The Legend of Tantus - Book 1

Chapter 9 - The return of a king

    The city of Mérit had an explosion of happiness, just as the kingdom and all the other cities, in the other continents also were happy, even without knowing what had happened, with the end of that strange threat. Arkan, Laguna, Enghon and especially Thorgele were exalted as the great heroes of those terrible battles, several other surviving soldiers, who took refuge in abandoned houses and debris, after fighting to the maximum, returned to the others and were received with a party, the inhabitants of the city really were not hurt, even touched, the shinobi's promise to protect them was fulfilled with honors, and the city almost knelt at the feet of the great commander for his bravery, determination and leadership, worthy of a king. He did not feel at all comfortable with it, he actually got scared:

- What are you doing?! Come on! Get up! – He said, totally awkward, before the reverence of all.

But his friends encouraged him:

- Do not look away boy. – said Arkan. – You deserved.

- Never deny this merit. – Laguna.

- I agree. – Enghon.

    Mérit was definitely safe, just like the precious Library of Magic, but someone was still missing, and the shinobi could not help but remind him, Sumith, the spellcaster of the millenarian shield, the one for whom it was worth fighting, was not there, he was expelled from the city next to Anarky, because they were guardians and the shield prevented their stay there, but Thorgele wanted to follow his friend, although he did not know where he had gone, but Laguna helped him:

- To the Tree of Life. – said the new fellow. – It is there, my dear, that you will find our young friend.

Thorgele thanked him. He and Enghon spared no strength, arranged three horses, and headed north-west in search of Sumith, under the city's party, and with wishes of a good journey, to return quickly.

*****

    The female trio took a huge fright as they watched the two unbelievable spells clashing in the skies, Solphie, who had spent so much time distracted, finally understood what it was about:

- My God. – said the sorceress.

- What is it? – asked Shayera.

- Meteor!

- What?!

    The three paralyzed watched the absurd confrontation that lasted several minutes, until finally everything back to normal, apparently the magic combat was finished, but they still could not stop worrying and left at full speed for Mérit, to meet their friends.

*****

    Kraven was heartbroken and furious, completely destroyed the tower of the fort, and murdered several goblins who were there watching him, could not believe that his meteor was defeated, his master's plan was perfect, victory was practically in his hands. His mistake was in trying to weaken Mérit's defenses before using full force, perhaps underestimating the enemies, the attempt to secure victory proved to be a terrible failure.

- Damn them! – shouted the cheater. – How did they do it?! Damn shinobi, how could a rat get that far?! – cursed as he killed other poor servant goblins who were trapped in the rubble, Kraven, who now wore an eye patch, was scary.

- Failed again, my apprentice. – said a somber voice, Zeijadel.

- My master, forgive me.

- Even between master and student, patience has limits, my dear.

- I understand.

- But we still have our advantages, fortunately.

- My lord?

- The moment of my return is near, the Library of Magic will be another obstacle, but will be overcome. When the lord of life falls and my power doubles, nothing can stop me.

- My lord, what shall I do?

- Take my army to the Dead Land, in the Empty Mountains you will find the key to this damn prison, and with all the power I gave you, my servant, you will set me free.

- As you wish.

    Zeijadel finally found his way back from the Solitary Prison, and for this he needed Kraven, with the fifteen elements he could break the prison key and open it at the moment of his return. According to the lord of darkness, the key created to seal the entrance was called "Uroboros", composed of fourteen elements, the only one absent was precisely his, all the other lords were able to open it to his command, while darkness was the only one deprived of this capacity, and the only way to destroy it was by the force of the fifteen elements, from a single source, and of a very high level. On account of this inevitable weakness the lords of life and planar life created an extra and extreme protection spell, which allowed it to rebuild almost immediately, sealing it again, in this way hindering to the maximum any attempt of escape even for a god. During all these winters Zeijadel exploited his cunning to the fullest, planning on it incessantly, even if his chances were minimal he knew they existed and he was willing to succeed anyway, so his puppet should be in place to do it at the right time, and this failure he would not tolerate. Kraven promised for his soul that he would not fail, he was also anxious for his revenge against the man who took his left eye, and lowered him so much frustrating his plans, whenever he felt that pain the anger consumed him, this time he would kill him, but not before remembering his name. All of Kraven's army observed until then was only a fraction of what was prepared at Pandemonius, the massive army of the lord of darkness was ready for his final battle.

