His dreams were always the same. He did not understand what they meant, but all he knew is they started a couple of months ago. And the results were always the same. Groggily, he looked out the window to see that the suns were peaking into his bedroom. When he realized he was late, he jumped out of bed and leapt into the bath. He let the cold water hit his body as he shivered. He walked out of the bath and grabbed his clothes. He headed into the kitchen to see if any food was left from the night before. To his dismay he found his friend asleep on the floor next to pieces of leftover cowlin, a chicken-like type of bird.

“This is why I never have parties after payday…” sighed Azerias, holding his head. He had worked so hard to get money, and he always seems to spend it very quickly. Being the town’s only Dispatcher, the money was fair, but business had been slow. He was lucky when there was a monster or two. Dependent on what the size and the species of monster meant whether he got 10 to 100 Lormes. Usually, he hoped it was worth the 100 Lormes.

Muyi was always around when Azerias had money on him, like some sort of weird instinct. But nevertheless, when Azerias was in a pinch, Muyi was always around to help out. He was like that since they were little, never serious, but a good friend to the end.

Living alone always complicated matters. Since his parents disappeared a couple years back, things have been hard. But the town managed to help Azerias to his feet, and because he had no other family to speak of, he became sole heir to his father’s business of being the official town Dispatcher. It was something he had practiced with his father countless times and now being thrust into this position made him feel uneasy at first, but after a couple battles, he felt right at home.

As time went on, Muyi visited Azerias without fail. He had no place of his own after his parents kicked him out. He had since spent his time going to other villages (or so he claimed.)

“Muyi, have you been here all night?”, “I’ll clean the stables later mom, I promise… (snore)…” Azerias contemplated kicking Muyi awake, but decided against it. Azerias picked up a bag of food off the ground and was happy to find a couple of apples inside it. He grabbed one and began to leave the house. He grabbed his sword and coat and put it on. Looking around he found his summons to the town council and reread it just to make sure the instructions were clear to him. As he walked out of the kitchen, he went to see if Muyi had awakened. All he found was him snoring up a storm, cuddling next to a semi-frozen turkey that had fallen out of the icebox. “Make sure you lock the door before you leave, sweetheart…,” trailed Azerias. “Ok, mom…” mumbled Muyi.

Azerias had lived his whole life in the village, so it would seem normal to have people recognize him wherever he went; besides the fact that his unusually bright auburn hair caught a lot of attention. People always greeted him and gave him some sort of token of their appreciation of keeping the town safe of any monsters that attempted to roam into the village.

As he got near the Keremias Town Hall, he noticed people where reading the new laws that came from Castle Orminas. The king always had a change of laws because of his sons’ incessant pleasure of causing trouble. Usually they would do something like cause a fight between villages or lure monsters into unsuspecting camps. Sometimes, if it would be harmless prank, they usually got away with it, but when one joke goes too far, new laws get posted forbidding such actions again.

“They should have those kids tied up,”, “Watch what you say! You could be put in prison for that kind of talk!” The usual conversations of the elderly in the village always had some bit of flavor to them. It was also funny to watch them argue over trivial matters at times. But one thing remains, no matter how senile they seemed, you always had to respect them or face the consequences with the rest of the village. At times, you barely let words slip and the entire village knows about it already.

The Town Hall was fairly small but it had enough room to fit the entire village population twice over. There were always meetings weekly about issues with the town, like harvest or plantings, newborns on the way, or even monster sightings, which is where Azerias came in. If he heard of three or more sightings in a week, he would be happy, usually because it was one out of three would be a true sighting, and a big one at that.

This week though, strange things were about. More sightings have been reported and now he was answering calls rather than waiting till the end of the week. He might consider this a blessing, but then too much of a good thing ended up being a bad thing all around. He would come back tired or bruised, or even sliced in a couple places, but he tried not to let it bother him.

But today, something had come up. They didn’t summon Azerias to appear in front of the council unless he either got in trouble, usually thanks to Muyi, or a large creature was headed towards the village. Either way, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

As he headed into the council room, he noticed the officials were nervous as they sat in their desks. The air seemed to scream of tension and fear that every councilman was facing. The village chief, Derunime saw Azerias and motioned him to come forth.

