The Fallen Guardian (The Guardian Chronicles 2) (3 page)

“Please
take a seat, Galen. Idiot number one, fetch us some ale!  Idiot number two, go
and get us some meat. This poor fellow has been through quite an ordeal. Go!”
he blasted at his intellectually challenged guards.

“Chief…they
are dead. All of them,” stammered Galen. He was shaking violently from the rage
that was still coursing through him.

“It
is okay, Galen. It is not your fault,” began Chief Angus.

“No,
it is not all right. I just watched them kill each other,” he replied quietly.

“What? 
Who killed each other?” queried the chief angrily. “Tell me exactly what
happened back there.”

“A
wicked elf came out of the darkness and caused the fire to explode into the
group of giants you sent to find out what the deserters were up to. They
attacked the little warlock right away, and at first it looked like they had
killed him, but he survived a direct blow from a rock the size of his own head.
As your soldiers continued to assault the intruder, it became clear that this
fellow had powerful magic. All of their weapons were deflected somehow, and he
did something that I cannot quite explain,” Galen explained calmly.

“What
did he do to my soldiers?” asked Angus with suppressed rage.

“He
used his mind, I think, to force them to attack one another. Only one survived
the attack, and it appeared that he had shaken off the elf’s control over his
mind because he rushed the wizard. The warlock sent a fireball into him that
sent him flying through the air. As he approached again, the little elf shot a
poisoned arrow right between his eyes. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Then, that wicked creature smiled and left in the direction of the border
between Renshaw and Burien,” finished the spy dejectedly.

“Take
heart, my good fellow. These crimes will not go unpunished. I need you to help
prepare for war. It is clear that the elves are fighting amongst each other at
the very least. I hereby promote you to the rank of captain, and your first set
of orders is to organize the troops and explain what has happened. Then, take
the army to the borderlands and wait for me there. I am going to go and recruit
the other tribes; we have been divided for too long. We are going to require
their numbers if we are to put an end to our wicked neighbors,” the chief
explained determinedly.

“Thank
you, sir!” snapped the new captain. “We will be ready and in position by noon
three days from now.”

“I
will be back in no time at all. I sense that the time has come for the giants
to rise to the occasion as one nation and not as five tribes. Be ready. We will
push our enemy until they break or are wiped from the face of Tuwa!  Go!”
ordered the chief.

“May
the gods be with you, Chief!” saluted Captain Galen.

The
army under the command of Captain Galen stood like statues along the border
between the Black Forest and the Burien Lands. There were banners waving in the
gentle breeze some thirty feet in the air. The average height of a soldier in
Chief Angus’s army was thirteen feet. The wall of fully armored soldiers was an
impressive sight to behold. The sun glinted and shimmered off of their helms,
chest plates, and weapons. There was nothing more frightening than a giant with
a sword the size of a man. As the minutes passed, the ground beneath the stoic
soldiers began to shake slightly. Galen pushed through the lines to get a look
at what was making the noise behind him. There appeared to be a dust storm
kicking up behind them. He strained his eyes to get a better look and noticed
that what he mistook for a storm were the combined armies of the other four
tribes. They were not marching in their direction; they were running.

Within
minutes the sea of giants, were right in front of him, standing still like the
soldiers under his command. Not one of them looked at the captain, and no one
said anything at all. Silence had come over this awe-inspiring gathering of
these towering creatures. The captain was so consumed in his shock and
disbelief that he had not noticed that the five chiefs were standing at the
front of the combined armies. It looked as though they were about to make a
speech.

“You
are gathered here on this historic day to witness the birth of a unified giant
nation. After serious discussion, I have been appointed to be the first king of
the giants,” boomed King Angus. Cheers and shouts of approval rang through the
clear sky.

“We
have retained the division of the tribes for the purposes of organizing the
army. I have been appointed to be the general of the army of Angus,” explained
General Lang. More shouts of approval echoed through the air as he made this
declaration.

“I
am the commander of the warriors and will lead them into battle,” explained
Commander Gerodi.

“And
I am the commander of the artillery division,” piped up Commander Boaz.

