Chapter 14: Two against one

7 January 5555

Zen Varum, outskirts of village

[Kalvin Clarke]

Kalvin dodged the beam of the Skythen with ease. He knew that this was going to be a long fight with him not having any ranged weapon or spells. Kalvin was not able to fathom the way the skythens fire their beams. This was no ordinary spell.

Tyki and Raoul now realise that the blank-faced enemy at hand was no ordinary human, possibly a backup mage that the barbarians have employed, there is odd something about this foe, the way his 3's pression stays the same, the way he moves, it feels lacklustre yet sharp, dead yet alive. There is something seriously wrong with Kalvin. The skythens knew that they have to defeat him, and quick.

The two skythens descended a little lower and fired multiple blasts at Kalvin, destroying the land but however missing the opponent by a inch everytime it was about to land. Kalvin, taking the chance that they were flying lower, immediately created two extra limbs and leapt like a cricket towards Tyki's right, right after Tyki's last blast which barely scraped through his shoulder.

"On your right!" Raoul roared towards Tyki. Kalvin wasted no time and grabbed Tyki tightly by his throat, preparing to drag the thinner skythen onto the ground, possibly breaking some of his bones. Tyki now realises his folly of flying lower to increase the possibility of hitting the strange man before him. Panicking, Tyki dropped his spear and attempted to use a more versatile way of attacking, with the beams that can now be fired from his hands.

Readying for a shot to Kalvin's heart, Tyki took aim. However, the prodigy was not going to let that happen. Grabbing tightly to Tyki's firing arm, Kalvin forcefully pushed it away. The beam of light flew into the sky, a beautiful scenery if only it wasn't so deadly. As the prodigy grabbed the crippled skythen by the throat, Tyki braced himself for pain.

Raoul dropped his spear and rushed over to save his ally, but it was too late, The two enemies crashed into the ground with Kalvin mounting over the perished Skythen, with his neck broken by the force of the impact and the grip of Kalvin's arm.

"YOU!" Raoul screamt as he threw a punch fortified by the speed of his flight towards Kalvin's face. Sucessfully hitting the murderer for the first time and sending him flying metres away and finally crashing onto the dirt once more. Raoul took a looked at his throbbing fist, and then at Tyki. He knew that he got in a clean hit, but however it was not enough to bring him down. Any carelessness shown will lead to his demise just like his buddy over there.

Chapter 13: The Angels and the Prodigy

7 January 5555
Oberolis
[Luke Carlson]

After nearly escaping death, Luke Carlson returned safely to the Sky City, Oberolis, and met up with three of his closest comrades.

"There. Your eye should be fine now Luke," said Luke's friend, Tyki as he patched up Luke’s wound. "Those darned mages!!!" scowled Luke in rage.

"I know I know.. Stop it Luke, it’s awfully annoying to hear you complain after a while now," said Raoul, a bald headed Skythen, another of Luke’s comrades. Luke calmed down to reorient his thoughts which flooded his mind. His eyes sparkled with determination.

"Let's strike them together. All four of us,” proposed Luke all of a sudden.
His other three friends blinked.

"Are they really that strong?" asked Raoul.

"No, but I want to ensure their annihilation," Luke growled."I need your help in achieving that.”

The three of them glanced at each other as if they could come to an agreement simply by the look in their eyes.

"Ah, if its what Luke wants.." Tyki said.

The four Skythens then wasted no time and headed to the Armory to obtain their spears. Without hesitation, Luke led them on their journey to the barbarian base at Zen Varum.

******
Hours later
Barbarian Base of Bluebeard at Zen Varum


[Luke Carlson]

Melvin, the third of Luke's friend, was the first to arrive. Using his "skycat" powers, he had transformed into a winged cat that soared at breakneck speed. Gripping his spear tightly with his fangs, Melvin located the barbarian base a few miles ahead. He glanced behind him into the distance to see only the clear sky. The others were way behind him.

"They're slow," snickered Melvin to himself as he skyrocketed towards the base, emerging from the clouds above.

"Skythen!!" hollered the barbarian guards, and raised their bronze daggers at Melvin who hovered above them.

"I guess I'll do a little bit of cleaning up before the others arrive,” said Melvin to himself. He swooped upon the guards and fired quick beams of Light energy with his spear. The guards were immediately fried, collapsing onto the ground. Their skin was severely scorched.

"Too quick.. They couldn’t even react. This isn’t fun,” mumbled Melvin as he landed on the ground, morphing back to his human form.

He raised his spear and began to randomly fire beams of Light energy at the gate of the heavily fortified barbarian base and the sentry towers around it, charring everything he assumed was property of the barbarians. Melvin restrained the urge to intrude into the base by flying over its fortified walls. It wouldn’t be such a grand entrance if he swooped in by himself.

"This guy's beserk!!" howled the barbarian frantically as he barged into Bluebeard’s tent at the heart of the base. "Boss!!!"

Arkos and Bluebeard were playing a game of poker while Stex was admiring Bluebeard's pelt-covered throne when the barbarian intruded and disrupted their game. Bluebeard ignored his subordinate, and instead played another card from his hand. He was awfully reliant on his hired guardians that he disregarded the seriousness of the situation.

"Damn..." muttered Stex and marched over to the front entrance.

"Wait up, partner!" exclaimed Arkos as he placed his cards faced down on the table, got up and hurried after Stex.

"Come back quickly and finish the game!" shouted Bluebeard at the two mages and took a peek at Arkos's cards. He put an awful lot of confidence on the two mages to finish off the Skythens.

Meanwhile, Luke, Raoul and Tyki arrived and caught up with Melvin, who had already set all the sentry towers ablaze with Light magic.

"Melvin! You bastard!" cursed Raoul. "You didn’t leave any for us!"

"I did, Raoul, which is precisely why I did not enter the base."

The four Skythens have finally assembled, keen on reducing the base to ashes. "Let’s do an opening shot," suggested Luke.

The four of them aimed their spears towards the metal gates. All at once, they discharged a powerful blast of blinding Light energy at the gates. Not only the gates, but the fortification adjacent to it exploded to fragments.
"Now!” commanded Luke.

The Skythens charged in valiantly with their spears aimed towards the barbarians, burning the tents and slaughtering the barbarians like ants. Arkos and Stex looked from a distance, and proceeded back into the tent.

"There’s four of them Mister Bluebeard. That previous Skythen had brought his buddies along. I say we retreat," Arkos suggested.

Just then, a stray Light beam tore into the tent, sizzling through Arkos’ hair. The mercenaries quickly took cover as more Light beams penetrated the walls, forming holes everywhere. Arkos, Stex, and Bluebeard were however safe thanks to Stex's Mirror magic. He had conjured up several mirrors around the trio, which deflected the oncoming Light rays. The ceiling and walls of Bluebeard’s tent soon gave in to all the damage and collapsed onto the ground, revealing the three scums inside.

"Found you, feeble humans," sneered Luke.

Raoul, Melvin and Tyki quickly surrounded the three men and aimed their spears at them.

"Stex, cover us,” ordered Arkos.

At that instant, mirrors started forming around the three men and enclosed them in a cube-like mirror barrier, shielding them from any Light magic. The three men had a clear view of everything outside the barrier. However, from outside, all the Skythens could see was just their own reflections on the at every face of the barrier.

