Rise of a Legend

Chapter 31

  The days flew by as Orion redoubled his training. He had completely forgotten about returning to Lunspae. Whenever he wasn’t studying, he was in the courtyard, exercising and practicing fysimae. He would go through his routines over and over again, gaining almost another hundred pounds on each of his wristbands and anklets. He seemed to have lost interest in everything else, including spending time with his friends. Alex often joined him for training, and had gained almost as much weight on his gauntlets as Orion. The other boys would train at the same time, but not with Orion, since Orion was too strong. The only one who was any challenge at all was Alex.

  Spring, and Orion’s eighteenth birthday, was approaching quickly, but Orion didn’t care. Several young girls came to meet him, hoping to win his affection and be picked for the next queen. Orion had just about enough of those silly girls looking to marry him only for the power and prestige the title of ‘king’s wife’ would bring. Not one of them really cared about him, only about the money he would inherit on his twentieth birthday. Those girls often made Orion angry, and ran from his rooms in a matter of days, crying. Orion didn’t care. He wanted Kelia to come back. She didn’t care that he was a prince, let alone about to inherit two kingdoms. She treated him like a person, not some idol that could be bent and shaped to her will. Just the thought of Kelia brought tears to Orion’s eyes, and he would often cry himself to sleep. He had stopped wearing blue because it reminded him of her too much. During the time they were together, Orion had an expert painter create a picture of the two of them together, with a beautiful summer background. He kept that picture in his private room, along with all of his other secrets.

  Orion didn’t really remember when the weather had gotten cold. One day when he went down to train, the icy wind bit him so hard he ran back inside. He was forced to cancel his training that day, and had a servant come to his room every evening to let him know if it was warm enough to train outside. He and Alex would often go out with coats on. Slowly, the weather became warm enough that he didn’t need a coat anymore. He would often fly, but more as an escape from his loneliness than for the joy of flying. Alex was charged with making sure Orion didn’t run into any trouble when he went flying, since Alex was the only other known jisbae on the planet, and certainly the only jisbae warrior other than Orion. Alex became known as the prince’s bodyguard, and would follow Orion everywhere. Orion didn’t seem to notice or care that Alex would tag along wherever Orion went, whether out flying, down to the stables to train his horse, or on a trip to the city for a bike ride. Orion didn’t pay attention when the courtyard erupted in a flurry of color as many flowers and trees bloomed, and others were freshly planted. He was too involved in his training to pay attention to anything else, which is why he had no warning when a foreign ship crashed into the palace wall.

  Guards and servants alike were screaming as a large spaceship engulfed in flames fell out of the sky and hurtled towards them. Orion stood transfixed, staring at the ship as it came closer to him. His entire body went numb as the image of the flaming spear plunging into his eye flooded his mind. He regained his senses just in time to dive behind the stone fountain as the ship hit the ground in the forest outside the wall that separated the forest from the courtyard. A muddy tidal wave of uprooted trees, dirt, rocks, and debris rose up before the ship as it slid straight towards the courtyard and crashed through the wall. Stone mixed with mud and plant debris as it flew in all directions, impaling everything it hit, including the fountain where Orion was hiding, soaking him in cold water. Finally, the ship came to a halt, but the fire consuming the wreckage blazed up over a hundred feet into the air. Orion saw people running from the flames, but he could also make out shapes near the fire as he peeked around the fountain. Water began shooting from all directions as firefighters assembled to battle the blaze. With his senses heightened from the transformation, he saw someone coming out of the ship, and heard that there was still others inside. Shoving his fear aside, Orion took to the sky, flying around the flames to find a way in. Spotting an opening, Orion dived inside.

  “Is anyone here?” he called as the fire closed in around him. “Answer me!” He saw not only broken ship parts littering the floor, but bodies as well. Burnt, blackened, and shriveled, Orion could tell he was too late to save them. He was just about to leave when he heard a faint call.

  “Help!” the ninmisn was so soft, Orion thought he had imagined it. “I’m caught!” There was no mistaking it. Someone was trapped in here, and he had to find whoever it was. He searched, seemingly in vain, as the searing heat scorched him and the thick smoke choked him. He was about to give up when he saw a small movement. The person was stuck under a collapsed pillar. Orion levitated the pillar with great difficulty and pulled the person out, just as another part of the wreck collapsed, blocking off Orion’s only escape. Clutching the body, Orion searched frantically for another opening in the fire, but found none.

  Is this the end? Am I to perish here in this wreckage? Orion thought despairingly. The smoke was so heavy he could no longer breathe. The flames were licking his sides as he fell to his knees, too weak to stand. I’m sorry, he thought to the unconscious body in his arms. A rumble, a loud crash, and then a spray of water hit Orion, forcing him to come to his senses. No, this can’t be it. It can’t! He thought as he got up and looked around at the unforgiving fire. A cool breeze made him look up at a speck of blue sky. Is it possible? He spread his wings and took off, his feathers burning as they brushed the white-hot insides of the doomed ship. He shot out of the opening with a new strength, and veered to the right just above the tips of the flames. The cool breeze froze him to the bone as he struggled to stay aloft. Once he had flown a small distance away from the fire, his wings began to give out and he desperately searched for a place to land. Falling from the sky, he hit the soft, cold, muddy ground and rolled with the body still clutched tightly in his arms. The last thing he saw as he passed out was the blaze, and heard people yelling all around him.