First Eclipse Chapter Three : The Quest of First Eclipse

Chapter Three
..::THE QUEST OF FIRST ECLIPSE::..

“Are you all set?”
            Master Rave asked as soon as he saw Reks exiting the castle gate. Although he was about to go on a quest, Reks did not seem to bring anything with him, except his sword.
            “Y-yes. Actually I don’t know what to prepare, so...”
            “Great. You need to travel light anyway. You’ve mastered survival skills, right?”
            “Yes, Dad. They’re piece of cake. I can live in a forest for months without food and…”
            “Let’s go. We don’t have time to lose.”
            Master Rave led his son the way. They went back into the town. The fire had ceased but there were some houses that were still on fire. Some knights and townspeople were trying to put out the fire using the nearby water supply but to no avail. Some Medics were helping the injured while the women and children were crying to discover the dead bodies of their loved ones.
            The attack was devastating. The royal town of Escendria had reduced to nothing but ashes. In just a few hours, the houses, the shops, the buildings, the landmarks, the gardens were burnt down in fire and turned to rubbles and debris. Many were killed – men, women, children, and elderly as their bodies were lying scattered on the pavement, the roads, and under the rubbles of woods and rocks, horrible and gruesome.
            As they walked through the town, Reks put an eye to every alleys and corners they passed. He was trying to see if there were any of the creatures lurking around. Thankfully they were none in sight. The creatures that were flooding the town somehow were gone and disappeared.
            Is it the knights who killed them all? They can barely defeat one, let alone hundreds of the creatures. They were very limited in number as most of them were dispatched to the nearby villages. Had they not been sent to the villages, the town’s state would probably not be as devastated as it was.
            Is it the golden light that perished the creatures away? Just like in the Central? As much as he wanted to ask his father, Reks was scared to. There was like a huge barrier between them. It was the only reason he did not ask anything about the quest up until this point.
            Soon they arrived at the town’s entrance gate. The town was surrounded by a huge wall to protect the townspeople from monsters of the surrounding forest. It seemed that the barricade was nothing compared to the creatures’ strength as it was almost half-destroyed. Same goes with the entrance gate that was now nothing but crumpled metal.
            Master Rave strode ahead of the gate, leading Reks to the wilderness of the forest.

            The main road leading to the nearby village was covered in bushes and shrubberies. It had been awhile since anyone used the road, except the knights. The monsters had made it difficult for the people to get in or out of the town.
            Master Rave strayed away from the main road and into the dark, thick forest. Reks had no choice but to follow him. Master Rave finally stopped as they reach a large clearing in the middle of the forest.
            “Reks, fight me.” Master Rave said, as he drew the sword he usually use.
            “What? Why?” Reks was puzzled.
            “The quest I’m about to give you is beyond any normal quest. The quest is forbidden by the King. It’s risky, perilous and filled with dangers. One small mistake can result in fatality. I need to make sure if you are the right person for it.”
            Reks gulped. He was not sure what he was scared for – fighting his father or the quest. Or maybe the two altogether. His father was not a Knight Master for no reason. He had been known to some part of the kingdom as the Dragon Slayer. As the name suggested, he had slain the infamous fire-breathing dragon, BlazeBreath as it was menacing the mining town Minos Simno a few years ago. Rumors said that he defeated the dragon just by using his right hand and the dragon barely touched him. The sudden reminisce of the people’s stories of his father’s brute strength and sheer power made Reks trembled as he drew his sword.
            Maybe he should turn down the fight and surrender. That way, he doesn’t have to face the battle against his father, or even go to the death-awaiting quest. Reks shook his head, disagreed with his own self. Reks tighten his grip on the sword’s hilt. He decided that it was the time. The time to prove his father his strength and worthiness!
            “Are you ready?” Master Rave pointed his blade to Reks single-handedly, having the confidence to defeat his son by using only one hand, just like he did when he defeated the dragon.
            “Never been more ready than now.” Reks’s eyes filled with determination.
            “Fight!”

            ‘Ching!’
            The clanking sounds echoed through the forest as Reks’s blade met his father’s. In just a blink of an eye, Reks appeared before his father and landed his first strike. Master Rave was caught off-guard but managed to parry the attack just in the nick of time.
            Reks was not hesitating to land several more blows to his father. Nevertheless, Master Rave had no difficulty evading and blocking the attacks. Reks took a step to the back as his father
almost slashed his sword through his head. Master Rave did not stop there as he continuously slashed and swung his sword to Reks.
            Reks managed to duck and dodge the deadly attacks. As he was crouching down, he took the chance and tried to kick his father’s legs, hoping that he would sprawl to the ground and the battle would be his victory.
            Unfortunately, his father jumped to midair and dodged the kick. His father lunged towards him from above but he was lucky as he rolled away instantaneously. He got up as soon as he could but his father had already launched a swing to his direction. Reks could barely block it that he was cut on his forearm. If it wasn’t his battle instinct to block it, his right hand would be gone by now.
            The cut managed to diminish Reks’s confidence. Master Rave took the chance and continuously hacked and slashed forward. Reks could barely parry the attacks while he tried to maintain distance from his father.
            As he was close to be cornered to a large tree behind, Reks blocked his father’s attack away. He took the split-second opportunity to turn around and climb up the tree. He kicked the tree beneath his feet and jumped over his father.  Now his father was cornered to the tree with nowhere to go.    Reks swung his blade forward. With only a few inches away from slicing his chest, Master Rave blocked the swing with no problem. Instead of drawing his sword back, Reks poured all of his strength to the sword and slowly, little by little pushed his father leaning against the tree. Their blades remained intact to each other. Trembling clinking sound can be heard echoing through the forest. If one of them drew his sword away, he would be gravely injured and may lead to fatal.
            Reks gained confidence as the situation seemed to be on his side. He pushed his blade stronger as it was only a few inches away from cutting his father’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe himself that he was winning the battle.

            ‘Chang!’
            Reks did a double take as he was not sure what just happened. In a blink of an eye, his sword that he was holding broken into half; half of the blade to the tip had flown somewhere mysteriously.
            “I told you to buy a new sword, didn’t I?” Master Rave said as he was inserting his sword back to its sheath.
            “What… just happened?” Reks was still shocked, his eyes wide opened, his hands shaky.
            “You pushed your sword hard and it broke, that’s what happened.”

            Reks stared at the broken sword he was holding. It had been quite some time he had used the sword. To make matters worse, he forgot to repair it at the town’s blacksmith. He was just about to win! All his hope to prove his father his strength shattered to pieces as he was defeated by his own foolishness. Reks was ready to hear his father’s insults and sighs.