"Dont shoot!" commanded Luke. "Whatever this is, it reflects our magic!"

"Let the party begin!" shouted Arkos.

Suddenly hundreds of silver arrows darted out from below the Skythen's feet. Bluebeard had commanded his men to bury metallic arrows around the tent right, soon after the raid that Luke launched on them. A smart trap indeed, thought the mercenaries.

"As mages, we can’t fight head on, which is why we use our wits to win battles instead of charging head on like you Skythens," commented Arkos. The arrows pierced through Raoul and Tyki's legs. The two of them weren’t capable of quickly escaping to the skies like Luke and Melvin.

Tyki and Raoul screamed in excruciation, unable to stand on their feet properly. Tyki had two arrows pierced up his knees while Raoul had one on his foot and another in his shin. A number of levitating arrows circled around the mirror cube, forming the perfect defence and offense.

"You two shall retreat immediately. Luke and I will take care of things here. Go back and rest," instructed Melvin.

"Darn it!!" barked Raoul, as blood oozed out his wounds and dripped onto the ground. He was completely dissatisfied.

"Let’s go, Raoul,” called Tyki as the two Skythens zoomed into the horizon, not intending to risk their lives battling crippled. Being able to levitate in the air freely was a blessing to the Skythens.
"Now it’s just the two of us Luke," said Melvin. "We're the two strongest people around here, you're got the most destructive abilities I’ve ever seen and I've got the quickest speed in my Skycat mode."

A few arrows surrounding the mirror cube flew towards the two Skythens. They parried the arrows away with ease with their spears.

"Looks like it’s a stalemate from this moment on," said Luke, still levitating in mid air with Melvin. "Whatever we do, we can’t land now, who knows what other traps have in store for us?"

Just then, the ‘mirror cube’ unexpectedly ascended into the air, along with the arrows circling it. The Skythens watched in mere astonishment. Stex was levitating the cube with his magic. The perfect offense and defense.


"If we get hit by too many of those, we might really die." Melvin said, " I have a plan, lets aim for the "tips" of those cubes, they're probably the more fragile parts of it."

"Be careful Melvin, if you hit any part other than the tip, your magic will be reflected right back."


Just then, five arrows orbiting around the cube suddenly flew out towarads the skythens. "Perish!!" Arkos screamt. The two skythens deflected the arrows with ease. "Time to act Mel, this is do or die."


Melvin transformed into a winged cat and they both started circling around the cube, trying to find an opening and at the same time, dodge the arrows that were fired at random towards the skythens.


"If only Raoul was here. Hes one of our most offensive skythens." Luke muttered under his breath and aimed at one of the 8 tips of the cube, sucess! Firing a immensely concentrated beam of light, it hit the top directly and the cube started forming a little crack. "Its working Mel." Luke whispered as he flew past Melvin. And they continued their "Tip tactic" on their three foes.

"This isnt good.." Bluebeard mutter from inside the cube. "Should I use my Shaman technique to surprise them? But if I do, these two mecenaries would find out about my technique which I've kept secret for so long.." Bluebeard thought. The skythens conti nued circling arond the cube which was protected by arrows orbiting around it, they cant fly too close.

"Let them fly." Stex said. "they'll get tired soon enough.". "So will we, we might run out of magic soon." Arkos said. "I have already prepared a potion here for the both of us. It would allow us to replenish our mana, here have some." Stex said as he passed Arkos a vial of blue, translucent, liquid. Arkos immediately drank some and felt a surge of mana flowing through his body once again. "How many more of this do you have?" Arkos asked

"Two more." Stex said. "Should be enough." As soon as Stex finished his sentence, outside the Cube, Luke has suscessfully shot at another tip of the cube, causing a small crack.

As Raoul and Tyki were slowly levitating away, Tyki noticed the shadow of a man coming from the village outskirts of Zen Varum. It was Kalvin, and he had been resting up since the fight after the orcs. The prodigy immediately noticed the Skythens as well as the injuries on their legs. Curiousity struck Kalvin again as he waved his newly accquired wand at the two skythens, attempting a fire a bolt of lightning at them as he had witnessed from the orcs. Shamefully, nothing appeared.

"Damn the wand is broken" thought Kalvin to himself. Never once doubting his personal learning skills and snapped the wand into two.

"Its a hostile!!" Shouted Tyki as he aimed a blast towards the prodigy.

Chapter 12: The DragonSlayer and The Prince

3 January 5555
Rubyworth Forest
[Zach McCarthy]


Zach's body felt heavy, he knew he had to do something, and quick.

"Who the hell are you?" Zack managed to mutter weakly, attempting to push himself up despite the effects of the unknown spell.

"Do not bother trying to get up Dragonslayer. No physical body can stand up to a spell." The cloaked man muttered with a cold, but confindent tone.

Last thing Zach remembered was having his face stepped on by the man while the dragon behind him grunted with anticipation.

--------------------------
7 January 5555
Outskirts of Central Empiria
[King Claude IV]

The Empirians who wished to obtain the Sceptre had a marvellous advantage in comparison to their fellow rivals in other provinces. This is because the shortest route to The Heart of Athenaeus is two-thirds colonized by the Empirian empire. Nonetheless, despite a rather convenient journey these men undertake, they have yet to conceive what dangers await them on the last leg of this treacherous race.

King Claude was drastically confident that he will rise above all the others and claim his prize. All he had to do was march through the boundary of Davesbury Forest which would lead him to one of the 4 Forsakan Lands of Athenaeus, Vulcan’s Lair, which was his final highway to the Sceptre of Omnipotence.

Blaine realized that his King was heading North-East instead of the direction towards Davesbury, South-East.

Your Majesty, I am doubtless that our road here leads to Florencis. Shouldn’t we be heading South for Davesbury?” asked Blaine as his horse galloped alongside Claude’s.

“Blaine, Blaine, always boldly questioning your king, are you?” retorted the young ruler, shaking his head. Blaine’s eyes locked coldly on his ‘superior’, calmly waiting for an explanation. “Those wretched Elves at Davesbury, I’ve finally had it with them,” muttered the king.
“They’re always asking for something in return. The empire has given them peace for over a century. We own their goddamned land so they should be serving us as slaves! Their needs are none of our business, why in the world are we repaying them the favour of security when they should learn to protect their own bony posteriors,” he articulated.

Blaine turned his attention to the road ahead. Beyond these plains is Florencis, where the menacing predators hide in the shadows as they amplified their lust for the blood of elves. The Empirian guards who watch over Davesbury are their only and most deadly obstacle.

“We won’t be needing them anymore after the Sceptre is officially in my possession. I’m getting rid of them,” declared Claude, a sadistic grin widened on his face. Blaine gasped in horror of what he is hearing. “

You wish to end our century old diplomatic ties with the elves? Sire, this is absurdity! Your fathers have worked hard to keep the elves under their protection so that the elves in turn will serve us!” protested Blaine angrily. Claude narrowed his eyes in disappointment with his advisor.

“The consequences will be extremely drastic for the Empire, sire,” continued Blaine. “Without our elves, we will lose our backbone of our economy! The Empire will collapse and-“

“Enough!” yelled Claude in rage. He tugged hard on the reins, halting his horse, along with the entire convoy of horsemen.

