VESMIRIAN SAGA, BOOK TWO: FLAMES OF RETRIBUTION
PROLOGUE
Vesmir, 1400s.
Strong gusts of wind swept the boy's jet black hair across his forehead. Thunder boomed in the sky.
He was standing at a cliff, his foot placed against a rock higher than the rest. He was wearing a long black coat with the back fluttering behind him. Inside, he was in a gray shirt and black pants. His boots were also black. In the dimming light of the dusk, he was almost invisible. He placed his elbow against his knee and watched the scene below him. It started raining. In seconds, he was drenched to the bone.
There was a village. Stone houses lay side by side for almost a mile. There was a huge house ahead, separated by a wide lawn and four tall marble pillars. There was the scent of fear in the Air. The boy could feel it. He knew they were sensing that he wasn't ordinary, much less, like them.
A commotion broke. It started when a man ran to the big house, known to them as the Room of the Elements. Even from at least three miles away, the boy could hear every word of his conversation with the four Counselors inside.
"He wasn't there," the man said, panting. "I've checked all three Warriors and they were all normal. When I was about to check him, though, he just disappeared."
There was a long moment of silence. Then a woman spoke, "Search the villages. We won't stop at anything until we find him. It is clear the Derknessians sent him to spy on us. We will capture him and . . . deal with him."
The boy snorted. Deal with him? The Council had no idea that none of them could deal with him. He was the most powerful Vesmirian in existence. He could take them all down if he wanted to. And he wanted to. But not yet. He needed information.
He was trying to find out why he was branded a traitor. Yes, he had abilities that none of the other Vesmirians have but he was very much like them in every sense. He would die to protect his planet. That didn't matter to the Council; that was for certain. Every Warrior was born with the ability to control one Element and one Element only. Now that ancient rule was broken by him . . .
All four Counselors appeared, followed by the man. They closed the distance in a few seconds. They walked down the village in a hurry. Citizens bowed in respect to them. At one point, when they passed a house that was used as the training center for the Warriors, they stopped. "Come," said the same woman, summoning the three remaining Warriors. "We shall hunt the abomination and bring peace to Vesmir." Abomination? He liked this less and teenage Vesmirians appeared. One boy and two girls.
Together, all eight of them made their way to the arena, the coliseum used for their games. The boy knew why they were headed to that direction. He was spotted there last. He decided to play along. He summoned a whirlwind. He directed it to the opposite direction, to cause confusion. He was doing so to find out what the Council and the Warriors would do. When it appeared, he then summoned Water and fused it with the whirlwind, creating a whirlpool. Each of the Counselor's heads whipped from side to side, looking for the source of the disturbance. They found none. Of course, the boy hadn't released it yet. He still had something up his sleeve. He created a ball of Fire in his palms and made it hover near the whirlpool. Normally, the Fire would've died the instant it made contact with Water but not this time. He perfectly knew how to control the Elements and make all four work together.
The Fire lighted up the whirlpool. It was a bright reddish orange light and illuminated the whole village. The Council now saw what he was doing. They stared at it open-mouthed. Lastly, the boy kicked hard on the ground. A crevice snaked its way from the point of his boot to where the flaming whirlpool was. A huge chunk of Earth shot upward and hovered a few feet on top of it.
They all watched in fascination. While they were busy gazing, the boy withdrew his control over it and it swirled its way to where the village was. Vesmirians ran around in panic, trying to get out of the way of destruction. The Warriors stood in front of it and tried in vain to control the oncoming assault. Of course they couldn't. He was the only one who could. The boy had no intention of hurting anyone. He just wanted the Council afraid enough to back off of him. He had a mission—something he couldn't say—and the Council and Warriors on his tail weren't exactly going to help. He needed them away.
Then it happened. His body jerked forward, almost throwing him off the edge. His visions blurred until he wasn't able to see anything. His ears felt like they were being vacuumed from the inside. A cold sensation spread from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. He started to shake. And it disappeared. He was feeling fine but he knew what happened wasn't going to help his plan. He knew that the lives of those people below were in grave danger.
