Aeternum

“Ryaal.” Etria interjected. “We should devise a plan of attack. We will be severely outnumbered.”

  “We knew that going in to this. It doesn’t change anything!” He raised his voice in response. The group was silent for a moment before Ryaal spoke again.

  “I’m sorry Etria. It’s just…” Ryaal hesitated as he did not want to give them the truth, but they deserved it. They had stuck by his side and he didn’t have the right to hide it from them any longer.

  “…it’s just that, it hurts.” He told them.

  For any other, this admittance would be nothing to cause much worry. For Ryaal to say it meant something was very wrong. Etria quickly dropped the stand offish tone she had used a few minutes earlier and now took on one of great concern.

  “Ryaal, what is wrong?” She asked.

  “All the pain, it’s…it’s taken its toll. I felt it when we got here, when we came through the gate. I thought that if I just kept pushing forward, it would go away. I don’t know how else to describe it but…I think I’m dying.” He answered.

  Etria stepped back in shock and the look on Connor and Alina’s face was heart breaking. They looked at each other refusing to acknowledge what they just heard, for that would make it real and they would not be able to come to terms with something like that.

  “What do you mean Ryaal?” Etria asked.

  “I don’t think my body can carry this pain much longer. If we don’t go now…” He hesitated before saying the most painful thing his mind could possibly imagine.

  “…I don’t think I will make it to her. I cannot allow another sun to set without her free. Please Etria, we must go now.”

  “Alright Ryaal, let’s bring her home.” Etria replied.

  As they began to make their way out of the city, the large crowd of Ishra and Akirians saw the brave four headed off for battle and began to line the city streets leading out of the city. At first it was a relatively quiet gathering. Then cheers and words of encouragement began flooding in from the crowd. Louder and louder the well wishers got until only thunderous applause erupted throughout the city. This served to inspire the group and give Ryaal a much needed burst of strength for what lie ahead when suddenly, a voice louder than the rest cried out, “What’s that?” as an Akirian pointed towards the road leading to the city.

  All eyes turned to the figure in the distance, sprinting towards the Ishra city with incredible urgency. Ryaal ran through the archway and across the footbridge to meet the runner. As he neared he could see that it was a young Ishra male who collapsed in exhaustion as he approached the massive warrior.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Ryaal asked.

  The young Ishra struggled to capture enough breath to say the word.

  “Akirians!” He gasped.

  “How many?” Ryaal questioned further.

  “Three thousand!” He answered.

  Gasps from the crowd filled the air. One of the Akirians Alina sparred with earlier stepped forward.

  “That is more than enough to take this city.” Maruk informed.

  “No!” A voice rose from the crowd.

  “Not on this day!” The voice spoke again as it made its way through the crowd to Ryaal’s side, where all could see who it came from.

  Dressed for battle and carrying a large staff that seemed to be carved from one long cylindrical diamond, stood Larak.

  “But…you’re just a teacher!” Taruk pointed out.

  “I am an instructor of warfare. And today…” He said turning toward the direction of the oncoming Akirians. “…they shall be tested!”

  “I friggin’ love this guy.” Alina said, turning to Connor.

  Ryaal nodded at his elder friend before turning and giving his orders to the people.

  “You two.” He called, pointing to Maruk and Taruk.

  “Split everyone into two groups, one inside the city gate and one at the end of the bridge. If they get this far they will have to split into a column of two’s in order to cross the foot bridge. This is your chance to cause the most damage and you can stop them here. Make sure you do.” He ordered.

  The Akirians nodded in compliance with their leader’s orders. As they turned to carry out Ryaal’s command, they stopped in front of Alina and in their own Akirian way of wishing her luck, looked down at the young girl and spoke.

  “Don’t die.” They told her.

  “It would be the only thing keeping me from kickin’ your ass again.” She responded.

  Expecting that sort of tenacity from the young girl, they smiled and nodded in approval before making their way to defend the city.

