Sitting by himself on his black and nearly crumbling throne, Kumraa's skeletal body barely contained the anger he was feeling and trying so hard to keep under control. His bony, yellowed hands clenched and unclenched with each ragged breath he took, and his eyes blazed red beneath his black hood. Once again, he had been made a fool of by these strangers, and young girls at that! This was NOT supposed to happen! Those girls should have been destroyed long ago, and this world his to do with as he pleased! Now he had to deal with the fact that they have retrieved the second Sacred Medallion, and by now, are making plans to seek the third one.
But by his dying breath, he will NOT let them succeed again. He couldn't, not if he wanted to take over this world and fill it with brilliant, glorious chaos; chaos that will engulf this world and purify all that was good and righteous. Chaos and cruelty was the natural order of the world...any world, not peace, not disgusting love or kindness! Once he had succeeded and ruled, he would show everyone here that love and peace was a lie, and that chaos was what truly governed all men's hearts.
Just then, the massive door to his throne room began to open, interrupting his thoughts, and Kumraa slowly lifted his head in the dark and dank room to see who was entering. Only a slight dab of light came in from the sun when the door opened, following the figures of tall, black armor-clad soldiers. Ahead of them, General Zain walked cautiously, then stopped before his lord and bowed down on one knee.
"You summoned me, My Lord, and I come to you. I regret to say that Djoser and the strangers have escaped once again and..."
Kumraa raised a hand to silence him, and signaled for him to stand. When he was at his fully height, Kumraa's voice was dark and gravelly, making even the other soldiers flanking Zain tremble just slightly. "I know that, fool. And I also know that they have found the second Sacred Medallion. Tell me, how can an experienced warrior such as yourself let mere mortal girls slip from your fingers? Mayhap you are losing your skill, General Zain."
Zain's eyes widened in surprise at the news of them finding the medallion, then he narrowed them as he looked Kumraa straight in the eye. "My Liege, you should know it was NOT as simple as that. These girls, they had help from some of the people. They somehow were able to gain allies that...AHHHHHH!"
General Zain would have doubled over with intense pain along with his unbearable scream, but even in his pain-dulled mind, he knew Kumraa wouldn't have given him that privilege. Kumraa had his hand up in a half fist, and through his power, was attempting to crush his heart into nothingness while holding his body up through magic. He also knew that if he would have looked at his heart now, it would have been reduced to nearly half its normal size, due to Kumraa's magical grip on it.
"General Zain, surely you should know by now that you cannot bore me with your pitiful excuses. It would do me great pleasure to watch you die as I squeeze your life organ for failing me again."
"M..M..My...Liege...P..please..." Zain's breath came out in ragged spurts as he struggled to breath, but no matter how hard he tried, he knew it would be useless. Already his eyes began to glaze over and he was so dangerously close to death.
"You have always been my best warrior, following my commands without question, subduing those who would dare oppose me...but now that these strangers have come, you have become nearly as useless as when I first found you!" Anger like none other blazed through his eyes, making it nearly impossible to see anything else on his skeletal face. "How am I to remake this world and gain what is rightfully mine if you keep failing me, allowing that idiotic prince and those girls to make a fool of you, hmmm? TELL ME!" he screamed out.
Even if Zain wanted to answer, he couldn't, because now there was nothing coming out of his mouth because wheezing noises. Standing around him, his soldiers looked on in confusion, not knowing how to deal the cruelty of the situation.
Suddenly, the blaze in Kumraa's eyes dulled just slightly, and he brought down his hand with a snort, releasing his magical hold on Zain's body. Immediately Zain crumpled to the ground, nearly passing out, and took huge gulps of air. His soldiers rushed forward to help him up, but Zain brushed them off. For a few moments, Zain remained on the ground, trying to regain his bearings, then slowly got to his feet. He was already so used to Kumraa's punishment when he failed something, even while he was being trained. Although he could not remember anything about his life before coming to his master, Zain had always felt that somehow, failing was something he never did not enjoy. It made him want to try harder....better.
