Chapter 7
Sins of our Fathers
Spiros was up and about within minutes. He was furious and demanding answers. The Witch did her best to explain what was going on.
"It's a Coup de tat; Jon's father overthrew Lord Macintosh. The clan has been split in two. The Loyalists, who are still loyal to good ole Mac, and the Separatists. Those who are on the side of Jon's father, Duncan." She told the Greco.
"Why now, how long has he been planning this?" Our hero asked.
"Duncan and Fergus are childhood friends turned arch-rivals. They squared off years ago in a battle of swordsmanship that decided who would have my daughter's hand. Duncan preferred his axe over a sword and thus had a disadvantage." The Witch informed him.
"So I take it father won easily then." Seona murmured.
"Actually no. The playing field was quite even. Duncan was about a foot taller than Fergus at the time, he was also much stronger and had a significant reach advantage. Fergus however had better skills with a sword and was far more clever than Duncan."
Spiros was growing impatient with The Witch. He began tapping his foot. A subtle signal to the old women to hurry it up.
"After a few minutes of heated combat, things got progressively more vicious. It all came to a head when Duncan kicked some sand into Fergus' eyes. Fergus, fearful that he would lose, made a few desperate blind swings with his sword. In the process he cut Duncan's stomach open, spilling out his guts."
Our hero cringed.
"I'm surprised he wasn't punished."
"They both were thirty lashes each. Foul play was widely used in that fight. Ultimately though, everyone thought the damage done to Duncan would prove to be his demise and so my daughter's hand was awarded to Fergus by default." The Witch explained.
"So wait, you're my grandmother?" Seona asked.
"I would imagine that you're both confused." The Elder murmured.
"As a matter of fact, yes. She's supposed to be dead." Spiros replied.
"I will explain my connection to the Royal Family, but not of the conspiracy behind Seona's disappearance. It is not my tale to tell." The Witch assured him.
"Conspiracy?" Spiros asked.
The Witch continued on with her own story, ignoring The Greco.
"I was born into a family that was divided. Two brothers, my uncle, King Malcolm and my father King Grant. They were fighting a bloody civil war that was ravaging our land. I was trained as a Vanguard and an alchemist by a man named Findlay Hepburn."
"You're a Vanguard too?" Spiros asked.
"Aye lad, my ability to manipulate the elements has faded with age but I'm still the greatest alchemist in the land!" She said with a cackle.
"She's pretty modest too." Seona grumbled.
"Stop sidetracking me, the both of you!" The Witch grumbled.
"Sorry, please continue." Our Hero grumbled.
"Anyways, I was captured while doing some scouting on my Uncle's castle. The castle where I took you and Merida just a little while ago. I was captured and detained. Then Balor and the Horned King arrived. They destroyed most of the castle interior and killed King Malcolm. Mor'du wanted told his brothers they had to avenge their father's death. They refused though, thinking Balor and the Horned King were not to be trifled with. Mor'du became enraged and still wanted revenge. He came to me and asked for the strength of ten men. I did grant his wish, and after launching an attack on my father and the rest of my family as well as his own brothers he finally gained control of the kingdom."
The Witch paused with a look of discontent on her face before continuing.
"After this, he went off in search of Balor and the Horned King. He had heard the duo was looking for something called The Ancient Garrison. However the Horned King had more pressing matters to attend to and left this land. Balor however pressed on and continued his search. Mor'du, whom was now teetering on the edge of become a wild beast, tracked Balor down and defeated him in single combat. After this there was peace. Mor'du was presumed dead, and so there was no heir to the throne."
"So who replaced Mor'du?" Seona asked.
"A few castaways from a distant archipelago out in the north sea arrived on our shores. Their leader proved himself by defeating a sea monster that had been ravaging our coastline. He was considered worthy enough to be treated as a native of Clan DunBroch and married me, but died of an ailment just days before Elinor was born. Once she became of age, she married Fergus. His father had been captain of the guard and had married the daughter of a local blacksmith. When Fergus became of age he participated in the Shadow Seekers competition and won, earning just enough credibility to be able to compete for Elinor's hand. After they had been married for at least a few years they had Merida and Seona shortly after. When Seona was born, I had a vision of Balor returning along with the Horned King and unleashing what lies dormant in the Ancient Garrison. I then saw a Vanguard and a Princess of DunBroch fighting a great battle against an ancient force that cannot be bargained with. They want the world and they will annihilate anyone who gets in their way." The Witch said with great sorrow.
"I'm guessing that ancient force resides in the garrison." Seona murmured.
"Yes, when I told your father of this he accused me of going mad. He said the Ancient Garrison was nothing but a myth. I insisted that you and your sister be trained as warriors but your mother refused. He caught me trying to teach you both how to unlock your ability to manipulate the elements. Your parents were furious and I was banished as a result. Now Balor is back and he is without a doubt behind the coup that Duncan staged. I would bet my life that he is heading to the Ancient Garrison right now, with Merida and her father in tow." The old woman told her granddaughter.
"Where is the garrison located?" Spiros asked.
"Beneath the Great Library, according to legend." Seona replied.
"First things first, we need to find Merida, Macintosh and The King. As long as Balor and Duncan have them, they have a lot of leverage. If we take that away it will be easier to combat them." Spiros told her.
"Sounds like you've had some experience in situations like these." She said flatly.
"This isn't the first time I've put down a coup." Our hero replied.
"Where is my mom? Wherever she is going, Duncan will likely follow. If he wants this coup to be successful he'll need her in captivity as well." Seona grumbled.
"Last I saw, Gordon was escorting her and the remaining clan leaders to an emergency meeting location. Where they will be safe until the coup subsides." The Witch replied.
Spiros quickly figured out why they had left, he could hear an army bearing down on Castle DunBroch. They planned in seizing the building.
"Where would Gordon take the others?" Spiros asked.
"Fort Ness, the old castle that my family used to reside in. It's at least a day's journey to the south." Seona told him.
