Hirad's Adventures - The Fair Stone By Viemen Kandiah

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Preface​

Hello guys, this is Viemen Kandiah the author of this book. I live in the Netherlands and I am 14 years old. I wrote this book because I thought it would be fun. My mother is a writer too and she encouraged me to write this book. My dad always tells me that I can play well with words. English is not my mother language, so it was a challenge to write this book. I would have never thought that I had come this far. If you like this book, please share it with your friends and family, and enjoy reading!

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~ Prologue ~​

It was midnight, the clock had just struck 12, and everyone was asleep. But somewhere on top of a mountain, the lights were still on. It was a huge castle that was owned by Lord Demor. He was also the king of the country of Demokrito. He was walked to the pile of loot his men had robbed on their previous raids, among all those treasures he was looking for a specific thing: a chest. He found the chest and opened it, his face grimacing…

 

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~ Chapter 1 ~​

It was a sunny day in Uttawa; everyone was already awake including the apprentices of the knight academy. While most of them were busy honing their sword skills, one boy didn’t, he was just sitting on a chair in a corner. The mentor of the group walked towards the boy: ‘Hirad have you finally found out what you did wrong? I have told you so many times that you should take this more seriously, you will be 13 next month and then you must undergo the ritual to reach the next step to becoming a real knight. You have to know the basic techniques first!’ The boy sighed and answered: ‘Maybe I don't want to become a knight.’ Hirad was a 15-year-old boy with long brown spiky hair, he was a very lousy person in manual. ‘Watch your mouth Hirad because after your parents died we took you in because we saw a lot of potential in you, and how do you use that’, yelled Hirad’s mentor. He sighed and continued: ‘Listen boy, I know that you are having a hard time, but you really have to do your best, a few of the most skilled knights will be arriving here tomorrow. A knight might choose to take an apprentice, so make sure you make a good impression, that’s all. His mentor walked away leaving Hirad to think about his words.

It was evening in Uttawa, school was finally over so he was walking to his house while thinking about what his mentor told him. He knew he had to make a good impression on the knights, but he doubted he could. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize he bumped into someone. It was a man who looked sloppy at a first impression. ‘Um sorry sir, I didn't see you’, said Hirad. The man replied: ‘You're that lousy boy from the knight academy, right? I was looking for you.’ Hirad put up his guard and thought: why is he looking for me? He carefully questioned: ‘Why are you looking for me?’ The man answered impatiently: ‘Well, I have nothing to do with you, but my client does.’ ‘Your client’, asked Hirad surprised? ‘Yes, are you coming or not’, said the man growing more impatiently. ‘What if I don’t come’, asked Hirad? He didn’t know if he should trust the guy. Suddenly Hirad felt a flash of pain on the back of his head, he saw the stranger lift him up before everything went dark...

Hirad woke up on a large bed. He asked himself: ‘Where am I?’ He suddenly remembered the strange man he met on the street. Hirad looked at his surroundings. He realized that he was in a luxurious room with luxurious furniture. The room smelled fresh as if someone recently cleaned it. He heard creaking and saw the door opening in the corner of his eye. He saw the strange man from the street coming through the door, followed by a man he had never met. The man was well clothed, and he looked wealthy. What did they want from him? ‘Ah, you are finally awake’, said the strange man from the street. The man continued: ‘Sorry about the hard blow to the back of your head, but I already knew that you wouldn't go without resistance.’ Hirad didn’t reply to the apology, because he saw that the other man began to talk. ‘I'll introduce myself’, said the man. My name is Julius and I am the king of Normand. Hirad was surprised: The king?

 

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‘I hired him to find you’, continued the king while looking at the man from the street. Hirad had often heard of King Julius but had never seen him in person. There were rumors that he was a great magician. ‘I need your help, my dear Hirad’, said the king. Hirad was surprised by the fact that someone needed his help. The king continued: ‘Something terrible has happened; the fate of the world may depend on it. King Demon of the country Demokrito has something he shouldn’t have: one of the 4 elemental stones.’ Hirad flinched: he had heard many rumors about King Demor, who had been exiled from Normand because of his ideas about conquering the world. If he had one of the mighty elemental stones in his hands it meant bad news. He asked himself: Why are they telling me all of this? ‘I think you also realize how great the danger is, noticed Julius. That's why someone must stop him, someone has to get the other elemental stones before him, and that's you Hirad.’ Hirad was shocked: Why was a lousy failure that took nothing seriously asked to save the world? Hirad replied: ‘But I’m almost 13 and I can almost perform the ritual, and tomorrow the great knights will come to watch me fight, maybe they will take me as their apprentice.’ He desperately tried to fend off their request. ‘Hey hey, don’t stress, said Julius. He continued: ‘I know it is hard to understand why we have chosen you, but you will understand eventually. Plus, I already have taken care of your problems so don’t panic. We will make an exception and let you perform the ritual tomorrow, and I am hereby taking you Hirad as my apprentice. This way nobody will get curious.’ His plan to fend off their request completely turned backward. The strange man began to talk: ‘But my king, your family has never chosen an apprentice I don’t think the council will be happy to hear this.’ ‘Silent Rosco’, yelled the king irritated. Rosco cringed. Julius continued: ‘Your job is done, you can leave now.’ Rosco did as he was told to, and walked, without saying another word, to the door. ‘One last thing my lord, please wait for the other royals before you make your decision to let the boy perform the ritual early, it isn’t yours to make, said Rosco before he went through the door. Julius ignored what Rosco said. He continued: ‘Don’t mind him Hirad my decision is final, you should prepare for your ritual tomorrow and don’t forget to rest.’ Hirad whispered slightly irritated: ‘It is not like I have another choice!’ Julius ignored Hirad and left him alone to think. Hirad was shocked: He couldn’t even decide his own fate. Hirad yelled irritated and finally came to a conclusion. Let’s just finish the ritual tomorrow, we will see what happens next…

