Spirit Blood: Genesis of War

Inside the crystal dome arena, the brilliant light made it impossible to see anything outside of it, and the cover of shadow inside was nonexistent. The large menacing knight walked slowly towards Makaylen, but kept a distance of several feet. His sword, resembling a meat clever with an angled edge, was drawn and relaxed by his side as he eyed his opponent up and down. Dried blood still caked his sword as a trophy to parade in front of others.

“So, you’re the infamous Makaylen Stryphe. Not much to look at from my point of view,” the Knight echoed from behind his helmet.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before,” Makaylen replied calmly.

Shaking his head he spoke in a condescending tone, “No, you’ve never met me before. If you had you wouldn’t have made it this far in life.”

Reaching up, the Knight removed his helmet from his head. The face before Makaylen was deformed, however normal looking as well. The Knight’s skin was dark brown and green, as an ogre, but with an elongated jaw that bore two large tusks from where the canine teeth would normally reside. The remainder of his mouth was filled with sharp teeth and his orange slit eyes shown brightly in the illuminated dome. Along with his serpentine eyes, the Knight also possessed a forked tongue which would flick occasionally as he spoke. His head was bald except for a black strip of hair on the top trailing down his back in a long braid.

“I’m sure you are quite curious as to who, and what, I am,” the Knight chuckled.

Makaylen only widened his eyes and tilted his head as if to answer yes.

“My name is Kilzhaun and I am a special mix of ogre and goblin. But what is most important, is that I

am going to kill you because you killed my own kin once long ago,” Kilzhaun replied, narrowing his eyes in anger.

Makaylen’s face wore the expression of confusion as he tried to remember ever seeing such a creature as what stood before him.

“You don’t remember, do you?” Kilzhaun asked almost annoyed that his kin would be so forgetful to Makaylen. “His name was Gothlith.”

A wave of memories flooded Makaylen as the day of Gothlith’s execution came back to him, “I do remember.” With a gaze to match the creature’s before him, Makaylen continued, “He was a wicked creature and I only carried out the execution of which was judged and ruled by the creator of this world. Nothing more. Your revenge towards me is in vain. Do you really wish to die for the righteous ruling your kinsmen endured?”

Kilzhaun flared his nostrils and hissed angrily at Makaylen, “Righteous ruling?! You will pay for your interference that day!”

Slamming his helmet back on his head, Kilzhaun lifted his sword in front of his face and bowed to Makaylen.

“Now I’m going to finish what my kinsmen should have done years ago in honor of Gothlith!” Kilzhaun said followed by a flicking of his tongue.

With a sigh, Makaylen threw off his cloak, drew his sword and prepared himself for a fight of vanity. The two men moved in cautiously. Makaylen was quite aware that Kilzhaun had a far superior reach on him and Kilzhaun knew Makaylen’s power was immense. Suddenly Kilzhaun moved, much quicker than his armor would reveal, almost catching Makaylen off guard, but thanks to his keen focus and awareness, Makaylen was able to defend himself far better than expected. Their swords collided with blinding speed

with both men moving with superior grace and reflexes. The sound of steel hitting steel echoed throughout the dome as each man worked to strike down his opponent.

Meeting once in a standoff with their swords crossed and both men staring face to face, Kilzhaun commented tauntingly, “I thought this was going to be difficult.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Makaylen quickly retorted.

Kilzhaun met Makaylen’s forehead with a sharp head butt causing Makaylen to lose his balance and break the standoff. Kilzhaun then followed it up with a swift roundhouse kick to Makaylen’s temple flipping him to the floor in pain. Stars circled Makaylen’s head as he opened his eyes suffering from extreme dizziness and pain. Only the shock of seeing the blurry vision of Kilzhaun leaping at him to drive his sword into his gullet woke Makaylen out of his stupor. Makaylen rolled out of the way and hastily attempted to stand on his feet. Though quite dazed, Makaylen again took a stance of defense awaiting Kilzhaun’s next move.

Surprised and frustrated that Makaylen had been able to stand, Kilzhaun commented, “I can see now why it was so hard for Gothlith to kill you. Perhaps that is why my people did not have the courage to face you afterwards.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Makaylen replied, widening his stance so as not to sway from his dizziness. “Come on creature! Let us be done with this!”

