The Story of Evil: Volume I - Heroes of the Siege (2 page)

A rift grew between the four races. Slowly, over time, they seceded from each other. Moving away from collected populations of people was the best defense against Draviakhan. If they were all spread out, they would be harder to find, which meant fewer would be killed. Humans went one way, Elves the opposite, and the Giants and Dwarves followed in similar fashion. North, south, east, and west, the good people split apart in every direction. Cities and towns were left abandoned. Only memories remained. The strategy was effective in lengthening the lives of people, but it did nothing to stop the enemy. Every day was spent in fear as the scattered races wondered how long it would take before they were found in their new locations.

One day, Draviakhan’s monsters came across a small, self-sustaining farm located at the western base of the Canyon Ridge Mountains. Every breathing creature was killed, except for one young man. He was the one person the monsters should have killed. His name was Oliver Zoran; the one who would eventually kill Draviakhan. Oliver had escaped death, but watched as his father, mother, brothers, sisters, animals, house, and land were all completely destroyed. Everything he had known and loved was gone forever. In that moment, he vowed to himself and to the good god that before he died, he would end the life of the Imperial Dragon.

Oliver traveled across the entire world with nothing more than a sword and shield, a horse, and a mysterious egg. He battled and defeated any monster that blocked him on his path to vengeance. On his journey, the good god gave him the powers of each of the five elements. The abilities that were once only wieldable by monsters now empowered his armor, sword, and shield. It was in using these new-found powers that Oliver Zoran was able to defeat and kill Draviakhan, ending hundreds of years of pain and suffering for the four races. What stood remaining of the Imperial Dragon’s army cowered in fear at the young man who had just beheaded (five times) their powerful leader.

Zoran’s quest became a widely told story that served as inspiration and motivation for people worldwide. The abandoned villages, towns, and cities began to be repopulated. New and better cities were built over the ruins of old ones.

Zoran established the Celestial City on the Pastoral Plains. The greatest city in history would be built on the place where the warriors of the four races had been so devastatingly defeated. It featured a magnificent castle; the largest one ever created. In the highest tower, the dragon slayer sat on his golden throne, underneath his golden crown with the new name of King Zoran.

King Oliver Zoran led his kingdom into a time of peace and prosperity that surpassed everything gained before Draviakhan’s arrival. But although the evil god’s darkest creation had been defeated, evil had not been completely destroyed. The time of peace was only temporary. The war was far from over. Soon, the ultimate villain would rise up and challenge King Zoran’s reign over Element.

This is
The Story of Evil
.

Chapter 1

The crowd roared with excitement as they cheered for their hero, Stephen Brightflame. Steve was only three points away from winning his semi-finals match in the Warriors’ Jousting Tournament. He closed the visor of his red helm and kicked his heels into the sides of his armored horse, Clyx. The hearts of thousands of collective fans beat faster and faster as the thoroughbreds raced towards each other. Steve’s blue cape whipped behind him as Clyx’s speed increased. Steve lowered his heavy red and blue lance. The colors swirled down the shaft in a dizzying spiral.

The sharp crack of splintering wood rang through the entire stadium and was quickly replaced with a chorus of cheers. Steve had landed a devastating blow on his opponent’s chest, denting his polished yellow armor.

Two more points till victory.

The Warriors’ Joust was the most popular sporting event of the year. The warriors were a well-respected class amongst the civilians in the kingdom. They served as the law enforcement in all the villages, towns, and cities on Element. Each year, every town sent their best jouster to the Celestial City to compete in the prestigious tournament.

The Celestial City was the capital of Element where King Zoran reigned over his kingdom. At some point early in its establishment, Celestial (sometimes called the Circle City) became the unofficial central point of the world. Maps always featured the grand city in their center. Just south of Celestial’s walls was the deep blue Darien Sea. It was filled with huge wooden ships; their giant, puffy, white sails canvassed the bay like clouds. Large ships from faraway places docked in the Darien Bay and then sent their smaller lifeboats upriver into the city. This was the easiest way to access merchant shops to sell, trade, and buy supplies for their own cities before taking it all back downstream to their sail ships.

North of the city was the Whitebark Woods, which transformed into dense forests before reaching Lake Azure. To the west lay the Prairie, with its rolling hills and valleys. The snowcapped Valpyrio Heights Mountain Range ominously stood to the east of Celestial. These mountains were home to Element’s only volcano, Mount Valpyrio. The melted snow and ice of Valpyrio Heights formed a large lake high in the mountains. The lake emptied out through one of the largest waterfalls in the world and became the Fluorite River. The Fluorite River flowed through the downward-sloped Evergreen Forest and Whitebark Woods and ran into Celestial - as the city’s main water source - before emptying out into the Darien Sea.

In the center of Celestial was King Zoran’s castle. It was the largest, tallest, and most beautiful castle on all of Element. Its many towers appeared to touch the heavens as its colorful red and blue flags flapped in the comforting breeze that swept east to west across the city. No matter where you were in Celestial, you could look up and see the castle. You could even be miles away outside the city’s outer wall and still be able to catch a glimpse of at least the King’s Tower. According to travelers, one of the most breathtaking sights in the world was looking down from the eastern Valpyrio Mountains and into the large valley called the Pastoral Plains that the Celestial City was built in.

Other than the amazing scenic beauty that the Circle City provided, it was also the center of culture and commerce. Many people traveled from far away to experience the city’s famous landmarks, museums, restaurants, shopping, and other attractions. The tender hospitability Celestial residents gave to visitors only added to the charm of the city. You would have to try hard to find someone who was not constantly smiling and always optimistic. Visitors always left Celestial with a heartwarming feeling. It wasn’t hard to understand why Celestial was both the most highly populated city and the most visited city on all of Element.