*****

    Thorgele and Enghon followed for only two days to the Tree of Life, with few stops to rest and using the element of life to maintain the health of horses, arrived in the middle of the day and found Sumith unconscious at the foot of the tree. That place was mysterious, but strangely it passed on a sense of relief and well-being to them. The big tree was something impressive, as green as it could be and with beautiful flowers, very tall, looking like a skyscraper, and its trunk was so immense that it would take a beautiful walk to take a walk around it, the shinobi and the sorcerer succored Sumith quickly, but the young man was well:

- How do you feel? – asked Thorgele.

- What a pity! A little dizzy, but I think it's all right, I am whole. – replied Sumith.

- The shield was not kind to you. – said Enghon.

- How long was I fainted?

- Two days. – replied the sorcerer.

- Two days?!

- Calm down, for those who have just returned from the world of the dead, you are very well.

- And how is Mérit? – asked worried.

- Mérit is saved. – Thorgele replied, putting a smile on Sumith's face. – Welcome back, my friend.

    The three greeted each other excitedly, it was great, surprising and miraculous for them to have Sumith back, all that concern was now in the past, and could finally return to their friends for a well-deserved celebration, although it did not yet mean the end of the problems, but the fact was that their victory was splendid, incontestably. After a brief conversation, the young men were surprised by the new weapon Sumith carried, a beautiful flame-shaped, greenish-colored sword, and on its pommel there was a socket for another pommel, that is, it was only half. It was slightly shorter than the good Laguna, but emanated a spectacular power at the level of Andriel and Andurel.

- This is Max, the first flame of the kingdom. – Showing it to Thorgele and Enghon, who watched in wonder at the magnificent blade.

- Where did you get it? – asked the shinobi.

- The guardian prime... and my father.

- Your father?! – said Enghon. – Is Kin alive?!

- More than that, he is now the holy lord.

- Bright! So that was it... – said Thorgele.

- Yes, he was not a coward, he was much more than I could even imagine. He was my father. – Sumith said brightly in his eyes as he remembered his father during the time they met.

    Sumith was taken and trained during that month with Anarky, the guardian prime, in Plane, the final way for those who will cross the border into the other world, and also the home of the lords. The young man met everyone, and the reunion with his father, of whom he remembered little by the early separation, was incredible and exciting, for him to have died, literally worth it.

- Da... Dad? – said Sumith, having difficulty believing in his eyes.

- My son! I dream about this day a long time ago. – said Kin.

- Are not you dead? You are...? – said the young man bowing his head, still confused, while his father touched his shoulder.

- Sumith, I... – And suddenly he was punched in the stomach!

- Why did you disappear?! Why did you leave us?! Do you have any idea how much mom suffered without you?! How much did I have to learn without you?! I trained with Zeon like crazy, convincing me every day that you were not a coward, even with people telling me! When mom was gone I left without aim, making me strong, but not knowing where to go! But what am I saying? I have not seen you for so long, I have missed you so much, you are the holy lord, and now I do not even know what to say. – He said all this very fast, confusedly happy and relieved, wiping away the tears that were trying to fall.

- Forgive me, my son. Forgive me... – said Kin, now finally embracing his son.

    Sumith remembered everything in front of his friends. Lieben's young man was impressively more powerful in elemental terms, and now he was the bearer of the mighty Max, the sword forged by Harkonen, the holy lord before Kin, in fact that weapon was on the same level as the daughters of the lords, and just as they were two blades, only in a different style.

    They talked a lot about Sumith's training, about Plane and the lords, but after several minutes the three were surprised by a strange hooded man who came out on the other side of the tree. Apparently he had been there for some time and approached quietly, even without showing his face, addressed them:

- My sincere apologies for interrupting, but I could not fail to congratulate you for the great victory. – said the mysterious man, his voice very similar to that of Sumith, which caught the attention of Thorgele and Enghon.

- Who are you? – asked the young of Lieben.

- I am just a traveler, nothing more.

- You remind me of something... Something strange. Can you take off your hood?