“You bloody old rat, I’ve had it with you and your repulsive bickering!” barked Claude as advisor. Blaine turned to him and flashed an icy stare into the king’s royal eyes. “One more stupid argument from you, you old retard, and I’ll slice than wrinkly envious head of yours off your neck. Now apologize to me,” ordered Claude.

Blaine muttered curses under his breath before he lowered his head in submission to his king. “Forgive me, your highness,” he growled, before he raised his head once more, avoiding the gaze of his king. Claude’s grin appeared on his face once more. At his command, he led his men once more on the road towards Florencis.

Chapter 11: Orc Slayer

3 Jan 5555
Orcus plateau
[Kalvin Clarke]

With the help of his new magic skills, he clambered up the steep rock wall like a frenzied lizard without any difficulty whatsoever. After all, he had, literally, ‘helping hands’ which branched out of his knees and shoulders like tree branches as he ascended upwards.

After half an hour of climbing, Kalvin was already only few metres below the peak of the mountain. The air was much cooler and it appears that the peak was shrouded in mist. Tirelessly, he continued to ascend and a thin layer of clouds obscured his view of the ground. Soon, he hears noises coming from the top of the mountain. They seem to be voices, a bizarre cacophony of grunts, roars and screeches, far from human. The din only invoked Kalvin’s curiosity to discover what lies on the peak of this mountain. He doubled his pace in scaling the mountain, finally reaching the peak ten seconds later.

Kalvin heaved himself up to the peak of the mountain and stood up. He took a few steps forward, he was surrounded by thick fog. The weird voices echoed in the distance. He darted forward through the fog advancing closer and closer to the source of the noises.

Within moments, he found himself on standing on a small cliff, overlooking vast plains, specked with hundreds of tiny beings running around. It was a massive village comprising of ten thousand mud huts, bustling with activity. The countless villagers, scrambling from one hut to another, were definitely not humans.

Though he was excited, Kalvin’s face remained as cold as ever. With the agility of a cat, he somersaulted off the cliff and plunged down onto the plains below, landing perfectly with both feet on the sandy ground. He stared ahead at the village, about a few yards from where he stood. The creatures did not seem to notice him walking closer and closer to their town.

They were small, midget-like humans whose features resembled apes. They were bald and had bark-coloured skin, and were sparsely dressed, revealing their stout, rotund statures. Kalvin had absolutely no idea who these creatures are but they are known to mankind as the Orcs.

Only a few paces away from the outermost hut, some of the Orcs started to notice Kalvin approaching them. They shrieked in hysteria, darting off into the village and hollering out madly to warn the others of their uninvited guest. Soon, the whole village burst into insane chaos, with everyone fumbling in and out of their huts, completely baffled at this unforeseen occurrence. It appears as if these maniacs have never had visitors in a long time, thought Kalvin as he walked through the aisle which led to the centre of the village.

Moments later, the ground began to tremor. Up ahead, Kalvin saw a huge cloud of dust, moving in his direction. It was the Orcs, rampaging their way up to him, waving their clubs and swords in the air. Kalvin raised his eyebrows, completely unmoved by the fact that he might be trampled alive by these moonstruck midgets. Huts crumbled in the path of the deranged Orc warriors as they had their sights set on their intruder. Kalvin waited for the stampede to advance closer to him. He’d been craving for a good challenge in days.

In a blink of an eye, Kalvin zoomed right into the stampede. The Orcs halted in mere disbelief. He stood in the middle of the entire army, looking right and left, mocking his opponents. Without hesitation, the Orcs sprung into action, flailing their weapons aimlessly in every direction, hoping to land a blow on the man. Instead, they knocked themselves out one by one, as Kalvin parried every attack upon him with his generated limbs.

The half-witted Orcs only pulverized their own comrades in this uncontrollable fray, leaving their sole enemy to easily batter the last remaining few to death. Some even cowardly attempted to retreat but their fate was just similar to those who stood their ground. Kalvin would pummel them rapidly, shattering every bone in their bodies.

Within five meagre minutes, the entire Orc army was obliterated. Some A young Orc came running up to Kalvin and gallantly attempted to bite his shin. He wasted no time and with one ruthless punt to its head, he sent it flying across the battlefield and crashing into the roof of a hut.

Suddenly a loud explosion thundered in the sky above him. Showers of fireballs were descending towards him from above. In a flash, he leaped over the Orc corpses around him, dodging every fireball that collapsed onto the ground. They were definitely no ordinary meteors, as more continued to rain on him whichever direction he went. The corpses and the huts were soon reduced to ashes as the whole village was set ablaze.

Kalvin then realized what was happening. As he leaped onto the roof of a near hut, he noticed in the distance, a group of about forty Orcs standing in a formation on the outskirts of the village. Behind them, stood a massive, horned Orc, clad in bulky metal armour and deadly-looking gauntlets. The other ordinary Orcs around him were clad in silver chain mail and were waving their wooden rods in the air, in strange circular motions. Kalvin realized they were Orc shamans, desperately trying to kill him by casting their spells. The huge, menacing looking one must be their leader, he thought.

The Orc shamans fruitlessly destroyed their village with every miss of their unconquerable target. Kalvin leaped from one roof to another towards the Orc shamans, leaving behind a trail of scorched rubble behind him with every meteor explosion. He sprung one last time off the last roof, and swooped upon the Orc shamans.

They surrounded him with their wands pointing towards him. The Orc leader let out a furious roar which echoed into the distance, but Kalvin did not feel one bit intimidated. His eyes met the Orc leader’s when suddenly a blue orb of light appeared above the leader’s left shoulder. The orb then turned into a petite, slender creature which stood on the shoulder of his boss. Its eyes twinkled in the sunlight as it gave Kalvin a nasty grin.

“Welcome to Orcus Plateau, human,” spoke the creature in a shrill, cunning voice. Kalvin stared at it silently.

“I am Kara Kiri the goblin, and this is our King, his Greatness, Goro Gombobo. His Greatness says that you have atrociously wiped out the entire tribe of Goro Goro and wants to make a negotiation,” screeched the goblin sinisterly. “His Greatness wants you, human, to surrender and we will spare your life. But you must henceforth live of servitude to His Greatness. What say you, human?”

The goblin waited a few moments for the intruder to reply. However Kalvin remained silent and kept his eyes fixed on the amusing creature, trying to contain the urge to respond with a nasty kick to the jaw. Other thoughts too, whirled in his mind.

Is this guy for real? Why does the hell does he have to use big words? Does he really think I'm gonna sell my soul for these butt-faced losers?

The Orc boss suddenly bellowed again in impatience, startling the goblin who hastily seized his master’s thick neck to keep himself from falling off.

“Aiyeee! His Greatness has had enough of your foolish antics! Surrender now and humbly bow before His Greatness or be annihilated!” screeched the goblin waggling his tiny clenched fist in the air. The Orcs gave their enemy a final chance to respond.

Kalvin blinked.

The Orc leader then went berserk and shattered the silence with a wrathful roar at his enemy. He clasped his huge hands together and hammered the ground, setting off a deadly fissure pulsating towards Kalvin. Kalvin reacted effectively, leaping up onto the nearest Orc shaman and delivered a bone-shattering kick to its skull. The victim groaned in pain and tumbled helplessly into the fissure.

