Continuing the stories

It's been many months since I've last updated this story. To you readers, sorry for not posting this story in my expected time. finally, I can update this story at last, as soon as I find my old file where all my papers regarding this story as well as its sequels are placed in. This story will most likely be updated within this year, and the sequel-The Orb of Holiness and the Spirit Blade by next year. All the chapters will be reallocated so that you will find them running in perfect order once I've finished typing it in.

Chapter 3: Breaking the Front Lines

As the party of humans and goblin trekked down the dark passage, they had to cross murky pools of mud and on one case, squeeze their way through a narrow path. Guided by the lights conjured by the mages, they slowly made their way to the end of the underground passage, where a huge boulder blocked the entrance.

"There it is. It's caved in," the goblin said.

"A concerted basic Push spell should do the trick," Farador observed. "Ready men?"

Sir Delyus nodded and signalled to the other mages.

"On the count of three. One, two, three!"

The mages mimicked Farador as he made a pushing movement with his right hand and shouted," Xi Blox!"

The boulder suddenly blasted out of the gap and into the sky, landing a few metres away. Light filled the opening and the men had to shield themselves from the bright sun.

Sir Delyus spoke," Let's get out of here quickly".

The mages extinguished their conjured lights and moved out of the opening, observing the area swiftly.

"There may be enemy troops nearby. We must make haste to Cleremont".

Hastily, they made their way down a dirt footpath right beside the underground passage. In just a few moments, they could make out Cleremont in the distance. A moat surrounded the capital, with its drawbridge lowered.

"Something's not right," Hayden whispered. "The dwarves wouldn't dare to lower their defences like this."

"They probably escaped to the portal and used it to teleport to Whitewoods," the goblin said.

"Where's the portal?" Farador asked.

"In the library of the Castle Cleremont."

"Be careful of enemy troops," Sir Delyus grumbled. He pointed at the goblin and added," Lead us to Cleremont".

Nodding, the goblin beckoned them to follow him closely and attempted to cross the bridge above the moat. Just as they entered the castle compound, a minotaur appeared out of nowhere.

"Humans!" The minotaur raised an ornately designed horn, and blew it so loudly that it seemed to have struck the party dumb.

Ken cursed and let loose an arrow at the minotaur swiftly. The arrow struck the minotaur's chest and he let out a loud roar. Angered, the minotaur charged at the party.

Farador sneered," Let me warm you up". He cast a Fireball while Sir Delyus summoned a flame pillar. In moments, the minotaur roasted into charred beef.

"Look out!" The goblin screamed as he indicated an approaching group of enraged minotaurs, orcs and skeleton warriors from the back.

"Go! Go! Into Cleremont!" Sir Acton bellowed amidst the loud thumps of charging minotaurs and orcs' feet.

"Xi Blox!" Farador pushed a group of orcs onto their own troops, then ran to safety.

The minotaur chief gruffed," Don't let them escape!"

As if accepting a personal challenge, Sir Delyus ran back into the fray and shouted for all to hear," You want me? Come and get me! Lora Manta!"

A torrential whirlwind gushed forward and sucked in a score of orcs who about to strike him down.

"Delyus, come back!" Farador screamed. However, Delyus ignored him and conjured a ring of fire around him.

"Delyus! To your left!"

"An axe whooshed towards Delyus and hacked his steel plate armour. Delyus felled as if he was a lifeless puppet. Rushing to his fallen body, Sir Acton picked him up and piggy-backed him, while Farador covered them by hurling another Fireball at the pursuing enemies.

"RUN! RUN!"

***************************************************************************************

As King Bogard held a council with his advisors, a soldier rushed into the throne room and made his report.

"Sire! We are under siege! Two legions of orcs and skeletons are marching towards us! They are now constructing trebuchets just right outside the outskirts".

Lord Edward commented," Sire, if i may make a suggestion, we can tear down their siege equipments with mages and thus break the siege".

The king leaned forward and said," Burn them".

Lord Edward nodded and continued," We could send about 5 mages to burn them down. The Alliance Keepers can attempt a sneak attack".

At this, the king shook his head and replied," Not a good move. The Alliance Keepers are needed here. We may be able to destroy their siege weapons, but we must also ensure that our guard is up. Remember, the Steel Peaks are now lost and our defences are pushed back to our own walls. We need every men available to hold the line. Maybe just a single mage rider will do".

"Who do you wish to send, my liege?"

The king looked at him gravely. "You, my friend".

***************************************************************************************

"That was too close," Farador puffed as the party hid into a small corridor inside Castle Cleremont. "How's Delyus?"

Sir Acton answered," Sir Moulder has managed to heal his wounds, but he is still unconscious. The axe burnt his armour when it passed through his ring of fire".