“Azerias, my lad, why are you late?” questioned Derunime. Azerias gave the formal greeting and replied, “I apologize for making the council wait, sir.” “Oh, don’t you worry about them. We just received some terrible news from the Capital.”

Chief Derunime was a wise chief, probably the wisest that Keremias has seen in decades. He was a gentle man that knew how to resolve any issues that were laid in front of him. But now, he too had a worried look about him. He looked like he was now at a loss for any answer that might be useful in tough situations.

Azerias had noticed right off that Chief Derunime was troubled. “Might I inquire as to why the council is in a state of panic, sir?” asked Azerias. “It shall be revealed in due time, lad; all in due time.” Azerias looked around and started noticing that the better part of the village had begun to file in and take their seats.

Muyi had awakened to find himself on the floor. “I really need to stop doing that…,” mumbled Muyi, holding his head from the severe headache he got from the massive amounts of ale he consumed. He looked at his surroundings and grabbed a piece of cowlin meat that looked good and took a bite. He got up and headed towards the sink where he pumped some water to wash his face. As he looked out the window, he noticed people were leaving their homes and heading towards the center of town. Being the type often too curious for his own good, he left Azerias’s house and followed the crowd.

The villagers had slowly filed into the town hall and took their seats. Muyi, being lost in the crowd, found himself in the hallway. Muyi was never the type to sit in boring town meetings and often avoided them at all costs, but considering that the town folk were considerably worried, he decided to stick around and find out what the deal was. He walked into the hall, looked around, and noticed Azerias talking to some of the councilmen. Muyi raised his hands to signal to Azerias. Azerias looked up and waved back at Muyi and went up to greet him.

“Muyi, what are you doing here?”, “There seemed like something important was going on and I guess I just decided to tag along and see what all the fuss was about,” replied Muyi. Azerias responded with, “Well, it’s a good thing you did. The Chief says the entire village needs to hear this news.” “Do you know what’s happening?” pondered Muyi. “Nope. I guess I’m gonna find out along with you.” “You mean you don’t know what’s going on either?” Azerias shook his head. “Apparently, this news just came in and it was too important for the village to not know.”

Everyone in the hall had taken their seats and Chief Derunime was about to speak. Azerias went and took his usual spot next to the councilmen and waited for the Chief to begin. Derunime stood up and walked to the podium. The room fell silent as he prepared to speak. “For the past couple of months, due to the behavior of the two princes, we have been subjected to laws and regulations that were, for the most part childish.

“Currently, we have just received news that the two were involved in an accident that may have taken their lives in one of the villages surrounding the Castle. All we know at this time is that a dark creature has been awakened. This creature has destroyed the village and the castle and is currently on a destructive rampage across the province. We also know that the King did not survive the dark creature’s attack.”

The villagers had a look of terror in their eyes as they heard the news. Some had families residing at the castle and its surrounding villages. Azerias did not know what to feel for those that lost their lives or what he was going to do to help.

“At this time, we are going to ask that all women and children evacuate to the nearest port town. The rest of us will stay here and fortify the village and attempt to stop the creature here. Azerias, you will be in charge of putting a defense force together to help you defend the village. Are you well enough to handle this task?” Azerias stood up. He looked around the hall at all the people he would be tasked in saving. “Yes sir. I will begin right away.” Derunime looked at Azerias and replied, “That’s good lad, let us know what you need and we will help in any way you need it.” “Yes sir,” responded Azerias. He saluted the council, turned and walked to the one of the back rooms behind the council chamber.

Azerias was never tasked with such a grand mission before and now he had no idea how he was going about doing so. Muyi walked into the chamber and noticed Azerias with his head in his hands. “Hey, you okay Azerias?” Azerias lifted his head and looked behind him to see Muyi standing there. “Yes, I’m alright. What are you doing here?” Muyi was surprised to see Azerias in such a serious mood. He really felt uncomfortable whenever Azerias got that way, usually because that meant that he was partly to blame for whatever Azerias got into trouble for. “I just came to see if there was any way I can help. I know that this is important for you now and I wish to help as much as you are willing to let me.” “Thanks Muyi. I knew I could count on you for help. See how many able-bodied men you can gather. If they have swords, have them bring them. I will begin devising a plan to counter this dark creature.” Muyi left and left Azerias to begin working on the plans. “I hope this works…,” thought Azerias.

