"Mother!" shouted Bart, seeing his mother among the victims of the city of Avdima. He raced over to her as quick as he could. His mother was on her knees, wrapping bandages around the wounds of a small child around the age of five.
Her eyes turned to the voice of her son, which formed a smile upon her face. "Bartholomew!" she shouted, happily.
Bart halted in his footsteps as soon as he stood in front of his mother. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.
"Ha," laughed his mother. "Do you think those fools could beat a Temple Knight?"
"No," said Bart. "Just making sure."
"Well, in that case, I'm fine."
Hours pass, and the sun rose in the sky. Around the middle of the afternoon, the situation of the town was more calm. People were fixing up their houses, plank by plank. Within the castle of Avdima's walls, the young prince looked on at his people from a large window in his father's room. The window was in the fifth floor, so high above the ground you were almost able to touch the clouds.
Allister stared upon his people as they rebuilt their lives after the horrid attack from the kingdom of Iericho. A vast army of thoughts ran in the troubled prince's mind, from the status of the war to what has become of his kingdom. He knows full well that the entire kingdom lays upon his shoulders. Surely, a great responsibility.
As the thoughts grew more stronger, they were broken by the chatter of armour approaching him. A knight came a mere four steps from the prince, quickly dropping to his knees and bowing his head to the prince. "My lord," said the knight. "It's Princess Alena."
"Let her in." commanded Allister, turning his body around to face the doors in which all who come in here must pass through.
"Yes sir!" acknowledging the knight, standing back on his feet. He turned backwards, facing the doors. He steadily walks over to the doors. Once over by them, his armour cloaked hands reached out to the doorknob. He twists the doorknob, pulling the door open.
On the other side of the door reveals the princess Alena, her eyes focused in front of her. Allister glanced upon his beloved sister, smiling at her once he was able to see her. "Glad to see you." he said, smiling.
Her pitch black hair partly cloaked her eyes, but a smile was radiant on her face. Her indigo purple eyes gazed upon the prince, the one who will bear all the responsibility of a kingdom in the upcoming days.
But outside the kingdom, outside of the walls of the city in the process of recovery, something different was brewing. A storm unlike any other, a storm that would change the face of every single blade of glass. It will change every single kingdom and all the living creatures living within the walls of those kingdoms.
Inside the walls that kept the battlefield of blood stained grass, inside the walls of the city of the full moon, Iericho. Something truly dark and terrifying began to become true. Within the walls of the city of the full moon, children crying over the bodies of fallen loved ones, their bodies frozen cold. An otherworldly presence grabbed the air.
Adrian was within the chapel that has been forsaken for what seemed like centuries. He was on his knees, his hands folded into one, and his head down towards the ground. His eyes were closed and his breath was as still as night. His blonde hair was in his face. His knelling body before an oak altar with white fabric on the top. A small Saradomin star crowned the top.
"Don't be an idiot," said a voice from behind the young Saradominst. "These people are a bunch of worthless maggots. They have no purpose."
"I wouldn't be so fast, Alina." said another voice. "Surely these 'maggots' would make great servants for Lord Zin."
"Do whatever you want with them." calmly brushed Alina. Then a entertained giggle whispered from under her rosy red lips. "Just as long as I get to kill at least three of them."
"It's not up to me to make the decisions of the fate of his subjects." Adrian's eyes quickly open up, his emerald green irises turn to the left, where the voices came from. His eyes looked focused and flooded with thought. Adrian stood on his feet, his eyes grew more and more tense. They stood glued to the left, which was the street into the main district.
After a minute of hushed spoken words, a man and Alina appeared in the street that Adrian and the forsaken chapel stood in. Alina froze in place once she gazed upon Adrian, who looked furious. A shiver went shooting down her spine like a sniper shot. A drop of sweat rushed down her forehead, completely petrified of what he may have heard.
"Adrian...!" she gasped, utterly shocked. The man didn't realize that she had stopped and was several steps ahead of her, until he finally realized it. He turns his head around to check on her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. Adrian said nothing out to her, he closed his eyes. He spun quick, turning his back on Alina. And he began walking away. His feet thundered across the air, quaking the ground as he angrily walked away from the one he loved.
The End of Chapter 21,
Next Chapter,
Chapter 22: The Dawn of the Blight
Back within the city of Avdima, the city slowly recuperated from it's injuries. It has been several days since the attack and people have finally began to laugh again. The sound of the laughter of children as they race down the street returned too. But the misery suffered is long from forgotten. People do still indeed continue to suffer, struggle, and bite the bullet.
