The Legends of Valoria Book Two Rise of the Divine Knight

Talia had horrific dreams that night. She sat on the edge of her bed drenched in sweat attempting to shake the images from her mind. She had dreamt of Alec’s return. She imagined taking him to see the ariaflies and they were together but things quickly changed to images of fire and a black hand reaching out towards her.

As had happened in the past, Alec stepped out in front of her and was drug away by the hand as Talia could only watch on in horror. Next, her vision flashed to a desecrated Valascaa, corpses stacked high. Finally, an image of Alec and Marec’s tombs over which stood Angelica and a metal masked man, whom resembled Belias.

Talia turned her head and looked outside to see that it was still several hours before sunrise. She thought to herself for a moment and decided that she would not be falling back asleep out of fear that her dream would only return. Talia rose from her bed, dropped to the floor, and began to press her body up and down for several minutes until her arms shook and she collapsed.

“Two Hundred and Three,” she panted to herself as she attempted to catch her breath. She steadied herself and rose from the floor, taking care to dress herself for the evening chill, crept outside and shut the door. She drew in a deep breath, turned her attention towards the castle, and looked at the hero’s memoriam that was being built in honor of Alec. She shook her head and her thoughts drifted to her former protector, Marec. She looked further west, past the castle toward the hall of the honorable dead and began venturing over.

As she approached, she noticed that the doors were ajar and that the guard was not at his post. Talia, curious to see, opened the door and quietly pushed inside. Talia took care to take in her surroundings as she entered the halls seeing great statues, depicting heroes of old immortalized in stone taking up arms to invisible enemies. She slowly crept forward as she noticed the slow waltz of a lit flame.

Talia placed herself against the wall and peered around the corner. She saw a solitary lantern resting on a stone tomb. Taking care to keep an eye on the chamber around her, Talia walked to the tomb and pressing the side of her head against the wall, surveyed the long hall.

The darkness permeating from further within the crypt radiated a deep chilling menace. Talia wondered what might be waiting down that hall. She closed her eyes, touched her forehead with her right hand and began chanting to herself at a whisper. Talia snapped her eyes open and the rune of detection she had cast decorated her irises allowing her vision to permeate the dark. The edges of the walls lit up with a faint blue outline as did the loose stones that littered the floor.

Again, Talia leaned her head to see around the corner. She was able to see the tombs resting along the far wall. She rose from her crouched position and carefully walked to the next corner.

A malevolent aura struck her immediately and she stumbled. A strong magical presence began to confront her senses to the point of nausea. Talia knelt and steadied herself as she looked up. A tall, metallic, masculine form stood before her and though the faceguard bore her no sight of his face, she could feel his gaze upon her.

He raised his hand into the air and Talia threw her body sideways to avoid the kinetic blast that followed which shattered a portion of the stone wall. Talia tumble rolled down from the blast and began searching frantically for a weapon. She could hear the clanging of metal boots on the stone floor and Talia grasped onto the nearest object she could find.

“Phoosh!” Flame shot across the demon’s face as Talia hurled the lantern, causing it to burst. The death knight stumbled backwards and Talia could hear the piercing cry of the banshee wail. She began to chant and forced both of her hands forward, using the force rune to propel her opponent back into the darkness.

Talia pursued her quarry preparing another strike from her rune when she came upon a trembling guard lying on the ground.

“You must get out of here before he gets back up. Go alert the Lion at once. Tell him his niece is holding it at bay.” Talia reached out to the man to aid him but instead the man grasped her firmly and pulled her down to her knees.

“What are you thinking? Release me and fetch help.” As the words left her mouth, her eyes met those of the man who was holding her. His eyes looked normal but there was no light beyond them, nothing to show that he was acting on his own. Talia could hear the death knight rising to its feet and it all became clear to her why the man was holding her down.

Talia began to chant but the possessed man clapped one hand down over her mouth, preventing her from finishing her incantation. Talia’s eyes grew wide as the metal man, came in range of her currently enhanced vision and she watched him draw his sword.

She yelled into the man’s hand and attempted to bite down but the man was not himself and she knew that pain would not stop him. The metal man continued to approach as Talia managed to wriggle one hand free.