            “You did great.” Master Rave patted on his shoulder.
            “I’m sorry…” Reks stared to the ground. “Excuse me?”
            “For you to manage to put up such a fight, you did great. Looks like I wasn’t wrong after all.”
            Reks shook his head in disbelieve. He couldn’t believe what his father just said to him. Although his voice was monotonous as he said it, Reks was overjoyed that he managed to impress his father, even just a little. Looks like all the years of his hard work had begun to fruit.
            “Are you ready for the quest, Reks?”
            Reks nodded enthusiastically.
            “Have you heard of the ‘First Eclipse’?”
            “Not really, no…” Reks shook his head sideways, though he knew he had heard of it somewhere before.
            “It is a fairy tale. Written centuries before the meteor crashed on the Eastern Continent. The tale foretold the forthcoming of the meteor and the apocalyptic consequences we are currently facing. The Oracles believe that it’s not an ordinary fairy tale, it’s a prophecy as everything written in the tale had happened accordingly. And as every fairy tales have a happy ending, so does ‘First Eclipse’. The Oracles believe that fulfilling the prophecy told in the tale is the only solution – to end our people’s sufferings, monster attacks, and the recent mysterious plague – to the ‘happy ending’. The problem is, the one and only ‘First Eclipse’ that were written in our language – some of the pages were torn and damaged. No one knows how or what leads to that ending as the tale was an ancient fairy tale thus had long been forgotten.”
            “So what should we do?”
            “That’s where you come in. I need you to find the original ‘Fist Eclipse’ ancient texts and bring it here for the Oracles to translate.”
            “And where can I get them?” Reks was filled with overconfidence. The quest sounded too simple for him, acquiring ancient texts. He was wondering what part of the quest made it so dangerous and risky, that made his mom worry to no end.
            “Where it was written; the Ruins of Rusgerath, Kingdom of Crecienith.”
            Reks gulped.

            He didn’t know that acquiring the ancient texts would have him venture through the kingdom of endless night and eternal darkness. In contrast to Escendria Kingdom, Crecienith had never had sunlight bestowed upon the land; the only light visible was from the large crescent moon floating above its sky, dimly illuminating the kingdom.
            Vast rumors spread about the land; dark creatures and monsters were vastly roaming, fatal disease spreading, and dictatorial queen reigning over the kingdom. The Black Blood Night incident had made the situation worse; the kingdom was now nothing more than a barren wasteland. There were hardly towns or villages there, only nomads’ camps and underground shelters. Reks couldn’t imagine what could be possibly deadlier than exploring the dark-infested kingdom.
            “It’s our only hope, Reks. Whatever written in the ‘First Eclipse’ holds the answer to our kingdom’s calamity. It shall lead us to a better future, to a happy ending.”
            Reks nodded silently. Knowing that the whole kingdom was depending on him to discover the texts did not help him overcome his fear one bit.
            “The King didn’t believe the First Eclipse’s prophecies. He forbade the quest, and that’s why I need you, Reks. I couldn’t trust the other knights, plus, they are all injured and wounded right now.”
            Master Rave took out a rolled paper from one of his sidepockets. He straightened the crumpled paper and laid it flat on the surface of a rock just beside him.
            “Now you have to pass through this forest and go to the trading town of Tradia.” He said as he pointed his index finger on the map. “Get a coach there. It’s the fastest way to get to the Escendria-Crecienith Border Gate. Pass through the Gate to northeast will get you to the Ruins of Rusgerath and there you shall find the ancient texts and bring them back here. Are you clear?” He said as he rolled the paper back and passed it to Reks.
            He made it sound simple and easy, but to Reks who have to go through the perilous quest, it was so much more than that. Going through the forest was not going to be a walk in the park. Countless monsters were waiting for him, especially the Ligers. Getting a coach to the Border Gate was no problem, but passing through it would be. Reks was more than sure no coach was willing to travel as far to the ruins, provided that the Gate’s knights was willing to let him pass. He will have to travel by foot and that would take him days the fastest, if it was not weeks. And the journey northeast to the Ruins was like a one ticket journey, he was sure he would not return, and God knows what dwell in an ancient ruin such as Rusgerath.
            Reks was shivering in fear.

            “What’s the matter, Reks? You can do this, trust me. You got more strength than you think you have.”
            Reks was taken aback upon hearing his father’s word. It was the first time he had ever trusted him on something and even motivated him to be stronger. Reks was overwhelmed that he almost cried, but he held back the tears as much as he can, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of his father. Reks clasped his broken sword tighter, gaining resolutions. He will not waste his father’s faith and expectation. He decided to take on the quest, and prove his father his worth.
            “It’s the only hope we have, Reks.”
            “You’re right, Dad. I can do this.” Reks said, filled with determination as he swung back and forth his sword to the air.
            “Yes, but not with that sword.”
            Master Rave detached the sword from his right hip and threw it to Reks. Reks’s hands sank lower as he caught it just in time. It was heavy, at least heavier than his old sword. He was shocked to see the sword’s hilt and its scabbard, there’s no way he is giving me this!
            Reks pulled the sword from its sheath. Though it was not glowing golden, its crystal-like blade and the engraved ancient texts on it – there’s no mistaking it! But why? Reks wondered. He knew the sword was his father’s most prized possession. He carried it all around but never used it. Whenever Reks asked why, he said it was so valuable he did not want to damage or rust it. He loved the sword so much, more than Reks thought his father loved him. To entrust the sword to him, he felt like crying. Finally he had won his father’s heart over that stupid sword. He would do whatever it takes to complete the quest, even if it costs him his life.
            “Beautiful one, isn’t she? It’ll help you in times of dangers. Soon you’ll understand what I mean.”
            Soon light rain began to fall, drip by drip, cueing Reks to make his leave into the forest. He felt heavy in his heart and legs, the whole idea of journeying to Crecienith was still hard to swallow, but he can’t let his fear overtake him.
            “May God be with you, good luck Reks.”
            Reks turned back and paused for a moment. Hesitantly, he ran straight to the darkness of the forest. He could not say anything to his father, not with his crying sobs. It was the first time his father had wished him luck, too.     

            

First Eclipse Chapter Two : The Light of Burning Flame

Chapter Two
..::THE LIGHT OF BURNING FLAME::..

“Are you sure, Rave? He’s just a kid!”
            In the midst of the silence of the town, sobbing cries of a helpless woman should be clearly heard if it was not the occasional thunderous roar of the sky.
            “He’s not a kid anymore, and you know it. You pampered him as if he is a little baby,” said a masculine voice, sounded so serious and determined with whatever he had decided.
            “So it’s me you blaming? You treated him so harshly! What had gotten into you? Don’t you feel sorry for him?” The woman paused as she sobbed. She took a deep breath and continued, “He’s yearning for a fatherly love! And now you’re sending him away for some life-threatening quest?” Her voice was shaking and trembling, taken over by her emotion.
            “I am not sending him away, Rielda. He’s the only one who can do it! This quest is forbid by the King, so I need to assign someone trustworthy for it. He’ll be just fine, Rielda. I have faith in him and you should, too. Besides, you do know what he’s capable of, right?”
            The cries started to calm and slowed down.
            “I know it’s hard to let him go on such quest, but believe me, he can do it! He’s our only hope.”
            A loud thunder growled in the sky.
            “I need to go now. Good night.”

            Reks heard the set of clanking footsteps walking past his room and down the stairs. Then it was the squeaky sound of the door downstairs before a thud. In fact, he heard everything what had his father and mother talked about, as their bedroom and his were only separated by a wooden wall – except he did not know who they were talking about. If the two did not have any other son he did not know of, then obviously it was him. But his father’s words – He’ll be just fine, I have faith in him, and he’s our only hope – made him almost sure it wasn’t him they were talking about. His father wouldn’t say such things about him, would he? Reks let the thought sank into his mind as he went to sleep.

