OoO( 22 )OoO

Van stood in the center of the town, looking up at the sky. It was dark out, yet for an island constantly at the mercy of rabid snowstorms, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. He looked up at the moon in the sky, noticing something strange about it.

The mage stood and stared at the lunar orb as a man in a black cloak walked up behind him. Ark looked up at the moon with him as well. "Strange, isn't it?" asked the warrior.

Van spoke, unmoving as he continued to stare. "It hasn't changed in three days." said the mage. "That's supposed to be a bad omen." he continued.

"There is no such thing as a bad omen." said the dark warrior. "There are only omens, how they turn out is up to the one interpreting them."

Van smiled. "Very true." he said. "However, I think that a full moon three days in a row is something to be worried about. This phenominon has happened only once in the known history of the world."

Ark looked at him curiously. "When was that?" he asked.

Van sighed. "The fall of the Old Kingdom." he said. "While Archon's death was needed, after he died the whole kingdom collapsed. Nearly the entire world went down with him." he finished.

Ark scratched his head curiously. "What exactly happened to the old kingdom?" he asked. "Since I was brought to this island I wasn't really taught much about history." he said.

Van looked down at the snow on the ground. "There was a great king in the far past named Archon. This was before Albion was ever even thought of." he said as he turned to face the warrior. "He loved his people, and they loved him. However, there was an incident in the city. A woman that was believed to be dead had come back to life." he said.

Ark's eyes widened. "How?" he asked.

"Nobody knows. All we do know is that when she came back, the king went to see her immediately, thinking her an angel of some sort sent from the gods. When she saw him, she began to babble about a great darkness coming to the land and swallowing the kingdom. Afterwards, she immediately died." he said. Ark stayed in silence at the odd tale. "The king, thinking that some evil creature was going to come and destroy the kingdom, sought out after a legendary blade like no other to battle the creature with."

"You mean...the Sword of Aeons?" asked Ark. Van nodded.

"Yes, he searched for years before finally finding the blade of legend." said the mage. He looked the warrior in the eyes and crossed his arms. "He didn't realize the truth behind the blade and brought it back to the kingdom to prepare for battle. However, the beast never showed. The kingdom went on with its king wielding a sword made of dark magic. Nobody noticed that slowly, the sword began to change the king. He became more violent, executing people for petty crimes. He sat on his throne, planning the domination over the planet. His people started to worry, thinking that he would bring destruction upon them."

"So they fought back?"

Van nodded again. "They took up arms and began to rebel against the king as he grew more and more corrupt. The final straw was when he killed his own wife for speaking against him. The people of the city fought against their king, who used the magic of the sword to fight back against them. The war was written with the blood of the citizens as nobody stood a chance. Nobody, until a warrior came from the woodland wielding a glowing white sword. He fought against Archon and brought the king to his knees, then pulled the Sword of Aeons from his hands and destroyed the corrupted man."

Ark nodded. "This part actually sounds familiar. I think that Maze or Scythe may have mentioned it before..." said the dark warrior.

"Probably. It's hard to believe that anyone in Albion hasn't heard of the descending of Avo." said the mage, getting a startled reaction from the warrior.

"You mean...the man from the woodland was...?" Van nodded before he even finished the sentence. "I thought that Avo..."

"When he defeated Archon, Avo was believed by the people to be some sort of god, or an angel sent to free them. So today we have believers and temples built in dedication to Avo, the god. However, history reads that Avo was just a man who wielded extraordinary power and skill. How he came to get this power, nobody knows. But one thing is for sure, that Avo is a man."

"I see...so what happened after he defeated Archon?" asked the dark warrior curiously.

"After his victory, Avo took the Sword of Aeons and covered it in Archons blood. He then disappeared from the country with the sword, neither of them ever to be heard from again until Jack came. He uncovered the swords hiding place using the key from the monastary, which was probably made by the monks to conceal the sword. Avo himself probably placed the sword in the stone on a hill overlooking a town, sealing it with the blood of Archon so that no other but the bloodline of Archon could pull it from its place."

"So, Jack used Lyle to free the sword...but didn't realize that he still wasn't powerful enough to free himself?" asked the warrior.

"Jack never stood a chance." said Van as he began walking away from the spot they were standing in. "Jack may have had the sword, but he underestimated Lyle's power. As strong as Jack's puppets may be, they couldn't stand up to him." he finished.

"So...this great evil the woman from Old Kingdom spoke of was the sword..." said Ark. "Wielding the power to corrupt any man who holds it." said Ark as he followed the mage.

Van nodded. "And the story lends us a great lesson." he said as the warrior looked at him. "Any man who tries to change his fate, may find that he was the cause." he said. "That's why Jack kept his face covered, because he found out his fate. And because of it, his plan failed. One person saw his face, and it was that person who would kill him."

Ark nodded. "Lyle..." he said as they both entered the tavern. It was nearly empty as they arrived seeing as most of the town had been evacuated. However, there were still heroes inside, enjoying the meal put out by the innkeeper.

Lyle and Alex sat at a table with Cara and Thunder, while Michael and Kiko sat with Elizabeth, Toran, and Zerga. Even Briar Rose was present in the tavern, standing in the corner alone as usual, scanning the crowd through her clouded glasses. Ark walked over and pulled a chair up next to Cara and Lyle as Van sat next to Thunder.

"So, what's the plan now?" asked Thunder as he set his large drink down.

Lyle took his feet off the table and sat up straight as the entire tavern hushed and gathered around him. "Simple enough, although I think things may get a lot more complicated once the gate is actually open." said the warrior. "Once everybody is off the island, which should be by tomorrow night, we head for the gate. Some of us will be stationed in the city in case things turn for the worse. That way, they can go through the cullis gate and destroy it, buying time for those elsewhere." he said.