“I
have appointed Lord Marcello to be the head of my guard and to lead the siege
warriors,” said the king with a booming voice. A collective chill went down the
spines of everyone gathered around. Lord Marcello was the only giant who had
the command of magic. He stepped into view at this introduction, gripping a
staff that was the size of a small sapling.

“Look!”
shouted Captain Galen as he pointed to the southern part of the Black Forest.
Smoke began to fill the air, and flames shot so high into the air that they
could see clearly that the forest had caught fire.

King
Angus took this opportunity to explain in detail what had happened thus far,
and he also explained what they had found out about what was going on in the
forest. They knew that there was a large army of wicked elves preparing to
attack in the north and an enormous army of orcs were attacking in the south.
They did not know the reason for this evil alliance, but they knew that these
two armies were heading for the capital city at the heart of the forest. As the
king explained the battle plan, he was interrupted again by shouts from the
ranks and everyone pointing in the direction of Tarisdell. Explosions could be
heard and seen from their vantage point while dark clouds had gathered
unexpectedly over the fair city. Fire was raining down from above as though it
were rain. A deafening roar could be heard over the vast number of miles
between the giant army and the city at the center of the woods.

“A
dragon…here?” thought the king out loud incredulously.

As
the collective eyes of the army looked at the fray taking place, a small black
dot could be seen leaving the capital and making its way north. After a few
more minutes, the dot disappeared. The soldiers began to mutter and talk to one
another about the strange events they had just witnessed. General Lang called
for quiet as he walked up to the king to discuss in whispered tones about the
strange events. They were trying to figure out what course of action they could
take when they were interrupted again by shouts from the troops. The black dot
had reappeared in the sky and was heading north between Mount Quang and Konane.

“Let’s
keep it together,” began General Lang before he was interrupted with sounds of
a heated battle breaking out from the spot the dragon had disappeared from a
short time ago.

“That’s
it!  We move out in five minutes!” boomed King Angus decisively. He had had
enough of this mystery and did not wait another moment to act. “We must go to
the aid of the elves so that we do not lose them like the Eldar of old.” 
Shouts of agreement filled the air as well as threats of terrible fates for
those perpetrating this siege.

The
army began their march into the forest after they had begun their war chants.
The army of seventy-five thousand strong giants made their way into the dense
woodlands, still chanting and spouting horrible threats and oaths. Meeting a
giant was never a safe thing for anyone in the land of Tuwa, with the exception
of a rock troll, but it was fatal to meet one enraged. The high elves did not
know what they were in for when the two armies met, but they would learn
firsthand what it is like to meet an army of angry giants.

King
Angus stood at the very front of the rumbling army along with his general, his
two commanders, and the deadly magician, Marcello. The king had dispatched a
handful of soldiers to act as scouts, and when they returned after a few
minutes to report that the wicked elves had engaged the good elves just outside
the northern outer wall, he knew he had to act immediately.

“Commander
Boaz!” barked General Lang. “Take your artillery unit to the south and attack
from the west. Commander Gerodi!  Take your warriors to the north, and get
behind the vile attackers. We do not want anyone to escape.”

“Yes,
sir!” snapped Commander Boaz and Gerodi in unison.

“Lord
Marcello, we need you to enhance our armor and weapons with your magic. We
would also like a protective shield if possible,” said the general reverently.

“I
will make it so,” replied the wizard in a low, soothing voice.

“After
you are done with those tasks, return here to direct the king’s guard. We do
not want anyone to get near our position. Once you have returned, would you be
so kind as to announce our arrival?” asked the general with a wry smile.

“It
would be my pleasure,” replied Lord Marcello with a twinkle in his eye.

After
a couple hours of positioning, the wizard had returned to his king’s guard for
the final preparations. After everyone was in position, Lord Marcello raised
his staff in the air and muttered some unintelligible words. A blue shield
appeared slowly in front of the artillery units and the warriors. The siege
warriors and king’s guard remained behind with Lord Marcello, King Angus, and General
Lang. After a few minutes, the staff of Marcello lowered to the ground again as
if the effort of creating the shields cost him dearly. He stood in the same
spot for minutes while he appeared to be recovering from the extreme use of
magic. His head snapped up abruptly and stared into the darkened skies overhead
and raised his staff once more.