******************************

‘Ding dong ding dong ding dong!’
            The bell rang as it usually did. Only this time, it did not end there. The bell was endlessly ringing, its annoying echoing sound was urging everyone to wake up.
            “Shut up, dumb bell!”
            Reks covered his ears with his pillow though he could still hear the rings loud and clear. It was not long before he noticed something was wrong – the only instance the bell will continuously ringing is when – there is an emergency! He hurriedly woke up and looked at the window. He had to squint his eyes as there was bright light escaped through his window – so bright he never had saw before. He could feel heat boiling his room from his open window. He cocked his head out of the window and sought for the source of the light and the heat. He was terrified by what he had seen with his very own eyes – the whole town was burning bright with flames. Thick black smoke was filling the air, filling the town with a foul smell. The houses collapsed to nothing but smoldering rubbles. Townspeople running and screaming for help, and the knights were helping them to evacuate to the castle. To his horror, near the knights were some dark creatures, trying to attack them. Some of the knights tried to fend the creatures off but were ultimately sent flying to the burning rubbles. The creatures seemed vicious and far too powerful for the knights to fight.  He wanted to help, but he was too far away to make it there in time.

            “Rekkkkss!”
            A woman was screaming hysterically from downstairs, awaking Reks from his traumatic state. He immediately knew it was his mother. He jumped out from his bed and grabbed his sword that was leaning against the door. He swung the door open before he climbed on the banister and flew to the floor below, landing with poise just behind his mother. She was standing still in front of the entrance door, trembling and terrified. Suddenly, a loud thud against the door came from the other side and made her fell to the floor. She dragged herself away from the door.
            “Mum, get behind me!” Reks commanded, as he drew his sword and readied his fighting stance. She got to her legs and dashed to his back. “Sorry mum, looks like I’m not in my shining armor like I promised. I’m on my pajamas instead.” Reks said, let out a chuckle.
            He strengthened his stance and gripped his sword harder as the thuds were getting louder and louder, trying to get into the house.

‘Dushhhh!’
            The door smashed to pieces. Reks and his mom covered their faces from the broken door pieces that were flying towards them. Black smoke from the flames was fuming into the house. From the thickness of the smoke, Reks could see a silhouette of a mysterious creature similar to the one he had saw attacking the knights. As the creature crept closer, Reks could see the creature in much horrifying details.
            The creature was nothing like any monster he had encountered before. In fact, none of the monsters he fought looked as vicious, filled with killing desire before, even the Bullzroar. It was black, from horns to tail, even its eyes were pitch black – except its white iris. Its four legs were equipped with a set of five claws each. It had three jaggedly horns; two on the side of the head and one right in the middle. Its edgy, blood-stained teeth were countless and multi-layered. Its tail was like a fish bone, except thousands times bigger and deadlier and had a sharp pointy arrow at the end. But – the deadliest of them all was the countless spikes all over its body, pointing in all directions, waiting to impale you to death.
            The hideous creature curled its body, making it look like a giant black spiky ball.
‘Zasssss!’
            The creature rolled itself towards their direction. Just before the creature could impale them, Reks and his mother jumped out of its rolling path and thankfully landed on a soft sofa. The creature rolled past them and crashed the kitchen. It shook its head, trying to regain consciousness after the impact. It tilted its whole body facing towards them and curled itself again. It was going for the second roll!
            “Mum, stand still! On my count to three, you jump to its left and I’m to the right.”
            Reks needed to make sure their timing was precise, fearing that their luck won’t be on their side this time. Furthermore, Reks figured that the creature was able to steer its rolling direction. If they evade too soon, the creature can steer towards them and crush them to death.
            “One, two…. THREE!”
            Reks’s mother did as told and Reks sidestepped to the right side of the giant ball killing machine. As it rolled pass him, he swung his sword straight through the creature using all strength he had. The sword sunk deep into its body and the swing left a wide cut to its body. Some of the spikes broke to pieces as the sword slashed through them.
            The creature crashed to the wall and fell to the floor. Its black bodily liquid was oozing from the cut as it struggled and moaned in pain. A few moments later, it remained silent and lifeless.
            To Reks’s amazement, the creature was slowly sinking into the floor, as if its shadow was a pool of water that drowned its body. Soon the creature sunk completely, leaving no trace except puddles of its black blood on the floor.

            Reks and his mother were shocked to see the strange phenomenon. They had never seen anything like that before. Reks knew he was dealing with something else than just mere monster.
            Reks grabbed his mother’s hand and went outside of the house. He knew it was only a matter of time before the fire swallow the house whole and burn them to crisp. The road outside did not make it easy for them to escape from the deadly sea of flames. The road to their left leading to the Central was blocked by smoldering rubbles and wooden planks of the burning houses. Fortunately that was not the only way to get to the Central. There were roads from the East and West Wing of the town that leads to the Central. Reks peeked through a small opening from the rubbles. He could still see from afar that the east’s road to the Central was still accessible while the west’s was filled with numbers of the ferocious dark creatures.
            Both of them had to take a detour to the East Wing of the town and pass the Central before they can head to the castle. They have to get to the castle as it had always been the safest and nearest place for the townspeople to go if there were any case of emergencies.
            Reks and his mother ran through the East Wing of the town using back alleys instead of the main road, fearing that they would come across the creatures. As they were running, Reks heard screaming and crying voices not far from them. A screeching voice and a sound of metal clanking were heard not long after. Reks sought for the source of the noise before he saw a fellow knight swinging his sword to a black creature in front of a group of women and children.
            Just before the creature could claw the knight, Reks appeared in front of him and blocked the attack just in time. Reks slashed the claws and manage to break some to pieces. The creature was in excruciating pain and left vulnerable. The knight and him took the chance and lunged towards the creature. Their swords stabbed deep into its chest. The creature fell to the earth with a crash, sprawled to its death.
            Just like the one in Reks’s house, the creature sank into the ground, slowly disappearing.
            “What is this thing?” The knight had the same expression of when Reks first saw the phenomenon.
            “One thing for sure is that this is not just some monster.” Reks replied, shrugging his shoulder.
            The cries of the women and the children had calmed. Only sobs were audible every once in a while. The women were hugging one another as they wiped their tears and comforted the children. Reks’s mother joined them. They were all terrified and traumatized. A few minutes ago they were sound asleep on their warm and comfy bed. But now, they were on the run for their lives, trying to survive both the burning fire and the bloodthirsty creatures, freezing in the night.
            One of the children approached to them.
            “Thank you, mister,”
            “You’re welcome, boy. Don’t you worry, it’s our job to keep you safe from dangers.” The knight tousled his hand on the boy’s hair. “Reks, can you bring them to the castle? I need to check out the town to see if there are any survivors.”
            “Yes, sir. Please be careful.”
            “Thanks for your help.” The knight smiled and ran into the town opposite of his direction.
            Reks led his mom and the group of survivors further west of the town, heading to the Central. It was not an easy trip as Reks had to fight the creatures that were lingering around the town and in the same time protecting the survivors.
            After a few turn in the corners and got to a wrong direction, they finally arrived at the Central. Reks decided that they should take a short rest after the breathless and endless run. Reks whimpered and panted, trying to catch his breath. By his instinct, he shifted his sight over his left shoulder, to the west entrance. It was dark as it was overshadowed by the shades of the building surrounding it. He could see movement in the darkness, as if something was emerging from the ground. He tried to squint his eyes, hoping that it would help him to see the darkness better from the distance. When Reks had realized what it was, it was already too late – countless of the mysterious creatures had emerged from the ground and it was now approaching to their direction.
            “Quickly, everyone! To the castle!” Reks commanded, signaling his hand towards the pathway leading to the castle. Everyone was terrified to see the approaching creatures as they raced to the castle’s gate. Reks trailed behind his mother. The two Royal Escendria Knights guarding the gate were ready to close the gate as soon as they passed through it. Everyone had but Reks and his mother.
            “Mum, you go first! Don’t worry about me!” Reks said as he was trying to release his hand from his mother’s grasp.
            “But Reks -!” His mother held his hands tighter, not wanting to let him go.
            “Trust me, Mum! Didn’t you say that I should be a hero, protecting this kingdom?”
            “But, Reks…”
            Tears trickled down her cheeks as she slowly loosened her grip on Reks’s hand. She reluctantly turned away, stepping up the stairs one after another and ran passed through the gate. She did not bear to look back to her son and the creatures that were approaching. She continued running while she wiped her flooding tears; tears of fear that she will never see her son ever again.