  As Alina made her way to join the rest of her group, Ryaal stepped aside to speak privately with Etria.

  “You remember what you swore to me?” He asked her.

  “Yes Ryaal. If anything goes wrong I will take them and run, you have my word.” She answered. As she began to head back to the group Ryaal called to her and she turned, giving him her full attention.

  “If it is the last thing I do, I will save her.” He declared.

  Etria smiled, feeling comforted by the warrior’s promise.

  “Even when you were human, I never doubted you.” She replied. And with that, the group joined together and headed off towards the oncoming Akirians.

  Chapter 39

  From the crest of the hill the group could see their enemy approaching in the distance. Six massive columns of five hundred Akirian warriors each, moved steadily towards them. Ryaal and his friends looked on silently, not knowing where this day might take them, but knowing full well it would be brutal. For the first time since their journey started, the impossibility of their mission had hit them…hard. Though they wouldn’t admit it and tried desperately not to show it, doubt had struck their hearts. How can five succeed against three thousand? Each of them thought silently to themselves, when one word suddenly shot to the front of their minds. Hope. It was the one thing their enemy didn’t have and with it, that small group of five friends would give the greatest warriors in the known worlds the greatest fight of their existence.

  Connor noticed Etria standing by his side, giving her attention only to him. He turned to her and immediately noticed the look in her eyes. It was one of fear. He was confused. He knew she was not afraid of a fight, not even one this big. But it wasn’t a fear of fighting or even death; it was a fear of something else, something greater than death. He wanted nothing more than to seek out the cause of the fear that had gripped her and destroy it, but couldn’t figure what it was.

  “What is it?” He asked her with great concern.

  Her mouth opened but she couldn’t answer. Ryaal turned his attention to them and knew immediately what was wrong, as he was no stranger to the fear she felt. As he turned his gaze back to the enemy, still a good distance away, he answered Connor’s question for her.

  “She is afraid of losing you.” He stated.

  “Is that true?” Connor asked her.

  A single tear rolled slowly down her satin smooth cheek at the very sound of the words. She still didn’t speak, only nodded while not once taking her eyes off the young human. Connor smiled as he took her hands into his. A second later the look on her face changed completely. Her eyes grew wide as the most magnificent feeling washed over her. The unfathomable warmth only those truly, deeply in love can begin to understand. Her knees weakened but Connor held firm and did not let her fall. He would never let her fall. She regained her stance and as she raised her head slowly, her eyes fell into Connor’s once more as she returned that most amazing feeling.

  Connor gasped for breath, his heart beating faster and harder, as though it were trying to reach out to hers. No emotion he had ever known had taken him so completely. The intense love he already had for her amplified infinitely. The Ishra beauty and the young human had bonded. They had found their Eternal in each other. Standing there atop the hill overlooking the impossible battle they would soon be deep in the midst of, they were the happiest either of
them had ever been.

  “Geesh, get a room, right?” Alina whispered as she elbowed Ryaal. A slight smile began to rise on his face at both Alina’s comment and the joy for what he knew just happened between his friends. The smile soon faded as Ryaal spoke.

  “Something’s happening.” He informed the group while motioning toward the advancing enemy.

  Among the massive, three thousand strong army, an entire column of five hundred had begun to pick up their pace, quickly separating themselves from the larger force and forming one of their own consisting of five columns of one hundred warrior’s each. Once separate from the larger unit, they proceeded moving forward until they were a hundred yards ahead. They then stopped cold, causing the larger army to do the same.

  Chapter 40

  “What is the meaning of this? Fall in at once!” The Akirian General demanded of the smaller formation.

  The five hundred Akirians snapped to attention and sharply performed an about face. The two armies were now staring one another down, as the leader of the smaller force stepped forward.

  “Did you not hear me? FALL IN!” The Akirian General again shouted his command.

  “Stifle your orders traitor!” The response shouted back from the leader of the smaller group stunned him.

