The Legends of Valoria Book Two Rise of the Divine Knight

“Again, Alec, you are not nearly ready to face the trials, which are soon to come your way.” Lady Seraphina spoke as she floated above the conquered Alec in her shimmering blue gown, which trailed eerily behind her. She looked down at Alec who had dropped to a knee and was panting heavily, fighting to fill his lungs as sweat poured from his face.

“We have…been…doing this…for hours.” Alec forced the words out as he pushed against the ground with his trembling knees. Finally, he placed his left hand on its partnered knee and lifted himself the rest of the way.

“Are you ready?” Alec’s mouth was still ajar though, in place of words, he nodded his head. “Very well then, prepare!” The Lady Seraphina raised her hands into the air and began to propel a series of elements at Alec. With each element, Alec cast its appropriate ward, deflecting the first wave of magic.

“Good, you still have strength.” The nymph spoke as she vanished before Alec’s eyes. “Though you have sacrificed your speed!” Alec turned just in time to defend against her attacks from the new direction. He threw out another fire ward and narrowly dodged the stone that had been concealed within the flames. Alec threw out his hands and quickly cast the projectile ward as a rapid firing stream of stones came hurtling his way.

The stone bullets began ricocheting sporadically as Seraphina changed position, neither her flame nor her stone attacks relenting. Alec held his wards and could feel the formidable amount of energy he was exerting. His knees began to grow weary and, though he struggled to maintain his wards, he focused his vision as he began to search the room for any signs of Seraphina.

The blade was quick; it came at him from the darkness as if it were made of lightning. Alec managed to place his shield in front of himself in time to tip the blow to the side but unable to affirm his stance, was knocked off balance.

“If you wish to become a master sentinel then you must be as a mountain, tall, strong and defended from all sides. If you cannot stand against the forces of nature, then you shall crumble to dust and the divine shall perish.” Alec’s eyes could not quite make out what happened next. He was standing maintaining his wards when a bright light blinded him. He shielded his eyes and caught a glimpse of a bright beam hurtling towards him. The bolt struck him in the chest and ran through his body, which jerked violently until his left arm shot into the air, nearly wrenching itself out of socket. His entire body twisted to compensate for the force guiding him as the beam of light shot out of his outstretched hand and into the sky, followed by a crack of thunder, which threw him to the ground and caused his ears to ring.

Alec slowly attempted to rise to a seated position as he placed one hand against his head in an attempt to slow the carousel running around it. As his vision began to refocus and his stomach grew less nauseous, he looked up at Lady Seraphina who was staring down at him.

“What was that?”

“It is something I wished to show you, once you were ready.” Seraphina held out her hand and Alec reached up and grasped it as Seraphina aided him to his feet. As Alec bent in half to recover, a curious thought occurred to him.

“Angemesis used a similar attack.” Seraphina closed her eyes and nodded her head.

“It is a sacred technique. Traditionally, it is only known by Aneira’s nymphs. It was Nemesis’ specialty amongst other things. She was, by far, one of the oldest nymphs, older even than Lady Aurora. I would teach you this ability so that when the moment arrives and you have no alternative, you will be able to put an end to my sister’s madness.” Seraphina’s expression grew solemn, distraught even. Alec bowed his head and looked to the ground.

“If I am to learn this technique and use it to face Nemesis, should I not also learn to defend myself from it?” Seraphina looked back to Alec and nodded her head.

“In time, yes, though I fear we are not yet there.” Alec was beginning to grow impatient though he remained tranquil as he asked the question that was bothering him most.

“Might I ask how much longer I have? We have already been at this for so long now. Am I not soon to face the wrath of Abaddon and the entirety of the Forsaken army, not to mention a fallen nymph? Are you sure that we have time to waste?” As he asked his questions, a frenzy of emotions began to rise up within him. He knew that while he remained here, his body lay useless back in Valascaa. He knew that Talia and the others would take good care of him, but he wondered who would watch after them while he was gone. Who was going to protect them from the darkness that was ready to spill out across the entire Exodon and perhaps all of Valoria?

“I understand how you feel, Alec.” As she spoke, Alec’s fears intensified as he imagined what would happen if the attack came before he was ready.

“No, you don’t!” Alec was beginning to lose his temper. He did not mean to snap at Seraphina, but he needed her to understand that they were running out of time. “I am sorry, Lady, it is just that we have spent all of this time training, and yet I am still not ready for the techniques I need in order to save everyone. You bring me up here every day and we battle. When we are finished, I go to the library and I read tomes you have selected for me, tomes about the history of the Exodon, about the Scar, and the Forsaken. When my head is ready to explode, you have me train on proper etiquette of fine dining and royal customs. If I’m not about to rule over a country, it’s all useless.” Alec was growing more frustrated. He turned his back as he continued to focus on his failings. All the while, he could not help but allow his insecurities to become ever the more obvious. The Lady Seraphina dropped to the ground, walked across the length of the marble floor, and gently put her arms around Alec.

“Ease your mind, young paladin. I do understand what you feel. I was once alive myself. I do know your pain. You feel inadequate. You feel weak. You have lived and died. Yet, by mere technicality, you survive and still you know that a predator immeasurably more powerful stalks you. As we speak, Nemesis is hunting down my other sisters. I know what it is to face death and to be unsure whether I will come out myself. In addition, to add to your pain, you have lost your mentor and friend. I assure you young paladin, that with every step, every breath, you honor Sir Marec and through you, he lives on still. Do not forget that I knew him long before you and, as you grieve, so do I. I take solace in the fact that you emulate him so and hence I know that, once the enemy shows its face, you will be ready.” Alec was beginning to grow remorseful over having lost his temper with Seraphina. He knew that it was not her fault that things had happened the way that they did, but he so desperately longed to be back in his own body, to feel the earth beneath him, to breathe real air again, to see Talia again.