The best time to visit Celestial was during the Annual Warriors’ Tournaments. Thousands of people from all over the world flocked to the Circle City to watch competitions between warriors held over two days, once a year. Some of the tournaments included Warriors’ Archery, Warriors’ Combat, Warriors’ Melee, and everyone’s favorite, the Warriors’ Joust.

The weekend was not just about competition, fun, and excitement, it was also an opportunity to celebrate how far the four races had come since the dark days of Draviakhan’s reign. The warriors were the central focus of the festivities and rightly so, since they were the ones that risked their lives to protect civilians and prevent monster attacks.

Stephen Brightflame grew up in Celestial. He had earned the privilege and honor to proudly represent his hometown in the Warriors’ Joust. Steve removed his helm as he trotted Clyx around, playfully encouraging the crowd’s support. He couldn’t contain his excitement as he smiled to the spectators. Steve had one of those bright smiles that made people instantly like him.

“This is amazing,” Steve said out loud to himself. He knew moments like these were meant to be treasured as they would not last forever. If he won the Warriors’ Joust, he would automatically be invited to represent Celestial again for next year’s tournament. But if he lost, he would have to again go through the grueling rounds of Celestial’s qualifying matches, competing against warriors who also dreamt of being in the position he was currently in.

Steve still couldn’t believe he had been the victor of the Celestial Qualifiers. He had a shaky start, but ended up making it to the final round, called the ladder round. He started as the lowest seed, but ended up defeating everyone he challenged.

What was even harder for Steve to believe was the fact that he was currently just one match away from the Championship Joust in the actual tournament. Ever since he was a child, he dreamed of becoming the worldwide champion jouster of the warriors, but he never believed it would actually happen.

The crowd noise was deafening; even the people who lived in the houses surrounding the arena were hanging out their windows, watching the action, and adding to the cheers. Everywhere he looked Steve saw pennants of Celestial’s colors of red and blue being waved back and forth through the air. The colors matched his specially designed and perfectly fitted jousting armor. Steve was wearing all red, while Clyx was in blue. The two colors combined to form a cooperative team between man and horse.

As Steve looked around the stadium at the smiling, cheering faces, his eyes caught the face of a beautiful woman. She smiled at him. He nodded back with an attractive smile of his own. It caused six ladies around that area to think the smile was meant solely for them, making all of their hearts flutter.

The woman Steve was focused on held up her arm and stuck out two fingers towards him. With the pointer and middle finger of her right hand, she held both straight up, high above her head. Steve smiled at her and nodded.

Two points. That was all he needed before he won and moved on to the championship match.

Steve galloped over to his side and put his jouster’s helm back on. He was handed a new lance from one of his four faithful squires. These young boys held him in the highest regard. They tried to emulate Steve’s every action and mannerism. Boys wanted to be like him, and girls were in love with him. This was the kind of attention the hometown jouster got from civilians. Everyone put their hope in him to win the golden trophy.

Clyx was just as popular. Steve was a stable boy for the warriors when he met the stallion for the first time. He had just fed the warhorses their dinner when he heard an odd clicking sound. He quickly turned around to see where the noise had come from. Steve realized it was coming from the newborn colt with short, light brown fur, crunching on his food. Every time the animal took a bite of the hard food, his jaw clicked. That was the day Steve named him Clyx.

When Steve rode the brown stallion through the city to the entrance of the arena on the mornings of his Qualifier’s matches, boys and girls would run up and give Clyx a carrot, just to hear the funny noise.

Steve had never met a more loyal horse than Clyx. He had ridden him countless times on his patrols in the city and in battles against monsters outside the city. Steve rode Clyx for his jousting matches in the Celestial City’s qualifying rounds. He had competed in eight jousts held over the past two months as Celestial looked for the warrior who would represent them in the Warriors’ Jousting Tournament.

After winning the Qualifiers, Steve was offered a different horse. A special purebred was always pedigreed years beforehand specifically for Celestial’s jouster. Somewhere there was a horse being bred for the tournament ten years down the road.

Steve had declined the breeder’s offer. Clyx was a stallion warhorse. He wasn’t entirely agile or super-fast, but together they had a connection and a bond. Steve and Clyx had willpower that knew no ends. Sometimes that quality triumphs over physical attributes. No one could convince Steve to abandon his trusty steed. All Steve would say was, “Together we have come this far, and together we will go as far as we can.”

During the tournament, people kept saying Clyx’s build was not meant for jousting and that Steve was just getting lucky wins. Celestial was considered the underdog and everyone expected their next match to be their last. But Steve and Clyx never lost. They were currently in their eleventh match of the Warriors’ Joust.

Steve turned and faced his opponent, preparing for the next encounter. But before he raised his lance to show the flagman he was ready, Steve stopped. He noticed something odd in the crowd. He looked around and saw that everyone was holding up two fingers. That woman’s signal had been contagious.
Two points.
Steve would have responded to the crowd by holding up two fingers of his own, but in one hand he held his lance and in the other, Clyx’s reins. So instead, he just lifted his lance high above his head, pointing it to the blue sky, polka-dotted with fluffy white clouds. This elicited another eruption of cheers.

When Cyrus, Steve’s opponent, received his lance from his own squires and signaled he was ready, the flagman slowly walked to the middle of the arena with his flag held even. As the two warriors anxiously awaited the raise of the flag, a bleeding Celestial warrior with two arrows stuck in his chest ran out into the middle of the arena yelling, “We’re under attack! We’re under attack!”

Steve heard the screams from the crowd before he noticed the dark shadows on the sand filled arena floor. Along with every audience member, his gaze glanced towards the sky.

Flaming boulders began raining down around everyone.