Do what you wish. However I have no wish to be killed and so I must say goodbye.”

He hobbled over to the Level Eater and hopped on. He turned around. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

He spoke to the Level Eater in an odd language and the giant beast sped away down the stairs. Garum had no idea what to think of the strange man whom they had just encountered. He turned to the other five Vassals. “We must continue toward Erebus or the world shall be left at his mercy. To Ether!”

“To Ether!” the others echoed.

They started down the stairs toward the throne room where an uncertain fate awaited.

They stopped moving when they came upon a giant metal door exactly like the entrance to the Mathematician’s room. They managed to push the door open using Landrobe’s strength. They slipped through the opening into a wide room with a chandelier made up of an obsidian frame and glowing blood red crystals. As expected in the center of the room, on a throne of pure darkness sat Erebus, Lord of the Dead. His hand rest on a glass container of which carried Ether. Glowing orbs of power floated out of her body as Erebus absorbed their power into him. He was draining Ether’s power and giving it to himself. If he succeeded he would have the power of all five Monarchs and the Queen of Light at his command. Garum didn’t have time to think, he lunged at Erebus using the power of the wind to keep him in the air and the power of Berlineth to erupt a shield of fire around him. He slammed into Erebus burning his cloak and sending him flying.

Garum landed on his feet right behind Erebus. The other five Vassals quickly came in behind him. They all attacked at once smashing Erebus with their newfound powers. Erebus raised his hand and Cauis, Eidos, Illusory snatcher, and Lucius, rose out of the ground. They advanced on the Vassals. Garum managed to get away from them and head toward Erebus. He lunged at him, but Erebus sidestepped and sent Garum toppling over. Garum stood up but Erebus had disappeared. He suddenly reappeared behind him and punched him in the back. Somehow Erebus had managed to seep into the shadows and reappear through another.

This time when Erebus disappeared Garum was ready. He sent a huge ball of fire into the air, illuminating the entire cavern. Not a single shadow could be seen. Garum thought he had succeeded but sadly he was wrong. Erebus raced into the room carrying a huge spear. Erebus had simply reappeared through a shadow somewhere else in the fortress. He thrust the spear toward Garum who leapt aside letting the spear slam into the wall. The chandelier shuddered and then fell smashing into oblivion onto the floor. The tiny fragments shot in every direction hitting everything in sight. Thankfully before the Vassals could be injured a giant fist of rock jutted up from the ground, blocking the incoming shrapnel. Garum had been the one to raise the wall, but sadly he couldn’t protect himself as well. The shards hit him like bullets smashing him into the wall and knocking him out.

Garum’s vision was fuzzy. He tried to stand but was unable. He could hear laughter echoing through the room. His vision began to clear and he saw the other five Vassals in chains. He looked down and saw that the same had happened to him. Chains as black as space held his arms and legs in place. He tried to melt the chains with no luck. Then he noticed that they were in a glass cage. He shot a jet of flame into the clear surface but quickly stopped as the oxygen level in the tank began to drop. The sudden drop of oxygen woke his comrades.

Garum noticed they were in the same room as before. The walls had scorch marks, frost crept over walls, and random columns of stone jutted out of the ground. It looked like the other Vassals had put up a pretty good fight before being overpowered. The other Vassals fully awoke and began looking around trying to figure out where they were. “We are inside a glass cage,” said Garum. “In the same room we battled Erebus before.”

The torches seemed to dim and the shadows seemed to creep closer at the mention of his name. The giant ball of flame that Garum had placed in that room had somehow been removed. Erebus lumbered into the room limping on his left foot. He smiled as he passed the cage. “See that limp in his right leg?” asked Escher. “I did that to him. He was coming at me until I smashed him with the winds and then crushed his leg with a fist of stone. He seems to have healed it quite a bit.”

“How is it possible to get your leg crushed and then be down to a simple limp after just a few hours?” asked Garum.

“I have no idea,” answered Escher. “He seems to have inhuman abilities, and can heal himself about fifty times faster than a normal person. I mean sure he has power over the underworld but he shouldn’t be able to do that.”

Erebus sat on his throne. His four minions knelt before him. “Today is a historic event,” Erebus bellowed. “Today, I shall summon the beast Tragoedia.”

