The Broken Sigil

Chapter 17: Marcus Returns

He zoomed past the guards and entered the tent, everything was quiet and where it should be, Katrina had placed Aldus on the bed who was still unconscious and she had fallen asleep on the chair that she placed next to the bed to watch over him. Katrina had the brown book in her lap open in half, she must have been reading before she fell asleep, she had a strange connection to the book if you could call it connection to Lucius it seemed more like an addiction. He ignored everything and raced towards the bed leaning his ear next to the kid's chest making sure he was breathing and there was a heartbeat, and there was Aldus was alive and well, maybe not well but certainly alive if Katrina wanted to harm him she would already have done so.

“Lucius!” a man called out from the outside. He turned his head towards the exit and walked slowly. Cristopher was standing in front of the tent, holding the sword firmly, his face bleeding and full of anger, from the punch he took. He raised the sword and pointed it at Lucius. “If you’ve done something to her…” Cristopher was serious, friend or not nobody hurts his family even if they did something really wrong. Lucius just stood silent and stared at him not moving nor making a sound. “Where is she!?” he yelled but Lucius remained quiet.

“Cristopher…” Katrina came out from behind Lucius, she yawned and her eyes looked tired while she still held the book. “What happened?” she looked at Cristopher's face and then looked at Lucius who avoided eye contact with her, she then again looked at Cristopher, both of them looked guilty like they’d done something horrible. “Have you been fighting?” she asked.

“Um… Katrina…” Cristopher opened his mouth. “Celvin Castle… has been attacked… by the army from the White City…”

Katrina slightly scoffed, she couldn’t believe the joke he tried to pull off. She raised an eyebrow and stared at Cristopher, waiting for him to tell her that he was joking all along but he remained silent, she looked at Lucius who was clenching his jaw as if he was trying to break his teeth. “What are you talking about?” she moved closer to Cristopher but he looked away none of them dared to look at each other it was like a standoff, and it seemed that they didn’t mind the cold, after all, they were trained. Katrina now walked closer to Lucius who also had his head turned away. “Tell me this isn’t true, is he joking? Is this some kind of a joke the both of you thought of?”

“Katrina…” Cristopher took a step forward but then stopped.

“No…” she took a step back, shaking her head. “Mother and Father… Who attacked it?”

“It may have been Raoulin…” Cristopher told her as Lucius angered his expression and looked at the ground like he was dealt a blow like he was defeated.

“Raoulin!?” she was surprised to hear it, now, after all, she’s heard now this cannot be true but sadly it was, except she just didn’t want to accept it just yet. “What are we going to do?” she panicked. “We can’t go home! We have no army… Our parents?” she looked at Cristopher. “Are they well?” she grabbed him by his clothes but he didn’t know. Lucius at this point has had enough and walked away, Cristopher didn’t even bother saying anything to him.

“Where are you going!?” Katrina yelled after him with Lucius stopping dead in his tracks, he was actually headed for the stables, he was ready to get on his horse and exact revenge on Raoulin as if he was going to take the entire army from the White City all by himself.

“I am going to kill him…” said Lucius whilst his back was still turned at them. “And everybody that followed him, they would curse the day they stepped afoot in Celvin Castle.”

“Kill him!?” Cristopher turned towards him. “Kill him!? You and what army?” Lucius just looked at the ground and didn’t answer, not that he could answer anything, maybe he overestimated himself, or perhaps Cristopher underestimated him. However, his plan no matter how crazy it was, or no matter how much it sounded like he wanted to get himself killed it just wasn’t going to happen. Isidora had planned out his fate too, an army may not be enough to stop a Protector so she knew she would have to fight fire with fire, and who better than their teacher, the one that taught them all the tricks who knows how they breathe and who knows what it takes to be a Protector, who better than the master himself? Marcus…

Lucius heard something in the air, even though Cristopher screamed his lungs out on him, it seemed to him there was something else in the air, a second voice like someone was chanting, not just anything but something foul it didn’t seem right, just by the nature of the tone. Lucius tried really hard to concentrate on what the voice was saying maybe he could counteract it, but having someone else scream in your ear it makes it an impossible task.

