Chapter 11: Game Over

I dug my way out from under the tree that occupied my sleep. Still on my belly, I removed my trench coat. This was my moment, and I wanted nothing to hinder my ability to destroy these wretched animals. After shedding my coat I crawled to just behind a smaller tree and rose to my feet. Finally Mother, Father. I will avenge you. Then I will regain Cirania’s love, and together we will find Catbriar. I could feel Harbinger humming in its sheath. It knew that it would be tasting blood soon. No matter how foul the taste may be. Grunting and growling grew louder as the fire the Orcs had started began to roar. They were celebrating, but why? I peered around the corner and found the Chieftain Orc, sitting proudly on a throne made from human bones and skulls. The headdress he wore was stunning. The base was encrusted with jewels and runes, no doubt looted from those they slaughtered. The feathers on the crown were the most magnificent I had ever seen. Their length was at least an arm. The colors varied from blues to yellows to reds, to even whites. They shimmered in the moonlight. These were no ordinary feathers, and I knew immediately that they had not come from any bird that resided in Allukra. These feathers had to be crafted some how. Tonight, those feathers will fall to the ground with no Orc alive to pick them back up again.

I reached in to my satchel and pulled out the meat that I had purchased before leaving Firecove. I sprinted to the tree just north of me and tossed a piece of the raw flesh onto a low lying branch. I darted around almost half of the camp to another tree and did the same. I was finally where I started and was all out of meat. I stood patiently and waited. Only a few moments had passed when the beating of the drums slowed, and then eventually stopped. The Orc’s grunts of celebration had quickly turned to that of curiosity. I heard several of them walking toward the tree immediately to my left. I reached for my bow and then stopped. I thought twice about it and instead drew Harbinger from its sheath. I could feel the anticipation welling up inside of my weapon for its upcoming feast. My blood raced through my veins as I heard the curious animals just a few paces behind me. I opened up my senses to feel how many were near me. There are four here at this one, and thirteen at the next tree. There will be more than enough time to kill these four before the others are alerted to my presence. I closed my eyes for a quick moment and thought of my parents and friends who were mercilessly slaughtered by these animals. “Justice is at hand.” I said. I turned to the left and brought Harbinger up over my head. With a killing blow the first Orc fell. The other three monsters charged me and let out a battle cry that would tremble the knees of even the most battle hardened warrior. I never flinched. The second Orc fell to a dull thud as his face met the butt end of Harbinger. The weapon seemed to even relish in that type of death as well. The remaining two attackers went limp when Harbinger and I removed both of their heads in one swing. I repressed the image of my friends missing their heads as I ran from Reign Hall.

I closed my eyes and paused for only a second to gather myself. This is no time to be weak Aerol. Finish this! My eyes flew open and turned a dark shade of red as the other thirteen Orcs had noticed my arrival. They all ran toward me, letting loose the same fearsome battle cry as the previous group had done. The only difference now was that the rest of the tribe now knew I was there. It had come down to this, kill or be killed. I brought my sword of power in front of me at the ready. If only you could see me now Father. You would be so proud of what I am doing. The small band had made its way to me quickly and was swinging their crude weapons at my head and abdomen, but Harbinger redirected every one of them. With each swing of my arm and Orc fell, bones crunched and skulls crushed. Blood was spilled by the gallons each time Harbinger penetrated the flesh of the cursed beings. The screams of each Orc had alerted the rest of the tribe that danger was in fact among them.

When all thirteen had fell to the ground in a heap of blood and broken bone I heard Harbinger take in a deep breath. I watched as it absorbed every last drop of blood that had accumulated on the blade and hilt. I turned my attention to the clearing where the rest of the tribe had gathered. They were all holding hand made clubs. Some were embedded with shards of crystals, while others were wrapped with scrap metal. Every last Orc had surrounded his Chieftain. He now stood on his throne of human remains and shouted out orders. The band of tribe mates held their ground firm around the Chieftain. I walked closer to the clearing. That is when I seen why the Orcs had been celebrating. Tied to posts was a small outfit of about twelve Battle Mages. All of them disrobed, and all of them bleeding and unconscious, including Cirania. Rage built up inside of me as I heard what I thought was laughter coming from Harbinger. I stepped into the clearing and held my sword out in front of me at arms length. “Let them go, and I will spare your lives. Refuse and I will kill you where you stand.” The group of animals all turned to their Chieftain for guidance. He looked at the Mages and then back at me and spoke, “No…Vampire…me…like…bone…need…bone…” I lowered my weapon and closed my eyes once more and thought of everything I had said to justify killing these beasts. Now it seemed that I was right all along. My eyes opened as I felt something zip past my head. I had no time to react, no time to even scream. An Orc club had been thrown in the way of the Mages. Cirania now hung from her post. Limp, dead.

