Last time on Stones of Fate...our heroes return to find Fort Ness under siege!While Merida and the others defend the fort from its inevitable downfall, Spiros confronts Tiberius and finally attains atonement for his past mistakes. He is freed of the cursed chain and learns that his old burden can be used as a weapon against Balor. Tiberius was then killed by his daughter, Aeliana, revealed to be the Queen of Balor. Now, with Young Macintosh gravely injured, Jon and Spiros dueling to the death with an Omegasevrian Airship overhead, the final battle draws near!
And now...
Chapter 12
Set in Stone
Part 1
Witching Hour
The Horned King looked down on Fort Ness from the bridge of his mighty airship. He had already ordered his troops to withdraw. After all, this fort would soon be nothing but a pile of charred stones.
He was particularly intrigued by the ongoing between Duncan's son and the young vanguard who had attacked him not too long ago. The young Greco had a fierce determination to halt the conquest of this land. No matter, no one could stop his plan. No more then one could stop rain from falling.
An Omegasevrian came up behind him and began to inform him of the status of the battle below, Duncan's forces were requesting aid, via messenger hawk. The Horned King merely chuckled, Balor had always had a way with words. No doubt he had convinced them that they were indeed allies.
He almost felt a pang of guilt for what he was about to do.
Almost.
"Order the crew to open fire. Destroy them all." He snarled, without turning to the solider.
...
It was getting warmer.
Spiros found this odd but continued to fight on.
He ducked quickly as Jon tried to take his head off with a yell. The Vanguard came back up, deflected a strike and managed to slice his foe just beneath his eye with the tip of his blade.
Jon retaliated by getting in close, Spiros couldn't allow this become a battle of strength. It would only ensure his defeat. His foe blocked a thrust and sent our hero stumbling backwards with a headbutt.
Merida knew she had to intervene.
"Both of you stop!" She shouted.
Spiros shot forward with a loud boom, the air around him whistling and swirling. He slammed into Jon's lower body with his shield, the impact sent him tumbling over Spiros , who spun around as he landed on his face. Our hero raised his sword to stab him in the back when his adversary rolled out of the way at the last second.
Spiros cursed as his sword got stuck in the ground. Jon took advantage of this and punch his foe in the head as he tried to retrieve his weapon. The punch stunned Spiros and sent him staggering away from his sword. Jon swung his sword at him several times, missing by a few inches each time. Finally, he went to stab our hero in the gut. Spiros allowed his hands to burst into flames and shot an intense stream of fire at the blade.
It glowed red hot, and Spiros moved to disable the weapon. He allowed a stone boot to firm around his foot. He then kicked the blade with as much force as he could muster. The red hot blade was very malleable and bent easily. Jon looked at his now ruined weapon and scowled, throwing it down.
Our hero went on the attack, surging forward and grabbing Jon by the back of the head and forcing him to bend over. Then with and electrified knee to the head, put his opponent on the ropes. Spiros felt his anger reach a boiling point. He slammed the edge of shield into his opponent's face and then shoved him to the ground.
He put a knee on his foe's chest and started wailing on him with his free hand. Punch after punch, his foe's face became more battered and bloodied.
"What is wrong with you? Betraying your own countrymen!? Your neighbors, your brothers!" Spiros snarled, halting his brutal assault.
"I'm trying to save them, if the world continues on this path...it's doomed! Balor...The Horned King...my father. They can change it, our destinies will be rewritten. A new better world is rising Spiros, give it a chance. " Jon pleaded.
Spiros scoffed and turned, pointing to the sky.
"Does that look better for the world, is that some kind of peacekeeping vessel that will ensure peace and prosperity in your delusional new world? Open your eyes because to me, it looks like a warship Jon! Your father is insane!"
"No, no. It's no warship. It's a chariot, a chariot containing the herald of the New Age and its King." He replied.
"Not for long." Spiros snarled.
Jon shouted and began struggling, clearly wrapped up in a zealous rage. Spiros delivered a few more punches, ensuring that his foe remained subdued. Meanwhile the air had gotten fairly warm.
"I won't let you ruin this for us, for her!" Jon shouted.
Spiros turned to see Merida who was jogging towards them. Behind her Seona was standing next to Young MacGuffin, who was carrying Young Macintosh.
"Spiros we have to go!" Merida shouted.
"Get going, I'll catch up." He told her, reaching out for his sword. His hand crackled and hissed with the sound of electricity. His sword suddenly came flying into his hand.