In a strong structure of limestone and wood, Moriah scanned the endless sea of books that littered the floor of her home. She frantically searched all her books for simple answers to her questions. She throw her hands and clawed a book with her hand, pulling it out of her bookshelf with force. She quickly surfed through the pages for answers.
She sighed, feeling greatly defeated. She angrily threw the book at the ground. "Nothing..." she frustratingly growled to herself, her voice silent but irritated. She continued fishing through her books, hoping to find that right one that she desperately searched for. But just behind her, somebody watched her as she searched.
His left eyebrow was up as his face looked unimpressed. "What on earth has happened to you?" asked the man. Surprised by the unexpected voice, Moriah leaps into the air and back down again. She quickly twisted her head over to the location of the voice, which turns out to have fallen from the lips of Richard.
Her look of desperation grew into a look of anger. She quickly threw her left hand from one side to the other. Suddenly, a blast of air bursts across the room. Richard stands his ground, tucking his arms close to him like he was a rock. He's pushed back slightly but remains on his feet. Books are sent flying all across the room.
Once the wind dissipated, it started to shower random pages of many different books that were ripped out by the angry windstorm. Richard returns his attention to the surprised magic user. She panted, startled by the sudden appearance of the traitor, Richard. She quickly readied her hands for another spell, raising them up like her arms were bird wings. "Leave." she demanded. "Now."
"Hear me out befo-" said Richard, but his voice froze rock solid. Moriah swings her arm down towards the ground like she was forging a sword, swinging the hammer down upon the forming blade. Suddenly, a blast of fire bursts out from the ground just in front of Moriah, and the dragon's breath headed straight towards Richard.
The huge breath of fire suddenly formed into a dragon's head, heading straight for Richard's throat. The speed of the flames was vicious, coming at Richard at the speed of bullet. Suddenly, just before Richard's flesh is burnt or even touched, the angry beast of fire freezes right in front of his face. The reflection off of Richard's eyes looked like an angry dragon glaring straight into his soul.
"Don't you get it?" she riposted. "I don't WANT to listen to you."
"If you'd just listen to-"
"I'm not your 'god'," she said, her voice furious like a tsunami. "I don't have to listen to you!"
Richard grew impatient, clenching his hands into tightly strung balls of flesh. "Then kill me if I'm such a bother to even listen to." he stated, his voice shaken by anxiety.
Moriah's face looked taken back, she was surprised by Richard's sudden reaction of his request's denial. "Why?..." she asked, not even able to find a band of words to put together to reply to Richard.
"My family has struggled under the shadow of Zin, the god of resentment, for generations." he continued. "Our wealth, power...even our lives were all under the strings of Zin. We had to kill people that knew of Zin's existence. Anyone that were apart of their bloodline. Until the day that Zin finally gathered enough power to unleash his blight."
"So, what's the point of telling me about your sad little devotion?"
"Zin swore to us that he would give us eternal wealth and life if he was able to obtain Modello. However..." he explained, but then his voice froze. His eyes became clouded by fear and pain. "He betrayed us. My entire family was taken by the plague despite his promise. I'm the only one left because Zin wants to toy with me like a plaything."
"So, you want revenge?"
"Yes..." he answered, his voice exhausted and hushed.
"Hmm, what could he possibly gain by pretending?" Moriah asked herself, determining whether or not he's trustable. "If he's telling the truth, he would be certainly sticking his neck out. Considering betrayal isn't something easily forgiven."
"So, what will be your judgment?"
"I've got a question for you before I answer that." she replied, her voice curious but still a tad angry. "Did Zin release the plague again?"
"Huh?" said Richard, puzzled by her question.
Moriah's eyes lose focus off of Richard. A memory flashed like photographs in Moriah's mind. The situation back in Iericho. "My nickname given to me by you mortals is the "Ultimate Disease"," the voice of Zin echoed like voices in a cave in Moriah's mind. "I'm sure you know well enough what I have done." The young magic user's eyes turn back onto Richard. "How long until Zin's Blight starts to kill people!?"
"Anytime now." he answered, drops of sweat poured down from his forehead.
As soon as she got that reply, she recoiled her flaming dragon of magic from near the face of Richard. It quickly disappeared. She swiftly gunned towards the door. The magic user threw the door open and raced outside as fast as she could. Her haste marched to the kingdom that guided the young city. She had many yards to rush through before reaching the end of the stone cloaked city. And that time couldn't come any slower.
At the City of the Full Moon, Iericho. Streets were cluttered with corpses, like a graveyard. Their skin wore a coat of snow white. Their eyes were blood-shot and pink like a pig as dry blood seemed like a long scar from their eye sockets to their jawline. Their heads laid pillowed in a small pool of blood.
