Valtorex at the Academy: Learning Never Stops
Knowledge is like gold, the more you have, the more you need.
At the Academy, in the druid’s grove, the Head Master is meeting with the druid. The druid says, “Head Master, I am sorry I banished him, but I could not stand the abomination any longer.” The druid looks at the tree and shudders. The Head Master replies, “Yes, I understand you are sensitive to nature, but Valtorex is at a tipping point. You know the prophecy, ‘Darkness will sweep the land and the child of a forgotten race will rise and oppose it.’ I have strong reason to believe Valtorex is that child. Remember the warning, ‘The child will stand on the crossroads of destiny and he will either fight the darkness or fall forever.’ I think that tree is a good sign he’s losing the battle. I suggest you take him in for meditation training.” The druid is shocked. He objects, “Head Master! The last time he meditated that happened!” He gestures to the tree in disgust. The Head Master counters, “Exactly. Valtorex is powerful, but that power is unguided, untempered. Do you know the schools he joined?” The druid shakes his head. The Head Master continues, “He is in the Tower of the Arcane, the Guild of Warriors, the Order of Steel, and Elite Training. He will only become more powerful as the years progress. His discipline will increase, but he will be no more well guided. Consider it a favor from me that you teach him.” The druid bows and says, “Very well, if it is your wish, I shall teach him.” In the distance, a bell tolls. The Head Master says, “Oh, that’s the Dark Watch bell. Well, the learning never stops. Time for the students to become introduced to something they will come to know quite well.” The druid says, “So they are still doing the Fear Test? (A test traditionally done to root out the weak early) I thought the courts ruled it illegal.” The Head Master replies, “They did, but you should know by now, court decisions have little effect on the curriculum.”
At the cabins, the shadows are moving in on the students. Valtorex awakes with a start to see a figure in a robe of the blackest black hovering over him. The robed figure reaches out a shadowy arm and places it over Valtorex’s face. Valtorex’s eyes are frozen open as he looks into the infinite void of darkness that comprises this creature. Valtorex sinks into the oblivion and just drifts for awhile. Then he is yanked out of it suddenly and finds himself standing, armorless, facing a row of archers. The archers pull back their bow strings and sight their arrows. The simultaneously fire and Valtorex screams as twenty arrows pierce his flesh. Before he can even hit the ground, he is now facing a dark knight. Once again, Valtorex is without armor or weapon. The dark knight begins attacking Valtorex with a longsword. Valtorex tries to use magic, but he fails. That is what scares him the most. The dark knight hacks at him until he falls. Everything goes black, but then he is quickly back up and suspended over fire. Valtorex is dropped by whatever unseen force that was keeping him up and he falls into the fire. He burns in the fire and fear is causing his heart to race. Apparently, the creature isn’t satisfied though, so it begins digging into Valtorex’s mind to find his deepest fears. Valtorex finds himself on a plain facing the creature. The creature launches spiders at him, which confuses him a bit. Then a snake lunges at him and bites him. Valtorex knocks away the snake and finally realizes what’s happening. He says, “You’re a Fear-Stalker, (Bodiless creature that appears as a black robe with an almost solid blackness within. As the name suggests, it feeds upon fear it creates through hallucination) aren’t you? I remember hearing of a variation of the shade that preyed upon fear.” The Fear-Stalker delves further into his mind. Valtorex, feeling some pain at the intrusion says, “You’ll find lots of emotions in here, but not much of the one you’re after.” The Fear-Stalker finds the perfect thing.
Valtorex finds himself standing on the plateau, with the demon standing in front of him, holding his mother by her throat. He says, “Mortal, you are a fool to stand against me. Fall before me, fear me. It is all you can do.” Valtorex feels very afraid of the monster that’s going to kill his mother. He knows this is an illusion and that his mother is dead, but reason is beaten down by fear. One thing that is not beaten down, however, is anger. Valtorex stands straight and faces the creature. The Fear-Stalker is surprised by this, but it pursues what it craves still. The demon laughs and squeezes tighter on Valtorex’s mother’s neck. His mother gasps as the air is crushed from her throat. Valtorex tries to lash pout in anger, but once again his magic fails. Valtorex then charges the demon. The demon kills his mother and tosses her body off the plateau. Valtorex reaches the demon and swings at it. Valtorex lands a solid punch, but the demon just laughs it off before knocking Valtorex away. Valtorex gets up, but before he can stop it, the demon is on him. The demon begins mauling Valtorex. Valtorex screams as the demon tears into his back, and through it all, a voice in his head tells Valtorex, “Give into your fear. You are mortal. Embrace the fear that lives within you.” Valtorex’s response is swift and irrational. He stands up, carrying the demon with him, and runs towards the edge. The blood loss and the weight of the demon slow him down, and he is afraid he will collapse, but then he finds himself in freefall. He and the demon, still clawing him, fall through the air. Valtorex, through the burning pain, thinks back to the time he actually confronted this demon. He remembers falling through the air and wrestling the demon for a sword. He then remembers taking the sword and plunging it into the demon. He remembers nearly breaking his bones on the landing. He remembers standing up and staggering back to the goblin village. He then remembers the death, the burning, the screams of pain and fear. Then he hits the ground.
Valtorex awakes to find himself on a battlefield. All around him are demons, devils, humans, elves, dwarves, and almost every other race he knows and many he doesn’t. They are all fighting. Those he recognizes as evil are fighting the rest, except for the creatures he does not know, which are divided between the two sides. Valtorex stands and finds a sword at his side. Deciding he might as well do something useful, he draws the sword and is surprised to find it on fire. The odd thing is, the blade seems to glow white and spikes of shadow seem to emerge from the fire. He is confused by this and decides to just hack at the nearest demon. Which he does. The demon roars in agony before collapsing and burning away to nothing. Valtorex starts attacking all of the demons and devils around him. He kills and kills, the bodies always disappearing after dropping. Then he hears a great rumbling. Everyone around him, demons and mortals alike, are sent flying with an explosive force. Somehow, Valtorex is unaffected. What he sees emerging upon him paralyzes him. There is a hulking figure, in armor of the darkest black. It wields in one hand a greatsword nearly as large as a man and in the other, an axe that looks as if it can fell a large tree in a single blow. The monster is completely encased in plate, the plate Valtorex recognizes as that of a paladin. Then behind him, he hears people running towards him. He looks over his shoulder to see Valrie, Valen, Valinor, the elf he saved in East Port, the elf from the boat, a human male, a dwarf, a human female, an uruk, and a host of others running towards him. Bolstered by the sight of these people running to his aid, Valtorex raises his sword and yells a challenge at the beast. The monster roars out laughter and it seems as if the heavens themselves shake in fear. Valtorex becomes terrified by the creature as it advances. He sees that the armor, although originally dark black, is shiny and reddish now. The others are beside him now and Valinor says, “My brother, (Possibly in the brothers in arms mentality, possibly notJ) we stand with you.” Valtorex feels greatly reassured by this and although he does not know the meaning, he yells out, “Kai Zanaria! Kai Manäïen! Kai Kaeje!” The rest yell it also and the monster is given pause. Then it continues its advance. An arrow flies past his head, and Valtorex knows it is from Valen. The arrow strikes the beast and turns to dust. The beast laughs. Valtorex, not knowing why, charges at the monster. His allies charge after him. They meet the monster and Valtorex swings his sword with all his strength. The sword bounces off its armor. The monster raises its sword and slices through the uruk. The uruk falls to the ground in two pieces. The beast swings the axe and the male human falls. They fight it, but none of their hits do any damage and the monster doesn’t even bother to block. The monster spits the dwarf on its sword and flings him away. A swing of the axe and two of the others fall. The monster decapitates the elf from the ship with the axe. Then the beast bashes the elf Valtorex saved with the pommel of its sword. The elf falls down, her skull smashed open. Valtorex feels twinges of guilt but continues fighting. Then catastrophe strikes. The beast shoots a beam of darkness from its sword. Valtorex does not know where it went, but he guesses the answer when Valen cried out. He turns long enough to see Valen lying face down in the dirt, shadows emanating from him. He turns back and fights with more determination, but the fear of losing the other two eats at him. Then Valinor’s sword shatters against the monster’s axe. The axe continues through the blade and the skull behind it. Valinor falls down, unmoving, completely dead. Valtorex yells, “Valrie! Go!” Valrie only shakes her head and continues attacking. Valtorex sees the blow coming and jumps in front of it. The sword pierces right through him. All hope fades when he hears Valrie gasp. He cranes his neck and sees the blade went through him and enter Valrie’s chest. He knows it hit her heart. He screams in impotent rage. The beast just shakes him off the blade. Valtorex falls limply to the ground and Valrie falls next to him. The beast puts its weapons away and picks Valtorex up by the head. The beast moves Valtorex around so he can see the carnage, the death. Somehow, Valtorex feels responsible for it all. The beast then turns Valtorex and forces him to look into the helm. Valtorex sees a darkness so dark it seems as if light is nonexistent and hope is a fleeting dream. The monster sees the fear in Valtorex’s eyes as Valtorex directly faces not his mortality, but the immortality that follows and realizes that darkness is what he will fall to. The beast begins squeezing and Valtorex knows his skull will be crushed and he will fall to that darkness forever.
Then, he is suddenly yanked out of that state and finds himself lying in bed, looking at a darkness that now looks light. The Fear-Stalker says, “That’s right mortal, accept your fear, accept the pain. Valtorex is terrified by the vision he just had and wants to curl up into a ball and die. Valtorex is about to give up the fight when he hears a whimper from the bunk below him. He realizes it is Valrie. The Fear-Stalker whisper menacingly, “Yes, that is the girl. Right now, by brother is tormenting the pretty little thing. Something about a group of bandits.” Valtorex suddenly gets a boost of courage. He says, speaking into the darkness, “That…That was the wrong thing to say.” Valtorex now has a reason to live. He decides he will live to kill monsters like this. Monsters that feed off of fear and terror. He forces himself up and faces the Fear-Stalker. The Fear-Stalker says, with some humor in its voice, “Well, all good things come to an end. I was getting so much fear from you. I’ll just paralyze you so my brethren can finish feeding, then I’ll be off.” The Fear-Stalker raises its arm and a whisper of magic slithers out of its hood. Valtorex becomes paralyzed. The Fear-Stalker is about to leave when he turns and says, “Actually, I think I’ll join my brother in the feast. The girl is creating so much delicious fear, I can’t resist.” The Fear-Stalker drifts over to Valrie and places its arm alongside the other’s. Valrie shrieks as the Fear Stalkers work in tandem to torment her. Valtorex decides he doesn’t like that and jumps out of bed. He completely forgets the paralysis, and for some reason, it forgets him. The Fear Stalkers quickly realize that when he hits one in the back. It immediately turns on him and extends its arm. The other three paralyze their respective victims and then turn.
All four Fear Stalkers merge on him and raise their arms. They all touch him and he is on a plain, with one of them in each direction. One of them says, “Mortal, you have made a foolish decision. You shall experience a terror unknown to most. One of us leads to a culling. Two, only the strongest can survive. Your heart will burst from the fear you are about to receive. You will beg for mercy and your plea will be denied. You will go insane before dying.” Valtorex notices something is odd. He remembers back to the first incident where it was as if he was dreaming. He could think, but he couldn’t reason. He notices this is different. He isn’t guided by blind fear. He looks down to see if he has any weapons. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t. The four converge on him, intent on destroying the mortal who has resisted them. Valtorex, knowing he has no chance of killing them says, “I may die, but that will not matter. In a rebellion, it is not what is accomplished that matters, it is the act of rebellion in itself. I stand against fear, not to win, but to turn it on itself. I’m weak, but there are others who are not. What happens when they rebel too? You should be afraid of what will come. All creatures that prey upon fear will have that fear turned upon them. They will know what it means to be hunted, to fear for their very existence. So kill me now and let the chase begin.” By this point, the first Fear-Stalker has reached him. It reaches out an arm and touches Valtorex. It tries to conjure the most frightening image it can, but Valtorex is unfazed even as the vision flashes through his mind. Another arrives and touches him, adding an additional image. Valtorex flinches. Then the third comes along and Valtorex goes pale. The fourth grasps him and he begins shaking. They focus all of their skill and knowledge into this task and Valtorex nearly whimpers. Nearly. The Fear Stalkers become nervous at this point and decide to take a more drastic approach. They begin syncing their minds to try to coordinate more effectively.