The events that occurred next were not of my own doing. I had gone in to a blood rage. I never ran, and I never screamed. I just slaughtered every Orc that stood in my way. I had seen the results of what they did to my parents and friends. Now these lunatics had killed the last thing that ever meant anything to me. Cirania Reign, my love, my wife, and my only true friend. Her lifeless, naked body kept flashing through my mind as I rampaged through the tribe of murderers. The club smashing her in the face, shattering every bone in her head, and then nothing. She was gone, and I was going to make them feel every bone that they had ever broken. Harbinger worked furiously, but it never stopped. My actions were not of my own, as I lay waste to yet another Orc. The bodies piled up behind me. A wake of death and destruction left in my path. I caught a glance of the Chieftain; he had stopped shouting orders and was now searching for an escape route. Let him try. With my powers and Harbinger in my hand I will hunt him down to the ends of the world. With every parry of my sword came another stab into the neck or chest of an Orc. I was fulfilling my destiny. I had become the one to eliminate an entire race. So this is the true feeling of being a God? I thought as I removed Harbinger from the forehead of an uglier than usual Orc. I was near the Chieftain now. Any moment his blood would be engulfed in to the never ending pit of my weapon. One last Orc stood between me and the Chieftain. Obviously his last line of defense, as this one was among the biggest Orcs I had ever laid eyes on. He charged me fast and furiously, I side stepped and stuck my foot out. The giant Orc had proven to be more clumsy than strong. Ah, I never get tired of that move. I walked up behind him and sat in the middle of his back. I placed my weapon directly in front of his throat, and with my free hand grabbed the blade of my sword. I leaned in and said, “I know you don’t understand me, and that’s fine. But I want you to know that your kind killed my entire family. Everyone I have ever loved in my lifetime. That is why you die tonight.” With a quick pull of Harbinger, all that remained was the Chieftain and I. I stood up from my last victim and turned to face the Chieftain. He cowered on his throne of human bone. I sneered at him and said, “You were given the chance to live. Now it is time that you die.” I walked toward him slowly, but with meaning. Harbinger hung loosely at my side, thrumming in anticipation of feasting upon royalty. As I neared the throne the Chieftain let loose a kick that caught me directly in the chest. I heard my sternum snap under the pressure of his foot. I bent over to try to let it heal when I was kicked directly in the head. Stars began to swirl around me. Darkness threatened to take over. I slammed to the ground as the Chieftain kicked me repeatedly in the ribs. Blood filled my mouth after a solid foot to the face. The Orc showed no signs of slowing down as the kicks continued. I tried to draw Harbinger up to deflect a blow to the stomach, but the vicious warrior instead aimed for my wrist. Shattering it in four different places, Harbinger flew from my grasp and embedded itself in the trunk of a giant oak tree. I had been bested. Defeated by the one creature I had vowed to eliminate. The beat down continued as the darkness consumed me.

I was standing in the bowels of Reign’s Hall with Dante. He repeatedly bashed his fists into my side, cracking several ribs. “Do it Aerol!” He shouted. “Draw upon the energy that was bestowed upon you.” The blows continued on, each one harder than the last. “I…I can’t…Please Dante, stop. I can’t do it ok!?” I yelled back at him. He finally relented and took a step back. He checked his hands for bruises. Of course there weren’t any. “Never say that you can’t. You have been given a gift Aerol, a gift.” He said matter of factly. “You only have to search within yourself to find it. It is there, and when you find it, there is not a creature out there that is more powerful. Being a Druid is an honor. Treat it as such.”

The Chieftain’s foot flew toward my face once more. I reached up and snatched it out of the air, flipping him over onto his belly. I stood up and marched over to the Orc; I picked him up by the scruff of the neck and lifted him a foot off the ground. “That is the last time you will ever kick any thing again!” I drew deep within myself and channeled ever last ounce of energy I could find. I reached back with my fist and, for the first time in over two years truly felt free. Free from Zeshua and Harbinger. Free from my quest. I felt freedom from everything. With my fist drawn back I looked at the Chieftain in the eye and let him loose. I removed the crown of feathers from his head and said, “I am only going to say this once, GO! Go far away from here and never return. GO NOW!” The Orc, with shock on his face did as he was told immediately. I walked over to the gigantic Orc and placed the crown upon his head. I dropped to my knees and said a small prayer to Gaia. “Gaia, please see to it that these Orc find their way into the afterlife…” There was a long pause. “I’m sorry.” I stood up and went to where Cirania’s dead body hung. “Oh my love, I never meant for any of this to happen. Please, wherever you are, please forgive me.” I grabbed the club that had dealt my wife her death blow and placed it in my satchel for safe keeping. I searched around camp for the Battle Mages clothes and eventually found them stashed inside a hollowed out tree. I dressed Cirania and folded her arms across her chest. “I’m taking you back to Darckston, and I’m going to give you a proper burial.” I then took the remaining clothes and folded them in a pile in front of the other Mages. Grabbing a piece of rock from the ground I proceeded to free the Orcs’ hostages. I picked up Cirania and stopped to grab Harbinger and my trench coat. I put on the coat and shoved Harbinger in my satchel. “I’ll deal with you later.” With Cirania in my arms I left Orcshire. Somewhere, somehow, I could see Thresh smiling. I said, “You were right old friend. You were right.”