            “What are you standing there for? We’re closing the gate! Come on up here unless you want to be swatted like a fly by those things!” One of the royal knights yelled.
            Reks turned away from them, facing the creatures that were coming to their direction. He gripped his sword harder as he readied his fighting stance.
            The two knights looked at each other, their eyes wide opened.
            “What do you think you’re doing down there? Trying to get yourself killed?”
            “Even we, the experienced royal knights won’t be too bold to fight those things! Now let’s just get to the castle before they crush us all” The other said as he was going down the stairs.
            Reks clenched his teeth. “There are too many! I’m afraid it’s either we kill them here, or they’ll crash the gate and kill us all – the women, the children, the elderly, the King!” Reks refused to listen and strengthen his stance instead.
            “I think he’s right, Norman. I don’t think the gate manage to stand against them.” The knight’s hand gestured to the creatures that were now flooding the Central. The colourful gardens of flowers looked like a black ocean. The clock tower that once stood out in the middle of the Central could be hardly seen.
            “There’s no way we can do this, Paran!  It’s impossible!”
            Reks glanced angrily to the two knights behind him. “Impossible or not, dead or alive, kill or be killed, to the last drip of my blood, I shall protect this kingdom and its people! You call yourself a knight when you are too scared to hold your sword? Get up and fight!” Reks shouted. His eyes were burning with fire.
            Both of them were taken aback to hear what he had said. His words hit them hard. Although they hated to admit it, everything he said was right. They claimed themselves as royal knights but they don’t even have enough guts to hold their swords. All they had ever done was standing in front of the gate, pretending they were protecting it. That was what they were proud of the whole time. They had been guarding the gate for too long that they forgot how to fight and were scared to.
            “I don’t know about you, Norman but I’m fighting alongside this kid.” Paran unsheathed his sword and get on his position.
            “Too scared to hold your sword? Give me a break, boy.” Norman swung his sword to the air and get to his stance beside Reks.
            Reks’s words of wisdom had finally knocked some sense on their heads. Although three people were barely enough to fight the countless creatures, it was better than him to fight alone.
            The trio paced carefully heading to the approaching creatures – their swords were ready to kill. Soon the creatures were only a few feet away from them. One of the creatures flew out of the crowd and sprawled onto them. Had they not evade it one moment earlier, they would be splattered, crushed from the impact. The creature had a rough landing and struggled to get back up on its feet. The three of them surrounded the creature before launching several swings with their swords. The creature moaned before it remained still on the floor.
            “One down, many more to go!” Paran said as he pulled out his sword that sunk deep in its body.
            “Don’t put your guards down!” Reks commanded.

           

“Hiyaaaarghh!”
            The three of them charged to the sea of black creatures. They slashed and swung their sword sideways, ups and downs, and any other directions possible to the creatures. While doing so, they kept an eye to what was coming to their direction – the claws, the jaws, and the whipping tails. They jumped, crouched and blocked as they saw them coming. It was too crowded that every attack they evaded hit the other creatures. One of the creatures did the rolling attack but it crushed its own friends instead of them. Unfortunately some of the attacks were too fast that they were cut and bleed.
            They were constantly charging forward that they did not realized they were already in the middle of the Central. Before they knew it, the creatures were surrounding them, gnarling their teeth and readying their claws as if they were saying: “You don’t have anywhere to go but our tummy!”
            The helpless knights stood back to back, trying to protect each other. They grasped their swords tighter although deep down in their heart they knew they couldn’t make it. The creatures did not seem to be any less than before but their strength was. Their morale was down, but they forced their body to keep on standing to fight, despite that they were gravely injured. They were trembling and shaking for they knew what would their fate be for the next few minutes.
            “I’m glad I could fight alongside you, Paran.”
            “You too, Norman. Reks, we are really sorry for whatever we had done to you. Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, we would not be able to stand up, fight and die for our kingdom!”
            “No one’s going to die, Paran. We’re going to defeat them all here, get back to the castle, and tell to the people our victory!” Reks said, trying to raise their morale.
            “Bring it on!” Paran and Norman shouted as loud as they can.

            The creatures surrounding them curled themselves up, forming a ring of human-impaling spiky balls.
            “On second thought, don’t bring anything on, please?” Norman, as well as the other two was terrified.
            The three knights were sure now more than ever that they were going to die. There was no way they could escape that! The creatures rolled towards them. The surrounding ring was getting smaller and smaller, trying to crush whatever standing in it. Reks closed his eyes, not wanting to witness the horrifying scene of his last moments of life.

            A bright luminous light suddenly beamed into the air. It was so bright that it escaped through Reks’s closed eyelids. He slowly opened his eyes to see what had happened, but everything was bright and white he could not even see his own hands.
            “What’s going on?” Norman asked, frightened.
            “I don’t know, I can’t see a thing!” Paran said
            “Maybe it’s light from heaven! I think we are all dead!”
            Soon the miraculous light slowly faded. The white colour of the surrounding slowly turned darker and darker as it was before. As their eyes had adjusted to the fading colour of the radiant light, they could see their surrounding sharper and clearer. They could see the clock tower, the flower gardens, the burning houses, the mighty castle – everything except the creatures. The creatures that were flooding the Central a few minutes ago were nowhere in sight. It was either their eyes were playing trick on them or the creatures had just magically disappeared.
            Reks could see a silhouette standing at the west entrance of Central. He was holding a sword on each of his hands. The silhouette became clearer as he was walking closer towards them, out of the shades of the buildings and into the sunlight.
            The two knights behind Reks stood straight and saluted as they recognized who it was.
            “Knight Master Rave!”

