Limit Of Fortune

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Panic stricken, and wild with alarm, not even Luna could offer any relief for Julian. They were young, far too young to construct a plan of some sort. They would need some more experienced assistance.

"Mare! Mare!"

The quivering voices rang through the forest, leaves crunching under foot. The three appeared to the nautical sea creature, eyes as wide as the moon. Right now, nothing in the world would be able to calm them down.

Mare Equo blinked, lifting his mighty head from the water calmly, "Hm?" he grunted lazily. They were always panicked, so this was nothing new from him. Teenagers always seemed to overreact.

Their voices melted in unison as they blabbered the story to Mare, bubbling over with frightened words. They didn't go very much into detail, there was no time for that. Their words were rushed, and somehow, Mare Equo could make out every word they said.

His calm demeanor instantly shifted to worry, dark eyes shining with concern. "That's it. That's the last straw." he grunted. They all knew exactly what he meant. Something needed to be done about their tyrant of a father. And they needed all the help they could get, as he not only had the entire dark forest at his side, but had control over an extremely powerful witch. An evil witch, at that.

Voice flat, Mare rushed to explain what they had to do, "Are you familiar with the fire lands? No? That's too bad. You must find a pair. A duo if you will." He explained their appearances, sloppy with detail but no one seemed to noticed

Luna peaked her brow, Ilios watching expectantly. Julian was distracted, his upset eyes looking lost. Worry was tight on his face as his brows knitted with anxiety.

"Bellus and Flamula. A dragon, and a fairy." Mare Equo mumbled.

Luna narrowed her eyes, nodding slowly. "I...I've seen them before. I'll recognize them." she proclaimed. She remembered seeing the pair swooping high above them when they were heading to spy on their father's meeting with the kingdom. She knew this would serve as a huge advantage for them.

~~

It was dawn, the blood-orange sun was filtering through the trees. Julius, Luna and Illios were awake, rushing to prepare themselves for their journey to the fire lands. It would be long, and dangerous, and they had to expect the worst. Weapons were a needed.

It didn't take them long, packing just water and some lunch, and they set off with sacks slung across their chests. The sun beat down upon their backs as they said farewell to Mare Equo.

Creatures of all kinds, some aggressive and some friendly. Plant life like you'd never seen before, trees like skyscrapers. The clouds seemed to gather as noon pressed upon them, giving the three a break from the brutal, hot sun.

They waded through rivers, trekked great mountains, and pushed through vast forests. Quickly, the bright sky slowly melted into darkness and shadows hung from the trees Everything simply reeked of death, as dark creeks lapped the sides of their already-dirtied shoes.

"This is the shadow-lands." Julian remarked cautiously.

"Thank, I couldn't tell from the pitch blackness." Ilios retorted sharply. She still wasn't a fan of Julian, and probably never would be. Maybe someday she would be able to trust him, but until then he would be forever on her bad side.

A thunderous crunch erupted from the bushes, rustling across the trees. The three huddled together, all grasping their weapons at their sides defensively. Julian pulled Luna to his side, stretching an arm across her protectively.

"Why Ilios, my dear, your looking as beautiful as ever." a voice croaked from the darkness.

Red eyes gazed razor sharp from the branches, and the growl rippled shivers down Ilios's spine. It was all to familiar to her.

The three-headed beast stepped from the shadows, glaring daggers into Ilios's very soul. Blood-red teeth glinted in a sinister grin. His lips parted in a sneer, "Miss me?"

She growled, "Triberus...what do you want?"
"You of course." he purred, circling the three, "it's all I've ever wanted."

If only she knew. If only she knew that the words were spilling from Triberus's jaws like acid, and they where not his own, but the viscous beasts that co-owned this monstrous body were so much stronger then him.

A sudden explosion of of light, erupting from the torch held in Julian's hand. "I know your one weakness."

The canine shrieked, recoiling away as the light burned his eyes. There was one thing, and one thing only, that shadow creatures like him couldn't stand. Light. Heat. They trusted the dark cold, and anything else was dangerous.

Julian stepped forward, waving the flaming torch in his direction, "Leave."

Triberus growled, the flames reflecting off the reds of his three sets of eyes. "Fine...fine..." he mumbled, slowly shrinking back into the shadows and vanishing into the darkness.

Ilios wiped her eyes, taking in a breath. "Thank you Julian." she sighed, not yet willing to admit total appreciation. She cleared her throat, trying to ignore what just happened, and walked by Luna and Julian to press on into the forest.

Thankfully, the volcanic tundra was not far away from the forest. Shadows broke way to intense light and and heat as smoke drifted across their feet.

Luna yelped as lava spewed from the earth, just inches from her feet.

Julian suppressed giggles, pressing on and squinting against the smoke-thick air.

A giggle, followed by a flush of clean air. The dark shadow loomed over the three as they struggled to see what massive figure was blocking the sun. 

A dragon, not too large, and fairly...innocent in appearance, touched upon the ground not too far away. A bright figure landed gently upon his nose, sparkling softly. Soft giggles tickled their ears as the two creatures gazed inquisitively at the trio.

"Bellus? Flamula?" Luna called out to them.

❅ Morgan ❅