"Well if we went by air, we could probably get their by dawn." Our hero told her.
"I will take the Triplets to my home in the forest. We will be safe there." The Witch told the duo.
"Stay safe SPywos." The Triplets instructed.
Will do fellas, we'll shred some mud when I get back. Promise." He told the little ones who smiled in response.
Our hero then turned his attention to the task at hand.
"Where is Angus?" He asked.
"He was captured as well. Last I saw he was speared in the side trying to save Merida while she was being dragged off." Seona murmured.
"We should probably get going." The Greco told her.
"Right." She replied.
…
The duo made their way to the stables to find that Visilis was hiding in a pile of hay.
"Good job staying hidden bud, there's no telling what Jon would have done if he had found you." Our hero said with a sigh of relief.
The Griffin replied with a vicious hiss.
"Yeah, we're going after 'em. They'll bleed out quick if they're lucky." The Greco replied.
The Griffin stood and spread his wings. Our hero hopped onto the creature's saddle. However Seona was hesitating.
"Well, get on." Spiros told her.
"Is it safe?" She asked.
"I've been doing this for years, trust me." He assured her.
She hopped onto the Griffin and held onto the sides of the saddle.
"I've only fallen off twice." He murmured.
"Wait WHAT?" She shouted.
They were airborne just seconds later.
The Griffin flew quickly over the tree tops, the wind whistling over the creature's wings. After a few minutes of high speed flying the Griffin was forced to slow down or face over exerting himself.
The moon was high in the sky, and they had a good strong tailwind. Spiros considered this a good omen. He used his celestial navigation skills as well as some input from Seona to maintain the proper flight path.
"So how did you go about meeting my family?" Seona shouted over the wind.
Spiros replied, but she couldn't hear.
"WHAT?!" She asked
"I crashed in front of your house!" He told her.
"I imagine my patents rolled out quite the welcome wagon!" She said with a grin.
"Well I was greeted with weapons at first, but I think they like me now!" He replied.
"Speak up!" She grumbled.
He repeated himself, trying to be louder this time.
"What do you think of my sister?" She asked.
"She's...something else." He replied with a dreamy grin.
"SQUAAAWWWK."
"No one is talking to you!" Our hero grumbled.
"Well Spiros, you seem like a nice guy but let's get one thing clear: You hurt my big sis, I'm putting you and your overgrown turkey on a spit roast, clear?"
Visilis hissed, clearly he was a wee bit offended.
"Crystal." Spiros replied.
...
Merida had been tossed into the carriage like she was an animal. They had chained her by her wrists to the floor and they had blindfolded her as well. Angus had been hurt trying to help her. He was in the carriage too, but she could tell he had been restrained as well. She would hear him whinny and soon the whole carriage would be shaking. The guards would pound on the sides of the carriage and tell her to shut him up or else. She would then be forced to talk to her friend telling him everything would be alright. She felt horrible lying to him but it kept him from getting killed.
The Princess knew she had to escape. It was the only way to ensure the survival of her father and Lord Macintosh. She had overheard that they still wanted to capture her mum before proceeding to Balor's location. If she could escape, they would have to further postpone their plans. Slowly but surely, she developed a plan. In an hour or so a guard would come into the carriage to check on her. If it was the same one that had tossed her in here, she could strike.
Sure enough, she felt the carriage come to a stop and then she heard the door open and then creak as it was closed but she could feel a cold breeze still coming in. He had left the door cracked.
"Well hello Princess, how are you doing?" The guard asked in an obviously sarcastic tone.
Merida knew this was the guard she had been hoping for. She recognized his voice.
She promptly pretended to look around, as if she was confused about where the noise was coming from. She heard the footsteps and assumed he was getting closer. She promptly stopped looking around and pretended to cower, bringing her legs up to her chest.
"Now I'm going to ask you once more, where did your mother run off to?" The guard asked.
She intentionally mumbled incoherently.
She heard wood creak and felt the guard's warm breath. He has taken a knee in front of her.
"What was that lass?" He asked.
She head-butted the guard and the lashed out with her legs, wrapping them around his neck. She then proceeded to choke him into submission. It took all of her strength to keep the guard from getting out of the headlock. Finally after about thirty seconds or so, she felt her foe go limp, followed by a few twitches. She waited for another ten seconds before releasing him. She heard him fall to the floor with a thud.
She felt around with her feet, hoping she would find what she was looking for.
Eventually she felt something, a stick like object. She rolled it with her feet, the object rolled perfectly. She then rolled it back as close as she could get it to herself. She then bent down a picked it up with her mouth. Although the chains gave her arms limited mobility, she managed to drop it into right hand.
Everything was working out so far, but she had to act fast. She could hear Angus stirring and it wouldn't be long before they came looking for the guard. She used her hand to feel around for the object she needed. She felt the sharp edges of an arrowhead.
"Perfect." She murmured.
The Princess then put the arrowhead in her mouth and chewed on the wooden bit that kept it secured to the rest of the arrow. Eventually the arrowhead came free and she allowed the wooden shaft to drop to the floor. Then she heard the door creak as it was opened.
"What's taken you so long!" a guard shouted.
There was a brief silence.
"She did something to him." another voice hissed.
"Little brat!" The first voiced snarled as she felt a fist connect with her cheek.
Angus whinnied angrily in protest.
"Shut up!" The other guard commanded.
She could only whimper as the arrowhead, which was still in her mouth, sliced up in inside of her mouth.
"Drag him outside and wake him up, and make sure she doesn't get any rations tomorrow." The guard who had punched her told his accomplice.
The carriage door was slammed shut.
"Too bad I won't be here tomorrow." Merida thought.
She used tongue to rotate the arrowhead around so that the point would be facing outwards. Then she slid the arrowhead forward and clenched it between her teeth. Bringing her right hand up as far as she could she then bent down and allowed the point of the arrowhead to protrude from her lips. She then poked various areas of her lower arm until she found her wrist. She carefully inserted the arrowhead into the keyhole and began wiggling it around trying to unlock it.
