The white cloaked knight turned the corner. He was sure that his last magic attack had done lasting damage to the girl's foot, unless they abandoned her there was no escape for them now. To his surprise, he found all 5 Ikonans standing by an open window, with a solemn look on their faces.
“You win.” conceded the prince, “My sister can no longer walk. Our lives will end here. Tell us your name, Oh Lightseeker, so we may know who was responsible for our final moment.”
Somehow the knight felt uneasy, the change in tone was simply too abrupt. But he was never one to turn down a chance to show an honourable opponent respect - “The one you see before you is Lightseeker Sullivan of the One True Rihla, hailing from Saracos, and destined for Bāb Al-Nūr. I will grant you my approval, worry not, prince.”
“I will not die the way you want me to” flared Nikolaos, “I am the Crown Prince of Ikona, Nikolaos Ikona, my final moments are my own. You may go back to your Imperial masters and tell them their will is done.”
“To take one’s own life is a sin!” warned Sullivan of Saracos, who had grown to appreciate his victims by this point. “An outsider like you will be denied by the Rihla just because of that, it will be out of my hands. Do not do this to yourself!”
“I deny the Rihla before it denies me.” challenged the Prince of Ikona, as he and his companions dropped off the ledge.
Nikolaos smiled as saw the Lightseeker extend his hand and scream out to him before he dropped. One of his better performances, if he might say so himself. Sullivan had no way of knowing that hiding under the shadow cast by the Palace walls was the deepest part of the Thalassanqaba Palace Moat. It was a dive he had done before, they could swim away peacefully while being presumed dea-
A scream from above him pulled him back to reality. He could see the white cloaked knight falling out the window, merely seconds after they had all jumped. Did the fool have no fear of death!?
“Swim to the ground immediately.” commanded Alcides, as he hit the water. The Ikonans wriggled through the water, swimming a few seconds before feeling Sullivan crash into the water behind them.
They reached with some time to spare, swimming faster than the Holy Knight, whose armour gave him difficulty in the water.
“Where do we go now?” cried Symeon, now that they had left the Palace walls. “Should we take them to Paligxulu? The Hatha there can keep us safe.”
Ervinos didn’t like the plan, the trip to Paligxulu was long and hard, and they would be fleeing an Ikonan Royal Guard that knew the area well. “I don’t see a better op-”
“No.” interrupted Aikaterine, while being carried on Symeon’s back, “We have to go to the harbour. To the Umatiloshe. Mother has given us our destination.”
Nikolaos nodded without saying a word, as Alicdes watched Sullivan get closer to the ground. They kept moving away from the moat as they spoke.
“Symeon. Do you know why I chose to serve Queen Theodora?” asked Alcides, out of the blue.
“Father?” asked the young Umpetha, as confused as the rest.
“I still remember the day I learned how pure the Queen’s ideals were, that was the day I became Alexander Mukuru’s follower as well.” continued the Magektonos as he unsheathed his swords and scanned his immediate surroundings. “If a follower like you or me picks the wrong master, they are no different from that Lightseeker there.”
Sullivan had exited the water by now, moving slowly and letting the water drain from his apparel.
Alcides turned around to face Ervinos and nodded. The boy felt a blunt feeling in his chest, but he nodded back, turned around, picked up Aikaterine from Symeon’s back and started leading the twins to the harbour.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Symeon felt himself turn back to a child as he realized what his father was doing. Tears pooled in his eyes, but he would not ask his father to reconsider.
“What is your dream, boy?” asked the man.
“One day. I will be the strongest. No one will dare attack that which I care for again.” wailed his son, as he wiped his eyes.
“Then go.” smiled the Magektonos, his opponent not far now. “Come back stronger. And liberate your people once and for all.”
Alcides Umpetha faced down his foe. He could hear the twins calling his name now and begging him to come with them after finally realizing that he would not be following. He smiled at the irony, only 10 years ago he was a street thug fighting for scraps, and now the Ikonan royalty was calling him “Sir Alcides”.
“I have told you my name and where I come from.” boomed Lightseeker Sullivan, who had come to terms with the fact that the man in front of him would have to be dealt with properly. “You, who stand up to me without the gift of the Rihla are more than worthy of being my adversary. Who are you, warrior?”
The Magektonos prepared himself for battle, his heart beating faster, his eyes darting from side to side scoping his environment, his muscles preparing to spring into action. “You face Alcides Umpetha, commander of the Hatha, and Vice Commander of the Ikonan armed forces.”