******************************

            The castle’s basement although it was as large as the castle, was crowded with people. The townspeople were evacuated there for safety. It was the safest place for the townspeople to go if there were any cases of emergencies – earthquakes, fires, natural disasters, monster attacks but not the most pleasurable place to stay. You can hear children screaming, women crying, men fighting, elderly folks snoring and farting. The foul stench of blood and smoke filling the air was unbearable.
            At the corner of the basement was an enclosed room equipped with small beds. It was a medical room to treat sick and injured people, handled by a team of medical experts known as Medic.
            Reks rested his head on a pillow. The bed he was lying on was not as comfortable as the one he had in his room, troubling him from sleeping. A female Medic was treating his wounds and injuries, applying antiseptics and bandaging them. He only had several cuts and bruises, very lucky compared the other two royal knights who suffered fractured legs and torn muscles.
            Aside the hard bed and the itchy wounds he had, something kept him from resting. His head was puzzled with riddles. What was that light? Where did it come from? Was it from his dad? Was it his dad who made the creatures magically vanished? What are those creatures? What do they want? Why did they attack the town and the castle?
            Reks had a strong belief that the light came from his father – or specifically the sword. His father was holding both of his swords when he saw him. He had always carried the two swords everywhere he goes, but it was the first time he had ever seen his father drawn that sword. The sword with the dark blue metal hilt and a shiny sun-shaped gold attached to where the hilt joined the blade. Reks drew the sword from its sheath before when he was a kid and saw the stunning details of the blade. The blade was white and shiny as if it was made of fine crystal. He could clearly see his own reflection from the blade. The base to the tip of the blade was engraved with ancient text that can only be translated by the Oracles. Its edges were sharp that he almost cut his finger just by touching it. Ultimately, as Reks drew the sword, it was glowing bright blue. Reks believed that the sword hold some kind of magical power that he could never fathom.
            “Are you done resting, Reks?” His father’s sudden appearance shocked him.
            “D-dad? I’m sorry. I was just getting my wounds treated. I didn’t mean to slack off or anything.” Reks got up of the bed quickly.
            “Are you okay?”
            “Um, yes. It’s just minor injuries. Those things barely hurt me. See, I’m fine!” Reks gestured his hands to his body.
            “Great. Here’s your uniform. I got a quest for you. I’ll fill you in the details later. But first you need to tell your mother now. I’ll be waiting right outside of the Castle.” Master Rave walked out of the room.
            As he was excited with his first quest for the past few months, Reks quickly put on the troublesome uniform that his father just brought him. It was probably from the Escendria Knight’s store room since the smell wasn’t too pleasing. As he came out of the medical room, his mother was already waiting, her face soaked with tears.
            “Reks, I thought you’re gone!” Her arms spread and hugged him mercilessly, crying happily seeing her son safe and sound.
            “I’m alright, Mum. Geez, it’s embarrassing.” Reks whispered as he tried to escape from his mom’s deadly clasp, but he failed miserably.
            Suddenly his mom was silent and her embrace loosened. She put her face on his shoulder and cried silently.
            “What’s wrong, Mum?”
            “I’ve only just see you safe, and now he’s sending you on a quest.” She sobbed.
            “You knew?”
            “He told me about it. It’s a dangerous quest, Reks. Please don’t go. Tell your father you don’t want to go.”
            “I can’t, Mum. I don’t want to disappoint him. I’ll be alright, don’t worry. Didn’t you tell me that I’m the strongest man lived on this planet? Nothing can hurt me! Look, I’m fine!” Reks was trying to console his mother, there was no way he would turn down the quest. If he could not impress him, the last thing he wanted to do is disappoint him.
            Reks found his mom’s behaviour rather strange. Usually she would encourage him and ask him to be strong, but now she was crying, hoping that he would not go for the quest. Maybe the quest truly is dangerous, not cut out for him?
            “I’ll be back, I promise.” Reks kissed his mom on her forehead and casted a smile to her. She calmed down but her tears were endlessly flowing from her eyes. Before he went up the stairs to the Castle’s surface, Reks turned to take one last look of his mother. He had a feeling that he would not be able to see her face for a long time.
            “Goodbye.”
           
           
           

           
           

            

First Eclipse Chapter One : The Kingdom Under The Sun

Chapter One
..::THE KINGDOM UNDER THE SUN::..

‘Ding dong ding dong ding dong!’
            Three sets of rings from a gold crafted bell echoed through the royal town of Escendria. The ringing bell came from a clock tower in the center of the town, automated using gear system so that it rang every hour. Beneath the bell was a giant clock, pointing its short hand to 10 and its long one to 12. It was already time to be awake, but it seemed the townspeople were still in their deep slumber. Windows of houses were still shut, doors locked, shops closed. It looked like the bell was no longer effective to help the townspeople differentiate times – whether to sleep or to wake – especially Reks.
            Reks covered his ears with a pillow, annoyed by the ringing sound of the bell.
            “Shut up, dumb bell!”
            He let out a huge sigh before sitting up while his legs were still sleeping under the duvet. He stretched his body as far as he can while letting out a huge yawn. His neck-length blonde hair looked like as if he was electrified by a lightning, causing them to stand upright. His hair fringe covered half of his forehead. His eyes squinted to the light that escaped through the window to his left. He jerked his head out to look at the ringing clocktower. No way, I’m late!
            “Mom,  why didn’t you wake me up?”
            He yelled, hoping his mom would hear it. When it came to waking up late, he always blamed it on someone else but himself, and his father, of course. He did not even dare to speak up to his father, let alone blaming him.
            Reks jumped out of the bed to take a quick bath and put on his Escendria Knight uniform. Aside from waking up from bed, putting on his uniform was the thing he hated the most. There were too many things to put on. Firstly, he needs to put on his dark red shirt and black pants. Then, he needs to put on the silver chest armor, and adjust it to his torso until it feels just right, and then there were the pairs of shoulder guards, arm guards, elbow pads, knee guards, metal boots and leather gloves. Lastly was the belt with a sword sheath attached to it which was the easiest to put on until he gained a few kilos.
            Reks looked at the reflection of him in the mirror to see if everything is put on the right place.  A circle with flames branching from it was engraved on the silver chest plate he was wearing, symbolizing Escendria Kingdom.  Though he hated the trouble putting on the uniform, he felt a sense of pride and dignity wearing them. He was proud of himself to be one of the knights, serving for the country and all in the same time proving his father his worth.

            He was the youngest amongst the knights. He was 12 when his father signed him up two years ago. The age requirement for one to sign up as a knight was 18 and above, but that was not a problem to Reks as his father was the Knight Master himself. His father was the one who signed him up, regardless of the disagreeing screams and cries from Reks. He never wanted to be a knight in the first place, but since his father insisted, there was nothing he could do. Eventually, Reks began to love being a knight. He felt a sense of satisfaction when he fulfilled the townspeople’s quests such as collecting herbs from a mountain, fending off monsters from invading villages, hunt body parts of a monster, or even opening a tightly closed jar of cookies. He felt himself useful and worthy for helping the troubled folks. But that, however, was not enough to impress his father.
            His father, Knight Master Rave was a very strict man, both as a knight and as a father. He treated his knights, who were prepared for the most vicious and disastrous battles against monsters, and his very own and only son, equally. Never had he smirked a smile to his son, nor his knights. Nothing that Reks ever did was able to please him, despite the endless and countless victory stories Reks told every time he completed a quest. Reks, however, never give up trying to impress his father.

            Reks grabbed his sword leaning against the door and stormed downstairs towards the kitchen.
            “Mum, why didn’t you wake me up?” Now I’m late.” Reks said while making a face, hoping it would annoy his mother.
            “Well, honey, you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.” His mum replied. Her hands were busy preparing food in the kitchen, probably for lunch.
            “Have some bread for breakfast, will you?” Her gentle smile and the appetizing smell of his mother’s home baked breads made it impossible for Reks to say no. He grabbed a chair for a seat and had some of her mouthwatering tuna sandwich.

            His mother, on the contrary, was a very gentle and loving mother. She will always be there when he comes back from the quests, preparing him warm food and bed. Most importantly, she would be there when he needed her the most. When he had a bad day from failing a quest or being laughed at by the other knights, or worst, disappointing his father, his mom would comfort and motivate him, so that he grew stronger and stronger to face the hardships and challenges life has to offer.
           

