The Legend of Tantus - Book 1

Chapter 2 - The ice legend

    The journey to Zelante lasted four days, in which only three were quiet. Sumith learned interestingly with Arkan about the command of a ship, and at the insistence of the young man it was agreed between them that this would be the payment for the trip, it was laborious, a lot, but with two arms more everything was consequently softened, also talked a lot with John and Enghon in his spare time, although the sorcerer was more occupied with studies. Sea voyages, despite the great distance from the continents, were far from time-consuming, since spending so much time in the ocean, except in cases of major unforeseen events, was simply out of the question for the boats. In Tantus the winds were generally generous, and the currents of the seas themselves were for the most part convenient for the merchant routes. It was also common to make use of the air element when the wind was not in favor, but even this should have its limitations, because it would never compensate for using too much force and breaking the mast, not to mention that it was not easy to maintain power for hours and hours, making it more convenient to rely on the will of nature. By late afternoon of the third day the young sorcerer had spent a great deal of time reading, or trying, a strange parchment, which caught the attention of Sumith. Enghon seemed not to understand the rustic writing contained there, seen from a distance obviously trying to decipher something, Sumith approached discreetly, watching the parchment, pronounced a language incomprehensible to the sorcerer, but at the same time it was something elegant to hear:

- Shinseina mori de anata wa watashi no hinansho o mitsukerudeshou.

    In this way he aroused both astonishment and curiosity, and upon noting this the Lieben's young man revealed its meaning:

- “In the Sacred Forest you will find my refuge...” – read Sumith.

- What did you say? – asked Enghon, staring at him.

- That is what is written, is not it?

- Can you read this?!

- Yes. – replied Sumith in surprise.

    Enghon called Arkan and John, revealing that Sumith could read the lost scriptures of the lords. The legend told that since the creation of the world, the great God taught the people a single language, baptized of common language, or universal language. This language has always been used by all races, who have never developed or even cared for one other, except animals, which always had their own forms of communication. Their writing was also easy to learn, names of people and surnames, very hardly carried any extra meaning, and cities or regions were baptized by their founders and discoverers, or even their geography. The world possessed a simple, unified and direct culture, but it was through Kenobe, the creator of summons, that a new language was born baptized as the "language of the lords". It was very complex, impossible to understand for those who did not know it, and with a distinct writing, based on what appeared to be runes and symbols, his purpose was not to expand world culture, but to make it the first key to locating your creations. Kenobe did not build his temples in open places, for anyone to go in and awaken the summons, or find death, in fact he cast a unique spell, so that only those bearers of the mystical mark would be able to find them, no matter who (and this was the second key), or this could generate conflicts and even some kind of monopoly. The lord spent much of his reign teaching the people, but as the winters passed the language gradually disappeared, until finally it was restricted to rare scholars, philosophers and sorcerers, though their records were well stored in the legendary Library of Magic. Finding them was a challenge apart even for those who know where to look, not because they are mixed up, perhaps, but because of the difficulty of learning. No doubt the main obstacle to this is the simple lack of interest, which has made this language almost extinct. Now called the ancient language, few in the present world were those who still use or even heard about it.

    They were all stunned, even the young man himself, for the way they reacted, for this was the first step of their journey, and Enghon, though he was a marked sorcerer, never had the opportunity of such a study, and now unwilling to waste so much time learning this difficult language, it ended up using only a few old files and reports. Sumith's mother had learned this language from his father, Kin, shortly before he disappeared in discord of the power, later transmitting to her son. But the young man did not even have any idea of the importance of this knowledge, irony of destiny.

- I had no idea, I just learned what my mother taught me.

- Ironic, is not it? Enghon with so much difficulty understanding something of it there, and Sumith already knew. – said Arkan. – One man once said that luck and coincidence were mixed in another word: fate. Enghon's knowledge of summons was very limited, of all of us, by the way. But now I see that I will not have to accompany you, and this is quite convenient for me.

    Arkan knew of a man who knew the ancient language, so he was going to Zelante, but now with Sumith's more than timely discovery, he could continue his work and let the young men go their way earlier, so he thought, and better yet, two of the summons were in Zelante, in fact more than opportune, he thought again.

    The four talked a lot about it, ending the third day of travel.

    The fourth day began under a strong storm, which only strengthened as the hours advanced. The sky was completely covered by black clouds as far as the eye could see, it looked like a black ocean above them, Arkan picked up the sails, for the wind was too strong and probably would break the mast, and all the others worked hard to keep the ship on the route. Toward the end of the afternoon a strange knocking on the hull nearly knocked John down to sea, but was saved in time by Sumith, who in turn was pulled by Enghon. The storm was finally beginning to calm when the ship struck another hard blow at the end of the afternoon, but this time it was not long before they discovered the reason, a huge hydra held the ship! The creature was about ten meters long, nine heads and countless tentacles, a terrible, powerful and predatory animal. But hydras did not usually attack ships, only in case of much food shortage, which obviously forced them to abandon their habitat, otherwise they would not even swim to the surface. Sumith, Arkan and John tried to free the ship by wounding the tentacles, while Enghon kept their heads occupied with his most basic spells, if they wanted to kill the beast they should attack the main head or body, while the other heads, if they were plucked, would grow again after a few weeks, however she would lose a lot of her hunting power, so Arkan forbade them to seriously hurt the creature, after all, it was not the animal's fault, but the imbalance.

    After a long time of battle without result they were exhausted, a hole had been opened in the hull and the ship would be shipwrecked, but at a certain moment the hydra made a great commotion and release the ship suddenly, were mers.