Everything went silent including the crickets that chirped outside the halls. Even the whistling and howling of the winds stopped instantly. Erebus rose out of his throne and approached the centerpiece of the room. The altar stood just as new even though a battle of the elements had raged around it mere hours ago. Erebus laid his hand on it and then said an ancient curse. The curse was represented by a purple mist that oozed from his fingers and seeped into the pedestal. It was soon enveloped by the creepy mist. The mist was suddenly illuminated showing the silhouette of the altar. The silhouette suddenly grew to about four times its size and sprouted spikes. Then grew a spider like abdomen. Next came a giant crushing claw and then a distinct head. Then yellow eyes glowed from within the mist. The mist receded back into Erebus’s hand revealing the most gruesome creature ever known.

One of its arms was a crab’s while the other was a huge arm ending in bird like talons. Its piercing yellow eyes dug into the souls of people igniting their worst fears. Its legs were those of a spider. Spikes jutted out of its body on either side while its gruesome teeth gnashed in resentment.

The Vassals looked hopeless. Their mission had been a failure, Tragoedia had been summoned and the world now rested in the hands of Erebus. He was the only one on earth capable of controlling the beast. “There has to be someone who can do something,” said Escher. “Right?”

“The only one with even a slim chance of defeating Tragoedia would have been Ether, but she is powerless,” answered Garum. “I am afraid the world shall soon become the domain of Erebus.”

The beast took a step forward sending a spiderweb of cracks through the ground. It screeched and then turned its head toward Erebus. He was looking the beast in the eye as if daring it t come closer. The beast did no such thing and regarded its master angrily.

“I have summoned you Tragoedia from the depths of the underworld,” he spoke calmly. “Dispose of the Vassals. Make them pay for their crimes.” Tragoedia stepped forward again toward the Vassals and melted into the ground taking the Vassals with it.

The Vassals appeared in a strange new place. Their cages were gone and they now stood in a vast area of barren wasteland. Few trees were nearby, and those that stood were made of ash. A blood red moon hung low over the sky casting an eerie glow. The Vassals were hot and thirsty. “We must find something to drink or I fear we shall perish,” warned Garum. “There must be something here we can drink.”

They trudged on through the searing heat searching for something to drink. After hours they finally heard running water. They rushed toward the source of the sound only to find that the “water” was a river of lava. “Where are we?” asked Mithra the Thunder Vassal. “This place is unlike anything I have ever seen.”

“We must be in the underworld,” answered Garum. “That is the only possibility. I read about the underworld in the great books of our kingdom. No one has gotten out of here before Erebus.”

A grave silence settled over them. They pondered for a while before Garum spoke. “We have to find a way out of here. Somehow we must.” Escher stepped forward. “What good would it do? Even before we couldn’t defeat Erebus, and now he has Tragoedia on his side.” “But if we do not succeed our world shall perish and end up like this place. An inhospitable wasteland. I say we head in one direction and hopefully we will find something.”

They again headed forward hoping to find some kind of civilization. It was hours until they finally had to rest. They lay on the rock hard ground and slept.

They awoke and found strange footprints marking the ground. They decided to follow the footprints and hope they came upon somebody or something. They soon spotted torches burning upon castle walls. No one stood guard though. That worried Garum. Two giant crossbows were positioned at each end of the mighty fortress. Garum thought that he saw movement around the crossbows. “I have a bad feeling about this,” said Garum. “I don’t think...”

The crossbow fired before he could finish speaking sending a giant flaming arrow straight at them. They just dodged the arrow when another one fired sending a second arrow. Something was attached to it. After the arrow embedded itself in the ground, a warrior dressed in golden armor and wielding a large sword jumped off. He raised his sword, battle ready and charged. His white cape flapped behind him as he ran at the Vassals. Before they could do anything he had grabbed Escher and held his sword at his throat. “Don’t fight or the man dies,” he said.

The Vassals didn’t have time to think before each had an arrow protruding from the back of their necks. They fell down into the ground. Escher had no idea if they were dead or alive, but either fate would not be good. Escher got an arrow in his neck, and he fell down.

