| Sect twenty-one: good and evil By Richard LeBlanc Towering over the ruins of the once powerful city of Temal - a demonic black dragon looked down at the three that had escaped hell. "What - is that thing?" Drake asked. "The true form of the daemon lord Gaurre," Kaine muttered. "Did you fools really believe that you could escape me?" the dragon echoed. "The thought had crossed our minds once or twice," Drake retorted. He charged at the dragon. But with a mere wave of his demonic hand - the hero was sent soaring back towards the cleric and the last guardian mage. "Fool! I am more powerful than anything you have ever faced. I am beyond your ability to hurt. But the same - can not be reversed!" the dragon hissed as it belched out black and red flames. The three managed to get out of harm's way. "Holy magic perhaps?" Drake suggested. Kaine shook his head. "He is too powerful. My power would be nothing more than an insect biting him. Julia might be a different story though," Kaine replied as they hurried away to avoid another volley of dragon's breath. "I know no magic though," she replied. He sighed. "Among those who walk the path of Chrinose - there is a saying. That the child possesses the knowledge and wisdom - of all that have stood before him or her. The power is in you - as is the knowledge. All you need do - is tap into it," he pointed out. "In coming," Drake muttered. The dragon arched its head back and spewed more death causing flames. Julia's eyes glowed green. She called out a word that neither of them understood. The flames enveloped them. "It ends," the dragon echoed triumphantly. "By the light of day - by water of sea - a heart most pure - born of the altar of three," a strong voice interrupted. The flames dissipated. The three were unharmed. Julia - who was scared and timid looking not a few moments ago was now glaring at the dragon. "Your doing?" Drake asked. Kaine shook his head. The Pegasus flew over and landed beside her. "The words - they are the rhyme the witch spoke of," Kaine pointed out. "But if the Pegasus is the heart - where is the altar of three? And where is this midnight dragon's eye?" Drake asked. Julia looked up at the storm-covered sky. Sparks flew from her hand as a thin golden lance appeared. "I heard a story from the village elder," Julia began. She twirled the lance - all of a sudden the storm began to fade away - revealing a star filled sky. The dragon looked up and roared. "The midnight dragon - is above us," she replied. "Where?" Kaine asked. "The moon - that is the dragon's eye," she stated. "It is too late! You have failed guardian mage!" the dragon echoed. They looked up and saw a black circle beginning to eclipse the moon. Julia glared at the laughing dragon. "Not so dark one. Drake - Kaine - focus your power through me. With your power aiding mine - we can send him back to hell," she reassured. Drake concentrated - dark energy began to swirl around him. Kaine focused his attention on her - wisps of white power began to encircle her. The Pegasus screamed out as it flew towards the dragon. "Julia!" Drake shouted out. Kaine held him back. They watched as a bright light engulfed the guardian mage. They watched as the light grew smaller and smaller as it drew closer to the dragon. The moon was completely eclipsed The light went out. The dragon made a noise that first sounded like laugher - but trailed off into an agonizing scream! A blinding explosion rocked mushroomed outward. A powerful shock wave sent both Kaine and Drake soaring backwards. The smoke began to slowly fade away. Kaine and Drake looked over in the direction of Temal. The silhouette of the dragon remained. "It didn't work," Drake muttered. The dragon slowly keeled over and fell with a loud crash! It was then that a frightening reality came to pass. "Julia?" he called out. He pushed Kaine aside and raced towards the source of the blast. Kaine slowly got up. "Such sacrifice - surely there must have been another way great Chrinose," Kaine whispered as he slowly walked towards where Drake had run to. At that spot - Drake was frantically moving debris around. "Julia!" he called out. a hand touched his shoulder. "Drake - I fear that no one could have survived such a blast," Kaine began. Drake batted the hand away and glared at him. "She isn't gone! I won't lose her now after all of this!" he retorted. "I am merely trying to help," Kaine began. "Then help me find her or be silent!" Drake snapped. Kaine sighed and slowly looked around. He then pointed over to a pile of debris by the fallen dragon. As Drake looked he could see the golden lance - and a buried hand. "Julia!" he screamed out. He raced over and began to frantically dig. Within moments - Julia was uncovered - but she was so still - so pale. "She gave her life - to save the world Drake. She sacrificed herself on the altar of three - in. Our belief - it is said that the altar of three - is the past - the present - and future. But - I know this must mean little to you now," Kaine stated. "She - she can't be gone," Drake stuttered - forcing back the rage. "There is a way - to save her - but the risk - is great," a strong voice began. Drake and Kaine looked over and saw the regal looking unicorn walking their way. "Who - or what are you?" Drake asked - trying to keep his temper in check. "He - is a friend - much like myself," a familiar voice replied. he looked over on a rock and saw the large spider that he and Julia had encountered in that dungeon. "You - know - these things?" Kaine asked hesitantly. "He knows us well enough," another voice replied. Drake looked over and saw a rock like gargoyle fly over and stand by the unicorn and the spider. "Enough games - who - are you?" Drake demanded. Magic began to sparkle in the air around the three. Drake and Kaine watched as the spider unicorn and gargoyle began to take on human shape. "Tell me Drake - who do you think we are?" one of the three retorted. "They are guardian mages," Kaine answered lowly. "What?" Drake almost exploded. "He speaks true," the man with a unicorn crest stated. "Of all our line - we three are all that is left," the one that wore clothes that appeared to be woven out of webs. "But this need not be - there is a way to change this," the guardian mage with gargoyle wings concluded. Drake drew his weapon and prepared to attack the three but was held back by Kaine. "There is a way to change this! I will kill you lousy bastards! You knew all along and you let her face that monster by herself!" Drake all but screamed. The three looked down at Julia and sighed. "If - there was another way - boy - do you not think we would have chosen it?" one mage asked seriously. "She was your love yes - but she was our family - and our only hope," the second added. "Had we shown ourselves a second sooner - Gaurre would have killed us - and all of this - would have been for nothing," the third concluded. "What do you mean by - all of this?" Kaine asked. "When the demon host attacked - we were caught off guard. In our arrogance we believed that our wards were infallible. We had no way of knowing - that we would be betrayed by one of our own," one began. "Of your own? A guardian mage was working with demon host?" Kaine asked. "Not in that sense. Her intentions - they were noble enough. But there was no way she could have known how - horribly things would go wrong," the spider robed mage continued. "When the first city fell - and that first seal was broken. Many of the guardian mages perished - the rest - save myself were forced to flee," he continued. "But why?" Drake asked. "Because I knew - that one day - Julia would come to make things right," he answered. "By the time the demon host had reached the second of the great cities - the power of the demon host had almost doubled. The wards were able to hold them back for a while - but betrayal once again hit us. This time - from one of our temple guards. He broke the seal that kept the city safe. Then - through the tunnel - the kingdom was attacked from within," the gargoyle like mage continued. "By the time - the war reached - the third city - the unity that made the guardian mages strong - began to fall apart. Suspicion began to tear at us and with the power of the demon host growing greater with each victory - the people began to lose faith in us. Some were forced to flee - in fear of being attacked by the very people we sought to protect," the first mage stated. "The city fell - the seal was broken. With only two seals remaining - two great cities left standing guard. We knew that something had to be done. But for the first time in many hundreds of years - we had no idea what to do. Fear began to well within the young guardian mages - one of them - was her mother," the unicorn mage stated - pointing to Julia. "I don't like the way this is going," Kaine began. "When the long war - hit Gernome - her mother - new with child - having seen so many of our kind killed in this war - approached Gaurre himself. She signed a pact with him. The terms - she and her family - would be allowed to leave the city - in return - her family would be spared," the unicorn mage continued. "When she heard the news of the fall in Gernome - her heart sank. She felt as though she had betrayed her cause and swore that Temal the last city would never fall into daemon hands. Her pact - something used by Gaurre to take Gernome - would now be her shield. When the war finally came to Temal - she fought like