This new approach causes Valtorex to shudder. They are pulling out all the stops. “The mortal still refuses to submit.” says one of them through the link. Another replies, “We’ve had others like this. He’s just discovering the Great Truth. We still have a chance to eliminate him before he overcomes his natural tendency towards fear.” A third says, “Yes, but we’ll have to act quickly. I suggest a merge.” The fourth assents. The four Fear Stalkers decide upon it and begin concentrating on the bond between them. They grow closer and closer together. After a few minutes, the merge is complete and the four Fear Stalkers have become a Fear Lord. (Unlike the Fear Stalkers, this has a body and resembles a large armored knight, in full black armor. Creates an aura of fear all around it) The Fear Lord throws all of its power into Valtorex, who screams in terror. Valtorex falls to his knees, and the Fear Lord, satisfied for now, backs away. Valtorex’s eyes are wide open, but they stare at nothing and have a glazed look. The Fear Lord chuckles before saying, “Mortal, fear is what you are. Mortals are merely vessels to contain resources. The gods use your spirits to grow stronger, vampires use your blood to placate their curse, the Abyssals use your desire to gain new recruits, the Infernals use your minds to play games, the earth uses your wars to fertilize fields and feed birds, and we, we just use your fear as food. Mortals are just cattle for the immortal. Embrace what you are; do not strive to be more, for you will just end up dead sooner.” Valtorex hears this, but it sounds distant and far away. The Fear Lord looks at him and sighs. “I guess I need to stop playing with my food and finish it.” The Fear Lord floats forward and places its hand on Valtorex’s forehead. Valtorex screams as a new wave of terror flashes through him. Valtorex feels himself falling even as his heart pounds, his pulse quickens, and his mind races. Finally, right before he reaches the breaking point, everything calms. He thinks about what the Fear Lord said, about mortals being cattle. He decides this is untrue. He decides that mortals can be much greater. He realizes fear is the only thing that stands in mankind’s path to greatness. He decides that fear will not rule him.
Valtorex’s face takes on a grim resoluteness. His heart calms, his pulse slows, and his mind falls into a sort of peacefulness. His eyes focus on the Fear Lord that is trying to kill him. The Fear Lord looks down when it feels this change and it sees those eyes. It sees something no immortal being wants to see. A mortal determined to change the order of the universe. The Fear Lord backs away in shock. It then realizes what it’s done and tries to get back in position to hold Valtorex down. It is too late. Valtorex is up on his feet and glares at the Fear Lord. The Fear Lord says, “Mortal, standing against me is foolish. Back down now and you will live. Continue to stand and forces greater than I will tear you to shreds and cast you into darkness.” Valtorex’s reply is, “Now I feel safer. When the enemy offers to let you live, then they know they are defeated and are merely grasping at their slipping power. As for these greater forces, bring them this message, ‘I am a mortal that is not afraid of them. I will fight them until I am dead and the order of things will change. Fear will no longer rule me. I fight for freedom now.’ Bring them this message and watch them tremble.” The Fear Lord thinks the mortal is bluffing. It looks into Valtorex’s eyes and does not see a lie. It sees a fire burning that will not be quenched until the hierarchy of the universe has been consumed. Then something that should not happen happens. A Fear Lord knows fear. It shrieks in immortal fury before dissolving to nothing. The fire in Valtorex’s eyes dim and he falls down.
Valtorex slowly comes to. He notices a female voice pleading quietly for him to wake up. He notices a soft but firm shaking at his shoulder. He opens his eyes to see Valrie above him. He tries to think back to what just happened, but he gets to his decision to fight fear before his memory fails. This is enough to get him up and to his swords. He gets his equipment on and says, “There are probably more of those things in the other cabins. Let’s do something they won’t expect. Let’s fight back.” The four of them leave the cabin and split up. They each go to a different cabin with the intention of fighting off the Fear Stalkers and getting more students to join. For the next few hours, they go from cabin to cabin, freeing more people and sending more Fear Stalkers away. Every so often, they find someone who is dead or insane from the fear. This gets more common as the night wears on. Finally, Valtorex reaches the last cabin and goes inside. He finds eight people in there. Seven of them are standing there, looking at the eighth, who is lying in bed. Valtorex sees that three of them are shaking and assumes these were the occupants. He recognizes the other four as people from other cabins that came here to help. Valtorex looks at the eighth and realizes it is the elf he saved at port. She moans and trembles more. Valtorex looks at them questioningly. One of the helpers says, “When we got here, there were only two left. Somehow, they both jumped into her. We figure she’s pretty much a lost cause.” Valtorex is about to nod his agreement when some force compels him to protect her.
He goes to her and places his hand on her forehead. He feels her body temperature is far below normal. He struggles to remember her name. (Just so you know, I am making these words and names up as I go. There is no actual elven or Draconic language I’m fluent in) It finally pops into his head, Myrstaline, Elven for maiden of calm water or Lake Myr. (A lake in the elven kingdoms, known for its pure water and the sense of tranquility brought upon anyone who drinks from it) He is once again thankful his mentor (A hermit in a cave he lived with for a year during his mercenary days) gave him a basic knowledge of the main languages and geography. He whispers, “Myrstaline, I know you are weak willed, but willpower is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. Now is the time to use it.” He thinks she hears him, but is uncertain. When she seems to concentrate, he knows his message got through. He knows the Fear Stalkers were only toying with her when she cries out in panic. Valtorex whispers, “Myrstaline, willpower is at its strongest when you are calm. Try to be calm, think of the waters you are named for. Concentrate on that image. Let the fear flow away.” Her face takes on a look of placidity. Valtorex thinks it is working until Myrstaline screams, “No! The lake is dead!” Valtorex feels a sense of urgency. He has a feeling that if the Fear Stalkers aren’t defeated soon, then her mind will be lost if not her life. Valtorex says, “Myrstaline, I know you are in the school of Natural Magic. I will try to touch your mind and bolster your will. When you feel my mind, don’t be afraid and don’t fight. I don’t want to fight two battles simultaneously.” Valtorex closes his eyes and concentrates on Myrstaline. His breathing slows and his mind drifts. He finds himself on a plain, like the one he faced the Fear Lord on. Unlike that plain, which was gray and dead, this plain is full of life. Grass and trees are everywhere and a large lake is in the center. He sees Myrstaline standing on the shore in a light blue dress common in elven courts. On either side of her are Fear Stalkers. He can already see the damage they are doing. The lake, which should be a clear, crystalline blue, is instead grayish and dead looking. Also, there is a droop to the trees and plants he did not initially notice. The Fear Stalkers notice him and seem to confer with each other. One of them breaks off and moves towards Valtorex. The other throws its full attention towards torturing the crying elf. Myrstaline cries out and the plants take on a grayish hue and leaves begin falling from the trees. The Fear Stalker moving towards Valtorex says, “Mortal, you have made a mistake in coming here. We were planning on just feeding on her fear for a few days before leaving. Now you have forced our hand and we will be forced to kill both of you.” Valtorex just looks at it. The Fear Stalker says, “I see you have dealt with my kind before. I heard that one of the vessels actually fought four of us and one. I’m guessing that is you.” Valtorex nods. The Fear Stalker chuckles and then says, “Very well. I guess I will not be able to feed upon you. Fortunately, you can not stop us. When you fought before, it was in your own mind. Now you are in a mind that you have no control of, and better yet, you are an invader. Now, stay there while I finish with the elf.” Valtorex tries to move forward but finds he can’t.
He then says, “Oh well. I guess I can’t fight you directly, but you still will not harm her.” The Fear Stalker says, “Oh yes? Try to stop me.” The Fear Stalker reaches Myrstaline and resumes tormenting her. It relishes that such a strong mortal has such a weak mind. She can feed it and its brother for days, even weeks if they pace themselves. It toys with her weak mental defense for awhile, enjoying the feel of being able to crack it, chip it, or even break it at any time. Finally, he bores of this and begins conjuring horrifying images in her mind. She moans once before falling to the ground. The plants whither and the trees are nearly bare. Valtorex calls out to Myrstaline. He says, “Let me in. Allow me free movement in your mind so I can battle these creatures. I swear no harm will come to you under my watch.” Myrstaline hears this distantly and at first thinks it is a trick by the Fear Stalkers. Then some voice from deep inside her tells her otherwise. She decides to follow her gut and opens the gates of her mind to Valtorex. Immediately, Valtorex’s willpower begins bolstering her walls. The Fear Stalkers, who had been enjoying Myrstaline’s mental defense that amounted to wet clay, are sorely disappointed when that defense becomes wet clay backed by iron. Myrstaline feels reassured by the strong defense Valtorex provides and even regains some of her composure. On the plain, Valtorex finds that he is able to move once more. He runs towards Mrstaline and the Fear Stalkers turn to face him. With an angry roar, Valtorex draws his swords and continues his charge. The Fear Stalkers move forward, floating soundlessly over the dead vegetation. Valtorex doesn’t want Myrstaline’s mind to be polluted by the Fear Stalkers’ presence anymore, so he drags them into his mind. Somehow, Myrstaline comes along too. By this point, she has recovered enough to stand. She looks around to see that she is on a plain, full of dust, dirt, fire, and in some places, blood stains. She shudders and imagines this horrible place is the Abyss. Then she notices a familiar presence. With a horrible dawning, she realizes this is Valtorex’s mind. By now, Valtorex has reached the Fear Stalkers and has engaged them in combat.
The Fear Stalkers are greatly strengthened by the feast they have enjoyed for the past few hours, but still, they stand no chance. With fire in his eyes, Valtorex strikes down one, and then the other. They go, with a horrible wail, back to the Abyss they sprang from. Myrstaline is stunned by the horror of this place and the brutality she has just witnessed. Valtorex turns to look at her as he sheathes his swords. For a brief moment, she sees the fire burning in his eyes; then he makes eye contact with her.
Instantly, they are back in her mind. The field is recovering and the lake is returning to its normal color. The fire leaves his eyes as he stares into her calm, peaceful blue ones. Valtorex backs away before saying, “You are lucky you did not die. You must work on your willpower.” Myrstaline is indignant. She protests, “There were two of them. I’d like to see you face those odds.” Valtorex just chuckles at this. Then she realizes he did…and won. She gathers her courage before asking, “Will you teach me?” Valtorex replies, “No, you will be taught in the Arcane Tower, but I may be able to help you. Good bye.” Valtorex then disappears. Myrstaline wakes up and looks around. She finds that Valtorex has already left.
As Valtorex is walking through the night towards his cabin, he can’t help but think about two people. Valrie and Myrstaline. (At this point, he views them more as annoying little sisters than anything else) He thinks about how needy Myrstaline is and how odd Valrie is. He thinks about how much they seem to depend on him every time they get into some bad situation. He arrives at his cabin with the concluding thought of, “Well, for them to survive, it will take luck; for me to survive, it will take a miracle. Valtorex goes into the cabin and returns to his bunk. The other three are already asleep again, and Valtorex soon joins them. His sleep is, as always, interrupted by faces and eyes. The next morning, he awakes, ready to start his training. He goes to the training arena to find Tyberus waiting there. One student has already arrived, and over the next few minutes, the other two get there. Tyberus says, “Good, you all made it. Now, we are going to figure out what classes you belong in. Weapons ready!” Valtorex draws his swords, Valinor draws his greatsword, an elf draws a rapier, and a dwarf pulls out a greataxe. Tyberus says, “Good. Now, the way I will decide this is combat against me. How well you do will affect what class you get into. We will begin with you, elf.”
The elf bows to him before going into a traditional elven court stance. Tyberus laughs wildly. Tyberus says, “You fool! Royal courts are not for fighters. Still, I will give you a chance.” The elf rushes forward and slashes brutally at him. Tyberus raises his sword to block it, which he does successfully, but not before being knocked off guard. The elf jumps back and then to the side. The elf lunges forward, and his rapier moves nearly invisibly before striking Tyberus’s side. Tyberus staggers a bit from the blow before taking the offensive. It appears as if the elf will beat him, but Valtorex can see that Tyberus is holding back. Tyberus slashes at the elf with his greatsword. The elf, expecting to have ample time to block is surprised when the blow flashes through and stops less than an inch from his side. The elf backs away and bows. Tyberus says, “That was impressive. That will warrant you 3rd level training. The elf bows again before backing away.
Tyberus points to the dwarf. The dwarf charges forward, swinging his greataxe. Tyberus blocks the bone crushing blow. The dwarf recovers surprisingly quickly. He swings his greatsword again, this time aiming at the legs. Tyberus blocks yet again. This continues on for a few moments, the dwarf attacking, Tyberus defending, until he grows bored and goes on the offensive. The dwarf is hard pressed to block Tyberus’s multitude of attacks, and inevitably, he fails once. Tyberus holds the sword to the dwarf’s neck. The dwarf backs away. Tyberus says, “That was decent, but you never landed a blow. 2nd is as high as you can go right now.”
Tyberus holds his greatsword, tip down, to the ground. He looks between Valinor and Valtorex, sizing them up. He remembers his fight with Valtorex and nearly killing him. He decides to save that entertainment for last. He says, “You, with the greatsword, come fight me.” Valinor salutes him before walking forward, greatsword at the ready. Tyberus brings up his sword and goes into a defensive stance. He has a look of mild boredom on his face, until Valinor rushes him. Their swords meet in mid swing; sparks and droplets of acid are sent flying. The two combatants jump back and circle each other. Once again they jump forward, and once again, they force each other back. They continue like this for several minutes. Finally, they engage each other fully. Valinor swings high, going for Tyberus’s head. Tyberus blocks and forces the blade down and away. Tyberus makes a mid strike at Valinor, trying to catch him off guard. Valinor blocks and forces Tyberus back. They go at each other again. Exchanging blows and parries until Tyberus jumps back, slightly flushed, and says, “Very well. You have qualified for 4th level.”