“And
so it begins,” said King Angus in hushed tones.

Again
the wizard muttered something under his breath, and an eerie blue light went up
into the clouds. The hail of fire turned to a deluge of rain. Lightning ripped
through the sky as if the storm was only beginning, and booms of thunder tore
through the air so loudly that no one could hear anything at all. The rain put
out the fires at the southern part of the city and the several fires in the
forest north of Tarisdell. The high elves were bewildered by the change in the
weather and the ear-splitting thunder. As they looked around to see what was
causing these strange events, massive blue objects began hitting the ground.
The chunks of ice were fifty feet in diameter and were hitting the ground with
such velocity that the ground shook uncontrollably. After a few minutes of
this, the ice stopped and the rain came down fiercer than before.

“Fire!”
order Commander Boaz. A volley of arrows flew through the air at the western
flank of the high elves. Several of the wicked elves went down. The battle that
had been between the elves and high elves had now taken on a new dimension. The
giants had arrived, and the tide of the battle turned in the favor of the
woodland elves. A portion of the high elves turned their attention to the
newcomers and a bloody confrontation ensued.

As
Kana made her way deep into the icy northern regions on her dragon, she
continued to mull over the glitches in her plans. Each strategy she had devised
seemed to have been discovered in part before its execution. The reports from
her network of spies had told her that the dwarves at Mount Carrick had been
ready for the attack. The elves in the southern part of the forest had been
made aware of the impending assault before her orcs could surprise them. She
just found out that the high elves had been ambushed numerous times before
arriving outside the outer wall of Tarisdell. The giants had appeared out of
nowhere and had the unsuspecting Lord Dükker surrounded. She could not believe
her misfortune and did not think that these incidents were merely coincidences.
She was going to get some answers one way or another.

The
country below her turned to snow as she continued to fly high in the sky. She
was going to have a little chat with her old friend about what exactly was
going on. He would help her or suffer excruciating pain and endless torment.
She could not kill him, of course, but she could make his existence miserable
at the very least. She just knew that he had something to do with the leakage
of information about her plans, and he was going to answer to her for his
meddling. After dealing with Lord Keb, she would be free to pursue her war with
the people of Tuwa. She still needed to recruit some other allies and get them
involved as soon as possible. Even though her army was considerably larger than
the organized armies of the dwarves and man, she knew that her ranks were
susceptible to superior battle tactics.

After
she had flown for what seemed to be hours, she came upon a mysterious dark
mountain that reached so high that it pierced the sky. It was completely
covered in snow, and yet it did not look white to the naked eye. The snow was
discolored somehow to look gray and dirty. As she approached her destination in
the far north, she took deep steadying breaths as she took in her gloomy
surroundings. The dragon tried to turn away as it neared the mountainside. He
instinctively knew what the place was and what lay beneath it. He did not want
to have anything to do with landing anywhere near the cursed place. Kana was
momentarily taken aback by her steed’s refusal to follow her command to land.
She spurred him hard and tried to use her psychic control over him to
reestablish dominance. He resisted the mental attack for some time before he
finally succumbed to his master’s will. He swung back around and landed on the
southern slope. Kana jumped down and glared at the dragon with such a steely
look that he turned away.

“You
may leave now, you coward!  Come back periodically to see if I am ready to
depart. Make sure that no one approaches and that we are not disturbed,” she
commanded pointedly.
The simpleton does not realize that he cannot be hurt
by this cursed mountain while I am with him
. She knew that this was the
birthplace of evil and that traces of it still existed within the mountain’s
bowels. She also knew that her power was greater than anything she would
encounter here, so she was truthfully unafraid.