"We've got to take him with us!" She told him.
"I don't think that's a good idea." He told her.
The air around them was starting to look wavy.
"We may be able to get some information out of him." She insisted.
"He's gone off the deep end Merida, he's not worth the trouble or the risk." Our hero protested.
"Spiros...please." She begged.
The Vanguard sighed. He knew she could care less about interrogating him, she just wanted to have the chance to try and turn him back into the guy she had fallen for before he had arrived.
"Fine." He replied, letting him up and turning to Seona.
"Get me something to hold-"
"Jon!"
The Vanguard turned to see Jon, who had Merida by the shoulders. He was shaking her, and she had her hands up like she was trying to calm him down.
Spiros acted on instinct.
A iridescent bolt of light shot past him, hitting Jon in the shoulder and shearing his arm off. Merida screamed in horror and scrambled backwards. Spiros turned to see Seona lowering her weapon.
Spiros quickly locked Jon into place by having rocks encase his legs. He then drove his sword into the ground and willed a spiked ball of ice to form in his hand.
Merida was shouting about something, but Spiros refused to listen. He threw the spiked ball of ice, which stuck to Jon's chest on impact. Then the Vanguard willed a dome of earth to encase his foe. There was a loud POP followed by a loud scream.
Spiros had the dome of earth crumble, revealing a body with dozens of icicles sticking out of it.
Merida began to sob, Seona just shook her head, disturbed by the sight.
Our heroes then fled the Fort as the ground began to bubble. As they descended through the tunnels, Spiros blocked off the entrance to the tunnels with a stone wall.
The Omegasevrian Airship began firing its ballista's, which had explosive warheads. It didn't take long for Fort Ness to crumble into ruin, Duncan's army was forced to retreat as they were killed off in large numbers by the aerial bombardment. The Roman Fleet attacked with their own ballista's but couldn't penetrate the ship's armor.
They too were destroyed, out of the dozens of ships that came to the Highlands. Only four, including the Flag ship, limped back to Rome.
Where Fort Ness had once stood was charred blackened ground, and a pile of stone rubble. It was late afternoon when the Omegasevrian Airship climbed into the clouds and left the remains of Fort Ness, believing there enemies had been destroyed.
...
Our heroes walked through the tunnels in a single file line. Seona was leading, a bright flame blazing in palm of her hand to light the way. Spiros was in between Merida, who was right behind his sister, and Young MacGuffin who was the tail end of the line. The tunnels were narrow, and damp. Spiros was beginning to feel claustrophobic, he decided to take his mind off of it he tried talking to Merida.
"Hey...um..." He began.
"Let's not discuss it." She snapped.
"Look I know your upset, but I had no choice. He lashed out at you, what was I supposed to do?" He told her.
"He didn't lash out at me, he was just trying to justify what he had done. He was scared Spiros, he was afraid I would be killed trying to stop Balor and The Horned King. He truly wanted to protect me." She explained.
"Right, he wanted to protect you. That's why he helped attack the fort, held your parents at sword point, and he shot Vailean!" The Vanguard grumbled, gesturing to the rear.
"He didn't shoot him, Duncan did." She told him.
As they continued their conversation, the tunnel opened up into large chamber. At least as big as large house. Up ahead was a faint orange light, Seona could see about a dozen or so people huddled around a fire.
Were they the only ones who made it out?
"How could you possibly defend him? He betrayed us, he betrayed you! I know that you knew him long before I did , but you have you have to ask yourself: how long has this really been going on. They must of been planning this for years. No one just plans a rebellion over night." He told her.
"No not him, his father...he must of done something to him, filled his head with lies. The Jon I know would never have done this."
"The Jon you knew is dead, for all you know he's been playing you for a fool. I know your upset about how this turned out but I can't see how you can still be-"
Merida whipped around, tears in her eyes.
"I loved him...ok? After Macintosh, he helped me put myself back together. Now he's gone, because of you. You took him from me...given enough time, I could of put him back on the right path. I could of saved him." She hissed.
Spiros was still in shock, yet his vocal chords still worked.
"You don't know that." He said dryly.
"No, and I suppose I never will now." She replied.
There was a moment of silence between the two. Young MacGuffin awkwardly shuffled past them while Seona quietly advanced ahead.
"I think it's time you leave too. I need some space." She snarled.
"Merida..." Spiros began.
"Get out of my sight, go find someone else to talk to." She grumbled, turning her back to him.