    Because of the great confusion, it was only a matter of time before they were located, and Arkan knew it. The underwater people were extremely agile and swift underwater, outside knowledge, managing to drive the beast out without killing. It would have been the end of the group had it not been for the helpful lords of the oceans, their leader was called Gawind, and he and Arkan seemed to be old friends.

- It's been a long time, old man. Why did you take so long? – said Arkan.

- The old sailor. Is this the result of the imbalance or your mess? – said Gawind smiling. – The fish migrate before the season, the currents changed direction, hydras rising to the surface and sinking ships. You were lucky, sometimes we did not make it in time.

- Maybe the tide is actually changing, for the better. – said Arkan.

- May the lords hear you, old friend. – Gawind finished.

    After a short conversation the mers helped in the repair of the ship, which would have been very difficult for them alone, and after the repairs the group thanked them sincerely and continued the journey, to recover the lost time, and the midnight of this fourth day docked in the Limoen Harbor.

    The young men spent the night on the ship and woke up early to begin preparations, carrying enough of a kind of bread-paste, invented by Arkan himself, who called it "travelers bread". It was simply a nourishing, compressed, pleasant-tasting food, they had no idea how he got it, for he kept the key secret, and the paste/bread was fresh and tasty for many days, perfect for long trips where refueling opportunities were small. When the Sun was already shining in the sky they said goodbye to Arkan.

- See you around. – said the old sailor, heading for the dock probably to continue his business.

    The Limoen Harbor was no different from the other ports, but it possessed the busiest commerce of all. In this place the possibility of finding almost everything existed, but unlike Arkan (who already dealt with it by the way) the young men were not interested in bargaining and went straight to the exit of the city. They carried small tents, well folded, to set up at night, made of material that also protected from the rain, thus allowing them to improvise in various ways, and other things like ropes and stakes could easily be provided. They moved quietly southwards, the trail was good and the weather pleasant, over and over again were overtaken by caravans of conveyors, who carried supplies from the harbor to the other cities. These were called "Traders", and were usually escorted by two or more "Hunters", as the defenders were named, always skilled in combat. Basically, any object that represented value, and was subject to bargaining, could be traded as a bargaining chip, but in general all business revolved around the current currency, decided through trade associations around the world, was nothing more than triangular pieces of bronze, silver or gold, although there were the counterfeit thieves, the counterfeit parts were easily recognized, and their perpetrators arrested and punished. This was the trading world of Tantus.

    The continent of Zelante was the smallest of the continents in territorial extension, possessing but three great cities, but not by that was the less important. In the past most of the tartars that fought in the discord of the power came out of this land, from the Sacred Forest, and few returned. Their leader, Mord, the piece of steel, perished heroically to defend the king Johnas Albatore, and still today was remembered with honors in the Kingdom of Surin.

    In the trips by land, the element of life, besides the important wound healing, was extremely useful to ease the physical exhaustion both in people and in transport animals, thus allowing them to cover great distances in a single day, it also annulled the effects of poisoning, but unfortunately it was not able to treat diseases.

    The group talked and laughed a lot, knowing a little more, sometimes Enghon told comic stories that he and John lived, and John more laughed than he spoke. Sumith enjoyed singing some of the famous songs he had heard on his travels, repeated many, many times in shipyards and by workers, and the others accompanied him.

“I am an honor king.

Gold and glory

But every king also meets death

Was I fair and honest?

What is glory?

I know I destroyed and took many lives.

And here I am

A simple little man

Who will take my kingdom as a karma?

A sacrifice to restore the truth

The fire in my soul rejects wisdom

For everything that is done in life returns to you

I am a king in crisis

Counting the minutes

There is an end to my whole kingdom.

My sins face me

I can feel this

That I lived my life in vain

And now I know I will reap

The seeds I plant...

Am I going crazy?

I feel so empty and cold

Who can say?

Who is stopping untold stories?

Tired and shaky

I am going down

I will have to stay here

And live this life again?”

    Around noon they took a short break for a meal, then followed the unhurried route until the end of the day when they set up camp and spent the night slightly off the road.

    They awoke at sunrise, dismounted and went on their journey. Near the time of the meal, they arrived at the foot of a hill which, in addition to being relatively steep, had very irregular terrain, so the trail was bound to turn around, but travelers on foot could cross it as a shortcut. Exactly at noon they reached the top, and from there they could see the highest towers of Surin's castle, far away on the horizon, just another day of quiet travel ahead. They sat in the pleasant shade of a tree and made their meal. In the world of Tantus there are traditional three meals a day: the breakfast, the meal of the day (usually at noon), and the evening meal. After the rest they descended the hill and in the end they came across a vast field with countless stones, the Homage Field. Many winters ago, in the discord of the power, Zelante's army fought their most terrible battle against the troops of Zeijadel in direct combat, with little strategy for the land of the continent, that people proved immensely valiant, especially by the tartars. The countless heroes who fell in that legendary place were honored on those stones, many flowers grew all over the land, and many people came from various places to revere the brave warriors who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their land. Although this was not a melancholy place, people were proud of their parents and grandfathers, heroes who reached Plane, and now rested in the last home.

    The group passed quietly by the place, finding the trail and continued without problems until the night, they stopped a few times, but since it was full moon and the way was pleasingly visible, then they decided to continue a little more to advance the arrival. After walking a few more miles they finally set up camp, had a good meal and rested. In the middle of the night John was awakened by strange noises, with a certain flair to the danger, he left his tent and warned the others, the noises came from about two hundred meters away, Sumith, paying attention, said:

- They look like goblins...