He looks at Valtorex and beckons him forward. Valtorex bows and snaps up with his swords crossed across his chest. Tyberus salutes him, thinking, “Well, at least he has respect. I wonder who taught him the military salute, though.” (That is the Draconic salute to a superior, also done with both arms crossed) Tyberus commands, “Begin!” Valtorex nods before rushing forward. Tyberus is about to go into the same routine when Valtorex suddenly stops. Tyberus is surprised by this, and waits to see what he will do. Valtorex suddenly rushes forward and raises his blades. Tyberus attempts to block, and would have been successful…if there was anything to block. He blinks quickly he sees Valtorex. Standing four feet away with his swords raised.
Tyberus is infuriated. He yells, “How dare you use a cheap trick! You are an insult to warriors everywhere!” Valtorex returns, “A good warrior uses his steel to fight. A great warrior uses every weapon in his arsenal.” Tyberus demands, “Do you know nothing of honor, boy? To fight like a coward and use magic? (Tyberus does not realize the elf was using a haste spell) Your mother and father should be ashamed of you!” Valinor sees a quick flash of pain across Valtorex’s face, before he returns to his usual calm expression. What Valtorex says next surprises everyone, including Tyberus. Valtorex calmly says, “Very well, I will fight you without magic. The fight will be until surrender or death. Is this agreeable?” Tyberus is taken off guard by this. He was expecting a mage to be more cowardly. He replies, “I accept your challenge, although I do not know why you included the bit about death. Everyone knows you will surrender after the first blow. We will meet after the fourth period to settle this.” He addresses the other three, “You are welcome to attend the shaming of this mage. I will invite my other classes as well. Maybe I’ll even invite one of my older students. Classed dismissed.”
As Valtorex and Valinor are leaving, Valinor asks, “Why did you make that stupid challenge? You’re going to lose. I know you won’t surrender, so you are going to die. I don’t get it, what point are you trying to prove?” Valtorex replies, “I do not know what brought me to challenge him. I wasn’t thinking, and frankly, I don’t think I have a shot at winning. I just get angry when anyone dares say mages fight without honor. We have our own code of honor, just as rangers do.” Valtorex and Valinor keep walking. Valtorex adds with a sigh, “Either way, though, I’ll prove my point. Even if I lose, I’ll show we aren’t afraid to fight for our honor.” They part ways and agree to meet at the Order of Steel’s keep in third.
Valtorex arrives at the Tower of the Arcane to find Rōdenthall (Good way to come up with names when writing: hit the key board, then add vowels and accents if neededJ) waiting for him. Rōdenthall says, “Well well, if it isn’t the barbarian. Are you here to see what a true mage looks like?” Valtorex, feeling a bit annoyed, makes a rash decision. He says, “I really am not interested in what you have to say. I’m sure you want to kill me, but it will have to wait until tomorrow, because I’ll be busy defending the honor of mages against Tyberus after fourth.” Rōdenthall glares at him. Valtorex just ignores this and continues on into the tower. He reaches the ritual chamber from the day before. Soon after, Rōdenthall stalks into the room with three students behind him. His voice slithers from his hood as he says, “The four of you are here to be tested for skill. You will each be partnered off and will face your partner. You may use anything at your disposal, although magic will be the most appreciated.” He glares at Valtorex before continuing, “After the first battle, the losers will face each other and the winners will do the same. Then there will be a third battle repeating the step. Whoever has the most wins will get into fourth level and so forth. Let’s see…” Rōdenthall picks the elf Valtorex remembers from last period to face a gnome. Valtorex is paired against a human.
The fights begin. Valtorex launches a Magic Missile strike against the human, but the bolts fizzle out before reaching him. Valtorex sees the glint of a ring on his right hand. Valtorex realizes he is protected from magic. The human begins preparing an intricate spell, knowing Valtorex can’t do a thing to stop him. Valtorex uses Burning Hands, but to no avail. The human finishes his spell. A bolt of lightning shoots forth from his palm towards Valtorex. Valtorex quickly draws the sword on his right side. The lightning strikes the blade and Valtorex’s gambit works. The lightning charged blade absorbs the bolt of lightning, causing no damage to Valtorex. Valtorex uses Ray of Frost, but, again, it disappears. Valtorex tries something radical. Valtorex summons three Mist Daggers and launches them at his foe. Valtorex expects this attack to work, but he still begins casting a more difficult spell. The human begins casting one of his highest level spells as the daggers race towards him. The force dagger reaches the invisible barrier and dissipates. The second one reaches it soon after, and all that passes through is a puff of smoke. The final one hits and goes through, although severely weakened. The shaft of mist hits the human in the face. His concentration nearly breaks at the biting cold, but he pushes on with the spell. The both finish their spells and the human fires first. Cone of Cold bursts forth from his hands, spreading an icy chill throughout the room. Valtorex quickly remedies that with his spell, Fireball. The fireball flies through the wave of frozen water vapor and subzero temperature. The wave of ice from Cone of Cold passes by Valtorex, but the gap made by his fireball protects him. The fireball flies towards the human and smashes against the barrier. Valtorex runs forward, the words of a spell on his lips. The human is taken off guard by Valtorex’s attack and tries to prepare another spell. By the time it is ready, Valtorex has reached his shield. The human is yelling the final word when Valtorex reaches him and casts his spell, Shocking Grasp. The human screams as electricity flows through his body. The words of his spell flee his mind as his concentration breaks. The human pulls back and cries, “Enough! Enough! I give up!” Valtorex says, “That is for the best. You have two more rounds after this.”
Valtorex looks over to see the elf has won his match. The elf looks at him and nods. Valtorex nods back, and they prepare to fight. Valtorex goes into his spell casting stance, he’s turned so his side is facing the elf with his left hand in front of him, his right hand at his side. The elf goes into an elven spell casting pose that’s suited more to the court magician than a battle mage. The fight commences. The elf blasts a ball of light at him, but Valtorex easily avoids it. Valtorex returns with a salvo of Flame Bolts. Valtorex is tired from the last battle, but he’s determined to give his all. The elf waves with his left hand and the bolts follow the path into the wall. The elf gestures with his right hand and some invisible force knocks Valtorex off his feet. The elf begins casting a higher level spell as Valtorex struggles up. Valtorex is about to cast his next spell when the elf finishes his and sends a wave of dark energy hurtling towards him. Valtorex barely gets a shield up in time. The shield takes most of the damage before collapsing, but Valtorex is still hit by a decent blast. Valtorex doubles over as the shadow energy burns into his chest. The elf cackles in glee. Valtorex snaps up with a single Flame Bolt that tears across the room and blasts the elf in the cheek. The elf’s head snaps to the side and his hand shoots up to cover the burn. The elf returns the attack with a salvo of Shadow Bolts. Valtorex can’t bring up a shield, so he tries to dodge. Out of the ten fired, Valtorex dodges six. One hits him in each leg as he’s diving away, and the other two strike his back.
Valtorex lies there limply. The elf advances forward as Valtorex rows over. The elf reaches Valtorex and kicks him in the stomach. Valtorex retches before rolling away. The elf blasts him with another Shadow Bolt, just to watch him writhe. The elf is enjoying every second of Valtorex’s torment, intent on making him lose his fight against Tyberus. The elf decides to finishes with one of his favorite spells, Power Word Pain. The elf begins chanting the words. Rōdenthall sees what is happening and decides to enjoy the show. Valtorex struggles onto his hands and knees. He quickly goes back to the ground as the elf finishes his spell. Valtorex writhes and screams as every nerve ending burns with pain. The elf just stands back, laughing at his pain. Rōdenthall stands against the wall, the smile on his face masked by his hood. That smile vanishes when Valtorex crawls to his knees. It turns to a look of shock when he stands.
Valtorex turns and faces the elf. The elf immediately stops laughing. Whether it was from the shock at Valtorex standing, or the sharp blow to the gut, will never be known. The elf doubles over and Valtorex kicks him in the face. The elf staggers back, blood trickling from his mouth. The elf begins casting a spell, but Valtorex cuts him off with a trio of Flame Bolts. The flames strike the elf’s black robe and burn three holes in it. The elf howls in pain. Valtorex presses his advantage by punching the elf in the jaw and bringing him to the ground. Valtorex proceeds to kick the elf in the stomach, before walking around and blasting him in the back with another Flame Bolt. Valtorex turns to go to Rōdenthall, when he hears muttering behind him. He turns, just in time to see the elf, who had returned to his feet, cast his other favorite spell, Finger of Death. A green beam shoots forth from the elf’s index finger. Valtorex doesn’t even have time to raise a shield before he is blasted off his feet by the lethal spell. Valtorex flies through the air and lands on the stone floor, smoke drifting up from the hole in his armor. The human, having defeated the gnome, looks at Valtorex lying there. The gnome struggles up from the ground and sees him. Rōdenthall is in awe that the elf actually used a killing spell. The elf looks nervously at Rōdenthall. Rōdenthall notices this and walks over. He cheerily says, “Good job! You killed the barbarian. I guess that taught him what a real mage is like, huh?”
Everyone in the room is surprised when Valtorex says, “Don’t congratulate him too soon. He didn’t finish the job. Nice try though.” The elf turns with a look of shock upon his face to see Valtorex standing before him, smoke still drifting from the hole in his armor. Rōdenthall turns and glares. Valtorex says, “I have to concede you win, though. Oh well, second place isn’t bad.” He turns to the gnome and human and asks, “So who won over there?” The human stammers, “I…I did.” Valtorex happily says, “Good for you. Are you ready, gnome?” The gnome swallows hard. Rōdenthall announces, “It will be Silvanos against Darius and Kirato against the barbarian.” Silvanos’s eyes gleam evilly. Darius says, “I would like to concede the match, I’m happy with second level.” Rōdenthall gets the same evil gleam as Silvanos. He says, “Alright, it will be three on one. Silvanos against all of you, to the death.” Valtorex interjects, “That is not fare to Silvanos. Three on one, to the death? I won’t hesitate to use my swords to end it quick.” Silvanos laughs wickedly. Rōdenthall says with an air of finality, “That is my decision. There is two hours left of class, you have five minutes to figure out your strategy.
The three teammates huddle together. Valtorex asks, “Are either of you good at shield or healing spells?” Kirato answers, “I can do rudimentary healing, why?” Valtorex replies, “We need someone to treat the damage we take in the assault, someone to protect us from damage, and someone to kill the bastard. I can handle the killing.” Kirato says, “In that case, I’ll do the healing. I’ll stay at the back.” Darius says, “I have my ring and I can cast more shields. What do you need?” Valtorex answers, “We’ll need a general magic shield, a shield of light, and probably a shield of air.” Darius says, “I’ll get it done.” They form up into a line, Valtorex in front, closely followed by Darius, with Kirato in the rear. Rōdenthall commands, “Begin!”
The three of them charge forward. Darius casting first the light shield, then the wind shield. Silvanos fires a salvo of Shadow Bolts at them, but they are dissipated by the shield. Silvanos can’t build an effective strategy because the shield of light blocks his view. Valtorex makes it all the worse when he pulls out a coin and casts Flare on it. Valtorex tosses the coin in front of him, and Silvanos, thinking it is a strange spell, pulls up a shield. The coin hits the shield and passes through. The Flare effect is dispelled, but the coin continues through and hits him on the head before falling harmlessly to the floor. The group reaches him and Valtorex casts Flare on another coin. A ball of light, similar to the one before, flies out of the shield at Silvanos. Silvanos, thinking it is a ploy to get him to waste energy just casts Dispel on it. The Flare goes away to reveal Valtorex flying through the air with swords ready. Realization dawns across Silvanos’s face and he pulls up a shield of solid rock that Valtorex crashes into. The rock disappears and Silvanos tries to gas them out. He casts Noxious Cloud to try to poison them. Valtorex pulls back into the shield and they wait. When the cloud reaches them, it is sucked up into the Wind Wall, creating a wall of poisonous gas. With the new wall, they continue their march forward. Silvanos is slightly worried about the foresight and planning that appears to have gone into their strategy. He decides to take no chances and uses Finger of Death three times in quick succession. The three bolts of green death streak across the same path. The first hits the shield and dissipates. The second hits the shield and is weakened. It still hits Valtorex, eliciting a grunt of pain. The third one passes through unhindered and hits Valtorex right in the hole in his armor from the first shot. Valtorex drops his swords and stumbles forward. He falls to his knees at Silvanos’s feet. Silvanos commands, “Beg for mercy!” Valtorex responds by spitting on his boots. Silvanos places his index finger against Valtorex’s forehead and says, “I don’t know how you survived my attacks, but this one you will not. Point blank to the brain will kill, and if not, I do have more powerful attacks. Any last words?” Valtorex says, “Yes…actually I do. I am wondering…why you seem so obsessed…with magical attacks. I would have just stabbed…my opponent by now…Let me demonstrate.” With that, Valtorex pulls his knife free of his belt and stabs Silvanos in the stomach. The keen blade slices through the elf’s flesh like a keen blade through flesh. The elf smiles wickedly. He coughs out, “That was unexpected…I like it. You could make…a decent black robe…one day.” With that, he disappears and reappears next to Rōdenthall.