“Quiet!!!” Lucius turned at Cristopher, lifting his palm to his face as Lucius looked upwards towards the dark sky, hoping to hear the voice again, but it wasn’t there, whatever it was it seemed to have done its thing, and if he thought that it was chanting something bad, then nothing good could come out of this. Katrina and Cristopher looked at each other confused still not being able to understand what Lucius was trying to do, there was another sound a clanking of sorts, and then like something was dragging on the dirt and wheezing, the three of them looked at each other having no idea what was going on until Cristopher noticed something from the corner of his eye, he looked past Lucius’s shoulder and saw a man crawling on the ground, he indicated for the others to turn towards the direction as they did so. The man that crawled came from the hole that the soldiers dug so that they would burn the dead, and they did, except the more it crawled off from the hole the more they realized it wasn’t a man. Katrina saw dead bodies that rose from the dead, she even saw burning bodies rise from the dead, but burnt skeletons just walking about was a new high for her today. The skeleton's bones were black and charred, the flesh completely incinerated only parts of the clothes that couldn’t burn dragged behind the skeleton. It rose up on its feet and walked like a zombie headed towards the three of them, it’s eye sockets were empty but there was a bright red orb of energy glowing inside them. Katrina panicked and hid behind Cristopher. The two Protectors were unfazed by the appearance, it wasn’t the first time they saw something like this, not in person at least. At the academy there would be these books that Marcus would teach them from, all of the things that the Sigil has the power to conjure them up, and Oniphere’s history wouldn’t forget the great skeletal army that completely devastated Everpeak, its consequences still present to this day, there would be sketches of the enemies and objects that were useful, and there would be a text describing how to face these obstacles, and there it was the skeletal sketch coming to life in front of their eyes. Lucius walked towards the skeleton as Katrina tried to stop him but Cristopher stopped her, nodding at her assuring her he knows what he is doing, and just as Marcus taught them he lifted his arm and pointed it towards the skeleton, he conjured a force that stopped the skeleton from moving forwards, its feet were moving but it was pacing in place, he aligned the fingers as if to choke the skeleton but then he clenched them into a fist and as soon as he did that all the bones crushed into each other as bone splinters flew across the air and fell on the ground, the skeleton became nothing more than bone dust, that was a Protector, and those were their powers. Lucius turned around and walked towards Cristopher and Katrina giving them both a concerned look, they may have lied that the couple of Kin that rose from the dead was just some kind of coincidence but skeletons coming alive was a clear sign that there’s something going on, last time skeletons began existing was when Ox created them for one purpose only, killing every stinking Kin that was alive on Oniphere, but some had to say otherwise, and then there was Isidora that changed events and thwarted Ox’s plans, mere mortal meddling in the affairs of a god. Cristopher let go of Katrina and walked towards Lucius his gaze focused on one point past the hole, there was nothing but smoke, fog, and darkness. Lucius wondered what could he be staring at? It was soon clear to them, a bright red light flashed from the mist revealing a figure with long dark hair parted in the middle, and a black cape. Lucius and Cristopher starred at the figure as the figure starred at them. The Mark activated even further and as the figure stood above the Mark it fully revealed its identity, it was their teacher, it was Marcus. He was the one that chanted the incantation, he was the one that rose them from the dead, but how? He didn’t have the Sigil, what kind of magic is this? Or is it some kind of technology? Lucius and Cristopher recognized him immediately.

“Sound the horns!” yelled Lucius. “Go! Prepare the horses, we need to leave!” Lucius looked at Cristopher who was frozen in place still starring at Marcus as if Marcus had consumed his strength, Lucius grabbed him and shook him, he finally snapped out of it, as Cristopher yelled at the soldier to sound the alarm. “Come on!” Lucius looked at Katrina but she looked angrily at Marcus, she held the hilt of the blade firmly ready to strike him at any moment. Marcus raised his arms and threw a sinister smile at them, he raised the dead. The skeletons kept coming from the hole moving towards the camp. The soldiers of the camp grabbed weapons and attacked the skeletons, but to no avail because how do you kill that which is already dead? They couldn’t hurt them, they couldn’t do anything to them.

“We need to stay and fight!” Katrina looked at Lucius, but he ignored her and moved towards the tent, he went inside and looked around.

“Come on Aldus, we leave now!” he raced towards the boy that still lay unconscious, and picked him up. He held him with one hand whilst with the other he had his sword, he came out from the tent only to see it being swarmed by skeletons that couldn’t be killed. Cristopher smashed as many of them as he could as Katrina only scratched them with her sword but her strength was draining away, Lucius was right without magic there wasn’t much they could do and they can’t use swords against dark magic, this was dark magic that Marcus used. “Cristopher fall back!” Lucius yelled at him as he looked at him, and kept fighting them, Cristopher soon found himself surrounded and vastly outnumbered, there was no way he was getting out of this one without some help, and Lucius wasn’t going to allow his friend to get killed no matter how stupid he was. He ran towards Katrina as he put his sword in the scabbard and pulled her aside, she handed her Aldus and nodded at her, a nod that gave her the indication that he trusts her. Trusts her that she will keep him safe and alive, a trust that moments ago it was impossible since Katrina’s family attacked or possibly killed Lucius’s family, he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that she had nothing to do with it, if she did and she harmed Aldus too, he would never forgive himself, but for now he had to help Cristopher.

“Go North, Go to Everpeak! Francis is a friend, he will help you!” he told her.

