VOLUME II: The Revenge Of The Forsaken
)) Chapter 7: It Slowly Crawls ((
Core of the Great Stone Tower Temple, Termina, 4:10 am, Second Day
A sensation of burning pain, defeat, and so much anxiety that his very breath had considerably heaved. Those were all the new sensation Ankoku was feeling as he was dragged by the Garo army, alongside his Loftwing Dodo, towards the throne room, both with bindings around their necks and forcefully pulled every time they attempted to fight off their condition, unfortunately, to no avail.
"Don't take it so badly, Sky Child, you did not know any better" – Fang Boy mocked sadistically the Skyloftian while manipulating his body with strings made out of darkness as if he were a marionette – "I had told you before, do you remember? I would have escorted you through all the depths of the Black Tower… now it's time for you to see the throne chamber"
At hearing this, Ankoku kept struggling against the grip, but to no avail. Even if he had succeeded, he had to survive against a team of six Garo, one of whom, dubbed 'the Commander' much stronger looking than the others, and the several other Poes observing all of them Before him, Dodo, who was dragged by several Garo soldiers, tried to turn and squawk at the imp, but the Garo ninjas immediately made him turn back with a strong pull. The young owner could not help but sigh but this, feeling impotent before what was happening, and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. Fang Boy wasted no time in breaking his morale further by slamming the young man's face against the floor. The Commander kept looking at the fragile figure tortured by his master's messenger to reprimand the latter, for he, as an honorable warrior, not approving such wanton cruelty towards a prisoner who was already condemned to death.
The two masked Garo priests looked at the scene and snickered at the same time, only to be silenced by the Leader with a gesture of his hand and a glare from his glowy eyes as they arrived.
The mysterious Link lookalike stated sitting down on the throne, leaning his arm with so much weight to the point that side seemed to crack and stared down at the future sacrificial lamb which had been, in the meanwhile, released by Fang Boy's grasp.
Ankoku, even if broken, decided to show off some dignity and politeness, and, as he crossed the eyes once re with the shadowy creature, he bowed down as a sign of greeting, still in his polite protocol, yet somewhat strained. Who was that figure cohort with Fang Boy that could resemble such a twisted form of his hero? The fact the Garo Priests were shaking their mask to create a weird sound which made everyone, even the fiendish imp, somewhat uneasy.
The pitch black Leader cracked a small smirk at the prisoner's struggle and made a gesture again at the several Garo, who bowed all at ones as several fires flicked into the room and the Poes appeared, at the center the four Cubus sisters which lit through their lanterns the whole room . The dark figure stared at the green sister and she answered him with a nod. As the Priests started dancing, the Leader spoke
"Fellow Garo, my instruments of death, and my glorious Poes" – he said – "Our war… no, pest control, against Ikana, is coming to an end, as we deal the finishing blow. Our impenetrable stronghold broke their spirits, our attack broke their soldiers, the thievery of their royal family broke their honor… and now… I will break the King."
The ninja let out a single triumphant yell of victory, while the ghosts just let out dozens of laughs. Ankoku's eyes widened in horror and tried to speak back, but the second he seemed to be moving, a Garo placed his scimitar next to his neck. A silent, yet effective, threat, which stopped the young man from speaking and forced him to continue to hear the speech, now accompanied by an ominous sentence chanted over and over by the Priests.
"Sair Met, ayr, or treis met-nohm"
While Ankoku wished to focus upon that unique language, his line of thought was interrupted by the voice of the dark copy of the Hero.
"Yes, indeed, victory is so close" – he continued – "and it's just rightful for all of us to pay … a tribute to the deity of the Black Tower with a sacrifice"
Ankoku had figured out already and was frozen in fear attempting to muster an immediate defense against his enemyLet enough time for the ghosts to celebrate he pointed at the Loftwing and the Child of Hylia's: "Into the well… they will be enough"
Finally, the Skyfloftian, horrified at the prospect of his immediate fate, rushed, not noticing how the Garo's scimitar was held by invisible forces coming from his shadow and tried to speak up.
Alas, he managed only to mutter a: "B-b-but…"
The second he was about to come up with a more coherent sentence, the red Cubus Sister rushed and slammed him to the ground with a swing to her lantern, hissing in rage: "How you dare t try and speak back to Lord Jalhalla?"
At hearing that name, even Aria froze in surprise. That name… was that figure the fabled Masked sovereign of the Poes. In the Stone Tower? No wonder she was wary of Ikana. And now… that poor boy had ended up entangled in all of that, and she could not even help him with the bright light coming from the lantern. Ankoku too was surprised, although he did not recognize that name, but now that his face was ground-level, he could notice a thing… the Garo Leader was emitting no shadow… What could it mean?