            “Mum, do dad ever love me?”
            “Sure, of course, Reks. Why do you think he ever let you grow this big? He could have thrown you into the ocean whenever he had the chance to if he didn’t love you.” She replied sarcastically, trying to lighten up the situation.
            “Mum, I’m serious.”
            “Me too, sonny.”
            “Then why? Why did he sign me up for the knight? He hated me so much he wanted me to be eaten by the monsters!”
            “Reks, do you know that being a knight is the noblest thing a man can be? You get to help people in need, now, isn’t that a good deed? Most importantly, you can be a hero! Defending this kingdom from dangers! Every man in this kingdom is dying to be one of the knights. You are so lucky to be admitted by your father at such a young age! No one will get eaten by anything because the way I see it, Reks, you are the bravest and strongest man ever lived on this planet.”
            “Now you are exaggerating.”
            “I’m being honest, Reks. Don’t you want someday when I was in danger , you’d come and save me in your shining armor?”
            “Of course, Mum! I’ll be your knight in shining armor, I promise!” Reks said, enthusiastically.
            It was his mom who encourages him on being a knight. If it were not for her, he would not have been the knight he is proud of being today. He remembered everything what his mom said to him that day, for they were his source of inspiration and motivation.

            “Did you ask dad what I asked you to?” Reks said, gnawing his sandwich.
            “I did, honey.”
            “Well, what did he say?”
            “He said that the monsters lately has been so aggressive and vicious, what more, after the Lurkel Village incident – makes him so concerned about you, so – “
            “In other words, he doesn't have faith of what I’m capable of. He decides that I should stay in the town instead, and have a sword practice with the Prince.”
            Reks seemed to remember something that he was initially late to –
            “Sword practice! Great! See you later, Mum!”

            Reks churned the last bit of his bread and head to the front door and swung the door open. He turned left of his house towards the centre of the town where the clock tower was. The centre of the town, known as Central, was a large circular opening in the middle of the crowded town. It was decorated with colourful gardens of carnations, roses, tulips and lilies. Beautifully sculptured water fountain surrounded the clock tower, taking the shape of a sun. The water sprinkled from the fountain looked like scattering crystals through the luminous light of the sun. A set of two white pillars erected on each of its three entrances; south, east and west.  The royal town of Escendria Kingdom was beautiful and the Central was its center of beauty.
            The straight road to the north past the Central leads to a long narrow pathway. Along the pathway were two pools of water reflecting the sun, illuminating the path. The path led to a staircase leading to an entrance gate belonged to the gargantuan castle of Escendria Kingdom. The castle was built hundreds of years ago but still remained beautiful and grandiose. The walls were painted gold resembling the sunlight. Five towers soared above the sky magnificently crafted using blue and white colored glasses, reflecting the sunlight to all directions. A sun–shaped gold was attached to the pointy roofs of each of the towers. The breathtaking view of the whole kingdom can be seen from the balcony of the tallest tower; where the biggest golden sun was attached to its roof.
            The sun was the official insignia for Escendria Kingdom. The one and only reason was the curse. The kingdom was cursed with endless days and never-coming night. The sun in Escendria Kingdom neither rise nor set – it remained still and motionless above the sky. The scenery of the sky never changed, like a giant painting enveloping the kingdom. Nobody knew why and how the kingdom was cursed, or since when it all happened. Though a curse was what it was, the blazing sunlight blessed the kingdom with prosperity; rich crops grew throughout the land and the animals grew healthily.

            Reks ran pass through the Central towards the castle. The town was silent and lonely, just like the past few days. There were only a few pedestrians walking on the streets, and shops were mostly closed. Usually at this time the town would be busy, flooding with people doing all kinds of work and business; gardening flowers on their lawn, trading goods with merchants, shopping for groceries, blacksmith forging swords and armors, and the town, especially the Central would be noisy with people greeting each other to have a good day.
            It was either the townspeople were getting more lazy and sleepy, or they were just too scared to leave their houses, given the current situation. Monsters activities were increasing rapidly. Small villages around the town were attacked. The knights sent to the villages were only to add to the number of casualties. The monsters were getting vicious more than ever. Recently, Lurkel Village southeast of the town was wiped out just in one night, no survivor. The knights dispatched to the village were only to watch the whole village engulfed in sea of flames. Fear was spreading to the town, fearing that they would be the next target of the foul creatures.
            Reks passed through the castle gate that was guarded by two Royal Escendria Knights.
            “Lucky kid, when all the knights are dying on the battlefield against the monsters, he’s here, having a sword practice with the Prince.”
            “He’s just a kid, Norman. He could barely step on an ant. Hahaha!”
            Reks could hear them, loud and clear as the knights intended him to. Since Reks was the youngest knight, he had been the laughing stock and the subject of belittlement since the first day he hold the title ‘Knight’. Reks ignored them, just like his mom had told him to and worked hard on his job instead. Eventually, he gained some respect after he slain a Bullzroar menacing a forest before. But Bullzroar was barely enough to impress the whole knight, let alone his father.

            Pass the gate was a large courtyard where Reks and the Prince had their sword practice together. From the distance, Reks could see silhouettes of a boy and a man. They were the Prince and the Knight Master Rave patiently waiting for his arrival.
            “I’m sorry I’m a bit late.” Reks said as he whimpered upon reaching them.
            “Very, very late.” said the Knight Master in his monotonous and cold voice.
            “That’s all right, Master. I have trouble waking up early, too.” said The Prince, trying to save Reks from an hour-long lecture.

            The Prince, Prince Valiant the Fifth was about the same age as Reks. Unlike any other noble kids who were spoilt brats, Prince Valiant was a very polite and kind-hearted boy. He treated everyone equally, regardless of his status as a prince. The people of the kingdom anticipated that he would be a better king than his father. The glowing light on his forehead on the day he was born surely was a good omen.

            “So, what are we going to learn today, Master?” asked the Prince, excitedly.
            “Today you’re going to have a duel with Reks. I want to see what you have learnt so far.”
            “Aww, that’s not fair! Reks’s an expert in swordfighting!”
            “Who says so? He’s just a wimp.”
            Reks let out a sigh to hear his own dad belittle him in front of a prince.
            “Don’t worry, Prince Valiant, I’ll go easy on you.” Reks assured.
            “I appreciate that offer, but I’m tougher than I look, please fight me with all you’ve got.” Prince Valiant smirked.
            “On your stance, boys.” Master Rave commanded.
             Reks and Prince Valiant unsheathed their swords and readied their fighting stance.
            “Fight!”

            Prince Valiant thrusted his sword instantaneously and caught Reks off-guard. Reks took a sidestep to the right to evade the deadly thrust. Reks took the golden chance he had and swung his sword towards the Prince. Fortunately for the prince, he managed to block the attack but was tottered. Before Reks could land his next strike, Prince Valiant regained his balance and jumped backwards. He charged to Reks and thrusted his sword repeatedly. His timing was off that Reks had no problem evading the attacks. Valiant took a step backwards and jumped to the air. As he dove downwards, his sword was thrusting down towards Reks. Reks did a backflip and successfully evaded the attack. Prince Valiant had a wide opening. Reks jumped over him. He   turned to his back but he was already too late – Reks was already pointing his blade. He stopped his movement and reluctantly raised his hands.
            “Great, I lost again.” The Prince let out a huge sigh.

