Chapter 33

Fillan Part 2

It has been some time since King John returned to the Kingdom. His troops were on standby. While they waited for their next orders, some were allowed to visit family; they were on rotation. Some families receive bad news about their loved ones. When King John returned, he was celebrated, but now there was resentment and distrust of him.

Cortez and King Sloan buried the dead and sent back something to help ease the pain of their loved ones. At the refugee homes, families that lost their benefactor were allowed to stay as long as they continued working. Some felt the kingdom failed them, so they left; others spread rumors about King John.

Work had increased while King John was back, but he was too focused on looking for his group's traitor. He had told Stephanie what King Sloan told him; she helped by gathering old reports and documents. Princess Annalise saw little of him, which made her sad.

In the forest, a city thrived; this was where some of the elves lived. The homes were carved into the giant trees that grow there. One particular feature of these elves was their light complexion with shades of blonde hair. They wore silk clothes that matched those of forest elves.

The council sat in a circle in a building where the light shone into the room; they were covered from head to toe. They discussed recent incidents, the dark pulse, and the battle between demons and humans. Most of the council sounded older. There was an empty seat.

"We have been in this meeting for a while now; is he not showing up again."

The group talks about the missing person. They say he was busy, and another said he was abandoning his responsibilities. They had a small argument; one who sounded younger told them to quiet down. They sounded feminine; the others apologized.

"Let's not worry about him; he will hear about this later; for now, let us continue. It seems that the demon lord has lost control, disrupted the flow of Mana, and should have felt the backlash; what do you think we should do?"

The council offers their opinion; some want to attack, while others say they should continue waiting. The younger voice suggests they help the humans; this causes the others to raise their voices. It causes an argument.

"We can't trust them; they are savages. Do we want to repeat what happened all those years ago; we once believed they could join us, but, in the end, they enslaved us. They deserve to get wiped out."

The council agreed; the younger member asked if the others were doing anything. A voice said that the dark realm was also waiting for them to make a move. The young member thinks about what they were waiting for.

"Kolvar wouldn't be too hasty; he may be planning something. I can't afford to lose to him."

She tells the other members to continue spying on the other races. She wanted to know who they could trust. The members agree and report what they knew about the seal they mentioned months before. They said it was still holding; it made them wonder how they were coming out. The younger member told them to keep investigating. They ended their meeting and stood; they bowed to one and left.

One member stayed in the room. The room became bright and lit everything. It was a throne room, and it was decorated with elven designs. The elf sits on the throne and sighs; a person who is also covered walks in. He was male and sounded young. He looked like an assassin.

"My queen, how did it go?"

The council member told them she was not the queen yet. She said she needed more time. The young boy apologized. The council member told him everything that happened and told him to inform whom she called the idiot. The boy excuses himself and leaves.

"What will the winds of change bring."

On another mountain, Master Musashi was relaxing. He thought about the reports he received but felt nothing. He thought the armies were moving too fast. He also thought about the dark pulse and its effect; he wanted to know how King Mateo, the demon lord, felt.

"This has caused some damage to the armies; I wonder how they will recover; the humans won't sit by. Fillan, you need to be ready."

Fillan was staring at the waterfall. He could see the steam coming out; Master Musashi told him that a magma vein ran through the mountain. In the spring, it is active, which makes the water boil; the river brings all that is needed to create the aromas which would help him enter his mind. Inside the cave, he would experience what he experienced in the shack. Fillan takes a deep breath and goes in.

He steps behind the waterfall and enters the cave; he soon feels pain. Fillan looks up and sees something. He hears someone calling him; Fillan is back in the strange world and wearing military clothes. He was in combat gear, as the special forces wore.

Fillan, with blurry vision, looks around and sees others in the same uniform lying dead on the ground. Fillan again looks up and notices someone staring at him. Another blurry person passes, and they are gone. In his ear, he hears static.

"Team located, Home, this is Charlie one; we found echo."

Fillan coughs and tries to spit blood, but his face and mouth are covered. Again, he felt pain; he looked down and saw he was impaled by what looked like a hand made of metal. He tried to move but was also missing an arm and leg.

A group of soldiers showed up, surprised by what they saw. The captain of the squad sees Fillan move; he tells his team to cover while he sends someone to look at him. The group takes up a location and watches for the enemy.

"Home, this is Charlie three; he is too injured and might not return."

A medic was looking at Fillan's wounds; he tried to patch some but was bleeding too much. The doctor said he would bleed out if they moved him. Fillan didn't say anything just watched. He again takes a look around.

"We need him; he is crucial for the survival of the human race. Do whatever you can to bring him back alive!"

Fillan had no idea what was happening. The medic told another soldier to cut the arm; he took out a small torch and cut the metal arm. Fillan screamed and woke up. He was outside the waterfall, fear in his eyes. It was already night.