***

The dark creature rampaged through the farmland east of Castle Orminas like a wild cat ravaging its prey. It would seem clear to anyone that this creature had no way of destroying the castle or is armies without help. It seemed to have limited intelligence and was right now only focused on catching and devouring the cattle it could get its huge hands on. A lone figure grinned evilly as he surveyed the devastation caused by the blackness that stood before him. “Father was a fool for standing in my way. He has paid the price, and the rest of the kingdom will feel his fear as well!” The slender figure lifted his head and let out an evil laugh like a jackal that has stolen another’s prey, and then raised his hand toward the dark creature. an evil aura emanated from his hand, and in a guttural tone, he commanded, “From whence the darkness came, I command thee. Come to me.”

***

Staring at the provincial map lying across the table, Azerias marked the probable paths the creature would take and areas to defend around the villiage. Muyi, who was tasked with gathering men and supplies, entered the chamber and reported to Azerias his findings. Azerias gave a nod and put him to work on getting a defense barrier up. Muyi went out to relay the message and to help in the building of the walls.

The rest of the villagers were evacuating their families and loved ones. Those that chose to fight gave their farewells and hugged their families. No one knew the outcome of this battle. All was known was that whatever that was coming this way had decimated the king’s army. All hope fell on the shoulders of Azerias and whether he can come up with some way of bringing down this creature.

Muyi gathered some of the men and went about retrofitting the wall in an effort to refortify the walls that once stood against armies. They showed almost how long the age of peace had lasted and were in disrepair. Now was the time to put those walls into use. They had to defend their village, their homes, and their lives. Nothing but those men could do any more or less.

Azerias remembered the times when his father would recount the stories of when he was young; of how the walls had stood up to two armies and the village never surrendered. The fighting had stopped and people celebrated upon those walls. Now, they were needed once more. His father’s sword lay upon the table. Gleaming in the light, he also remembered that his father said that sword was once used by his grandfather to dispel the evil that had once enveloped the country side. Whether or not that story is true, time will tell.

Not much information was known about this creature that they had to fight up against. The only information on hand was the fact that it larger than the biggest ogre, it had two fiery red eyes, and its features were hidden mostly by a black cloud-like aura that enveloped it. This information only seemed to make the situation worse and worse. No one had ever heard of a creature, nor was there any lore on it. This was defiantly going to become one of the greatest battles this village had ever seen.

Once the plans were drawn up and the men had finished refortifying the outer structure, they were brought in to be briefed on how they would go about to bring this creature down. Since the latest intelligence put the creature at about three day’s time, they had plenty of time to practice using the weapons in their arsenal. Some became proficient in using the long bow, others in the short sword. The ones assigned on the catapult systems had their training down by the end of the day and had been able to pick targets up to 500 yards away. Considering they were going to wait until the target was 100 yards away before attacking, they had mastered their task with lightning speed, mostly due to the fact that they were defending their own homes and territories.

The second day had passed and news of another village falling had brought down the hopes of those remaining. The creature had moved very quickly and destroyed the village, but not before a rider got out in time to warn the other villages. Now, new intelligence was pouring in. News that a man in a dark cloak was trailing the creature gave some the impression that he could have been the culprit for unleashing such a disastrous horror upon them. Now more than ever, the people’s courage began to rise as they realized that they could be the one to solve the problem. New strategies were devised and now plan of attacks were practiced upon. One of the plans included destroying the man that may have a hold on the creature.

The third day came and every person at the village became nervous. There will not be a second chance at destroying the creature. It would either be the creature, or them that would perish. Hope, glory and the blessing of the goddess of protection was upon them. They had fear in them, but not so much that they would run from a battle. Even Muyi was all for the defense. He had found a couple of suits of armor and had worn one just in case. Azerias had gone back home and open his father’s battle chest and found his old armor. He dusted it off, cleaned it up, polished it and wore it. Who would have thought that after three generations, the armor still fit? His father had left him his armor that was passed before him by his grandfather and so on. He remembered the instructions on his father will about it too, “Please take care of the family heirlooms and be ever ready if evil shall rear its ugly head, for this armor will have the protection of our ancestors, and the sword has the power to smite darkness, forever.”

