Pyrus: War

Just The Beginning

I shoot up in bed. A dream. It was just a dream. I repeat that to myself over and over. What a strange dream. I suddenly remember Vulcan is gone and my eyes well up. I try a minute to compose myself before heading to the mess hall for breakfast. I don't feel like cooking.
  Sun and Moon see me walk in and wave. I give a small, forced smile in response.
  They look at each other worriedly. Then, grabbing a tray of pancakes, they zip over and take a seat with me.
  Sun sets the pancakes down. I float one over using my magic. It lands with a resounding "plop" on my plate. "Hey, Pyrus, what's up?" Sun asks.
  "Vulcan. He's gone. Captured," I mumble. I still don't believe the words.
  Sun's face falls. He rests a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
  I shrug and sniffle. "It wasn't your fault," I say.
  Moon looks at me sympathetically. "We'll get him back," she promises.
  I try to smile. "Let's hope."
  "You should get some rest, Pyrus," Moon advises.
  "You kidding me? I just woke up!" I reply.
  She chuckles. "Not sleep, silly. Rest. Relax. Take a break. Et cetera, et cetera," she explains.
  I smile. "Ok. Am I allowed to eat first though?" I kid.
  Moon rolls here eyes. "No," she says sarcastically. I chuckle.
  For some reason, the pancakes taste better than they ever have. Pancakes. I never even thought such a thing existed. The idea seems so...absurd, yet so normal. I honestly wonder where all these new recipes came from. Chocolate, sugar, Honeywine...Richard must really have had some good contacts.
  After gobbling down my breakfast, I decide Moon is right. I head to my tower and go to a small, wooden room. In one of his books, Richard had noted it was a "meditation chamber", designed for relaxing your mind, renewing your power, and creating spiritual connections.
  The room is dark, with thick curtains blocking out most of the outside light. A single candle, that I quickly light, rests in a hole in the centre of the floor. Remembering the book's instructions, I sit down, closing my eyes. I breath deeply and try not to let my mind think about anything. I sit there, eyes closed, focused on breathing, for some time. My arms feel weird, but a pleasing weird. Like all the stress and tension is leaking out of them.
  Suddenly, I see him. The Decimator. I've never seen him before, yet I know it is he. He wears monstrous, black armour, covered in spikes, and has a thorny black crown sitting atop is head. His hair is jet black, his skin pale, his eyes cold and grey and pitiless. I shudder and try to wake from my meditative state, but I can't.
  I watch as the Decimator removes an orb from a trunk. The orb is a clouded black colour. The Decimator sets it on a black and gold stand. The orb begins swirling. The Decimator rests one hand on it and says a single word. "Rise."
  With that, he steps back, and a black torrent streams upward out of the orb. In the air, it splits into a hundred different streams. They smash back into the ground, and when they do, a hundred Scouts spring from those spots.
  The Decimator smiles a sinister smile. "Bring me the sacrifice," he demands. A Warrior enters the room, carrying a dead girl.
  "She is alive?" The Decimator questions.
  The Warrior nods. "Barely."
  The Decimator motions to ten of the new scouts. "Approach."
  The Scouts circle around the girl. The Decimator rolls up her sleeve, revealing two marks. Earth marks. The Scouts open their small mouths.
  And then I find out why they are called Soul Eaters.
----------------------------------------------------
  I summon the council immediately. I remember with a pang of regret that the adults are dead. Not good. I need their input.
  Much to my pleasure and surprise, Sun and Moon appear. To check on me? Or did they accept my offer?
  Once everyone is seated, I begin. "Thanks for coming, guys. I've got sine news," I start. "Ok, so, I was just meditating. Richard wrote about it in his books. It's supposed to be able to enchanted your abilities and even create a connection with the spiritual world, enabling you to potentially see the future, or see significant events happening."
  During my meditation, I think I made a connection. I...saw some things. Important things." I pause. "I know how the Soul Eaters are created."
  There is murmuring. I wait a second before continuing. "The Decimator summons then from a black crystal ball filled with a cloudy substance, which I believe is dark magic. And...I saw something else."
  Gale rolls her eyes. "Well? Tell us, then!"
  I take a deep breath. "The Decimator had a young sorceress brought in. He called her a sacrifice. She was still alive. They set her down and...ten of the new Scouts crowded over her. They sucked her manna, her light magic, right out of her. And consumed it. The girl died...and the Scouts became Warriors."