"Is he always that reckless?" Farador muttered, shaking his head.

Sir Acton favoured him a smile," Sometimes. Now, we need to wake him up somehow. It's hard for us to travel under such condition".

"Let's try this," the goblin said, pulling out a green-coloured mushroom, and fed it to the unconscious Sir Delyus.

"What's that you're giving him?" Farador questioned him, eyeing the mushroom.

"It's a restorative mushroom that can cure abnormal conditions," he said. "Watch".

To be continued.

Chapter 2: To The Elves, We Come!

"You are Sir Moulder," Farador said, indicating the other mage-knight. Recalling the names, he turned to the others. "And you are Ken. And.. Sir Goven.. And..."

"Calm down friend," Hayden said. "You will remember us in time. We should prepare to set off now".

As the retinue made their final preparations, Sir Delyus instructed," Whitewoods is probably half a day's reach if we take the direct route, but the demons will spot us as well. We ought to choose an alternative path."

Sir Moulder cut in," At this point, we should not take more than a day to reach there. The Alliance Keepers have control over some routes, so we might be able to use them".

Sir Delyus finished," We received reports from Whitewoods that an invading force is rushing towards them, so we must complete the task quickly".

"So, which route do we take?"

"There's an underground passage routing from here to Evendar, the Dwarf Kingdom. We could seek the Dwarves' help to lead us to Whitewoods," Ken suggested.

"Does anyone have an alternative to offer?" Sir Delyus asked. Watching the others shake their heads, he declared formally," It's settled then. Let the journey begin!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord Edward stood erect on the castle wall as if he was a flag-pole. Watching over the crenellations, he looked for enemy movements.

Below the gates, Farador and his band of fighters rode away towards the entrance of the underground pass. Looking from above, the group appeared minute as they continued down the path.

"May the Gods guide you, my friend," he whispered.

"What the...?!" Someone shouted from behind. Running towards him, the other defenders followed his gaze.

The sky was darkening as thousands of flying imps approached the castle, blocking out the sun itself. Each one of them carried a large boulder.

Even through the distance, Lord Edward could hear the first imp shouting," Boulders away!" Like bombers releasing their volleys, the boulders came at the castle walls and knocked down portions of the wall and the men on it.

"Archers, up!" The garrison commander commanded. Defending missle troops raised their bows and aimed at the sky. "FIRE!"

With a joint effect from ballistae, the missles struck down the attackers. Lances shot from the ballistae and skewered tens of imps in a go.

Lord Edward quickly gathered some of the Holy Guards and faced the enemy. Looking at the imps, he spread his palms outwards. As the others did the same, they shouted in unison," Ki la taria!"

Blue streaks of lightning flashed from their palms, striking down multiple imps quickly. Caught in the magical lightning storm, the other imps routed and retreated hastily.

Lord Edward turned to the garrison commander and said," Report!"

"Several casualties and a portion of the wall are down, sir".

Looking back at the sky again, Lord Edward muttered," They are testing us".

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the entrance of the underground pass, Ken whispered," Did you see that? Those imps?"

Sir Delyus answered softly," The demons are gathering their forces. Our quest will be a perilous one, so we must be swift. Those imps are tearing down parts of the wall, which probably mean that they will be deploying siege towers in later invasions. In that case, their army must be near the castle".

Farador shuddered and replied to the grim mage-knight," Then we must make haste, my friend."

Together, they descended into the pass, wandering through the underground halls. As there were few torches, the party had to conjure globes of bright light. Hayden readied his battle axe, while Ken nocked his arrow into a self-modified bow.

"This pass is a short journey. We should be able to reach Evendar as soon as possible," Sir Delyus informed.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a voice spoke," And what business does a group of Humans have to do in Evendar?"

Jumping out of his skin, Farador whirled about to find the speaker, but to no avail. He breathed hardly and asked," Whose voice was that?"

A stoic, short goblin approached them from a dark corner and said gruffly," Me. Well? What business do you all have there?"

Sir Delyus answered in a suspicious tone," Evendar is a land of Dwarves. Why are you, a goblin, here?"

The goblin shrugged and responded," Since the demon's invasion of Castle Rigwald, the Dwarf Lords of Evendar sent messengers to warn us of the threat, and persuaded our tribe leaders to form an alliance with them. This we agreed, and we have been trying to hold our lines against the demons ever since, but we failed to stop them. The demons have gathered hordes of orcs and minotaurs to besiege Evendar and laid waste to it. I escaped into this passage, and lucky for me, for it was caved in after that."

Farador brooded over the information and demanded," What of the Dwarves? The cave-end is caved in by what exactly?"