Rōdenthall says, “My apprentice is right, you would make a decent black robe, even if you use barbaric magic. You are welcome into my fourth level class.” Valtorex is about to say yes when an image flashes into his mind. He asks, “Have you had a female elf named Myrstaline yet?” Silvanos shakes his head when Rōdenthall doesn’t seem to have the answer. Valtorex says, “Well, when she comes through, put me in her class. She’s a talented mage, but she has no willpower whatsoever. I promised her I’d try to help.” Rōdenthall is aghast at the thought of Valtorex, the brutal killer, wanting to help someone for seemingly no profit. Silvanos, however, seems to understand, or at least thinks he does. Rōdenthall recovers and says, “Well, you will be getting postings tonight about what class and period you’re in. Along with the posting, there will be at least one spell book, more if you’re in higher classes. Class dismissed.” Valtorex leaves and goes to the Keep.
Valtorex arrives at the Keep to find no one there. A note is attached to the door with his name on it. It reads, “Hello, apprentice. The fight yesterday was so good that I decided to take you on. You are to meet me from now on at a spring in the forest. I will meet you there.” Valtorex goes to the spring he discovered on their first day to find Arianna. She is wearing the red robes of active neutrality, as she was the day before. She looks at him and her eyes focus on the hole in his armor. She comments, “You were hit by a powerful spell, repeatedly. I assume that bastard Rōdenthall had you students battle for positions in class.” Valtorex nods. Arianna says, “It is just like when I went through here. Who was it and what spell?” Valtorex replies, “Silvanos and Finger of Death, twice fully and once partially.” Arianna’s eyes widen momentarily before she returns to her calm state. She says, “So Rōdenthall has brought his prize student back in? I remember dueling him in my final year of Elite Training. I heard he became the apprentice of some dark wizard in the Dark Lands named Dorgoth. (Hint: If I give a name, I intend on using itJ) Oh well, that’s irrelevant. My question is, ‘How did you survive?’” Valtorex replies, “I do not know. He shot me, and I went down. I attacked, and he shot three times, on stopped by a shield, one partially stopped, the third hit fully. I kept going and stabbed him. Then he teleported away. The weird thing is, he’s also in the Warriors’ Guild.” Arianna says, “I would like to try something, but you have to trust me.” Valtorex nods.
Arianna begins speaking in Draconic. The harsh words flow about the area, creating their own rhythm and harmony. Suddenly, Valtorex is blasted off his feet by a force more powerful than he has ever felt before. His body is wracked by pain and he feels his armor burning on his flesh. He flies a good twenty feet before landing roughly on the ground. Arianna walks over and helps him up. His armor and clothes hang on him like rags. Arianna casts a very powerful form of Mending and Valtorex’s armor is repaired fully. Valtorex, still panting from the intense attacked, asks, “What…in the Abyss…was that?” Arianna replies, “Close, that spell was Infernal Fury. Normally, it drives someone insane with pain and consumes them in Hellfire. By all accounts, you should be dead. Now, there are a few more I would like to try…” She begins chanting another spell and soon, the glade erupts with the sound of horrible screeching. Valtorex covers his ears as they begin to bleed, but even this can’t cover the sound. Once it subsides, Arianna says, “That was Wail of the Banshee, which also should have killed you.” Valtorex tilts his head towards her. She casts a healing spell and repeats what she said. She then begins casting another spell. She finishes with a loud yell, and Valtorex feels a severe burning in his chest. Arianna is shocked. She exclaims, “That was the most powerful killing spell! (Taking God Spells and Epic Spells out of the equation) I used Power Word Kill on you!” They then try two more spells, Finger of Death and Phantasmal Killer. Other than ruining his newly repaired armor, they do nothing but hurt. After repairing his armor again, Arianna says, “This is all very strange, but that is not why we are here. That experiment took quite awhile. Now to begin teaching you.”
She asks him questions about his past, his family, his training, his weapons of choice, even his favorite food and drink. By the end of the hour, Arianna knows his entire story. She says, “Now I can better determine how to train you. Now, what to do for the next three hours?” Arianna seems to think for a few moments before saying, “Well, I could bring you to the stables to clean horse dung. Squires like that, right?” She says this with a smile. Valtorex replies, “I would, but my version of cleaning involves fire, and that may not be good for the horses.” Arianna seems to gain inspiration from that. She says, “Let’s talk about that, your obsession with fire. Why do you like fire so much?” Valtorex thinks for a moment before saying, “Really it’s my earliest memory that actually sticks. (He is referring back to the night his mother was kidnapped and his house was burnt down, with him in it) Plus, it is the only element that combines all of the best traits. It has the resistance of rock, the freedom and chaos of air, and the fluidity of water, while still maintaining its unique identity. It can be used to create or destroy, based upon its wielders intentions. It is the only element actually designed as a weapon; all the others have been adapted to fit the need of the wielder.” Arianna nods at his reasoning. She says, “From what I know of your nature, from my dealings with the other teachers and listening to you talk of your past, you like fire because you are fire. You fit all of the things you mentioned. Like fire, you can be used to create, but you have not been tempered. Without control, you can only destroy and will inevitably burn yourself out. Now, you will be getting a message next period informing you that you have been accepted into the Circle of the Earth. The Head Master convinced Stemius to accept you. Stemius will try to convince you become one with nature and don the brown robes. I want you to keep those red robes on at all costs. Passive neutrality will lead only to inaction, death, and destruction. Follow the path of active neutrality. Do what is right regardless of light or dark.” Valtorex replies, “I don’t think I have to worry about becoming one with nature. Have you seen my tree?” Arianna can’t tell whether he’s joking or not. She responds, “I have. That is precisely why you need to find your balance. The test for the Circle of Earth is to determine if your soul is compatible with nature. The state of the tree is the state of your soul. As your soul changes, so shall the tree. But on to other things. Do you know how to meditate?”
Valtorex nods. Arianna says, “Good. Begin.” Valtorex sits down and goes into a meditative pose. He lets his mind drift through the glade, feeling the energies and powers of his surroundings. He is curious and looks at Arianna. He sees her as a ball of heavily controlled and tempered, power. He is amazed at the amount of power she has compared to him. Arianna says, “Now that you have seen me, look upon yourself.” Valtorex looks inward and sees a twisted, deformed mass of raw power, full of chaos and a desire for destruction. Valtorex pulls back from his own self. Arianna asks, “Now do you see why you must learn? A great path has been set before you. To reach the end, you will need discipline, a strong soul, and a cause. You have the beginnings of the former, but you utterly lack the latter two. I can teach you discipline, but you will need your own cause and a strong spirit. I can help with the latter, along with Stemius, your friends, and those who are closes to you, but the cause you will need to find on your own.” Valtorex says, “I think I have the cause. I discovered it last night.” Arianna raises an eyebrow, “And what is it?” Valtorex steadily replies, “To hunt down those who prey upon fear and bring fear down upon them.” Arianna cautions, “That is a noble goal, however, it is fraught with danger. When you walk with shadows, you risk becoming one. Be careful that you do not become one of those who prey upon fear.” Valtorex nods at her advice. Arianna seems lost in thought for several moments, and Valtorex waits patiently for her to return to normal thought. Eventually, she says, “Well, it is almost time for class to end. Go to Elite Training. I will see you after fourth period for your fight with Tyberus, actually, most of the school will be. Until then, apprentice.”
Valtorex goes to the Hall of Trial to find Valen, Valrie, and Valinor waiting for him. He sees concern in the eyes of Valrie. He notes the somberness of Valinor and Valen, and asks, “Whose funeral?” Valrie replies, “Yours.” Valtorex nods; he says, “So you heard.” Valrie suddenly screams, “How could you be so damn stupid! You challenged one of the greatest living swordsmen to a duel! Do you want to die that badly?” Valtorex is stuck between trying to soothe her or yell at her. He decides instead to say, “I know I will die, so does he. This is about honor, not winning or losing. I am defending the honor of mages from his insults. My intention is to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that mages have honor.” Valen throws in, “Valtorex, we know you have honor. Hell, everyone that knows you knows you have honor. Why are you going to get yourself killed over it?” Valtorex is about to answers when Valinor jumps to his defense by saying, “He is doing the same thing I would do if I were in his situation. His people were similar to mine. Honor comes before life, because honor is all that is left when life is gone. The honor of your family, your self, your entire life’s work. At the end of the day, you have to stand by your honor, because without it, life loses its meaning.” Valtorex caps it with, “Valinor is exactly right. That is why I am fighting. After I lost my entire family and my people, all I had left was my honor. It always stood by me when I was alone. I won’t abandon it just to stay alive.” Valrie retorts, “But that was when you had nothing left! Now you have something other than honor. You have this school, you have friends…you have me.” Valtorex looks into her eyes and sees the meaning in what she is saying. Valtorex thinks back through the past few weeks of his life. He thinks of the time spent with Valrie at night, training with Valinor, listening to Valen’s insane jokes. He thinks of Arianna, the one teacher he doesn’t want to duel to the death. Valtorex finally says, “You are right. I have more now than I’ve ever had before, but I can not give up my old self. My new beginning is great, but I must lay the past to rest before I can continue on. Today, I will fight for not only my honor, but for my future. I will not die to make a stand, I will win for my new life. Our teacher is here, let us talk of something else.”
Lord Kemos, however, has something different in mind. He walks right up and says, “Alright, which one of you is Valtorex? The Head Master instructed me to prepare you for your duel.” Valtorex says, “I am Valtorex, sir.” Lord Kemos gives him an appraising glance before saying, “Alright, not too bad. I can work with you at least.” Valtorex assures, “Yes, sir, I am capable of basic combat.” Lord Kemos is a bit thrown off by a student speaking without being addressed directly. He says, “If you are truly capable, then draw steel.” Valtorex replies, “Yes sir.” before drawing his swords. Lord Kemos draws a rapier from the scabbard at his side. Lord Kemos waves the weapon around, flaunting his god-like speed. Valtorex readies himself.
Before he can even blink, Lord Kemos has charged forward and impaled him on his sword. Valtorex coughs up blood. Lord Kemos pulls his sword free and looks down to see the wound has healed. Lord Kemos says, “That’s right. This blade heals the cuts it inflicts. My opponents feel the pain, but they don’t die so the game can keep going.” Valtorex nods and slashes at him. Somehow, Lord Kemos blocks both swords his amazing agility before slices right across Valtorex’s chest, opening up a huge gash. Valtorex staggers back as the wound quickly closes. Lord Kemos darts forward and slices into his arm. Lord Kemos spins around and cuts the other arm. Lord Kemos dances around Valtorex, cutting and stabbing, all the while Valtorex tries to mount some form of defense. Valrie can barely watch as the blood flies with every new wound. Valinor is silently cheering Valtorex for not surrendering while Valen is amazed at how Valtorex can’t even fight back. Kemos slices through Valtorex’s Achilles’ Tendons, causing him to fall. His ankles heal, but he is already down. Lord Kemos proceeds to brutally slice his back. Lord Kemos says, “Just say the word and I’ll stop.” Valtorex mutters something and Lord Kemos stops long enough for him to bend down and asks, “What was that?” Valtorex says louder, “I will die before I surrender.” Lord Kemos nods and goes back to cutting him. Valtorex falls down from the pain. He lies face down against the ground, but Lord Kemos continues cutting him. Valen notices a faint movement. Valinor sees the knife at his side. Valrie sees a murderous look in Valtorex’s eyes. None of them really get it until the knife is out of its sheathe and in a new one…a warm and bloody one. Lord Kemos doubles over and grabs at the knife protruding from his gut. Valtorex stands and says, “That will not heal on its own.” They are all surprised when Lord Kemos yanks the blade out of himself and hands it back to Valtorex. The blade is stained crimson. Valtorex cleans the blade before replacing it at his belt.