After about fifteen minutes she heard the lock click. She carefully brought her left hand over into her lap and then did so with her right hand. She then tugged on iron circle with her hand and it opened with ease. She then spit the arrowhead out and used her free hand to remove her blindfold.
Angus was tied to the floor via a chain leash that connected to a collar on his neck. Dried blood could be seen on his ribcage. The carriage was dimly lit by a single lantern. The Clydesdale whinnied when he saw Merida take her blindfold off.
The Princess shushed him as she picked up the arrowhead with her free hand. Then within in minutes she was free. She tried to pick the lock on Angus' collar but the arrowhead tip broke off in the keyhole. Jamming the locking mechanism. She would have to find another way to free her friend.
An axe might work, but she would need to get one first. She dropped to a crouch and slowly opened the door of the carriage.
She could hear Jon's father shouting, it sounded like a speech. Examine her surroundings; she noticed that they had stopped in a small town. The tallest structure was a Tower house; this was most likely where the village officials lived. She quickly began developing a plan. She would free Lord Macintosh, her dad and Angus. They would then get into the Tower house and find away to get word out to those who were still loyal to the Royal Family.
Barricading themselves in the Tower house wouldn't be enough though. They needed a bargaining chip. She grinned at her next thought.
The hostages were about to be the hostage-takers.
She crept up behind two guards. She instantly recognized their voices. The one on the left was the one who had hit her; the one on the right was his buddy. She got in close and attacked the guard on the left. Lashing out she used her hands to slam his head into a nearby carriage wheel. Then she took the hatchet off his belt and spun around and swung it at the other guard. The blade of the hatchet caught him in the throat.
Our heroine placed her hand over his mouth, muffling his dying breaths. She slowly lowered him to the ground and then removed her weapon from his throat. She took the long hunting knife from the guard's belt as well as a large collection of keys.
Now she needed some hostages.
She crept through the shadows, listening to the speech of a madman.
"I have seen the future, a future in which all things are possible. Plague will disappear, feasts worthy of being eaten by the gods will be available to all, knowledge will replace ignorance, and we will build great cities with buildings so tall they will touch the clouds!" Jon's father shouted. His name was Duncan if she recalled correctly.
The crowd was murmuring excitedly.
"Balor has introduced me to the Omegasevrians. Now the tyrant King Fergus tells me that Balor cannot be trusted. How would he know? The first time he met Balor was when he fought him after the Shadow Seeker competition."
There was grumbling from the crowd.
"When I met one of the Omegasevrians for the first time, I was taken aback. They look nothing like us. They speak in a language far different from ours. They have tools that are far more sophisticated then our own. They do not use horses and carriages; they use prisms that roll around on wheels, similar to our catapults. They have small airships that are faster than any dragon, and they have massive floating fortresses that can fill up the sky."
The crowd was growing evermore restless.
"When our new friends arrive, things will never be the same. They will show us their knowledge and we will enter a new golden age in which the whole world will be at our fingertips. However there are some who would seek to stop this revolution."
The crowd was now on the verge of anarchy.
"Some of them are here tonight, I captured them from their seat of power and now I will put them in their place. Behold!"
Merida was forced to creep up behind the makeshift stage that had been set up. She saw Jon and his Father standing behind a podium. A guard stood on either side of them. One had her bow and quiver. She would be needing both of those items.
Off to their left, a masked man with long sword was dragging Lord Macintosh up to the stage by his hair. The crowd was now jubilant.
"Your reign of tyranny is over Macintosh, you can no longer throw our sons and grandsons at the Roman Legions when they arrive at Fergus' doorstep." Jon's father bellowed.
"It was for the safety of our land, Duncan, we had no choice. It was...a sacrifice that needed to be made." Macintosh said definitely.
The crowd was on the verge of starting a riot. They were already throwing things at the clan leader.
"You take these people for granted. They work all day to supply the four clans with food, weapons, armor, clothes. Without them, you'd be NOTHING!" Duncan shouted, kicking Macintosh in the head.
"NOTHING!" The crowd chanted.
"I am aware of the contributions the outlying villages make to maintain our way of life. If your lives were really worth nothing to us, as Duncan suggests, we would not have given you the permission to venture out here and start communities." The clan leader protested.
"So now they are worth something to you, now that you are at their mercy, you feel as if a few simple words of gratitude can fix decades of bad blood!?" Jon asked, speaking for the first time.
Merida shifted uncomfortably; things weren't looking good for Lord Macintosh.
"My son speaks the truth, where were you when the great floods came last spring and decimated the outlying communities. They received no aid, no compassion from their protectors." Duncan snarled.
"All of us were affected by the flood; we had to take care of our own before-"
Macintosh paused realizing he had made an error in his choice of words.
Duncan seized his chance.
"So you do admit that you do not recognize these people as your own."
The crowd was now in a frenzy.
They wanted blood.
Macintosh tried to protest, but the roar of the crowd drowned out even his voice.
"There you have it ladies and gentlemen. The clan leaders do not care for you, but I do. I can help you. I will raise you to a higher plain of existence. We must seize this chance; we must KILL against those who would seek to hold us back from the glories of a new world order!"
The crowd was now chanting "DEATH" and "BLOOD!" They were already drawing their weapons and more guards had been summoned by Duncan to keep them from completely loosing it.
Jon turned to the masked man and drew a line across his throat.
The executioner nodded and raised his long sword.
Merida had to act.
Now.
She sprung to her feet and threw the axe at the executioner. The blade embedded itself into his chest, killing him almost instantly.
She then sprinted up to the Duncan and drove her knife into the back of his right knee. She then put him in a headlock and pointed her knife at his throat.
"SHUT IT!" She shouted, her voice sending the crowd into a relatively stunned silence.
