THE ELDERIEN CHRONICLES: Aftermath Of Darkness

Raise your shields!

The residents of the capital chatted in awe as a thick mist suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began to spread. They watched as the clouds slowly turned dark, the ray of sunshine that had filled the morning with warmth disappearing in an instant.

And then, came the snowfalls. Some children even began to get excited as they watched the snowflakes fall from the sky, but their parents knew it was not supposed to be. As more snowflakes fell, people began to shuffle into their homes.

The palace was already placed in a commotion as guards jumped from one side to the other, getting themselves arms as they quickly formed a defensive formation around the entire palace. The mist continued to spread and so did the snowfall. The soothing winter cold that soon followed saturated the air, but then, it began to get a bit colder. 

Weapons began to freeze, the ground was slowly freezing as well. Guards moved back as the frozen spots started to spread, and as they did, Alastair dashed out of the palace.

"Look out!"

Cara called out to him as a streak of ice suddenly spread toward him. Alastair quickly punched the ground and a blast of yellow energy spread across the palace, pushing back the ice and Making it warmer. 

Then, a screeching was heard in the sky. Jaghryx flew towards the palace and while he did, Miranda stepped out with Elle, her personal mage beside her.

"What is going on?" Miranda asked Alastair who just shrugged his shoulder. He was as confused as the rest of them and for a high mage, that was embarrassing for him.

Jaghryx suddenly Landed and roared, walking towards Alastair in the process. Alastair felt terror coming from his dragon. He didn't understand what it was that could possibly scare jaghryx. Jaghryx roared again, and the feeling switched from terror to anxiety.

Alastair was about to calm him down when he heard another screech in the sky. Everyone else heard it too, but no one said anything. Cara's lips were slightly ajar as she tried to struggle with the reality slowly presenting itself before her. 

"It's not possible, is it? It cannot possibly be...", Elle was still speaking when the screech came again, but this time, it revealed something monstrous.

A dragon, pale-skinned with icy scales projecting from its body flew around the palace. It was huge, about twice the size of jaghryx and it was extremely agile. The dragon screeched again and as it did, more icy scales pulled out of its body. Some began to fall and caused significant destruction.

"Protect the Queen! Raise your shields!" 

Alastair called out to the mages present and they all quickly raised their shields. The dragon flew around one more time and roared at Jaghryx as the latter screeched.

Then, the dragon landed.

It growled softly as Corvius unmounted the beast. As soon as Corvius' feet touched the ground, the ground began to freeze. The temperature dropped again, overriding what it was that Alastair had done.

He walked towards the main entrance where Alastair and the majority were standing, wearing a crooked smile on his face. He was not as gigantic as Obaro, but everything about him screamed danger.

"Arms!"

The head guard, Phil called out to the guards and they quickly sprang into action. Corvius stopped as soon as he saw the guards raising their weapons and pointing them toward him.

But then, Obaro and two others-a man and a woman appeared out of thin air and stood behind Corvius. The generals were gigantic, and the others held a large icy axe, and a sword and shield respectively.

"The myths we have heard about this place are true. Elderien is truly a kingdom blessed by the gods. The view is stunning, and it would make a good garden.". Corvius said in his deep, monstrous voice.

"You seem to be trespassing. I suggest you turn back now and leave, otherwise, I may have to instruct my men to throw you and your friends out." Miranda said to Corvius and he chuckled.

"Does this woman speak for all of you? Does she speak for you?" The last question was directed to Alastair. 

Alastair could not put his finger on it but he was certain he had seen the man before. And then, came the cold. Is this the man Drax said would be coming?

"This woman is the Queen of this kingdom, and obviously, you do not deserve an audience with her. So, you will be addressing me from now on. Who are you and what do you want?" Alastair asked 

"I am a king. I want the world." Corvius responded calmly. "I want your lands, and I want to turn them into my empire. I want to build a better world for my people. I want to dominate."

His dragon roared when he mentioned the last word.

"We do not intend to give out our lands," Alastair said.

"You won't need to. I will take it from you."

Corvius responded and Phil groaned. He had had enough. He charged and hurled at Corvius, but Corvius simply raised his hand, and a streak of Ice thrust out of the ground and grabbed Phil's leg, and immediately, he turned into an ice sculpture.

Everyone exclaimed when they saw what had happened, and Alastair stepped forward, clenching his hands into a fist that sent energy waves radiating from his body.

"There is a cube in your possession that I want. You do not need to hide it from me. Give me the cube and I will be on my way, and let you await the time when I will come to conquer you." Corvius stated.

"You speak with so much confidence for a madman," Alastair said to him. He was ready for a fight. But Corvius smiled.

"You are no match for me, Alastair. And surely, you would want to keep your life and that of your dragon's. As you spied into my mind, I also took a glimpse into yours. I know everything. I've seen everything." Corvius said and slowly, his eyes moved and focused on Cara.

Cara shuddered as she felt her blood freeze from his gaze. She was terrified. She forced herself to look away as the hideous man smiled at her.

"I will be back for the cube. But I will not come alone. For your act of stupidity, Elderien will be the first kingdom to fall. Raise your best soldiers. Set up your best defenses. It will not be enough."

Corvius said and the next moment, he was already mounting his dragon. The dragon roared again as it prepared to fly. The generals slowly turned into cold fumes.

As the dragon flew away, it swung its great tail and destroyed Phil, shattering him into several pieces.

"What just happened?" Elle asked no one in particular. She was terrified!

***

Alastair dashed into the room where Drax was sitting. He was not happy and Drax could see the anger on his face. As Alastair walked towards the young man, Drax quickly stood up from the bed but Alastair grabbed his shirt and slammed him on the bed.

"You better start talking, young man. Who the fuck was that?" Alastair asked.

"It's... the king of the north," Drax responded and Alastair let him go. By that time, Elle, Cara, and Miranda had walked in.

"The north? There is nothing in the north. It's just cold and death. No one lives there." Miranda said to Drax, but he shook his head.

"People do. There is an entire continent behind that Darkness. The northerners have adapted to the cold and they have built an empire there. They were ostracized from the rest of the world about a thousand years ago and all records of them were destroyed." Drax said.

"Then, how do you know all these?" Alastair asked him.

"Because they came for the cube. Their King, Corvius, has been gathering Primal Cubes. They are energy-filled objects that allow other beings to visit our world. It is the presence of these cubes that permit inter-realm visits. He has been absorbing them, closing the gates so that we will be left without allies when it happens."

"When what happens?" Miranda asked.

"The end of the world as we know it. He plans to dominate this world and remake it in his image. He is a conquerer, and he is extremely powerful. His generals came to my village to seek this cube. The mages entrusted me with it. My mother told me to bring it here and entrust it to Alastair. She said he could protect it." 

"Your mother? Where are you from?" Alastair asked.

"Venjar," Drax replied. Alastair tried to recall but he had no friends there. "My village was destroyed afterward. My mother was..."

Drax stopped for a moment, and so did everyone else.

"How many cubes are left?" Alastair asked.

"I don't know. We only began to realize what it is after the northerners came. Before that, it was just an object our mages protected. But now, we know that it is the gateway to the realm of the dragons. It is the reason why your dragon was able to cross from his realm into yours." Drax said and Alastair was amazed.

"Alright. Corvius said he will be back. We have to get ready. Meanwhile, I will study this cube and see what it does exactly. We need to set up defenses."

Alastair looked around.

"Where's your brother, Lord Kevin?" 

Miranda exhaled and gave a soft cry.

"Oh, no. Not again!"