Kumraa's eyes narrowed as he spoke again, and his voice was ever so unforgiving. "But I shall not kill you, at least not yet. You still have a chance to stop those infidels before they find yet another medallion. Besides, I've invested a large amount of my time and energy into making you one of my best warriors. It would be a waste to have to find and train another one. But mark my words Zain, do not fail me again!"
When Zain spoke again, his voice was shaky, but strong. "My...Master...if you give me another chance, I swear on my life that I will personally bring you their heads. They will not get the best of me again, this I promise!"
Kumraa's head lifted higher curiously. "Oh? On your life you swear? Are you sure you want to do that?" He cocked his head to his side arrogantly. "You have sworn before, my dear General Zain. When I found you, you had sworn on your dying breath that you would kill me...."
"Excuse me, Master?" Zain's eyes widened in curiosity at those words, but Kumraa cut him off before he could say anything else.
"Enough of this!" Kumraa stood up, reaching to his full height of over 7 feet, and bore his glowing eyes at all those who stood before him. "Those strangers must NOT find another medallion. We will crush them beneath our feet and destroy them. Use your tracking spells and sources to find out where they have gone since leaving the Red Forest! Find them, and KILL them!"
"With pleasure, My Lord!" Zain agreed, his hands balling into fists. "But there is one thing. With them finding two of the Sacred Medallions already, they might be stronger than before. I do not want them to escape again, so I want my men and myself to be ready for anything, but we have no idea how strong they might be."
"Ahhh, yes, I have thought of that. But they are just young girls....weak, inexperienced. They would not know how to handle such power yet." A smile creaked into his eyes, and a chuckled escaped his throat. "But let's just see how strong they are with their new powers, just out of curiosity."
With a beckoning of his hand to bring Zain and his soldiers closer, Kumraa explained the plan he had formulated in his mind while giving Zain his punishment. When he was done, the soldiers all threw their hands with their swords in the air and gave a great shout of victory. With this plan, the strangers who dared defied them will be defeated, and Cyphyrus will be theirs for the taking!
With renewed loyalties and determination, Zain and his soldiers burst out of the castle gates on their horses, galloping hard to their destination. But deep in the back of Zain's mind, there was a nagging question that kept persisting...what did Kumraa mean when he said that Zain had sworn to kill him with his dying breath? Granted, for some reason his memory was wiped clean, he had figured that out, but Zain was sure he would never want to kill his master. Why would he, he had taught him everything! But with a frown, Zain push that thought away from him. They were so close to victory now, and no one was going to stop them!
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With a bounce to her step, Jeneta walked to her horse and gently patted his soft and fuzzy nose. She smiled as she remembered one of the best nights of her life. After Heather had defeated the infamous Black Knight and freed him from Kumraa's control, the village had celebrated, and it lasted long into the night. Never in her life had Jeneta been to a place where joy was expressed so freely, where there was such a love of life. She and the other girls then sat and listened to the tales of the older people of the village about how life was before Kumraa had broken free...a time of great peace, prosperity, and learning. But now, ever since the war began, most people have been reduced to near poverty and hiding in fear.
But all that is going to end soon, I swear it! Jeneta thought determinedly. From since being here, I've learned so much and BEEN through so much. It has made me grown from the person I used to be. There's no way I'm going to let that all be destroyed. She nodded her head to affirm her thought, and continued to stroke the horse's soft nose.
"Jeneta, there you are!" shouted a voice. When the dark-skinned girl turned, she saw Heather walking up to her, smiling and looking well-rested. "You didn't think we'd leave without saying goodbye to the people, did you?"
Jentea chuckled as she pretended to straighten her things on the horse's back. "Oh come on Heather, it's nice for once to leave a place without us running for our lives and it getting burned to the ground! They don't need us gushing over them and all that mushy stuff! Besides, they know how thankful we are. And speaking of lives and burning villages, the longer we're here, the better the chance of Zain's forces finding us here..." She looked at the high, mid-morning sun as if to affirm that they should have left hours ago.