The Orc leader then lowered his head, his horns glistened in the sunlight, intending to gore his foe to death. He charged towards Kalvin like a provoked bull. But Kalvin was too fast for him, luring the rampaging Orc leader to accidentally obliterate his own wand-waving minions, one after another. The goblin on his shoulder grabbed hold tightly to his shoulder guard, squealing meaninglessly, asking his master to stop.

The remaining orc shamans desperately yelped out incantations, waving their wands in the air. Fireballs continued to rain from the sky, massive frozen spikes emerged from the ground, blue lightning bolts blasted out their wands. Yet every attempt to attack their enemy backfired as the predictable and unforgivably harebrained Orc shamans continued to unintentionally vanquish their own comrades.

Only five orc shamans remained unscathed and finally the Orc leader screeched to a halt. His eyes suddenly glowed a bright red. Kalvin suddenly found himself immobile. His feet had turned to stone and he was rooted firmly to the ground.

The goblin giggled hysterically, sitting on his exhausted master’s crown. The Orc leader appears not to have much stamina, thought Kalvin as he watched his main enemy panted heavily. The five Orc shamans aimed their wands at Kalvin in rage.
“Farewell puny human!” declared the goblin.

All at once, five devastating missiles blasted out their wands and bolted towards Kalvin. The Orcs smiled in satisfaction at the cloud of black smoke wisped into the air, shrouding the aftermath of the explosion. As the smoke faded, sadistic grins formed on the horrid faces of the Orcs, as they waited to see the body of their defeated enemy. However their happiness was short lived and turned into immense shock as they stared at Kalvin.

He was sitting on the ground, completely unharmed. The Orcs had, unfortunately, missed their target again. Kalvin yawned as he stood up, his feet still implanted on the ground as he anticipated the enemy’s next move.

The Orc leader then roared in impatience, shoving his minions aside and charged at Kalvin once more. His goblin advisor hopped onto the ground, realizing that he could have been the next accidental victim. Kalvin initiated a countdown in his mind, he needed to muster enough strength to neutralize the impact of the collision. He knew exactly when to strike.

At the moment the horns of the Orc leader was only a foot’s length from his neck, he unleashed about twenty arms from his body, with all its hands seizing securely onto the bulky skull of the Orc leader. The Orc leader grunted and pushed tenaciously, kicking back the dirt and sand off the ground, but it was futile. Kalvin had caught him by the horns.

Four more legs then sprouted out Kalvin’s things, and they repeatedly battered against the torso of the Orc leader, crushing his ribs, sending blood splattering out his fangs. The other Orcs and the goblin watched in pure horror as their forsaken king was pounded ruthlessly by this mysterious, devilish man. Soon, the Orc leader fell unconscious as all his strength was drained away. As soon as Kalvin realized this, he stopped kicking his foe. He turned his attention to his implanted feet as the rock layer vibrated and then crumbled into dust, revealing his gray, stained toes.

The other Orcs became instantly panic stricken, dropping their wands and and hustled away in fear. Kalvin noticed them attempting to escape. Without hesitation, his twenty-two hands only grasped harder onto the Orc leader as he spun around, swinging the body of the five-hundred pound Orc leader in mid air. He twirled and twirled, picking up speed at every turn.

In a mere 5 seconds, he transformed into a calamitous tornado of dust, sucking up the surviving Orcs into his vortex. The goblin managed to vanish into a blue orb of light in the nick of time. With a sudden halt, the Orc leader, together with the other Orc shamans catapulted into the skies, far beyond the boundaries of the plateau.

Kalvin then sat down on the ground to rest. He looked around, there was not a soul in sight. This had definitely been one great achievement – to be responsible for the extinction of the Orcs of Orcus Plateau. He then noticed one of the discarded wands which was previously used by an Orc shaman. He walked over to it and picked it up.

This’ll make a good souvenir, thought Kalvin to himself.

Chapter 10: Royal Imbecile

3 January 5555
Central Empiria
Outside the gates of the Empirian Palace
[King Claude IV]

King Claude has decided to set out to find the Scepter of Omnipotence and claim it for himself. Bringing along with him an army of generals, Claude set out towards the middle of Athenaeus, where he received information from his royal seers that it would be the most likely place where the Sceptre of Omnipotence would be located at.

After Claude had bid farewell to his people, the he assembled his party of fifty men - his elite band of generals, royal archmages, crossbow archers, mystic doctors and knights. He appointed Blaine, his royal advisor to be his navigator, as Blaine had studied the ancient scrolls and scriptures all his life. Blaine was exceptionally knowledgeable of the whereabouts of their goal than anyone else.

Ironically, Blaine voiced out his opinions to his King before they set off, in hope of changing his mind.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, embarking on the journey to obtain the Sceptre is a perilous undertaking! Ravenous beasts savage the island, thirsty for the blood of humans," said Blaine.

Claude was hesitant on answering. There was no way he was going to give up this quest after years and years of planning. He'd been preparing for this day the moment he became King.

"I already know that Blaine, but with my army of veteran fighters, I doubt that any of such 'beasts' would stand a chance. Have faith Blaine, every being on this confounded planet shall be Empirians when we return victorious," said Claude, overconfident as ever. His eyes surveyed his companions as he rounded final checks. They were all on horseback and readily armed.

Blaine opened his mouth to reprimand his Lord's foolish overconfidence, but he changed his mind and mounted onto his horse. Even if he did speak, it would be pointless. Claude had always been an adamant, selfish brat since the day he was born. His parents died trying to make him a strong conqueror, they neglected his moral values.

"Curse those harebrained morons, for they have given birth to an imbecile," thought Blaine to himself, in reference to Claude's parents.

He strongly felt that HE should be given the crown of Empiria since he is so much more deserving than Claude. He clutched tightly onto the reins of the bridle, trying to contain his rage. The day will come, he reassured himself.

"Onward to victory! For Empiria!" declared Claude , raising his sword into the air, firing up his white stallion, Hurricane. His warriors cheered and the party galloped off into the woods.

Chapter ９: Arkos and Stex

3 January 5555
Zen Varum
Barbarian base in the South
[Luke Carlson]

The two masked mages stepped out of the tent, and saw Luke the Skythen slaughtering the barbarians with his beams of light.

"Brutal one isn't he Stex? Appearances can be unfortunately deceiving," Arkos smirked.

"Indeed Arkos, he looks our age. Pretty amazing for someone who isn't a mage," Stex replied.

The two mages advanced slowly towards Luke, scraps and pieces of weapons and metal started levitating around the two mages. This of course, caught Luke's attention. His fists was still flaring with light magic.

"Die Skythen!" screamed Arkos as the metal scraps orbiting around the two mages darted towards Luke.

The attack succeeded in taking Luke by surprise. He sustained several cuts to his body, despite being able to evade most of the projectiles - the most critical one being a piece of iron which pierced directly above his right eye.

"ARGGHH!!!" Luke yelled in pain as he realized should shard had hit his right eye, it would permanently render him blind. He yanked the iron shard off his face, blood oozed out his scar.

"Too easy," smirked Arkos as both the mages continued to advance towards the Skythen.
"Too late for regrets now Skythen, why not use that beam of yours and finish us off?" Stex smirked.