  There are mixed reactions. Flora looks mortified. Rocky burrows his face in Sky's arm. Sky and Lilly look remorseful. Gale, River, and Hurricane clench their fists, ready for a fight. Ready for revenge.
  Gale frowns. "Wait a minute...if the orb the Decimator uses is just that, an orb, why hasn't he summoned so many soldiers, even WE can't deal with them?" she ponders.
  My brow furrows. "Good point."
  Sky puts a hand on my shoulder. "Pyrus. You need to meditate again," she says. "We need to know more."
  I nod. "True. I'll get in that now." But before I can, the ground shakes and screams fill the air.
  I whirl around. "The hell is going on?" I ask no one in particular. I look out the window.
  Black spheres are sailing over our walls. When they land, they explode, sending blackness and death everywhere. I watch as a sorcerer is touched by a tiny part of black from an exploded orb. His arm goes black and he loses control of it. He...strangles himself.
  I look away. That, I cannot watch. The Soul Eaters have a new weapon.
  I don't even have to give a command. Immediately, the entire council is out the door, ready for a fight.
  It's pandemonium out here. People are running everywhere. Boise are piling up. The black orbs smash into the ground. The wall sentries are either shot down or abandon their posts. Soul
Eaters scale the walls into the Sanctuary.
  Guilt, rage, and bloodlust wash over me. The Soul Eaters will pay for this. I launch fireball after fireball at the oncoming Scouts. They disintegrate into black mist and float away.
  The Council at my back, I rush the attackers. Gale and Hurricane are at work, creating a storm. I look at Lilly, and she nods. We create a fire tornado. Then another. And another. Scouts and Warriors alike are sucked up, charred, then flung out to goodness knows where. Rocky and Flora prove their might. They collapse the Sanctuary walls then immediately reform them, crushing, shredding, and decapitating any Scout unlucky enough to have been on the walls. River sends huge amounts of water crashing down on Scouts, hard enough to break bone and shatter skull.
  Then the lightning comes. River quickly soaks every visible Scout and Warrior, making the already deadly bolts of electricity even more dangerous. Plus, the thin film of water covering the ground (yet dispersing around the feet of every sorcerer and sorceress) causes the shock to travel, taking out 20 birds with one stone, so to speak.
  Our defence is going well, and the residents of the Sanctuary have rallied. Slowly, we begin pushing the Soul Eaters back. Finally, they pull into a retreat.
  But it's not over. Looking over the walls of the Sanctuary, I can see thousands of campfires. We are under siege.
  I spring into action. If it's a fight they want, a fight they'll get. In the light of the moon, I begin to organize our defences.
  Turns out, Earth elementals are not limited to rock. Anything originating from Mother Earth is theirs to control and create. Massive iron spikes are installed all around the Sanctuary. The walls turn into a death trap. We cost the walls in thick iron and I use magic to create a one-way shield over the top of the Sanctuary. Our shots can get out, but the Soul Eaters' weaponry will be proven ineffective.
  My Water elementals help create a moat all around the Sanctuary, and we line the bottom with spikes.
  My Air elementals create a permanent gale outside of the moat, intended to sweep away any and all attackers.
  I seal the entrance to the Sanctuary. As a last minute thought, I have the Earth users create an iron shield underneath the Sanctuary. No tunnelling in.
  And then I add the finishing touches. I set everything outside the Sanctuary ablaze. The walls of the Sanctuary light up. The metal keeps it's form but becomes searing hot. I heat the spikes in the most, causing the water to boil. But thanks to it being magic, the water does not evaporate. The area inside our windstorm becomes an inferno, the flames spurred on and driven wild by the gusting winds.
  The Sanctuary has gone from a place of refuge to an impenetrable fortress.
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  The next morning, our defences are put to the test. Firebolt at my side, I stand atop the Sanctuary walls, watching and waiting for an assault. Then it happens.
  Thousands of enemies rush towards us. The first line reached the edge of our storm, and is swept up, their smoking, charred remains scattered across the battlefield.
  This causes a hesitation in the second line. But then some warriors create a small opening, a passage way. Soul Eaters continue on, two by two.
  I frown. "People of the Sanctuary! Thx is your home! Defend it at all costs! OPEN FIRE!" I holler. With a bloodcurdling battle cry, the entire surviving residents begin assaulting the offenders.
  Our enemies are slaughtered. Coming in two by two, they don't stand a chance. No sooner then they are inside the storm, magic cuts then down. The attack is over as quickly as it started.
