CHAPTER 48 – TURNING POINT
“We’re okay Mitakahn! There’s another room down here,” a voice yelled from the abyss, sounding very much like his cousin’s, “We’re looking for a way out now.”
Mitakahn stood up, turned around, and looked into the new room that he had no other choice but to walk into.
“Here we go…” he thought aloud as he took a deep breath and walked into the unknown darkness.
The room had no window to the outside and no lamps. Mitakahn walked in and the door closed behind him. When the door completely shut it was pitch black. One light opened up out of the ceiling and shined down on a statue. The statue seemed to be the only thing in the room. It looked to Mitakahn like a window capturing the natural light from the sky.
It was a light so bright, the ray emitting from the window kept the same rectangular shape all the way down to the statue. As if, it was standing under a box spotlight. He slowly walked over to the statue. It was a stone sculpture of a warrior lifting up his right arm. The statue looked like it was supposed to be holding a sword high in the air, but there was no sword in his hand.
“I know who this is,” said Mitakahn.
“It is the great warrior, Patronalus. The first man to become a god,” echoed a soft, angelic voice from the darkness.
Mitakahn quickly turned around, the voice sounded all too familiar.
“Show yourself!” he screamed as he lifted his sword into the air, the tip cutting through the spotlight.
Just then, the light from the window was pulled down from the ceiling right next to the statue, revealing the windowless wall behind it. The orb of light grew so bright it overwhelmed Mitakahn. The light forced Mitakahn to drop to his knees, release his sword, and cover his eyes with the gauntlet. Even covered it was intense, comparable to standing on a balcony on the sun but without the heat. Mitakahn heard surges and discharges.
He felt the light dividing and shooting across the room into slow thick beams. The smaller beams cascaded to the corners of the room, casting their moving shadows onto Mitakahn. They each landed and took the form of white wolves. The glowing wolves sat with their front paws between their hind paws, chests out proudly, lighting the room. The large beam receded right in front of Mitakahn. As it reeled itself in, it took the form of a woman.
“You have made it so far on your journey, prince. Finding a way where so many others before you have failed, and after everything, after losing your father, the exile, the broken wrist, I attacked you. You of all people, the only man willing to free me, my savior. I cannot tell you how sorry I am.”
Mitakahn wanted to tell her she had no reason to be sorry, but he was having trouble speaking. He succumbed to the unexplainable voice, a voice so comforting that it made him feel like he would never suffer from pain or grief again as long as he was in its presence. He opened his eyes, but the rapid change in light left red spots riddling his corneas, he was nearly blinded.
“You know me?” asked Mitakahn, rubbing his eyes to regain sight.
“You are Prince Mitakahn Arkenoir of the Pride, son of the great King Theomitus,” announced the Woman.
“Who are you?” questioned Mitakahn.
“I am Epiphany, Goddess of Harmony and Love.”
Mitakahn’s eyes cleared, and he adjusted to the light in the room. He looked up and could now see, in full detail, the stunning beauty of Epiphany. The only way to describe her properly was the most beautiful woman in MagnaThora. It was almost unbearable, like that of the light still shining just beneath her skin.
He wondered how he would ever view women the same way again. The effects of her beauty changed the world around her, making it a brighter place for it. Long brunette hair cascaded down her back and looked like it was constantly changing slight hints of various colors with every new shade of light that bounced off it. Her hair was flawless, but so was the rest of her. Epiphany had perfectly symmetrical facial features, a clear definition, proud stature, immaculate skin-tone, and eloquently curved hips.
Her face was a masterpiece: rosy cheeks, an infectiously bright smile, and extravagant eyes, with irises encapsulating every color in the world, entangling, and fusing together in a spiral around her pupils. She had on a pure white gown glowing around the edges with the resonance of the light left over from her emergence. Her hair smelled like spring dew and fell freely down the back of her white gown with one majestic braid in the middle. And she stood barefoot, effortlessly compelling the natural side of her beauty. Mitakahn looked up at her in wonder and awe, mesmerized at her appeal. He was speechless. Epiphany was beautiful beyond compare. She was most glamorous and truly enchanting.