"I don't have anyone else." He replied, materializing into black mist and floating away.
...
Merida sat by a small fire with her mother.
Her dad was off wandering the caves with the three lords, trying to figure out how many soldiers they had left.
"Where's Spiros?" Elinor asked.
The Princess shrugged.
"Is everything alright between you two?"
Merida let out a heavy sigh and buried her face in her hands.
"No." She replied, before going on to explain to her mother what had happened.
The entire time, Elinor kept her eyes on her daughter, seemingly analyzing every word.
At the end of it, she nodded as her daughter went back to staring at the fire.
"Although it may not seem like it, Spiros reacts defensively to everything. After a lifetime of loosing people he-"
The Queen caught herself, she had almost used that four letter word. She didn't want to put words in the vanguard's mouth, although she was almost positive it was true. Plus, her daughter already had enough to on her mind.
"-He cares about, it would seem that he has become very protective of you and quite possibly the rest of us. Do not judge him too harshly for this." She continued.
The Princess nodded, still staring at the fire.
"I...I honestly think that I could of helped Jon. That way...I won't have to burry anymore of my friends." Merida whimpered.
Before her mother could ask what she meant, she turned to face her.
"Wee Dingwall is dead mum." She explained.
The Queen blinked several times before extending her arms. Her daughter returned the gesture and the two shared a comforting embrace.
"I can't even imagine..." She murmured.
"It scares me to think who will be next." Merida said mournfully.
"No one dear, no one else has to die. Not when they have you at their side ." Her mother replied.
"The whole reason Eoghan died was because I missed. If I had hit that archer, he would of made it across that bridge." The Princess explained.
"You cannot dwell on that dear, right now you must concern yourself only with keeping the rest of your friends safe. They need you now more then ever." The Queen instructed.
Elinor released her daughter from the hug.
"You should probably go make your peace with Spiros."
"I don't know mum. I'm probably the last person he wants to see right now." Merida said sheepishly.
"Based on what you told me, I think you'd be wrong about that. A boy like him, who has spent years on his own, only to meet you. I think you're the only person he wants to see right now." The Queen explained.
"What makes you say that?" The Princess asked.
"Well, you two have formed quite a bond over the past few days. Now he probably feels like that bond might have been severed. After years of being alone, feeling unwanted by the world...that feeling could be dangerous." The Queen continued.
Merida's eyes widened as she understood. She quickly got up and set off to find her friend.
...
She found him in a empty cavern, with a large pool of water in the center. He and Visilis were sitting on an outcropping of rock a few dozen feet above the floor.
"Spiros?" She asked.
Visilis, dripping wet from head to tail, looked down on her and roared as if to say: 'go away!'."
"I need to talk to-"
A sudden gust of wind sent her shooting into the air. She landed on the outcropping of rock next to an angry griffin and a grumpy looking vanguard.
"What is it?" He asked, his eyes were closed and he sat cross legged.
"I wanted to talk to you." Merida began.
"About what?"
She brushed her hair off of her face.
"Geez, where do I start." She muttered, sitting down in front of him.
"I just wanted to say...that I'm sorry about what I said earlier." The Princess began.
Spiros didn't open his eyes, he didn't nod or show any indication that he was listening.
Merida got ready to call him out on it when he spoke.
"I'm listening." He assured her.
She raised an eyebrow at his behavior but continued.
"I made the same mistake that I've made before, the same mistake that got my mum turned into bear." She continued.
He nodded, only slightly.
"I only thought about myself, I forgot about how protective you must be of me, after all that you've lost."
"I have always been protective of those that are close to me. Some have found this to be...a fault. It has led to conflicts between myself and those I once called friends. These conflicts weigh more heavily on me then any battle or war I have ever fought." He explained.
"It must be a horrible feeling." She murmured.
"It is." He replied.
Silence filled the cavern, after a few minutes Spiros spoke.
"I regret what I did to Jon, if there had been any other option, I would of taken it. Sadly, I saw no alternative and I did what had to be done." He told her.
"Perhaps you were right, maybe he had me fooled this entire time. Maybe he didn't really care about me like how I cared about him." Merida said with a sigh.
"He cared for you Merida, the look in his eyes on the docks. It's the same look my father gave my mother when he returned from a day at sea." Spiros told her, closing his eyes tighter.
"Spiros..." Merida began, but he interrupted her.
"Despite the anger you may have towards me, know that I always be your friend." He told her.
She flinched at that last word.