Nothing will bring his parents back. And every time he reads the notes his father left him, he would well up in tears. He missed his parents so much and never hid the fact. Today, he would uphold the honor and glory that a fourth generation Dispatcher must have. He tried on the armor and looked in the mirror. His reflection reminded him of how much he looked like his father, like seeing his father standing in front of him. He could hear him speak, “Be strong, don’t let them see fear, I will always be proud of you.”

Muyi walked into the house and found Azerias staring at his sword. Muyi understood what was going through Azerias’s mind. He waited a moment, mostly to pay respect to those who also were like his own parents, but also to Azerias, who was now putting his own life on the line to protect that which his ancestors had fought so hard to keep. Azerias wiped his eyes when he realized that Muyi was standing there. “Azerias, the creature has been sighted. It is just coming over the horizon in the east.” Azerias looked at Muyi and thought to himself that he had never seen Muyi more serious as a friend than now. “Go tell the men to prepare for battle. And Muyi, keep them calm. I will be out there in a moment.” Muyi bowed and walked out of the house. Azerias got up and walked around in his armor. He suddenly realized why he never wore it. It was heavy on him and he felt like he was being dragged down. Nonetheless, he continued to wear it and left his house, probably for the final time.

Azerias went to the lookout tower next to the wall and requested a looking glass. He peered through it to get a look at what he was going up against. But what caught his eye was not the dark creature, but the person in front of it. He was dressed in black and had silver long hair that draped to his lower back, and he seemed to be floating instead of walking. Something was very wrong, and Azerias could feel it within him. “Battle stations, preparation two. Now! Prepare the long range catapults!” Everyone was moving as one now and everything seemed to be falling in place. If it wanted this village, it would have to fight for it.

***

The creature lumbered across the plains, heading through farmlands. Lucias looked around saw the village off in the distance. His acute vision allowed him to view the landscape as though he were looking through a looking glass. “Hmm… looks like they are attempting to fortify themselves. If that is the case, then we will make it their grave.” He lifted his hands in the air and grey clouds began to gather and swirl around above him. The clouds began to churn and flash. Lightning began to hit the ground and light small fires on the farmlands. Fire and brimstone began to fall from the sky and gorge the ground around the village.

***

Azerias saw the sudden change in the weather and looked around to the men under him. They had a look of fear on them that showed the sudden terror they were enduring. Some dropped to their knees and began praying to the gods for courage and salvation. Muyi looked up at Azerias and shouted, “There was nothing about this in the reports! What are we to do now?” “I suppose we can extend the same courtesy!” shouted Azerias, “Begin loading the catapults and the trebuchets. Fire on my command!” The men quickly got off the ground and began to load the explosives in the catapults. Each one was wound and ready to be fired. Muyi signaled to Azerias that preparations were complete. Azerias looked out through his looking glass to judge the distance the shots needed to reach their target. But every time he looked through the glass, the man kept drawing his attention and Azerias did not know why. There was something inside of him that kept saying he was the key to this disaster. Azerias relayed the coordinates to Muyi, who in turn, commanded the operators. “Fire on my mark!” shouted Azerias. He still couldn’t shake that feeling. “Fire!”

***

Lucias looked up and saw the catapults’ fire overhead. But this time, instead of being targeted at Ducura like they usually would, it was coming at him. He immediately put up his hand just as the shots landed on their target. A massive explosion ensued that left a large smoldering crater in its wake. And Lucias was floating in the middle with a shield of dark aura around him. “Fools! How did they know I was here?! I should be invisible to them! That damn spell must have worn off. I will need to discard the rest of it anyways.” With a quick motion of his hand, the dark aura disappeared. His eyes began to glow blood red. “They want a fight, they will have one. They will pay dearly for this insult!”

***

The men cheered when the shots impacted. Azerias was surprised to see that this man was still alive after a blast like that. One of the men asked Azerias, “Why did we shoot so far ahead of the creature?” Azerias handed the looking glass to the man. “Look through these and tell me what you see.” The man looked through and saw where the shots had landed. All he saw was a crater. But as he was about to put the glasses down, he saw a faint wavering in the air in the center of the crater. Then he saw what Azerias saw; a man draped in black with long silver hair. The man put the glasses down and looked at Azerias. “But, how did you see him? He just appeared there now!” Azerias looked at the man with an astonished look. “What do you mean he just appeared? He was there the entire time!” Muyi came up the tower and looked out over the wall. “So, what we hit?”

