Project Pegasus

V 1.1 Chapter 6: Castle of Vladik.

Dullahan, also referred to as the Headless Horseman, is a type of spirit originating from Irish folklore. This sinister being appears as a man or a woman riding upon a black horse, but the rider has no head upon their shoulders. Typically, the Dullahan carries its head under its arm; the head appears dead and rotten with a demonic grin spread across its face.

- http://monster.wikia.com/wiki/Dullahan

***

"We are here," Aria spoke stopping us in front of a huge castle. "The home of the previous Ruler of Veter Kingdom; the Castle of Vladik."

"It's huge." Emily's eyes brightened up while examining the walls.

The castle sat at the top of a cliff with magnificence. Fortified by walls, it was only accessible by a two bridge. Enclosed by a stone wall, a large building was installed at the middle supported by four giant pillars.

"This is so cool." The feeling was like a child going to his first time trip to a park. "This is so amazing."

"Hiiro, is there something wrong?" Emily spoke.

"Nothing. It's just that... my family always takes me to the amusement park when I was a child, but this is the first time I have seen a real castle."

"Hiiro, what's an amusement park?" Emily and Aria asked with puzzled looks in their eyes.

"O-Oh. Sorry, it's..."

After that, I explained to them what an amusement park is.

"Amazing, I want to go to this amusement park you said," Emily replied, happily while holding her scepter with both of her hands...

"W-well... I'll bring you there someday."

We walked towards the castle until we made it to the bridge where Aria then shouted, "I am Aria Silvermoon, daughter of the necromancer named Oliver Silvermoon! The girl beside me is also a necromancer named Emily Scarlet! Beside her is a Skeleton Knight named Hiiro Akira! Our village was attacked, so we fled and came to this castle!"

A few minutes later, the barrier disappeared. We then crossed the drawn bridge towards two massive wooden doors. The air was chilling, my bones felt a bit more brittle. Yet, it wasn't painful, rather, it felt good

Ahh. This is so amazing.

It was like that time I was walking from the chairs to the stage when I graduated middle school.

As we reached the doors, they opened, allowing us to pass through. We then traveled a few more meters until we reached the door of the main castle.

As I stepped inside, I felt the coldness of the marble floor through my bony feet. My excitement came back while looking into the crystalline tiles. Looking around the hall I noticed portraits of a headless knight riding a horse with a flaming head. He was also holding a round object that seemed to be a human head. There were also a lot of sculptures of him, each in a different position and angle.

A man then came to us wearing a white tunic with a sword latched in his waist.

"A pleasant day to you three," the man spoke while bowing. "My name is Satrillo Stradivarius. Please, come with me. The King wants to meet you."

***

The man took us to the throne room. In front, there he was, sitting in some sort of royal throne---the same being we saw in the portraits and statues. The detached head stared down at us from its lap.

"It's a real live Dullahan..!" I shouted in my mind.

Aria bowed gesturing us to do the same. "King Arthur, Your Highness. I am the one called Aria. We came here from the village of the necromancers."