They woke up in chains. All around them were walls of steel. They sat there bound together for hours until one of the steel walls slid up and revealed the same warrior who had taken them prisoner. Beside him were two other people. One was short, buff, and carried two giant axes. The other one was tall and muscular. He carried twin blades, smaller than swords but larger than knives.

They walked into the room pointing their weapons at the Vassals. The one in the middle stepped forward being careful not to lower the sword tip.“I am the Dragon Knight of Creation,” he said. “I go only by that name and no other can suffice.”

He motioned to the shorter one. “This is the Guardian of Felgrand. He is like me and many of the other knights and cannot be called anything else. And the other one over there is Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn. He is the guardian of the sacred blades of Felgrand. Now that you know who we are, who are you?”

They told them their names and told them their story. “And then we saw foot prints and followed them here,” finished Garum.

Raiden and the Guardian of Felgrand looked unconvinced. The Dragon Knight was impossible to tell since he wore a helmet. “I have a feeling you are being untruthful to us,” he said. “I think you are a servant of Erebus, here to infiltrate our fortress and steal our secrets of the Lost Kingdom of Felgrand.”

“I assure you our business is just,” tried Garum. “All we need is a way out of here and some food and water. If we can have just those things we will be on our way.”

The Guardian and Raiden took a few steps back and whispered back and forth. Finally it seemed they came to a decision. “We shall go get Jain, Lightsworn Paladin and then he will see.”

The three of them turned around and walked out into the hallway and the giant metal door slammed shut behind them.

After what seemed like hours but must have been only minutes, they returned with another person. His armor was regal, a bleached white trimmed with gold. A red cape flowed behind him as he marched into the room. “I am Jain, Lightsworn Paladin, though you may simply call me Jain.”

He motioned to the three around him. “They have filled me in on what you have said and so I know of what you want.”

The metal ceiling banged and Escher lifted his head up to see what it was. Jain and Raiden gasped as they looked at the necklace that hung down from his neck. They exchanged puzzled looks and then stared at Escher in disbelief. Escher looked down again to see their faces all looking at him. Jain was the first to speak. “Where did you get that necklace?” he asked.

Escher pulled his necklace and gazed at it for a moment. I found it washed up on shore where I live,” he answered simply. “I was walking along our border next to the wind tribe when I stumbled onto this. When I picked it up there was a surge of power that went through me. It has been a token of good luck since then.”

The four looked awestruck. “It was said that a traveler would bring back the lost piece of the sacred blades of Felgrand,” Jain said. “That is the last piece.”

Raiden raised one of the blades to reveal a space the size and shape of a tooth. Then he raised the other which was not missing the spot. Escher handed them the piece which was then carefully slid into place. The blades glowed bright, illuminating the whole room.

Nobody spoke for a long while. They all glared at the blade watching it glow. After some time the blade stopped glowing and everyone shifted restlessly. Jain finally spoke. “There is someone you must meet.”

They all walked through the door without chains wrapped around their wrists. After about thirty feet they came to a wooden door embroidered with silver plating. They opened it and stepped inside.

The room was huge. A hazy cloud of smoke drifted around the room. A dozen wax candles were lit sending more smoke up toward the ceiling. Gray stone columns stuck out of the ground and hundreds of little green lights drifted through the air. In the center of the room, sitting cross-legged, was an odd creature who resembled no known creature. He was like a man for the most part, and had a long white beard. His shins were plated with what looked like scales and his toes were claws.

Everyone walked closer to him drawn by his aura of power. As they got closer they could make out more details. From both sides of his skull protruded two horns. His eyes were closed and he wore a tattered red robe. Suddenly he raised his head and then the same with his hands. Wings unfolded themselves from his back, giving him a very dragon like appearance.

“He goes by Keeper of the Shrine,” said Jain. “His true name was buried in history and is known to only him. He is the keeper of dragons and their kind. He is the one who knows best the story you must hear.”

The Vassals sat down along with the others in a half circle around the Keeper. His eyes suddenly opened jolting the rest of his body. His eyes were green and his pupils orange. He regarded all of them without blinking once. He started his tale and everyone fell silent.