  “We are the true Akirian sons, loyal to Kor and Ryaal. We are the ones responsible for giving safe passage to our brothers and sisters. We are the ones who brought them to the safety of the Ishra and we will no longer stand for the tyrannical rule of Syrk, the coward and liar!” The rebel leader declared.

  “You treacherous scum! How dare you defile the name of our great leader and show loyalty to ghosts? You will be hung for your treason.” The Akirian General screamed back.

  “There are no such things as ghosts!” A voice shouted from behind the rebel formation and all eyes focused on who it came from. The rebel warriors parted into two columns as Ryaal and his friends made their way through to the front. Their leader had returned.

  “Sir…” The rebel leader spoke. “…we did not know if the stories were true.”

  Ryaal put his hand on the young Akirians shoulder.

  “And yet you stood ready to fight, ready to defend our brothers and sisters and the Ishra…ready to defend my grandfather’s name. And for that, I am grateful.” He said sincerely.

  “I am grateful to you all.” He said loud enough for the rest of the rebels to hear.

  “RUH, RUH, RUH!” The rebel force shouted their excited battle cry in response to their leader’s words.

  “Enough!” The enemy general shouted in disdain.

  “So the traitor son has returned. Tell me, what exactly do you hope to accomplish, traitor?” He asked tauntingly.

  Walking closer to the legendary Akirian in an effort to seem unafraid, the enemy General continued his inquiry.

  “Do you think you can defeat my forces? Do you really think you can defeat your father?” He asked, now standing directly in front of Ryaal.

  “There are ten thousand Akirians guarding the city entrance. Do you think that if you somehow survive me, you can make it past them?” The General’s raspy voice questioned further.

  He leaned in and stared directly into Ryaal’s fire soaked eyes.

  “Do you honestly believe you can save her?” He whispered, sounding more like the hiss of a venomous snake.

  No one even noticed Ryaal move until he pulled his hand back through the General’s skull. Connor leaned towards Alina.

  “Did he just punch a hole through that guy’s face?” He asked in a hushed tone.

  “Yes Connor, he just punched a hole through that guys face.” She answered casually.

  As the lifeless body dropped at Ryaal’s feet, his view of the rushing enemy became unobstructed.

  His heart rate slowed.

  His breathing slowed.

  This is what he was born to do.

  He inhaled deep and calm.

  And then his command exploded from him.

  “ATTACK!”

  Chapter 41

  Both sides clashed violently as the battle began and the fighting quickly spread like wildfire throughout the vast valley. Ryaal moved swiftly through the enemy ranks. Using a combination of his bare hands and the weapons of downed enemies, he slashed and stabbed his way through torso, neck, and head. The chaos quickly spread and looked as though each member of Ryaal’s team were battling their own army of Akirians.

  Alina and Larak were working together with devastating efficiency. The elder Ishra would launch an enemy high into the air with his diamond staff and Alina would pounce, leaping and taking out her target with deadly precision. Her small stature also allowed her to run through enemy ranks almost undetected, until she moved to sever an Akirian limb. It wasn’t long though before Larak and Alina were facing down a more unified group of Akirians. Their fighting seemed to stop as the enemy regrouped into a more concentrated force of close to two hundred, all preparing to attack the elder Ishra and the young girl at once. Alina changed her weapon to a long staff with serrated blades at each end.

  “I have an idea.” She told Larak.

  She sprinted a few feet forward and launched her double sided spear at the enemy who at first stepped back defensively, before watching the weapon sail high overhead and land in the dirt far behind them. The mass of Akirians began laughing at the young girl.

  “Well, in your defense…” Larak started. “…you did not say it was a good idea.”

  Alina simply looked at him with a knowing smile before turning her attention back to the enemy, giving them the same smirk. She thrust her hand out in front of her and in her mind, called to her weapon. The enemy stopped laughing as a whooshing sound filled the air, followed closely by the screams of Akirians, quickly escalating from the back of the formation to the front. As she called to her weapon, it responded, spinning and slashing the enemy in half as it made its way home to her. Within seconds more than a hundred Akirians that stood before them had fallen, to pieces.