He opened his eyes. The irises that were electric blue a while ago were now black as midnight.
The sound of feet hitting the Earth jolted all eight of them into action.
They were all well trained. Even the newly-appointed Warriors. They drew their weapons. The boy was holding a spear. One of the girls was holding a dagger, the other a bow and arrows. The three Counselors drew their swords, the other one his spear. They couldn't see him but they knew he was close. They could feel his presence.
The Air warned them of the attack. The Earth vibrated beneath their feet. The Fire on top of the pillars grew dim each passing second. The sound of the Water from the nearby creek sounded restless. Apart from all of those, they knew what was about to happen.
And it did.
The boy burst out from the Earth, his black eyes shone with hate and power. They all backed up. Despite of lifetime of training in fighting enemies, they weren't able to hide their fear of this boy. They have witnessed what he was capable of doing. He was stronger than any of them put together.
"Fetch the weapon," the woman said to the man who informed them. He nodded and ran back to the Room of the Elements.
"You all believe you could defeat me," the boy said, circling them. His voice had no clear tone. It was flat and yet, very cold. It ran daggers through each of them, making them shiver. "But you must know that all of these are pointless. It is futile to try and kill me. I am not like you. I can't be killed with your petty weapons."
"We'll see," said the woman. Then all seven of them charged the boy.
He just stood there, waiting for them with a smile on his lips. The first to reach him was the Warrior of Earth. He brandished his spear and poked the boy's chest. The boy raised his eyebrows and looked down, as though not affected by the weapon. He pulled it out and before the Earth Warrior was able to move, he impaled him on the stomach. The Warrior grunted. His spear caught black fire and he crumpled to the ground, dead.
Five seconds elapsed before the real battle began. The two remaining Warriors charged the boy from opposite direction—one sending volley after volley of arrows at him while the other threw her dagger. He dodged it without effort—while the four Counselors, weapons held high, ran to him straight. He didn't move. He just stood there, his left hand slightly raised to his side. When the first Warrior reached him, he simply sidestepped, touched the side of her face and she evaporated in a cloud of smoke.
That's when he unleashed his true powers.
His feet exploded, showering everything on Earth. The five remaining defenders were momentarily blinded. They couldn't see anything but they heard the shrieks of the villagers. When the dirt cleared, the boy was nowhere in sight. They searched in vain but he wasn't anywhere. What they saw however, was repulsive and disturbing enough to put the boy out of their minds for a moment. Every living soul was killed, their bones piled in the dirt road.
Just then, the roof of the Room of the Elements caved in. Black smoke rose from inside. "No!" the head Counselor yelled. The Room was sacred to every Vesmirian, the house of the Great Four and destroying it was the worst blasphemous insult to them.
The remaining Warrior, together with the Council sprinted to the place. They were enraged and anger powered them up. One of the Counselors threw his spear with such force it passed right through the walls. They heard the impact of it on flesh. He knew he hit the boy. Rejuvenated by this, they ran faster.
What they found inside wasn't what they were expecting. They thought they would see the boy dead, with a spear on his stomach or more satisfyingly, on the heart. The boy, however, was kneeling in front of the basin, the one containing the spirit of the Great Four. The spear had impaled him on the back, all right, but the boy appeared as though unfazed by this.
The basin was glowing black. That wasn't possible. Black only meant Derknessians and this room was the sacred sanctuary of the originators of the Vesmirian race. What was happening was completely impossible and yet, it was. This room was supposed to be impenetrable by Derknessians. But then again, the boy wasn't just Derknessian. They should have suspected that from the very beginning. Outside he showed them unquestionable abilities to control all four Elements. And right now, he was showing them his uncanny power over Death by staying alive despite of the weapon buried shaft-deep into his back.
He turned around, his black irises glowing. His skin seemed to turn a lot paler. It looked like it was translucent and the veins were almost making an appearance beneath. His face was scary. The glow of the light from the basin cast dark shadows over his face, giving him an eerie and terrifying aura. Add that to the fact that he was holding a swirling ball of black fire. The Council and the remaining Warrior had had enough time to duck before he threw it at them.