"By Doloris, no need to be enraged Joelle" – Fang Boy answered on Jalhalla's behalf to the Poe – "Also… it's not like he can counteract against any of our actions"
As the imp concluded, another few strings appeared and got wrapped to Ankoku's neck and wrists. The young man saw Jalhalla making a thumb down. He did not even have the time to scream as he was thrown in the well, Dodo quickly being pushed down after him.
As they fell, a bright light appeared and then purple flashes which for a second made the shape of a figure whose appearance was so unsettling… or even eldritch, some would have stated, that even some Poes and Fang Boy looked eerily at the scene, the light dimming out quickly and only darkness invading the room, even the Poes' lanterns snuffed out.
The Priests, continuing their macabre dance, concluded the prayer with a final chanting before bowing before Jalhalla: "Sair Met, ayr, or treis met-nohm. Ayr Van-aiz! AH"
"Well done, priests, you are allowed to take off your ceremony masks" the Garo Leader ordered, at which they promptly obliged, revealing Garo faces strained by the efforts and the dark magic they had been using.
Immediately the floating messenger laughed at their condition and said: "Come on, don't act as if you have gone through any major strain. This is why we are using fake masks, mere decoy of the original"
The last part was said somewhat seriously as his gaze lingered on one of the heart shaped relics.
After a few tense-strained and endless seconds, Jalhalla stood up from his throne, walking up towards Fang Boy and looking at him.
"Time to take the plan one step closer?", the shadowy figure asked his interlocutor, all the Poes and Garo disappearing at his gestures, only the Cubus sisters left at his side, staring in hatred at the Moon Steel on Fang Boy's back. The imp nodded, looking where the Flame of Sorrow would have been lit and looked at his hands, then moved his body unnaturally, the fiery aura flaming up unnaturally, his face sporting a grin so wide which threatened to split his face in half.
The Poe King observed amused at the scene, not surprised at such. He had been told that Fang Boy would have gotten such problems due to his unique body… and knew how to deal with this.
"Then… I should also get out the trash before I head out to battle"
4:40 am, Second Day
Ankoku had quickly managed, against all the hopes he was holding, which of course still were not taking Aria into account, to land safely on the new are he was on, a vast land filled with bright, almost golden colored sand… alas, before he had time to register what was happening, Dodo fell … right onto Ankoku. The young boy could not help but groan, then getting out of his unfortunate position, checked on his Loftwing and himself.
"We are luck, Dodo" – the Skyloftian said a bit scared, but trying to assure his steed – "we sustained no injuries whatsoever this time… still, what a contrived coincidence to fall twice the same day, first in the Surface and now…"
At this, the young man stopped speaking and stood up surprised, making his steed look around puzzled as well. Indeed… where were they? And why was there such a bright light, while it was night? And how could that area be lit, despite he could not even spot any light source whatsoever.
"We are… ", Ankoku hesitantly repeated once more, and looked at the place. There was a stone platform of considerable size surrounded by four relatively far pillars. Massaging his temples and neck, Ankoku tried to formulate a plan to deal with such circumstances and pondered further until he came up with an idea?
"Dodo, please, remain and stand on the platform, I shall take a look around this area. Call me if you need me, Worry not, we are going to find a way out of this place", the Skyloftian said trying to hold up all the strains that unfortunate day was taking on him and started heading across the vast sandy area, in an attempt to find in what kind of place they had ended up.
As he walked through a world with nothing where beyond laid an infinite horizon with no answer, the guardian of Termina, still hidden in the Skyloftian's shadow, was pondering what to do next. Being a deity, albeit a lesser one, she had an heightened sixth sense when it came to detect auras and their nature… and she did not like that place at all: there was a presence which had been looming over it, although it had not acted on it. Had it noticed their presence… or was simply going to strike when the time was needed? She could not say… and even worse, she was not even sure if she could make them get … after all… her power came from shadows, and Ankoku and Dodo did not provide enough sources for her to do much.
All of sudden, both flows of thought were however interrupted by the fall of another figure. As Dodo immediately squawked and hissed loudly, making his owner , surprised at his steed's sudden anger rush. When he saw the figure that had fallen several feelings went through the trio's mind: it was a stunned and unconscious Fang Boy, lying on his back.
"How on …. Whatever we are, what is doing such blasted imp", Ankoku pondered aloud trying to look at the back of the imp while ignoring the earth shaking suddenly, only to be almost blinded by the light coming by the Moon Steel again.
"Oh drat… falling for this again" Ankoku said using his hat as a cover, then he quickly raised his hands in triumph and smiled as he got the Moon Steel, the heirloom of the Ikanan Royal Family, not noticing the earth shaking again, and it took his Loftwing pull his clothing to make him snap back to reality.