Author's note; if you enjoyed these writings, join our blog group or go to my new blog page. The address is http://aerolreign.blogspot.com/ I hope all will visit. By joining our blog group you can follow the Chronicles of Desidarious Devenshire, written by my friend Dustin Green. And the Tales of Paralay Vextar, written by Damon Tinsley. If you don't want to join the blog group, then at least go to their pages and read their stories. Desidarious' story has already begun. And Paralay's have only just begun. Eventually, all three stories will become one. So you'll need to stay in the know. I hope you all enjoyed the eleventh chapter of The Adventures of Aerol Reign: Game Over

Chapter 10: Ne Flerana

I closed my eyes just as the sun rose up over the horizon and begun to poke through the protection of the trees and limbs above me. I had dug out perhaps my best underground shelter to date; I was underneath the same enormous maple tree that just minutes ago Thresh had rammed my head into. There was enough room under the roots of the maple for me to stretch my legs out and sit up if I so desired. But for now I only desired sleep. Sleep to heal the wounds Oases had caused upon my face. Sleep to heal the knot on my head that the maple tree had left. Sleep just to slip away from going insane due to the fact that I had been undeniably betrayed by my wife and my dearest friends. As my eyes finally found their way completely shut, visions began swirling inside of my mind.



An Elven Ranger sat alone on the top step of a magnificent castle. The walls appeared to be made of white marble with gold accents all throughout. The Ranger sat with his head resting in his right hand. His arm supported by his knee. Hanging from both hips were two glorious swords barely visible through the dark green cloak. Out of the tree line from the south came two more Rangers. One dark headed male and one fair headed young female approached the castle steeps with purpose. A conversation ensued, with the two new guests doing most of the talking. The seated Ranger looked up at the others and mumbled a few words, only to hang his head in his hands once more. The younger female reached for the Elf's cloak. She gave one last look at her elder Ranger, then grabbed the cloak and removed it quickly. She handed the cloak to her elder then turned her back and walked back down the castle steps. The raven haired man began speaking again for a length of time. The seated Elf looked up and only mustered a small whimper as he let his head hang to his chest this time. The male Ranger turned his back to his fallen comrade and rejoined his companion at the bottom of the steps. Together they walked back from whence they came and the now cloak less Ranger was alone once more.



I watched him sulk for what seemed like hours. While he wallowed in his own self pity, I admired his swords for the same amount of time. I could tell just by looking at them as a whole that they were swords of power. I was also being told so by Harbinger, and it wasn't pleased at all. The weapon on the Elf's right hip was made of some sort of green material. It was almost see through, like a thick sheet of ice. The hand guard was decorated with jewels of every color that seemed to glow like the sun. The handle was wrapped in the finest leather I had ever laid my eyes on. It just hung from the Elf's belt as if it had no purpose. Harbinger let me know otherwise. My sword of power shivered and hummed in its sheath so much, I thought it was going to lunge for the Elf by itself but it remained where it was. The sword on the left was a typical looking weapon. The only thing that separated this sword from any other was the gold flakes scattered along the thin blade. As I admired this sword from a distance I could feel Harbinger's hate welling up within me. I closed my eyes tight and turned away before I let my sword of power take hold of me. I calmed myself enough to turn back to the secluded Ranger. When I did, there was yet another Ranger standing at the bottom steps of the castle. Hope had finally been restored to the hopeless Ranger. The new visitor spoke with such a booming voice that I had to cover my ears to keep them from bleeding. I tried to remain focused on the conversation. But I could hear nothing except loud booming, like a drum being beaten upon mercilessly. The Ranger on the ground raised his right arm and with some sort of magic removed the fallen Ranger's weapons from his sides. This Elf was now truly alone. Everything seemed to have been taken from him. The Ranger who confiscated the weapons turned and looked directly at me. He gave a wink, and then was gone. I watched the once proud warrior walk slowly in to the forest, and then he was gone as well.