Upon hearing this, Luke fumed with anger, taking a huge leap back. Both his hands glowed immensely, arming himself with a gigantic proportion of Light Beam to be fired at the mages. It'll be such a joy to watch his foes be obliterated in the feeble attempt to challenge the speed of light.

"I told you he's a brutal one. He plans to disintegrate us," voiced Arkos, still grinning in amusement.

As two shots of light beam bolted towards the the two mages, just moments away from meeting their target, they got deflected away, sending stray beams of light flying in all directions.

"What!?" Luke gasped, squinting his eyes to comprehend his error. Mirrors! A huge square mirror formed by four smaller mirrors stood in his way between him and the mages, acting as a shield.

The two mages procceded closer towards the Skythen. More metallic shards accompanied them at every step they took.

"Damn, I can't beat them!" snarled Luke to himself. He fired a blast of light onto the ground, sending filthy chunks of mud and gravel flying everywhere. Dust clouded the mages' vision. At the wave of both hands, his levitational powers pushed him off the ground. In a flash, he took off to the skies before they could fully regroup.

"Get him!!" scowled Stex as the pieces of metal were flung up towards Luke, hoping to impale him before he escapes. But it was too late, Luke had was now a mere speck in the sky.

"Damn," Arkos muttered to himself as the metal pieces rained back onto the ground. Stex silenced in utter disappointment.

Chapter ８: Vengeance

3 January 5555
Zen Varum
Barbarian base in the South
[Luke Carlson]

Ten days preceding the terrible massacre at Oberolis, Luke managed to locate the barbarians' main base.

"It's Carlson!!" shouted a barbarian on sentry duty, and raised his spear as he noticed the Skythen walked closer and closer to the main gates of the barbarian's base. The guard swallowed hard and could feel his knees trembling. He was well aware that the man approaching in his direction was no ordinary Skythen.

A tall lanky barbarian holding a bronze knife stepped outside to check on his comrade. He noticed his comrade was sweating profusely as the menacing looking Skythen continued on his march towards the tent.

"Boss!" screamed the lanky barbarian, also overwhelmed with fear, pointed his blade towards Luke, creating a futile warning gesture.

Luke frowned a little, raised his hand towards his victim and a fired a radiant beam of light at the guard. Within a blink of an eye, the beam easily ate through the man's forehead, dealing instant fatality. The barbarian collapsed onto the ground, smoke emanated from the hole in his head. The other barbarian immediately took off, running into the base.

"Hes back for revenge! That skythen!! Carlson is back!" he screamed, frantically waving his arms to alert everyone else.

A heavily ornamented throne positioned in the centre of the tent was covered with the fur of tiger and wolves. On the throne, sat a huge burly man with strange blue beard.

"He's finally arrived huh?" asked the boss. "Fear not, I've brought reinforcements with me. Arkos! Stex!"

A huge puff of black smoke appear from behind the throne. When the smoke cleared, two masked figures stood before them. Both wearing long-sleeved robes and were fairly built.

"You summoned us, Mr.Bluebeard?" One of the mask figure said.

"Your target has arrived. Destroy him," commanded Bluebeard the Barbarian Warlord.

Chapter ７: Dragonbreath

3 January 5555
Rubyworth Forest
[Zach McCarthy]

“Whoa, Paladin. I smell dragonbreath,” said Zach to his pearl-coloured horse, and dismounted.

His darkened silver armor sparkled in the light rays which penetrated the Rubyworth forest canopy. Zach, the supreme commander of the Knights of Azurlantis, was also a fearsome dragonslayer. No dragon has ever managed to overpower his abilities, his deep hatred for them usually the driving force behind his victories.

He took a few steps away from his horse. His blood suddenly started to surge as the lucid, incredibly rancid scent of dragonbreath filled his nostrils. Paladin recognized this just as well as his master, continuously stomping the ground hard. Zach shut down his visor, he could hear the slight brushes in the trees, he doubted it to be merely the wind. His right hand clenched onto his broadsword. A mist started to come in, visibility was scarce. He had no choice but to rely on his sense of smell to trace down his beastly target.

He then noticed a dark figure, standing behind a couple of trees about twenty paces away. It was a man, his back was facing Zach. Zach’s eyes squinted behind the viewing holes behind his visor. The man was motionless, had no sign of company and did not have any belongings whatsoever. He was shrouded in mist, which only made him look like a ghost.

“Hey! You over there! Get out of here this instant! There’s a dragon lurking around here somewhere!” warned Zach from where he stood.

The man mysteriously refused to budge. Zach was furious. Who would be sane enough to stand alone in the middle of the woods, in the thick fog, with the manifest presence of a dragon? He dashed towards the man.

Suddenly there was a loud smash and a tree came toppling down on Zach. He quickly dodged out of the way as the tree trunk came collapsing to the forest floor with a giant thud. Zach’s hearing saved him once more. He was merely an arm’s length away from the man when the tree fell between them.

A thunderous roar, followed by a mighty gust of wind stormed towards Zach. In a blink of an eye, the mist had cleared, and there it stood. A massive, sable-scaled dragon with huge, dagger-like teeth grunted at Zach. Its forelegs were the size of tree-stumps and it was standing on its enormous hind legs, towering about three times the height of a man. Within seconds, the dragon’s jaws opened up and plummeted towards the dragonslayer.

As quick as lightning, Zach got up on his legs and swished his sword in the air, wounding the dragon’s snout. His eyes blazed in fury as he charged towards the beast, landing quick blows at its feet. The dragon lashed his blows away with a quick swipe of its spiked tail. It then heaved hard and exhaled a deadly ball of fire which exploded at Zach. His suit was instantly enveloped in flames but was extinguished within seconds. He leaped towards the dragon’s torso and unleashed a ferocity of slashes with all his might.

The dragon bellowed in pain as it flinched, erasing its underestimation of its target. Paladin suddenly came hurdling in and Zach leaped onto his steed. He charged at his victim at full speed, with the intention of beheading it with a final blow of his sword.

Suddenly, tendrils of cackling green energy bolted out of nowhere and entwined onto Paladin’s hooves. The horse neighed in extreme shock and anguish, it collapsed onto the ground, bringing its rider down with it. The green energy cackled with sparks and chained onto Zach’s fists and legs, rendering him with immobility. He screeched in excruciating pain as the chains of energy burnt through his armor, sizzling into his flesh.

The dragon growled at Zach as he struggled to free himself from the spell. He noticed the man he saw earlier emerged from behind the dragon. The man was cloaked, his eyes remained hidden in the shade of his hood. He smiled at Zach.

“I’ve got you now, dragonslayer. It’s time you receive retribution for your inhumane ways.”

Chapter 6: Descent of Omnipotence

1 January 5555
The Heart of Athenaeus

Every living soul on Athenaeus shuddered as thunder roared and lighthing pierced the scarlet sky. It was 10 seconds to midnight - kings and queens, knights and sorcerors, sages and youngsters, human or beast - every being in Athenaeus drew their attention to the heavens awaiting the destined moment.

Ominous black clouds formed rapidly, shrouding the world in darkness. The winds raged tenaciously over the land, colossal waves dominated the oceans.

And then it happened. Radiant beams of white light penetrated through the blanket of clouds, forming holes at every corner of the sky.