The
dragon shot back up into the sky and flew a short distance to a mountain top
directly south of the wicked place.
There was something more to that strange
location than the evil it emits
. Somewhere below the jagged slopes lived a
creature that could do horrific things to the inhabitants of Tuwa. The beast
did not merely kill; it would steal your soul. It was said to feed off of the
fears and hatred of the living even though it was not truly alive itself. The
overzealous guardian was playing with fire by taking care of her business in a
locale that was home to what most referred to as the demon lord. There were
stories in the northern lands of his spawn killing whole villages for no other
reason than to kill. Many who had witnessed these attacks said that the demons
were wraiths and could not be killed by any conventional or magical means.
If
she falls prey to what lies beneath, it will be on her own head.

Kana
entered a small opening on the slope and continued down a narrow passageway
that led her to where her fellow Elemental had been bound. As she made her way
down the tunnel, she could sense the presence of several ethereal creatures that
were watching her from somewhere in the shadows. She could smell their dank and
foul breath as she passed the invisible watchers. The walls were smooth as
plated glass, which made it difficult for anyone to follow her on foot. She had
to glide because every side of the vertical tunnel was slick. They had been
magically polished in order to deter potential intruders from sneaking in. Kana
did not believe that anyone would be crazy enough to enter such an evil place,
but she knew that she would have done the same thing just to be on the safe
side. As she continued her journey into the bowels of the mountain, the air
became even more fetid and rank. She called up a stiff wind to blow the stench
away from her, which also propelled her toward her captive guest.

After
a few intense twists and turns, the tunnel opened up to a vast cavern that
appeared to have been constructed by some rudimentary means. The bottom of the
massive underground cave was covered in slimy water that was filled with bones
and rotting flesh of unfortunate visitors. The smell was absolutely putrid and
would have caused anyone else to pass out. Kana, however, merely called up the
wind again to swirl about her as a protective shield against the foul odors.
She descended a little more slowly now until she hovered just above the bent
figure of Lord Keb.

His
eyes lifted to look at his fellow Elemental. He could not believe that any
guardian would break their code of commanding an element or elements that they
did not have stewardship over. It was clear that Kana’s power has progressed
far beyond the command of fire and wind. She was now commanding all four
elements with great proficiency. He knew that an Elemental could feasibly find
a way to command the other elements, but he could not believe that one of them
would actually choose to break their sacred laws.

“I
see that you are still here, my old friend,” began Kana derisively. “You still
do not understand why I have brought you here?”

“I
simply cannot believe that you have bound me here. Of all the places in the
world, why here?” asked a bewildered Lord Keb. His voice shook slightly with
disbelief.

“So,
you recognize your new home already?  I thought you would,” she said with a
nasty smile.

“Why
bring me here and leave me alone for this long?  I have done nothing to you and
neither has the council,” Keb pled with her. He could sense the evil around him
and that it was now more alive than when he had first arrived several weeks
ago. He did not understand why Kana had brought him to this place, and, more to
the point, how did she manage to do it?  He was simply did not comprehend what
was happening to him. None of it made sense.

“Well,
at least you know where you are. I thought you would have figured out the
reason I locked you away deep within this birthplace of evil.”  She had a trace
of real disappointment in her voice as she spoke. She believed Lord Keb was the
most intelligent of the four basic Elementals.
Perhaps he is merely in shock
or he is still in denial.

“What
have you been up to?”  He was beginning to understand exactly what was going
on. He could feel her hatred for him and the others. He was also aware of the
wraiths that were appearing behind the wicked sorceress. They seemed to be
feeding off of his fear and her loathing. They began to whirl around gleefully
at the unexpected treat.

“I
have decided that the council is far too limited in its scope. I have been
branching out a bit. I feel that we should not shun the lesser races of Tuwa
like we have done for centuries now. We do not have control over them as we
once did––”

“We
never controlled them!  What you are referring to was different than what I
believe you are doing now. We counseled them and taught them; we never ruled
them.”

“I
do not see the distinction. We taught them what we wanted them to know.
Knowledge is power, and we used it to control what went on in Tuwa a thousand
years ago. The result of our interference was millennia of peace and prosperity
for the peoples of the middle land. However, in our absence, the races have evolved
to a point where they pose a great threat to one another again and the land
itself is in danger. Can you not feel it?”