"You're supposed to be in chains." Duncan said through clenched teeth.
"Hasn't Jon told you, I don't do the whole damsel in distress thing." She hissed.
She then looked around, ensuring that no guard would try to be a hero and stab her from behind.
"Release Lord Macintosh, my father and my horse or I kill him." She told one of the guards, since she was unable to gather the courage to even look at Jon.
The guards hesitated.
She responded by using her knife to create a small cut on Duncan's throat.
"NOW!" She snarled.
A group of guards rushed off.
Within a minute or so, Lord Macintosh had been released. She then demanded that Angus and her father be moved to the Tower house without any kind of treachery, or else. Finally she asked that her bow and quiver be given to Macintosh. After all this, she gave Duncan, and her knife, to Macintosh. Who blinded his hands some spare rope he found lying around on the stage. He wrapped rest of the rope around Duncan's feet. He then threw the traitor over his shoulder and high tailed to the Tower house. She followed close behind.
Macintosh ran into the main hall and passed Duncan to Fergus who carried him upstairs. He held the door open for the young princess who was sprinting towards him. She then heard the whistling of an arrow and instinctively rolled to the side. An arrow impaled itself in the ground near her. She drew her bow, turned around and fired off an arrow. It barley got a few feet away from her when it collided with another arrow that was already in flight. The two arrows fell to the ground. Merida realized that particular arrow could have hit her square on the forehead.
"Stand down Razor!" a voice called.
Merida was ready to roll again, but her unseen foe had stopped shooting.
Balor walked into the courtyard, practically walking right out of the darkness of the night.
She notched another arrow and took aim at her foe's head.
She forced her arms remain steady, trying to suppress her nervous tremble. She succeeded; Balor chuckled as if he was impressed that she hadn't curled up into a ball like a frightened child.
No one but Balor noticed an eagle taking flight from a nearby tree-line and flying off into the night.
...
That eagle was in fact carrying a message from a group of spies who were reporting back to their commander. Their commander was a Roman Praetor named Tiberius. He was leading his legion to an old land that had remained unconquered by Rome for generations. Well at least until now, his legion was 6,000 strong and were the best the empire had to offer. He had even brought his son Caelius, and his prodigal daughter Aeliana.
He knew his daughter would make a fine centurion. However, women were not supposed to be in the military. He had to pull a lot of strings to get her onto this little expedition. He had tried to convince her to stay in Rome, but he should have known that it was a futile attempt. She was cunning, uncompromising, and manipulative. Just like her father.
She had blonde hair, bright blue eyes and chalky white skin. She was dressed in typical roman military clothes. A red cloth tunic that went down to her knees, she wore a black breastplate over this. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail. She had gladius strapped to her side and a crossbow slung over her shoulder.
Her brother looked more liked her father then she did. Brown curly hair, blue eyes that were a bit darker then hers. He wore a blue cloak over his grey tunic. He had stubbornly refused to wear any armor except his Murmilo helmet that a retired gladiator had given to him in his youth and the manica (arm guard with overlapping metal plates) that he wore on his left arm. Her brother was sitting cross legged on the bow of the ship, his trusty trident sitting in his lap.
The trident was a gift from their long deceased mother. She had given it to Caelius when he turned twelve years old. The trident was made of bronze, except for the steel spike that protruded from the bottom end of the weapon. The trident also had a brown leather grip and just above this, a message from their mother engraved in the bronze:
"Axios."
...
"He is worthy."
Aeliana knew why her mother had chosen that phrase for the engraving; their father had always been tough on Caelius. However after years of trying to mold him into the perfect commander, their father just gave up on him. He disowned him and refused to acknowledge him as kin. He called him a failure that would never fulfill the family's long standing tradition of military prowess. Their mother, however, had always favored Caelius. Well at least from Aeliana's point of view. She gave him that trident on his fourteenth birthday and told him that he was destined to surpass the legacy of all those that had come before them.
Less than two years later, their mother would be dead. Murdered by a vanguard who they had once called a friend.
A vanguard named Spiros.
After he was captured, their father had cursed him with the Chains of Pluto. A cursed chain that, according to legend, was forged in the heart of the underworld and cooled in the River Styx. Their father had told the vanguard that he had to "find what you have lost, and become what you were once again." What that was exactly was a mystery that even Aeliana couldn't solve.
She knew one thing though.
Justice...no revenge was close at hand.
She glanced up to see an eagle circling the crow's nest, but that is not what caught her eye. It was the gold figure that was streaking across the night sky, heading northwest at high speeds.
"Hmm, looks like Shirley is running behind schedule." She thought.
...
Seona was the one who first noticed the fires burning in the small town they were flying over. Smoke was soon filling their lungs as they passed over the heart of the flames.
"SQUAWK!" Visilis screeched upon noticing the fires.
"I'm not sure what's going on down there bud." Spiros murmured.
"Take us down." Seona commanded.
The Griffin maintained altitude.
"He only listens to me." Spiros explained.
"Well tell him to take us down." She huffed.
"That might not be a good idea. All the fire and smoke will make it difficult to see what's going on. Not to mention that embers will be swirling around. If even one gets on Visilis wings, we'll be in serious trouble." He told her.
"Oh yeah, Griffin down is highly flammable." She murmured.
"Bingo." Our hero replied.
"SQUAWK!"
The Griffin sounded worried.
"Angus?" Spiros asked.
The Griffin bobbed his head in conformation.
"You can hear him?!" The Greco asked, they were now circling the burning town.
The Griffin bobbed his head again.
Our hero sighed; he clearly didn't like the idea of getting any lower.
"Take us in, but be careful."
The Griffin began a slow spiraling descent.
...
Balor had disappeared, telling Merida that killing her while she was alone would have been too 'anti-climactic'. He told her there would be quite an audience when she met her painful demise.
The Princess then retreated into the main hall of the tower house. She stood at the top of the main staircase, staring out of a broken window with an arrow notched in her bow.