I removed my hands from my ears and examined them closely. They were dripping with blood as was my ears. I concentrated on healing as best I could. I closed my eyes to try to ease the pounding in my head, it was no use. I opened my eyes again and found myself standing on the ground face to face with my father. I dropped to my knees and had I had the ability to cry, I would have. "Father," I said, "I have missed you and Mother so much. I am doing my best to avenge your deaths." I hung my head in shame, knowing that I had not yet done enough. My father spoke, though it was a voice not familiar to me. "Aerol Reign, stand up." The voice that came from my father's mouth was not my father's at all. This voice resonated with so much power that at its command I did as was told. Now standing my father spoke again, "I am not your father or your king. I am who I am." I looked upon his face and confused said, "You do look like him. But the voice is…different. If you are not my father, then I demand to know who you are!" The impersonator never flinched or wavered as he said, "I do not take demands from mortals. But as time is very short I will say that I am who you want me to be. I appear as you need me to, so that what I have to say sticks. Thus, I have appeared before you as your father." I shook my head and turned to the direction the lonely Elf walked just moments before. "What do you need to tell me that is so important?" The man clasped his hands behind his back and said, "You have been warned by your friends and family many times about the dangerous path you are traveling on." I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "Should at some point in your travels you decide to let yourself be redeemed, there will come a time when what you just witnessed will come to pass. It will be up to you to redeem another so that you can pay back the debt and sacrifice made for you. Do you understand?" I sat upon the warm sun soaked grass and studied what my father had just explained to me. After several moments I looked up at him and said, "Yes, I understand. But how will I know when and where to do this? I do not even know this Elf that I have been shown." A smile came across my father's face and he said, "You will know this man very soon, and you already know what this place looks like. You will know when it is time. However Aerol I must warn you that if you continue down the road you're on, what you have just witnessed will never happen. But a greater tragedy will occur in its place. You have been warned for the final time." I opened my mouth to speak, but the man who looked like my father had vanished. I sat soaking up the sun for what seemed like an eternity when I seen myself exit through the tree line and head toward the castle. I was different. I didn't seem to carry the worries…..BOOM!!!



My eyes flew open as the tree I was using as shelter began to shake. I dug out a small hole to see what the commotion outside was. There was a group of ten battle mages standing just beyond my temporary crypt. They were not the Dragon Mages that Thresh spoke of. Another deceit by the traitor, they were just battle mages. They were hurling spells at the tree trying to knock it to the ground. The magic warriors had already decimated half of the forest in their attempts to find me. I can fight them, and defeat them all. I pulled Harbinger from its sheath and began to dig my way out when I heard a slight crack in the air just behind me. "I would not dare try that Aerol. It would be quite foolish of you." I whipped my head around and to my surprise was my sire, Dante. I pushed aside my astonishment and said, "I have to do this, it is part of my quest." Dante just sat very calm and still and said, "Is your quest to die? Have you seen who is approaching from the east as I have? Have you seen who is leading this fight? If you had, you would come with me and leave Orcshire for now." I turned my gaze back to the mages outside. Dressed in blue robes was my wife, Cirania. I looked back at Dante, "Who is approaching from the east?" He let a smile cross his face, "Dragon Mages. They have been sent here by the one who promised you the world." Stunned, I looked down at Harbinger. "No, no it can't be. He told me…" Dante interrupted, "Exactly what you wanted to hear. Now he knows that you can be saved from your destructive path. He feels if he cannot have you and I to himself, then no one can." Thresh had been telling the truth all along. What have I done? How many people that I cared about have I harmed? I…I must finish this! "Fine Dante, take me out of here. But I will return soon, and I will finish what I have started. Then I will seek the redemption that is out there for me." Dante reached out and grabbed my right shoulder and said, "Spoken like a true Reign." I heard a light crack in the air once more, and we were gone.



When I awoke two days later I was underneath a giant sequoia tree. I dug a little earth out to find out my position. Everything was quiet. I could see a roaring fire just off in the distance. I also heard the grunting language of the Orcs. I was just outside of the Chieftain Orc's camp. My mission was near complete.




Author's note; if you enjoyed these writings, join our blog group on myspace. By doing so you can follow the Chronicles of Desidarious Devenshire, written by my friend Dustin Green. And the Tales of Paralay Vextar, written by Damon Tinsley. If you don't want to join the blog group, then at least go to their pages and read their stories. Desidarious' story has already begun. And Paralay's have only just begun. Eventually, all three stories will become one. So you'll need to stay in the know. I hope you all enjoyed the tenth chapter of The Adventures of Aerol Reign: Ne Flerana