- I am sorry, but no.

    Strangely the two quarreled, in a curious and unpleasant, or perhaps inexplicable situation, Sumith took him for some vassal of the enemy in the face of his attempts to conceal his identity.

- How could you know we were here?

- There are many things I should know. – replied the mysterious man.

- I do not trust you, prove you are not Kraven's soldier.

- My only way of proving this is not in words.

- So fight me.

- If that is what you want, draw your weapon. – The man seemed strange in his actions, but no one could tell why.

    Sumith drew Max out as Thorgele and Enghon walked away attentively, the man drew from his back, which they still had not noticed, a sword identical to Max, and as they paid more attention they noticed that there was another sword in another sheath in the back, the other half of Max! Sumith and the others did not understand what it meant, or who he was, but they had no good feelings about that. Both attacked, and the moment their swords crossed the sky darkened darkly, being cut by very strong rays without any wind, a bad omen struck them, and everything was clear again in the blink of an eye, but the mysterious man remained clearly concerned, as if he had awakened from a dream, as if something terrible had just happened. He turned his back and walked away, but Sumith did not allow:

- Wait. What was that?

- Sorry, I do not have time for this now.

- I am not allowed to flee a battle. – said the Lieben's young man.

- Me neither. – replied the man.

    The two now seemed to understand each other very well, and decided to continue the fight, their motives were clearly strange, but it was not in any of them giving up. This time the man guarded Max, and opened his cloak revealing clothes similar to those of Laguna (for Thorgele and Enghon), from the height of his waist he drew another blade extremely bright and was immediately recognized, Andriel!

- But what the hell is going on?! – Thorgele jumped between the two, already with his Andriel unsheathed.

- No! – said the man. – Now I will have to refuse, this time I give up.

Everyone was silent as the mysterious man walked away, guarding Andriel, and they could hear him talking to himself:

- What did I do?

    After moving away to the other side of the tree, a great light could be seen and the stranger disappeared completely, the shinobi and the sorcerer remembered the first time they saw Laguna, but they did not say anything. Thorgele told Sumith that somehow he saw no trace of Kraven in what had just happened, and that this man did not look like an enemy to him, Lieben's young man finally agreed, since his friend was always right in these matters.

    The three of them forgot what had happened, or simply put aside for an hour, since there was nothing to do about it, it was probably something they could not despise, but rather wait. They returned to Mérit at last, this time more calmly, they took three quiet days, and Sumith made a point of hearing the stories of the battles, which were mainly told by Enghon, the young man was amazed at his friends' determination to protect him, especially by old Arkan, and thankful from the bottom of his heart, no doubt. By the middle of the third day they finally saw the city, which awaited them.

    Sumith was anxious, to return to his beloved city was his greatest wish now. The three of them approached the gate, Iris, Solphie, Shayera and the others waited for them, but Lieben's young man was surprised by something he had forgotten, the millenarian shield reacted to his presence, preventing his entrance. Sumith was a guardian now, and so he could never enter Mérit again, sadness took his heart, the idea of permanently leaving his beloved hometown, city of his parents, was devastating, this was the price for its salvation, a high price, and the young man wept. Thorgele understood the weight in his friend's heart, and called them all, to show him the size of Mérit's gratitude, and all there present left the city to join the brave Sumith, the hero of Lieben. He was very happy for the heat of all, but his greatest joy was yet to come, behind the crowd a beautiful young woman with a face of an angel, already crying with joy ran towards him, and jumped on him like a longing wife, Iris finally had Sumith back:

- You came back! – said the young woman. – You came back to me!

- Of course I came back. – said Sumith. – I would never stop coming back, for all of you, for you.

- I... I love you.

- I love you too, Megami.

    Sumith kissed her in front of the whole city, to the delight of Thorgele and Enghon, who made the biggest party and were followed by all there present, the destined love of Lieben's hero and the summoner, even death could not separate, and Shayera's silent greeting was the last proof that Sumith was the beloved son of Mérit, the powerful son of the great Kin. The friends greeted each other after so long apart, and the sss almost did not stop hugging the shinobi. The whole city prepared a great banquet to honor him, all outside the boundaries of the shield, showing the size of their gratitude.