Kilzhaun nodded before coming at Makaylen, swinging his sword from side to side, hoping to drive Makaylen back and off balance again. Expecting this course of action, Makaylen spun to deflect Kilzhaun’s blade to one side and exposing his side and back for a clear open strike. Kilzhaun howled in pain grabbing his side where his armor was split leaving a gaping wound exposed. Kilzhaun began to pant and groan in anger staring down his opponent. With teeth bared, he attempted to chop and slash at

Makaylen furiously, but again, Makaylen moved dodging each shot until Kilzhaun left himself exposed a second time. Makaylen dropped low and came up on one side of Kilzhaun kneeing him in the ribs and gut. Kilzhaun grunted from having the air knocked out of him. Attempting to finish the job, Makaylen came down with his sword only to be caught by an uppercut to his jaw by Kilzhaun’s gauntleted fist. The strike caused Makaylen to drop his sword and sent him sprawling across the floor. Quickly he scurried to his feet only to see his sword lying on the ground beside Kilzhaun. Kilzhaun began to laugh as Makaylen simply took an unarmed fighting stance.

With arrogance, Kilzhaun stated, “So, you want to do this with bare hands, huh? I can oblige that!”

Kilzhaun knew that Makaylen was in much more pain than he revealed which lulled him into a false sense of security. He began to let loose all of his upper body armor, except his gauntlets, revealing his powerfully built rune tattoo covered body. He took off in a dead sprint at Makaylen driving his shoulder into his abdomen and lifting him high into the air over his shoulder. With his brute strength, Kilzhaun took hold of both Makaylen’s legs and whipped him to the floor like a heavy sack of grain. Makaylen groaned in pain as he felt two of his ribs break and the back of his skull suffer from the blows. Then he felt an excruciating pain in his face as Kilzhaun bent over his body punching him repeatedly with one fist while holding his head up with the other. In Kilzhaun’s position, he left himself unprotected in many areas. Makaylen drove his knee into the groin area of Kilzhaun causing him to quickly release his victim groaning in agony. Using only the strength his spirit could muster, Makaylen got to his feet and hit Kilzhaun with two spinning kicks followed by several punches. In a blinding fury Makaylen landed lower and middle kicks finally ending his barrage of fists and feet with a jumping scissor kick to Kilzhaun’s face.

Kilzhaun was knocked over onto his back. Makaylen immediately jumped onto him and began to

deliver another torrent of punches to his face. However, Kilzhaun swiftly caught one of Makaylen’s hands and scooped it into his mouth using his tusks like a shovel. Pain surged through Makaylen’s arm and up his shoulder as the creature bit down upon his hand. The large ogre stood up to his feet with Makaylen’s hand still trapped inside his mouth. He shook his head like a wild animal trying desperately to sever Makaylen’s hand from his arm and then threw his opponent to the floor.

“Now I’ll feast on the rest of you!” Kilzhaun exclaimed coming in at Makaylen with his mouth wide open and his tongue flicking.

Suddenly Kilzhaun stopped short of grabbing Makaylen when he felt the cold sting from something piercing his stomach. He looked down to see his own sword deep within his gut. Stumbling back a few feet, Kilzhaun frantically grasped at the hilt trying to wrench the sword free. Makaylen, in pain from broken ribs, a fractured skull, a broken arm and bleeding bite marks, got to his feet picking his own fallen sword up from the ground. Kilzhaun had fallen to his knees with death slowly creeping over him like a veil of shadows. With one swift slash from his sword, Makaylen sped up Kilzhaun’s demise leaving the headless body in the middle of the dome.

The dome shattered into shards of silver, and vanished leaving nothing of the Wizard’s magic in the room. Makaylen fell to his knees dropping his sword next to him and clutching a small book which hung around his neck and nested under his clothing. This was a special book to him, one in which he’d kept due to a promise he’d made to a holy man he most admired long ago. He began to read the ancient language of the Xythanians in attempt to feed himself spiritually and to replenish his exhausted and torn flesh. Deep in meditation, Makaylen prayed for a quickening to his body. He knew his time was short if Bildan had indeed found the power source he and Lockefren had been searching for. Please Shiloh, bless me with strength so that I may escape this city, he silently prayed.

The escape door Danick had used to leave the ballroom burst open. Lockefren and Bildan cautiously entered the room searching for any sign of Makaylen.

“There!” Lockefren exclaimed, running over to her friend with Bildan close behind.

Both of them ran to assist Makaylen in standing, but soon realized he was in deep prayer on his knees, virtually unaware of their presence. Davien and Benthalas then entered the room through the door Makaylen had entered and joined their teammates kneeling beside Makaylen.

“What is this mess?!” Ben asked of the headless creature laying nearby.

