CHAPTER FIVE: CRY HAVOK

What had started off as a peaceful day in Meribia was now a night filled with panic. The sounds of screaming and the howls of the undead tore through the night. Several Meribian guards tried to fight back, only to be mercilessly cut down, along with anyone else who got in the way. A few skeleton warriors had set some of the buildings ablaze, and the smoke and flames rose high into the night, turning the heavenly town into a scene right out of Hell.

A battalion of skeleton warriors was marching towards the shipyards, weapons and torches at the ready. There was no escape, and the people of Meribia knew it. The governor and many of the city officials were already dead. Some made a vain effort to flee, others were determined to die fighting. All together, they stared hopelessly at the oncoming skeletons, knowing that they were about to join them in death. Or even worse, perhaps undeath...

All of a sudden, a powerful figure appeared behind the skeleton warriors, a strange sword in his hand. With one swing, four skeletal warriors were split in half, and collapsed to the ground. From two different directions, waves of magic flame struck down dozens of warriors. A huge giant of a man attacked the remainder, shattering them to pieces with mighty strokes from his axe.

The rescued citizens looked at their savior in awe. He bore the Armor of the Dragons and the legendary Sword of Althena. His green eyes were bold and intense. There was no doubt in their minds: a Dragonmaster had come to save them.

Dragonmaster Dyne grimly surveyed the battlefield that was Meribia, and the monstrous army that had made it so. With a look of sheer contempt, he charged as a group of mummies, tearing them to pieces with his sword. An arch fiend launched a fireball at him, but he effortlessly blocked it with his shield. Casting a flame spell of his own, the Dragonmaster fired at the arch fiend, setting his ragged shroud on fire. With a mournful wail, it sunk to the ground, and after a few seconds, lay still.

Ghaleon was dueling with a pair of skeletal warriors, using his own blade to defend himself. With a swift stroke, he decapitated one, and blocked the wicked slash of another. The second skeleton, a huge monster with rotting flesh still on his bones, still came at him, advancing with each stroke. Although Ghaleon's skill in swordsmanship was as great as his magical ability, he was still hard pressed by his opponent. Still, Ghaleon prided himself as always having an ace up his sleeve. Feigning weakness, he desperately parried another blow before reducing the skeleton warrior to ash with a flame bomb spell.

Suddenly, Ghaleon heard strange muffled cries and a dull pounding sound nearby. Looking around him, he saw that the building next to him was on fire, and the door was blocked off by debris. His eyes narrowed as he heard someone banging on the door, screaming for help. It sounded like...children! "Don't worry!" he cried, praying whoever it was could hear him. "I'm here to help! Stand back from the door!"

He summoned a powerful wind spell to put out the fire, and to blow away the debris. The doorway opened, and he found a group of terrified children huddled against the wall. They looked at him fearfully, wondering if this was a new enemy come to torment them. "It's all right," he said soothingly. "Just relax. You're safe now."

Lemia was holding her own against a squad of zombies. An ice barrier kept them from getting too close, and a steady combination of fire and ice magic finished them off. She looked at the remains of the undead monsters uneasily. She had been in several battles since the day she had met Dyne and Ghaleon, but she had never encountered the undead until today. The thought of "living" in a state of undeath sickened her, but she shook herself out of it and went back into the battle. The task at hand was all that was important now.

Mel was also new at fighting the undead, but seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it. Although zombies and carrion vultures took a little more effort, the skeleton warriors were easily dispatched with his axe, sending bones flying everywhere. He heard a scream and saw another skeleton, its sword raised, about to kill a little girl. With a cry of rage, Mel grabbed the skeleton's skull and crushed it into powder with his single bare hand. The girl was horrified by the brutal display, but the cheerful grin that Mel flashed her helped reassure her.

"Relax, kid," he said with a fatherly smile. "I'm one of the good guys."

The remainder of the undead army, seeing how their numbers had been greatly diminished so quickly, turned and fled. But the four heroes would not let these fiends escape to cause more death and destruction. Ghaleon cast a powerful earth spell that Dyne had nicknamed "Rock N' Roll." The very earth formed itself into massive stones, and smashed themselves against the undead army, either shattering them to bits, or burying them in the ground that had once held them.

"It's over," Dyne sighed in relief.

"For now," Ghaleon muttered grimly. "Amalek has bigger plans than merely decimating towns and raising the dead."

"Is he after the White Dragon?" Lemia asked. "After all, isn't that who defeated him in the first place?"

"I doubt it," said Dyne. "Amalek is here to destroy Althena and Lunar. He's trying to build power, and won't waste it on the dragons. Besides, The White Dragon who stopped him has been dead for thousands of years."

Ghaleon disagreed. "But the dragons are the guardians of Althena. Should they fall, The Goddess will be unprotected."

"So what is he planning?" Dyne tried to think, searching desperately through the scattered memories of his nightmares. He remembered seeing the sky turning blood-red, and raining death upon Lunar.

What did it mean?

*****

Within his lair in the Ebony Tower, a monument built by the original people of Lunar in memory of those who perished in The Great War, Amalek frowned as he viewed the battle in Meribia, and the so-called Dragonmaster's victory. He expected easy conquest, and the idea of a mere human actually being able to hurt him tore at his pride, hurting him even more than the injury itself.

But he pushed these thoughts aside. His power had reached its peak at last, and it was time to begin his spell. Now was not the time for doubts...or to be wasting his powers on mere humans. The attacks on the villages, his army's assault on Althea's Shrine and Meribia were just delaying tactics, a taste of things to come. Play time was over. Now it was time to get down to business.