Before he could ask what was going on, from the sand a large pair of mandibles violently erupted followed by a multi eyed bug like faces with open maws and then a long serpentine purple colored armored body of incredible length. That creature staring before them was at least 70 feet long, it not more, and seemed quite ravenous. Instinctively, Ankoku squealed in fear as he lifted up and carried the unconscious imp by instinct and faced the monster before him and a Dodo with a strangely hungry expression as he looked at the creature
"I admit I have never seen a giant masked insect the size of this Moldorm" – he whispered to his bird with a light whimper in fear at the size of the monster – "but I swear Dodo, we are going to get out of this… somehow"
In the meanwhile, Aria had resumed her favorite activity to observe the events unfolding before her. She knew there was going to be some big events to unfold before her eyes and she had to admit that her expectation had far been surpassed.
Her thought as she mused at how big the Moldorm's shadow should have been?
Curiouser and curiouser!
Ikana Valley, Termina, 5:00am, Second Day
Having gotten rid of the imp who used to be his messenger, Jalhalla had headed out to the planned battle, carried in flight by the Poe Sisters, undying servants of his, a smirk adorning his face, although the sudden hot blooded yelling he heard could not help but make him frown.
Below on the ground there was a tall Ikananian, with his trademark grey colored skin and firm build, at least 6 feet in height and well built, with a fierce and proud fiery mane of hair, a square jaw, all robed in an elaborate armor with several engraving of the Royal emblem of Ikana. At his side there were his bodyguard: one relatively lean and tall, the other was more robust and shorter, yet both looked almost animalistic with their elongated skull shape. Pointing his sword skyward, the king roared at the leader at the sight of his opponent, quickly recognizing him. Alas, from the distance Jalhalla was, they were nothing but unintelligible gibberish.
Igos really went fired up for this fight., the Garo Leader mused with a dark chuckle as his servants faded and let him made a graceful and yet bold landing.
"Igos…" - he smugly muttered at his glaring opponent, his steps making no sound against the rocky desert of the Ikana Valley – "you look rather … livid. I like it"
The shorter bodyguard was about to go and charge a slash at the irreverent shadowy creature, but their King stopped him with a single glare with his piercing glare, calming him down, then quickly resumed to stare down the shorter enemy.
"And you would be the Garo Leader… I expected someone taller", Igos answered with his sword still pointing at the shadowy thing, realizing that, despite the title, it was no Garo whatsoever, most likely he was some demon, like the imp he had sent to steal the Moon Steel. Yet, if something had a body, Igos knew, it could be killed.
And yet, the short figure did not flinch at the threat and quickly quipped back: "Igos du Ikana… I expected someone smarter"
Avoiding to fall into his trick, The Ikanan King kept his cool and, clenching his teeth, answered: "Enough with your blabbering, you fiend. I have come for a single reason: surrender my heirloom or, as your Garo tradition, die without leaving a corpse"
With a low and deep laughter, the figure spun his lantern around and lit it up with his magic before challenging the King with three simple words: "Have at you"
The King growled at this and looked at his bodyguard. He had expected such move so he had already formulated a strategy: while he took on the Leader, the bodyguards had the one purpose to hold off every Garo which might have shown up in case of a snake attack and, I that did not work, play the Bremen March and call forth Captain Keeta and his army. If he were lucky, maybe Keeta's plan about taking back the heirloom by sending that rather good spirited would have even succeeded in finding the Moon Steel, finally the Stone Tower would have falled.
At least, that's what he thought. He saw soon that the shorter shadowy creature which was the ruler of the Stone Tower seemed to be more athletic than he seemed, being able to quickly dodge and parry the blows with the rather improbable shield which could be improvised with a lantern. A swing of his sword, the Leader rolled on the side and tried to strike at his side, a blow which was parried with his shield and allowed him an opening for a kick. But again Igos' opponent seemed to have the advantage of spirit against the Ikanan royalty.
Soon, after the noble could swear to have heard in his head spectral choirs calling for him, Jalhalla's style became fiercer and went full offensive in an attempt to strike his opponent down through fire balls, bombs and swung of his lantern. He had an edge, no doubt, yet such style was risky, and sided with his arrogance and lack of experience through melee fighting, it eventually led to an opening. An opening which the King quickly exploited: he rose his blade and made a swing which went through the body of his opponent, all indented to slice the Garo Leader in half.
And yet… nothing. Igos could have sworn his blade had gone and sliced through Jalhalla, and yet the individual seemed not to be bothered by such. He was at best somewhat upset for such carelessness on his side, but quickly his confidence returned as he saw the Ikanan's shocked expression.
"Indeed… what could have happened" – Jalhalla pondeded pulling a wider grin than usual – "this is what you wonder, don't you, Igos du Ikana? Well…"
As he spoke the King aimed at a thrust to the heart, but only then realized… that his opponent's body was intangible, that his blade was completely ineffective against what it could not touch. And worse, his opponent was completely unimpressed, as if he was reveling in such.