The goblin shook his head, flapping his ears at the same time," The outer defenders could not make it back into the city in time. Alliance Keepers had managed to hold them off before the city could evacuate into the capital of Cleremont. I do not know what happened after that, for I have been stuck here ever since. The end of the cave seems to be blocked by a huge boulder of some kind." "No human's strength could push it out," he added.

Farador answered swiftly," Let me be the judge of that. Lead us to Cleremont, will you?"

Again, the goblin shook his head. Farador began to look impatient as he thought the goblin was declining him. "Look, goblin. We have to go back there and..."

"I'm not refusing you! I'm just thinking you are too reckless".

Stumped by the awkward response, Farador simply looked away. Sir Delyus patted the goblin's shoulder and asked him to lead the way. With a soft snort, the goblin waddled like a duck and moved back into the darkness, with the group of humans behind.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Rise, Lord Edward," the king said.

Lord Edward, exhausted from the previous battle, rose slowly and fixed his gaze on his old friend. Without pausing to let him rest further, the king quickly enquired him of the battle and the status. Lord Edward answered it with a few short sentences.

"We are now trying to repair the wall, sir". Edward finished.

"Please, my friend. It's Bogard to you. You don't have to call me sir. Well, I've sent a messenger to the Eyries of Stormwind. The Windlord Alveen is an old ally of Rigwald. Hopefully, they may send some of their winged warriors to aid us".

A soldier hurried in and knelt beside Lord Edward to report.

"My liege. Evendar has fallen. The Dwarves retreated back into Cleremont and used a portal to escape into Whitewoods."

The king dismissed him with a wave, an act which seemed to age him a little. The messenger nodded, rose and turned back in one swift motion, then left.

"These are dark tidings, my friend".

"Do you think there is any hope?" Edward asked.

The king's response was a melancholy tone of despair. "None".

Chapter 1: Assembling the retinue

The grand hallway of the King's palace had a significant difference from the burnt slums situated outside the palace. As Farador followed his mentor, Lord Edward Hendelson, a member of the Order of the Holy Guards, he noted that scarcely a mere pillar of the palace had been touched by the demons, whereas the main city and the slums were nearly burnt to ruins. Everyone heard of the Holy Guards who repelled the assault of the demons, and smothered the flames with water spells.

As Farador ascended the stairs behind the hallway's arch, he found himself in the reception hall. Summoning the receptionist, he asked to meet the King as agreed. Lord Edward eyed his student intently, giving him a benevolent look.

"Don't be afraid my young friend. You are a master now. Things will be easy for you", Lord Edward began. "When the King's aide call for you, just enter the council room and take it easy."

Farador returned his mentor's gaze and answered, "This might be the last time we will ever..."

"To Farador of the Order of Combined Magery! The King will see you now!"

Both men sighed. Mentor and student looked at each other, knowing that the moment of separation has come.

"Good luck", Lord Edward said.

Farador steeled his expression and walked through the doorway leading towards the council room. Though usually filled with rows of the king's knights, the council room was unusually empty today, save for the king himself, and a few men clad in yellow garbs. Moving on, Farador knelt in front of the king.

"Hail King Bogard."

"Rise young one", the king's deep voice echoed around the empty room. "Let me have a look at you".

Farador rose slightly and kept his attention on the king as the king seem interested in him.

"You know, I presume, that you are here for a trial?"

"Yes, my lord".

The king seem satisfied and gave a swift smile.

"Then let the trial.. begin!"

A sudden motion to his right made him duck and roll, as Farador evaded a swift stroke by his challenger. Turning his attention, Farador realised that one of the men in yellow garbs was attacking with his steel sword held in a double-handed style.

The yellow-garbed warrior regarded him warily, then lunged again. This time, Farador sidestepped the attack completely.

"I have no weapons to fight back. Try this then!" Farador thought.

"Lango aradar!" he shouted as he conjured a fiery globe. Aiming true, Farador hurled the fireball at the armed fighter. The warrior simply removed his gauntlet and gently lifted his right hand.

"Est ehro lagla!" the warrior said and a magical barrier formed from his palm. Farador watched in dismay as the fireball hit harmlessly at the warrior.

"Well done young Farador, but I'm afraid while I'm a mage-knight, it will take more than basic spells to take me down," the warrior told a shocked Farador.

"I see," Farador slowly replied, while keeping his focus on the next spell. "How about fighting four of me? Cero ewaz naim chanto!" Farador shone brightly all of a sudden, and as the mage-knight shielded his eyes, Farador conjured illusions of himself, so that there are four of him.

"A worthy illusion trick, Master Farador," the mage-knight growled. "However.." He spread his hands and said,"El ri yasha!"

A small ring of fire surrounded the mage-knight, then slowly expanded around him. With flames closing on all four of himself, Farador summoned a magic-shield on his true self. Seizing the chance, the mage-knight dashed and attempted to swipe his blade down at the vulnerable mage.