"Spiros..." She said again.
"I need to be left alone, I must resume my meditation." He told her.
"Can it wait a few more minutes?" She asked.
"No in fact, it cannot wait a moment longer." He grumbled.
"Spiros, look at me." She instructed.
"I can't do that." He told her.
"What do you mean you can't?!" She snapped.
"You might not like what you see." He replied.
"Listen mister, I came up here to fix things between us and your just blowing me off with this meditation excuse." She grumbled.
"It's not an excuse." He protested.
"I swear I'm gonna-"
He sighed in defeat and opened his eyes. Which were pitch black, with thick purple smoke coming out of each of his eyes.
"Oh my gods, what -" She murmured, clearly frightened.
"I'm trying to send my soul to the Ethereal Plains." He explained.
"Wah?"
"It's an alternate plain of existence. A place where, at midnight and noon, the souls of the damned and the spirits from the heaven can be found in the same place." He told her.
"Why would you want to go there?" Merida asked.
"I think I need to talk to Mor'du, after all the last time called upon me, our meeting was cut short." He told her.
"Right, you attacked the vision of the Horned King." The Princess recalled.
"I need to see the rest of that vision. It may hold the key to stoping the Horned King, for he is the one that is behind everything that has happened." The Vanguard continued.
"Cant you just summon Mor'du's spirit into this world instead of going out to find him?" Merida asked.
"I tried, but the Horned King's powers are interfering somehow. I can't summon anyone, not even my Spirit Guides. He's thrown everything in this land into chaos." Spiros grumbled.
The Vanguard shuttered at the task he had to face. While on the Ethereal Plains, his soul would be out of his body. He would be forced to maintain a strong mental connection to his physical body to ensure that it would not become possessed by an evil spirit.
Although he would be practically invincible while on the plains, he could still feel pain which could disrupt his mental connection with his body long enough for a spirit to take control. Should that happen, he would become a Shade.
A mindless spirit that would haunt the plains and on occasion, the mortal world, for an eternity. A fate worse then death.
Spiros knew that the plains had a terrifying reputation. All the great Vanguards and Heroes of old journeyed to the plains at some point. Few ever came back, it was a place where most of their stories came to a horrifying end.
"Can I come?" Merida asked.
Spiros shook his head.
"The Shadow Glyph I have allows me to do this. Therefore, the journey can only be completed by Vanguards."
"Get Seona to go with you." The Princess instructed.
Yet again, Spiros shook his head.
"Too risky, I must take this journey alone." He told her.
She sighed and nodded.
"Ok, but please be careful." She pleaded.
"I will." He assured her before turning to his Griffin.
"If its not me that comes back, you know what to do."
Visilis bobbed his head.
Spiros closed his eyes and hummed an eerie sounding tune. After several minutes, he felt as if he was in free fall, except he falling upwards. Everything around him was black, with no real visual indication of what was up and what was down. Then he felt water on his skin as a silver faint light caught his eye directly below him.
...
The Vanguard flipped one more time as he broke through the surface of the pool of water head first. He flew into the air for a brief second and then floated back down to the surface of the small pool, which was now glass.
He blinked the dizziness out of his eyes and examined his surroundings. The sky was a ashy grey. To the North, the dim white sun was nearing the highest point in the sky. To the South, the black moon was nearing the highest point in the sky as well. To the east and west, blue-ish grey storm clouds were gathering, lighting flashed and thunder boomed. Ten times louder then any thunder clap Spiros or any mortal had ever heard.
Up ahead was a barren plain with black sand, speckled with bits of gold, silver and grey. In the distance was a large stone structure, resembling a derelict castle with a monolith towering over its turrets and walls.
Around the pool of water he had emerged from were hundreds upon hundreds of swords, spears, halberds, and a few tridents stuck in the sand. All in varying degrees of condition, from ancient to relatively new.
Spiros walked forward and pulled a simple silver longsword from the sand. It looked pretty old, and the blade was covered in what looked like black oil stains. With a weapon in hand, he forged ahead.
...
Merida had never felt so useless.
Her friend was trudging through the Ethereal Plains, which sounded like a pretty grim place in general. What with the whole 'spirits of the damned' thing.
She could only sit and watch her friend and his slight changes in facial expressions. His skin was pale and small plumes of purple smoke were still flowing from his closed eyes.
Merida thought about what he had said.
'I'll always be your friend.'
She sighed at the thought.