The metal beast raised his weapon and prepared a strike that would kill both Talia and the guard. Talia closed her eyes as the sword began to fall and she finished her final line on the floor.

“BOOM!!!” Talia’s rune went off causing an enhanced rune of force to go off merged with a rune of enfeeblement. Talia, the guard and the death knight were all launched into the air, the stone around them crumbling down. Talia squirmed free of the guard whose face had been crushed and who had half of his body buried beneath the rubble.

Talia’s head spun and her lungs burned. She had known that causing the cave-in would be risky but she had run out of options. Slowly she looked down towards the source of her current agony to find that her leg was pinned and, in her hip, was a black, metal shard. Talia began to pull on her leg with excruciating results. Sweat pouring from her brow, she looked down to the pile of rubble still resting on her leg and swallowed hard before attempting to chant a rune. As Talia began to tap into her inner strength, the shard in her hip burned as if it had begun to swell and delve deeper into her. She moaned out and quickly stopped her release of power. She looked down to the curious piece of metal, grasped it firmly with both hands, and attempted to pull it out.

The intensity of the pain that followed caused for her head to spin and she was forced to cease the effort. With few remaining options, Talia began to search around the room, seeking any alternative that was ready to jump out at her. With what mobility she had remaining, Talia turned from right to left in search of a fulcrum she could use to pry herself free. As she sifted around, she could hear another cave-in readying to happen.

Talia eagerly renewed her attempt to wriggle free as the rubble in front of her began to shift and the shard in her leg began to burn. Talia’s eyes grew wide at the realization of what was happening and she found herself wondering how the creature had possibly survived. Talia renewed her struggle against the collapsed interior and in her desperation and to her dismay she cried out.

“Is someone there? Please help me. There is a killer in here!” She began rocking her body back and forth trying to worm her way free as the rock pile continued its shift.

“FORCE!” She heard from beneath the rubble and for a moment, she imagined that Belias had indeed returned. The rubble shot out in every which direction and Talia, her leg now free, began to crawl away as quickly as her tired body would allow her. Talia frantically dug into the ground, causing her fingers to bleed as she dragged her body away from the towering metal knight, who had nearly risen to his full height. She looked over her shoulder as he turned his evil gaze upon her and spoke.

“FORCE!” Talia threw her hands out in front of her and channeled her energy into a shield.

“BARRIER!” She called back and was still thrown several feet backwards across the ground by the blast, her ward unable to reach full strength with the death knight shard still sticking into her flesh.

Talia screamed as the pain in her torn back, hip and leg intensified and the bitter taste of bile filled her mouth. . She could tell from the pain that the leg paired with her wounded hip was definitely broken, though the pain from the shard was several fold more intense . As the death knight turned his body. Talia pulled hers around the corner and renewed her call.

”Someone, help!” She grew angry with herself for needing to call for help after crippling herself. She thought to herself that despite all of her training to become stronger that she still depended on someone rushing to her rescue and it disgusted her.

Talia looked down at the shard in her hip again and then noticed the jagged edge of a broken sarcophagus. Talia grasped the piece of stone and quickly tore off a piece of her sleeve and crammed the cloth into her mouth. She continued to scuttle backwards through the first metal gate and hid herself in a secure corner. She held her hand in front of herself and channeled the force rune into the side of a tomb and screamed into the rag as the stone coffin was forced in front of the gate.

Stone edge in hand, Talia began to take several deep breaths as she looked down to the shard in her hip and dug in after it. The pain caused Talia’s vision to blur and she swore that she was about to spit out the rag to empty her stomach, though she preserved. Talia stopped, her head spinning, and looked down. The shard had budged slightly but only a little. Talia attempted to grasp at it but its jagged edges slit open her fingers, which began to bleed intensely. She was now covered in her own blood and she could already feel herself growing unsteady when she heard the sound of people approaching.

“Over here.” She whispered into the dark as Eliza and Zelus rushed to her side.

“Tal...Relina, what happened here?” Eliza spoke as Zelus readied himself and peered around the corner. Talia looked up to Eliza.

“There is a death knight in the burial chamber.” Zelus turned his head to face Talia and walked over to her.