- They are goblins. – said Enghon. – More than fifty, probably.

    Goblins always move at night for despising the sunlight, but they can attack by day if they feel it necessary. The campfire they had made at camp had gone out, so they went unnoticed, fortunately, because if they were caught during sleep they would be beheaded and their journey would end. The goblins used to wander the routes seeking to ambush the trails, to plunder and murder, this was one of the known ways of sustaining the disgusting beings, but mainly a means of quenching their thirst for violence, for they were extremely aggressive, even with their own kind, forming rival tribes across the continents and only being united by their master. Groups of looters were called in the commercial environment of "Thifs", mostly formed by simple soldiers of the lower echelon, sometimes accompanied by one or a few cyclops, though in fact dangerous, rarely brought anyone who demanded higher care, such as wizards for example. Little or no time spent thinking before they started a fight, but they were also able to turn away and run with the same imprudence, for they had no shame about cowardice, much less dishonesty. The three were alert and took turns in vigil, in the wake of the morning dismantling camp, Sumith decided to check the place and found traces that proved the presence of goblins in the territory.

- We must move forward quickly and cautiously.

    All agreed and went on, but this time off the road, fortunately there were no surprises, and it was not long before they reached the forest where was the peculiar but beautiful Kingdom of Surin.

    Surin's castle was something more than out of the ordinary, but could be defined as "castle in the tree". In the tall and sturdy trees of the Surin Forest, many houses were built around the castle, which was supported by enormous pillars of pure and solid rock, reinforced by the magic of the most powerful sorcerers, including the legendary Tantaluz Primadril, which made them almost impossible to be destroyed, and in some parts in the trees themselves, with countless bridges for all the roads and until the castle, forming a unique city. Their symbol in the gray armor was simply a sword stuck in the stone, representing the strength of the people in general. Many soldiers controlled the rise and fall of people and goods through elevators, which were operated by users of the element of gravity. Surin carried the reputation of having the best archers in the world, which was perfectly justifiable by the superior plan of their kingdom, their methods and focus in these trainings were in fact differentiated, in addition, their infantry was expert in the use of long spears for, in case of an invasion, to overthrow the enemies more easily, for a fall from that height was certain death. The three young men were greeted from above, and after introducing themselves were allowed to ascend into the kingdom:

- Welcome, Mr. Sumith. – said one of the guards. – Talk to the king, he will appreciate receiving you.

    Everyone thanked him and went to the castle. As mentioned earlier, Sumith was highly respected for being the son of Kin, one of the leading names in the discord of the power, but he never took any advantage of it, always being grateful for the good treatment his name gave him. When they entered the castle, they were greeted by the young king Jonam, son of Johnas.

- Welcome, Sumith, son of Kin, it's an honor to receive the son of the man who fought beside my father. – said the king.

- The honor is mine, Your Majesty. – thanked the young man.

- Unfortunately my castle does not offer more space, relatives and friends of relatives, you know? But I will send you to a good host.

- We appreciate any hospitality. – finished Sumith.

    It was true that Johnas and Kin were good friends, and they saved each other's lives more than once in the great battles in which they participated. The three left the castle, headed for the house of a man named Tomas, a middle-aged peasant who lived alone, for he lost his family in the great war and has been lonely since then, but he was far from being a bitter man, was good-humored and enjoyed good company, was also reputed to be a writer. In fact a good host, who accommodated all three and offered them a great meal.

    They spent the day knowing the city. From the highest towers of the castle they could see the great tower of Primadril South as far as the border of the Sacred Forest, which was the destination of this trip. After a pleasant day they prepared to rest at the house of their host, who curiously asked gently to tie ropes on the ankles of the Young men, the night before no one questioned anything about it, but this time came to curiosity.

- It's only a temporary security measure, for those who are not accustomed. – said Tomas. – I know it's not the most pleasant, but if it's necessary, in the morning some of you will thank me.

    In the middle of the night Sumith woke up thirsty, very sleepy went to the barrel of water that was outside the house, lost a few seconds trying to untie the ankle cord, but this one had a complicated knot, and in that lack of notion decided that the thirst spoke higher. The houses there, for the most part, had no doors, for the height of the trees was already their safety, and their privacy was kept simply by curtains. With nothing to see the way, Sumith did not notice that he was approaching too close to the edge, and even with the parapet he fell from the heights, a feat, but that was what Tomas meant, he gave a frightened shout and would have died had it not been for that "security measure", the young man hung upside down in the darkness and cried:

- Somebody get me out of here!