    The next day, Sumith and Iris wandered alone through the beautiful scenery near the city, happily untouched by the dirty goblins, clearly in love, they deserved privacy. Thorgele and the others remained in Mérit working, and paying due homage to all the brave soldiers who gave their lives on that epic battlefield. Laguna had disappeared before the arrival of Sumith, and nobody knew of his whereabouts, Arkan said that he only returned to his duties, and that his work there was finished. The sailor said goodbye to everyone, it was time to return to his beloved ship, and he also needed to release the young John, who would have liked to be there.

- Whoever is Laguna, we owe him a lot. – said Thorgele.

- I should go back to my business, but I will see you soon, I suppose. – said the sailor.

- Thanks Arkan.

- And you, try to go to Lieben tomorrow, it's time, young man.

- But what is there for me in that place?

- You will know lord Seth.

- This name again.

- Hahahahahaha... – Arkan set out laughing.

    Shayera and Thorgele were inseparable again, and she agreed with the sailor, he should go to the kingdom, although he did not yet know, the queen longed to meet the great leader of the defenses who had saved Mérit, and his name was already honored in many places. Sophie also agreed, they should only wait for John's return, and on this, by the way, the young twins told all that happened in the Flame Archipelago, Thorgele seemed frightened at first, and it was not for less, for even hearing from them it was hard to believe that person, that friend, was the result of f*******n and evil rituals, nor did he imagine that this was even possible, born to become a kind of perdition, impossible to predict what kind of things John was able to do, or unleash, perhaps the end of the world was in your hands, an apocalypse, and it would not be an exaggeration to fear this. Time was necessary to digest such a thing, to understand that one could not understand, just accept, maybe even longer than they would have imagined, but if there was one thing that the shinobi always had, it was the gift of believing, choosing a right path, just like who to trust:

- Somehow, he always seemed special to me.

    In the end the shinobi gladly accepted the news about John, of his overcoming, rejecting a terrible fate, he was worthy of admiration, and looked forward to his return. On the same day Arkan arrived at the port of Morwen meeting John and Rakasha talking quietly on the ship, the old sailor cheerfully received the young lobime, and she revealed that she loved the sea, the travels and the sea breeze, the same feeling as the old sailor, who invited her to be his immediate, invitation accepted with great enthusiasm. Now Rakasha was part of Arkan's crew, and soon became an efficient navigator, but most of all she now had a home. John just smiled to the old sailor, not saying a word before he.

- Looks like everything is in order. – said Arkan. – Did not destroy it.

- I did not have time to paint it as I had said. – said the thief.

- Will you always be spoiled like that?

- Who knows?

- Maybe this is my job after all, endure the sarcasm of a child. – said the sailor just smiling from the side.

- Thanks for everything, old dad. – said John, and their embrace was warm.

- But before you go, let's wash this deck, okay?

- All right, old man.

- Hahahahahaha...

- Hahahahahaha...

    John left to Mérit, and the next day he joined his friends. He found Sumith and Iris out of town obviously, making a tremendous party while reviewing his friend alive, the Lieben's young man also already knew about the thief and was clearly proud, but it was John's expression of joy for their love that spoke louder:

- At last! Haha!!!

    But it was in the city that he was most awaited, the meeting with Thorgele and Enghon was silent, but no word was needed, the friends looked at each other for several seconds, until they clasped hands in a brother's embrace, and the emotion of both brought joy to everyone in the group:

- Never think of yourself as what you are thinking now. – Thorgele. – You are far from being this, you are one of us, you are our brother.

- We will keep our word with you until the end. – Enghon.

- And I with you, my brothers. – replied John.

    That same day they left to the Kingdom of Lieben, under farewells of the whole city, it was time for the heroes to move on. Many of the soldiers remained in Mérit for the quiet reconstruction of the city, another party went on with them, Oblap and Rengaw were side by side, the maestro and the knight still implied one with the other, but now they were just friends and rivals:

- Has your ax defeated more than my elements? You are dreaming wagon! – said Oblap.

- Offbeat maestro, when that belly weighs you get out of sync! – retorted Rengaw.

- Hahahahaha...

- Hahahahaha...