“Eliza, get her out of here. Go and find help.”

“Zelus, Talia was unable to stop it and she is a…” She stopped and looked around the room for a moment before continuing. “You know, a divine. If she cannot stop the death knight, what hope do you have alone?” Zelus turned back to Eliza and then looked to Talia.

“I will be fine, now I order you to escort cadet Relina to the medical center.” Eliza still looked as though she were unwilling to budge, though Talia’s eyes were growing unfocused. They could hear the metal man marching down the hall. Talia turned her head and began coughing violently.

“Get her out of here NOW!” Zelus yelled and Eliza stood up and put Talia’s arm over her shoulder.

“Let’s get you out of here.” Eliza spoke as the two limped towards the exit. Talia could see the light from the torches ahead of her. The ground and walls began to quake around them.

“Eliza, what has happened?” The Lion ran up on them, guards on either flank.

“Zelus needs help. He is all alone.” The Lion shot the two of them a worried look as his men ran inside the halls. Eliza sat Talia down and knelt to address her wound.

“We’re fine father, please help Zelus.” The Lion turned his attention back from his daughter and ward and moved towards the sounds of battle. Eliza pulled Talia’s dress up to her upper thigh to stop the bleeding.

“Oh my!” Eliza gasped as she backed away slightly, covering her hand with her mouth. Talia rolled her head down and saw that the wound on her hip had grown black and now had small veiny structures reaching out from its center and down her leg.

“Stay here Talia, I will be right back with a healer from the shrine. Don’t move.” Eliza stood and dashed off towards the temple. Talia turned her head behind her and saw the great statue of Alec near to her. Talia slid backwards the few feet between her and the statue and rested her upper body against it and looked up to the sky. The throbbing in her leg and hip did not seem as horrible now and she rested her eyes.

“I need you to watch over my body a little while longer.” Talia’s eyes snapped open and she looked up to the statue though, as she expected, it was still inanimate.

“Alec you need to come back. “THEY,” she emphasized, “have arrived in Valascaa and the council still pretends that nothing ever happened. I am not sure what more we can do.” She continued to sit but when she heard the guards calling out.

“He went that way!” Talia’s eyes shot open and saw the men pointing towards the west side of the nobles’ district.

“Alec!” Talia, as painful as it was, pushed up off the ground and ran as fast as she could hobble on her wounded leg. As she ran, she remembered just how much pain she was in but now she understood why the knight had come. He had started by searching the tombs and finding nothing, was headed towards the next most probable place. She managed to travel the rest of the way to the other side of the district and could see the gates to the labyrinth in sight. Off towards the north she could see the guards still searching for where the knight had gone, though Talia was certain that she was now the one in pursuit. She entered the gateway and looked around her.

“Talia!” She heard an aggressive whisper from behind her. She snapped her head around and saw that Zelus was beside her.

“Zelus, I think that it is here for Alec.”

“He and the Sidonis sword both.” Talia nodded her head and continued her limping sprint.

“Talia.” She turned to snap at Zelus.

“I am not going..” She stopped as Zelus held his arm out to her.

“Whatever this thing is Talia, I am going to need your help to take it out. Let me help you.” Talia reached out and allowed Zelus to take her weight off from her wounded leg, to which Talia was most grateful.

“In the name of the goddess, allow me access to the one I wish to protect.” Though the effects were unseen, Talia and Zelus both knew that the labyrinth would allow them unhindered access. They continued to press forward until they neared the marble gates, beyond which Alec rested. As suspected the gates were already ajar and so the two of them moved inside, being sure to watch for any signs of the intruder. As Zelus drew his weapon, Talia reached for her own and remembered the pain in her leg.

“I am alright.” She affirmed as Zelus reached to catch her, “I just need to test my weight on it first.” She began to practice placing weight on her leg, wincing all the while at the impossible feat.

“Allow me a look, if you please.” Talia nodded to Zelus as he knelt down, being sure to take a quick look around the room. He helped lower Talia to the ground and gently grasped her leg. Carefully he lifted the brim of Talia’s tattered dress, taking care to defend her modesty, until he could see her wound. Black web patterned veins had begun fanning out further all around the wound.