    Soon after, Tomas, John and Enghon came in to help, and three neighbors who awoke with the uproar also came to help, everyone laughed at what had happened, and with the loss of sleep gathered the leftovers of the last meal, making a good feast and had fun in the night. Some time later Sumith went to take water again, but this time carefully, and in the silence of the night heard, far away, strange screams, frightened warned the others who also heard, and he, John and Enghon decided to leave the city to check, Tomas and his neighbors warned them that it was always a danger to leave the safety of the city at that time of night, but in fact they could not stop them, because someone might actually be in need of aid. Bullfighters? Troublemakers? Or helpfully brave? Arkan liked to think that the impetuosity of youth had always been cause for trouble and headache, but at the same time could also mean the trigger of something grandiose, even legends. When they reached the place they separated, Sumith went north, Enghon to the northeast and John to the northwest from there, the sky, which until recently was clean, closed quickly, black clouds and wind announced a heavy rain, darkness covered the whole place, but the path was constantly illuminated by lightning and thunder. Lieben's young man continued on to the entrance of the forest, and when he stopped he could see three carts turned, beside one of them about seven people were cowering and frightened, many bodies lay on the ground, and between them stood a warrior. He had long black hair, brown skin, but it was his eyes the most striking thing, the left was red, while the right was golden, both in such vivid tones that even at night they were incredibly remarkable. He wore a black suit (but it was actually dark blue) with a long cape of the same color, also wore light armor protecting only the chest and abdomen, the color of the costume almost confusing those who did not observe closely. He wore curious gloves that left his fingers partially exposed, as well as seemingly light boots, were outfits, until then, strangers to Sumith. He carried an incredibly shiny curved sword, though it was dirty with blood, his image and the glitter of his eyes in the darkness, to the unsuspecting ones, it was scary. Sumith was terrified initially, but then indignant with the scene, without noting that most of the bodies belonged to goblins, and carried away by the anger that the first impression provoked, he took Laguna and went without hesitation to the attack. The warrior was surprised by the sudden attack, but soon understood that the conversation would not be an option. For many, this must have been the most spectacular man-to-man struggle recorded in history, never heard of opponents so truly assimilated, perhaps destined to meet by the edge of the sword, the combat, much narrated in poems and songs, "The Fearless Warrior & The Warrior of Shadows". Both defended and countered in a frighteningly agile way, with each encounter of their swords the lightning cut the skies while the rain fell almost of side, pushed by the strong wind, them forces were incredibly equivalent, Sumith managed to pluck the sword of the hand of his opponent making use of the greater weight of Laguna, but the young man in the light armor, skillfully, also disarmed him with a quick kick. Unarmed they began another great contest of force, punches and kicks so violent that the sound of their defenses seemed more like mallets pounding on rocks, drawing blood from each other's faces until they both canceled each other, and they pushed themselves from side to side looking eye to eye without giving in. The two looked exhausted when a large noisier group left the forest, about fifty or more goblins angry as dogs watched them for a minute, and of course they had gone off for the wordless attack. They quickly realized that they were fighting the wrong enemy (especially Sumith), and ran to their weapons, standing side by side in an attempt to resist that uneven attack. The battle was difficult, both warriors resisted bravely defending themselves and attacking as best as their fatigue allowed, as exceptional fighters, eight goblins had already fallen under their blades, but the disadvantage was too great to be circumvented, it was when the reinforcement arrived! Enghon attacked from the side unloading his most powerful spells, killing and causing great confusion among the enemies, and John, swift and sneaky, came up the rear cutting all the throats within reach of his knives. Sumith and the warrior gained new spirits, leaving for the attack defeating each enemy in their way. Enghon even saved the life of the new ally with his silver staff, knocking down the goblin then, and using the element of fire charred him to the ground, the warrior, in turn, saved Sumith from an ax that would hit him from behind, cutting off the head of the attacking goblin. The enemies, surprised by the strength of the resisters, began to recoil in fear, and the last thirteen turned their backs and ran scared. At that moment the young warrior concentrated his power on the elemento of ice, which caught the eye of everyone, especially Enghon, and in a swift movement five goblins were frozen like statues, breaking down soon after. His dominance with this element was of a frighteningly high level, so high that even the rain turned to hail, leaving even the most experienced sorcerer to be surprised. The remaining eight had an even worse fate, brandishing their brilliant sword high, he cut the air vertically, casting on the fugitives another "rain", this time from ice crystals sharpened like blades, literally ripping them, "The Battle Under Rain" was finished.

    The young and the survivors quickly returned to the kingdom. It was not at all common for conveyors to travel through the night, those should be late for work, but this was a lesson not to forget. The rain had passed, the sky was beginning to clear and the Sun was rising, many thanks were given to the four warriors, and the news spread quickly, the great king Jonam himself left the castle to thank them personally:

- Those goblins were not just a nuisance, they were killers who made several victims weeks ago. We hunt them all over the region with nothing to find. It's a drop of justice to see that they are dead, but a frustration has not done so personally... Thank you. – said the king.

    The king ordered a fine and deserved feast to honor them. The day was restless, but pleasant, and the three, especially John, told the story several times to all the curious ones they wanted to know, since the young ally was not much to talk about, apparently he did not feel very comfortable with it all, although always polite. In the end things finally calmed down and they could sit quietly to talk, Sumith and the others finally met the mysterious warrior.

- You are an atesaki carrier. – said Enghon. – Is it really a curse, or hope?

- Frankly, I believe these superstitions are foolish. – replied the warrior.

    “Atesaki-me”, in ancient language meant "eyes of fate", it was a rare condition in which people, or animals, were born with different eyes from one another. In ancient times some believed it was a mark of curse, others of hope, this led to some prejudices throughout the life of these people, called "carriers of atesaki". True or not, there was always some mysticism about it.

- My mother was a carrier, and I even met others like her, but your atesaki is something I have never seen before, these colors are unique. – Enghon.

- ...

- Sorry to have attacked you, I should be more attentive. – said Sumith somewhat uneasily.

- You are already excused. I am Thorgele Tharon, son of Riyan. – He was the same age as Sumith, twenty-one winters.

- Judging from your northern dress, you are from Saitar, correct? – asked John.

- Exact. – replied Thorgele.

- Riyan Tharon?! – inquired amazed Enghon.