Storm clouds were blowing in from the southeast. The people in the village below were gathering up the banners of the four clans that they flew from atop their city hall and burning them along with paintings, tapestries and any other flammable things that they could find that represented their ties to the clans.
Once and awhile an angry peasant would charge the tower house and lob anything from a rock to a spear at Merida. She would respond with an arrow to their leg or torso, depending on what the projectile was and how close it had come to hitting her. She was growing evermore restless, Jon was firing up the rebels and she guessed it wouldn't be long before they tried to storm the tower house.
People began shouting, and there was a new source of chaos in the town.
A griffin was flying very low and very slow over the town, Merida began calling to the rider of the creature. The griffin flew directly overhead and right as it passed overhead a figure landed in the courtyard. The figure proceeded to knock on the door. Lord Macintosh let him in.
She was relieved to see Spiros.
"Hey." He said, sitting down next to her.
"It's good to see you." She murmured.
"Likewise." He said with a small grin.
She went on to fill him in on what she had learned from Duncan's speech. The look of concern on his face became more apparent the more she told him. Once she was done, he sighed and propped himself up against the wall.
"Do you know what he's talking about?" She asked, referring to the Omegasevrians.
"I've heard stories, but they're all wildly different. The one commonality the stories share is that the Omegasevrians were around long before any of us were here. After that the stories have various different takes on pretty much everything." He replied.
"Well if they have what Duncan says they have, we might be in some serious trouble." Merida grumbled.
"Agreed." Our hero replied.
They proceeded to sit silently for about ten minutes. In that time, the fires had died down and Angus had fallen asleep in the main hall. Merida had insisted that the horse be brought into the building for fear that he would be attacked by rebels if he was left outside.
Spiros also went to talk to Duncan.
"Let's get this straight; I think that you started this little uprising for a shot at the throne. You want revenge. Well, let me tell you that when you go on a quest for revenge you need to dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself." The Vanguard snarled.
"I have many enemies boy." Duncan replied.
"Yeah, and unfortunately for you, I'm one of them. Now you're gonna tell me everything. I want names, locations and whatever else Balor told you. I want to know what he's planning and where he plans to strike. We can do it the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice." The Greco hissed.
"I've heard stories about being interrogated by a Vanguard. I don't believe them." The coup leader said with a smug grin.
"That's good, because the truth is much worse." Our hero told his foe, grabbing him by his hair and dragging him into the wine cellar.
...
Merida did her best to tune out the screams coming from the cellar. She was trying to get some sleep. It had been a long night and dawn was most likely a couple of hours away. She was still wearing the dress she had originally worn to the Victory Feast. Sure, she had managed to grab her black cloak before they had set out to Mor'du's castle. However, it was still awfully cold for a late summer night. She was propped up against her sleeping horse, who had a makeshift bandage covering his wound. Courtesy of Lord Macintosh, who had fashioned the bandage out of the draperies that hung from one of the windows upstairs.
Her father was currently on watch, with Lord Macintosh set to relieve him in a few hours. Her father had told them both to get some rest; their ordeal was not yet over. Lord Macintosh had brought a mattress down from upstairs. He thought it would be a good idea for two people to guard the main entrance and have a single person overlooking the whole town. That way they couldn't be caught off guard if the locals decided to attack.
He was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. His sword was resting at his side, so close in fact that if he rolled over in his sleep, he might cut himself with his own blade.
There was a loud screech of pain from the wine cellar.
"That boy sees no grey." Macintosh murmured.
"What do you mean my lord?" Merida asked.
"He has a very strong sense of right and wrong, good and evil, light and shadow. He sees no in between. You can see it in his eyes. He either considers you a friend or an enemy." He explained.
"You say it like it's a bad thing." Merida murmured.
"Well it depends on how you look at it lass. If you are his friend, he will trust you a great deal. However this leaves him very vulnerable, a betrayal of his trust could carry lingering consequences. If you are his enemy, well it will probably require a great deal work to get him to trust you or even acknowledge you as an ally. For example, I saw him talking to my son before the Shadow Seeker competition. He acted friendly to my son, but in the back of his mind I can almost guarantee you that in the back of his mind, he was snarling like a feral wolf."
"Are you saying he's holding a grudge against your son?" She asked.
"Well yes, but I can assure you it's not just my son. I bet there are others."
Merida didn't want Macintosh to be right. In the back of her mind, she was fearful for Jon. Yes, he had betrayed them. However, she still cared for him dearly. She was willing to forgive him, but what about Spiros. Would he always consider Jon a threat?
She contemplated this matter as the cellar doors opened and her friend stepped out of the darkness. His forehead was beaded with sweat, he seemed calm, but she could see the truth in his eyes. Thoughts were shooting around in his head, moving faster than lighting.
He walked over and sat down next to her, giving a great sigh as he brought his legs up to his chest and placed his chin in his knees. He seemed to be acting like a child who was pouting.
"Did he talk?" Fergus shouted down from the top of the staircase.
"He sang, well not literally. He's practically worthless though. He doesn't know anything more then what we already know." The Greco replied.
"So we're at a dead end then?" Macintosh asked.
Spiros nodded.
Fergus cursed and returned to his post.
Macintosh sighed and closed his eyes, not commenting on the news. He was snoring within minutes.
...
Spiros was really trying to get some sleep, but the blasted chain wrapped around his arm was tighter than ever. He had really pushed himself to the limit during the integration. If he wasn't careful, his arm might be snapped in two.
He rotated his wrist and groaned. Merida, who had begun to doze off, noticed this and sat up. She gently grabbed Spiros' wrist and held it in place. Then with her other hand, she ran her fingers on the surface of the chain that was causing her friend. It was icy cold to the touch, yet the glyphs blazed like they were on fire. It was a most peculiar contrast.
"I know you're a Vanguard, I've heard the stories. The Order guards the entire world from the forces evil. You guys root out corruption and injustice. You're trained to be a warrior who has control over the elements." She murmured.