Long ago when the world was not so divided everyone was at peace. Wars rarely happened and such things were always settled quickly. Nobody dared disrupt the peace in fear of death and ruin. Up on a hill there was a vast temple. In that temple was the only one on earth who had let anger and hate corrupt his heart. He was a master of Dark Magic and often tested his spells on the local villagers. He tormented them with horrifying weapons and spells until they were little more than crushed bones and pools of blood.

I was the only one in the village willing to reason with him, so I left my people in search of a solution. After days of travel I finally found the temple. I slowly ascended up the stairs knowing that each step could be my last. Once there I found the one who had been practicing spells and I tried to reason with him. After he heard my story he didn’t care what I said so he summoned dark beasts of hate and anger. They headed toward me and I suddenly had an odd attraction toward the sorcerer’s power.

He must have read my mind for he ordered the beasts to stop and then brought me to his room. There I found all sorts of things. One of those was a book. The book happened to be the most powerful aid to sorcery in the known world. He left me alone in there for an hour so I could decide whether to leave or train with him. I looked around the room and read the book of spells. I ripped out a page that I hoped I could use later and came downstairs to talk to the sorcerer.

I chose to leave and that I did, but not forever. Once I got home I realized that I had not even tried to argue with him about the villagers farther. I was sorry about my mistake but I was still happy. In the page I had stolen was a spell of transformation. After reading the spell again I sat cross-legged and began to chant the spell. I was trying to transform myself into a dragon but sadly I didn’t pronounce the incantation correctly. I was turned into a revolting beast of which all turned away in disgust.

I was angry and so I travelled back to the sorcerer and commanded him turn me back. He said no and called for a student of his. He got rid of me easily and returned to his master. As I walked away sadly I heard him complimenting his student. He called him Erebus. He thanked his master calling him “Master Obelisk The Tormentor”.

Everyone listened as the Keeper of the Shrine finished his tale. He stopped talking and closed his eyes once again. The wings folded back and his hands lowered. His breaths were thirty seconds apart now, and he swayed slightly to an odd buzzing sound.

Mithra the Thunder Vassal looked toward Jain, expectantly. “Was that all?” she asked. “Is that all there is to he story? How can that help us defeat Erebus?”

Jain did not look surprised. It was as if he had expected this kind of reaction. “To defeat someone you must know more about their history. Although Erebus is awful he once had a master, and to control something or someone as horrible as Erebus you must be even more horrible. Obelisk must have been more powerful than Erebus to have been admired and respected by him. If we managed to look get to Obelisk’s tomb we may be able to locate some clue to defeating Erebus.”

Escher liked the idea, but Garum looked unsure. “So,” started Garum. “You want us to get into a tomb of a powerful sorcerer that was more powerful than Erebus himself. Then you want us to search the tomb for any sign of something powerful enough to defeat him. Then we’re supposed to get back to the regular world and defeat him.”

Jain looked toward Garum and nodded. “Yes. That is the plan.”

Landrobe the Rock Vassal stepped in. “How are we supposed to get to the tomb? Then how are we supposed to get back to the regular world?”

“The Sacred Blades we guard so dearly may be the key,” said Raiden. “I have spent my whole life guarding and researching the twin blades. One of the things I read told of a secret power in the blades that could transport them, the wielder, and whoever else he wishes to any place in the world.”

Garum looked unconvinced but after a while the others convinced him to give it a shot. Everyone stood in a circle outside of the room, for the constantly growing buzzing sound made it impossible for any concentration. They bowed their heads and concentrated on their destination, a tomb far beneath their feet. In an instant they were all transported down and into the tomb. Eight giant bronze braziers hung on the walls lit with a blue flame. The room was octagonal and the walls were covered in ancient pictures of many unusual things. In one there was a king leading his people to victory. In another a man was in an awful machine, being crushed by wooden spikes.

Garum felt a cold tingle down the back of his neck. He turned around to see nothing but walls. Relax. It was probably just a gust of wind, he reassured himself. Because he was hundreds of feet beneath the earth, he could not dismiss the feeling. With all the magic Obelisk had, he probably made it so it felt just as it did above the ground. “I think I’ve found something!” shouted Raiden. “Look at this picture. It looks exactly like like us.”