- Tharon is well-known throughout the world, with unmatched feats, tell the legends. – Sumith touched his chin and made a curious expression of pain.

    The results of the first mistaken part of the battle were slightly laughable, the mysterious young man won the purple right eye, the result of a well-punched punch, while Lieben's young man showed the right side of his swollen jaw as a result of an astonishing kick, and so could not open his mouth too much or hurt his ear, it would take a few days for them to fully recover. The four young men talked much until nightfall, discovering that Thorgele was trained in the arts of the northern mercenary shinobi, elite warriors, but with their own reclusive life philosophy, and only one of them wandering like a wanderer was slightly unusual. Throughout the winters many rumors surfaced about mercenary shinobi, including that their culture was heavily based on the ancient language of the lords, which in fact was true, many of the names and references were taken from Kenobe's teachings, the very word "shinobi" meant "warrior of the shadows", and it is clear that Sumith knew this.

- Shinobi. So you know the old language? – asked the Lieben's young man.

- Unfortunately not. – replied Thorgele. – In the past it was very common among all, but nowadays it has become restricted only to the leaders.

    Arkan also knew about them, but getting this help was not an option, as the sailor knew they most likely would not help. Thorgele was honest and it became clear straight away, he was enthusiastic when he learned that Sumith knew this language, and even more to discover that he was the son of Kin Lyeben, curiously one admired the father of the other, and it was at this moment that the Lieben's young man again looked at the magnificent sword that he carried.

- This sword, I have never seen anything like it. Can I take a closer look?

- Sure, but I suggest you be careful. – said Thorgele.

    When Sumith caught it at once he went to the floor, as if he had grabbed a large rock, tried to brand it, but it was too heavy and almost crossed the floor of Tomas's house when he released it.

- What is it?! How can you fight with an absurdly heavy blade like that? – asked the astonished Sumith.

- Actually she is light as a feather, but she is a bit... demanding. – replied Thorgele.

- Demanding? – The four asked (Tomas was also attentive to the conversation).

    According to Thorgele, about two winters ago, still not receiving the title of shinobi, he greatly enjoyed exploring the White Mountains of Saitar. These mountains were immensely wide and tall, with their tops completely covered by dense snow, they were as beautiful as dangerous, the young man spent two to three days traveling the place, and one day he got lost in previously unexplored areas of the valley. Told the legend that the foggy valley kept a very valuable secret, and it was only possible to reach it when the mountains were willingly. The valley was struck by a dense, intense blizzard that fell all the time regardless of winter, sometimes varying in strength, and there were various dangers like griphons and other snow beasts. Thorgele had no idea where he was getting himself, he just wanted to know where the road would lead, on several occasions he almost gave up, but the determination did not allow, and thus, out of sheer stubbornness, overcome the obstacles. In the center of the valley there was a small frozen lake from which the young man approached, and in its depth there shone an intense light, when he approached more that light crossed the ice until touching the clouds in the sky, the whole layer cracked and broke, and from within was raised a sword:

- I am Andriel. – said a female voice.

- I am Andurel. – Another female voice said.

- We are the Daughters of the Lords. – They said together.

    Thorgele was astonished and confused for a moment, what was he witnessing really? Did he feel a splendid and unique power emanating from there, and would it be waiting for him? Then he finally spoke:

- I am Thorgele, son of Riyan.

- You were accepted, Seth.

- ???

- Lift your hand.

    The young man was more surprised now, because what was "Seth"? But without further questions he lifted his right hand and the sword came swiftly to meet his palm, and with his left hand he drew it. The weapon was superb, slightly bent in the same style as a katana shinobi, its handle was silver with gold details, the pommel had a very pointed triangular shape, like a spearhead, good for storing an unprepared enemy and also needing a due training not to hurt yourself with the same. On the guard were four claws bent upward, and the blade was a work of art, carrying a serpent carved from the steel, gold, and crescent moons from the beginning to the end of the thread. The sheath was one case apart, slightly thicker than usual, fully silvered with a cable equally detailed in gold, took the exact space for one hand, but all this for a purpose, since made of steel also had thread, and it was also a weapon! These were Andriel and Andurel respectively, one stored inside the other.

    Legend had it that they were forged by Cloud, first Lord of Ice, purposely impregnated by his power and receiving the blessings of all the other lords. Live blades, the most powerful weapons ever made and made to be indestructible, "destined to hunt evil". They were mortals to evil hands who came to hold them, and disobedient to all but their chosen master. They were presented to a warrior named samurai, of great deeds, but long-forgotten name... When his old master ceased to exist the swords went up into the skies and disappeared, some said that they returned to the hands of the lords, others they went in search of a new master, this was the legend.

- Commanding us with honor and courage, master. – They said, and so Thorgele conquered his blades.

- So the legend is true. The daughters of the lords are yours! – said Enghon.

- I have also heard of them, but vaguely. – said Sumith.

- Can I see your sword? – Thorgele asked, looking at Laguna.

    Receiving it from Sumith, the shinobi analyzed it closely. Laguna was a long sword, simple and yet powerful in appearance, it had a beautiful black handle, and the guard was very well crafted, with its silver glow sometimes giving the appearance of small stars surrounding it. There could be no mistake, it was a weapon of great value.

- Powerful. Determined. – said Thorgele examining it. – No wonder she resisted Andriel from equal to equal.

- I am not an expert on shinobi culture, but for you to be away from home without the mask, are you a deserter, or a traitor? – asked John.