After how she had treated him in the tunnels, telling him to basically bugger off, she was surprised he still wanted to call her friend.
Was Spiros just being nice to her at this point? Putting up with her because the fate of the kingdom was at stake, or as payment of all they had done for him at this point. Taking him in, treating him like their own.
Merida shook her head at the thought.
Surely she couldn't have destroyed the bond they had formed over the past few days in a few sentences...right?
'Get out of my sight'
That's what she had told him.
The Princess looked up at Vislis.
"I really hurt him, didn't I?" She asked.
The Griffin snorted at the remark, as if to say:
"What do you think genius?"
...
Spiros walked through the black sand with some difficulty, every step he took made him feel like he was sinking deeper into the black sand. Around him, black cloaked figures floated around, aimlessly wandering through the nothingness.
They clung to their staffs, which were made of white ivory and topped with the skeletal human torso. The ribs were spread open, like a ghastly flower in bloom. There mouths were opened, glowing red with a strange light. Their eyes were empty sockets, yet it felt like they had eyes which turned to watch our hero march towards his goal.
He could of swore the skeletons were whispering to him, pleading for help. They had ended up here because either they did little good or evil in their lives and thus were forced to roam a place of indifference. It was hear that one of three things happened.
Their spirits either strived to do good, in hopes of one day being accepted into the heavens, and became Ethereal Knights who combat demons that have escaped from the fires of the Underworld and had to pass through the plains to complete their escape into the land of the living.
Others would become corrupted, feeling anger and hatred for being sentenced to rot in such a place and became either a Shade, or a Wraith. The cloaked spirits with gruesome staffs that our hero had just encountered. They fed on souls, growing ever more powerful with each soul they devoured. With the hopes that they would gather enough power to return to the land of the living. Although this rarely happened, as Ethereal Knights hunted Wraiths down and destroyed them with specialized weapons.
The Knights searched for Shades as well, but for a different reason. They either converted them into Knights, giving them a purpose or laid them to rest in the Well of Souls. A sacred place that has remained hidden for thousands of years, where they would be safe from The Wraiths.
Spiros continued on his way, The storm clouds were drawing near. Our hero realized it would only be a few more minutes before the Sun and Moon eclipsed.
That's when things would get difficult, because that's when he would have to fight both physically and mentally and with most of his powers nullified while he was in this state, he would have to rely on his swordplay to get him through this trip.
As got closer to the ancient castle, he noticed that something was waiting by the gates. An armored warrior, fifteen feet high dressed in shining sliver armor. It held a massive longsword in its right hand. The armor looked basic for the most part, except for the head piece, which was a black cloak.
Over the warriors face was a silver gorgon mask. Which portrayed a woman with her eyes closed, and small snakes for air slithering out in every direction. Spiros scowled at the armored warrior and readied his weapon. The armored warrior glanced at our hero, then raised its arm. A vortex of black energy formed on its left arm. Shards of obsidian flew up from the ground and formed a shield like structure on its arm. The Vanguard slowly began advancing on the warrior when it raised its sword and slammed the blade into the ground. A huge shockwave rolled across the earth, leaving our hero struggling to stay on his feet, as the armored warrior charged him, delivering a powerful diagonal slice that would of cut Spiros' physical body in two.
The moon had eclipsed the sun, and the storm clouds were growing thicker and larger overhead.
The Vanguard was stunned by the strike, which knocked him onto his back. In his head, he heard the sound of glass beginning to crack. He rolled to the side as the gigantic blade came crashing down where he had been laying.
He leaped to his feet and dashed forward, rolling under a wide swing of the armored warriors sword. He sprang out from the roll and drove his sword into his foe's knee. The warrior's leg buckled, causing it to drop onto one knee. Spiros leapt up onto the warriors shoulder and drove his sword into its back. He then slid down the warrior's back, his sword leaving a large gash that ran down the warrior's backside.
Spiros landed behind his armored foe as it spun around and lunged as it swung its sword at him. He stepped forward and ducked under the swing, raising his sword and swinging at the warriors face. The warrior was stunned by this attack and Spiros capitalized on this opportunity, driving his sword through the warrior's chest.
His foe exhaled coldly before it melted into a puddle of liquid metal.
Spiros turned around and examined the structure that he was to venture into. Carefully he entered, walking down a corridor that led him to a large courtyard. In the center of this courtyard was a large monolith embedded in the ground. Spiros looked around, the stone structure appeared to be built around this monolith.