Lord Kemos grins broadly and pats him on the back. Valtorex notices the bleeding has already stopped. Lord Kemos says, “Congratulations, you didn’t give in and managed to pull a victory out of the ordeal. That’s keeping with the oath.” Just then, Lord Kemos realizes something. He says, “I never taught you the motto did I?” Valtorex shakes his head. Lord Kemos says, “That can not be allowed. You must know the motto; your honor depends upon it.” He addresses them all, “The motto of the Elites has been handed down for centuries. It is our creed, out battle cry, our lives. All of you must learn it and learn it well. The famous motto that has been on the lips of thousands of Elites as they charged into the jaws of certain death is this, ‘Kaeje ona Morte’. That literally translates to ‘Victory or Death’. This is the eternal ultimatum. Come home with your shield or upon it. The Elites do as they are ordered by the Emperor. They complete their missions or they die in the process. Failure is not an option, surrender is not an option. If you are ordered to kill someone, you kill them. If they are already dead, you follow them to the Abyss to make sure they stay that way. If you are ordered to storm a city held by an army of thousands, without reinforcement, you do it. You charge right to the gate and tear it down. You kill and kill, until they finally get you. In our history, one Elite has taken an entire city by himself. One Elite has destroyed a fully prepared mage’s tower, by himself. One Elite has gotten into the good graces of a king, and then assassinated him, his family, and his royal guard, by herself. We do not expect this of everybody; we only expect them to attempt it. Before any of you continue in this class, I want you all to think about that. Think hard, because once you have joined this class, you will not leave until you graduate…or die.” They all nod somberly, even Valen. After a few moments, Lord Kemos says, “But on another note, I look forward to your duel. I will be there.” Just then, a messenger runs up. He hands an envelope to Valtorex, bows, and runs away. Valtorex tears open the envelope and reads the letter inside. It reads, “1st year student, you have been accepted into the Circle of the Earth. You are expected to attend class immediately.” Valtorex shows the letter to Lord Kemos who slaps him on the back and says, “Go boy. Don’t keep that old tree-hugger waiting.” Valtorex runs off towards the druid’s grove.
He arrives to find Stemius waiting. Stemius says, “Valtorex, know this, I do not want you here. It is only through the Head Master’s intervention that I even allow you to set foot in this sacred spot. I have been instructed to guide you. You walk a dark path of destruction and war. I intend to guide you back onto the path nature intended. There are robes on the log,” he gestures to a fallen tree at the periphery of the grove, “Change into them so the healing may begin.” (In case you haven’t noticed, the color of robe you wear is very important. Certain robes are like flag pins, others like Che shirts) Valtorex looks over at the robe and sees it is brown. Valtorex remembers back to Arianna’s warning. He says, “I am sorry, master druid, but I can not. I am a red robe and follow the path of active neutrality. To don the brown robes would be disobeying my knight, something I just can not do.” Stemius opens his eyes for the first time since Valtorex arrived. He says, with a deadly calm Valtorex would not expect from a pacifist, “So Arianna has already done her part to destroy your future. I command you, as your mentor and superior, to don those robes!” Valtorex focuses his fiery gaze upon him and says, “Druid, you can not order me to wear those robes. Passive neutrality leads to destruction through inaction. I must act when I see a crime. I must fight for what is righteous and honorable. I must destroy those who prey upon the fear of others. I must seek truth. Do not order me to abandon that just because I go against the flow of nature! What has nature done to stop the demons that sweep the land? How does peace save those being raped, tortured, and killed under the lash of evil? How does tranquility protect the innocent from darkness that wants to consume their souls? Tell me this! Tell me why I should sit by while these crimes occur! Tell me why nature wants me to let those people suffer!” Valtorex falls silent when the druid’s eyes glow with fury. The druid snaps to his feet and the trees twist, the grass writhes, and the wind howls. The druid demands, “How dare you question nature! How dare you question your role! How dare you assume you are the only one who cares! Nature grieves for what is lost, but what happens is natural. Death is natural, pain is natural, suffering is natural! How dare you question the order of things!” Valtorex is silently terrified by the fury of nature, but outwardly, he appears calm. He stares into the druid’s eyes as he says, deliberately and intentionally, “I dare because I am mortal. I dare because that is my role in this drasked (Draconic, similar to English’s F*#&, although only the swear, not the sexual meaning) world! I dare because I can not sit idly by and watch it happen! Now, I will listen to you, I will learn from you, but I will not follow your path.” Stemius seems to be stuck between anger and confusion. He finally breathes out slowly and suddenly looks very old. He says, with a hint of sadness, “Very well, I will teach you. I can feel nature screaming for your death, but I can feel my inner nature telling me you are somehow right. It is almost time for the period to end, and I have heard of your foolish fight. Go now. I will meet you here after fourth tomorrow. Until then, I will meditate upon what to do.” Valtorex bows before leaving.
Valtorex arrives at the Training Arena to find a large crowd of students and teachers assembled. He steps onto the field and sees a group of people in the front and center of the crowd. There is the Head Master, Arianna, Valrie, Valinor, Valen, and Myrstaline. Standing on the stone field is Tyberus, dressed in his adamantium armor with his adamantium greatsword strapped to his back. As Valtorex walks onto the ring, Tyberus says, “Good, you showed up. At least you’re not a total coward like most mages.” Valtorex just shakes his head in amusement. Tyberus says, “Now, mage, let us set up the rules of this match. I say no magic, including no enchanted weapons or armor. Is this agreeable?” Valtorex responds, “No it is not. I will willingly go without magic, but by removing my enchanted weapons, you remove all of them. Plus, your adamantium armor and weapon would allow you to destroy me without me even having a shot at fighting. I counter propose this, tunics as armor and identical weapons of your choice. Is that agreeable?” Tyberus says, a bit annoyed, “Yes. I pick greatswords.” Valtorex nods. Two servants run forward to divest them of their armor and weapons. Tyberus changes into a white tunic and Arianna brings Valtorex a blood red one. Valtorex puts on the tunic. The servants return with greatswords. Valtorex takes up his greatsword. Tyberus goes over to the side of the ring and takes out a metal orb. He places it in the center of the ring and it floats up. It stops ten feet from the ground and levitates in place. Tyberus says, “That orb is specially designed to detect magic. If any magic is used within this ring, the orb will discover and eliminate the source brutally.” Valtorex nods.
Tyberus and Valtorex stand under the orb, back to back. They each walk forward ten paces and turn. Tyberus raises his greatsword and Valtorex readies himself. Tyberus charges at him and Valtorex charges forward as well. They meet under the orb and their swords smash into each other. Sparks fly as the two warriors exchange blows, each matching the other perfectly. After several moments, Valtorex begins tiring. Finally, Tyberus gets a hit through. Valtorex screams as Tyberus’s greatsword smashes into his right side, cracking his ribs. Valtorex falls back, and when he finds it is hard to breathe and he starts hacking up blood, he realizes one of his lungs was punctured. As Valtorex is clutching his side and wheezing, Tyberus turns to the crowd and yells out, “Just as I predicted! He’s giving up after the first blow! What a coward!” Valtorex coughs out, “Giving up?…What makes you think…I’m giving up?” Tyberus seems mildly impressed by this. Tyberus charges forward and slams his sword down upon Valtorex. Valtorex barely manages to get his sword up to mount a feeble defense. Valtorex is forced to his knees and he drops his sword. Tyberus casually places his sword at Valtorex’s neck. Tyberus says, “All you have to do is beg for your life, mage. I’ll spare you if you admit you have no honor.” Valtorex’s response is to punch him in the gut and roll away with a small cut to his throat. Valtorex can barely breathe, but he finds enough energy to jump forward and grab his sword. Tyberus looks at him and says, “Looks like you still have some fight in you. Why don’t you give up?”
Valtorex, not knowing why, replies, “Kaeje ona Morte.” (This phrase works both as a statement of dedication to a cause and an oath to the enemy not to surrender and to expect no mercy) Tyberus nods. He says, “Very well, I will show no mercy. Kaeje ona Morte.” Tyberus raises his sword to fight, finally looking at Valtorex with respect. Almost the entire crowd has been won over by Valtorex’s display of honor. Valtorex, barely able tpo stand, raises his sword as high as he can, to about waist height. Valrie, seeing his pitiful state, gasps, “This is murder! He can’t fight like that!” The Head Master hears this and comments, “I would not worry. He chose this path. If he loses the fight, he has accomplished his goal. If he wins, he has still accomplished his goal. He will be happy either way. Besides, I think he still has some shot at winning.” His sentence is punctuated by the ring of steel on steel. Valtorex and Tyberus are fighting once again. Tyberus is attacking Valtorex brutally. Valtorex is barely able to block with even some effectiveness. Tyberus cleaves into Valtorex leg, causing him to fall. Valtorex falls back and lands hard. Tyberus advances on him, and before Valtorex can get up, he hacks at the other leg. Tyberus says, “You are honorable, but you are still a fool. This duel is to the death, and you have lost. I am sorry.” Tyberus raises his sword up, the blade pointed tip down at Valtorex’s chest. Tyberus plunges his blade down, but his eyes widen and he lets go of the sword. Valtorex has raises his blade one final time, and Tyberus’s downward strike caused him to skewer himself. Before Tyberus lets go of the sword, however, it has made contact with Valtorex and stabs through to the stone below. Valtorex gasps as his chest is forced open by the sword. Tyberus falls backwards, his hands over the bleeding wound from the sword.
Myrstaline jumps up and runs over to Valtorex, closely followed by Valen, Valinor, and Valrie. Myrstaline kneels beside Valtorex and tries to heal him. The orb begins crackling with lightning. Valtorex remembers Tyberus’s orb and whispers, “Go…away. The…orb will kill…” Valtorex faints. The Head Master rises to his feet and walks into the arena. With a casual wave of his hand, the orb explodes. The nurse runs forward and begins healing Tyberus. Valen, Valinor, Valrie, and Myrstaline crowd around Valtorex’s body. Valen says, “Come on, don’t die. There’s still so much for us to blow up!” Valinor adds, “Valtorex, do not let this little scratch kill you.” Valrie pleads, “Valtorex, don’t die! We need you!” Myrstaline begins praying to Silesta, the elven goddess of life and healing. Apparently, Silesta listens because Valtorex’s wounds begin to glow white. Soon, they close up and Valtorex opens his eyes. Valtorex sits up to a cheer from Valen, a slap on the shoulder from Valinor, a hug from Valrie, and praises to Silesta from Myrstaline. Valrie realizes what she is doing and backs away, blushing. Valtorex stands and goes over to where Tyberus is still lying. The nurse finishes healing him and backs away. Valtorex bends down and grabs Tyberus’s arm. Tyberus groans as Valtorex lifts him to his feet. Tyberus turns toward Valtorex and offers him his hand. Valtorex shakes his hand and Tyberus finally concedes, “You have honor, mage. You fought bravely even in the face of death. I would be honored to have you in my 4th level class. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Everyone leaves and goes to their offices or cabins, depending on whether they are faculty or students respectively. As they are walking away, Valtorex says to Myrstaline, “Thanks for saving me. What class did you get into?” Myrstaline replies, “I don’t know. Rōdenthall said he would assign me without testing.” Valtorex is quietly nervous about that, but he says, “Alright, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow in class.” Myrstaline is completely confused by this, but before she can ask him what he means, he’s already gone. The four arrive at their cabin. They enter to find four envelopes on the table, each with a name on it. Valtorex goes over and picks up the envelopes. He tosses them to the people they are addressed to. Valtorex opens his and takes out the letter inside it. The letter reads, “Valtorex, you have been accepted into the 4th level class in the Guild of Warriors, taught by Sergeant Tyberus, for 1st period. You have been accepted into the Order of Steel; Lady Arianna will instruct you during 2nd period. Arch-Mage Rōdenthall has accepted you into 4th level training at the Tower of the Arcane during 3rd period. 4th period you have Elite Training under Lord Kemos. Do not be tardy for any of these classes and be prepared to bring any necessary supplies. Failure to comply will result in expulsion from the Draconic Academy.” There is also a set of books for his magic class.They talk about their classes. Valtorex finds out that Valrie is in 3rd level Diplomacy, 4th level Dueling, 3rd level Mobility, and Elite Training. Valen has 4th level Archery, 3rd level Survival, 4th level Mobility, and Elite Training. Valinor is in 4th level Warrior, 3rd level Survival, the Order of Steel, and Elite Training. They go to sleep.
The next morning, Valtorex packs the books in his pack. Valinor and Valtorex go to Warrior Training. Tyberus meets them and says, “Ah, my two brightest pupils of 1st. I feel like watching a fight today. Draw steel and battle. Give it your all, but try not to kill each other too much. Tyberus turns to the other two students and says, “Watch how real warriors fight.” Valtorex and Valinor draw their steel and face each other off. Valinor rushes Valtorex with his greatsword, but Valtorex blocks with his longswords. Valinor sweeps up from the ground, but once again, Valtorex parries. Valtorex slices at Valinor, but Valinor swings forward into the blow. Valtorex’s sword is knocked tot eh side and Valinor presses the advantage. Valinor brings his sword down and Valtorex can only get one sword up in time to block. That sword is knocked down, but Valinor’s attack has been slowed enough for Valtorex to get the other sword up and block it. Valinor is forced back as Valtorex makes a series of thrusts and swings that he is hard pressed to block. Finally, Valinor reaches the edge of the ring and makes a final, desperate swing. This swing knocks Valtorex back and temporarily stops his advance. Valinor charges forward, ready to swing. Valtorex jumps to the side and lets Valinor run past him. Valtorex springs up and races after Valinor. Valinor suddenly turns with a swing, making Valtorex halt and block. Valinor begins attacking and Valtorex is forced back to the edge of the ring. Valinor brings his sword down with all of his considerable strength, but Valtorex crosses his swords and attempts to catch the deadly blade. Valinor’s sword smashes into the valley formed by Valtorex’s blades. Valtorex is forced to drop his swords and almost falls out of the ring.