“I don’t know lad, but it seems it took its toll on your friend here,” Bildan answered looking pitifully at Makaylen.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. He can pray while we walk,” Davien stated while placing Makaylen’s good arm around his neck and lifting him gently to his feet.

Lockefren sheathed Makaylen’s sword back into its scabbard and placed his discarded cloak over his shoulders. The process of moving their friend began slow causing Bildan to begin to panic.

“Um, in case you’ve all forgotten, I’ve got a bomb ticking at the generator! We need to be quickening our pace I’d assume,” Bildan said in urgency.

Quickly the group helped to move Makaylen as fast and as gingerly as possible out the main entrance of the ballroom and through the castle to the front doors. After a short while of running Makaylen seemed to be coming out of his meditation and let go of Davien’s shoulder.

“Thank you my friend,” he stated, now feeling a bit more energized despite his grievous wounds.

“You’re welcome, but we must hurry! Bildan’s bomb should go off any second!” Davien announced before taking off again headed for the city gates.

Only moments passed before the sound of an explosion underground erupted shaking the city. Whole

buildings were beginning to crumble around them as they attempted to find their way in the darkened city streets.

“Hurry! We must reach the gates before the vacuum over comes the city and lets out the explosion all around us!” Bildan warned.

The gates were in sight when the fires began to escape the underground blocking many of their passages to safety. The group stayed calm as they searched for the safest route to the gates.

“Look!” Lockefren yelled once they neared their escape.

There sitting on a horse with three more trailing behind him was the smiling face of Jason waiting for them. Each member of the group wore faces of victory seeing their friend with a means of escape.

“Quick, get on and let’s get out of here!” Jason ordered throwing down the horses reigns.

Without haste they mounted the horses and rode fast for the forest outside the gates. The ground began to shake as the city buckled finally blowing into a large mushroom cloud sending a wave of heat and destruction throughout the city, over the gully and reaching the edge of the forest.

“Wow, nothing like getting out just in the nick of time,” Davien commented once they were a safe distance away.

“You can say that again lad,” Bildan replied sitting in front of him on their horse.

After Ben had gotten off their horse to tend to Makaylen for a minute, Lockefren rode over to where Jason sat on his horse surveying the burning city.

Lockefren asked teasingly, “So, you had to stay behind and wait for us I see?”

“Well, I did leave, but there were plenty of people to help the citizens. I wanted to make for sure there was someone to help whomever was left to save,” Jason said knowing Lockefren would have done the same if in his place.

“Thank you. I’m not sure how far we would have made it before the explosion engulfed everything,” she replied lowering her head. “Where to now? Where is everyone else?”

Speaking to all, Jason announced, “We need to make our way to Malvra. Everyone else is headed that way. We should meet up with them within an hour if we leave now.”

Gathering their strength, the companions moved on in haste wanting the fellowship of their friends and the much needed rest they would find in Malvra.

Garrett and some of his army waited in the cover of the forest hoping to see evidence of Jason and those he had stayed behind to help rescue. The immense size of the mushroom cloud caused by the explosion made it quite possible for them to see it even from their faraway distance. Their hearts were heavy laden witnessing the overwhelming flames licking at the city and destroying all the people of Karza had called home.

“Surely they were able to get out in time,” Moira solemnly commented to TaeAnne and Amon.

The look of shock on the teenagers faces caused Terrell to worry as well. Were they able to escape? He wondered to himself. Chris began to pray for his friends’ safe departure and for their own travels to Malvra.

“Come, we must be moving,” Garrett said to the crowd watching the city burn. “We may still have opposition to face.”

“I know Makaylen and Jason very well,” Ken spoke up to the small group of companions almost mesmerized by the fire in the distance. “I have no doubt they were able to escape. Come on,” he said to Amon and TaeAnne trying to urge them to follow him, “let’s get you into a more hospitable environment.”

Sadly, and still a bit troubled, the group began their journey again in hopes that their friends were somewhere behind them on their way to Malvra as well. The large group of shivering citizens, soldiers and friends traveled for close to an hour when Terrell stopped dead in his tracks listening to what sounded like someone approaching behind them on the forest trail. Those that were armed grabbed hold of their hilts and prepared themselves for what could be a confrontation as the sound of something in the forest became loud enough for all to hear.

The sight of someone riding a horse with their head lowered and their hood drawn was seen coming over the small hill behind them. From out of the darkness, three more horses carrying people were then seen riding behind the lone man.

“Makaylen!” A voice from the crowd was heard exclaiming in excitement.

