Legends of Ivaloria

Chapter 28

"I did not murder your son," said Lord Gyros.

"Vaelor might have done a little bit of blackmailing to get Lord Rhaevon to join us," whispered Gryff.

"Why wasn't I told?" asked Alyssa.

"Because you would disapprove," whispered Eloria.

"I don't care," said Lord Rhaevon. "You wounded my daughter and almost killed her. And you might have killed my son as well, and you could be lying right now."

"I did not murder your son," repeated Gyros. "And I may have wounded your daughter, but I thought you didn't care about what happened to her."

This only made Rhaevon angrier. "Do you accept to fight me, one on one, or are you a coward to shrink away?"

"Well, my Queen Trisley would give me fair rewards if I killed the man behind the whole Uprising itself. So, yes, Rhaevon, I accept your challenge." said Gyros. He drew his sword.

Rhaevon had his sword out already.

"Wait!" said Alyssa. She ran towards Rhaevon, and told him, "Father, I have always loved you, even taking note of the way you treated me. You will always be in my heart. Now go and win this combat!"

Rhaevon nodded, and Alyssa stepped aside. Alyssa, Eloria, Gryff, and all the other soldiers surrounding them formed a circle.

"Ready when you are," said Gyros.

Rhaevon ran towards Gyros. The enemy Lord stepped to the left, and Rhaevon ran right past Gyros. But before Gyros could turn back, Rhaevon slashed at his armor. The sword dinged on the metal, and didn't make a scratch.

"This armor was originally made for Hywell Heirson," said Gyros. "Since your crew made a mountain collapse on top of him, I have now ascended to the rank of the best swordsman in Queen Trisley's army."

"You talk as much as Hywell did," threw back Rhaevon. "Why do you have armor while the others don't?"

"Simply because I invented it, and it's mine to keep and use," said Gyros.

"That just shows how selfish you are," said Rhaevon. In truth, Rhaevon was trying to make Gyros talk, so that he could identify weak points in the armor.

"There wasn't time to prepare suits for the whole army," said Gyros sarcastically. "I just chanced upon this mixture some days back, and by then Lord Limsay had already sent news of this battle."

"You have helpers and servants," said Rhaevon. "Couldn't you make with their help?"

"This is a surprising amount of talk from you, Rhaevon," said Gyros. "What is your play here?"

Rhaevon finally noticed it - the portion of the neck was not covered by metal. It was covered only by a cloth, easy to cut through.

"Nothing," said Rhaevon, and pretended to try an upper cut. Gyros raised his sword to parry the imaginary cut, only to find Rhaevon slashing at his legs.

The metal met the sword with a clang. Gyros laughed. "I'm covered by metal everywhere, my lord," he said.

"Not everywhere," said Rhaevon. He stood up, and slashed at Gyros's neck.

At first, Rhaevon thought he hadn't done any damage. That was before a red string appeared on the white fabric of the cloth.

"How-" managed Gyros, before falling to his knees.

"Eloria, you shouldn't have to see this," said Alyssa.

"No, I have to," said Eloria. She went forward, and stood beside Rhaevon.

"Eloria," said Gyros, as the life slowly drained out of him. "Save me."

"Save you?" said Eloria. She drew her sword, and stabbed Gyros in the neck, ending him.

Rhaevon turned to face Alyssa. "I won!" he said, letting a smile creep across his face.

"Yes, you won," said Alyssa, smiling back.

"Guys!" shouted a familiar voice, running through the army, which was still standing in a circle. "Get down!"

At the last moment, Astryn rammed into Eloria and took her down. Rhaevon, unfortunately, was not so lucky.

An arrow pierced Rhaevon's back and came out in front. Rhaevon gasped.

"Father!" said Alyssa, running towards Rhaevon as he went on one knee.

"I," said Rhaevon, gasping for breath.

"Yes, Father?" said Alyssa, tears in her eyes.

"I love you," said Rhaevon, and his body limped in Alyssa's hands.

Alyssa cried out in sorrow. The army erupted into fighting again.

Suddenly, the sky turned red. Alyssa recognized the hue, and stared upwards.

"That was an act of dishonor," boomed a sound.

The Crimson Enchantress flew through the air until she was right above Alyssa.

The enemy soldiers surrounding them were entranced by what they saw, and didn't move. Some of the smarter ones started running.

"Running won't let you escape from my wrath," said Lady Lara. She moved her hand, and the soldiers who were standing dropped to the ground, dead.

"You cannot run from me," said Lady Lara, and shot two bolts of white energy from her hands. The two bolts divided and re-divided, until they were the exact same number as the fleeing soldiers. The bolts hit them in the back, making them trip and fall.

A cannonball flew towards Lady Lara. She somehow caught the huge sphere in her hand, and crushed it into a thousand pieces.

"There is no escape," said Lady Lara Lym.