“What about you?”

“We will be right behind you!”

Katrina nodded and tears started rolling down her eyes, she realized that the moment was now or she might never get it, she closed her eyes and launched herself towards Lucius as she kissed him, he didn’t protest and kissed her back, there was no need for arranged marriage they’ve liked each other for some time now. “Save him…” she spoke quietly as she placed Aldus on the horse and she got up on it, before she rode off into the darkness she looked back at him both of them staring at each other. “Find me…” he nodded as Katrina pulled the reins and the horse disappeared in the dark. Lucius pulled out his sword his gaze still focused on the horse that was fading away from his sight, he grabbed the hilt and screamed as he launched into battle. He used his magic and smashed down a couple of skeletons before he arrived at Cristopher who was still fighting but his strength withered down, he could barely stand, he joined him inside the circle facing opposite of each other so that the one would have the other ones back. Lucius nodded at him as he nodded back, both of them stroked the blades of their swords as glowing symbols appeared on the shiny iron and then disappeared. They started attacking the skeletons and instead of slicing them like a sword should do, it crushed them like a hammer, the symbols that they activated turned the sword into a different weapon a weapon they could use against the skeletal army, and on top of that, it was enchanted with magic so that they made sure the skeletons they crushed stayed crushed and not just rise up again.

“Cristopher we need to run!” he yelled at him.

“Kind of busy now!” he smashed a skeleton. Lucius knew that Cristopher wouldn’t want to be defeated, not only that but he wouldn’t like to run away, if it were up to him he would die fighting, if only he knew that they needed to live to fight another day. Lucius whistled to his horse as the horse ran across the battlefield and trampled on the skeletons.

“What are you doing?” asked Cristopher. “Are you running away!” Lucius just looked at him and didn’t say a word as he got on the horse.

“Fall back!” he yelled. “Save yourselves!” he ordered the soldiers to retreat at least some of them that were alive.

“No! Stay and fight! You cowards!” Cristopher tried to bring them back, but unlike him, they could read the situation and knew the outcome, a lot of their friends have fallen and if they stayed they would be next, and thus they ran away disobeying their leader disobeying Cristopher. “What…?” he was surprised by their reaction.

“Come on!” Lucius gave him his arm so Cristopher could climb on the horse, but he turned away and ran towards the skeletons to fight them some more. “Oh… you motherfucker…” Lucius got off the horse and stepped on the ground, pacing fast towards Cristopher, until he stopped dead, he felt something on his leg, something was pulling him holding him in place, he looked down on the ground and on his right ankle there was a hand sticking out of the ground, a skeletal arm, it pulled on him as if it wanted to pull him underground or maybe it pulled on him because it wanted to come out from underground. Lucius thought for a moment he wondered how is it possible that there are skeletons underground? How did they find themselves there? There was only one possible explanation, these skeletons sticking out of the ground have died not so long ago, these were the same skeletons that fought in the war against Vega, against Echo, and against Cedric, these were the same soldiers that fought in the first war in the East, all of the nations together but now they were revived by Marcus and now they were enemies. Lucius panicked and pulled his leg away from the hand, he stumbled and fell on the ground he turned on his stomach and looked up front, he saw Cristopher still fighting the skeletons, another one managed to came from underneath the ground and jumped on Lucius pinning him down, they struggled and the skeleton snarled and tried to bite his face off, Lucius fought hard to keep it at bay as another skeleton came from the underground, luckily for Lucius the other skeleton had no interest in helping the other one to kill Lucius but instead it ran towards Cristopher, however they don’t have brains and the one that ran towards Cristopher stumbled on the one that held Lucius pushing it away from him and giving enough advantage so that Lucius could push it away from him and stand up, he grabbed the sword and smashed the two skeletons before he ran towards Cristopher, he tapped him on the shoulder and as Cristopher turned the last thing he saw was Lucius’s fist coming towards his face and then lights out. Lucius grabbed on to him up just as he was leaning to fall, and lifted him on the horse, and tied him up so he wouldn't fall off, Lucius then got on the horse and the horse started running forwards away from the army and away from the fight before Lucius left the camp he pulled on the reins and made the horse turn around, he stared at Marcus with all the anger he had inside of him. Even if it looked like Lucius might make a run for it and actually return to the fight so that he could get a chance at getting Marcus, everything was thwarted when he saw Marcus raising his hands, and moving his lips delivering another incantation, the only thing Lucius could do was watch as the guardian soldiers of the Ashen Fields, those that died by the skeletons rose from the dead, and their eyes glowed red, it didn't take long before they focused at Lucius and made their way towards him. In this short amount of time, Marcus had managed to create a formidable army for his own, there was no way Lucius was fighting this army alone.

"Come on!" he ordered the horse and ran away from the Ashen Fields and into the world to create an army of his own.