Tension that overwhelmed the hearts of every soul soon turned into awe. The holes soon expanded, clearing the thick cloud cover. Within seconds, thousands of colourful balls of energy stormed through the holes and excitedly danced in the sky, like giant spherical fireflies.

It was a breathtaking sight. The balls twirled and whizzed and spiralled in the sky, leaving behind a trail of blinding flames. But the spectacular display only lasted momentarily, as every orb darted away into the distance - in the direction towards the Heart of Athenaeus.

The Heart of Athenaeus was a gigantic lake in the center of the whole supercontinent. The balls of energy assembled and hovered above the center of the lake in a circle. The orbs merged, forming a dazzling ring of aurora, which spinned rapidly.

Suddenly the ground shook. A huge island started to form on the surface of the lake. Large rock formations rose among the rapidly growing trees which sprouted instantly on the newborn island. The land beneath continued to quake as the island expanded quickly, and a towering mountain emerged directly beneath the newborn island. It grew higher and higher, seemingly to pierce the sky like a gigantic splint.

The ring of aurora slowly shrunk with every inch of the mountain's growth, and in a tremendous burst of light, it became a white-hot glowing rod, which settled firmly onto the peak of the mountain. The mountain had decided its altitude and awaits its conqueror. The clouds began to vanish, the world became calm once more.

This was it - the Sceptre of Omnipotence has arrived. The race had now officially begun.

Chapter 5: Observer

31 Dec 5554, the day before the descent of Omnipotence
Avemorph Forest
[Kalvin Clarke]

Kalvin peered through the bushes, remaining motionless in his spot. Kalvin had always returned to Avemorph Forest with the hope of finding the clues that will lead him to the answer to the question that never left his mind: Who am I?

Kalvin has lived with his foster parents for three years now and he was always praised for being a "prodigy" for his inconceivable speed in learning by observance. In mere seconds, he would have attained the highest level of competence in an art simply by watching a master demonstrate his talents. Kalvin however, never once smiled whenever anyone praised him. He was cold, like a robot.

In the midst of the forest exists a wide, empty patch of grass - the perfect place for a duel. The enchanted radiance emanating from the full moon shone onto two figures standing in the centre of this plot of grass. One wears a mask which conceals his entire face and another clad in just common civilian clothes. Kalvin observed silently in the shadows as the two men both took a step closer to each other.

"Hello traitor. We meet again," said the man in the mask. His eyes behind the mask seem to sparkle at every word.

"Leave me alone Eintium, I dont want to have anything more to do with that guild," replied the other man, his fists clenched in fury of the man standing before him.

"Of course you wouldnt," said Eintium. "Not after you managed to get yourself a big bounty after the completion of that mission now, huh? Don't you find yourself a little immoral? Using the guild to obtain missions and once you've earned enough money, you just leave without saying goodbye.. You self-centered ingrate.. I really pity you..," continued Eintium in a calm, yet intimidatory manner.

Suddenly the man in civilian clothing vanished in front of Kalvin's eyes. The next thing Kalvin and the knew, the man was clutching tightly at the Eintium's throat. Kalvin squinted - it was Superspeed magic.

"I warned you, Thorne," voiced Eintium, as the man's fingers squeezed harder on his neck, forcing him to take a few steps back.

Without warning, an arm sprouted out from Eintium's abdomen giving Thorne a hefty punch at his ribs. Thorne instantly freed his assailant's neck and collapsed onto the forest floor.

"It's pointless to run away from the Mercenary Mages, Thorne," growled menacingly. The strange, brawly arm which spawned from Eintium's abdomen recoiled back into his body. Thorne winced in pain from the blow landed on him earlier. He snarled angrily at Eintium and spat out some blood on the ground before he got to his knees.

Kalvin remained attentive as Thorne picked himself up. The moment Thorne got on both his legs, he immediately threw a barrage of punches at Eintium, sending him flying towards a tree. Immediately two legs extended from his back and tore through his shirt. He then made use of these two legs to kick himself away from colliding into the tree.

Thorne wasn't eager to give his opponent any time to rest. The moment he noticed Eintium recovering back on his feet, he grabbed a large stone on the ground and bolted towards his enemy. Relentlessly, he smashed the stone into Eintium's face, shattering his mask, sending blood gushing out his nose.

Thorne got the job done in a mere one and half seconds, but it was enough for Kalvin to meticulously study his every move.Gasping for breath, Eintum struggled to keep his distance from Thorne, but it was all for naught. Thorne had the ability of superspeed.

"Y-You traitor! The guild wont let you off!" threatened Eintium, wiping the blood from his face. Thorne chuckled to himself. It was a dark cynical chuckle, as he awaited for Eintium to pick himself up.

Eintium summoned five hands on his back pushed himself up, returning into his battle stance in no time.

"You'll regret ever messing with me, Thorne!" yelled Eintium.

As Kalvin observed the battle he was also, at the same time, trying to figure out how these two men are able to employ their magic abilities at such ease. Kalvin closed his eyes for a moment to focus his mind when suddenly, a little finger sprouted out from his palm. It was Eintium's magic! Kalvin looked unemotionally at the finger he had summoned, as if he wasn't surprised at his rapid acquirement of this new, unique ability.

Eintium began to sprout more limbs from his body, but Thorne had given up on giving his opponent anymore chances. Using the blood stained stone gripped firmly in his right hand, Thorne charged towards the "limb" mage once more and attempted to thrust the stone into his eye. However Eintium successfully managed to grab hold of Thorne's hand just moments before it reached its target. Thorne seethed in frustration.

"Nice try," sneered Eintium. Suddenly another figure, darting at an extreme speed, appeared behind Eintium. Before Eintium could turn around, a sharp tree branch pierced through his neck. He choked desperately as blood oozed out his mouth. He collapsed onto the ground, motionless as he wheezed his last breath.

Thorne glanced in bewilderment at his 'saviour'. It was Kalvin, whose eyes locked coldly onto the man he had just saved. Puzzled, Thorne decided to turn his attention to this mysterious character who had just killed his foe. The frosty glare in Kalvin's eyes reminded Thorne of a phantom.

"Who are you, kid? You're way up past your bedtime," Thorne said. Kalvin did not answer and instead, reached for the branch that was sticking out from the back of Eintium's neck.

"I said, who are you? What are you doing here?" asked Thorne, growing more impatient. Kalvin still did not answer, and forcefully yanked the branch out from the dead man's neck.

Before Thorne could speak another word, Kalvin lunged the branch at his left shoulder. Thorne had made a quick sidestep before it was too late and had only sustained a minor scratch.

"Who the hell are you!?" demanded Thorne once more. Suddenly there was an ear-splitting thunderclap followed by a devastating whirwind which blew across the forest.
In a flash of lightning, the two men engaged in a fierce battle.

Kalvin and Thorne whizzed frantically as they evaded each other's strikes. Moving at such astouding speeds, even a single blink of an eye would lead to a painful demise. The storm began to brew even more furiously and dark clouds started to gather, depriving the land of the moonlight. Thorne had lost his vision of his opponent completely.

The battle ended with Thorne, lying at the feet of Kalvin with the same branch pierced through his chest. When light rays suddenly started to pierce through the shadowy cloud cover, Kalvin looked to the skies. He saw colourful orbs of light swirling in the night's sky.