            “Congratulations,”
            The clapping sound of Master Rave’s hands broke the silence. Reks was happy as he thought the round of applause were dedicated to him, before his father said: “Congratulations, Young Master. Your attacks are a bit rushed, but if you time them right, you can attack the enemy off-guard. And make sure you cover your opening as fast as you can after launching an attack.” Master Rave turned to his son and continued his commentary, “As for you Reks, I’m very much disappointed. Instead of evading, you should have blocked thrust attacks. Blocking them leaves the enemy a wide opening, wide enough for you to counter attack. I’m surprised you didn’t know the basics.” Master Rave shook his head. Reks put his head down. Though he won the fight, he still did not impress his father the slightest.

            From afar, a knight was coming out from the castle’s entrance door and was heading towards their direction.
            “I’m sorry to interrupt you Master Rave, but Your Highness summons for your presence.” He said as he saluted the Knight Master as a gesture of respect.
            “I’m sorry, Young Master, I have to go see your father.” Master Rave bowed to the Prince before heading to the colossal entrance door crafted with silver and amethyst. He pushed the door open and slowly disappeared on the other side as the door slowly closed.

            “You did great, Prince!” Reks tried to cheer him up as he realized the Prince’s facial expression was not as sunny and cheerful as before.
            “Are you kidding? I keep on losing to you.” Prince Valiant shrugged it off.
            “Well, I had two years experience but you just started three months ago. Your performance was beyond average for a starter, I’d say.”
            “I envy you, Reks.”
            “What? Why so?”
            “You’re strong and independent, and very good in swordfighting too. Oh, how I wish I can be as strong as you are and protect this kingdom.”
            “Don’t worry, Young Master. It is our duty as an Escendria Knight to protect this kingdom.”
            “Sheesh, Reks. Didn’t I tell you not to call me Prince this, Prince that, Young Master this, Young Master that, just call me Valiant, will you? There’s no need for formality between us. We’re friends, right?”
            “Of course Young – err, Valiant.”
            “You see, Reks, protecting this kingdom – I want to do it by my own hands. I wish I could die protecting it. Look at the kingdom; it’s dying, slowly and surely. What more – the recent monster attacks grew fear in the people’s mind. Now they are too scared to leave their house. They are quivering in fear and hopelessness. I wish I could do something, I don’t want our kingdom to turn into a barren wasteland, just like what happened to Crecienith Kingdom.”            “Valiant, till the last drip of my blood, I shall protect this kingdom and its people, I promise.”
            Prince Valiant smiled upon hearing his vow. Somehow, deep inside his heart, he had faith that Reks will be the one – saving the kingdom from its verge of downfall and calamity.

**********************

            “Ah, there you are, Rave.”
            The King’s voice echoed through the great hall, synchronizing with the clanking sound of Master Rave’s metal boots as he paced towards the other end of the hall. White pillars were aligned alongside the red carpet leading to the stage, where the King was sitting on his throne. The King’s head rested on his hand and his body bent over, as he had grown bored and tired from ruling the kingdom day by day. Master Rave bowed down to the King before standing back up as the King signaled him.
            “May I know if you have dispatched your entire knight throughout the land? You see, monsters these days, you can never be sure when they will strike the villages again, do you?”
            The King had a habit of asking two questions at once that made it confusing for someone to answer them both, unless both of them had the same answer.
            “No.”
            “Is it a no to dispatching your knights or is it a no for not knowing when the monsters will strike?” The King sat straight up as the answer given to him was either discouraging him or confusing him.
            “My deepest apologies, Sire, it’s a no to both.”
            “So you haven’t dispatched your knights yet? For God’s sake, what will happen if the monsters attack the villages?”
            “I’ve already sent two third of my knights, and I, in my humble opinion, think it would be wise to leave some to guard this castle and the town below.”
            “But they would not be enough to defend those helpless villages, would they? Why do you think any monsters will attack this castle anyway? Monsters wouldn’t attack a highly populated area, would they?” The King was enraged that he was asking three straight questions at once.
            “Your highness, the castle and you are our top priority now. It’s not impossible that monsters will attack this castle – don’t you remember what had happened to the Crecienith Kingdom?” Master Rave was taken by his emotional feelings that he forgot the courtesy of talking to a King.

            “One fateful night 5 years ago,” A mysterious voice echoed through the hall. “The monsters, without any warning and sign, attacked the royal town and the castle of Crecienith Kingdom. The whole town was ablaze in flames. Countless kids, women, men, and elderly died in vain. The pride of the kingdom – its castle – collapsed as the fire swallowed it whole. The prosperous and wealthy kingdom destroyed in just one night. The Queen of Crecienith became lunatic as his husband died and rules the kingdom tyrannically. The land that once rich with plants and foods is now nothing more than a wasteland roaming with ferocious monster. It was the Black Blood Night.”
            The King and Master Rave searched for the source of the voice.
            “I’m sorry for my rudeness interrupting, but I have news to tell.” A man in a red cape and robe of the same color, holding an old, dusty book on his chest appeared from behind of Master Rave.
            “Oracle Master Ouran!” Master Rave said, shocked.
            “Forgive me, Sire, for I, must say that I agree to the Knight Master. There’s more than possibilities, it’s a probability that the monsters will attack this very castle and the same fate of Crecienith shall befall on us.”
            “Always, Master Ouran, speaking before me without my permission.” The King smiled unwillingly.
            “Your Highness, I plead for we hear what he has to say.” Master Rave pleaded.
            The King nodded as a sign of approval and Master Ouran continued, “If  the monsters planned to attack us, then I’d say there is nothing we can do to stop them now– as this monsters are not just mere monsters, they are now vicious and brutal more than ever .  No ordinary knight can fend against them, what more, we are outnumbered. The monsters are behaving strange in the recent years. Just like you say, Your Highness - monsters seldom attack populated area such as a village, what more – a royal town and its castle, but the Lurkel Village and Black Blood Night incident proved otherwise. Furthermore, monsters that usually travel alone were seen hunting in groups. And to my horror, the recent attacks on the villages seemed to be coordinated and well-planned – as if they are heading to our direction.”
            Master Rave and the King were taken aback upon hearing it. They looked to each other before expressing their frowned expression on their face.
            “What are you getting at, Ouran? The monsters are going to kill us all and we can do nothing about it? Is that it?” Master Rave asked, his voice stern.
            “No, not nothing. There’s one thing, yes, one thing in particular.”
            “What is it that you know, Master Ouran?” The King asked, not in an inquisitive way but ordering Master Ouran to tell him everything he knows.
            Master Ouran lifted his right hand, showing the book he had been holding. The book had a large ‘FIRST ECLIPSE’ imprinted on its hard cover. A man dressed in royal robe and a woman wearing a gorgeous gown holding each other’s hands were illustrated on it. “This may be our only hope.”
            “First Eclipse? That’s absurd! It’s nothing more than just a fairy tale told to children! Are you mad?” The King ridiculed the Oracle Master, not believing that a fairy tale could be their only source of hope and solution to the chaos that was only a matter of time to come.
            “Please, let him continue, Your Highness.” Master Rave bowed down to the King on behalf of Master Ouran. The King reluctantly nodded his head while his mind was filled with disbelieving and judgmental thoughts.
            “If you don’t mind, please let me tell the story of the ‘First Eclipse’,”
            Master Ouran put on his glasses. As he opened the book to its first page, dusts were scattering to the air. His index finger pointed to the first line of the first page, to guide him as he read through the book. The book had a large font and wide spacing in between them. Every page was followed by a page of illustration next to them, to give a better understanding to the readers. The pages were few, but thick and hard as they were made of cardboards. The book seemed attractive and alluring for children to read if it was not written a long time ago and forgotten. Master Ouran cleared his throat and inhaled deeply.           