  There is a cheer from my people. We won. And not only did we win, we annihilated. Not one casualty, not one injury. Nothing.
  However, we know it is not over. The time for celebration is not now, but when it is over. When the Soul Eaters left. When the Sanctuary was free.
  Guard duties are arranged and posted. Construction teams create catapults, ballista, and more. Towers are erected along the Sanctuary wall. We are prepared for a siege. And we will not lose. Cannot lose. The fate of the world, the fate of magic, rests on our shoulders. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if the Decimator was allowed to conquer. Life as we know it would cease to exist.
  I stay up all night and all next day with the guards, refusing to sleep. Eventually, Gale forces me to go to bed, but only after I make her promise to wake me up in a few hours.
  I reluctantly descend from the wall and head to my tower. Firebolt is there waiting for me. He hasn't been the same since Vulcan was captured. He lost his father, after all. Another thing we now have in common. My poor dragon now roams around the tower all day, mournfully sleeping at night.
  I invite him into my room. He gives me a meek little smile and hops up onto my bed. I lie down and close my eyes.
  No sooner than I do, my eyesight starts swimming. Images swirl before me.
  Suddenly, they stop. I am now seeing a vision of a large, red dragon. Vulcan. His yellow eyes are in pained. His posture is slouched. His claws are haggard. He looks awful. When he glances at me, I see something even more horrifying. His eyes are tainted with black. The black runs in his veins. And now that I know what I'm looking for, it is evident all over his body. His wings, his tail, his scales. They all share black cracks running through them. He lets out a snort of fire. Black fire.
  I look away. It's only a dream, a nightmare, I know that. But I can't wake up. My brain won't let me. Instead, I am forced to watch as my friend is stuck in this tormented state.
  Suddenly, a Warrior walks in. He is guiding a teenager. A boy. This boy is blonde, with shaggy hair like mine. Two air marks are clearly visible on his bare arms. He is topless and muscular, and is struggling against the Warrior's grip despite being hopelessly overpowered.
  The Warrior shoves the boy to the ground. The boy stands up and brushes off his black pants. His back is criss-crossed with red lash marks.
  The teenager looks up at the dragon before him. "Vulcan," he whispers. "What have they done to you?" That's when I recognize the teenager. Ozone. But why is he in my dream? It makes no sense!
  The Warrior kicks Ozone back to the ground. Ozone winces. Then the Warrior looks back up at Vulcan. "Kill," he commands.
  Vulcan looks down at Ozone. Ozone looks up with pleading eyes. Vulcan's snout wrinkles, his eyes filled with conflict. I know he doesn't want to hurt Ozone, but something is trying to make him.
  "Kill!" The Warrior demands again, much harsher this time. Vulcan looks like he is struggling against bonds, which I suppose he is.
  Then, he stares defiantly at the Warrior. "No," he rasps. Ozone smiles.
  The Warrior snarls, than marches up to Vulcan. From his cloak, the Warrior produces a dart. It is dipped in an oozing, black liquid. Vulcan looks at it, terrified. The Warrior walks up to Vulcan's front leg. He rips out a scale. Vulcan howls. Then the Warrior jabs the dart right in to the hole. Vulcan screams.
  When Firebolt wailed for the loss of his father, I never thought I would hear a sound more heartbreaking, more horrifying. More pained. But the shriek Vulcan lets out trumps even it. He curls his head in, screaming. He digs his claws into the top of his head so hard, he draws blood. The blood is deep red, red like Vulcan's scales, but is tainted black. The black veins running through him surge and spread.
  After a few minutes if this tortured state, Vulcan stops. He looks up. His eyes are filled with a sadness, a pain that I never thought I would see from such a brave, noble, and strong creature. Vulcan's breathing is heavy.
  I can sense the Warrior smiling. "Kill," he orders again, a sadistic pleasure on his voice. The black in Vulcan's eyes surges again. I can see Vulcan fighting the liquid again.
  Ozone can see it too, I suppose. Because when the liquid wins out, Ozone is truly horrified. "No. Vulcan, I'm your friend. You know me. I'm Ozone. I know you wouldn't hurt me," he pleads. Ozone stretches out his hands defensively and begins slowly backing away. Vulcan bares his teeth. And lashes out with his tail.
  The blow knocks Ozone right off his feet. He hits the ground, hard. His legs are bleeding where the tip of Vulcan's tail caught him.
  The Warrior laughs. "Finish him," he commands.