Escher and Garum walked beside each other toward Raiden who was standing beside a huge picture of a group of people looking at another picture. The people resembled them exactly. Not a single thing was off about them except for their color which was because it was just a carving. There was an odd form of writing under the carving, but sadly no one could read it. They all looked around the room at the same time and their eyes landed on a scepter. There was a clamp between two ghostly green claws sticking out of either side of the scepter. It looked like it must have held something there once, along time ago. Raiden looked perplexed. “You don’t think it could actually be?”

Jain seemed to be in sync with him. He drew his sword. It was magnificent, and the white steel glowed bright in the darkness. The hilt was carved with a picture of a battle. Two people fought back to back, like the white moon in a sea of darkness. Garum could identify one of them as Jain. The other looked similar but Garum had never met anyone who looked like that. The sword ended in a semi-circle blue as the ocean. Jain took off the crystal and held it in his hand for a second, as if realizing how valuable it actually was. He then picked up the staff, and pushed the crystal into the clasp. It lightly tinted green and then back to normal. The staff however did not change so unnoticeably. It had a bright green aura surrounding it and all the dust from a thousand years flew off of it instantly. The Guardian gasped and took off his helmet to gaze at the wonderful sight. For a moment they thought the Dragon Knight of Creation would do the same, but he proved them wrong.

After a few minutes of admiring the scepter, Jain gave it a flick toward one of the braziers. Its fire extinguished and then it fell down off of the wall with a bang. Nobody commented on the scepter’s power but everyone was excited. “So, now we must travel to the surface and try to defeat Erebus,” said Jain.

After only about ten minutes they reappeared back in the regular world standing in front of the ice tribe’s land. The land was unlike it was before they left. It was covered in craters that seeped purple smoke. They continued down a path of ice toward the village.

The path was slippery, and was meant for the quick reflexes and spiked boots the villagers in the ice tribe had. They finally made it to the village after two near death experiences. The houses were destroyed and everything that once lay inside was strewn across the ground in front of them. They were about to leave when Escher suddenly smelled something. It smelled like smoke, and the air was starting to fill with ash. They decided to head toward the smell thinking it could be refugees hiding from whoever had done all this.

They made it to the fire and were horrified. Dozens of bodies lay in a pile as flames engulfed them. Escher saw many old friends there. Garum could see the sadness and anger in Escher’s eyes. Escher had seen many horrible sights before, but his friends and neighbor’s burning in a pile was definitely the worst. They turned away and walked into the tundra motivated to defeat Erebus.

The high walls of Erebus’s fortress and the broken glass sand was enough to send almost anyone away. He needed no guard for he had defeated the villagers and had sent the Vassals far away. For once Erebus was wrong and let his guard down. Everyone snuck in unnoticed and crept silently through the corridors. Despite the heavy armor that should have bean clanking loudly, Jain and the others happened to be almost silent. Only those looking for them would be able to hear them. They finally made it to the entrance to the throne room. They were about to go in when a harsh voice stopped them. A pair of glasses reflected off the dim light produced from the scepter. He had a white beard too. The Mathematician had returned to aid the Vassals after all. He motioned for them to follow and they did.

The heavy metal door shut behind them and the Mathematician stepped into the full light. His clothes were shredded but he didn’t seem to care. He also looked as if he hadn’t had a bite to eat for weeks. “I must tell you something about that scepter you think can defeat him,” he said. “It sucks in all of the powers of whoever you aim it at. It can be the difference to winning or losing. but there is a problem. Erebus would never stand still long enough for you to aim it at him. That is why Obelisk failed in stealing his power so long ago. He didn’t have anybody to hold Erebus down while he used its power.”

The Vassals all understood the meaning of those words. One of them would have to die in order to save the others. They were all about to suggest doing it themselves when the Mathematician stepped in. “I will do it,” he said. “You six are far to valuable to this land to die. There is no other way.”

Each Vassal wanted to argue, but they knew it was true. The Mathematician turned toward Jain. “There is one final thing I must tell you. I am your father.”

Jain was taken completely by surprise. He didn’t seem to be able to say anything. “Years ago I predicted death and carnage. I knew you would not be safe here with me, so I banished you to another realm to keep you safe.”