He summoned his new powers and began to cast a spell: The Crimson Death. It was a spell of the purest evil, the one created and used by Zophar himself to destroy The Blue Star, turning it into a frozen wasteland. Now, in Zophar's name, Amalek now prepared to cast that very same spell. In a hollow, droning voice, he began to chant...

Once there was death 'till the sun brought life
But death shall come once more
For I now draw mine sword at the light of life
A light that will shine no more

Let darkness cover the skies over the spawn of man
He shall know despair of the soul
Let the sun never shine on the face of man
Or in his eyes and soul

I call upon Death's shroud to fill the sky
And remain there for all time
All shall be a graveyard, from earth to sky
From now till the end of time

Man's home is now the shadows
His future is the grave
His world is now the wasteland
And fear is his new dream

As Amalek spoke, a red cloud began to form over the Ebony Tower. It spread throughout the entire sky, as if it was bleeding. It was so thick and malignant, it blocked out the Blue Star and all its light.

Although the spell taxed Amalek's power to the limit, he smiled as he watched the spectacle. This way was better than force of arms: forcing humanity to know complete and utter helplessness and despair. Cut off from both the sun and The Blue Star, the source of Althena's holy light, they were now condemned to a slow, living death. And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

If only he cold have had been there when Zophar had used it on The Blue Star. How he wished he could have been there for his glorious master's triumph. But before his master had the chance to use the spell, The White Dragon had vanquished him, and Zophar had ordered him to hide in The Void.

But now, there was nobody to interfere. Even better, instead of being a mere speculator of chaos, he was now the grand orchestrator.

He looked up at the sky. In about an hour, the entire sky would be covered in the blood-red cloud, and become permanent. After being in effect for an hour, nothing would be able to undo it then, even Althena's power. Victory was assured. Once Althena had seen all her children perish, and he had reveled in her despair, Amalek would destroy her and the four Dragons, and he could free his master Zophar from his eternal prison. After that, they would rule not only the world of Lunar...but perhaps all the universe as well...

*****

From the Goddess Tower, Althena was in a trance, trying to find Amalek. His attack had been so sudden, with no time to prepare. Many lives had already been lost. With Dyne as Dragonmaster, however, there was hope. But no Dragonmaster had ever faced an enemy like Amalek. She prayed for his safety.

A sudden disruption knocked her out of her trance.Her heart trembled, knowing that whatever was happening could only be a true disaster. She raced to the window, looked outside, and saw red. Literally.

The sky was now a hideous shade of blood-red. No light from either the Blue Star or the sun could be seen. Tears came to Althena's eyes as she remembered the last time she had seen such a dismal sight...on The Blue Star. She could not prevent Zophar from casting it then, and she could not risk sentencing Lunar to death by repeating her former mistake. But she could not allow Zophar's minion to destroy the world and the people she loved. More than ever she prayed for Dyne's success. Unless Amalek was defeated, Lunar would suffer the same fate as those on the Blue Star.

*****

"By the Goddess..." Dyne whispered.

The four heroes watched in horror as the dark-crimson cloud filled the sky. They knew what it was, and what it meant, and the thought chilled them to the bone.

"That's what the dream meant...I didn't think he could be this powerful," Dyne shuddered.

"Or this cruel," said Lemia.

Ghaleon's eyes narrowed. "I can't detect his magical aura. His magical defenses must be incredibly strong to block out an aura like his."

Dyne closed his eyes, and the Dragon Wings began to shimmer faintly. After a few seconds, though, the shimmering stopped and Dyne's face fell. "It's no use. The White Dragon Wings can't take us to him."

"More of Amalek's magic," said Lemia. "But powerful enough to block the magic of the Dragons?"

Dyne stopped short at Lemia's words. "The dragons...that's it!"

He closed his eyes. A magical aura formed around him, and he gasped as he felt the intensity of the power coursing through him.This was even more intense than The Prayer. The images of the four dragons appeared behind him as the aura intensified. "Dragons of Althena! Hear my command! By the power of the Goddess, I summon you before us, to guide us to Amalek's domain!"

There were four blazing flashes of light, and The Dragons stood before them, their faces grim, their pose a form of salute. With one voice, they said "You summoned us, Dragonmaster, and we are here to serve."

Dyne wasted no words. "You know why you're here. Help us find Amalek."

The Dragons knelt. "Wherever Amalek hides, we shall fly you there," said Quark. "Climb upon our backs. Amalek may block our magic, but the Dragons know his foul stench."

Lemia mounted Blaize, The Red Dragon. The Dragon said nothing to her, but started purring.

Mel mounted Saphyr. "I'm not too heavy for ya, am I?" he asked the Blue Dragon with a laugh.

Ghaleon mounted Shakor. The Black Dragon's eyes flashed. "It has been so long since I have seen one of the magic race. I didn't think there were any of you left." Ghaleon did not reply.

Dyne climbed upon Quark's shoulders. The Tetrarch of the Dragons looked at Dyne. "Your eyes," he whispered, "they have not changed at all. Older, but you are still as insolent as ever. And as noble."

Dyne gave a smile. "I try."

He looked at his companions, and The Dragons. He looked at the bloody sky, and the Goddess Tower in the distance. He smiled at the memories of The Goddess Althena...her gentle eyes, her sweet smile...he would not fail her, or her children.

The Dragons spread their magnificent wings, and rose slowly above the ground. Hero and Dragon flew off into the night, either to return victorious...or not at all.