"Yup." He replied.
That was putting it simply.
"The Order is highly respected across the known world. Even in Rome. Your ability in combat is virtually unmatched. Most potential vanguards die in training, when they receive their powers." She continued.
"When our powers are bestowed upon on us, they cut open our arms and legs and carve ancient charms into our bones. Then they stitch us back up. If you survive the ordeal, and survive the ailment most come down with afterwards you are considered a Vanguard." He said with a nod.
"It must have been a horrible experience." She murmured.
"I often do not like the path fate tells me to walk, but I walk that path none the less. Not because I have to, but because I feel obliged to. If I was not destined for this life, I would not be here." He said somberly.
The Princess nodded slowly.
"Which means I wouldn't have met you." He said with a grin.
"Yeah that would have been a shame, I'm pretty great." She replied with a wink.
Her friend chuckled at that.
"I have a question." She told him.
"Fire away." He told her.
"Do you like being a Vanguard?" She asked.
"It can be...trying at times." He murmured.
"Really?" She asked, truly mystified. He could go practically anywhere, and he answered to no one. How could he say such a thing?
"I'm just tired of the pointless killing. I'm tired of watching people, good people, fight and die over a scrap of land or a seat on the throne. Now, I know I was chosen to bear the weight of the world but...I didn't ask for it. I think there are people who would be a far better vanguard then I could ever be."
"That's not true." She wanted to tell him.
"Now, I'm not saying I won't do what is necessary, should the situation arise. I'm just saying that...I don't want to live by the sword my entire life. Constantly hunting down murders, war lords, and the forces of evil. When my hair is grey, I want to be able to live in peace by the ocean and only draw my sword when I absolutely need to." He said with a sigh.
"Sadly, there are no happy endings. Besides, a Vanguard wanting a peaceful retirement is considered weak, and foolish." He added.
"You're not weak or foolish for wanting that." She assured him.
"Yes I am, especially after what happened in Rome." He grumbled.
"Is that where this thing got wrapped around your arm?"
He nodded.
"Why?" The Princess asked, tightly wrapping her cloak around herself.
He didn't answer.
"Why is this thing wrapped around your arm?" She asked again, trying to get him to open up.
He sighed.
"It's a branding, a punishment. I did something very wrong." It seemed like he wanted to leave it at that.
"Spiros, please. Talk to me." She pleaded.
He remained silent.
The Princess sighed in defeat.
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. I know I can't make you talk, but if you want to...I'm willing to listen. After all, you did the same for me." She told him, lacing her fingers into his.
"I was tracking a rogue Vanguard who was planning to assassinate the emperor. I cornered her in a market place and we began to fight. In the skirmish, I got a hold of a bow. I was a pretty bad shot but I managed to kill her when she made a run for it. It was the Praetors wife, his name was Tiberius. He had me arrested and thrown in jail. After a trial I was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. That night I broke out and sought out my informant in the city. He told me that it had been a set up. He had found out that someone wanted that woman dead and they used me to make it so." He began.
"Who set you up?" Merida asked, reminding our hero about how his little brother asked questions about events in a bedtime story.
"I never found out, the city guards kicked in my informant's door and killed him on the spot for conspiring with me. I fled the city, using the rooftops rather than the streets. I was about to make my get away by jumping into the river when Tiberius managed to corner me. He muttered an incantation that made the chain shoot up from the ground and wrap itself sound my arm." He explained.
"Why didn't you try to explain to him that you were being setup?" The Princess murmured.
"I did, he didn't believe me. His ancestors never got along well with my family. Well until a few years ago, they had taken me in once I was thirteen and the Griffins agreed it was time for me to be released into the world as a fully trained Vanguard. I stayed with them for a brief time until one fateful night. Tiberius had disrespected my father's name, saying if he had spent more time training with his blade and less time fishing, he would still be alive." The Greco grumbled.
"That seems a little harsh." Merida murmured.
"Yeah, like I said our families have never really gotten along. Anyways, after that we got in a fight and I ended up running away the next day. Setting out for my first assignment, fighting for the Empire in Gaul. That's an entirely different story though." He said with crunched eyebrows as if he was struggling to remember.
"So you tried explaining everything to him." Our heroine grumbled, trying to jog her friend's memory.
"Oh right, sorry. He proceeded to call me a liar and a few other rude names. I, in turn, asked him what the chain was going to do. He told me that every time I use my powers, the chain will suppress the charms that have been carved into my bones by tightening, severely dampening their power. He also said that if the chain gets to tight, it could very well snap my arm in two. Effectively rendering me powerless for life." He mumbled.
The Princess' eyes were wide with surprise. She couldn't comprehend the pain that her friend was going through. She looked down at the chain to see that sections of his arm were either bright red or bruised. She also began recalling the stories surrounding Vanguards and their powers. The charms in their bones were all spiritually connected. All eight needed to be present in the body so that Vanguards could pull power from their animus (soul) and, using their charms, convert it into mana. Mana would then be used to generate elemental attacks.
"So then what happened?" She asked.
"I asked him how to get the chain off, he laughed and said that it wouldn't matter but for some reason he told me anyways. He told me to "find what you have lost, and become what you were once again." He told me that even if I got the chain off, he would to kill me and avenge his wife. Even if it meant hunting me to the far side of the world. Then he drew his sword and attacked, but I countered the move and threw him off the roof, severely injuring him. Then I leaped into the river and sent myself into self exile. In the meantime, Rome is practically at war with all Vanguards." Our hero concluded.
Merida whistled, she suddenly felt guilty. She shouldn't have pushed him to recall all those bad memories.
"I'll never get this thing off me." The Greco hissed.
The princess suddenly realized the issue.
"Spiros, that's it. I know what you lost." She told him.
"What?" He asked.
"You've lost your faith, your faith in yourself!" She explained.
"I'm afraid I don't understand." He told her.