Mitakahn stammered, “I can’t believe you were inside that thing all along.”
“It took me some time to break free of Quarrel’s spell, even after being freed from the Incapsulate. All that time in the nether world poisoned me rotten. I must admit, I did not see that coming. It was the music that brought me back, you clever man. Finding the harmony in rhythm and sound was the key. If not for you, I would have suffered immeasurably. I cannot doom my brothers and sisters to the same fate. I must find them and help them once I regain all my strength.”
“How did you get trapped in the Incapsulate Impernums?”
“They knew where to find me, and they had the motivation. All of their plans could have been unhinged if I had uncovered my beloved’s heart. Poor Apophas did not handle my rejection well. Yes, it is all coming back to me now. I did not mean to reject the would-be-king. I simply wanted to stay on MagnaThora. Now he is gone, and I live on. I was the victim but here I stand, and he is just a memory, funny how things like that work out.”
“I understand what you mean,” Mitakahn nodded as he stared at his left hand.
Epiphany followed his gaze, “Ah yes, such a fine gift you received from the dragon rider. She still thinks about you.” Epiphany closed her eyes. Mitakahn observed the goddess trying to channel her power. “I can still feel her, but her light weakens as she flies beyond the southern gate. Tell me, will you go after her when all of this is over?”
“If I make it through what’s to come…” Mitakahn took a good look at the silver scars on his hand, remembering everything that happened along the road, “it will be the first thing I do.”
Epiphany smiled and her eyes twinkled. The sensation coursed through her body and renewed a feeling she had missed for a very long time.
“Allow me to help you on your quest, savennoy.”
Mitakahn tried to refuse out of honor but as the goddess approached him, he started to lose his words again.
“Savennoy?”
Epiphany leaned in close, took his wrist in one hand, and pointed at it from above with the other. “It means my savior in the old tongue.”
Mitakahn felt a jolt and the gauntlet activated covering his left hand in shining silver. Epiphany drew a circle in the air with her finger above the gauntlet, making it brighter and brighter. While continuing the motion, she lowered her finger to the gauntlet and touched it. The light flashed at its brightest upon touch and receded. Epiphany took a couple steps back.
“Point north.”
Mitakahn obeyed her command.
“Point west.”
Mitakahn obeyed again.
“Now point south.”
Right as Mitakahn pointed his gauntlet south, it went from a shiny gray to a glowing white ivory.
“What did you do to it?”
“Nothing really, just gave its pulse a beacon.”
“Will it lead me to Zora?”
“From whence it came. That is until you find her.”
“And then what?”
“It will always lead you to what your heart desires most.”
Mitakahn blushed and didn’t know what to say next. Epiphany smiled at the young man. She reminisced over his innocence, thinking quite literally that it had been a long time since she saw this familiar awkward behavior in humans.
“Just like a man to be able to stare down certain death at the other end of his sword but not see what’s right in front of him when it comes to the opposite sex. Man’s true biggest weakness.”
“You have some sense of humor.”
“You would too if you were my age.”
“My mother, who worships you, taught me enough to know never to ask a woman her age. So, I will simply ask… What was it like in the beginning?”
“She sounds like a strong woman.”
“The strongest.”
“It is hard to put into words… volatile, temperamental? We learned very hard lessons in the early days. You humans take all this quiet for granted but it took a lot to get to this point, a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice.”
“We still tell our young the legends of how you saved humanity from the primordial fires, the endless winters, and the storming winds.”
“I bet they don’t mention flying stardragons into the sun to end the endless winter only to bring about the storms that devoured the world.”
“There are many renditions…maybe a different kingdom might.”
“Man has evolved so much. I can hear it in your voice, feel it amongst your companions in the temple cellar, and even greater MagnaThora. You are not the same mortals I once knew. When I regain my full strength and embrace society, will they accept my word as the word of God?”
Mitakahn thought long and hard. He understood the question. Even after all he had seen he still had his doubts. If she was in fact a god, would his brain not explode at the very sound of her omnipotent voice? Would he not be overwhelmed by awe at her very existence? And yet, perhaps it was his destiny to be a man amongst gods. His heart was in tune with the fates, and so he responded.