The monolith was a massive obsidian tower wrapped in massive silver chains, chains that had black iron tie downs on the walls and floor. The monolith was covered in glyphs and various words in many different languages. He caught one word, a word in Greek. Although he did not recognize it.
Half a dozen stone guard towers surrounded the monolith, in between them were buildings of various size. Interconnected by narrow wooden bridges that allowed the building's inhabitants to walk from rooftop to rooftop.
Spiros sensed a presence and tuned to see Mor'du walking up to him in a ghostly blue human form. The bear prince sighed as he took his place at the vanguard's side.
"What's is this?" Spiros asked.
"A prison, for a demon. A demon that is the enemy of all things living. Thousands of years ago, he looked down on the world from a legendary peak. Every night, he would awaken and unleash a plethora of chaos and death on the land. One day, one thousand Silver Knights from this very place marched on that mountain."
"They fought bravely, but were no match for the power of the vile creature. They were all killed. That night, one more challenger marched up the peak. Surmounting the bodies of the fallen knights. A sorcerer who would become the first Vanguard, he defeated the demon and locked him away here on the Ethereal Plain, so that he could never strike at mankind again." Mor'du explained.
Spiros nodded, he had never heard this story before and if he had, he'd forgotten it.
"However for every sun rise, night must fall." The Prince said grimly, turning and walking away from the structure.
Our hero glanced at this mystery word one last time, realizing it was not just a word. It was a name. The Greco turned to leave, under the impression that the monolith was actually a pair of wings folded together, hiding the demon's body from the eyes of everyone in the castle. Spiros couldn't imagine what such a creature looked like, and prayed he would never have to find out.
"Your battle will not end with the defeat of the Horned King and his knights." Mor'du explained as they walked across the barren courtyard.
"Those people that arose with him, they were knights?" Spiros asked.
"Aye, Legacy Knights. Champions from the first age. They were once the greatest warriors of their era, representing the best qualities of mankind. Sadly prior to the dawn of this age, they were corrupted." Mor'du told our hero.
"By what?"
"No one knows, but whatever happened the Horned King convinced them to withdraw from the world and lay dormant in a lair of sorts, hidden somewhere on these very plains." The Bear Prince explained.
"Is there any clue as to where it is?" Spiros asked.
"Yes, but you cannot defeat the evil that has taken root here. Not yet, not alone."
"Then what am I supposed to do? The Horned King ravages the Highlands, your home! He must be stopped!" The Greco protested.
"Yes, indeed. Sadly though, you will only be able to delay him. You must use the time you buy to gather allies, and prepare the world for the madness to come." The Prince instructed.
"How do you purpose I do that?"
"There is a circle of stones near DunBroch Castle. They are the burial grounds of the most powerful members of the Royal Family. Using an ancient incantation, you can summon their spirits and use your combined power to imprison the Horned King."
"That's it?" Spiros asked.
"Well it will only be a temporary solution, and to buy time you must give up time." Mor'du explained.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"The spirits of the royal family will require a living vessel to channel their power through. The power though, is too much for anyone man to take, if this transfer of energies does not kill you, your time on this earth will be cut in half."
"Half of my life, gone? Just like that?"
"Aye...there is no other way."
"How long?"
That was such a broad question, it was more like multiples question rolled into one.
How much time would this buy?
How much time would be taken away from his life?
Five years?
Ten?
Fifteen?
The answer must have been the same for all of them.
"I cannot say." Mor'du said mournfully.
Spiros sighed, before speaking.
"What do I have to do?"
"There is an incantation engraved on the back of the Queen's pendant. Read it once in the circle of stones. Then keep the Horned King within the circle of stones until the spell can be cast. Only then will the threat be eliminated...for now of course."
The Vanguard nodded before a burst of pain radiated through his head. His ears rung as he heard the sound of glass cracking.
"You must get back to the pool that you emerged from. Something must be trying to posses your body. If that glass breaks, it will succeed." The Bear Prince instructed.
Our hero nodded slowly , turning around and running out of the courtyard.
Mor'du watched him until he vanished from sight, then the Bear Prince vanished as well.
"Now I can rest." He muttered.
...
Merida watched her friend nervously, he was know breathing faster and groaning as if in pain. She could see his eyes move about as if he were looking at a dozen things at once.
Something was wrong, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach.