  The rebel Akirians were pushed back on the battlefield, their numbers almost cut in half by the enemy forces, but they continued to hold strong making every enemy Akirian they faced regret the place their loyalties lied.

  Connor and Etria were the farthest away from where the battle had originally started; fighting what seemed to be the larger of the enemy force. Etria fought with murderous grace, weaving and spinning over and around a carousel of deadly weapons hoping to find their mark anywhere on her body. Connor looked for her to make sure she was alright and quickly realized how far apart they had gotten from each other.

  Then he saw what she did not. The massive war hammer slammed violently into her back, sending her soaring through the air far away from the battle and even farther away from Connor. His heart dropped as he sprinted towards her and his horror amplified when he saw that an enemy Akirian made it to her first. She was crawling, trying to regain enough strength to turn herself over and face the battle. She had no idea of the enemy stalking close and quiet behind, waiting for the moment to strike his prey.

  “ETRIAAA!” Connor screamed her name with all the force his human body would allow. Faintly, she heard him over the sounds of battle and turned her head to look in his direction. As her head turned she saw the Akirian standing over her, grasping a long spear with both hands high above his head. As he brought it down to slam through her back, she threw herself over hoping to do so with enough force to dodge the death blow and counter attack.

  The spear slammed violently into her chest. Her guttural scream echoed through the air instantly bringing a halt to the entire battle as every combatant quickly turned their attention to where it had come from. Connor tackled the Akirian with freight train force, driving him hard into the ground and on his back. Without hesitation, he slammed his hand against the Akirian’s neck and viciously tore the throat from his enemy. His death would not be a quick one.

  Connor rushed to Etria and knelt beside her bloody and unconsc
ious body. Every Akirian saw this as weakness, as opportunity to strike. The hundreds that remained rushed in Connor’s direction, every one of them vying to seize the opportunity to strike down the young human. Ryaal, Larak, and Alina chased after them, trying to kill as many as possible, in the hope that it would divert their attention away from Connor and Etria. But the enemy wanted only the blood in the water.

  Connor called to her over and over again, each time becoming more and more heartbroken by the lack of response. He continued to stare at Etria as his friends struggled to keep up with the rushing Akirians. Devastated by the sight of his Eternal, Connor clenched his hands tightly into fists as his whole being became saturated with an intense and incredible rage. His fingernails pierced the flesh of his palms, leaking blood as the air around him began to twist and ripple. He boiled with fury. Ryaal saw what was happening and quickly changed the direction of his sprint and headed towards Larak and Alina. He tackled them to the ground and held them firm, shielding them with his massive frame. Their Akirian allies saw what Ryaal had done and they too hit the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Alina screamed at him, her eyes filling with tears for what was about to happen to her friend.

  “We gotta get to Connor, they’re gonna kill him!” She screamed again and again as she thrashed and tried desperately to break free from Ryaal’s protection, but he would not budge.

  Connor turned his head and stared upon the oncoming swarm of Akirians with perfect hate. They rushed towards him, faster and faster, weapons drawn high in the air preparing to decimate the young human and his love, each of their faces distorted by the blood thirsty screams emanating from them. But Connor saw them differently. They moved incredibly slow, their war cries making no sound to him. With the Akirians now only a few yards away, Connor returned his gaze to Etria. As the massive Akirians moved closer and closer, their varied array of weapons began slicing through the air heading towards the young human and his Eternal. Connor closed his eyes.

  A second later his blood soaked hands shot open, setting off a massive shockwave, obliterating the Akirians and shattering them into nothing more than a bloody mist. The deafening boom was heard far and wide and the raging battlefield suddenly became silent. Ryaal quickly jumped up, making sure Larak and Alina were alright before they all rushed to Connor and Etria.