“They will come to trust you as I have.”
For some strange reason, Mitakahn felt comfortable amongst the presence of divinity, as if he had experienced their intervention some time before.
“Good, because I am here to help. I can show you how to complete your quest.”
“How do I save my kingdom?” asked Mitakahn earnestly, as he gave way to his instincts. He spoke to Epiphany like a friend or loved-one; almost like an equal, not like a sacred queen.
“In time, brave hero, everything you seek to know will come in time.”You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Then what is it…that I came here to learn?”
The Legend of Patronalus
The Second Kingdom War or as common folk called it, The War of Many Kings waged all across MagnaThora before gathering on one front. That front was the same location where it all began, before the fallen southern gate. There were few champions for good. Victory seemed unattainable until one warrior who would change the fate of MagnaThora forever, a vessel of cosmic forces, entered the fight.
An epic battle of terrible proportions ensued. Warriors came from every nation, constantly reinforcing the lines, but they did not work together. They could not seem to defeat the evil; they could only prevent it from spreading. The battle went on for days, and the warriors grew tired, but the evil did not stop coming. There was little hope left. Our hero found himself at the frontline, one of the only men still not fatigued or wary of warfare. One warrior with wisping blond hair subdued under his helmet.
Next to him were the great warriors of his time. Royal names and famous lords surrounded him, but he did not know their titles. To him, he merely fought amongst fellow men, and that was all he needed to worry about, in the heat of battle. He cut down enemy after enemy, specializing in the ones trying to stab his allies in the back.
An ancient cult of Necromancers surrounded King Agnoralles of the Canine Kingdom. The Rebel Canine King awaited a final death stroke from his enemy, Emperor Zordragon. Under the dark hood a smile appeared as the armored monstrosity drooled over the prospect of obliterating another founding house before him, a true terror to behold. Slowly the dark dragon god was using its influences over man to cut the tether between the wolf god and his worshippers.
There was no stopping the Dragon Emperor who had become more twisted and ruthless than ever. No man could best the sorcerer tyrant in hand to hand combat. He was far too powerful for any man or king. It was then, that the brave new warrior stepped forth and, in doing so, beyond any warrior before him, finding it in himself to give everything to the pursuit of good and virtue, even if it meant his life.
Patronalus raised his sword into the air, as the enemy’s sword came crashing down. The clouds thundered, and lightning shot out from the stormy sky, hitting his sword, and lighting it aflame. It was with this fire that the first man ascended to a higher form of existence. The majestic firespell finely covered his entire body.
The enemy’s sword sliced down into Patronalus but he appeared to be unharmed. Everything slowed down. He looked at himself as the sword passed through his body, phasing through his flesh. He then looked at King Agnoralles, even at Emperor Zordragon, none of whom could believe it, and finally he looked at his new fiery sword. His steel sword was gone and replaced by the Crucifire Sword shining before him in blazon glory. It cut clean through the Emperor, still with a dull stare, destroyed at the re-emergence of the legendary sword. Malohrin Zordragon’s body crumbled to the ground as it burned to a pile of ash. Patronalus vanquished the mighty tyrant. The fire blared in the faces of all opposing foes, consumed by the inferno.
The hero of the Crucifire Sword now led a new front against the darkness. Patronalus, along with his comrades-in-cosmic-arms, pushed the evil back behind the gates, tipping the stalemate over in their favor. The kingdoms of free man won the battle and the war. He had saved all of humanity. Patronalus was perfectly in tune with the cosmos and now knew what he must do.
He looked at the clouds as they broke. Behind them was the sun that lit his mighty torch. It was landing on the horizon. Patronalus walked away from the battlefield, into the sun, he looked back at the people he saved. The First Paragon, half-man half-god, the ascended one, wielder of the high seraph blade, disappeared in the sun’s brilliance, never to be seen again, but that did not stop him from performing his many miracles all across MagnaThora.
● ● ●
“He did all of that…and he wasn’t an heir or a prince or anything. All of the books said the sword was only meant for a king who is worthy…” Mitakahn said.