“Watch my back and take care...this is going to hurt.” Talia foolishly looked down as Zelus reached for the shard. Talia winced as she felt the shard begin to move as it had before when she attempted to remove it earlier but Zelus managed to grasp onto it and Talia felt an overwhelming amount of relief as the shard pulled free from her flesh.

“Thank you, Sir Zelus.” She whispered and paused as she noticed the shard glow in Zelus’ hand and begin to break apart.

“Zelus!” Talia lurched forward to see better as Zelus turned away and tensed as he stood straight.

“It is nothing, I am fine. How is your leg?” Talia looked down to her wound and, as she watched, the black veins begin to fade. She reached down with her right index finger outstretched and hummed quietly. She winced as she felt the bone realign and knew that if she were not careful, that it would simply break again until it had been given time to heal properly.

“Much better now, thank you.” She spoke as the wound disappeared.

“Good, now let us return to the task at hand.” Talia nodded her head and followed Zelus’ lead. Slowly they crept forward as they journeyed across the hall, afraid that the pounding of their anxious hearts would betray their position. Talia knew that the Aneiran blossom only lay a few more paces ahead. Zelus held up his hand for Talia to halt which she did. Zelus slowly ducked down and began to lean in to peek around the corner.

“Get back!” Zelus yelled as he grabbed Talia and leapt through the air.

“BOOM!” The wall they had used to conceal themselves crumbled, revealing the black armored knight beyond.

“Ready?” Talia rose from the ground as Zelus placed his shield in front of his body and eyed the knight.

“Ready!” He answered as they separated and attempted to surround the knight. Eying their opponent carefully, Talia and Zelus waited as the metallic man placed his hand out in front of himself and the force rune appeared in mid-air.

Talia jumped sideways as the blast stuck past her, rolling to an advantageous position opposite of Zelus. Zelus yelled out as he ran in to strike the heavily armored man, who responded by pulling his massive blade from his back. Zelus swung his sword and the massive blade of the death knight came hurtling horizontally toward him. Zelus dropped his body and rolled forward, bringing his momentum across his opponent’s hip. The metal man stumbled but still managed to swing again.

Zelus raised his shield arm in time to catch the blade but was forced onto his back. Talia struck. The black knight whipped his opposite arm upright and caught Talia’s blade on his gauntlet, knocking her and her blow sideways. Talia landed on all fours and could feel the pain in her leg beginning to return. She pushed herself up from the ground to lend aid to Zelus who had recovered and was now slashing at the massive man.

Easily outmatched, Zelus was knocked backward from the force of a kick that had landed against his torso. Holding out its empty, metal hand, the death knight channeled a rune and manifested a ball of flame. Turning his massive sword, he blocked Talia’s attack and threw the flame at the still recovering Zelus.

“Zelus look out!” Talia yelled as the blast hurtled towards him. Zelus weakly lifted his head and placed his hand in front of his body. As the flame burst, Talia reached into herself for her divinity. She placed her hands together, planted both palms on the knight’s chest and cast force, propelling him backwards. She turned back toward Zelus and watched as the flames struck him then wrapped around him, leaving him unscathed as they passed over him.

“Zelus how did you…?”

“Later, he is recovering.” Talia turned as the metal man began to rise, its armor creaking at the waist, where Talia had damaged it.

“Aim for its waist. We may not be able to kill it but, if we do enough damage to it, it will retreat,” Zelus commanded and Talia nodded her head as she began to chant.

“Force!” The death knight threw out his hand and Talia was forced to cease her chant in order to block the attack. The knight rose and held out both hands in front of its body. Immediately, multiple runes began to appear in the air. With little warning, a barrage of force runes activated, leaving Zelus and Talia no alternative but to give up the offensive. Several blasts rained against Talia’s shield, causing her to be propelled backward several steps at a time. Her leg screamed with discontent and the bone threatened to crumble apart on her at any moment. She looked over to see that Zelus was again using his strange power to knock the blasts one way or another, attempting to dissipate them.