"… you see, Igos "- the warped Link lookalike continued, his voice cracking into an inhumanly deep tone – "you don't know what you are dealing with. You never did. Sure, you and your army might have sometimes taken delight in your victories against the Garo who serves me so well… but you see: such was my victory. I am ruler of whoever does not pass through the heavens. Let me ask you… do you fear death?"
Igos acted cool and narrowed his eyes, but the drops of sweat which had run down his forehead were a sign of how much strain such news were bringing, and was inwardly praying the Giants that his opponent was bluffing.
"You should… for once you will pass away, your soul will be mine. Either as a mindless servant… or nourishment", the Garo Leader concluded as his body seemed to be slowly distorting itself, its shape becoming more blurred.
Finally Igos, looking back at his bodyguards and remembering of the people he ruled over and gave guidance to, with a courage only the greatest of the heroes could muster, spoke to his opponent and asked him: "Who … who are you? Who do you think to be to speak to me with this insolence?"
"Who am I?" – the Garo Leader asked – "I am the fabled Poe King of Hyrule, the sovereign of all that's ghastly, direct spawn of the Demon King himself. This is what you stand before."
As he spoke his shadowy youth form faded into nothingness and finally the Poe King turned in his real form: a huge and massive ghost of almost 15 feet in height, his size so large the tattered robes which are the standard Poe garb got stretched and torn revealing pieces of a grey-ish purple ethereal flesh of sorts, and instead of his face being obscured by an hood, it was covered by a misshapen and demoniacal skull-shaped mask with sharp teeth and rotund features.
"Without your Moon Steel there is no hope for you, Igos: beg for your life, Igos Du Ikana, and bow down to… now bow down before the Poe Majesty, Dark Interloper Jalhalla"
The Ikanan King looked in horror at the monster and serrated his now useless blade. His guards were frozen in fear, only he could act. He should have run away, strategized or looked for other ways to fight such a fiend standing before him. But fear clouds men's best judgment, so he let instincts took over and, even though if he knew no weapon could scratch a magical entity of the likes of Jalhalla, rushed to strike at him once more. He would have not even gotten such pleasure: before he could even reach the monster, he was surrounded by flames... which closed around him. No matter his superhuman strength and resistance but, after an inhuman scream of pain and a few seconds of resistance… the Ikanan King fell to the ground, life abandoning his body.
The two bodyguards cried for the loss of their King as they gathered around his corpse, trying somehow to revive him by putting out the flames of the ashes which used to make up the body of their ruler. Jalhalla, looming above them and watching them squirm, smirked at such, knowing that, as soon as the news would have spread to all Ikana, the Flame of Sorrow would have been his and would have celebrated such by feasting on Igos' soul, so all he was left to do was to teleport away and return to the Stone Tower and bid once more his time… or at least, such would have happened hadn't all of sudden an area of the tower visibly shook enough to be seen from afar.
Everyone was surprised of such, and even the Ikanan guards tried to strike the giant Poe down by throwing a spear at him… a move which inevitably phased through him. Angered, one of the guards blew the horn, signal for Keeta to come with the army, hoping the ruler of the Poes would have paid for their actions… not that the monster in question cared for such, as he was too surprised of the shaking of his stronghold, followed by a small series of purple flashes.
'This was not part of their plans… what is happening?', Jalhalla was wondering.
Core of the Stone Tower,
Termina, 5:37am, Second Day
Garos are a proud race which usually boasts that, no matter what, nothing could take them by surprise. Whether this statement was truthful, nobody could not fully state, but many would swear that all of them would have at least raised a brow at the scene which would have been witness of.
All of sudden, from the well, for the first time ever since it had been used for those ominous sacrifices to unknown and ominously forgotten figures of worship, something was coming out: a gigantic worm and, latched on the segments of its mid-body, clinging for their life, still in wonder how such as possible, a small Hylian clad in black and blue and next to him his loyal Lofting with a broken wing, both of them making a wide gasp of surprise as they got out of him.
"Dodo, just want in the world… oh my I admit such is a spectacle to behold", Ankoku could not help but wonder aloud prolonging a bit the last syllables as he was pulled on too suddenly, doing his best to keep an hold of Fang Boy's unconscious body.
And yet not even this was what the most curious thing, as, if someone was to look at the shadow caused over by the creature, they could spot the shape of a little girl which not only had no correspondence from anything on that scene, but she even seemed to have somehow succeeded to tame the immense Moldorm and was riding him towards the battle against the Masked Poe Majesty
Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!, she chortled in her joy.
END OF VOLUME II
DISCLAIMER:
The history of Zelda, Skyloft, Hyrule and Termina, alongside its characters and setting, just like its spin-offs are (c) Nintendo
Aria is (c) LuvIsAThing
The Moon Steel is (c) Kitoma Foxx
Ankoku Yami and the story are all (c) Xantospoc
Thanks you all for having read this fic, read and review please. See ya for the next chapter :)