Chapter 4: The Fourth Heir

27 December 5554
5 days before the descent of omnipotence
Central Empiria

"All Hail King Claude!"

The trumpeteers start blowing a majestic tune as King Claude the IV of Empiria makes his triumphant return to his beloved homeland. As his troop of cavalry rode up the boulevard leading to the Parade Grounds, between the crowd of cheering, overjoyed people, there he was, on his impressive white stallion, Hurricane. One hand gratifyingly clutching onto his sword, the other waved to his people, melting their hearts with his gorgeous smile.

His advisor, Blaine, was the old man in the purple robe was riding after him. Ironically despite the victory, Blaine, as always, had his cold, thoughtful look n his face. Hardly anyone had noticed him, why would they? He was nothing more to them than an old grouch.

Claude and his army have yet again, wiped out a band of bandits that has been robbing merchants on the outskirts of Empiria, which had caused Empiria's trade to severely deteriorate.
Every villager who had heard about their king's victorious return all rushed to the parade grounds to welcome him. Once again, Claude had proven himself worthy of being the ruler of the strongest empire in Athenaeus.

"Who is he mama?" A little boy around the age of five asked his mother. His eyes fixed upon the King's huge sword.

"He's the man that had united all the lands around Empiria together," replied his mother, as she stroked his hair gently. "A great man to be respected indeed."

"Mama, when I grow up, can I be like him?"

"You can't son, King claude's legency is only passed down onto his own children. You dont need to follow someone's footsteps to be someone great as well, son!" encouraged his mother.

King Claude finally stepped in to the Parade grounds with all his Generals and his trusty teacher cum bodyguard cum advisor Blaine. Stepping on the a grand platform, King Claude started giving his speech.

Chapter 3: Wedding Crashers

25 December 5554
7 days before the descent of Omnipotence
Oberolis

"Today's our day, Faye."
Luke Carlson said to his fiancée as they both stepped onto the red carpet in the huge church hall.
Today was supposed to be Luke's big day, if everything goes well that is. Luke and his wife took slow steady steps towards the altar, hand in hand. This was the day that Luke had been looking forward to all his life, as he had liked Faye ever since they started out as childhood friends.

Today, they are finally tying the knot as husband and wife. Everyone around showered the couple with praises.

"They look so lovely together!"
"This guy was once my schoolmate in Spear Lessons!"
"She makes awesome pasta!"

Luke’s heart was overwhelmed with a bliss, and he knew Faye’s heart was no different. He could see it in her dark, alluring eyes. As Luke and Faye stood at the altar, preparing for the happiest moment in their lives, a shrilling scream of a woman followed by a deafening explosion thundered across the hall.

Everyone turned to the doors. A huge burly barbarian with filthy orange hair thrashed his way into the church, holding a massive axe. A few more stomped up after him.

"Hello Skythens," bellowed the Barbarian with an evil smirk on his face. Before Luke or anyone in the audience could react, barbarians leapt from all sides, crashing through the church windows, and without wasting a second, began slaughtering every Skythen in their way with their deadly maces and axes.

Even the women and children were not spared. Faye was drowning in a pool of shock and despair, covering her mouth as she witnessed the merciless murder of her family. The Skythens, although were taken by surprise, put up an amazing counter-attack, frying every Barbarian they saw with scorching bolts of light energy. But even their skills were powerless against the thousands of Barbarians who stormed the hall, outnumbering the Skythens, three to one.

No, not today. Not on this perfect day. No.. it can’t be...

Luke burst into an uncontrollable fury, seething with vengeance. He stood by his fiancée’s side, his hands exploded into spheres of blinding light, as he discharged powerful beams of light, forcing holes into the chests of his repulsive foes.

Suddenly Faye let out a cry of anguish as Luke noticed her collapse behind him. As he turned, he instantly kneeled down to comfort his wife. A stray axe thrown by a barbarian had thrusted deep into her forehead. Her eyes met his one last time. The most beautiful pair of eyes in Athenaeus, its rich dark colour, slowly faded to white. Blood oozed out her wound and down her face as he held her in his arms.

His tears pelted onto her immaculate, white wedding gown. He was breathless, as if he was going to die with her. But Faye would have wanted him to live.

Chapter 2: Birth of Atrocity

1st January 5547

Exactly 8 years before the descent of Omnipotence
Avemorph Forest

Waking up in a the middle of a sunlit forest, a young boy crawled to his feet. He was stark naked. The boy does not remember anything of his past. He looked around and noticed a little black cat a few paces away from him, looking in his direction. He tilted his head slightly to his right, studying the critter. The cat then started to scamper towards him.

"What is this furry little creature?" thought the boy silently to himself.

The cat stroked its fur onto his ankle, purring softly. The boy, being of ten years of age, picked up the innocent looking cat and caressed it. The cat continued to purred gently when suddenly it let out a loud yelp. This boy whom it assumed was lost, lonely and lily-white was remorselessly squeezing its neck and paws.

The cat unleashed a fury of swipes on the boy's arm, scratching his skin until he bled. It scowled in agony, noticing the cold look in his beady eyes that were like two ominous black holes. He glared back at it keenly, as if observing the little feline desperately struggling to free itself from his clutches. The boy only squeezed harder, only to withdraw a last breath from the poor creature.

"Interesting, it has stopped moving," the boy thought to himself. He appeared to ignore the wounds the cat had left on his arm.

The boy dropped the carcass onto the grass below and watched for awhile, waiting to see whether the cat would pick itself up and run away. Instead, it remained motionless.

Soon, a group of hunters from a nearby village found the boy and took him with them to their village. There, he was adopted by Dan and Irene Clarke, an old couple who took pity on the boy who has lost his memories. They took him in and named him Kalvin.

Chapter 1: Uninvited Guests

13th September 5545, 10 years before the descent of Omnipotence
South Azurlantis

“All units, this would be our final assault! Our mission is to infiltrate enemy base!” declared twelve-year-old Zach McCarthy to his party of 30 armed ‘men’. They cheered in excitement, clutching their weapons tight in their fists. Their eyes blazed with intensity, and their limbs itching to land victorious blows on their enemy. They marched with pride, advancing towards the silvery, cardboard castle model which towered majestically in the light which penetrated the forest canopy.

Clad in lightweight training chain mail and armed with wooden shields and swords, they call themselves the Gryphons, after the legendary beasts who were known to be the fearless gladiators of the ancient era. Likewise, these Azurlantean youngsters, led by Zach, were raised to have the true courage of Gryphons in their hearts, for they will become the Azurlantean heroes of tomorrow.

“Sector Alpha, escalade up and breach the ceiling! Sector Delta, storm the moat and we’ll break in through the main entrance! Let’s show that dope Hyder and his punks the true power of the Gryphon Alliance! Attack!!” commanded their talented leader, his sword pointing towards the castle.

In a flurry of excited screams, the troops charged towards the castle. They efficiently divided into their respective teams, eager to engage into combat. They leaped over the moat like frogs, the first half of them clambered up the castle wall like frenzied spiders. The other half, led by Zach, thrashed the castle entrance and darted in like a furious swarm of bees.

