Jophar Vorin

Iphigenia is our only hope now

The thick layer of ivory glaciers broke down by the massive weight of another layer covering it as if the snow had conquered itself.

A frosty and savage blizzard blew in every direction, shaking, distorting, and destroying everything that came in its way. The blizzard was so intense that even a human's bare finger might have frozen and parted from the hand as if it was never a part of the body but a possession of the ice.

Even under these impediments, in which even the wildest monsters seek sanctuary, a small group of people rode their centaurs to an uncertain destination. Most of them were unaware of the purpose of this expedition, some of them had doubts about this risk, but only one of them had hope clinged to this journey. Dyllon Edward, the knight and a nobleman, led his this expedition to the Prison of Anaxarete. For centuries, the prison kept the wildest outlaws away from other dynasties, such as wicked wizards, barbaric bigfoots, murderous Minotaurs, crazy cyclopes, grim Gorgons, and even dangerous dragons who were uncountable (there had been no controllable dragons since the time of the Ulalumic Wars). Among these callous beings was someone who gave Dyllon a shred of hope.

His mind went back to the moment when he was compelled to hold onto this hope.

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Death was breathing in the room, yet there was no mourning in the air. Everyone was either confused or worried because no one ever saw the brutality of death. They knew only the mercy that comes with it..

The king of the Mesoamerican Dynasty, Amias William, was neither dead nor alive, neither dying any soon nor was he living anymore, and he was neither happy nor sad – maybe he was guilty! Breathing heavily, with sweat pouring out of his body and sometimes even blood. He wanted to open his eyes, but every time he opened his eyes, a greenish pus came out, which was worse pain than a thousand needles plunged into a human eye.

The chamber of the king was crowded with his most trusted people: noblemen, knights, warriors, and councilmen. All of them were familiar and unfamiliar with the situation. They knew that it was time for the king to die, but none of them could tell why the soul was not eluding him. No physician or priest could guess why the king couldn't die. Perhaps, that was why they all elected to call Wizard Wyatt. Although wizards were not as trusted as they were before the Ulalumic Wars.

Among the most trusted noblemen, there was the closest companion, Dyllon Edward. He was sitting right next to the king's bed, trying to look strong but devastated inside. His wife, Leela, was sitting next to him, equally worried for her husband. She knew that Dyllon loved the king like a father – perhaps the only person he ever loved. She tried to talk to him, but she also knew that Dyllon would never show his emotions. She gently reached for her husband's hands to comfort him, but Dyllon recoiled in repulsion, pulling his hands away.

Dyllon rose from his position and moved closer to the king. He placed both his hands on the king's cheeks and looked at his worn-out, damp, and wrinkled face. He had light scars on his pale white skin, like awards for standing in the front row of every war. He used to have reddish, flushed skin that made him look valorous and venerable at the same time. Now his skin was pale white like a dead body.

Dyllon always knew that this day would come no matter how much he hated to think about it, but it came upon him even worse than he expected. His king was struggling with his health for days and everyone knew that it was the time for the king to depart. After all he was eighty-nine years old now, but for some reason the excruciating pain kept on increasing; sweating, bleeding and breathing, but not dying. In the absence of Dyllon, many of the king's most loyal men stabbed him in his heart, presuming that it might kill him, but it didn't kill him. The insolent gash kept on bleeding forever, but it didn't kill him. When Dyllon got to know about it, he was enraged by the mutilation they attempted on his king. He told everyone that the next person to humiliate the king would go to heaven before the king himself.