  It's over before you can blink. Vulcan swipes his claws at Ozone. Ozone smashes into the stone wall of Vulcan's prison. Three crimson lines grow on his chest. He's dead.
  I scream. I cry. I wish I could launch myself at the Warrior, beat him to death with my bare hands, but it's only a dream. A dream I have no power over. And I am here merely as a spectator.
  My vision spins again, and I now find myself in a moonlit field thick with fog. A wolf appears. A black wolf. A Soul Eater wolf.
  But there's something different about him. He has these brown stripes on his back, unlike any dark wolf I have ever seen. He's also young, and translucent. I recognize him. He appeared in another one of my dreams once.
  "Well, hello there," he says to me. Just like last time.
  This time though, I don't wake up. "Wh-what just happened?"
  He shrugs, or at least, gives the wolf equivalent. "I sent you a dream."
  "Why?" I ask him. "Why would you torment me with such a monstrous lie like that?"
  He throws his head back. "Ha! Who said it was fake?"
  I look at him quizzically. "It was a dream. It was fake. Just like you."
  He laughs again. "You are very funny, Pyrus. I am not fake. My name is Dream-Walker."
  "How do you know my name?" I question.
  He ignores me. "I sent you that vision for a reason. I suggest you figure out why," he tells me.
  "It was a dream. It was fake. You're just a slave of the Decimator, here to torment me," I accuse angrily.
  "Am I, Pyrus? Ask yourself that. Am I really fake? Am I really evil?" Dream-Walker says.
  I glare at him. "Yes. You are. You are a monster. Why, I bet you and whatever Warrior commands you have killed more innocents than I will know. I bet that's all you and and your parents do. Kill."
  He looks back at me with a mixture of hurt and hatred. "You just crossed a line there, Pyrus. Why do you think you can see through me?" he spits. He responds before I can. "I'm dead. My pack is dead. My parents are dead. I am one year old, or at least was when I died. A year old. I hadn't even hunted my first deer. And do you know what killed me? Dark magic."
  I'm not sure how to respond. But that doesn't matter, because he does first. "So think, Pyrus. Am I real? I assure you, I am. And my allegiances do not lie with the Decimator."
  "You're. Not. Real," I state stubbornly.
  "Really? Fine. You know what, you go find Ozone. I'm going to let you wake up, and you go find him," he challenges. "What you just saw happened just before the second attack on the Sanctuary. It was real, and so am I. And when you can't find Ozone, you'll know that."
  My vision swirls once more and when it stops, am I awake. Looking up at the ceiling of my room.
  "Pyrus? Are you ok?" someone asks. I sit up. All my friends are crowded around me. Firebolt is sitting on the end of my bed. He looks worried.
  I touch my cheek. It's wet with tears.
  "Are you all right, Pyrus?" Flora asks again. I give my head a shake.
  "I don't know yet," I reply. "I need to find Ozone. Right now." And with that, I jump out of bed and run out the tower. I quickly summon a spell to lead me to Ozone's house.
  I open the door. "Ozone?" I call. No reply.
  I run out to go find Trench. I do fairly quickly. He's on the walls. "Where's Ozone?" I ask him.
  Trench looks down at his feet. A tear pools in the corner of his eye. "Gone. Captured."
  "No," I whisper, mortified. It can't be true. But it is. Dream-Walker is real. And Ozone is dead. "NO!"
  Trench looks worriedly at me. "Pyrus? Everything ok?"
  I look sadly at Trench. "No. It's not. Trench, I am so, so sorry, but Ozone is dead." My voice is so dull, so hollow, I don't even recognize it.
  Trench's face falls even more. "Oh my god." Then, looking up at me, he adds, "How do you know? And how did he die?"
  I bite my lip. "I had a vision. And...Vulcan killed him."
  Trench looks at me in disbelief. "No way. Vulcan wouldn't do that."
  I begin crying. "You're right. Vulcan wouldn't. But the Soul Eaters have destroyed him, filled him with something that has taken control of him. I'm so sorry."
  Trench breaks down crying along with me. The two of us just stand there, letting our tears fall freely.
  "Oh my god, Pyrus, what's happened?" Gale asks, appearing from behind. "First you run off, and when I find you, you're bawling your eyes out. The hell is up?"
  I try to compose myself. "Where's everyone else?" I sob.
  "Right here," Sky answers, running up beside Gale. The rest of my friends, Sun and Moon included, trickle in.
  I take a deep breath. And tell them everything.