“In regards to your other studies, I am afraid that they must continue. However, if it pleases you, we shall concentrate on them less in the future. I have done what I can to prepare you for what is to come. Scarce remains for me to teach you. We must now focus on your strength of will and your mastery of your spiritual self.” Lady Seraphina looked over towards the balcony, which overlooked the luminous memory of Highmoore. Alec looked in the same direction and watched as the evening sun was setting. A blinding flash of light appeared at the edge of the balcony and from out of the light stepped a tall, raven haired, emerald-eyed nymph, whom Alec had seen twice before. Though she was young and beautiful, Alec could still never let go of the feeling that she reminded him of his grandmother and by extension, his sister Rayne.

“Good evening Aurora.” Lady Seraphina said with a deep curtsy. Alec stood, too stunned to react. Whenever Aurora appeared, death was usually certain to follow. She was after all the “nymph of death,” so to speak. Moreover, for some strange reason, Aurora had come to him twice in his life. The first time to bail him out of a botched attempt at obtaining knighthood, thus indirectly setting him on a collision course with the divine Talia and her protector Marec, which, in turn, placed him in the middle of an age long war against the forces of darkness and, not to mention, a god. The second time had been to wrench his soul from his body and bring him here after an encounter with godly forces had cost him his life. Considering their history together, Alec was not feeling great about his odds.

“Milady.” Alec finally forced out as he bowed his head in reverence to the nymph. Aurora stared at Alec. He could feel his flesh peeling away as her eyes bore into his soul and tore apart every possible barricade that he could use to shield himself from her.

“Please be at ease, young paladin. I am not here to bring you trouble, only warnings.” Alec knew it; she was here to predict his horrific death. As if Alec had spoken aloud, Aurora began to laugh at him.

“I am here on no such business. I merely come to inform you that the enemy has surfaced. You are not yet needed, nor are you ready, physically or spiritually. As it is obvious that you may not be ready in time, I have come to lend my aid.” Seraphina gasped at Aurora’s message, while again Alec was stunned beyond comprehension.

“My lady Aurora, are you certain of this? If I have failed you in any way, please allow me to…” Alec had never seen Seraphina act in such a fashion before. He did not sense that Seraphina was in any danger yet she clearly displayed fear over being separated from Alec. Aurora raised her hand and Lady Seraphina grew silent.

“Peace, young sister. I am not here to claim your…apprentice. I merely wish, in my own heart, to lend aid to his training. There is much at stake. It is my hope that my experience and wisdom will serve to guide you as I, too have spent many a year watching over this one and believe I may have some unique insight.” Alec looked at the Lady Seraphina and grew curious. Her eyes nearly looked as though they were wet with tears. The expression she bore was unique from anything he had ever seen from her before. Quickly, however, the expression was gone and Seraphina turned to face Alec with her usual smile.

“Thank you my lady.” Seraphina faced Aurora once again and curtsied as Aurora’s feet touched the ground. Aurora approached Alec, whose heart sank deep down below his chest. He felt a strong urge to run away, which intensified with every additional step the hauntingly beautiful nymph took. Aurora stopped in front of him and began examining him.

“Please, lend me your hands.” Alec reluctantly did so. Aurora took Alec’s hands in her own, stared at his palms, then turned them over, and began tracing up his arms until she met his eyes. Ever so gently, she released his hands and began to circle around him. He tried to remain perfectly still, despite the feeling that little bugs were crawling along his spine. Aurora leaned in closer to him.

“Do not worry so much Alec. I assure you I mean you no harm.”

“Still doesn’t change the fact that you are the reaper of souls.” Alec thought to himself to which Aurora laughed. Alec grew more frustrated knowing that Aurora could read his every thought.

“If you would prefer, I can stop. Though, I shall warn you, while Nemesis does not possess this particular technique, she will be able to sense your presence and will always be ready for you. Take care that she does not claim the preemptive. It was she who noticed your presence at the spire.”

Alec thought to himself that it did make perfect sense. They had been detected long before anyone had seen them. Even with their runes of concealment, they had still been found out and announced by Belias. Another thought occurred to Alec and Aurora answered him before he could ask. “If she engages you, the attack you have seen Seraphina use just now will be her attack of choice. Surely, you recognize it. Technically, you have already been killed by this attack once.” Aurora held out her hand and shot a massive stream of energy, which flashed out and halted when it struck the walls. Aurora pulled her hand backwards and closed her fist, cutting off the flow of energy and then looked back to Alec.

“Yes, there is a way to shield oneself from such techniques. This would be the purpose of my bringing it up.” Aurora again answered Alec’s question before he had even the opportunity to ask it.

“I thought you said that you were going to stop doing that?” Alec snapped at Aurora who was amused at Alec’s discontent. “What must I do?” He said.

Aurora approached Alec and gently placed one palm on either side of his head.

“You must learn to focus so that your energy radiates with the power of all of the elements.”

“How do I learn to control my energy in such a way?”

Aurora flexed and stretched her fingers, which still ran alongside Alec’s temples. Allow me to show you.” She spoke as Alec’s head jerked backwards when intense light, filled with images and emotions flooded his senses.