"Yeah, I know, but still, it's common courtesy! It won't take long!" Before Jeneta could protest anymore, Heather grabbed Jeneta's hand and dragged her to the gathering crowd at the center of the village, where Djoser and the rest of the girls were already getting well wishes and even small gifts from the villagers for their journey.
Shyly, Jeneta smiled and accepted hugs and gratitude from the many people as she joined where her friends stood. Then after what seemed like forever, the villagers quieted down as Kern, the old man they had met in the Red Forest, walked up to them. The people parted ways and they let him through, and when the older man stood before them, his blue eyes shone with unshed tears. "This is a great day in our village." he spoke, his voice gravelly, yet carrying through to everyone. "Today, we have been given hope that our world will soon be free from the evil grip of Kumraa, and our world will again be the glory it once was. Thank you, and may your journey be blessed by our gods, and great fortune come to you!"
At that, the people let out a loud cheer of joy and hope. When it died down, Jeneta looked back deep into his eyes. "Thank you so much Kern. We will do our best not to let you down." Jeneta enveloped him in a gentle hug, hoping in all her heart that what she said was true.
Soon, the group of friends were off, and after a few hours of traveling and the girls talking amongst themselves, left the village far behind. Many hours later, evening came as a dark, gentle blanket to cover the land, and stars twinkled above like tiny lit candles. They made camp for the night among the tall shrubberies and trees, and at the first light of day, they ate a quick breakfast and were on their way again. Soon, the forest surroundings gave way to a more mountainous terrain, and in the distance, large mountains topped with snow began to overshadow the forest, giving it a Wintry feel.
At noon, they ate a light lunch and rode for long hours again until once more, late afternoon was upon them. Jeneta rode up next to Djoser, curiosity getting the best of her. "So, Djoser, where are we headed to next? We didn't even have the time to check the map from my medallion. We're not lost or anything, are we?"
The dark-skinned man chuckled as he turned to look at her. "No, we're not lost. While you girls were still sleeping, I spoke with Kern and told him about where we should be going next. He even gave me some shortcuts to make our journey there shorter. We are going east, to one of our bigger countries called Xanishia. But it's one of the farthest, so we have to try and make it there as fast as we can."
Jeneta nodded and was quiet for a few moments, then turned back to look at him. "Djoser, do you....do you think that we can do this? I mean, find all the medallions and defeat Kumraa? I can't help but feel so..so scared when I think about facing him." She frowned with worry and sadness, and hung her head.
At those words, Djoser steered his horse right by Jeneta and took her face in his hand. He lifted her face up to look him in the eyes. "Jeneta, listen to me....I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that you have great power and potential in you. I believe in you...and the other girls. I know you will fulfill what you are destined to do. Please do not lose faith, you HAVE to succeed and live because...because, you're important to me."
When Jeneta looked into his eyes, she felt somehow she could believe his words, and that she could do anything with him at his side. But she caught his last words, and her eyes widened in surprise. "I'm...I'm important to you?" she asked, her voice soft.
When Djoser realized what he just said, he flushed just a little and cleared his throat. "Err..that is, I mean, you're ALL important to me..and that we should keep each other safe." Then as if he didn't want to say anything else to cause him anymore embarrassment, Djoser nodded and rode a little ahead, leaving Jeneta to look at him with curiosity. For just a moment...just a single moment, Jeneta had secretly hoped that Djoser would feel just a little bit of what she was finally admitting she felt for him. For so long she had tried to deny it. It couldn't be anything more than admiration for him and what he'd been through,could it? But yet she couldn't ignore how her heart beat faster when he was near her, and how she felt comfort in talking to him. Djoser was the first person to actually treat her more like an adult, not a child, and it made her feel more mature, and that with him, nothing is impossible. But...what if he didn't feel the same way about her? It would just devastate her.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Ling asked as she caught up to her with her horse. The other girls were soon around her, looking at her with concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Umm....let's get going before we get left behind." Jeneta spurred her horse on, and soon they reached a high and immense plateau that ended with a cliff that dropped into a large river below. Low grass, rocks, and shrubbery surrounded the whole area, reminding Jeneta of the many pictures of mountainous terrains she had seen in school that was abundant in Eastern European and Asian mountainsides. A chill wind blew across, making the girls shiver just a little.