As the barrage ended, Talia struggled to worm her arm out of her ruined shield and dropped it to the ground. She lifted her left arm across her body and using a quick chant encased her arm in a stone shield. Talia charged forward, feigning a blow from her sword and instead punched at the death knight. The death knight caught her hand and raised his sword. Talia smiled as the hidden force rune on her stone hand glowed. The knight again was launched across the building where it slammed into the marble wall, which cracked from the blow.

As Zelus and Talia regained their feet, they saw that they were now in sight of the tree housing Alec. Already Talia could feel herself growing more anxious as she and Zelus placed their backs to the magnificent tree. They still didn’t know how they were to kill the knight but they knew that they would need to end the fight soon. Talia was weary and could feel herself ready to faint. It had been sometime since she had used her powers and creation magic had always proven to be much more difficult to her than healing magic had ever been. She looked to her side and saw that Zelus was sweating profusely and was growing pale. Whatever this new power of his was, she could tell that it was extremely hard on him.

Their attention on the knight, they watched as he rose from the ground and placed both hands into the air. Suddenly the air felt heavy and the somehow the night sky became impermeable black. Though she knew they were surrounded by torch sconces, Talia could barely see a few feet in front of her. She could feel her knees buckle and she was reminded of Belias’ gravity manipulation. She could hear the sounds of the knight’s boots pounding on the ground but she could not make out from which direction the boot steps came. It was as if all of her senses had simultaneously given out and she thought she had gone blind until she saw a black fist appear out of the darkness and catch her in the chest.

Talia flew backwards and was soon accompanied by Zelus who barely managed to land on his knees. Talia strained to rise, her breath still far from her grasp. She stood to face her opponent, only a few feet between her and the tree that safeguarded Alec. Zelus steadied himself beside her.

“We cannot afford any more ground.” He spoke the obvious and Talia did her best to renew her defense.

“Scree!” She turned her head to see that Oz had finally arrived. He barreled into the metal man, knocking him to the ground as he began to rake the dark body with his talons.

“Talia! Zelus! Is he alright?” Talia still could barely see through the darkness but recognized the voice.

“Rowan?”

“Yes Eliza is on her way. She went to warn the guards of what we are facing.” Talia could hear Oz continuing to do battle with the knight.

“How did you get here?”

“I rode on Oz’s back.”

“Bird brain lets you ride him but I can’t even pet him?” Obviously, Zelus could still hear faintly as well. As the sounds of Oz lashing out at the death knight intensified, Talia noticed that the cloud of darkness began to weaken. She could begin making out the events that were transpiring around her.

“That isn’t important now. We need to get rid of this thing. Are you two ready?”

“Of course!” They both answered as Oz jumped off from the knight and floated back above him. Rowan looked over to them and the swirling black vortex that still hung in the air around them.

“First things first.” he muttered as he pulled his sword arm across his body. Rowan’s sword began to shine brightly as he slashed backhandedly through the mysterious fog enshrouding Talia and Zelus. Their senses returned to them as the cloud around them dissipated. Now Rowan, Talia, Zelus and Oz all bore down on the knight before them, the knight, devoid of expression or emotion, continued to stare forward. The head of the metal man tilted ever so slightly as if it were listening for something.

As Talia and her allies made ready to strike, the death knight returned its gaze to them.

“Force!” It cried as it threw out both of its hands. Talia’s earthen shield slammed into her chest, reaving her lungs of air. As she fell backwards, she could feel the knight’s gravity manipulating rune take effect. The combination of trauma and lack of oxygen made Talia’s head spin. She slowly rose, though the effort made her nauseous. She saw that Zelus was the only one among their group who was still upright. Rowan lay on the ground several feet away, struggling to reach his sword while Oz, who had taken the majority of both blasts, fought with everything he had to stand.

Zelus was all that stood between the knight and Alec and Talia was not liking Zelus’ odds. Zelus charged the creature and slashed at him. The death knight seemingly absorbed the blows without damage as it began its slow walk forward, its target the tree.

“I won’t let you harm him,” Talia strained to force the words out as she placed one hand forward and attempted to reach inside herself for her power. The knight continued to slowly move forward as Zelus wailed on him with everything he had. Quite differently from Belias, this knight was showing signs of damage but it almost seemed to Talia that Zelus was tiring at an unnatural rate and would soon have nothing left.