In retrospect, it bewildered her why she said what she said. Spiros couldn't hear her, and yet in her worry she uttered that four letter word that she never thought she would say. A word that required the willingness to be tied to one person for an extended period of time. A word that shouldn't be uttered lest you truly mean it. To her commitment meant the loss of freedom, yet she couldn't stand the thought of loosing him.
She might as well put her heart in a cage if it meant living without him.
So, she let her heart free, allowing the words flow.
"Spiros, I don't know if you can hear me...but there is something you need to know. When this all over and if we both get out of this alive. I don't want you to leave, I want you to stay here, with me. After all we've been through, i cant just look at you as a friend...I loved Jon, but...I-I love you!"
...
Call it luck, call it a miracle, call it divine intervention.
Hell, call it whatever you like.
Spiros didn't know what happened when he was running back. Although, something made the agonizing pain in his head subside. His vision cleared up, his stride picked up until he was sprinting back to the exit point, sword held in reverse grip or ice pick style. Ready to confront whatever was causing trouble.
As his destination came into sight, he saw the Librarian with its elongated limbs and blank face pounding away at the glass that covered the pool of water. The demon was trying to posses his body, something the vanguard would not allow. The creature had its back turned to him, making it the perfect target.
Spiros aimed his sword at the center of the creature's back.
At the second the creature whipped around and attempted to backhand our hero. Spiros ducked as the elongated limb swooshed over his head, he pivoted around and brought his sword down on the monsters arm. The limb, from the elbow down, turned into ash that blew away with the wind.
The Librarian vanished in the blink of an eye, holding his injured limb lose to his chest. The damage wouldn't have any effect on the creature's physical form, but it was still a win for Spiros. The creature failed to gain access to the Greco's mind and body.
"Well that was close." The Vanguard murmured, sticking his sword back into the ground.
He walked onto the glass and knelt down, putting the palm of his hand on the surface of the cracked material. He closed his eyes and felt the glass dissolve into nothingness right out from under his feet.
Once again he was falling, spinning around until he felt himself come to a rest in a seated position.
...
Spiros slowly opened his eyes, a hissing Visilis and a concerned looking Merida staring at him. They waited anxiously for some kind of sign that it was him, and not an evil spirit.
"Gods, that was terrible." The Vanguard grumbled, rubbing his temples.
The Griffin sighed with relief, Merida threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Spiros was at first caught of guard, but he quickly put his arms around the Princess' waist. They remained this way for at least a minute or so and would of likely gone on longer if Seona had no interrupted them.
She cleared her throat, getting their attention.
"Uh...Spiros? My Mom wants you two down here, they said they want to see you." She explained.
The Vanguard raised an eyebrow.
"What could that be about?" Merida asked.
"Lets go find out." He suggested.
...
Spiros rounded the corner that led into the small cave where the King, Queen and Clan Leaders were discussing their plan of action. Young Macintosh stood beside his father, a thick bandage wrapped around his chest. He had a pained look on his face, but at least he was still breathing.
The Vanguard looked to the Queen as he spoke.
"You wanted to-ACK!"
A pair of arms that looked as if they belonged to a shaved bear picked the Greco up.
"Spiros, how is it going my friend?" A voice boomed, giving the Greco a bear hug that should of snapped him in two.
"Crushing...Isaac...stop crushing me." Our hero replied.
"Oh yes of course."
Spiros was dropped onto bum.
"Ow." He muttered, standing up and looking at his old friend.
He was about half a foot taller then Spiros, he had two obsidian axes strapped to his back. He wore steel plated trousers and a steel chest plate over sleeveless black fur coat. He had big blue eyes, long thick black hair, and a ridiculous grin.
"It has been many moons since we slew those Ice Golems, eh?" He asked.
"Yeah, a few months at least." Spiros replied with a nod.
"We heard you needed help, so I brought help!" His friend bellowed.
"Wait, who sent for you and who else is here?" The Vanguard asked.
"A old women and her talking Raven, strange I know. Although we've seen our share of oddities, huh?" A girl asked, stepping out from behind Isaac.
She warm brown eyes, black hair, and tanned skin. She was wearing a bronze armor chest plate, shoulder guards, and shin guards over a long sleeved white linen dress of sorts, with a skirt that stopped at the knees. She had a black iron dagger hanging from her hip, and wore a steel gauntlet with gold detailing on her left arm. In her right hand was a sword that looked broken, because its blade was bent in the shape of a crescent.
"Aylin." Spiros said with grin.
"Long time no see huh?" She asked, a smile forming on her lips.
"It's almost been five years." The Vanguard said with a nod.