Abandoning his defences, Farador pointed at the mage-knight, his finger tip glowing blue.

"Alam manim!"

An ice wave issued from the mage's finger and soared through the air, closing on the mage-knight. Unable to summon a defence quickly enough, the mage-knight stopped his charge and braced himself as the king raised his scepter and shouted, "Ryasha!"

An energy burst shot forth from the end of the scepter and blasted the ice wave right before it hit the defenceless knight. Farador whirled around and stared in confusion.

The king was a mage as well?! Impossible, he thought.

"Spectacular performance, Farador. I must say you truly deserve to earn the title of a Master. You will be chosen to lead this quest, but first, let us begin our briefing. Sir Delyus?" The mage-knight bowed as the king called his name.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord Edward examined the castle tower's defences. Ballistae and mangonels were situated on separate towers and turrets to maximise the defence of the castle. Outlying villages had already reported waves of demons and gargoyles heading towards them, and there were already skirmishes around the borders.

The castle was defended by the Order of the Holy Guards, as well a band of soldiers of mixed race, commonly known as the Alliance Keepers, a group organised by the allied leaders of Rigwald, Whitewoods and Evendar to defend the continent against enemies.

A fellow Holy Guard, Sir Johnson, followed Lord Edward for his inspections.

"Do you think these equipments might work on the enemies at all, sir?"

Lord Edward stared at a ballista and said,"They saved us on the previous attack. They will save us again. Have faith, young lad".

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Farador was sorely troubled by the briefing given by Sir Delyus. "So you believe, that the Orb of the Sacred Flames is not on this continent?"

The mage-knight nodded an affirmative. Dimly aware that the other men in the council room were all staring at him, Farador continued to ask," Then what can we do to get it? There's no transport that will take us there quickly".

The king answered swiftly," Our elven allies have managed to increase the effectiveness of a teleport spell to travel greater distance, through the means of an amulet. They have agreed to loan us the amulet, and so we must travel to Whitewoods to retrieve it and use it to find the Orb".

"But the Orb can be anywhere!"

At this, Sir Delyus cut in," Our friends from the continent of Perakins reported that the Orb was last seen near the Wastelands of Cheron. We believe it might be possible for us to find it over there".

The king resumed," However, as the demons are gathering forces, it may be required that you accomplish this mission as soon as possible, probably in a week. I've organised the Alliance Keepers and the Holy Guards to coordinate the defence of the castle. These men," he waved his left hand, indicating the men in yellow garbs. "... will join you in your quest. And I assure you, they are the finest troops I can spare".

"It is a pleasure to travel with you, Sir Delyus. And... everyone," Farador said.

Seeing that Farador had no idea who the other men were, Sir Delyus slowly introduced," This is Sir Goven, our tactician leader." A tall, scarred man in his youth stood out and bowed. The others followed suit as the mage-knight continued," Sir Moulder, he's another mage-knight. Ken, the finest ranger we ever have. Hayden, his axe is something which you won't want to face in battle".

Slowly, the king relaxed and said to everyone," It is time for you all to prepare yourselves. In the meantime, I will leave you all to be better acquainted".

Prologue

It was a time of terror, when ancient horrors long forgotten spreads its dominion over the continent of Carolan. The demons of old had returned as a banishing spell cast upon them by the Elven magi long ago failed and allowed them to break through. With that, the allied kingdoms of Carolan decided to uphold a prophecy made long ago that was passed down generations to generations in Castle Rigwald.

The prophet thus prophesised:
Endst thy world shall be,
With the powers of the ancients unleashed.
Endst these powers shall be,
With the Orb of the Sacred Flames.

Sadly, the kingdom of Rigwald was besieged by a wave of demons who had escaped the banishing spell. With the slums and outer defences destroyed and burnt to ruins, the king could spare nought for the journey. But as the situation turned bleak, a new hope has come.

Farador, a learned mage of Rigwald, has chosen to lead a party to seek the fabled Orb of the Sacred Flames. Recently made a master mage by the High Council of Combined Magery, the King decided to hold a trial for him and see if he was truly worthy.

Reader's comments

Please dedicate any comments on this post, because I will disable the comments on the main story. Thank you!

Unavailability

Good day again. As my computer has been taken away.. (sadly) :( I will be very late in uploading my story. So please be patient.

Author comments

Thanks to my best friend and editor, Jerold Tey, who encouraged me to continue writing the Chronicles. Thanks to Joey Tay as well, who apparently enjoyed giving weird feedbacks, but made the story entertaining nonetheless. This story was written out of boredom during lectures and lessons, and if not for writing them, I could have been scolded for falling asleep! :)

Hope you all enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing this.

~ Will H