The hooded man looked up to reveal the beaten and battered face of Makaylen. He smiled as he realized they had finally reached their friends. The two teenagers ran to Jason’s horse trying desperately to get him down so they could finally hug him in exhilaration. Terrell and Lockefren only exchanged smiles and nods while Ben gingerly made his way down from his and Lockefren’s horse to heartily greet Terrell.

“It is so good to see you cousin,” Ben said with the sound of weariness in his voice.

“Yes, I agree,” Terrell replied with a large grin on his face.

The voice that had exclaimed Makaylen’s name was heard again as Nephida ran through the crowd and reached her friend sitting upon his horse.

“Makaylen, are you alright?!” She asked, now close enough to see the degree of injuries he possessed. “Let me help you down and tend to those cuts.”

“Thank you Nephida, but I am fine. The others may need assistance, however,” Makaylen pointed out

trying to urge her to help the other injured members of his party.

Finally having endured the pain from her injury for so long, and now having the safety of the army here to help, Lockefren’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as she passed out and began to slide off her horse. Ben and Terrell immediately caught her before she could hit the ground and gently lowered her.

“What’s wrong with her?!” Ben asked out loud, quite concerned for her health.

“I don’t know. She hasn’t said anything about not feeling well,” Jason replied running over to see if he could help.

Ben looked over her body until he found the wound she had tried to hide. The evil magic of the shard had eaten away a great deal of the armor and flesh that surrounded the wound. A small amount of dried blood from the initial impact clung to her skin. Quickly Christopher and Moira ran to her still body and began to pray, hoping it was in Shiloh’s will to spare her life. Within minutes Lockefren began to come to, but the wound remained gaping and grievous looking.

“What happened?” Lockefren managed to say opening her eyes slowly.

“That’s what we’d like to know,” Ben answered. “You have a horrible looking wound on your side. Do you remember how you got it?”

“Yes and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I…I didn’t want to cause anyone to worry about me,” she said in a tone of guilt. “I kept hoping it’d just stop hurting eventually.”

“Well, I believe the majority of your pain may be behind you, but your wound still looks quite ill,” Chris informed her. “Whatever hit you was made of very dark magic. I’m afraid your healing will take time. Marks of evil can still leave a scar even after we’ve cleansed them from our lives.”

“Thank you,” Lockefren said wincing a bit. “I already feel better.”

Eventually the injured were bandaged up and the large group was able to again make their way towards

Malvra. Lockefren attempted to rest on her horse while leaning on Ben. Ben was very quiet and seemed to be in a state of shock. He couldn’t understand fully why he’d felt such dread since witnessing Lockefren fall from her horse earlier. Looking down into her lovely face, which rested upon his shoulder, her back to his chest, he struggled within himself to figure out what his true feelings for her were. Now was definitely not the time to be thinking of anything but the inevitable war before them. This was not a time for soul searching and heartfelt affection. But, he wondered to himself, how can I fight beside her, with my mind on the battle, if I cannot keep my emotions for her under control? Ben remained silent, mulling over his thoughts, while those around him tried to pass the time in conversation.

“Makaylen?” TaeAnne asked while riding beside him. “Did you see the many colors that illuminated the sky after the explosion?”

“Do you mean the bright blue, red, green and white vapors? Yes,” he joked, “I saw them. They were very hard to miss.”

“What was that? I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she asked.

“That, my young miss, was manna being released back into the world,” Makaylen answered sounding quite pleased to the fact.

“Manna?” Her curious voice spoke. “How can manna be released? Wouldn’t that mean it had been captured?”

Makaylen nodded, “It has been captured in a crystal forest. Manna is free flowing and everywhere in the land, however there seems to be quite a concentration of it in one area of the world far north from here. There it crystallizes and becomes a solid mass which is used to power a great deal of objects. Thanks to the magi who experimented and learned new ways of using the crystals, we now rely on manna for many things in our everyday lives.”

TaeAnne kept her eyes forward, but wore an expression of great confusion, “How can it become solid if manna is neither gas nor liquid? I thought manna was just the power of the land used by wizards, priests and oracles.”

“My dear,” Makaylen started, “I’ve wondered that myself for many years. I suppose it’s just one of the mysteries of life we’ll learn the answer to later.”

Even though her questions were not entirely answered, TaeAnne smiled to herself enjoying a moment alone with Makaylen to discuss matters that most would deem only of adult interest. She hoped all her questions would be answered during her lifetime rather than after death, as she suspected that is what Makaylen meant by ‘later.’