"Brr!...next village we're in, I say we stack up on some Winter clothes." Ling said, wrapping her arms around her.
They were just about to ride on when Angeni's wide widened, and she looked around, her body stiff with anticipation. "Wait! Something's...something's wrong here."
"What is it Angeni?" Prya said, already her heart pounding with fright. Suddenly, a high-pitched screamed filled the air, and a moment later, a woman...wearing a thick-furred coat came running up a hill towards them. Her thick black flew wildly about her, and her arms waved about her in despair and agitation.
"Please! You have to help me!" the woman screamed. "A monster! A monster came and attacked us while we were traveling! It's killing everyone!" She fell to her knees as she neared them, tears flowing down her dark, almond shaped eyes.
"Whoa! Calm down! What monster, what's going on?" Heather said, getting off her horse and rushing to the woman to help her stand.
"My...my caravan! We were traveling to a nearby village to sell goods, and we were attacked!" Tears streamed down the woman's cheeks. "My family, my friends! They'll all die!" She pointed behind her, and they all gasped in shock as they saw smoke rising and heard more screams coming from that direction.
"Looks like it's Kumraa and his thugs again. Come on, we have to see if we can help!" Jeneta said.
With a nod, the other girls and Djoser got off their horses and raced to the direction the destruction was coming from, leaving the woman behind so she could have a chance to hide and recover. When they reached the scene, they gasped in horror of the scene before them. Many bodies of humans and horses were thrown about on the ground, some burnt beyond recognition, and the caravans and carriages once filled with people and cargo were destroyed and on fire. Few people were still running off, trying to hide in the short grass shrubbery.
"Oh no! What could have caused all this?" Prya said in despair. She had always had a soft spot for people who had suffered, and her heart sank at the sight before her. Her question was answered immediately as high-pitched, animalistic screams filled the air. They looked up and were met with the familiar figures of the animals that nearly destroyed them when they first set foot on this world. Four of the creatures flew into the air, their wings spread out wide as they rose, and their claws shown brightly in the late afternoon sun.
"Dammit, it's the tendrilias again! How did Zain know we were coming here?" Djoser hissed out.
"LOOK OUT!" screamed Heather, pointing at one that was aiming right for them. The creature opened its wide mouth and spewed forth a blast of fire that would have completely engulfed them. They all jumped out of the way, and when they looked back up after rolling on the ground, the place where they were just standing in was blackened and smoking.
"How do we defeat them?" Jeneta shouted, fear gripping her heart. Suddenly, she felt a tingling throughout her body, and to her surprise, the medallion around her chest started to glow. She looked towards Heather and saw that the same thing was happening to her. Without knowing why, Jeneta and Heather raised their hands, and with a flash, the swords that they had fought so hard for appeared in their hands, shining bright and true in the dying light of the sun.
Power like none other flowed through their veins, as well as a new sense of purpose. This is my calling, each girl thought, This is what I am meant to do...to defend all who are defenseless.
Lumias was surprisingly light in Heather's hand, and she looked at it admiringly. Somehow, it felt for it to be in her hands. Meanwhile for Jeneta, the Eye of Ra felt like it was now a part of her being, part of her soul, shining brilliantly in her hands.
But the girls barely had time to admire the swords more as once again, the evil creatures rushed forward, this time mounting an attack together. "Jeneta, Heather, look out!" Djoser screamed. The mouths of all four tendrilias opened, but it looked as if the two girls didn't even notice as the fire poured forth, ready to burn them into non-existence.
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