"So wait, a old women summoned you here?" Merida asked.
"Yeah, took forever to get here but I figured it be better then hunting down slavers. It'll be nice to have a change of pace." She explained.
"Well these guys are not pushovers, unlike the Mongols." Spiros told her.
She grinned.
"Finally, a challenge."
"Who else tagged along?" Spiros asked.
The next person to emerge was a young man, his black hair tied up into a top knot of sorts. He was wearing full body black armor, minus the helmet. He was armed with a simple sword, with a golden hilt that resembled the face of a dragon.
"Greetings, Spiros of Rhodes. Aylin spoke extensively of your prowess on the battlefield. It will be an honor to fight alongside you in the coming battle." He said with a bow.
"What's your name?"
"Forgive me, I should of introduced myself first. I am Fa Zhou."
Our hero returned the bow.
"Good to have you with us."
The young man replied with a nod.
"Aloha!" The final member of the group exclaimed.
He was clad in nothing but worn shorts, and had tanned skin as well. However he was a little bit darker then Aylin. He was armed with a simple Bo staff which he was casually leaning on. With his free hand, he ran his hand through his black spiky hair. He had an athletic build and a lopsided grin that would make any girl squeal.
"Tall, dark and handsome reporting for duty." He said, his green eyes scanning the crowd.
"Front and center, if you please." Seona said quietly.
Merida looked back at her sister with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" She grumbled.
"Kekoa, focus for gods' sake" Aylin grumbled.
"The only thing I'll be focusing on is finding a shirt, its freezing!" He replied.
"Not if I can help it." Seona murmured.
Merida looked back at her sister a second time.
"Seriously?" She whispered.
Seona leaned towards her, trying to keep her voice down.
"Yes seriously! Look at him, he's gorgeous!" She replied.
"Sooo-" Spiros began, trying to get the two back on topic.
"Right, sorry." Seona said, after clearing her throat.
"We saw the airship overhead on the way here, what's the plan for taking it down?" Isaac asked.
"I have a proposal I was just explaining." Seona replied.
"We are not doing that." Elinor grumbled.
"Doing what?" Merida asked.
"I'll explain later." Her father replied.
"Why even take back the Castle? They have us outgunned and outnumbered, how hard would it be to sustain ourselves?" Lord Macintosh asked.
"Our foraging parties could give us away. If we don't starve or use up the local area's of resources first." Spiros grumbled.
"We have to fight! We can't let those infernal creatures squat on lands that have belonged to us for centuries!" Lord Dingwall snarled.
"We've lost too much to surrender now." He said, his voice cracking.
Spiros looked to Seona, who cast her gaze downwards and mouthed the words:
"I told him."
"Dingwall is right, this war needs to end before it really gets going and results in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands more." Lord MacGuffin replied.
"The Highlands could be just a stepping stone in their plans. Who's to say there aren't more garrisons out there?" Spiros added.
"We'll if we are going to fight, we'll need a plan and Seona's seems like the only one with a chance of success." Fergus said standing up.
As they discussed, Spiros shuffled over to Queen Elinor who was watching the meeting nervously.
"Your majesty, I know how I'm going to stop the Horned King. I'll need your help though." He told her.
"What could I possibly contribute to such an endeavor?" She asked.
He told her what Mor'du had instructed her to do.
At the end of it, she turned to him.
"I cannot ask you to do that for us."
The Vanguard sighed.
"You don't have to, because I'm going to do it anyways."
Reluctantly, she removed her necklace and gave it to him.
"I don't know how we'll ever repay you for this."
"You won't have to, although can you do me one small favor?" He asked.
"Yes of course." She replied.
"Don't tell Merida." He said flatly.
She hesitated but nodded, to their right the war meeting concluded.
"Ok, we have devised a strategy to take back the Castle." Seona said aloud.
"Everyone gather around and listen up!"
A.N- Well that's part one for you! If things had gone according to plan, I would tell you to look for part two tomorrow. Sadly, that isn't the case. As I did happen to actually go on vacation during my summer vacation. So I wasn't able to write for sometime. School starts tomorrow for me, so the earliest you guys will get part two is this weekend. Which is currently my plan of action. Once part two is up, part three will follow the day after. (It won't take long to write). I hope you enjoyed this update and had a wonderful summer, and I thank you all for tolerating the fact that my updates take FOREVER.
I look forward to reading your reviews and answering any non spoiler questions.
Until next time,
Wolf out!