    For four days they continued to the farming town of Ragnar, where they refueled and continued on to the slow, yet quiet, Passage of the Forest. Six days until they reached the long-awaited Kingdom of Lieben, the beautiful white castle was marvelous in the eyes of travelers, the shape of the hawk in the silver armor, which had been seen since the first of the four battles, was perfect to symbolize the beautiful skies of that continent, the beautiful city was as pleasant as it was gentle, a large lake beside it left the landscape even more magnificent, with small fishing boats looked like a paradisiac place, and the green forest behind completed the dream castle of any king. Messengers had already reported on the victories several days earlier, the brave army and great heroes were received with honors throughout the kingdom and the queen in person awaited them in the castle, beside her was Ehron Elesir, the fearless king's captain, king Loki's right-hand man in the absence of Kin Lyeben, greatly aided queen Litos Alberich in rebuilding the kingdom after the discord of the power, his loyalty to Lieben was undeniable, as was his respect. Thorgele felt nervous and at the same time sad, for all that happened in the past, but according to Shayera the present was only there thanks to him, and everyone would be proud of the young man who turned against his own fellows to defend what he believed to be right. Having the courage to face the enemies, but more courage to face friends, Thorgele was already a hero of Lieben.

    The group's encounter with the beautiful queen Litos was more than joyful, Ehron welcomed the great feat of all, Sumith was clearly greeted with much appreciation and pride, as if he were of the family, and the queen was very happy to recover Solphie and Shayera, their valiant protectors:

- Sophie, Shayera, never leave me again. – said the queen.

- Forgive us, my lady. – said Solphie, kneeling next to Shayera. – But we needed maturity to serve you better.

- Like your parents, you have never disappointed us. I am very happy to have you back.

- Equally, my queen. – finished Shayera.

    Iris and Enghon were also received as friends, she, already acclaimed as "the legendary summoner", carried the renewed hope of all, while Enghon, for the great achievement in the last battle, was worthy of more honors, for victory would not be possible without his power, Thorgele was behind, almost hiding when he was called by Ehron, the great leader of the defenses should receive the proper honor of the kingdom, but immense was the surprise of the queen when looking at his face and, of course, his eyes:

- Seth... Seth, is that you?!

- Madam?

- It can not be... Seth?! – said Litos, approaching the shinobi and touching his face in a maternal way.

- This young man, it's not possible! – Ehron was surprised.

    Everyone there was astonished and confused, Seth was the name of the lost son of Loki and Litos, given as dead after the fall of Lieben in the same winter of the end of the discord of the power, Seth Alberich. In the great war, even after the recent loss of Kin, Loki and Ehron led the kingdom, with the help of Tantus, to a spectacular victory over the armies of Zeijadel that ravaged the continent, making crafty use of their resources, but in one last desperate assault the goblins attacked the unprotected realm. Surprised by the enemy, Litos removed her two sons, Seth, of only three winters old, and Adria, newborn, in the attempt to save them desperately, Loki returned in time and managed to expel the invaders in a cruel battle that ended up taking his life before his wife, Ehron and the army harassed the enemies while the king closed his eyes on the queen's arms, calling for the names of his beloved chidren, days later only Adria returned, but Seth was never seen again. The pain for the loss of her husband and her son was only softened by her daughter's return, but many winters later Adria was murdered, and she would be if it were not for the strength of a brave young stranger who turned against the killers, but unfortunately was unable to save the beautiful princess. The heart of Litos was in pieces, and the queen had to draw forces of an unknown hope to maintain her will to live. Ehron competently assumed the regency of the kingdom until his queen was prepared again to rule, this was indeed very important, because Lieben, without leadership, could end up at the bottom of the well. The hope of Litos was now revealed, it was her son, he was still alive and now before her, something that only a mother would be able to know:

- My dear Seth! I dreamed about this day many times!

- Seth... Mom? – asked Thorgele.

- You were my last life force, the last hope I could have. – said the queen with tears.

    Mother and son now embraced after so long, emotion took over everyone, and happy Ehron ran like a boy, distributing the biggest news the kingdom could have: the return of a king!

- The king! The king Seth has returned! The king is back!

    The news spread like lightning, and the whole kingdom went to the castle to see their lost prince become a great king. The coronation ceremony put aside all pomp and was done immediately. The beautiful silver crown of Lieben was now, without delay, in the proper head, in the head of the king.