“I
do sense uneasiness within the earth and within the races of Tuwa. I fear that
war is about to break out once again. But, I do not believe that it is our
place to become involved unless the elements are in extreme danger.”

“An
isolationist ’til the last. So be it.”  Kana motioned with her left hand to
someone or something behind Keb.

“What
are you doing?”  He did not like where this was going.
Has she allied
herself with the evil creatures that live within this wicked mountain?  If so,
what are they planning to do to me?  They cannot kill me or do any lasting
harm, so what is Kana playing at?

“I
am planning on torturing you for information, my weak friend. Why else do you
think I returned?  I left you here so that you would not interfere any further
with my plans, but it seems that you have continued to disrupt my plans even
though you have not left this place. How have you done this?”

“What
are you talking about?  I have not left here. You made sure of that.”

“Then
how have my enemies discovered my plans before they were fully implemented? 
Did you communicate with your old friend Neb somehow?  Did you tell him about
my plans?”

“I
have no clue what is going on outside this accursed mountain. What are you up
to really?”

“I
told you…there is need for intervention like before and I am doing it again.
However, our dear leader does not want to get involved in the affairs of lesser
people, so I have taken it on myself to act for the council.”  She looked at
him skeptically as she hovered above him.
I do not believe that he did not
pass information to one of the council.

“How
are you intervening?”  Keb had a sense of dread coming over him as he looked up
at his former friend.

“I
am merely restoring the proper balance that existed before we got involved the
last time.”

“But
that would mean you are helping the orcs and goblins.”

“Do
not forget the rock trolls. They were on the receiving end the last time as
well. However, this time I have even persuaded a few of the elves to join my
side so that they would be preserved. This time men and dwarves will perish
just like the Eldar and other lesser races did a thousand years ago.”  Her
features turned rather ugly as she looked him straight in the eyes. She began
to emit the same fowl stench as the wraiths swarming around them.

“Your
ways have become evil; that much is clear. Like all things wicked, you too will
end up all alone. Your undoing will be the treacherous friends you are making.
They will not support you longer than what it will take to get what they want.
What makes you think that the orcs, goblins, rock trolls, and elves will
continue to follow you if you succeed in usurping power?”  He smiled at the
look of disgust on Kana’s face after he had said this.

“You
know nothing of true power!  You were always too weak because of your
peace-loving attitude. Your undoing will be your faith in those divided races
uniting to fight against my vast armies. You will find that your trust is sadly
misplaced, and your folly will be revealed in due time.”

“Go
ahead and do what you will to me because it will do you no good. I know nothing
that will aid your cause against the peoples of Tuwa. Go; wage your unholy war
and leave me be.”  He was being rather recalcitrant toward his captor and did
not seem to care what she did to him.
After all, she cannot kill me. Can
she?  She knows that I cannot die. Only the guardian would know if that were
even possible.

Kana
stuck out both of her hands dramatically and said, “
Eromé
!”  Lord Keb
turned into a pile of dirt. The wicked mistress laughed raucously at her
captive as he obeyed her command. She had truly mastered the command of
elements outside her stewardship. Keb could not believe that she was able to
make him transform. What was even more disconcerting was the fact he could not
change back.
What evil magic is this?

“
Woorgal
!”
bellowed Kana wickedly. Keb turned into a piece of wood and found that he could
still not change to any other form. He was at her command now, and there
appeared to be nothing he could do to fight it. He knew that he must now focus
his efforts on protecting the secrets he kept for the guardian. If Kana found
out some of them, the entire world would be in danger. He turned his entire
attention inward while trying to mask his internal action from his vile captor.

“
Flymaré
!”
screamed Kana. Fire engulfed the beleaguered Lord Keb. It took everything he
had to protect his thoughts from his captor. He knew that if he did not,
thousands would suffer and die. The council would be irreparably broken if he
was not successful.

“I
am going to leave you now so that you can think about whether you help me
willingly or if I have to become real nasty,” Kana said maniacally. “I will not
be gone long. I leave you in the care of some of my new friends.”