Fillan wondered what happened. He never felt that way after a session in the shack. He remembers Master Musashi telling him it would be more intense than before; Fillan was shaking. He goes to his camp and tries to relax. He sleeps and thinks about his vision.

The following morning Fillan worked out; he did his usual exercises. He also practiced boxing which he did subconsciously. He had made a punching bag out of animal skin; this happened after the first time he lost conciseness peeking into the cave. Once he was done, he would try and head into the cave.

Fillan eats breakfast and then heads to the waterfall. He thought about yesterday and then took a deep breath; he went inside. Fillan takes more steps than the previous day. He could not see because of the steam; he smelled the aromas. He started to lose conciseness.

Fillan couldn't see anything; it was pitch black. He began to hear voices; he did not recognize them. He then saw visions of the other world; he could not remember. They disappeared, and it was dark again. He hears the sound of water and air bubbles. Fillan slowly opens his eyes.

Fillan was in a tank of water; he had tubes and wires connected to him. An oxygen mask allowed him to breathe. People outside were checking on him; they spoke, but he could not hear them. They see him wake up and leave. A few minutes later, more people show up. They were all dressed the same; Fillan didn't know them.

A woman walks up to the tank; she smiles. The woman presses a button and speaks; she says she is glad he woke up. Fillan tried to move but couldn't; the woman told him to stay still. She speaks to the others in the room.

"Make sure his vitals are all good; we need him to be stable if he accepts the proposal."

Fillan felt weak and closed his eyes; the people panicked. Alerts begin to sound, and they scurry around. Fillan regained conciseness later, and he was still in the tube. The woman was standing before him; she pressed the button again and spoke.

Fillan woke up from his vision, and he was outside again. He forgot what happened. It was dark again. He didn't expect to be inside that long. He felt hungry, so he again went back to camp; Fillan ate and read one of the books he had.

The next day Fillan woke up and saw he needed to go hunting. He grabs his knife and bow; he leaves for the forest. The snow was melting, and he looked for footprints; he gathered herbs on the way. After some time, he sees rabbit footprints.

He picked up their scent and followed it; he came up on a few gathered together. He takes his bow and aims; he draws and shoots. He follows with another hitting two more. Fillan got three rabbits; he goes and retrieves them. Fillan removes the arrows and ties them to his waist; he picks up the scent of a deer.

Fillan senses where it is and heads in that direction. His animal instincts were getting better. He manages to find the deer. He quietly gets into position; he takes his bow, and aims at it. Fillan draws and fires; it hits the deer right in the chest. It falls and dies.

Before he moves, he senses something; Fillan waits. From some large bushes, a group of creatures appears; the creatures sniff and continue wondering. They notice the dead deer. Fillan looked surprised; he kept watching them.

"Goblins, what are they doing here? Master Musashi said there should be any monsters near here; where could they have come from?"

The goblins wore loincloths and carried clubs. Fillan remembers reading about them. Goblins were small monsters, green-toned with pointy ears and sharp teeth. Their eyes are oval; goblins live in groups and grow up fast. Goblins don't have many females, so they kidnap females from other races.

When a goblin impregnates a female, they can have any number of children. Goblins aren't dangerous early on, but as they live each day, they get smarter; depending on the race that births them, they could have a unique trait.

A goblin born from a beast man female gains strength, a dwarf, and gain tough skin. Goblins born from humans are much more intelligent, and elves give them magic; no demon goblin is yet recorded. Fillan recognizes them as scouts.

"I must get rid of them; they might bring their group here to nest."

The goblins snarl at each other. They poke the deer; one takes the arrow and sniffs it. He growls and alerts the others; they sniff the air. Fillan aims and draws on his bowstring. The goblins spit; Fillan fires an arrow; it hits the furthest goblin. The others see him fall.

Fillan jumps out from his spot and runs at them. One of the goblins sees him and snarls; he runs at Fillan. The goblin gets close and swings his club. Fillan stops, the goblin misses; Fillan pulls out his knife, grabs the goblin's head, and pushes it down. Fillan swings the blade upwards, slicing the goblin's neck.

The other goblins stare at him and yell; two goblins run toward Fillan. Fillan dodges the first and does a spin kick hitting the other; he is sent flying back and hits a tree hard. The impact kills it; the first goblin turns around but loses sight of Fillan.

The last goblin snarls and points; Fillan is behind the first one. He covers the goblin's mouth with his hand and pulls him. He takes his knife and stabs him in the chest. The last goblin gets scared and runs away; Fillan pulls out the knife and spins it. He throws it; it hits the goblin in the back of the head.

The goblin falls dead; Fillan lets go of the one he had. It falls to the ground; Fillan stands in silence; he looks at the purple goblin's blood on his hands. He feels nothing; suddenly, he hears a voice. It belonged to a girl. She laughs, and he felt a tear in his eye.