At the instant they step foot into the square room, the warriors swished their swords frantically in the air, hoping to strike first before the enemy could react. The shrouded figures in the dimly lit room stood still, as if they were stunned silent. Zach started whacking his petrified opponents and then his comrades followed. The enemy had put up no form of defence whatsoever.

As the light from the holes in the ceiling illuminated the room, the excited uproar of the battle immediately turned into an awkward silence. Zach’s eyes widened in shock as he lowered his sword. The ‘enemy’ was only a couple of haystacks positioned upright to seem lifelike. They crumbled onto the floor into a messy heap.

“Now!!”

A scream coming from the ceiling ruptured the silenced. To the horror of the Gryphons, it was the enemy. Their leader stood with his arms crossed at the ledge of the roof, looking down and grinning at Zach. The enemy troops laughed as they surrounded the whole ceiling, aiming their slingshots at their opponents in the room. They were all wearing goggles. There was a staggering moment of suspense which turned the leader’s smile upside down.

“I said now!!!” he yelled impatiently.

The enemies suddenly pelted egg-like bullets onto the Gryphons which burst upon contact, filling the room with a thick cloud of white dust. Zach had anticipated such a move, and with one snappy command, his army shielded their eyes and braced for enemy assault. The fog immobilized them, depriving them of their visual of the enemy. Excited screams echoed from the ceiling and then followed a shower of water balloons which exploded upon them on contact.

The castle suddenly shook as the rightful keepers of the castle descended into the room. They thrashed the infiltrators like dummies, disarming them before punishing them hard with their rubber clubs. Soon everyone engaged themselves in fierce combat, laughing and squealing in the thrill of a heated free-for-all. Zach tackled his arch rival hard onto the floor as they wrestled like savage lion cubs.

“Nice plan, Hyder, definitely the dumbest you’ve ever pulled out,” muttered Zach as he struggled to free himself from his rival's leg lock.

“Thanks, Zach. You led this clowns right where I wanted them,” replied Hyder as he dodged Zach’s punch. They soon got up, knocking down a few others in the way before continuing their brawl.

“Numbskull!” shouted Zach as he managed to land a kick to Hyder’s shin.

“Troll ass!” yelled Hyder, pouncing on his foe without needing to recover. “Nitwit,” he insulted again.

“Idiot!”

“Dork!”

“Dragon!”

Hyder was about to land a punch when he noticed ‘dragon’ wasn’t an insult. He stopped in his tracks when Zach suddenly looked up and froze. He looked up and gulped in horror.

“DRAGON!!”

A scream burst out from the frenzied battle cries. A huge shade had cast upon the kids in the castle, a huge head of a red lizard hovered above them, watching them intently. The dragon took a final whiff of them, and like a swarm of bees, the kids darted out of the room, shrieking in horror. Hyder stood frozen in terror as his eyes met the dragon’s. Zach quickly grabbed Hyder’s arm as they hurried after the other kids.

The dragon instantly burst into a rage, destroying the castle model with a single lash of its spike-tipped tail. It let out a series of thunderous roars as it stomped its way in pursuit of the boys. Most of the other kids had already alerted the others in the city, causing everyone to panic and evacuate their homes. Amidst the chaos, Zach and Hyder noticed an old man lying on the ground and a terrified young girl on her knees, wailing beside him. The boys quickly approached them.

“Young man, take my little Helena with you! Save her while you can!” muttered the old man in a frail, helpless voice. His granddaughter continued to weep in horror as the dragon advanced closer to them.

“No! I can’t leave you here!” shouted Zach. The boys helped the old man up as he leaned on Zach’s shoulders, struggling to his feet.

“Zach, take them with you! I’ll slow down the monster!” ordered Hyder.

“What? You’re insane! You can’t stop him alone!” yelled Zach in disbelief as he tugged on the girl’s hand. “C’mon! We gotta go!”

Zach was already almost at the peak of the hill overlooking the city when suddenly he noticed Hyder wasn’t with him. He turned around and gasped in shock. Hyder was standing before the great dragon, staring at it dead in its eye. His slingshot grasped tightly in his right hand.

“Hyder!” screamed desperately Zach at his cousin, hoping for him to at least think twice before he does something completely stupid. But Hyder did not answer nor did he turn around. It was too late for Zach to turn back now as Hyder would be devoured alive by the time he could get close to saving him. The dragon stopped in its tracks and lashed its tail to the ground in amusement of the boy’s futile courage.

Hyder aimed the slingshot at the dragon’s eye. His hands trembled with it as he clutched the projectile – a heavy, spike-like stone which will permanently blind the dragon if he scored a bulls-eye. He could hear Zach calling him repeatedly but he was keen on taking his shot.

Peculiarly, the dragon appeared to be ‘waiting’ for Hyder to take his shot, as if he was giving the boy a last chance to decide his fate. The boy valiantly remained the slingshot at hold and waited for the ‘right moment’, even though he would definitely succeed if he’d just fire without hesitation. But still, neither he nor the dragon made a move.

Suddenly a shower of arrows flew across the air and pierced the body of the dragon. The beast immediately burst into a rampage and spotted his assailants. It was the Azurlantean cavalry archers who appeared from the other side of the hill. Two of them dismounted to help Zach while the rest charged towards their enraged foe, waving their swords in the air.

Before the horsemen could advance close enough to rescue Hyder, there was an outburst of shrill cries which came from the forest behind the dragon. In a flash, a large flock of deadly winged, serpentine creatures appeared from beyond the trees and swooped upon the Azurlantean cavalry. It was the Wyverns, who appeared to be giving the dragon assistance.

The creatures swooped onto the horsemen, who desperately tried to fight them off with their swords. However the wyverns were excellent combatants when in flight, and aggressively slashed the men with their deadly claws. Some grabbed the men with their claws and took them to the skies, before releasing them later to plummet to their deaths. The horses went berserk and galloped around in a cowardly frenzy. The men were severely outnumbered as more and more agitated wyverns descended from the skies to attack them.

The dragon then quickly lowered his head and knocked Hyder to the ground with his snout. With a final deafening roar, it retreated back into the woods. A passing wyvern then grabbed Hyder before it glided back into the woods, after the dragon. Hyder screamed in pure terror as his hometown became more and more distant with every flap of the wings of his abductor. Zach noticed this and attempted to give chase after the wyvern, but a soldier grabbed him before he could take another step.

“No! Let me go! Hyder’s in trouble! Let me go!” lamented Zach in desperation as tears streamed down his cheeks. He struggled to free himself but the soldier only squeezed tighter. As the wyverns continued their relentless invasion, Zach wailed in exasperation knowing that he’ll never see his beloved cousin ever again.

His only true friend was gone, vanished, no longer in existence. It was the day Zach swore vengeance on dragons, in honour of the only person he cared for and respected dearly, like his own brother.

Prologue

Athenaeus was a cruel world - A war-torn planet in a distant galaxy trillions of lightyears from the Milky Way. For over centuries, the power-hungry rulers of Athenaeus engaged in regional war with each other. Every leader was ambitious and craved greatly of world domination.

Legend has it, that at dawn of the 555th year of every millennium, a massive, mythical beast would descend from the stars above and grant Athenaeus a powerful item to revive its land - The Scepter of Omnipotence. Any being that posseses this Scepter will be granted a wish and also permanent powers beyond all imagination. A power so immense, capable of creating and destroying with a twitch of a finger.