“I said that you will not touch him!” She yelled again and this time she felt as though Alec were near her. She turned back toward the Aneiran blossom and suddenly felt as if she had been struck with a surge of energy. Talia thrust out both of her hands as her body was seized by an unseen force and a beam of light burst from within the tree, enveloping her.

“BEGONE!” She cried and lightning burst from her body, illuminating the night sky and seemingly annihilating the death knight, who flew backwards several feet and lay still. Talia dropped to her knees, exhausted beyond belief, as the light left her and watched as her comrades rose from the ground. She turned her head back towards the tree to see that a veil was forming around her and her friends. She allowed it to embrace her and not only could she smell his natural musk but she could feel Alec’s warmth around her.

A loud creaking noise echoed in the night. The sound of metal grinding on metal pained her ears as the death knight rose from the ground, its armor breaking apart, revealing not the hollow insides she had expected but traces of flesh, blood and bone. She tried to rise but she lacked the strength. As the others recovered and attempted to finish the task at hand, the enemy knight lifted his hand into the sky and, after a moment, a pool of darkness appeared around him, swallowing him and then he was gone.

Talia rushed forward and frantically searched about for any signs of the armored man. Her efforts proved to be fruitless, however as no sign remained of their attacker. The effects of the gravity rune having ran its course, Rowan and Oz rose from the ground and began to dust or prim themselves respectively.

“Is everyone alright?” Talia asked as Zelus, as if waking from a bad dream blinked repeatedly before staring at her bewildered.

“I am fine, thank you. Nothing that I cannot manage.” He spoke as he pulled away from her, attempting to conceal his pulsating arm.

“Sir Zelus, might I examine your arm?”

“I said that I am fine!” Zelus snapped and turned away as Talia heard the sounds of their fellow knights approaching.

“By Aneira, are you alright?” Kristiana was the first to see the damage to the labyrinth. She arrived with a troop of knights and two of the most fear inducing, serrated blades that Talia had ever seen. Talia stood tall and straightened her arm across her chest in a formal salute.

“Ma’am, we engaged the target, though it managed to escape. We are scraped and bruised but otherwise ready to re-engage the enemy.” Kristiana waved off Talia’s salute even though it was required custom to formally address anyone associated with the council. Kristiana, being an elite agent of the council, this custom was practically law.

“Rest Relina, I am practically your mother. There is no need to be so formal.” Kristiana looked upon Zelus, Rowan and Oz and then turned towards the massive blooming Aneiran blossom. Kristiana lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Is he?” Talia knowing of what Kristiana spoke also lowered her voice as she turned her back to the new coming guards and faced the same direction as her adoptive aunt.

“Somehow our enemy knows. He is safe but we narrowly made it in time.”

“We must be sure to take up extra precautions from here on out. The games must commence, there is nothing I can do to dissuade the council of that now. We will have to remain vigilant. I will arrange for a patrol to be stationed around the labyrinth for now. I will think of an excuse to ensure that you are allowed access, don’t worry.” Kristiana placed her hand on Talia’s shoulder and gave her a sympathetic hug.

“We were unprepared for a death knight attacking from within the capital. I am sorry Kristiana.”

“It is not your fault. I have Eliza and the rest of the knights outside the walls scouring for any other intruders. Whomever carried out this attack, was well prepared and organized. They possess knowledge that most of our allies lack.”

Talia turned to face Kristiana.

“There was more than one intruder? Were the walls attacked? Are the townspeople safe?”

”Everything is fine. No need to alarm yourself. Some minor injuries and some scared livestock is all. Nothing to concern yourself with there.” Again, Talia felt Kristiana pull her in close to whisper something to her. “There is one thing that you need to hear however before the truth is lost to the voice of the council.” Talia again looked up at her and saw that she bore a most mournful expression.

“What is it?” Talia grew fearful as Kristiana seemed haunted by the thought of speaking on what she knew.

“The halls of the honorable dead have been ransacked. Several tombs, twelve in total, belonging to a number of noble houses, have been raided and only the remains appear to be missing, Marec’s is among those that are missing.”