"After Rome, you sent yourself into exile. You felt guilty, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, of course. I killed an innocent person. Ever since Rome, I've just felt...different. I feel like I can't do anything right anymore. I mean look at what happened earlier, Jon and his dad got the jump on me, and Balor swept me aside like I was nothing." He grumbled.
"Right, so you just need to let it go. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened in Rome, or at the castle. We all make mistakes, even Vanguards. You need to forgive yourself and accept that fact that even though you make mistakes, it doesn't make you weak, or a failure." She told him.
"Merida, the thing is, I did fail. I failed at Rome, I failed at the castle and I was weak when I attacked the image of the demon that killed my entire family. Now we don't know how to stop Balor! A Vanguard is not supposed to fail, we must be strong. Not weak." He stammered.
The Princess squeezed her friend's hand and with her other hand, gently grabbed hold of the back of his neck. She pulled his head forward so that his forehead was gently pressed up against hers.
"You were a person before you were a Vanguard. That means you're not perfect and being a Vanguard doesn't change that. I doubt anyone expects you to be. I know I don't." She told him before pausing.
"Close your eyes." She instructed.
He sighed and did as she asked.
"Now, breathe in."
He inhaled.
"Breathe out."
He exhaled.
"Think about what happened in Rome. Think about the events of this evening. Now accept that they happened, and accept that you did all you could. Accept the fact that, from time to time, you're going to fall off your horse. However you need to be able to get up, get back on the saddle and keep on riding." She told him.
He exhaled again, trying to do what she was asking of him.
The chain loosened a great deal, it was nowhere near unraveling but it was looser then it had ever been. Admittedly, our hero was still having trouble accepting the whole 'get back on the saddle idea', this was probably why the chain did not unwrap completely.
Merida opened her eyes and smiled, noticing the astonishment on her friends face.
"You're welcome." She said with a grin.
He responded by kissing her.
It lasted only a few seconds, but butterflies filled her stomach for what seemed like hours. When he pulled away she couldn't decide whether to blush and giggle like a stereotypical princess or tackle him and kiss him back.
While contemplating this, he had already begun to doze off. He had propped himself up against Angus' side.
"Thank you." He murmured, presumably in his sleep.
She simply smiled and snuggled up next to him before falling asleep as well.
...
Spiros slowly opened his eyes, directly in front of him; Fergus was sleeping on the mattress that Lord Macintosh had set up last night. Our hero looked over to his left to see Merida leaning against his shoulder. He ran his fingers gently through her blazing red hair which smelt like a forest after a springtime rain shower. The Princess made a noise in her sleep before shivering for a brief second. Spiros promptly wrapped his arms around her and, in response; she promptly scooted closer to him.
The duo probably could have stayed that way forever, but the screech of a Griffin overhead made everyone stir.
"Sounds like Seona is back, I hope she brought help." Spiros thought to himself.
Wait...
Seona!
"Merida, wake up!" Our hero whispered, gently shaking his friend.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open; she slowly sat up straight and stretched her arms.
"What's the matter?" She asked, sounding a little irritated.
"I have something to tell you, it's about-"
He never got to finish, because a golden arm punched through the wooden door. The arm grabbed hold of Spiros' foot using its crab like claw. He was then dragged out into the courtyard and thrown into a wall. Another shriek came from the sky. No doubt Visilis had caught sight of the fiasco. It was pretty early in the morning, the sun had just barley come up and by the looks of things, it had rained the previous night.
His attacker was not a monster. It was an automaton.
An ancient war machine that must have been built using Atlantian power crystals to function, Use of these crystals, or any Atlantian technology that was recovered from archeological dig sites was strictly forbidden across the known world.
The machine was approximately twelve feet tall; it resembled a humanoid solider but had a slight slouch in its stance. The head was a silver and gold Thracian gladiator helmet with glowing orange eyes. The torso and legs were bulky and heavily armored; a large silver octagonal tank was strapped to the machine's back. A pair of golden tubes of some kind ran from the tank and into a silver elongated triangular prism that was mounted atop the wrist of the golden crab-like claw that was attached to the left arm. The right arm had a golden humanoid hand, but mounted onto its wrist was a 6ft long silver sword with the letters SPQR carved into the blade. The silver feet of the machine were Y shaped for some odd reason, while the torso and arms were gold. However the legs were silver and to top it all off the machine moved just as fast as any horse.
Our hero barely had any time to react as the machine came barreling towards him. He was forced to roll out of the way realizing he had no weapon. As he came out of his roll, he spun around and threw an overhand punch. A wave of fire materialized and slammed into the machine, although it didn't do a whole lot. The machine made whirring noise and turned around. Pointing its elongated triangular prism at him. Neon green flames shot from the device, it was Greek fire.
Spiros punched the ground and a wall of stone shot up from the ground, protecting him from the searing flames. Greek fire was artificially made and thus cannot be manipulated by any Vanguard. This also meant that the flames could still burn or kill our hero, unlike regular fire which he could control.
After the flames subsided, he lowered the walls of stone to half his height. He then vaulted over them and summoned the immense power of the planet. Stones shot up from the ground and formed makeshift gloves around his hands. He got in close and delivered an uppercut that sent the machine reeling.
He then closed back in, delivering a few punches to the torso hoping to make a dent. However all he did was break his gloves. The automaton threw a punch of his own. Spiros flew across the courtyard and went smashing through a row of potted plants. He tried to stand but the machine put its giant sword to his throat.
Visilis quickly changed that however.
The Griffin slammed into the automaton and used his talons to rip open the chest of the machine with such ease he might as well have been opening a letter. The automaton kicked the creature off of him and readied his flame thrower but the Griffin attacked again, using his beak to put a hole in the machine's head.
Spiros got to his feet, still dazed. He caught sight of Seona hopping off of Visilis' back.
