Clash Of Worlds (50 page)

One may ask why this was put within the Dark Archer’s grasp as he too was originally from Alexandria and thus was able to use the all-seeing power of the pool. However, this was not a blessing for the Archer for the only thing that lay within his heart was hatred and suffering. Every time he gazed into the pool, the demon would see the sins he had committed during the time when he was once a man. He would be forced to relive his mistakes of the past over and over again. He would only look into the water once or twice a year, in the faint hope of seeing something other than the loved ones he had betrayed, but every single time, the pool showed him his crimes, some of which, only he knew the truth of. That is, until the last time he looked into the pool, which was only a month earlier.

What did he see this time you may ask? He had seen the Princess of Alexandria, Kara. He had felt her pain and uncertainty. He had witnessed first hand her discovery of a great lie from long ago, a lie that the Dark Archer himself had played a part in. It was then that the creature had sought out the dwarf Fargrim and sent him on a journey to bring the princess to him. Although he had a hatred for most creatures, the Dark Archer had grown to be friendly with dwarfs. They cared little of the struggles of Underworld and Alexandria and kept to themselves. The dwarfs hated the rule of Kanto, the king of the Underworld, but they stayed well clear of his domain and never interfered or openly opposed his rule. For this, Kanto had left the dwarfs to their business and this is why the Dark Archer tolerated them. The creature was no friend of Kanto and it was for this reason that he was no enemy to the dwarfs.

The Archer brought Kara to the enchanted pool and gestured for her to walk to the edge of it.

“What is it?” asked the princess.

“This is the Pool Of Enlightenment. Those who look into the water shall see whatever it is that lies within their heart. If you wish to know the truth of what took place all those years ago, things that have since been long forgotten, then look into the pool. Place your head beneath the water and all will be revealed to you.”

Kara was wary at first.
He means to drown me
. The thought crossed her mind for a moment. However, why would he kill her now? He could have left her for the Hellhounds after all.

The princess reluctantly made her way towards the bank on which the pool rested. As the girl reached the edge of the bank, she looked back towards the Dark Archer who had his arms crossed whilst maintaining a watching brief over her. Kara turned back to the edge of the bank upon which the pool was on. She knelt down and peered over onto the top of the water. The water was clear, so much so that she could see her own reflection perfectly. She looked very tired and not as well kept as she usually would have been. The long journey to the Dark Forest had clearly taken its toll upon her.

The princess carefully lowered her face into the water and opened her eyes once all of her face was beneath it. At first all the girl could see was the water. However, a bright light slowly began to glow within the water and then a large flash blinded the girl for a short time. When the light faded, Kara found herself watching a flashback of events that had transpired long ago.

What the girl was witnessing was the past. She saw a mass battle, which took place in a large open field stretching for miles. The clash of steel on steel echoed all around as swords and battle-axes crashed together. The girl recognised the clothing and armour worn by those in the battle and also the war banners that some of the men were wielding. It was a battle between Underworld and Alexandria, the Great War to be exact. She witnessed a young Auron, dressed in his traditional red robed armour, cutting through Underworld swordsmen. Then, the images cut to a temple in an unknown location. Here a young looking warlock, which she recognised as one of her father’s most trusted aids, Rokk, was in a huge battle with the Underworld Sorceress named Harriet. Kara had never had the displeasure of meeting the sorceress in person thankfully, however, she had read about the cold and cruel woman from Underworld before. She and Rokk were evenly matched in battle and this contest showed just that. Each cast vicious spells and then counter-spells toward their counterpart.

The images then changed again. This time, it showed Kanto, king of the Underworld standing over the body of a fallen woman. Around her neck, the woman wore the royal pendant of Alexandria, a pendant worn by those of the royal bloodline. Kanto had just killed the woman. Into the room then appeared Zeris, the king of Alexandria. After grieving for the death of the woman, a huge battle began between the two kings.
My mother,
Kara realised. Sadness filled her heart. Her father had never told the princess how exactly her mother had died. He had told her that she had been slain during the war, but never by whose hand. Anger filled her as she looked at the young Underworld king.
I hate him!