- Hail the great king Seth!

    Throughout the continent the great new was scattered, and in addition, the kingdom more devastated in the war received with great happiness its great king, and provenly a great leader, the wounded people now stood in more confidence and joy, the king of Lieben was back. Thorgele always knew that he was not biological son of Riyan, but never imagined something like this, now he was Seth, as he came to be called by all, including his friends, and they continued to treat him in the same happy and intimate way, at his request, as they always did.

    Seth could not help but remember John, of all the history he carried. This meant that they were not just friends, but also blood brothers, and this the shinobi accepted with great joy, he needed to take him to his mother. John did not go to the castle with the others, asked to wait in the city knowing that the news about him would be a shock, even with the shinobi saying that he would be mistaken, someone like him would never deserve contempt, no matter who it was. Upon hearing the whole story of Solphie, Litos was frightened by the revelation about Rondo, for all the blasphemies and horrors he committed, clearly reluctant to meet John, but even she came to understand that in the midst of all that, so much evil done, was born a child, with heart, real feelings, and free will to take his life path. And looking at his young face, incredibly similar to Loki, Litos smiled and knew that he also had his good heart, John was accepted by a happy mother, and a brother even more, now he was the prince of Lieben, a dream never had by the young thief.

    Shayera simply disappeared after discovering that Thorgele was Seth, the sss was confused and ran through the forest aimlessly, without even being present at the coronation ceremony, Seth clearly missed her and sought her from every corner, without finding anything. The sss believed that she had much to lose, that her heart would suffer as never before if everything changed between her and him, she believed she would not be able to bear it, but never realized how would feel if she were mistaken... Late in the evening Shayera became convinced of how foolish and childish she was, and that nothing should change, at least for her. “Have a little more faith in yourself, my sister, then you will see how much you may be wrong about what you want...” – These were the words of her sister some time ago, when the sss still naively tried to hide what she felt for him. Women, the most wonderful creatures in the universe, as well as complicated. The sss entered unseen to the king's tower, where Seth was standing, worried, missing her, after all this inseparable time getting away from her became extremely unpleasant, until he looked back and saw her there, standing before him, feeling his greatest relief after a very long day:

- Seth? – said Shayera.

- Where the hell were you? I searched for you. – said the king going to her. – You accustom me with your presence, and now you leave me alone?

- Now I remember. These eyes... I saw them many winters ago, when I was a child... Sorry, I was very childish today.

- What you mean?

- I never liked leaving your side, since I met you.

- Me neither.

- I just did not know...

- Did you know what?

- I did not know...

- Shayera?

- I did not know that I was in love... for my king...

- Shayera, I...

- I know! I know I am an i***t, I know I am... what you do not want... I just want you to know that I love you anyway... since I have looked at you.

- Hey silly. – said Seth, touching the beautiful face of the sss. – I also did not know that I was in love... for my protector.

- !!! – And she looked up, not seeming to believe what she had just heard.

- Do you know why we could never fight?

- W... Why?

- Because I have always felt completely helpless before you.

    He kissed her before the beautiful landscape of the kingdom, under a beautiful starry sky.

- Seth, Shayera has not returned yet and I do not... – said Solphie, as she entered the room and saw the king and her sister kissing without even noticing her. The sorceress was surprised, but soon her expression evolved into pure joy, and at the same time the queen and the rest of the group came to see the king, but were immediately stoped by her. – Sorry, but as a protector of the king, I can not allow you to pass here!

- What happened? – asked Litos.

- My queen, trust me. – the sorceress finished, with a blink of an eye to the queen, who could see her son and Shayera through the door that was not yet fully closed.

- Are you saying...?

- Yes.

- This... This is wonderful!

    Sumith, John and Enghon, who also saw, looked at each other cynically, while Iris was slow to understand:

- At last. – said Lieben's young man and the sorcerer together and smiling.

- Ah... Right... Finally! – said the summoner, also happy for them.

    John was more scandalous and did not spare his enthusiasm:

- At last!

    Seth and Shayera did not even notice anything, nor could they. And this was their first night of love, perfect, ardent and passionate.