Valtorex comes back with a kick. Valinor is not expecting this and fails to block. The kick lands solidly against Valinor stomach, causing him to stagger back and drop his sword. Valtorex tries to press his advantage, but Valinor comes back up with a punch. The punch lands under Valtorex chin, causing his head to shoot back. Valtorex returns with a punch of his own. The two exchange punches and kicks for twenty minutes or more. Both of them pulls back, panting and limping. They begin circling each other, trying to find a weakness. After about a minute, they both charge forward. Valinor swings his fist and connects solidly with Valtorex’s cheek. Valtorex jumps up and double kicks Valinor in the chest. Valtorex lands a few feet away and Valinor charges him. Valtorex jumps and sidekicks Valinor in the face. Valinor goes down. Valinor comes back up and punches Valtorex with all of his strength. His fist connects with Valtorex’s face and Valtorex goes down. Valtorex rolls away and forces himself up. They are about to go back to beating each other to a pulp when Tyberus commands, “Stop!”
Tyberus says to the other two students, “You see, that is how warriors fight. Valtorex lost his weapons, but instead of begging for mercy, he kicked. Valinor lost his weapon, but instead of calling it quits, he punched. They didn’t stop until I ordered it, and they would probably have kept the fight going for the rest of the period. Now, I want to see the two of you fight like they did.” The rest of the class period is spent with sparring matches between the four of them. Silvanos doesn’t use haste today, but he is still a formidable opponent. Tyberus instructs them on how to improve their techniques. Tyberus finally yells, “Class dismissed!”, and the students stagger off to their next period classes.
Valtorex nearly goes to the Tower of the Arcane, but remembers his period was switched and runs off to the spring. He arrives to find Arianna sitting on a log, meditating. She looks up, looking directly at Valtorex and asks, “Shouldn’t you be in second period?” Valtorex replies, “I am. Did they not tell you I was switched?” Arianna looks a bit embarrassed. She quickly says, “Oh, yes, they mentioned something about that. I wasn’t expecting you to show up.” Valtorex says, “Well, I am here, lady.” Arianna says, “Yes, well, I think you need more practice meditating. Try to meditate and I will try to distract you.” Valtorex nods and sit down. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply. Once he has begun meditating, Arianna yells. She sees a flutter to his eyes, but nothing more. She conjures two pans and begins banging them together. Valtorex’s face takes on a look of determination. Arianna continues banging the pans until Valtorex’s concentration breaks. He yells and the pans burst into flames. Arianna is forced to drop them and they clatter to the ground where they turn into a puddle of molten metal. Arianna, mouth agape, says, “You just melted iron. What spell was that?” Valtorex tensely replies, “That was the ‘they annoyed me’ spell. I use it on things that annoy me. It makes them stop.” Arianna dryly comments, “I bet, but you still failed the test.” From Valtorex’s reaction, it seems like she actually struck him. Then the look of anguish disappears and is replaced by an impassive face.
Arianna sighs before saying, “You know that will kill you, right?” Valtorex asks, “What? Failing in a winner takes all Academy or internalizing my emotions?” Arianna retorts, “This is not a winner takes all…” Then she realizes it is. She continues, “Alright, well, I was talking about internalizing your emotions. We can cover the winner takes all mentality at another time.” Valtorex replies, “Very well. The conversation is going to go like this: ‘Why do you internalize?’ ‘Because some things are best left alone.’ ‘But internalization causes loss of control.’ ‘Yes, and talking about the past brings up bad memories.’ So why do we bother? You’re going to bring up how it will destroy my body, and I’ll counter that my past will destroy my mind. Neither of us will win and we’ll just waste time. Besides, the enemy blades will kill me long before my body gives out.” Arianna says, “Fine, if you won’t share your emotions, I’ll just see this haunting past for myself. Then maybe we can talk about it.” Valtorex replies, calmly and coolly, “It is your ability to sleep that is on the line. Don’t let me stop you.” Arianna chants the words to a spell and closes her eyes. Valtorex feels a jolt to his consciousness. He blacks out.
He finds himself starring at a manor he faintly remembers. Arianna is standing next to him. He sees a group of orcs led by a demon charge up to the house. The demon kicks down the door. Suddenly Valtorex remembers this and what will happen next. He says, “So you want to see my past? Follow me and you can experience it.” Valtorex walks through the door after the orcs and Arianna follows. They go through the door and find themselves in a parlor. Valtorex sees the maid trying to fight the orcs off with a fire poker. They laugh and jeer until she stabs one through the neck. One of them grabs the poker and rips it out of her hand. He then slaps her and says, “She mine. Me take her now.” He grabs her and throws her over his shoulder. He carries her, kicking and screaming, out of the house. The other orcs move throughout the house, taking everything of value. They seem to ignore their dying comrade as he writhes on the ground, gasping for air. The demon goes up the stairs to the second floor. Arianna and Valtorex follow. They arrive on the second floor to find a young woman, in her late twenties, early thirties, fighting the demon off. In the corner, there is a young boy, not even old enough to understand what is happening. The demon breaks the pole the woman is using to defend herself. He slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground. As she tries to struggle to her feet, the demon bashes her over the head, knocking her unconscious. The demon turns on the boy. The boy stands up shakily, furious at what the demon just did, but completely incapable of action due to fear. The demon walks forward and punches the boy in the gut. The boy falls down, the air forced out of his lungs. The demon kicks the boy, eliciting a quiet scream. The demon kicks the boy again, and the boy coughs up some blood. The demon bends down and picks up the boy by the collar and begins slapping him back and forth. The woman begins stirring. The demon tosses the boy against a stone mantel and an audible crack is heard. Arianna’s instinct overwhelms her and she rushes forward to help the boy. She looks into his eyes and sees the bright blue fading. The boy’s blonde hair is matted with blood. The demon laughs as he drags the woman up by her hair. He roars out, “Look what I did to your boy! The little runt couldn’t even put up a decent fight! He deserved to die and you deserve to die for bringing the runt into the world. No matter, however, he’s dead and you’ll be dead soon.” The demon drags her out of the room and down the stairs. Arianna just looks at the boy, thinking this must be a brother Valtorex never talks about. She can understand why.
She hears a crash as a window is broken on the ground floor. She looks out the window to see the orcs and demon leaving the house. The demon turns back and roars out in Archon. The bottom floor bursts into flames. The flames creep up the sides of the house and the stairwell. Soon, the fire has spread to the room. The fire hits the furniture and advances on the boy. The fire reaches the boy and engulfs him. Arianna feels a tear come to her eye. Valtorex whispers, almost inaudibly over the blaze, “And so it begins.” Arianna gasps when the boy stirs. He rises to his knees and screams. At first, she thinks it is in pain, as would be expected, but then she realizes it is in anger. The boy stands up and the fire moves away from him, but it seems to mill about him, as if waiting for a command. Now that the fire is gone, she can see the boy’s blonde hair has been stained black from the soot. What astonishes her is the eyes. The bright blue has faded and gone. It has been replaced by a red that looks as if it was stolen from the fire itself. The boy, she now recognizes is Valtorex, storms across the room and goes down the burning stairs. The fire parts for him, backing away as if he was burning it. He goes out of view and everything goes dark.
They come back to find the boy, now older and stronger looking, standing at the edge of the village. About one hundred feet away is the demon, holding the boy’s mother by a chain attached to an iron collar around her neck. The boy yells, “Release my mother or I will personally rip you to shreds!” (I’m using boy because I don’t want to have to differentiate between the Valtorex watching and the Valtorex participating. Time travel is screwed up!J) The demon laughs and yanks on the chain, causing the woman to fall backwards. The boy’s hand goes to the longsword at his side. They watch the battle that follows and watch as the demon runs away. (I am not describing the scene in detail and I’m not describing thoughts because this page covers basically the entire first book. Don’t worry, I actually intend to cover the two years he spends in training)
Everything goes black again and they find themselves on the pivotal plateau. They watch the scene between Valtorex and the demon, the ensuing fight, and Valtorex going off the cliff. Then they see the village scene where Valtorex slays the entire village of orcs without mercy. Finally, they see Valtorex walk into Wayside Tavern and meet the robed stranger that changes his life. Valtorex takes his first job and leaves the inn. They see him facing a group of bandits and slaughtering them. They watch him work his way through mercenary jobs, killing and killing, without emotion, without mercy. Arianna is surprised to note that even she, a veteran knight, finds this level of combat and brutality stomach wrenching. Then they move on to Valtorex’s time with Trishtessa, the sorceress. (You know, a great way to find names when writing is to go to babynames.com. They have a great data base with searches by first letter and gender. No, I am not being paidL) They skip to where Valtorex follows Trish into a cave. Arianna, thinking she knows what happens, prepares to avert her gaze. Valtorex sees this and says, “What you think happens doesn’t. You are about to see the worst part of my life to date.” (Yes I am being vague on purpose, and yes, I know I’m an assJ) They go through the scene in the cave, then they flash through various parts of Valtorex’s captivity. They then flash to the show down between him and Trish. They see Valtorex stumbling out of the collapsed cave and wondering for days. They see him collapse at the mouth of a cave and a hermit come out. They flash through his training with the hermit and the continued mercenary work he does. They go through Valtorex’s most recent jobs, and his most dangerous. She sees the insane charges, the grievous wounds, and the look of sadness as he snuffs out life after life. They then go through the most recent events, the boat, East Port, and his first days in the Academy. Finally, they leave his mind and return to reality.
Arianna is stunned by how brutal his life has been. She remembers going through training similar to that and bearing pain like that, but not until her third or fourth year of training. She decides that Valtorex is exactly the soldier the Empire needs. She says, “Very well, Valtorex. It appears as if your past has been a bit rough, but it will only get harder. Class is almost over, but tomorrow, I expect you ready to fight for your life. I this understood?” Valtorex’s eyes flash before he says, “Definitely. Finally something I can do.” Valtorex is dismissed by Arianna and he leaves.
He arrives at the Tower of the Arcane. He finds two mages in black robes harassing an elven girl in white robes. An elf in red robes is sitting against the wall watching. Valtorex immediately recognizes Myrstaline. One of the black robed mages says, “You only got into 4th level because of your boy friend!” The other one says, “Ya! This little wimp can’t even beat a rat! I’ll enjoy destroying her.” Myrstaline is cowering against a wall. Valtorex walks forward and cheerily says, with a smile on his face, “Hi, I’m Valtorex. I’m assuming you are talking about me. Just so you know, she’s not my girl friend; she’s only a friend that I promised to help. I hope you don’t mean destroy her literally, because I would have to remove your entrails and decorate a tree with them. Now, say you’re sorry or I’ll bash your brains out.” He says this as one would talk to a new neighbor. (This is to point out Valtorex is a complete psychoJ) The two mages turn, the looks of shock and fear hidden by their hoods. Valtorex just stares at them for awhile. When they make no move to get out of the way, he walks between them to where Myrstaline is. He pats her on the shoulder and says, “Myrstaline, it’s time for class. They say they can destroy you, but I think you should show them otherwise. Ah, here comes Silvanos.”
Silvanos walks up and says, “Ooh, isn’t that touching. The human and the elf. Think fast!” Silvanos fires Finger of Death in their direction. Valtorex is preparing to raise a shield when Myrstaline yells out in elven. A glowing, white shield appears around them and the green bolt dissipates against it. Silvanos curses and Rōdenthall shows up. He says, “Ah, my class is ready. Today, we will be practicing in the woods. I feel like getting close to nature.” He laughs without mirth. He leads the students into the forest. He goes to the very edge of the Academy. There is an ancient ring that looks as if it is made of crystal. Rōdenthall harshly spits out a word in a language none of them can understand, except for Valtorex, but he doesn’t know from where. A plane of light appears in the portal and he walks through. The students follow him. They find themselves in a dark forest. Rōdenthall says, “Ok, students, this is where we will be having class from now on. He produces five rings from his robe pocket. He hands one to each of them. He says, “The ring allows you to go through the portal. You must use the command word to open it and if you do not have your ring when you use the command word, then you will be teleported to the Abyss. Now, let’s practice the command word.” He teaches them the command word, then he asks, “So does anyone know what it means?” Valtorex says, “It means ‘Open’.” Rōdenthall seems slightly impressed. He asks, “How did you know that?” Valtorex replies, “My previous teacher taught me the fundamentals of every main language. He focused on the Power Languages.” (Valtorex actually doesn’t know and just assumes it was his old teacher that told him) Rōdenthall asks, “And this teacher of yours, was he a mage?” Valtorex responds, “I do not know. All I know about him is he is a hermit that saved my life. I never got his name and since I left, I haven’t been able to find his cave again.” Rōdenthall seems thoughtful. Then he says, “Very well. That is quite interesting, but we have more important things. My assistant here is going to try to kill you…so will I. Your goal is to survive. This forest is so far from civilization that it does not even have a name anymore. The Ancients gave it a name, but it is not to be spoken because of the power it carries with it. Just suffice to call this place either the Dark Forest, or Treed Hell.” Ending with that, he disappears. Silvanos vanishes soon after. The elven mage sets off on his own, confident in his ability to defend himself. The two black robes go off on their own.