A bolt of lighting lit up the sky and struck violently into the lands below and suddenly the images changed once more. They showed two realms merging into one. The separate realms of Alexandrian and Underworld were no more. Many millions perished as the merging of two lands crushed the people, instantly killing them. Now appeared the infamous gateway to another world. Here, a young Kanto and Zeris were seen giving up two young boys to the Creator, Trenkenth. Kara watched on as she heard her father utter his final words to the boy.

“Be strong Valentine, I will never forget you, my son.” With that, the boy was taken away by Trenkenth and the images came to an end.

Kara brought her head back up above to the surface and cleaned the dripping water from her face. “That boy, he was the king’s son…” said Kara, who turned to the Dark Archer as she spoke.

“I cannot speak,” said the demon.

The princess was angered by the words of the Archer. He had brought her all this way and showed her these events from the past, and now he did not have the courtesy to tell her the meaning of the things she had witnessed. “Why? Why then did you bring me here?” she demanded. There was more than a hint of annoyance in the tone of her voice.

“I cannot speak of those events. I am forbidden. That is the punishment for my sins,” said the Archer. His head bowed a little as he spoke, a sense of regret filled his normally cold soul.

That is a look of guilt.
Kara was finally beginning to understand. “You played some part in this didn’t you? And silence is your punishment. It is all of your punishment, even my father. That is why he would not tell me.”

This beckoned another question for the princess however. “What is the purpose of this? Why have you shown me this?”

“I have my reasons,” replied the demon. “Besides, I have shown you the answers that you sought out. My intentions should be of no concern to you.”

The princess agreed with him on that point. He had shown her what she wished to see, no matter his intentions. “Valentine is my father’s son, the child that was sacrificed for his part in the destruction and bloodshed caused by the Great War,” said Kara.

“And what type of father would give up his son?” said the Dark Archer.

Kara noticed hostility in the demon’s voice. It had surfaced every time the creature had mentioned her father, but only now had she come to realise it.
Did my father wrong him?
“What did my father do to you?” asked the princess.

“It is none of your concern child,” snapped the demon.

The girl sensed the creature’s mood was worsening so thought it wise to focus on the reason why she set out to this dark and distant land in the first place. “So, the boy that I have seen in my dreams…he is my brother?”

“So it would appear,” said the Dark Archer.

“How could he do that? How could he give him up?” said Kara. Sadness filled her heart. Although she had a loving father, a deep emptiness had filled her childhood. Witnessing the death of her mother, which the Pool of Enlightenment had shown her, along with the giving up of her newly discovered brother, reminded her of the deep loneliness she felt as a child. Her father had always looked out for her, but he was a King. He had duties to perform. He had to think about the good of the realm, and not just his daughter. In a way, Zeris was a father to all the inhabitants of Alexandria and his duty was to keep them safe. Often more than not, this had left the princess alone.

She wished nothing more than to find her brother and bring him home. However, she realised that if all were forbidden to speak of such things by the creator, the likelihood of her brother being able to return was impossible.

“What kind of a father gives up his only son to let him die?” said the Dark Archer. Apparently, the demon had thought that the child had met his doom after he was taken.

“What are you talking about?” asked the princess, who knew otherwise.

“The boy met his death by the hands of Trenkenth, that was the price that was paid to spare your father,” said the demon.

The princess shook her head. “No, he is alive!”

“Nonsense, the boy perished that fateful day.”

“I’ve seen him, in my dreams. He is no longer a boy, but now a man,” said Kara.

The Archer looked at the girl, unsure of whether to believe her. “What you speak of is not possible little girl. The boy was banished from this realm long ago.”

“He isn’t in this realm. He is on a place called Earth. A world much different to our own,” replied Kara. “I have seen him, and he has seen me. We met in our dreams. He sees this world when he sleeps as I see his.”

The Dark Archer crossed his arms and looked deep in thought. “How could I have not foreseen this?” he muttered quietly.

