The Hunt for Peace

Chapter 12

Long ago, during the height of the Necromancer Conquest, the greatest of the animancers, MacBeth, dueled the fiendish Necromancer King in the now abandoned city of Essar. The former was an elf of noble birth, roughly 800 years of age. Sporting lengthy locks of white, as well as a beard to match. His eyes were like that of the night sky, and filled with bright stars. A vibrant aura surrounded his cloak and armor. He wielded a sword of grand magical power. Fearbreaker was its name, long and thin, and the material it was made of was like a mix between glass and diamond. It shone under the glowing aura of life that surrounded the esteemed animancer, indicative of the gods' favor.

Riding atop his phoenix, he clashed with the monstrosity that dared call itself an elf down below. There atop the skyscraper did the Necromancer King stand, clad in black armor from head to toe, with a skeletal design from the crown-like helm to the boots. The leader of the necromancers fired from his rifle. Bolts of energy fired at relativistic speed, composed of weaponized quasiparticles capable of accelerating a form of matter's slide into entropy. From newborns to dust within a picosecond. The animancer's glowing white barrier stood strong against the fire, and he retaliated by raining down a blast of concentrated power onto the skyscraper, vaporizing all of it and the city itself into nothing. Amidst the rubble, the Necromancer King stood, not having even flinched.

Their duel, said to have been one of the many throughout the war, and one of the few that ever actually took place on the continent itself rather than somewhere in the infinite expanse of The Dreamtime, upset nature itself. The earth quaked as the waters acidified, everything around them slowly decayed as meteors of dreadful green crystal fell from the sky. The power to destroy the universe and more within each finger on their hands, let alone the warring continent they both fought over.

In the end, the animancer was forced to withdraw. His phoenix corrupted and destroyed without chance for resurrection due to the king's deathly arts. Left behind in the battle was the sword Fearbreaker. The continent, wounded by their duel, regrew and reformatted itself. Ruined buildings swallowed into the earth as a mountain formed, fed by the sword's innate power. By the end of the animancer MacBeth at the once-wonderful city of Lightscrown, Mount Ysbaddaden had formed, with the sword said to still be at its peak. Unretrieved, unlooted, untouched.

Or at least that's how Eliseo puts it.

"Books and tall-talking orators with their stories," says Rakni. The two boys watched the festival outside, cups of drink in their hands. The middle of spring was a time for its own festivities, while some decided to go on a perilous pilgrimage to Adam's Rock, most in Gale celebrated with song and dance. It was as refreshing as wine to witness. Watching as people danced along the grounds. Bands along the sides with their instruments as people in the middle circled each other. Some held dirks, others held ceremonial shields. Wearing specially tailored garbs of various colors, and crowns of ferns as they emulate battles and duels while still maintaining a theatrical aura with each movement.

The Runts had the privilege of playing within a small outpost by the foot of the mountain Ysbaddaden, although it was more like a glorified theater than anything else. Either way, Rakni wasn't going to complain. Eliseo holds his cup sideways, not a drop of liquid leaving the cup. Rakni grabs a nearby cup of wine and hands it over to him.

"Hmm? Oh, no thanks. I'll stick to some water," says Eliseo. Rakni chortles, "come on Eli, no need to be shy. Not everyday we get to taste years-old grape elixirs"

"I thought they used cranberries for this?"

"They do? I wasn't really paying attention," Now it was Eliseo's turn to chuckle, "all that gobbling and little thinking is going to get you killed."

"Still better than just rushing off into the cold sea now, isn't it?"

Eliseo just rolls his eyes, "oh haha" he playfully punches Rakni's shoulder. If anyone else said that he would've probably just punched them legitimately, even if it meant breaking his knuckles.