Valtorex and Myrstaline stay in place. Valtorex says, “We’ll need a light, a bright one. Can you cast Light?” Myrstaline nods. Valtorex says, “Good, how many times?” Myrstaline replies, “It’s a light spell. My natural magic can cover it.” Valtorex says, “Good. How many times can you cast it before you become fatigued?” Myrstaline shrugs. Valtorex shakes his head in annoyance. He says, “Alright. Cast it on…” He looks her over and notices she is wearing only the white robe and has no weapons. He curses under his breath and removes two daggers and their sheathes. He hands them to her and says, “Put these on somewhere. You need a weapon or two.” She puts them on around her waist. He says, “Alright, now we need some source of metal…” He takes out two gold pieces. He presses one piece against her sternum and mutters under his breath. The gold piece glows briefly before he removes his hand. The gold piece stays in place. Valtorex does the same to himself. He says, “Alright, cast light on yours first, then mine.” She does so and is not yet fatigued. He says, “Okay, now cast light on the blades of your daggers. If you’re still not fatigued, get my knife.” He pulls out the Knife of the Ancestors. She does this and is a bit flushed. Valtorex says, “Alright, that should do it. Remember, only draw your weapons if you see the threat. This will blind any creatures accustomed to dark we encounter and will also make it harder to avoid our attacks.” Myrstaline nods. They set off.
After about an hour of walking, “Myrstaline asks, “How much longer?” Valtorex replies, “We’ve been in class for about an hour and a half. We have about two and a half hours left. Or more. It all depends on whether or not they decide to let us out. Oh, I think our first test is here.” Valtorex points to a shadowy figure ahead of them. The figure quickly reveals himself as Silvanos as he runs into their light. He charges them with a dagger dripping some green liquid. Myrstaline freaks out and draws her daggers, blinding him with the new burst of light. Valtorex runs forward, drawing his swords, and slashes. He hears a gurgle as one of his swords slices through Silvanos’s neck. Valtorex commands, “Put your daggers away. He’s down.” Myrstaline sheathes her daggers. Valtorex looks down to see Silvanos’s body shimmering. He plunges a sword through the forehead. The body disappears. They continue on. After about another thirty minutes, they hear a rustling behind them. Valtorex whispers, “Keep moving.” They continue on. After about another thirty minutes, a creature suddenly bursts forth from the underbrush. Valtorex turns to face a large demon. Myrstaline turns and tries to draw her daggers. The demon looks upon her and she freezes. The light on their coins disappears. Myrstaline cries, “I can’t fight it!” Valtorex says, “That’s okay. We have left your bright and happy element. Now we are in mine. Darkness, conflict, pain, and fear. Those are four things you will come to know well if you insist on sticking with me. I suggest you pray to whatever gods you support, because this thing is intent upon taking and destroying both body and soul.” Valtorex draws his swords and yells, “Rōdenthall, you made a mistake! Sending me against a demon? Do you not know me at all?” The demon chuckles. It says, “Do you really think that fool sent me? I am a servant of this forest’s master, the Arch-Devil Mordoneus. I will enjoy feasting upon your souls.” Valtorex just says, “Bastard.” He then walks forward and stabs the demon. As the fire laps at the demon’s flesh and the lightning shoots through its blood, Valtorex says, “Rhetoric. All of your kind is obsessed with rhetoric. ‘Devour this soul’ ‘Cast darkness there’. It gets kind of annoying.” Valtorex wrenches his blades out of the demon and cleans them. He returns them to their sheathes as the artificial darkness is lifted. Their coins begin shining again.
Just then Silvanos appears. He seems ready to attack them, then he notices the demon. He sighs before saying, “Very well. I’ll let you go. Just turn around, the portal is about one hundred yards that way. Myrstaline turns and begins walking. Valtorex sees the gleam of murder in Silvanos’s eyes and says, “Myrstaline, wait.” Silvanos curses before releasing a massively powerful spell. Silvanos vanishes. Valtorex yells as a massive blast of energy tears through the trees towards them. Myrstaline isn’t going to turn in time and Valtorex is driven to protect her. He jumps in front of the blast. The wave smashes into him, causing him a level of pain he has never before experienced. He hears Myrstaline scream as the secondary wave hits her. Valtorex falls to the ground and feels his heart slowing to a crawl. He can hear Myrstaline’s labored breathing. His mind drifts as his heart fails. He looks down upon them, seeing the fire in his soul burning out. He then sees her soul. It is white, pure. He uses a word he has not used in a very long time. Beautiful. He knows he will survive the blast. He has enough energy to go into a meditative state until his heart heals, but he can’t bring himself to do it. He knows that she took a lesser blast, so he can possibly save her, but it will kill him. He decides the end of his twisted path for the continuation of hers is worth it. He channels all of his energy into her. He sees her heart beat increase and he hears her breathing ease as the damage to her body is repaired. He then sees a man in pure white armor appear before him. He says, “You last act has redeemed you. Come into Celestia. Live in peace.” Another man in armor of the darkest black appears from the shadows. He yells, “No! The mortal is mine! He has followed my path! On minor deviation at the end can not redeem him!” Finally, a man in blood red armor appears. He says, “Actually, the mortal is mine. I have decided he will yet live. He still has much more to do.” The three turn to him and ask, in unison, “What do you want? Peace, war, or life?” Valtorex replies, “With life, I get war. Peace will leave me nothing to do. I choose to live. Like he said, I have more to do.” The men say, “That was the right choice Valtorex. Very well, your life shall be restored, but for a price. You must join the Red Army and advance to Arch-General. You must defend this Empire at all costs. Be prepared to sacrifice all. If this Empire falls, then your soul shall be forfeit to Oblivion. Do you agree to these terms?” Valtorex replies, “I do, but with one condition. Let me finish my training.” All three nod their agreement then disappear. (Don’t be disappointed, you’ll see them again. And, you’ll even get their names then too. Plus, their back story and how they relate to Valtorex. Those of you who know me well enough to have the behind the scenes info. probably know them.)
Valtorex is ripped from the sky and forced back into his body. He sits up and looks around. Myrstaline is asleep beside him. He picks her up and heads in the direction Silvanos gave. He arrives to find Silvanos and Rōdenthall waiting. They congratulate him on succeeding. Then Silvanos asks, “Bit why are you carrying the dead one?” Valtorex replies, “Because you bastard, she’s not dead. Now, let me return to the Academy. I’ll be more than happy to come back and kick your asses when I know she’s safe, but until then, she’s my primary concern.” Rōdenthall says, “Fine. If you insist on being weak, I’ll open the portal. Next time you come here will be your last though. I can guarantee it.” Rōdenthall opens the portal and Valtorex goes through. They arrive at the Academy. Valtorex looks at the sun and determines there is one hour until the next class. Myrstaline stirs in his arms. He asks, “What class do you have next?” She mouths, “Natural.” Valtorex nods and takes her to the Druid’s Grove.
Stemius jumps up from a log and says, “You’re here early!” He sees Myrstaline and his eyes grow wide. He demands, “What did you do to her?” Valtorex replies, “I saved her life. Be angry at Silvanos, he’s the one that did this. Can you take care of her?” Stemius nods says, “Put her down and go. I’ll take care of her. Everything you touch dies.” Valtorex puts her down and leaves the Grove. As he is leaving, he poses the question over his shoulder, “Is not death part of life?” Valtorex goes to The Hall of Trials. He sees Lord Kemos training a group of four. He is shooting arrows at them and making them dodge. After about twenty minutes, he says, “Class dismissed.” Valtorex walks up to him as the students are leaving. Lord Kemos asks, “How much did you see?” Valtorex responds, “Only you shooting arrows at them.” Lord Kemos sighs in relief. Lord Kemos and Valtorex talk for awhile about longsword technique, Lord Kemos obviously wanting to avoid discussing today’s class. Valinor, Valrie, and Valen arrive about two minutes into their discussion. Lord Kemos says, “Alright, today we will be working on mobility and group work. How many of you are in Mobility Training?” Valrie and Valen raise their hands. Lord Kemos says, “Alright. Two of you. We can skip mobility then. We’ll focus on teamwork. I will summon a demon and the four of you will have to defeat it.” Lord Kemos pulls a scroll from his pocket and reads it.
A balrog (A large, flaming demon. See: Lord of the Rings movie trilogy) appears. Its first action is to shoot fire at Valrie. Valtorex raises a shield to protect her. Lord Kemos yells, “First, establish a leader!” Valtorex decides he will back whoever steps up. Valrie, Valinor, and Valen decide to back Valtorex. Valinor says, “Valtorex.” Valen and Valrie agree. Valtorex, once again assuming the role of leader, says, “Alright. Valen, get behind it and pepper it with arrows. Valinor, wait until its back is turned, then plunge your sword into its spine. Valrie, go for its ankles and try to cripple it. I’ll use my magic to attack the head.” Valen takes off in a sprint around the balrog ignores him and summons a flaming whip. He swings the whip and whips at Valrie. Valtorex knows the only shield that will protect her is his body. He jumps in front of her. For a moment, he thinks it odd that he’s saved two people today alone by sacrificing himself. Then he stops thinking when the flame hits. He falls to the ground. By now, Valen has reached the other side and has begun loosing arrows at it. The balrog turns as it feels the tiny pinpricks from the arrows. When it turns, Valrie runs forward with a yell. She avenges Valtorex by brutally slashing at the balrog’s legs. The balrog screams and tries to turn. Then Valinor runs forward and jumps. He draws his greatsword and stabs into the balrog’s lower back, severing the spine. The balrog turns and shakes them off. It turns as Valtorex stands. The balrog and Valtorex make eye contact. The balrog roars, but Valtorex just continues to stare into its eyes. The balrog begins lumbering forward, but Valtorex just looks deeper. Finally, something in his mind snaps. He says, “I understand now. You are consumed by the same fire I am. The burning need to destroy, the lust for conflict. I understand you, and thus, I know how to beat you.” Valtorex begins meditating. He lets his mind drift outward. He turns his gaze upon the balrog. He sees a twisted and tortured soul, consumed by fire, pain, and hatred. He is reminded of himself. He goes into the balrog, forcing his spirit into its body. As his fire merges with the fire of the balrog, it shrieks in eternal agony. Their souls merge and the balrog’s body begins to break up from the conflict caused. It becomes a contest between the two souls. Valtorex struggles against the balrog and begins to take control. Then, the balrog’s spirit flies out and towards Valtorex’s body. Valtorex races back to his body and narrowly beats the balrog. The balrog still makes it into his body. The balrog fights with his soul for control, but in the end, Valtorex’s fire out burns it and the balrog’s spirit falls into the background. (This balrog will come up often later. Those of you who read Unicorn Hunting probably can guess what I’m referring to)
Valtorex used all of his energy battling with the balrog and he collapses. Valrie, Valen, and Valinor rush to his aid. Valrie turns him over. His eyes flutter open and Valrie gasps. Valtorex’s fire red eyes have transformed. An actual inferno appears to be contained just below the surface. Lord Kemos walks towards them and looks into Valtorex’s eyes. He says, “They say the eyes are the window to the soul. What does this say about him?” Lord Kemos appears to be the only one who is not frightened or shocked. Lord Kemos says, “An interesting thing just happened. A mortal fought a very powerful demon soul and managed not to succumb to the Abyssal call. That is very rare. Unfortunately, once a demon is in you, it takes the act of a god to get it out. He’ll be battling with that demon for the rest of his life. Normally, he should be able to overcome it, but if he becomes emotional, the demon is likely to take over.” Valtorex asks, “Really? So I actually have a reason to suppress my emotions now?” Lord Kemos laughs before saying, “Yes, pretty much. But the key is feeling them, not expressing them. Even feeling emotion will lead to the balrog coming out, although only the powerful ones, like anger, hate, fear, or love. Feeling those will most likely throw you into a deadly rage that will make you nearly unbeatable. You will also attempt to kill everyone and everything around you. I would very much like to see one of those rages.” (Hint: He will by the end of this chapter) Lord Kemos trains them by sending a few more demons against them. The four of them dispatch the weak demons with relative ease. (Relative to a balrog, which is one step below a Demon Lord on the Abyssal food chain) Lord Kemos finally says, “Very well, class dismissed. Valen, Valrie, Valinor, go and get some sleep. Valtorex, I’ll accompany you to Stemius’s grove.