“There’s more. Lately, he has been troubled. I have sensed a great threat lingering toward him. An enemy from this land, the Underworld,” said the princess. “I have heard stories about the person who threatens him. Supposedly he is a legend in these parts,” she continued. “He wears the clothing of a fierce Underworld Warrior and his hair is long and white. I believe it to be…”

The demon interrupted the girl before she could finish. “Lucius…of Underworld, son of Kanto.”

“You knew?” asked Kara.

“No, however, the king’s son did pass through this forest over a year ago. He has not been seen in this realm since. It is wise to assume he took the northern road to the gateway,” said the Dark Archer. The gateway he referred to was the gateway to another realm, the door to the world known as Earth.

“Lucius is on Earth. His aim is to kill Valentine, I feel it!” said Kara. Fear filled the girl from head to toe. She had only just discovered that she had a brother and didn’t wish to lose him before she even got a chance to meet him. The Dark Archer also seemed concerned, which Kara thought strange. Up until now, the demon had shown little emotion, however, the creature now seemed concerned for Valentines well-being. “We must do something. We have to help him,” said Kara.

“You cannot take on the General of the Underworld armies. Lucius would slay you in an instant,” said the creature.

Kara sighed. She knew the words of the demon to be true. Although she possessed great spiritual power, she was no warrior. However, she realised that the creature she stood before was one of the most feared beings in the entire realm. “You can help him. You Must!” pleaded the girl. Her words echoed the desperation she felt.

The Dark Archer shook his head.

“Why? I don’t understand. You brought me here for a reason? You wanted to show me this boy? So please, I beg you. Help me save him!” A few tears began to fill her eyes.

“I am sorry, I cannot,” said the demon. “I cannot leave this realm for I am bound to this place. I am unable to leave.” This had been part of the creature’s punishment.

The Archer had once been a normal man, however, as punishment for his sins, Trenkenth had mutated his body into a monster, a half-breed of human and demon. Originally from Alexandria, part of his punishment included never being able to return to his homeland. It was just as well, for the people of Alexandria hated the creature. It was widely rumoured that the Dark Archer betrayed his homeland during the Great War and acted as an informer for the Underworld. There are very little known facts about these events. Only the demon himself knew the true circumstances regarding his betrayal, however, he had never spoken of it. Whatever his crimes, the penalty for them was banishment. He could not leave the Underworld. It was the darkness that kept him alive and to leave would result in his death.

“So what? Are we just going to leave him there to die?” asked Kara.

The Dark Archer thought long and hard. He clearly had a vested interest in this matter, although exactly what that was seemed unclear. After dwelling in thought for several moments, the demon finally broke his silence. “I have an idea.”

Kara waited for him to elaborate. “Well?” asked the girl, becoming a little impatient.

“Follow me,” said the Dark Archer. The two of them proceeded to make their way out of the cavern and into the forest once more.

Zeris, the king of Alexandria travelled on horseback as he journeyed back from his pressing business in the western lands of Alexandria. He had been to seek the council of Bremusa, the leader of the amazon people in the kingdom of Ardenor. The kingdom had an ancient feel to it. Ardenor was located on a small island in the western lands of the Alexandrian realm. Zeris and ten of his honour guards, who had escorted the king on his journey, had taken a small cargo ship over to the Island for discretion. Even in the safety of Alexandria, it was always wise for the king to keep his movements low key outside the security of the palace.

Bremusa’s castle looked more like a small temple than a royal establishment. The amazons did not take as much value in historical and splendid buildings for their homes as other kingdoms might. They were an outdoor people. Many lived inside a large camp, in tents as big as houses. This is not to say the perimeter was not well guarded. Besides, a person would be a fool to attack the amazons on their own land. They were fierce female warriors, as equal to, if not greater than the men of any other kingdom. Zeris had once held a melee tournament at the Alexandrian palace for princess Kara’s eighteenth birthday. The melee took place inside a battle pit in which a large group of fighters would battle unarmed against each other, every man (or woman), for themselves. Zeris was very much surprised when the amazon queen herself decided to enter the melee. Bremusa had taken the crown home that day, defeating many a seasoned Alexandrian warrior in hand-to-hand combat. The amazons did indeed possess great strength. Zeris was thankful to have them as allies.