"Spiros, catch!" She shouted, passing him his sheathed sword and shield. Which he had left strapped to his Visilis' saddle last night when he had been dropped off. His armor was probably still stored in the Griffin's saddle; he didn't have time to put it on at the moment.
Then, out of nowhere some more unexpected help arrived.
The sons of the three clan leaders came sprinting into battle. Young Macintosh was wielding a two handed long sword, while Young Dingwall had a short sword in each hand, finally Young MacGuffin was charging in with a two handed war axe.
"What is that thing?" Dingwall shouted.
"Who cares, kill it!" Young Macintosh ordered.
"I'll go low!" MacGuffin snarled.
"I'll go high!" Dingwall replied.
"Spiros and I will hit it head on!" Young Macintosh said with a grin.
Our hero nodded, he liked that plan.
…
Merida was already working on a plan of escaping. She knew that her arrows would do nothing against the armored giant. However her father had wasted most of her arrows despite this. He claimed we was trying to find a chink in the armor, specifically focusing the giant octagonal tank. He thought that if he could puncture it, the metal giant would go up in flames.
The Princess, Lord Macintosh and Angus had snuck out of the tower house, bypassing the battle going on in the courtyard. Her father would remain in the tower house and guard Duncan. Our heroine knew Visilis couldn't fly them all out at once, but she did know that if she could get everyone in a carriage and then get Angus hooked up to that carriage they would be able to escape. Time was against them however, the residence of the rebelling town would surely notice the ongoing battle and would most likely try to storm the Tower house, kill her father and rescue Duncan.
They found an abandoned carriage rather quickly. The duo began hooking Angus up as quickly as possible. Merida felt a chill down her spine; she turned her gaze upwards to see Balor hanging from the top of a tree like how a sailor hangs from the riggings of a ship. He had a sinister smile spreading across his face like he wanted to say: The clock is ticking.
…
Young Dingwall clambered up the machines back and drove one sword into the automaton's head and the other into its left shoulder. He then ripped the blades out and stabbed again in different spots. The machine retaliated by using its humanoid hand to flick Dingwall off of its back like he was a fly.
MacGuffin closed in, rolling in between the machine's legs so that he could attack from behind. The young hero swung at the back of the automaton's knee with his axe. The machine dropped to one knee, clearly affected by the attack. Spiros surged forward and punched the automaton with the edge of his shield. The machines head was not dented and one of the eyes had stopped glowing.
Visilis charged in again hopping onto the machines back and tearing open its shoulder, revealing a mess of gears, wires and…the arm of a person. Someone was controlling this metal monster. The griffin was surprised by this discovery and ceased his attack for a fateful moment. The machine took the chance to throw the creature off his back and take shot at him with its flamethrower.
"Get out of there!" Seona shouted surging forward with her own weapon in hand, a double bladed sword. The machine used its other arm to smack her away as it unleashed a torrent of Greek fire.
Visilis tried to take off and get out of dodge but the flames managed to ignite his left wing. The Griffin shot into the sky but immediately began spinning around in the air, trying to extinguish the flame. He failed to do so however and fell out of the sky, disappearing as he dropped below the tree line that lay on the horizon.
"I'll kill you!" Spiros shouted, attacking with renewed rage.
Behind him, he heard a horse trot up and come to a halt.
"Let's get out of here!" Merida shouted.
King Fergus sprinted past the battle, with Duncan slung over his shoulder.
The others reluctantly retreated, making their way to the carriage.
Except for Spiros who remained lock in a sword fight with the automaton.
Our hero cursed as his sword was knocked out of his hand. He kept fighting though, surging forward and ripping the automaton's sword off of its arm, ducking as the machine tried to snatch him up with his claw, spinning around and driving the blade into the machine's head. Then he pulled the blade downwards, cutting open the automaton's neck and chest like he was gutting a fish.
He made eye contact with the man who had probably just killed his best friend.
He had a single eye, long blonde hair, and a muscular figure. His blue eyes shone with hatred and bitter aggression. He looked like a man who had lost everything to a bad bet. That didn't save him though; Spiros shot a bolt of electricity into his heart. He, as well as the whole machine began shaking uncontrollably before falling face first into the mud.
Spiros' ears were ringing; the chain had retightened itself since that battle began. In the distance, villagers were hooting and hollering. They were closing in fast.
Merida grabbed his arm and snapped him back to reality as a pitchfork sailed over his head.
"I told you, we are leaving!" She shouted.
The duo clambered onto the carriage as angry villagers began sprinting towards them with weapons and farming tools in hand.
Angus went straight into a gallop, following the road and riding at top speed out of the town.
"I think we're in the clear!" Seona shouted.
Merida turned to her sister, not yet realizing that it was about time for a reunion. Before such an occasion could commence though, Dingwall pointed something out.
"We have a tail!"
The metal man was sprinting towards them, and he was catching up.
"Oh boy." Seona murmured.
Spiros snarled, this guy needed to go down.
Then he noticed the orange power crystal that must have been the powering the whole suit. It was positioned just above the pilot's head.
"Merida, how many arrows do you have?" He asked.
"One." She told him, noticing his interest in the crystal.
She notched the arrow and took aim, but just as she was about to fire the metal man jumped up into the sky.
He would land right on top of them if she missed.
"No pressure." She thought.
A.N-Sorry these updates take so long. Between school and time with my family, the time I have to write comes in short bursts. Although shorter chapters may help, well as of now things are kicking into high gear. I hope the little family history lesson at the beginning of this chapter has cleared up the whole The Witch is Merida's grandma issue. I am considering giving Young Macintosh, Young Dingwall and Young MacGuffin first names so I have something to set them apart from their fathers. I'm open to suggestions people! Also, I am doing the Horned King Challenge, which is why I was referencing HTTYD last chapter. This will not become a crossover.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Cheers!
-Blu Wolf 23
P.S-Greco is a term from someone who is from Greece. It is the equivalent of calling someone from America an American or someone from Brazil a Brazilian.