The front wall exploded in a shower of stones and wood. One sharp shard flew and impaled the remaining Warrior on the chest. She died instantly. Only then did the Council realize that none of the boy's actions was by accident. He planned everything. He knew that by killing the Warriors first, he was eliminating everyone who could fight him. Of course, the Council could. But they had given up their power over their Elements—except for Elemental travel—when they become Counselors. Now it would be awesome power versus swords and a spear.
They noticed one more thing: the fire the boy threw wasn't just an ordinary fire. It created a shield around the Room, isolating them and preventing any form of help from coming. They were trapped.
Sensing they realized what he did, the boy smiled. "You know what one of your greatest weaknesses is?" he asked, circling them. "You value your ancestors too much. You dedicate your life into protecting their sanctuary. Serving them is your life's goal. May I ask one thing?" he uttered the words like he meant them, like he really was asking for permission. The Council waited. "Why serve them? They're dead in every sense of the word. Doing what they started won't bring them back."
"Because we believe in love," said the head Counselor. "We believe in the sense of peace. We inherited those traits from them. Unlike you, we value harmony."
"Unlike me?" he asked. "Forgive me, I forgot. I am your enemy. You believed that by killing me, you will be bringing peace to your planet. But heed my warning: By ending my life, you will be making this war a lot worse than it already is."
"Do not play games with us," said one of the Counselors, the one who threw the spear. "If you're going to kill us, get on with it but I warn you; it's not going to be easy."
"Kill you?" he said. "No. I'm afraid you misunderstood me. I'm not going to kill you; I will let you do the deed by yourselves."
"We will never dream of harming ourselves," said the third. "Much less hurting our people."
"But you are," said the boy. "By entering this Room and threatening to kill me, you are endangering the lives of every single citizen of your planet—those who have survived, I mean. Let me give you a piece of advice: Leave and let me do my mission. I give you my word no one will be harmed."
"Tempting," said the fourth. "Do you think we are foolish not to see the shield you created? I assume if we try and escape we will burn to Death."
"Clever you noticed," he said. "Of course, I never intended for any of you to live. But what are four lives in exchange for millions? You Counselors know too much; you need to be taken out of the picture. If not, you will be bringing the worst war upon the people you are protecting the most."
"The offer's not reasonable, boy," said the head. "But even if it is, we would never dream of making a pact with the enemy."
"Enemy," he repeated. "You strongly think I am the enemy but the truth is, I am your sole savior. It is me who will make the decision that could save or destroy this planet. Will you stop me from doing such task?"
"Afraid we have to," said the third.
"Then the blood will be on your hands," he said, drawing a black sword with a black gem on its hilt. He took a step and quickly switched into hyper mode. With one deadly arch, he killed two of them. Now all that's left was the head and the one with the spear. "I'm giving you a second chance. Walk out that door and die with dignity or stay here, try and kill me and die like traitors."
"You are the traitor," said the head.
"I know you believe that but I am not," he said. "I appear to be one, what with all the powers I possess but I am your real king. I was born to lead you."
"We will never," said the second.
"Well then, I see you've made your choice and I have to make mine." The boy then threw his sword behind him. The blade clang to the side of the basin, spilling its contents. He then disappeared and when he made himself visible again, he was standing right in front of the head Counselor. Before she could move, he touched her face and she wailed in agony. Smoke rose from her mouth, eyes and ears. She slowly crumbled until none of her was left but a pile of ash.
"Now," said the boy. "The final defender."
"If you kill me, the rest of the Vesmirians will be after you. They are strong enough to subdue you and capture you."
"You can't capture me, petty Counselor," he said. "You're going to have to kill me first." With that, he charged. He was absorbed with killing the last Counselor that he didn't hear the Air whistling. An arrow with black and silver head disappeared and buried itself at the side of his neck, below his right jaw. As soon as it made contact, it exploded into Vesmirian Fire, only to get eaten by black Derknessian flame.
A man appeared from the shadows, the one who was told to fetch the weapon, holding a bow and an empty quiver of arrows. "I thought you might say that," he said.
How's that? :D