John's question left Thorgele, in a way, head down and silent for a few seconds, but finally answered:

- I would say you know enough. – And after a few moments of curious silence. – It's a long story.

- You can tell us if you want, we have time. – said Sumith, and the shinobi agreed to proceed.

    Shortly after obtaining his swords, Riyan passed away, and a few days later Thorgele received the title of shinobi, but about a week later the clan Jin, his clan, was contracted for a new mission, that was to assassinate the queen and the princess of Lieben. A dark mission, but this did not reach Thorgele's ears, the leaders thought (and were correct) that he, created by Riyan's discipline and sense of honor, would not see such a mission with good eyes, but the fact was that the clan passed by a financial crisis, a result of poor past administration, and the high value of the murder came in good time, as well as being a great opportunity to test the loyalty of the youngest and most talented member of the clan. He would know nothing until the last hour. In fact, the leaders understood that something of this magnitude was a heavy war game, with immense chances of catastrophic results for a kingdom, lives would be thrown away in the long run, but scruples seemed no longer to exist, and simple questions like "what is so much money worth if there is no more world to spend it on?", were ignored depressingly.

    They traveled to Lieben and arrived at the destination without delay. The shinobi were masters of the art of stealthy invasion, of invisibility, wearing costumes that always camouflaged them, according to the terrain or the simple night, in addition to masks that hid their faces completely, and in times of calm in the kingdom this facilitated even more the entrance to the castle. Somehow Thorgele found that place familiar, and already began to wonder about what was about to happen. In the highest tower, after silencing two guards, they found the queen and princess sleeping together, in fact they were always in each other's company since the death of king Loki and the disappearance of his firstborn. There were ten shinobi, ten murderers, but only five were invaded, and the rest stayed out watching. As soon Thorgele saw them, he froze, feeling a strange tightness in his heart, something inexplicable. The queen was called Litos Alberich, she was a tall, very beautiful woman with brown skin, intensely golden eyes, and long black hair. The princess was named Adria Alberich, fair-skinned, unlike her mother, her eyes were blue, with long golden hair and even more beautiful. The person who commissioned this murder was unknown, but the money was talking too loud. These shinobi were led by a man named Sazuki Gaibel, who was also the new leader of the clan, said that he lived extremely focused on recovering the identity of the mercenaries, which went out with the lack of money, as well as the glory days, of big, expensive and spectacular missions, which made them famous. Sazuki ordered Thorgele to kill the two women quickly, at this moment a pet cat, who slept on a small table next to them, jumped and ran to hide under the bed, knocking a vase in the process, waking the two women who were frightened and paralyzed before those dark people, was when he finally understood what that meant.

- What? What are you saying? – said Thorgele.

- You heard me, do it. – said Sazuki.

- Was that it? Was this the contracted mission?

- Do not be naive, these are our mercenary jobs. Now do not waste anymore time.

- What kind of monsters do we make to get down to this level?! Have you ever wondered what this means?! This is the fall of a kingdom!

- Kill them! Now!

- No... My father was right from the start. I will not!

- You must imagine what this refusal means to our clan.

    Sazuki ordered another shinobi to kill them, and he obeyed, but at the last second Thorgele stopped the killer's sword and threw him away, standing in front of the two women to protect them.

- Are you out of your mind?! – said Sazuki. – What are you doing?!

- No one will touch them! – said Thorgele.

- We are so close! We have to complete the mission now! – In fact, Sazuki was a long time rival of Riyan, and some said that he hated him. – Immobilize Thorgele and kill both, fast! – ordered after a few moments of silence.

    The young shinobi overthrew the other two who were trying to immobilize him with great agility, which made Sazuki lose his temper and attack him with sword in hand, and Thorgele, who at that time had not yet branded Andriel and Andurel, preferring to carry them only in the back and wrapped up for now, drew his sword and began a violent fight against the leader of his clan. But he was an exceptional warrior, far exceeding the average clan youth, Sazuki could not beat him as he had expected, so the others attacked and a great confusion ensued in the queen's and princess's chambers, who shouted while the young man protected them with all his might. As the disadvantage was great, the noise of the swords was almost deafening, it was then that one of them managed to surpass the defenses of Thorgele and invested quickly against the two women, burying his sword in the heart of the young princess, who lost the life frightened and in silence. Her blood streamed down the floor of the room, leading the queen to despair, and arousing the fury of Thorgele, who with flaming eyes pierced the assassin's body with his sword, lifted him into the air and threw against the wall with such violence that everyone was astonished. One shinobi killed by another of his own clan, that was the ultimate dishonor among the mercenaries. Very little time had passed between all this, it was when the guards of the castle arrived in haste, and in front of them two women, twins, one of them was sorceress, and the other sss. The shinobis quickly jumped through the windows using hooks and ropes specially arranged for the situation, and so they succeeded in escaping, but Thorgele stood there, motionless before the lifeless princess and the weeping queen. The sss drew her sword and attacked Thorgele, her strength was such that he could barely defend himself, his mind was confused, stunned, and he would have been killed there had it not been for the queen herself to have her guardian stop the attack.

- This man saved me! – said the queen, almost sobbing, with her daughter's body in her arms.

    Then Thorgele stood up, and approached, said:

- Forgive me, I did not want to. – He felt an incredible agony, devastating, even gave the impression that he was crying behind the mask.

- Go away, quickly. – ordered the queen.

    The young man jumped out the window and disappeared like the others. The kingdom would mourn for yet another great loss.