The archers began to position themselves behind the wall. Young boys that had volunteered to stay carried quivers filled with arrows. These were not the normal arrows that were usually used when hunting. These had explosive charges attached to them so the moment they impacted upon their target, they exploded. Great care was taken when handling these arrows. They sometimes had a reputation of exploding on their own. The archers strapped the quivers around their backs and each grabbed an arrow. They positioned the knocks on the strings and waited for the signal to pull. The long range commander looked over the wall to see when the targets would reach their landing zones. He placed his hand in the air and the archers pulled back their bows. “This seemed a bit too easy,” thought the commander. “The creature and the sinister man had no protection around them. They were just taking their time getting to the village.” The commander dropped his hand and the archers let their arrows loose. They flew through the air over the wall and began to head toward the target zone. Then, in mid-air, the arrows exploded. Not one hitting either target. The commander looked through his lenses and the last thing he saw was fire envelope the man. The tower itself exploded and burst into flames. No one in the tower could survive the explosion that had ensued. The archers began to fire at will, but their shots just continued to explode in mid-air.

It soon became obvious that no matter how hard they tried, the evil those two brought would destroy more than they could possibly attempt on them. Eventually the wall began to crumble. The defenders on top began to fall and falling rocks from the wall itself began to crush the people below. Azerias had sworn to protect the village and intended to do so to the very end. He grabbed his sword and lifted it in the air and began shouting as he charged toward the attackers, “Protect the village! Charge!”

***

Lucias grinned evilly when he saw the people come after him. “Poor, idiotic fools. They think they can come at me with those primitive weapons of theirs.” He began to laugh manically as he lifted his hands in the air. The clouds above them began to darken more and thunder crashed loudly. Lightning began to strike the ground, hitting the warriors, one by one.

***

Seeing his fellow villagers being electrocuted made Azerias quite angry about the attack. “How dare you tread upon my lands and that of my ancestors?! You shall pay dearly for this day!”

***

Ducura began to lunge forward and charged against the remaining warriors that had not fallen. Lucias noticed that there was something strange about the man leading the doomed villagers. His sword was glowing bright and any lightning strike was either absorbed or cast aside. Something about this situation began to really bother him.

Lucias then noticed Ducura cry in pain as he saw a bright blinding light illuminate from the center of its back. Lucias eyes widened as he witnessed the horror taking place. “What?! Impossible! That is IMPOSSIBLE!” The figure that once was Ducura disintegrated into nothing. He saw the man’s figure appear from the shadow of Ducura’s corpse. Lucias was filled with anger. His eyes turned blood red and the dark aura around him intensified. He began to chant as he put his hands out in front of him. Suddenly, a dark swirl appeared in his hands and took form as a sword. As he began to charge towards the man, shouting, “Sword of Darkness, guide me as I avenge the death of my brother!”

***

Azerias was surprised at how easy it was that the monster fell. What made him even more surprised was how his sword was reacting to the evil. The swiftness of the defeat was quick, almost too quick for Azerias. Ahead of him he saw the man in black begin charging him with his sword. The two clashed swords in a display of brilliant light. “Get away from my village,” shouted Azerias. “Ha! I will destroy you and your pitiful village to avenge my brother’s death!” They stood there swords locked. Azerias broke free and began slashing at his opponent. “Who the hell are you?” asked Azerias between blows. “I am Lucias, and you killed my brother Ducura! You must pay!” Lucias lunged at Azerias, but dodged the attack and answered with one of his own. Lucias grabbed the right side of his face and looked at his hand. He had blood on it and across his cheek. “There is something about you that allows you to be equal with me. I cannot allow that!”

Azerias lifted his sword just as Lucias thrusted his hand towards him; Suddenly, a light that shone more brightly than any before appeared, a loud thunderous clap was heard, an intense silence which followed afterwards filled Azerias’s and Lucias’s minds, and all went completely black.