“It depends how you define worthy. Words and interpretations can be tricky. What are the specific standards of a king from different kingdoms with different laws or different eras for that matter?”
“He was chosen by the sword, by MagnaThora herself.”
“Or he could have been a lost heir, an unnamed prince from a forgotten kingdom. Time will never tell us the truth. Patronalus became the fully realized form of man in that hour and ascended to another realm. If I go to him in the Divine City, I can never return. It is a one way trip. To return would be not without great cost.”
“I would never ask that of you,” said Mitakahn. “The FireSword is the moral of the legend.”
“Correct” replied Epiphany.
“If this is all real.. then…that means what I saw happen to Caliber will come true! I must get back before it is too late.”
“You did not come all this way just for verification of danger.”
“Then what must I do?”
“I think you already know…”
“The FireSword… but if it is not here in the statue’s hand, where can I find it?”
“Long ago the sword was put back on this earth. Patronalus, lord of the gods, knew the darkness would inevitably return. So, he hid the FireSword in a blatant, yet subtle location.”
“That does not help me, kind goddess. I need more.”
“Follow your heart,” She repeated to him once again with a smile.
The prince thought for a while, ‘blatant, yet subtle…’ and then it hit him, “…Mount Fire! That is where the sword is hidden.”
“You have very keen insight, Mitakahn,” confirmed Epiphany, “It will serve you well.”
“And when I do find the sword of fire, you said it yourself in the tale, it is meant for a king, part man, part god…”
“What are you asking me, Mitakahn?”
“Will it bring back my father?”
Epiphany got down next to Mitakahn and placed her hands over his. “Mitakahn, I know how badly you yearn for your father’s return…”
Mitakahn broke when she said that. Something about Epiphany’s tone made Mitakahn feel like they had been together his entire life, old friends. She cut right to the core of him, and he did not feel the need to put on a brave front for her. A goddess’ effect. And so, he sobbed before her. The goddess still smiled warmly and caressed his back, continuing.
“…And I will never tell you to lose hope. You must find strength without him. There is no denying that the sword is meant for a king. Even lost, Patronalus became one of the most legendary kings of all time. But did you come here to save your kingdom or bring your father back?”
Mitakahn had a brief feeling like he had to make this decision before. He knew what the right answer was, but deep down he also knew a damnable truth, he was selfish. Mitakahn breached a part of his soul that he always kept in the dark; one side of him that he never wanted to admit was there. Mitakahn thought about trying to lie to her, but she was a god, who’s to say she wasn’t reading his mind right now? So, he decided to be brutally honest.
“I would watch the entire world burn, just to get him back.”
For a brief second, while Mitakahn waxed on unbridled, he felt a purity he never knew before. It quickly vanished as the weight of the world returned. Through its lens he worried if this new honesty made him a villain. Epiphany chimed in, preventing Mitakahn from further mental spiral.
“And what kind of world would that be to come back to?”
“One my father would be disappointed with.”
“So what good is a notion like that?”
Mitakahn felt a new low. What the goddess must think of him right now. He searched for a different way to convey his feelings. “He was taken before his time was up. If I could pay for his resurrection myself, I would.”
“So, in that new world there would only be a crisply burnt Mitakahn?”
“I would wish no harm to others. Yes, only me.”
Epiphany smiled, “Not many fathers and sons would share that same sentiment. It is against the natural order. The old die while the young survive. You hold your father close, a standing vigil. Allow me to reassure you. In all my time walking the lands of MagnaThora, of all the men and women I’ve met and gotten to know, I have never come across a single human without the darkness in them.
“To be human is to have such thoughts of hopelessness. It is my divine right to make sure the flame of hope never diminishes. I am a servant of man, not a ruler. And you, my dear, have nothing to fear. Your love for your father is great and it will grow in time and become something else entirely, but you mustn’t let the darkness prevail, not within nor without.”
“Will I be able to make it all the way to Mount Fire and back before the attack?”
“Once again, only you can determine that.”
“Is there anything more that you can tell me?”