“I always knew I was different from them,” Jain admitted. “I had no story of the land of dragons like them. I was not the same as them, and yet, because of my difference I was seen as a commander and elected leader of our land.”

Jain reached out and hugged his father. “Goodbye, Dad,”

“Goodbye, Son,”

The Mathematician scurried off into the shadows again toward what would be his end. The Guardian of Felgrand looked at Jain. “Any orders, my lord?”

“Follow me,” said Jain.

He took off after the Mathematician and all of the Vassals and warriors hurried after him. They knew that one wrong move would send them back to the underworld.

Erebus sat on his throne watching the Monarchs writhe in their airtight box. It was nearly indestructible, for only someone with magic or natural elemental powers could open it. Erebus was bored. He had been sitting here ordering his minions to do his bidding for days. At least in the underworld he had some sport, catching and killing the numerous beasts that prowled its grounds.

Suddenly something moved on the other side of the room. To normal eyes it would have been easily dismissed but to the keen eyes of a hunter it was clearly something much larger. He saw it again, ten feet closer behind a pile of crates. It was green and tall.

Erebus got out of his chair and headed toward the crates. The green thing moved about a foot to the left. Erebus slammed his foot into the crates which shot into the air, along with the green thing he was hunting. The crates were a blur of brown and black as they rocketed through the room. They came down hard and crashed into splinters all over the floor. The green thing however, did not fall to the ground. It whizzed through the room almost faster than the eye could follow.

Erebus did not waste any time, he reached for the pile of broken crates until he came upon three dozen silver spheres. He picked it up and a green mist shrouded it. Erebus threw it on the ground and it shattered.

On the other side of the room Escher, Jain, and the others saw the whole thing happen. First Erebus threw the sphere to the ground. A green and black mist enveloped Erebus for a split second until two figures stood there. One was Erebus but he was talking to another person. It looked just like Garum except for the colors he was partially green but he also had black markings all over him. As the mist slowly receded more differences could be seen, his armor was worn down, and in one place he was completely missing his shin armor. It lumbered away from Erebus watching the green blur without blinking. He seemed to see an opening, and lunged into the air, shredding the real Garum’s chest armor. The creature fell to the ground and licked his fingers. They were covered in the blood from Garum. The real Garum had crashed down next to the wall and was trying hard to get up. Blood gushed from his wound and stained his armor red.

The Vassals rushed into battle carrying no weapon, but their mind and power. Escher and Landrobe went to face the creature, while the others went too help Garum. The creature was just standing there watching the Vassals, carefully constructing plan. The creature lunged at Landrobe with unmatched speed and ferocity. He barely dodged the attack. The creature landed hard on its feet and hands and got ready for another attack. Erebus laughed. “You cannot win this battle Vassals. You were not the first of your kind. Hundreds of Vassals have preceded you and this one here, his name was, Garus, Wind Vassal. He lived nearly three thousand years before yourself.”

Escher had no idea how to defeat a past version of himself who was clearly immune to pain and would stop at nothing to follow his master’s order. Erebus picked up another sphere and through it to the ground. A blue Vassal appeared now much like Escher, only older and stronger. “This one is Endus, Vassal of Frost.”

Erebus picked up more spheres and threw them to the floor. “These are, Ashton, Vassal of Firestorms, Mithrus, Vassal of Thunder, and lendus, Vassal of Rock.”

There were now five zombie Vassals and only four Vassals. The only hope was that Jain and his comrades would come out of hiding and save them, but no such thing happened. Instead, Caius came out clutching Jain by the throat. He was followed by Lucius, Illusory Snatcher, and Eidos, each of which held someone. Thankfully the Mathematician didn’t seem to be caught. “We found these people sneaking around the hallways,” grumbled Cauis. “They seem to be on the side of the Vassals.”

“Take them away,” ordered Erebus. “Now, Vassals, attack.”

All five zombies lashed out at the Vassals and whipped around for another strike. All but Landrobe parried the attack and landed a hit on them. Landrobe hit the floor hard and the tiled floor crumbled beneath his weight. Thankfully Escher erupted a fist of rock out of the floor to negate Lendus’s punch. Landrobe got up and shot his fist into Lendus’s face, breaking his jaw. Next he summoned a gust of wind to shoot him into the wall. Finally Landrobe used his power to send part of the ceiling toppling down on him.