The companions part ways. Valtorex and Lord Kemos head to the grove. They arrive to find Stemius, still in his brown robes, waiting. He says, a bit unfriendly, “Ah, Kemos, I see you have come along.” Lord Kemos retorts, “Well, I just wanted to see the one tree even you’re afraid to hug.” Stemius flushes in anger. Stemius yells, “So you want to see that tree? Alright, I’ll show it to you, and I’ll show you what it’s done, as soon as I’ve finished teaching this abomination, or better yet, I’ll teach him in the shadow of his own twisted soul. Come this way, I moved the tree because it prevented my students from meditating.” They leave the grove, following Stemius. They go deeper and deeper into the woods. As they move further in, Valtorex begins to realize where they are going. They arrive at the portal he went through earlier that day. Stemius sees recognition in his eyes. Stemius says, “Don’t worry, this portal actually links all of the ancient forests. We’ll be going to a tranquil, peaceful forest that contains the Circle of the Earth, for which the druid’s school is named. The Circle of the Earth is a council formed by the spirits of all the sages who became one with nature. They direct the living druid masters and serve as a communication line with the planet.” Stemius closes his eyes and his face takes on a semi peaceful look. Then he says, “Something is wrong. I can’t get through to the Circle. It’s like that entire forest has been cut off from nature.” He abruptly turns on Valtorex and accuses, “This is your fault! If you hadn’t have come here, that tree wouldn’t exist and this wouldn’t have happened!” Lord Kemos interjects, “You don’t know it was him, and if it was, I wouldn’t be that threatening to someone who can take down a group of spirits dating back to the first uprising.” Stemius calms down and says, “Very well. I will not blame him yet. Let us see if the portal responds to him. If it does, we will know the answer.” Valtorex takes the hint and walks up to the portal. Nothing happens. Valtorex, not knowing whether to be relieved or disappointed, tries to step back. Instead, he feels a tug from the ring. He steps forward and touches the edge. Where he touches it, the crystal turns red, as if it was hollow and filling with blood. The red spreads through the ring. In moments, the entire ring is red. Valtorex feels a string of words fighting to be released. He mutters words he has never heard before, but sound similar to the language Rōdenthall used earlier. (BTY, that language is Ancient, the first power language) A plane of fiery light appears in the portal. Valtorex, feeling a call from some immortal essence, walks into the fire. Lord Kemos shrugs and goes through. Stemius, wary of this display and what it could mean about Valtorex, follows.
They find themselves in a deep forest. All of the trees are twisted and warped. A general scream of agony hangs in the air, as if coming from the earth itself. In the background, they can see a massive blaze, or at least the harsh light from it. Lord Kemos asks, “How far away is the fire?” Stemius replies, “I don’t know. I can’t commune with the earth.” Valtorex asks, “Where did you plant the tree?” Stemius responds, “About fifteen miles from here.” Valtorex says, “Then the fire’s origin is somewhere around there. That’s where I’m going.” Lord Kemos asks, “Why? Do you sense something?” Valtorex replies, “Yes. A desire for blood, death, and strife.” Lord Kemos says, “Well, that sounds like the best place to be.” Stemius is aghast. “So you are the root of this! I knew it!” Valtorex calmly says, “Yes, apparently I am, even though you are the one who planted the tree. I am going to fix this. What are you going to do?” Stemius slumps his shoulders and says, “Very well, I will join you. I should warn you about the elves though. A subspecies of Wood Elves lives in this forest. They haven’t left since the elf tribes spilt up thousands of years ago. According to the circle, they are the original elves. We must treat them with respect.” Valtorex nods and walks towards the blaze. They walk for about five miles until they reach the edge of the blaze. They find a village. There are platforms in the trees and doors at the base of the trunks. Stemius says, “This is one of the elf villages. It looks like the fire is being held back for now.” He points to a group of elves at the edge of the fire, using magic to prevent it from spreading further. Valtorex is about to go to help when he sees movement in the flame. At first he thinks it is just an illusion caused by the intense heat, but moments later, he finds out it is much worse.
A group of demons bursts forth from the flame and take the elves by surprise. Within moments, more than half of the men that were stopping the flame are dead. The demons press onward, leaving the remaining elves behind to perish in the flames or die as more of their brethren charge out of the fire. The fire begins moving slowly and the elves are forced back. The demons spread throughout the town as more demons pour out of the fire, killing even more elves. The demons kick in the doors and charge into the tree homes. In minutes, the demons have taken the platforms, easily slaying any men who weren’t fighting the flames. The demons stand on the platforms, waving their bloody weapons and roaring in bloodlust. They captured the women and children. They begin tossing the children off the platforms and tormenting the women. Valtorex knows what will happen once all of the children are dead and the women are sufficiently terrified. (If you can’t guess, you are either a complete moron or still in Elementary, in which case, shame on your parents or older siblings for letting you read this) Valtorex turns to Stemius and says, “Remember what I said before I went off to fight Tyberus?” (He’s referring to his rant about active neutrality) Stemius nods. Valtorex says, “I am about to prove I meant it.” Valtorex draws his swords and rushes the nearest house. He charges through the doorway and over the broken door. Lord Kemos draws his rapier and says a command word to remove the healing aspect of it. Valtorex meets the first demon and slashes through him and continues up the stairs before the demon even hits the ground. Lord Kemos follows him up. Stemius sees more demons headed that way and runs into the house. Stemius goes up the stairs to find Valtorex and Lord Kemos fighting back to back against the demons. About half the demons are attacking them while the other half seem content with tormenting the elves. Stemius yells, “More are on their way! That fire is unnatural! It’s like it’s from the Abyss itself!” Lord Kemos yells to Valtorex, “Go lad! You’re the only one who can get through the fire! Stemius and I can take care of the elves! Hurry, before we have an army to fight! That’s an order!” Valtorex nods and breaks off. He fights his way to the edge of the platform and jumps off. He casts a spell and floats down the two hundred feet from the tree top. He lands amongst a group of demons. He slays them all and runs towards the blaze. The fire is slowly creeping forward and has already begun to consume the bodies left from the first attack. The bodies of the rest of the elves will be reached within an hour. Valtorex does think it’s odd that the fire is moving mere inches a minute, but then he realizes it’s not just fire, it’s a portal to the Abyssal plane. Valtorex hesitates at the edge of the inferno, unsure of whether he should continue. He then hears the scream of a little girl being flung from the treetops. This cements his resolve to kill the demons. He says, “Whoever is behind this, I am coming and I will kill you. I will kill all of your bastard minions and all of your allies. Prepare yourself.” He then walks into the flame.
As he walks into the flame, something amazing happens. The fire parts for him. He remembers back to the attack on his house when he was ten. He remembers the demon that did it. Valtorex charges into the fire with a furious cry. The flames part to make a path for him as he runs. Demons keep springing out to attack him, more as he runs on, but he cuts them all down without slowing down. Valtorex keeps running and running, letting the flames that surround him (The flames have been closing up behind him) guide him. He is carried on by the fire, past the point of exhaustion, past the point when he should collapse and die. He keeps running and killing. He continues for over an hour. Finally, he reaches a clearing in the flame. He sees a tree in the center of the clearing, the one tree that is spared from the inferno, even though its branches are ablaze. That tree is his tree, his soul. He sees the tree twisting and writhing while still screaming out piteously. A creature steps out from behind the tree. It is a human, but with demon features and wearing the armor of a demon lord. The human smiles wickedly. It says, “Hello, brother. I am Kaedros of the Hellfire. I have been spawned from the union of your soul and that of the balrog. My master, the Arch-Devil Mordoneus directed my formation. As you can see, I am a half demon, but I have the power of the balrog, you, and the Arch-Devil that created me. I do have to complement the Infernal King on the taste of his followers. Yes, I did create this fire, and yes, I did order those demons from the Abyss. Now, you will submit to me or die. Follow me loyally, and you will be rewarded with a seat at my right hand. I will even grant you that human and the elf girl you like so much. Just kneel before me and join me in my conquest of this world!” Valtorex feels tempted to kneel and accept the offer, but the temptation to lop off the bastard’s head is greater. (Yes, I know I use bastard a lot, but this is the first time I’ve used it out of dialogue, and the one I’m referring to does meet the definition. Just sayingJ) Valtorex replies, “I will not submit to you. You are the type of creature I’ve sworn to destroy. You will not be allowed to feed on the fear of any more innocents. I will stop you.” Kaedros laughs mockingly. “You? Kill me? I have all of your power, the power of your balrog, and the power of an Arch-Devil! You can’t defeat me! I’ll see you burn in the Abyss by the time this day is done.”
Valtorex replies, full of conviction and barely contained anger, “I know you will win and I will burn for eternity, but I will take you with me!” Valtorex lets his anger break free and his eyes take on the hellfires of the Abyss. He roars and charges Kaedros. Kaedros raises a hand and Valtorex is stopped in mid run. Valtorex roars out his impotent rage. Kaedros turns to the tree and beckons to it. From the trunk an assortment of devils and demons comes forth. He turns back to Valtorex and says, “Ok, you may continue now.” Kaedros releases Valtorex who continues his insane charge. The demons and devils converge on him, but Valtorex smashes through any form of line they try to make. Kaedros sighs in boredom and raises his hands. Two portals form behind him, one on the left, one on the right. From them pour devils and demons. Valtorex slows down as more foes rush him. Finally, Valtorex charge is ground to a halt and he is forced to stop. While he is fighting, some form of rational thought returns to him. He realizes Kaedros is his soul, twisted and brought forth by an Arch-Devil. He realizes Kaedros overpowers him entirely because he has everything Valtorex has and then some. Then, it clicks in place. Kaedros doesn’t have everything Valtorex has. He has hate and anger, but there is one thing he does not have…love. Valtorex remembers his emotions are the most powerful weapons in his arsenal. He thinks of those he loves. Myrstaline, Valrie, Valen, Valinor. He thinks of his mother, his teacher, his three tutors from his village. He even thinks of Lord Kemos and Arianna, and even Tyberus to some extent. The fire in Valtorex’s eyes burn brighter than ever. He roars in new found strength and forces his way through the mass of enemies. His blades become a flurry of flames and lightning bolts, killing all in his path. He fights his way to Kaedros. Kaedros sees the fire in his eyes and realizes that Valtorex could very well beat him in this state.
Kaedros decides to summon two blades, both made of pure darkness. He meets Valtorex’s blades with his. They begin fighting furiously, their blades smashing and clashing, sending sparks, embers, and shadow flying. The devils and demons swarm around them, but Valtorex and Kaedros both strike them down off handedly. Kaedros’s superior power allows him to strike blow after blow, but Valtorex, knowing if he doesn’t stop Kaedros here, then he’ll just spread throughout the continent killing everything, won’t go down. (If any of you wonder where the Dark Lord comes from, keep wondering, because I’m not giving that awayJ) The fight continues for over half an hour. Valtorex is bleeding from several wounds but he won’t go down. Finaaly, Valtorex’s determination pays off and he strikes a mighty blow against Kaedros. The flaming blade slices into his shoulder and bites bone. Kaedros drops his swords and they disappear. He backs up against the tree and says, “Brother, you have won this round, but next time, I will return and I will be stronger. When we meet next time, you will die and your soul will go to Oblivion!” Then, Kaedros sinks into the tree and the tree disappears. Valtorex falls to the ground as the fire moves inward. The fire covers his body and he begins falling and falling.
Valtorex wakes up in bed to see Valinor in the chair next to him. Valen is leaning against the back wall. Valrie and Myrstaline are pacing back and forth, seeming very agitated. Valtorex asks, “What’s going on?” He then realizes he’s in the infirmary. Valrie and Myrstaline look over and see him sitting up. They both run over and hug him. As usual, Valrie backs up blushing. Myrstaline doesn’t seem to have that issue. Valinor stands up and Valen walks over. Myrstaline backs up and they fill him in on what happened. Myrstaline tells him that Stemius was severely injured and is in his grove, recovering. She says that lessons are postponed for a month. (Convenient huh?) The nurse comes in a few minutes later and informs him he can not leave for several days. When she leaves, Valtorex gets up. Myrstaline says, “But the nurse!” Valrie commands, “Valtorex, lie back down or I’ll make sure you can’t leave for a month.” Valtorex replies, “Valrie, you know you can’t take me, even if I am like this. Besides, school’s not taking a break, so why should I? The need for knowledge never stops, so neither should learning. Let’s go to back to the cabin and get ready for class, ok? I promise I’ll take it as easy as is absolutely necessary to be the best student in the Academy.” Valtorex then goes over to the desk that has his armor and weapons. He puts them on over his bed clothes and leaves. Valen says, “Now that’s the Valtorex I know. He just killed an army of demons and nearly died, and he just buckles on his weapons and goes out the door. That idiot’s going to get himself killed one day. I want to see it; it will be an awesome explosion.” Valinor nods and says, “Yes, he’s an idiot, but an honorable, determined one. I wish I could have been there. It would have been such a great fight.” They follow Valtorex out the door. Valrie shrugs but can’t hide the concern on her face or in her eyes. She follows them out. Myrstaline thinks of how much she cares about Valtorex and how much it would hurt her for hi m to die. She resolves to protect him and make sure he doesn’t get himself killed. She goes to her cabin and goes to sleep. The next morning, they all wake up and the cycle begins all over again.
Tags: Chronicles of Valtorex, fantasy, fiction, Jeff Patterson, JPAT, Valtorex