Inside the decaying and broken kingdom of the full moon, Adrian looked outside his window. His emerald green eyes stare out from the looking glass and into a completely different world. A world of death and loss. His eyes looked terrified, but more importantly angered. "How could you do this?" he muttered to himself. "Zin...no god, no matter what reason, can justify this kind of murder."
"Adrian..." mumbled a voice from behind the young Saradominst. He spun around, his eyes focus upon the face of whom spoke his name. It was his love, Alina, standing behind him. His facial expression changes to a more angered look. Alina looked saddened and lost. "I'm-"
"I can't forgive you." he stated, his heart full of betrayal and hurt.
"You what...?"
"You took innocent lives, Alina. All for what? Fun?" he continued. "I simply do not have the heart to forgive you for that."
"You misunderstand-!"
""Misunderstand"?" he angrily quoted, his voice blasts through Alina. "How could I misunderstand "just as long as I get to kill at least three of them"?"
Alina shook frantically. "I...!" she terrifyingly gasped.
Adrian looked back outside, his eyes gazed upon the bunches of corpses that cloaked the stone pathway that laid forsaken. He losses all interest in speaking with Alina. He then starts to walk towards the doorway which Alina stood by. His footsteps tapped the red carpet below him. His feet froze once he was behind Alina. "I have bodies that must be buried." he said. "So, if you would excuse me."
Adrian continues walking. His footsteps thundered down on the floor, revealing his anger. Alina turns around to face the back of Adrian, extending her left hand out to him. But when she looked forward, Adrian had vanished. Her eyes became half-moons and her irises began to flood with water. Her hand slowly dropped down back to her side.
An hour passed into the darkening sky. The sun steadily falls into the darkness. Upon it's set, Adrian was on his knees with his hands folded in front of him. Before him were a startling amount of small dirt hills that caped the grounds. "Safe journey into the afterlife..." he prayed, his voice soft and murmured. "May Saradomin always be at your side."
Adrian stood back on his own two feet. He tilted his head up and his eyes gaze upon the orange sky. It looked like the darkness and light were battling for supremacy. His eyelids closed shut on his irises like curtains closing on a show.
Suddenly, a wave of images flow into Adrian's head. Ones of death and slaughter. His eyes quickly blast wide open as his face freezes in an expression of terror. "No...!" he shouted loud. "Don't!" Quickly, his irises changed color. From a beautiful emerald green to a merciless crimson red.
Several minutes passed by fast, Alina sat alone in Adrian's room. Her sorrow filled eyes gazed outside into the decaying world. Her mind plagued by the thought of utter loneliness without Adrian. But then her ears catch two knocks on the door into the room. Her saddened eyes turn to the doorway.
As the door opened up, she was able to tell who was behind it. Adrian, the young Saradominst appeared before her. He wore a giant grin on his face. From ear to ear. "Hey." he greeted, closing the door behind him. He walks more into the room. "Look, I'm sorry about eariler."
Alina looked surprised at Adrian. Her eyes had a flicker of light. "You mean..." she mumbled. "You're not mad at me anymore?"
"No, not anymore." he replied. "It was stupid for me to act like that."
Alina jumped off her feet, charging towards Adrian. She quickly threw her arms around him and held onto him tightly. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed. "You don't know how much this means to me!"
But then as suddenly as she celebrated, she felt something terrible. She lets go of Adrian and her eyes slowly scroll down to her lower torso. Her eyes widened, looking down upon a knife's handle sticking out of her abdomen. She felt blood forsaking her body and slithering down her clothing.
A pale skinned hand clenched onto the dagger. Her eyes slowly climbed up an arm cloaked in a brown robe. Then they reached a shoulder, until finally climbing all the way to the top of the summit.
Her terrified eyes gazed upon Adrian, who worn the most diabolical smile. Her vision continued to blur and refocus. Adrian lets go of his dagger's handle. Alina frantically dropped down onto her knees and crawled away from Adrian. She panted heavily and crawled as fast as she could. Adrian slowly took steps closer and closer to her.
"Please!" she begged. "Don't...!" Tears of fear steadily poured down her cheeks from her eyes. Her hands shook like earthquakes, her teeth chattered. Her eyes as wide as soup bowls. "Adrian..." she began to call, her voice cracking. "Don't do this...!"
"Beg and plead all you want," he replied, his voice sounded completely different from Adrian's usually compassionate and heartfelt voice. "You'll be dead anyways." He had absolutely no sympathy.