“Umpetha … ” repeated the Lightseeker, as if searing the name into his head. He prepared his sword and readied his first strike. “It is a name I will not forget.”
-----
Lightseeker Sullivan of Saracos was unlike any mage Alcides had faced till now. The Magektonos stepped several paces back to withdraw into the shade of the castle, but instead of luring him out into the light, Sullivan simply dove forward and swiped at his head.
Alcides could feel the weight of every strike, deflecting the blows but with difficulty. He swept the floor with his leg, forcing Sullivan into the air, and then followed with a rising jab towards the Lightseekers ribcage.
The Lightseeker had no time to dodge, he took a single hand off his blade and pointed it at Alcides.
In a split second, the Umpetha shifted his weight onto his right side, leaning away from the knight’s outstretched hand. He felt a surging pain on his left side, several times more severe than when they were running in the hallways, but he would not let this opening go. He persevered and used his free arm to plunge the sword into the Lightseekers left side.
Sullivan let out a scream, and panned his hand towards the rest of Alcides’s body, but the Makektonos slammed his body into him and jumped back to put some distance between them. As Sullivan's hand pointed at Alcides, he could feel an itching pain across his body and face, but somehow the magic was far less painful at a distance.
“Did you feel it? When you were a child? The gift of Rihla. I am sure you had the potential.” stammered the knight as he wrapped some loose cloth around his wound to reduce the bleeding.
“Of course I did. I could feel things when my eyes were closed that most others could not.” replied Alcides, rotating his arm to get used to the pain. It was still usable. “But before the blockade, the Diafthoreat Empire used to send people every year to conduct random tests. They even went into every single school and forced the children to practice a ritual meant to kill magic.”
“Your anger is understandable, Ikonan.” slurred the knight, he had lost more blood than he thought. “Had you been born on the other side of the border, your name would surely have been known far and wide.”
“I’m not dead yet, Lightseeker.” grunted the Umpetha, as he rushed towards his foe with a low stance.
“Yes.” laughed the white knight of Saracos, as he rushed in to meet him. “This is how it should be.”
The exchanges were furious yet precise, Alcides could see that Sullivan's strength was less on his left side, and focused his attacks there. The knight could sense a similar weakness in his enemy, but was too overwhelmed by Alcides’s speed to target his weaker side.
Sullivan kicked out to disrupt his enemies flow, but the Magektonos simply rolled around his leg and went straight for the chest. The Knight calmly centred his sword to block, but spotted his enemies blade slither upwards violently towards his face.
The Knight panicked and flicked his blade upwards weakly, it blocked the fatal attack, but was sent flying out of his hands. He felt a heavy blow land on the side of his chin, and staggered to the side. He saw the Magektonos pulling his sword back, ready to plunge straight into him. Sullivan raised his hands and pointed them straight at Alcides’s face, he had him at point-blank range.
But the Magektonos was ready, he ducked rapidly and proceeded under his enemies palms, he spotted the centre of Sullivan’s chest and sent his blade hunting for a good contact. Lightseeker Sullivan had never been pushed so far before, in a last ditch attempt to end the fight, he bent his palms towards his own chest, and used every last ounce of magic power he had left.
Alcides was nearly there, just a split second away from taking Sullivan out, when he felt an oppressive barrage raining down on him from above and behind. His head felt fuzzy, and his body lost all power, his body and back of his neck felt like they were burning to a crisp. He dropped to the ground, started to lose his vision and began coughing blood.
Lightseeker Sullivan felt his head spin in a hundred different directions, exhausting one’s magic was never a pleasant experience. He could also feel burns on the exposed parts of his thighs and chest, some self damage was unavoidable. He wobbled in place, but saw Alcides squirming on the ground. His back and neck had been scarred badly, there was no coming back for him.
“Go to the Rihla now, Alcides Umpetha, if you are not worthy then none of us are.” he sighed, as he readied himself to start chasing after his real target.
He tried taking a step forward and collapsed, looking down to find Alcides’s hand clutching a dagger, pried deep into his leg. The half conscious Magektonos had all of his life focused on that one task, keeping the dagger held firm.
The Lightseeker from Saracos let out a yelp when his mind finally registered the pain, he kicked away Alcides’s hand, which dropped lifeless to the ground. His heart screamed that he had to keep going, he could not fail the Rihla after giving his word. But his body was unresponsive, tired and battle worn, he closed his eyes to rest as the exhaustion won over him.