"Who will be doing that?" asked Cara curiously.

"That job goes to Elizabeth." he said. "We need somebody who is strong enough with magic to destroy the gate...and someone strong enough to lead the people if we fail..." he said. Elizabeth's eyes softened, before she stared at him and nodded.

"I won't fail. But how do I know when to act?" she asked.

"Believe me, you will know." said Lyle as he turned to Van and Ark. "You two will be with me, as well as Scythe and Thunder when the gate opens. I'll need all the help I can get, especially if Jack is stronger than before." he said.

"What about me?" asked Alex.

"You and Cara will be watching us from afar. If things turn for the worst, go and warn Elizabeth. The rest of us will fight with everything we have." he said as he looked down at the table. Turning to the newcomer, his gaze darkened. "You, are you prepared to fight to the death for this cause?" he asked.

Toran's eyes widened when he realized that Lyle was talking to him. "O-Of course." he said standing up in his red armor. "Whatever it takes, I'll fight with you all to destroy Jack of Blades." he said proudly with a fist over his heart. Lyle smirked.

"Good. I'm glad to see I wasn't the last good hero the guild put out." he said, getting a shove from Cara.

"Very funny Mr. Almighty Saber." said the girl as she crossed her arms over the table.

He laughed, as did the others. "I'm kidding." he said. "Although, when Maze died, I kinda did worry that the guild might fall apart because of it. Though I now see I had nothing to worry about." he said, looking from Toran to Cara.

"Wait...what about us?" asked Michael as he stepped forward with Zergan next to him. "We are here to fight also."

"I know you are..." said the hero as he placed a hand on the boys shoulder. "I'm afraid you have the hardest job of all..." he claimed as everyone looked at them. "Michael, I'm asking you to go with the people back to the guild and to protect them."

The young boy looked dumbfounded by the remark. "But...I can fight just fine! Why can't I...?" he questioned, however, he was cut off.

"Michael, I know you can fight. I trained you myself, as well as Van and Elizabeth." he said, getting a startled look from the mages. "Yes, I knew." he said turning his head towards them. "It was kinda obvious when he was using spells I never taught him." he said smirking, then turned back to the boy. "It's because you can fight, that I want you to protect them. If all of us can't beat Jack, then I need somebody who can protect the people from harm." he said, squeezing the boys shoulder. "This is not something I would ask someone who can't fight to do."

Michael lowered his head in defeat and sighed. "I understand. I'll do my best." said the young boy.

Lyle smiled slightly. "Good. Now, you..." said Lyle as he pointed to the boy a few years older than Michael. "Uhhh..."

The young man reached up and scratched his short blond hair in defeat. "Zerga..." he said.

"Right, Zerga. You will stay with Michael and help him and Elizabeth." he said, getting a shrug and a nod from the young hero.

"Never did see myself as the front line type." he said as he sat down again.

"Now, that leaves the rest of the guild heroes." said Lyle as everyone else perked up. "I need all of you to have our back. You are only to interfere if we end up dying." he said referring to himself and the other four.

"That's fine with us." said a female voice from the corner. They all looked at Briar Rose, who had a confident smirk on her face. "It's been a while since I've seen you fight hero. It's about time you did something again." she said. Lyle smirked back.

"My vacation aside, it's nice to be doing something again." he said. "Now, you can lead them how you like Rose, however remember that they aren't to attack until we go down." he said, getting a nod from her. "Alright, that should be it..." he said, when suddenly another voice cut him off.

"Thinking about leaving us out are you? I think not." said a voice from the door. Everyone turned towards the entrance and noticed two figures standing there. One was Theresa, wearing light silver colored armor over her torso, as well as matching greaves and arm covers. Her sword gleamed at her side as she looked at the room through a white blindfold that covered her scarred eyes.

The other was a woman in a red hooded robe. She had a giant axe held in her hand as she removed the hood, revealing his mother, Scarlett. Her now graying hair flowed down to her shoulders and she wore a ruby circlet that matched her robe. Lyle was speecheless.

"M...Mom?" he asked.

She smiled. "That's right. Forgot that your old mother was a hero didn't you?" she asked as she lifted the broad double-headed axe over her shoulder like it was made of wood.

"But...you can't fight..." said the warrior, when suddenly he found himself hurled across the floor. Scarlett's palm glowed with force energy as she lowered her hand with a smile. The hero got to his feet and stretched his neck out painfully. "I stand corrected." he said as he walked to the table again, ignoring the sniggering of those around him. "Alright, you two can help..." he said. "But, be careful...I've lost both of you once. I don't plan on doing it again." he said.

Theresa smiled. "Don't worry brother. We are more than capable of fighting." she said.

"That covers everyone..." said the hero as he stood up. "Tomorrow, we open the gate, and unleash hell onto Snowspire. This started out as my plot of revenge against the man that burned my village down and took my family away. But now, it's no longer my fight. It's our fight. Jack isn't my enemy. He is our ememy, and he will destroy everything in Albion if he is not destroyed here tonight." he said looking at all of them.

Finally, after a short silence, he smiled. "I am standing amongst some of the greatest heroes of all time. If you ask me, Jack doesn't stand a chance." he said, getting a cheer from the crowd. "Let's all prepare ourselves. Because tomorrow, we show the world that men do not fear hell! But hell, should fear men!" he shouted, raising his large glave into the air. Everybody in the tavern did the same and cheered loudly for the hero, for their fearless leader.

One figure however stood silent amongst the excited crowd. She looked at the ground through her clouded glasses as she patted the object hidden and wrapped at her side. With a smile, she whispered to herself, "Tomorrow it is..."