    After this day Thorgele knew that he would be labeled a traitor, a "nukenin", he was expelled from the clan and his home, but he was very confused about which way to take, so he still came back to Saitar, but he did not approach his village, wandering the continent for some time until made his decision. As he was bound to dishonor he became a wanderer, abandoned the mask, sold his old sword and took his two new weapons, now carried them on the waist and not on the back like the other shinobis. As it was part of the training to survive alone in the forest for many days, so he became a totally independent man early on, thanks to this, even with only his body clothes he had no great difficulty in going his own way when needed to, traveled discreetly to the continent of Scyra, where he heard rumors of Lieben's last tragedy, worked at the quay with cargo of goods, but was soon offered the job of hunter, for who he was, with the amount of confusion found in this business branch, was inevitable that his combat skills did not go unnoticed, and with the eyes he possessed he was easily recognized anywhere, so he tried to be discreet to the utmost. Even in a short time he worked hard and accumulated enough money, deciding then to leave this branch and to follow his way, and from there finished in the continent of Zelante, traveling with conveyors delayed in the services.

- And that is all. – said Thorgele. – I have a confused and dishonored life.

- So that was what happened in the kingdom... So Adria lost her life... – said Sumith. – She was special... and so full of life that when she is gone the whole castle seemed to become melancholy, she was the light of that place...

    Being from Lieben, of family extremely close to the royalty, Sumith did not know the princess as well as he would like, but enough to feel the mourning that the whole kingdom paid in her honor. He always wanted to know in detail what had happened that night, but the queen's isolation should be respected, and now he never imagined being face to face with anyone who was there, some confusion he felt in his thoughts at this time, John and Enghon noted this, but assimilated correctly.

- My mother always said that the past can not be changed, as there is always a purpose in it... – Sumith, and after a few seconds. – There is no dishonor in what you have done, and if you are going to travel with us, no walking low.

- You... Would you accept me? – asked surprised.

- Of course! If it was not for you those people would all be dead, not to mention me. – said Sumith, being sincerely thankful for the shinobi.

    After all, preparations began to go on. In the afternoon the four separated by the city, and where they passed were very well greeted, they did not believe that this feat was of so much importance thus, but for the town it was, because for them it was not only about fighting and winning, it was about courage and valiancy. Enghon sat on an old cart in front of the tavern, and when he saw Thorgele leaving the place with a large mug in his hand, he looked both ways and ducked in a corner, a cold smoke began to flow out of his hand and into the cup until left it slightly frozen, Enghon found the scene curious and hilarious, and called the shinobi.

- Hey, Thorgele, what is this? – The shinobi approached and offered him the mug, and Enghon drank. – Wow! This is great, what is it?

- Iced orange juice. – answered. – Drink good, and ice cold is much more interesting.

- Hummm... It's very good! – said the sorcerer drinking more than half.

- Hey, leave some for me!

- Sorry. – said with a slight smile.

    Thorgele simply had the idea of freezing the juice with his power, for in the continent of the ice, which is Saitar, there is no need to do that, although it is only possible to get oranges by export, obviously Enghon had never thought of it. Simple ideas to silly matters aside, they both kept talking, the sorcerer was very interested in the great level of Thorgele, and proposed to him an exchange of knowledge:

- I have a proposal for you, Thorgele. – said the young man.

- So talk. – replied the shinobi.

- What do you think of learning two new elements?

- Sure, why not?

- I suggest you develop fire and thunder to match them with your ice.

- Should I suppose there is more to this than just learning two new elements?

- Exact! Watch. In an elemental dispute of equivalent levels, one who has dominion over the greatest number of elements will be the winner, this in offensive terms, but in defensive terms the thing does not work like that, you can get the "Supreme Defense".

- Supreme defense?

- Yes. Defensively speaking, if you reconcile ice, thunder and fire at exactly equivalent levels, of course, it can generate such a powerful effect that even the fifteen elements together can not overcome. This is the supreme defense. Some elements are directly and naturally linked, some are perfect opposites, but not all, these three are a good example of this. I saw your high level on ice, and I confess that I have never seen such a level in my life as a sorcerer, and do not judge me by age. In fact it is a difficult task to balance elemental levels in perfection, few people have achieved this feat and have generated the supreme defense, I am not one of them, but I think you may be.

- Do you believe it?

- I will teach you to master fire and thunder, and in return you help me to improve my magic level, what do you think?

- Great, when do we start? – asked the shinobi.

    Enghon and Thorgele began to train together every day. The young sorcerer was impressed by the shinobi's great talent for elemental mastery, and in less than two weeks Thorgele had mastered both elements perfectly. In a little more than a month he had absurdly increased his strength. Enghon also learned much from him, about meditation and focus, calm and fullness of mind, typical of disciplined warriors, especially the shinobis, and satisfactorily increased his magical level. The shinobi, in turn, also noted and extolled the young sorcerer's great strength with the stick, and being a connoisseur of that art, although not exactly his specialty, he could claim that Enghon's skill left nothing to be desired for the mercenary warriors. Thorgele was an addict of perfection, showing that he possessed the same quality and ability as Sumith, his thirst for knowledge even distracted him from all around, and his talent seemed to have no limits. So he began to train exhaustively on the two elements even without supervision of his new friend, and all this worked, he developed his unique technique, concentrated his three elements on the blade of Andriel, and cut the air shooting an ice rain, thunder and fire all together. The result was terrible for the enemies, capable of killing dozens at once, not counting the wounded. This was the "Fury of Tharon", so he named it in honor of his father. Enghon firmly believed that Thorgele could enter into history, being one more of the select group to achieve supreme defense, and was not mistaken about it.