Meanwhile, Escher was battling Endus, who seemed to have the upper hand. Endus tried to freeze Escher with frost with no luck, because of his immunity. Escher took his chance and blasted him with a stream of pure flame, which melted his armor to reveal a skeleton tightly wrapped with flesh, before he fell over in a pile of ash.

Mithrus kept disappearing into a storm cloud only to reappear on the other side of the room to punch Mithra. Mithra finally figured out what to do, and summoned a gust of wind to blow the storm cloud away. Mithrus was now in plain sight, and out in the open. She blasted him with fire, after seeing Escher do the same. Mithrus disappeared in a pile of ash.

Ashton was grappling with Berlineth after figuring out that fire did not work on a Vassal of firestorms. Ashton shoved Berlineth into a wall, and he fell to the ground hard. Ashton was just about to strike Berlineth in the face when Escher let out a blast of frost and froze him. Escher then struck the ice which shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. He then went to help Berlineth.

Garum just woke up to find himself laying on the stone floor watching another version of himself lunging at him. He also had a sharp pain shooting up through his body. Garum reached up to touch his face and realized that his helmet was torn to bits and his face was dripping with blood. The Garum thing lunged at him again, and he barely missed its sharp claws. Garum was too badly injured to fight so he just lay there waiting for the quick slash of claws. Soon it would all be over. The beast raised its hands and then fell. It fell to the ground with a crash. It suddenly burst into flames and disappeared. All that was left was a pile of ash and a helmet laying on top. Standing behind it were the four other Vassals.

The Vassals stood there looking at Garum through the eye slits in their helmets. He tried to get up, but staggered and fell. Escher managed to grab him just before impact. “Is there anything we can do?” asked Escher who stared at Mithra intently.

“I’m sorry but there are no methods of healing a wound from a Vassal,” she said sadly. “The Vassals have too much power. And because that Vassal was part of the Earth, no herbs could heal Garum.”

“Wait, a minute,” said Escher. “If a Vassal did this to him, couldn’t a Vassal undo it? What if we shared with him some of our elemental powers?” Before Mithra could say anything Escher blasted him with his energy. Each of the other Vassals did the same except for Mithra, who did not trust in this plan. Garum’s body shuddered and jolted left to right. He coughed uncontrollably too. Suddenly he stopped moving and slumped his head against the wall.

Mithra headed quickly toward Garum’s lifeless body and checked for a pulse. There was none. Garum was dead. Mithra, without even thinking, shot five hundred volts of electricity pulsing through Garum’s corpse. Garum shuddered to life, and took a quick shaky breath. Mithra had restarted his heart with her powers.

“My helmet,” Garum said. “It’s broken. I need a helmet.”

“You can’t wear that helmet anymore,” Mithra agreed. “The metal is gouging your skin. You have to take it off.”

“I can’t take this one off unless I have another ready to put on,” he said. “A Vassal can never reveal his or her true face until death.”

“I have an idea,” stated Escher. “Why don’t you put on the helmet of Garus? It is almost exactly like the one you had.”

Everyone turned away as Garum put on his new helmet. Erebus had went somewhere else thinking of the Vassals as dead.

The prison was lit only by a small torch flickering in the distance. Their weapons were hung on the other side of the room unreachable by all means. Their only hope of escape were the Vassals who, last time he had seen them, were battling much older and wiser versions of themselves. Jain didn’t know exactly how long they had been here, but he guessed a few hours. Everyone was in the same cell because it was so large.

Cauis was on guard at the moment watching the only entrance and exit into the room. He just stood next to the doorway, torch in hand. He didn’t say a word as he stood there either. He might as well have been a stone. There was a sudden crash in the hallway and Cauis went to check it out. After five minutes of Cauis being gone Jain became curious. He waited there for another ten minutes for someone to come back, and when someone did, it was not Cauis. It was Garum and the rest of the Vassals. Garum strode toward the bars and examined them. “It’ll work,” he said to Mithra.

Mithra grabbed the bag of weapons and took out the Sacred Blades of Felgrand. She then swung them at the bars which the blades sliced through easily. Jain and the rest clambered through a small hole the blades had made and escaped their cell. Garum watched everyone get out but realized one was missing. “Where is the Mathematician?” he asked.