            “Once upon a time, there was a prince from the Escendria Kingdom named Valarient. He fell madly in love to the princess of the neighbouring Crecienith Kingdom, Emily. It was love at first sight as the prince had a crush on the princess since the day they first met. What the prince did not know was that the princess secretly had feelings towards him too. As they decided to confess their love to each other, a meteor emerged from the darkness of the sky. The meteor struck on the Land of East. Since then, Crecienith Kingdom had never had sunlight bestowed upon the land whilst the sunlight in the Escendria Kingdom never fades. Darkness slowly enveloped the world. Claws and fangs and deathly disease killed many souls. Both kingdoms blamed each other for the curse that befallen upon their land. The two lovers were forced to leave each other”.  Master Ouran paused, turned to the next page and continued: “They lived happily ever after. The end.”
            Master Ouran closed the book, more dusts flew from the pages.
            “What? That doesn’t make sense! Do you skip the pages?” Master Rave asked, puzzled.
            “Some of the pages were torn and missing.”
            “I didn’t care for the missing pages or the silly tale, what does it have to do with our situation?” The King asked in a disgusted manner, as if Master Ouran had done something gross.
            “You should care, Your Highness. The ‘First Eclipse’ is our only hope. It is not just an ordinary fairy tale, it’s a prophecy.”
            Master Rave and the King looked each other, their eyes wide opened, disbelieved.
            “Our recent studies on the tale revealed that it was written a few centuries before the meteor struck Eastern Continent.”
            “So the fairy tale foretold the coming of the meteor….” Master Rave was taken aback.
            “Not just the meteor, the scandalous love between King Valarient and Queen Emily that were recorded in the history, the curse of Crecienith’s eternal nights and our endless days, and ultimately, the claws and fangs and deathly disease that we are currently facing.”
            “The claws and fangs – it must be referring to the monsters- and the deathly disease is probably the mysterious plague that is starting to spread our land. It looks like everything written in the fairy tale had happened accordingly.” Master Rave nodded, agreeing to the Master Oracle’s theory.
            “Precisely, and as you can see, the tale ends with they lived happily ever after.”
            “Does that means – after all this mess, there will be… a happy ending?” Glitters of hope were gleaming in Master Rave’s eyes.
            “Unfortunately, we do not know what conditions of the prophecy need to be fulfilled for the ‘happy ending’. Several pages of the tale were torn and missing.”
            “Aren’t there anyone here who still remember the tale?”
            “Rave, the tale was written centuries before the Meteor and that is centuries of a century ago. No one lived long enough to know about the story.”
            Master Rave gasped. “So what should we do about it? It’s our only hope to end these sufferings.”
            “The original ancient texts of First Eclipse lie somewhere hidden in the Ruins of Rusgerath, Crecienith Kingdom.”
            “C-Crecienith Kingdom? It’s too dangerous!” Master Rave’s eyes wide opened, as if it was about to popped out.
            “It’s a risk we have to take.” Master Ouran’s voice was stern, determined by his decision.
            “Your Highness, we can send the knights to escort Master Ouran there, and then –!” Master Rave said to the King excitedly, hoping he would agree.
            “I can’t believe you’ve come to believe this foolish theory, Rave.” The King said in his cold and serious tone. Master Rave was upset to hear the answer. His eyes that were gleaming with hope dimmed with desperation. Looks like the King was still skeptical to the breaking news.
           Master Rave clenched his fist and faced down the earth. It took a while before he dropped his knees to the ground and both his hands right after. He stopped there before continued and laid his head flat to the ground. Even to a king, that was the most shameful thing he had ever done in his life. It hurt his pride, deep and painful that he wished he was never born to have to do it. But he knew his pride was nothing compared to the lives of the people he pledged to protect.
            “This is our only hope, Your Highness. If there is anything that the kingdom needs, it’s hope. Hope is what keeps us alive, looking forward for a better future!” Master Rave pleaded enthusiastically, trying to convince the King.
            It was to no avail. “Don’t waste your knights on such idiocy! Didn’t you say me and the castle are your top priority? I want this Oracle Master thrown into the dungeon at once for clouding the minds of people – especially yours, Rave. You better be grateful that I spared you, unless you want to join him too, do you?”
            “No, Your Highness, my deepest apologies.” Master Rave gave up. He knew he would not help any of the situations if he had been thrown into the dungeon. Plus, he needed to tell the news to someone. He got up on his feet and remained calm although he had just crushed his pride to pieces and it was all worth for nothing. He reluctantly went to Master Ouran. He grabbed Master Ouran’s hands to his back and brought him to the corner of the hall leading to a spiral staircase leading down to the dungeon.
            “Are you telling the truth, Ouran?” Master Rave whispered. He did not want any of the guards in the dungeon to hear him.
            “Of course. You better do something, Rave, or we are all going to regret this.”

The Tales of The World : Prologue

PROLOGUE

Dark, ghostly cloud envelops the sky, clawing the earth with its bright blue flash of lightning. An ear-splitting roar grumbles, almost shaking the ground. 
        Far below, the world is in chaos. What used to be skyscrapers is now nothing but metal scraps, their sturdy frames are what left standing. Houses, buildings, roads, streetlamps, cars, trees are all mashed up into mixture of rubbles and debris. Some are blazing bright in inferno, thick, sooty smoke rise high above into the sky. Patches of red paint the ground wet with blood and ichors. The air smells like smoke and burnt rotten meat.
        People died. Children, women and men alike.
        Homes are destroyed. No place to return to.
        Guns and bullets lying scattered on the cracked, fractured earth.

        This, is the aftermath of the War.

        A silhouette moves in the stillness of the post-apocalyptic city, a sign that there is, however, an unfortunate life that survives the catastrophe.
        As it paces out of the shades of the ruins, the light that barely escapes the impending cloud bathes him in dazzling orange. A young man, battered with cuts and wounds that drenched his body red, limps and whimpers in pain, rummaging through the rubbles.
        The sound of metal clanking, glass shattering, wood splintering and his heavy footsteps echoed, breaking the melancholic silence.
        With the little left of his strength, he lifts a disfigured shelf out of his view and crouches, his hands careful scanning the ground for whatever he is looking for, not wanting to scrape them on the broken glass or the jagged metal.
         “It must be here somewhere.” He says.
        Underneath him, are stacks of papers, crumpled, torn and burnt. The ink typed into the papers smudged into blobs of black, making the words hardly legible.
        Like an eagle stalking its prey, his eyes set upon a hardback spine of a book, almost hidden by splintered woods and shards of glass. Carefully and slowly, he lifts them off the thick, dark-red book.
        He grabs the spine, thick and heavy that he can barely grasp it. His free hand caresses the front cover, brushing off the overlaying two-inch thick dust and cobwebs.
        Stamped onto it in gold is the book’s title; 
               THE TALES OF THE WORLD
making it look grand and royal. Beads of jewel embedded into it, faint light glints and sparkles, reflecting into the grayish blue eyes of his.
         “This is it,” he let out a faint sigh as if it is tiring, yet satisfactory that he has finally found the book. "Our only hope of saving mankind.”