Fillan returns to his senses and thinks about what to do; he gathers the goblin's bodies and takes them to the mountain's edge. Fillan throws them over; stands over, thinking. He looks across at the other side, where there is another forest.

"There could be more; I need to erase their stench, so if there are more, they don't know where they went."

Fillan returns to his side of the forest; from across, there is movement in the trees. Fillan picks up the deer and takes it back to his camp; he then takes some water and returns to where he killed the goblins; he throws water mixed with some herbs to mask any scent.

Fillan again returns to camp; he looks at the waterfall. Fillan wanted to rest his mind, so he skipped going in and began cleaning the deer and rabbits. He was going to restock his supplies. He skinned both animals; he used what he learned from his master and books. Fillan had the meat drying and threw away anything not useful.

It took Fillan a few hours; he also made some traps and mixed herbs. He was learning about their properties. He still had some daylight, so he exercised. He was lifting some makeshift weights when he heard voices. He looked around but couldn't figure out where they were coming from.

"HAHAHAHA, hey kid, don't worry about anything…"

After a while, the voices were gone; it was late, so he went to sleep. The following day he did his usual and trained; after, he ate breakfast and went to the waterfall. He stared at it; he felt the steam and went inside. He tried to hold his breath to get in further, but he couldn't.

Fillan lost conciseness; he was in a dark space. Fillan then woke up and was in a white room; he heard strange sounds and saw some weird creatures. One of the creatures got close and spoke to him; Fillan realized it was the female from before.

"How are you feeling; the transfer was a success, but we can't be too careful. You will need to get used to the body before we continue."

The woman was a scientist, and she was in a hazmat suit. Fillan didn't know what she was talking about; he then realized he had his hand and leg back. He was also smaller. The other people in hazmat suits were checking computer data. The female scientist checks his eyes.

"Remember, project B.E.A.S.T is our only way to beat the enemy; our technology is far below theirs, so we need soldiers. You showed promise for this project; humanity will thank you."

Fillan heard another female voice; she was crying. He also hears a male voice; he shouts. Fillan's mind goes back to the dark space. He then feels a strong presence. Fillan looked around but couldn't see anyone; suddenly, he felt someone staring at him.

Fillan turns around, and in the distance, someone is standing there. A powerful surge of Mana surrounds it. Fillan briefly saw a monstrous creature; it attacked, and Fillan woke up. Fillan was weak; he tried to move but couldn't. It smelled awful, and it was dark.

Fillan heard footsteps, and then a door opened up. The light shines in; Fillan is thin and covered in dirt. He has been in his room for some time. His leg was chained to the wall. A man walks in and greets him. Fillan stares at him; the man smiles.

"Boy, I have some good news; Lord Micheal agreed to take you if you can show him your worth. We have work to do."

Standing before him was Andrew Harris, a captain in the Umbridge Kingdom. Harris is a handsome man with a light complexion, slick hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing noblemen's clothes. Fillan was scared and woke up. He was outside the cave.

"Andrew Harris."

Fillan gets up and stumbles back to his camp. He sits and tries to relax. He began to hear himself scream; for some reason, he remembered what happened to him. He remembers what Harris did to him all five years ago. Fillan remembers Sister Adolpha.

It was a special day in the neutral territory of Kingsland. This territory was where the kings would go to negotiate. On this day, Fillan, living in an orphanage with several other children, went to see the kings; they were meeting for an important matter. Sister Adolpha, a wolf-beast girl, was in charge of looking after them.

They saw performers and stalls selling goods; it was like a festival. Everything was going wonderfully; they saw the kings and their guards pass by. After what looked like a parade, they would eat and head home. That is when all changed. Sister Adolpha began to act strange.

Fillan had split from the group and was looking at a fishing merchant; Fillan liked to fish. Sister Adolpha saw him and asked him to return, but she noticed he became depressed and asked if he wanted to walk around more. Fillan agreed, and they took a stroll.

After they descried to head back, they met a soldier; he was a human from the Umbridge Kingdom. Andrew Harris appeared before them. He began to talk to them to the point that it annoyed Fillan; he was making Sister Adolpha uncomfortable.

Fillan tried to take Sister Adolpha back, but she became confused. Fillan had learned she had amnesia. Harris left, but Sister Adolpha followed him; worried, he followed them. Harris took her to a secluded place and questioned her. His questions cause her to feel pain in her head.

Fillan heard Harris ask her about her son, which she didn't know she had. Fillan became angry and tried to fight him; he was too strong and easily beaten. A sudden white light helped him; then, there was an explosion. Fillan lastly remembers Sister Adolpha smiling before disappearing in a white light.