Jain looked happy. “As far as we know he hasn’t been captured yet,” he answered. “It was just us. What of the guards?”

“We took care of them,” said Garum. “There won’t be any problem with them.”

They snuck out of the prison and headed back to the main room where Erebus surely waited.

They were hiding behind a wall watching Erebus walk to his throne and sit down. They were just about to run in and attack when Erebus got up and looked in the direction of the Vassals. “You are very fortunate,” he paused. “To have defeated your ancestors. You have probably been wondering what happened to Tragoedia. I must inform you that he is still here. He is shadow and darkness. Therefore he can become that very thing. He is there.”

He pointed to a wall on the far side of the room. There was no one there to cast a shadow, but no doubt there was a shadow. It didn’t move anything but it reappeared on the other side of the room. “You cannot defeat a shadow,” stated Erebus. “Shadow consumes all light.”

Garum noticed a small sign of movement right behind Erebus. The Mathematician must be getting ready. Erebus just kept talking and didn’t even notice the Mathematician coming in behind him. He jumped on top of Erebus who wasn’t even expecting it. Garum quickly took out the scepter and aimed for Erebus. He was just about to fire when Erebus threw the Mathematician across the room.

He slammed into the wall hard and the ceiling cracked above his head. “You shall never prevail,” bellowed Erebus. “Your end is near Vassals. You will be....”

Erebus never got to finish the question because as a spiderweb of cracks extended above his head, part of the ceiling fell down on top of him, pinning him there. Finally Garum let out a blast from the scepter, and Erebus disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The smoke drifted toward the scepter, and then the weapon consumed it.

The word of Erebus echoed in Garum’s mind, You cannot defeat shadow. Shadow consumes all light. “Unless my light is bright enough,” said Garum. He charged.

What happened next would be told in legends for centuries. Garum charged at the Tragoedia beast and picked up a torch off the wall. He kept the fire burning bright by blasting streams of flame into it. Garum threw the torch at the shadow which began to solidify. It was clearly burning. The flame kept inching its way up Tragoedia’s side until it had engulfed his entire body in flame. Although Garum couldn’t see himself, the others said his entire body had been glowing bright, and an aura of light had covered his body. Tragoedia’s skeletal body fell to the ground and burst in a huge explosion. It’s acidic blood spewed from its wounds and stained the ground red.

The temple was beginning to become unsteady, and the whole place shook. Giant chunks of stone fell from the ceiling, creating craters where they fell. The Vassals, Jain, the Mathematician, and the rest of them fled from the temple. Just seconds after they emerged from the walls of the temple it shook and crashed to the ground. Everyone stood there watching the the temple shift, as more of it crumbled apart.

They were just about to leave when they remembered that the Monarchs and Ether were buried under that rubble. They had been so concentrated on defeating their enemy that they had completely forgotten. They quickly ran to the top of the rubble and began digging. Landrobe shot a stream of flame onto the bricks in an attempt to melt them, but it didn’t work. Suddenly there was a hissing sound, and the air was filled with an awful gas. Landrobe had hit the remains of Tragoedia and the last of its blood spewed everywhere. It melted the stones and unearthed the Monarch’s cages, but it did more than that. The very ground under the temple melted away. Several layers of stone and dirt melted away as if it were nothing. After about ten minutes the ground opened up to reveal a small metal dome. The ground just kept dissolving, revealing more of the dome until it was a whole building. It was at least five times the size of the temple. In under twenty minutes, a whole city was revealed.

Jain and the rest of them looked amazed. “Our city,” said Jain. “We are home.”

Even the Dragon Knight took off his helmet to gaze at the infinite beauty of Felgrand. They walked down into the city and found the cage from which the Monarchs had been trapped. It had remained undamaged from the blood thanks to Erebus’ curse. Garum raised the scepter and hit the cage. Beams of pure energy snaked out of the scepter and into the Monarchs. Their eyes flashed open and the beams smashed the cage with its pure condensed energy. The Monarchs were terribly wounded and would need months of recovery before returning to full strength. The whole realm had been saved. They had won the battle. It was over.