The Forgotten Land of Myria

ROY

“ANGUS NO! WAKE UP!” I heard Leof yell as the golden sword, now in Angus’ hand, clashed with mine. It clearly wasn’t him. His strength was unbelievable and I strained to keep his sword inches away from my face. His eyes were rolled all the way back and his face was completely blank. Before he could move any further, Leof tackled him knocking the sword out of his hands.

They wrestled on the ground but Angus hurled him against one of the trees like a sack of flour. Before he hit the ground, Angus caught him, punched him, and tossed him across the field into another tree. Safira had managed to pierce his leg with an arrow, but it didn’t bother him at all. Safira then shot a string of arrows as she charged at him. I jumped in as well, thinking he couldn’t hold both of us off. Wrong. By the time I took a swing at him, Safira was out cold on the ground. He had dodged the arrows and knocked her out with a single hit from his sword hilt.

He easily blocked my series of swings. I tried thrusting at him but he grabbed my sword hand tightly, punched me hard in the face and chucked me over his shoulder. That’s when I realized he was marching toward Alice. I watched him kick up the golden sword like a soccer ball, without even breaking stride, as I struggled to pick myself up. This time Eulisses stepped in and raised his staff and grimstone but Angus was quick; he swatted the stone out of Eulisses’ hand, struck his chin with the sword hilt, kicked the staff away and dug the sword into his open stomach.

“NO!” I yelled. Without thinking I leapt onto his back, taking him down with me, and, with all that was left of my strength, stuck my spear in his arm. As I retreated I pulled the arrow out of his leg. My hand stung--I’d done it again.

My spear had caught fire before stabbing into his arm. Blood spurted vividly, but he didn’t seem to feel any pain--at least whatever was in him didn’t. He got up, but this time struggling and his legs shook like something was holding him back.

He’s fighting back, I thought. Angus is fighting back.

He strained and groaned, twitching nervously while bobbing his head. His flickering eyes were fixed on the fire that spread through his arm. I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to put out the fire but it seemed to be working. Suddenly, a screeching sound stabbed my ears. Out of nowhere, a bright red bird swooped in. I saw that his wings were on fire. The Vermillion! It landed on Angus’ arm, spread its flaming wings and pecked his chest.

Angus’ eyes--his real eyes this time--widened, and he gasped as the dark shadow shot out of his chest. The shadow returned to its bird form and attacked the Vermillion. The two birds squawked and pecked at each other--then I had an idea. I gritted my teeth and ripped the burning spear from Angus’ arm, ignoring his agonizing scream. I examined the red and black figures rising into the air and tried to focus my aim.

The most vulnerable area, I thought. Holding my breath, I drew my arm back and hurled the spear straight up in the air.

CLUCK!

The dark shadow plummeted to the ground, shifting forms in midair. When it landed, it had retaken the form of the hooded man. The lifeless hooded man with a spear pierced right through his neck.

The most vulnerable area, I repeated. The neck.

I couldn’t help but grin. It didn’t last long, though--Safira and Leof, now conscious, were staring at me, horrified. The forest was on fire. I shrugged.

“My bad.”

Leof jumped to his feet and moved to help Angus, who was still twitching on the ground. He ran his hands over Angus’ arms and the fire disappeared--then carefully flung him over his shoulder. I knelt down next to Alice. Her eyes were open, but she was cold and motionless.

“I got you,” I whispered. I took off my shirt and wrapped her in it, using the shirt to fashion a sling. As I cradled her, I felt the weight of the last few weeks slide off my shoulders and melt down my back.

“I promise--Alice, I promise you,” I said, wiping my fallen tears from her ivory cheek. “No one will ever hurt you. You’re safe with--”

“Roy! Over here!” Safira yelled, attempting to sit Eulisses up. Blood gushed out of his chest where the sword was still stuck. As I bent down to help, he raised a shaky hand.

“We’ll get you out of here,” I reassured him.

“No...go,” he muttered.

“Eulisses it’s just a sword wound--”

“But that’s not just a fire,” Eulisses coughed. “You set a sacrificial fire. You cannot outrun it, for it will only die out once it takes someone down with it.” He pointed down an open pathway that had already burned out. “There’s a river down that path--follow it. Ada’s waiting for you.”

“Let’s move out!” Leof gathered around Eulisses as well and stubbornly tried to pick him up.

“Angus,” Eulisses croaked to Leof. Angus was drooped over Leof’s shoulder. “After I’m gone, give Angus my grimstone. Tell him to look for Laza--Lazarus Craddock.”

“But I can’t touch--”

“It’s okay, I’ll be dead.”

His large black eyes then shifted down towards Alice’s body that I held in my arms. Eulisses gave a sly grin--what he did was so fast that I didn’t see it coming. He quickly ripped out the golden sword, covered in his blood, with an agonizing scream and plunged it in Alice’s chest. Everything seemed to stop--including my breath. Thoughts bounced around my head. Eulisses was still grinning while I heard a snap.

A large crack ran down the sword that was still stuck in Alice’s chest. Before I could grab it, the entire blade shattered like bits of glass, floating in the air. Then, in the blink of an eye, the bits were sucked into Alice’s open chest--she gasped as her head flung upward. A warm feeling spread through me, and I threw my arms around her, only pulling back when I realized I might be crushing her. She blinked, still disoriented and barely conscious.

“You’re welcome,” Eulisses muttered, still grinning. Leof and Safira stared at Alice.

“How could I ever--”

“GO!” he yelled as the fire roared louder. I noticed that it was almost closing the pathway. “All of you, now!” He got up, and smiled at me one last time--and I noticed the oddest thing about him. His appearance was changing. His hair was turning white, and his face began to grow...old.

“Shohanna!” he exclaimed. “I can see her!”

Hastily, I turned and dashed down the path after Safira and Leof. I took one last glance at Eulisses’ burning figure, and heard him say, “She has chestnut eyes...” before he surrendered to the flames...

Down the path, we found a small boat bobbing in the river. We rowed down the river and, just as Eulisses had said, there was a hill at the mouth where Ada and the wildlings were waiting for us--along with a very tame-looking Horned Serpent. Once she saw us, Ada untied it, and the beast spread its wings and shrieked. The wildlings hissed and I almost fell into the river in fear.

“It’s okay,” Ada called out calmly. “Come.” We waded through the dirty river and up the hillock.

“Where’s Eulisses?”

I caught Ada’s eye scanning through the burning forest. We didn’t have to say anything for her to realize what had happened. She took a deep breath and said, “I guess I have to fly it myself, then.”

Leof placed Angus neatly over the Serpent’s neck and one by one, we each mounted it. The Serpent jerked forward the moment I got on. I clutched Alice.

“Don’t feel scared,” Ada said, in a shaky voice. “It’ll sense your fear.”

Once we were all on (the wildlings had to cling onto Safira and Leof to make enough room) Ada snapped the reigns and the Serpent kicked into flight. We circled the Fortress before rising up above the clouds. Ada couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore.

“Why did he stay?” Ada called over the winds once we were high up. Safira responded in the same way I would.

“It was his destiny. The curse was lifted. He died in peace.”

“Krupo...ku--po.”

Alice had lost consciousness again, but she was still breathing. I stroked her hair gently as we all watched the fire consume Squire Elm Fortress in silence.

“Thank you.”