*****

    Razinak and Razirouk fled as fast as they could to the coast, in a small goblin harbor, Kraven's subordinates were discontented and frightened. “How could such a small group annihilate all their troops?” – They wondered. The two goblins escaped because of their cowardice, did not have the courage to participate in the battle for arriving late and decided to watch in the distance the death of the fellows. They boarded the only available boat and sailed for the continent of Tantus. For their luck the wind favored them and they arrived in three days without danger, direct to the Pandemonius, in the fortress, now dark and with the sensation of death, thus there went to speak with the own Kraven.

- My lord, Zelante's group was decimated by four men! – said Razinak.

- Two of them were Marne's fellows, and one of them was the son of Lyeben. – complemented Razirouk.

- I thought I heard you talking about four men. – Kraven said coldly.

- We do not know the other. We never heard of him, it seemed to be a northern shinobi.

- So he does not matter. Zelante's group was useful in the end. – Kraven said as he walked and the two goblins looked at each other. – My master foresaw this, everything according to the tide. – continued Kraven. – Send the first army, find out where they got in and kill everyone, even a whole village, preferably. The curtain of war will open again, this is the will of my master. – growled his typical fanfare speech, but it was true.

- What about us? Do not we deserve any reward for the information? – asked Razirouk.

- Your reward is still to breathe, and you too will go with the army, now leave me. I have many things to do.

    Kraven was gloomy, ice-cold and frightening as the darkness around him, he was also known to be ruthless and an unbelievable swordsman, dominated the fifteen elements! All thanks to the teachings of Zeijadel, who made him a feared man, who did not hesitate to sacrifice anything to achieve what he wants, just like his master. No one was pleased in his presence, but no one dared defy him or question his orders, no matter how absurd they seemed, unconditionally was an absolute leader.

    The fame of great heroes, personalities and their descendants, regardless of race, always spread through the world very easily. People like Sumith and Arkan had the name easily commented on all over the place, and even for those who had never seen them personally it was not so difficult to find out about their footsteps, unless they themselves took this precaution. Even the goblins infiltrated cities in search of news, sneaking dangerously through the most discreet sewers and alleys until they reached something of interest, especially in these times of malicious plotting. Now Kraven knew that Arkan was taking the first step, eliminating his plans was a goal and eliminating Kin Lyeben's son was a new will.

*****

    One day after the orange juice episode, the group continued the journey. Just one day from the Kingdom of Surin to the Sacred Forest, as usual the young men talked a lot and Thorgele became more and more at ease with his new fellows. Arriving at the entrance of the forest they were impressed.

- Admire the great Sacred Forest! – presented Sumith, who obviously had seen the place before.

- It's really stunning. – said John to himself.

    One of the biggest forests in the world, and the owner of an unnatural beauty, there were huge trees, not as tall as the kingdom, but huge and loaded with fruit, so much that anyone would have no trouble surviving there, and imagine something so magnificent was bound to disappear was to break the heart. From the time of the appearance of tartars the forest was protected by law, and this kept it very well preserved. The group entered immediately, Thorgele felt at home picking up many fruits and thus saving a good part of the supplies. After the meal and some time of walking, Sumith began to feel strange suddenly, his eyes were shining like light, releasing an impressive white smoke, as if they were in flames inside, and a huge shadow of dragon appeared behind him leaving the others astonished. Fainting and being woken up a few minutes later by the others, he did not know what had happened, since the same ones who decided not to mention anything by the hour, after all they knew nothing about it, just talking a little before proceeding. After some time on the way through the beautiful and dense forest, Sumith thought he saw a girl in the trees and did not refrain from verifying. A few minutes later he saw her again, she was a young woman in fact, she wore simple peasant costumes, but was frightened as if were running away from something. Lieben's young man dashed off after her, leaving the others behind, the pursuit was time-consuming, but he finally caught up with her, but before saying something he felt someone approaching him, a strange man who gave him a bad feeling. Judging that there would be no conversation (and this time was right), the young man drew Laguna, jumped in the stranger's direction and used his exclusive technique, the "Cut of Light", which, as the name says, concentrated the element of light and cuts the air in maximum sharpness, being able to separate easily even the steel of the best quality. Technique was learned several winters ago under the tutelage of his former master, of whom he did not speak much. The man wore traditional green costumes, a short sword with a shield brought in the back, and a small earring, but that shone much in the right ear. He stopped Sumith's powerful technique, also concentrating the light on defense, but with a simple movement of hands, which left Lieben's young man totally without action:

- A lord technique? – said the man.

    Sumith was even more surprised, unable to say a word. The man's eyes started to glow just like the young man's before, the earring in his ear glowed more brightly, and a light from the skies covered him completely, turning him into a great green dragon! He was four-footed and his immense wings were attached to the front paws, a guardian! The guardian of Meira, to be more exact. Incredibly majestic and frightening, Sumith and the girl, who was standing, were totally helpless and paralyzed, it was then that Lieben's young man began to feel strange again, and everything that happened to the man was repeated with him, transformed into a dragon, silver, biped and also with immense wings, equally powerful and majestic, was the guardian of Lieben! Both had bright scales in their respective colors.

    Since their terrible battle the guardians have disappeared without trace, and nobody knew about their whereabouts or succession. The young woman panicked at the two beasts that faced each other, her legs seemed tied up, utterly defenseless, and there was no way to look for somewhere to hide, the second battle between guardians was about to begin.