Fillan woke up in a dark room chained to the wall. The door opens up, and Harris is standing with another man. The man had a dark complexion. He wore purple nobleman clothes and a top hat. He was slim, like a voodoo man from the princess and the Frog, Lord Micheal Gana.

Lord Micheal stared at Fillan and examined him; he wanted to know what Harris had brought him. Harris told him that Fillan was with Adolpha; this confused Fillan. Harris told Lord Micheal that he was her son. Lor Micheal wasn't sure about it. He said he didn't look like her.

"He might look like her, but he has some resemblance to Wolf; he also has lighting affiliation."

Lord Micheal stares at him again; he tells Harris that he wants Sister Adolpha, not him. Harris tried to convince him to take Fillan. Lord Micheal then asks if he could use light magic; Harris isn't sure. Lord Micheal makes a deal with him.

"If you can prove he is who you say, I will pay you. I want him to be able to wield light magic; if you can do that, then we can negotiate the price."

They left the room; Fillan was weak and passed out. He was woken up by the sound of the door opening again. Soldiers brought in a table. Harris walks in, puts a bag on the table; he takes out several blue crystals. Harris emits electricity.

"Show me what I want; if you do, I will let you go."

Fillan was standing close to the wall. Harris touches Fillan on the shoulder and electrocutes him. Fillan yells in pain; he falls to the ground. Harris goes over to the table and grabs a blue crystal. He activates it and touches Fillan; Fillan feels better. Again, he gets electrocuted.

"Let me see your power."

Fillan was on the ground after a while; smoke came up from him. Harris is mad and tells him he will continue until he can use his magic; he leaves the room. Fillan began to cry. Day in and day out, he got tortured; Fillan had lost track of time. Harris wanted Fillan to be able to use light magic.

Fillan could use lighting magic, but Harris wanted something else. Fillan was given little to eat, and the toilet was clogged most of the time. Fillan became afraid and cried most of the time, but something in him didn't want him to quit. After some time, Harris stopped coming.

He suddenly returned and had news for him. He said Lord Micheal would take him if he could impress him. Harris took him from the room and led him outside. Fillan was out for the first time in months. He was happy but afraid. Harris had a guard give him food.

"Eat while I explain what I want you to do. Lord Micheal has tired of waiting to see if you could use light magic; I, too, have gotten sick of not getting results. I spoke with him, and we decided to enter you into a fight."

Harris happily told Fillan his plan; he would train him to fight. He said Lord Micheal would pay him and take him if he won. Fillan was eating because he was hungry. He choked because he was eating fast. Harris asks a guard to bring him a sword.

Harris takes it and throws it a Fillan. Fillan was confused and didn't want to use it. Harris uses lighting and zaps him; Fillan is pushed back. Harris tells him to take the sword. Fillan was hurt and refused to do so; again, he was shocked. Harris became annoyed and had him taken to the cell.

"You will do what I say one way or another."

The following day Fillan was outside again. It felt hot, and the sword was in front of him. Harris draws his and attacks. Fillan stood still; Harris, with his swordsman skills, cut Fillan. Fillan screams from the pain. Harris tells him to take the sword.

"There is only one way to stop me from cutting you."

Fillan was bleeding badly; Harris pulled out a blue crystal and healed Fillan's cuts. After he kicks Fillan with the sword, Fillan holds his stomach in pain. Harris casts earth magic and throws Fillan into the air. Fillan lands hard on the ground.

"Come on, kid, do you want to continue defying me?"

Fillan gets up; Harris smiles and tells him he has guts. He gets ready and attacks; Fillan draws the sword and blocks; Harris laughs and continues his attack. He overpowers him and cuts him again. Harris told him to look at his opponent and anticipate his attack.

After Fillan could not get up, Harris healed him again. He tells the guards to take him back to the cell. Fillan is taken and thrown into the room; they leave his food on the ground. Fillan doesn't move and thinks about Father Williams. Fillan continues learning for a few months.

One night Harris comes into the room and gives Fillan a change of clothes; they are still old and worn out. Harris tells him to follow him. Harris has a carriage waiting. Fillan is taken to a celled wagon; once inside, they depart. Fillan had never seen the outside of where he was being held.

They leave, and Fillan sees a large house. He saw guards patrolling around it. Harris owns a large piece of territory. Fillan sat and waited inside the wagon cell; Fillan could only see the back road from the wagon. He saw a little of the plains and forests.

It took a few days to arrive at their destination. It was dark when they arrived. Fillan heard a man welcome them. Harris came out from his carriage and greeted the man. The man asked if he was going to participate. Harris orders a guard to get Fillan; Fillan is taken out of the cell.

"This is my fighter."

Fillan saw a town; it looked like an old Western town. People were going into a building. It was lively, and there were many women; they called to the men going in. Fillan then looks at a large building made of metal. Fillan lost his thoughts and could remember anymore; he looked at the waterfall.

"I need more answers."