a woman possessed. She and her loyal - were able to stave off the attackers for a while - but the power of the demon host - was too great. The wards were shattered - the walls fell - then Gaurre himself - in his true form destroyed the last of the great cities," the gargoyle mage added. "That was when she sought to flee. That was when she encountered - your father," the spider mage began - pointing at Drake. "Knowing that her husband lay slain - in spite of her pact - she knew that she had been betrayed. So she sent Julia away - hoping that one day she would be able to correct the horrible mistake she had made," the spider mage concluded. Drake smirked and quietly chuckled. "Do - you think I care about any of that? The woman I love is dead because of you!" Drake shouted out accusingly. "We knew what needed to be done - and how - to make it right. If you will listen - for a moment - we will tell you," the unicorn mage stated. Drake looked at Julia's unmoving body and then looked up at the three mages. "Talk," he hissed. "We know of your love for her. I could see it in your eyes when I first saw you. We three - did not have enough power left to fight Gaurre - as is - we barely have enough strength to remain alive ourselves," one pointed out. "But we know a ritual - a spell - it would transfer - half of your life force - to her," the second one added. "The catch?" Kaine asked. "We have only the energy to do the spell once - once our power is spent - our link to this world will be severed. And if it goes wrong - you too could perish. The choice - is yours Drake," the gargoyle mage answered. "Do what must be done. If my life need be forfeit so that she might live - I can accept that," he replied without hesitation. Kaine watched as the three guardian mages began to glow. an energy began to flow from the three - into Drake. He tensed up and bit back the scream he wanted to yell. A mist then began to flow from Drake into Julia. A flash of light almost blinded Kaine. When he regained his sight - the three guardian mages were lying motionless. He slowly looked over and saw Drake collapsed beside Julia. Kaine sighed and lowered his eyes. It didn't work... Kaine bowed his head and began to walk away. It was then that he heard a weak cough. He slowly turned around. Julia - began to sit up. "What - what happened? Everything - was so dark," she asked weakly. Kaine looked to where Drake was and was almost hesitant to reply. "Uh - long - story," Drake muttered from the ground. "Drake - you're alive?" Kaine asked in disbelief. Drake slowly sat up and looked over at Julia. Seeing her alive and well brought tears to his eyes. He reached over and tightly hugged her. "Ow - not so hard," she weakly teased. Kaine laughed and walked over to where the two were and sat down before them. "So what happens now?" Kaine asked. "What - I don't know what you are talking about - don't we still have to go to Temal?" she asked. "It is over," Drake whispered. Julia tensed up and pulled away. "What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly. Julia looked him in the eye. Mere seconds later - a smile began to form on her face. She leaned over and hugged him. he put his arms around her and sighed. "Nothing," she replied. "Why do you ask Kaine?" Drake asked. "Because - the threat is not over," he replied. Julia and Drake looked at him hesitantly. "What do you mean?" they asked together. "Only this. You can not kill a demon - or a daemon - you can only send it back. In time - it will develop a new body - or new powers. I do not know what the future holds - or when the second coming might occur - but I would be honored - if you would let me accompany you and aid you - until such time does come to pass," he concluded. "You mean - we might have to go through all of this again?" Julia asked in disbelief. "No - this time - we're going to do it right," Drake stated as he hopped up to his feet. "Come on," he added to the two. Julia and Kaine looked at each other. "Where?" they asked. "Temal - we have a kingdom to rebuild," he said with a chuckle. Julia and Kaine laughed. They got up and walked with Drake towards the large pit where Temal used to be. Epilogue... Almost two thousand years had come to pass since the demon host had set foot on Earth. And true to what Drake had said - they did rebuild Temal - and the other four great cities as well. The offspring of the couple and their offspring and so on and so on - formed a new circle of guardian mages that have kept the five sacred seals in tact till this very day. But in spite of the peace that is still enjoyed - the guardian mages remain vigilant. For the day of the second coming - has yet to arrive - and when it does - they will be ready. The End |