“The darkness, Mitakahn… I fear the Age of Solstice will soon be upon us.”
“You mean that prophecy is real?”
“Let me guess, the Quintennial Calendera is long extinct like my kind? Cursed. Well, you see, your ancestors were the ones who coupled weeks into months, coupled decades into ages, and named them all after us. In doing so, they put forth certain things into motion as i the way of MagnaThora and the rule of the Supreme Dichotomy.”
“The what?”
“Perhaps, this is too much for you. I should stop.”
“No, please, I need to know.”
“We were all created by the Supreme Dichotomy. Think of them like my parents. They clashed together when the world first clashed together and made all of the life on it. There is a part of it in all of us too. They are extremely concerned with the concept of covenants and transactions. So, when man began to write down the history of me and my sibling’s acts in the form of ages, fire, winter, storms, and Equinox for equilibrium, the Supreme Dichotomy bound a covenant and sealed the fate of the next age in a prophecy.
“Now here is the important part, we the gods, the planet, and you humans all live together in harmony and symbioses, right? Well, when Quarrel trapped us he took away our power and influence over everything, including the Supreme Dichotomy. We tempered and balanced them since our inception. In our absence they will become unhinged and there will be a tipping point, a point of no return. The time of balance will be over, and the Supreme Dichotomy will split forever bringing either an epoch of unknown truth or endless darkness.
“I presumed the demigods are the reason it has not gotten that far already. If any of them fall that could be it. Which is why I worry about the darkness growing in the south. It inhibits my abilities. Its old evil, the same that my beloved king sacrificed himself to eradicate, the same evil Patronalus fought against, and now it’s our turn, except something is different…
“There is a new influence that I simply cannot read, and it terrifies me. The mystery of the south grows behind a wall of darkness and soon it will spill over onto all of MagnaThora. You cannot just defeat it. You must vanquish it once and for all. I will help you as much as I can, but ultimately it will be up to you and your friends. The people you have surrounded yourself with possess the potential for greatness, each in their own way will change the world. In order to unlock your combined potential, we must make contact with the godwolf Entehii. There are such few allies left. Once I regain my full strength I will begin my quest to galvanize the gods, and recover my brothers and sisters. What you have done here is remarkable and the first step towards MagnaThora’s salvation.
“This is the spark that lights the fire. So far, you have held true. Keep it up and you will make it to the end. Whenever you need me look to the stars. Find me in the stars for solace and resolve. Good-bye, savennoy, go with the love and support of all MagnaThora…”
The white wolves howled in unison. The goddess slowly grew bright once again, enveloping the wolves. Before it became too bright to bear, it began to blink sporadically. The sparkling light dissolved leaving Mitakahn alone in the dark. A door on the opposite side of the room from where Mitakahn had entered opened.
Mitakahn took a deep breath and digested all the information that he had just learned. It was a lot to take in. All of his worst fears were confirmed. There was so much to think about now. If he could not go back to his country, how could he warn Adyána that the threat was real? If only he still had Chronis… Even if he could get a warning back to Zepathorum by way of one of his companions, the bureaucrats would just condemn Adyána as they did him. Mitakahn needed to concentrate on the task-at-hand, and that task was the FireSword. All he had to do was get to Mount Fire.
Easier said than done, Mount Fire was on the other side of MagnaThora, and once he finally got to Mount Fire how would he know where to find the sword? He wanted to scream out for Epiphany to come back, half because he wanted to see her beauty one more time, and half to ask her what to do once he got to Mount Fire. But he already knew what her answer would be, something like…”You already know the answer,” or, “What does your heart tell you?” There are a million ways to say it and only one truth…he would have to figure it out himself.
So Mitakahn decided to get back to his friends, run all the information by them to see what they have to say about it, all the while making haste to Mount Fire, and hopefully coming up with some ideas along the way. Done mulling things over for the time being, it was time to calm his thoughts and start the next leg of his journey.
As Mitakahn went to leave out of the new door that opened, he noticed there was still something lighting the room. He turned back and saw the statue of Patronalus.
Two small crimson red flames burned within the statue’s eyes.