 

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~Chapter 2 ~​

It was finally the day, Hirad’s day. The ritual was something that all trainees looked forward to their whole lives, Hirad thought the same. He remembered the words his mentor said to him: ‘The ritual is essential to become stronger. When you are 13 you can perform the ritual to receive a grimoire, but listen closely you don’t choose your grimoire, the grimoire chooses you!’ Hirad couldn’t wait, but he was also afraid: What if a grimoire didn’t choose him, what if he isn’t worthy to receive one? The door to Hirad’s room opened and the king came in. ‘It is time Hirad’, said Julius. Hirad stood up from his bed; he noticed that his head was still aching from the hit he had received on the back of his head the other day. ‘Are you ready for the ritual’, asked Julius? ‘Yes’, replied Hirad. Julius continued: ‘Then, follow me.’ Hirad did as he was told and followed the king. This was the first time seeing the castle from the inside, and it was big! Hirad stood there amazed by the huge castle. Julius looked to Hirad: ‘It is big right, everyone reacts just the same as you do.’ ‘Look we are going in there’, said Julius while pointing at a door. The king opened the door. The stairs went downstairs. ‘Are we going to the cellar’, asked Hirad surprised. Hirad continued: ‘I thought that the ritual is held in the magic library. There is only one in Normand and that is in the city, right?’ Julius laughed: ‘You love to talk don’t you?’ Julius continued: ‘Just follow me, and keep quiet, it’s a library after all.’ Hirad flinched: Library? Does that mean that there is another magic library inside the castle, held secret from everyone? They went downstairs, Hirad noticed that the cellar was heavily guarded. Julius said: ‘When you pass this door the ritual will begin, are you ready?’ He nervously answered the kings questioned: ‘Yes.’ Suddenly the door from the cellar opened as if Hirad had commanded it. Julius saw Hirad’s amazed face. The guards let them through the door of the cellar, and he was completely shocked. He saw something that he never saw in his life before, it was an enormous library full of glowing grimoires. Each one of them was glowing in a different color…

Hirad knows what a magic library looks like, he had seen pictures of it in his study books, but he didn’t imagine that it was so big. Julius began to walk toward the center of the library, and Hirad followed him, all the grimoires glowed brighter and brighter each time they came close to the center. Hirad noticed that one grimoire didn’t glow at all, it was a completely dark grimoire. Julius stopped and looked at Hirad, I wouldn’t come near that if I were you, that one is cursed he said while pointing at the dark grimoire. Hirad startled: ‘Cursed?’ Julius replied: ‘Yes cursed, it is called a dark grimoire, it appeared straight from hell. That grimoire hasn’t chosen anyone for centuries.’ He bowed towards Hirad: ‘Promise me Hirad, don’t come near the dark grimoire, the last wielder of that grimoire was cursed and became imprisoned in hell.’ Hirad flinched: ‘Ok, I promise.’ Julius looked relieved and begun to walk again. Although Julius made him promise to not come near the dark grimoire, he kept staring at the grimoire as if it was calling him. Hirad didn’t pay attention and accidentally bumped into Julius. Julius laughed: ‘Focus Hirad, from here on you need to concentrate.’ He continued: ‘Now let the start the ritual!’ They were surrounded by bookshelves with glowing grimoires. Julius signed to Hirad that he must step forward. Julius whispered: ‘Lift your hands and concentrate. Close your eyes Hirad and let the grimoires find you.’ Hirad did as he was told to, and closed his eyes. He tried to concentrate. Minutes passed away, and he opened his eyes, he saw that he was not in the library anymore. Hirad saw a light far away from him. He tried to reach the light, but he couldn’t. Suddenly the light was gone and everything went dark. He heard someone saying something in a distorted voice, but he couldn’t understand it. He desperately tried to reach the voice. Hirad felt that he came closer. He could hear the voice better, each time he came closer. It was tiring and he each time tried to reach out to the voice. After a lot of struggling, he finally managed to reach the voice but before he could see the person with the distorted voice, he felt something in his hands, and he slowly opened his eyes. He was back in the library and looked around. He saw that the grimoires stopped glowing. Was the ritual finished? He looked up to Julius, the king looked frightened for something. Hirad followed Julius’s eye line, he noticed that Julius was looking to his hands. Hirad looked to his own hands and he was shocked at what he saw…

 

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In his hands lied the cursed dark grimoire. Hirad looked to the King for an explanation, but all he saw was a frightened face. Julius managed to speak again: ‘Hirad, you have the dark grimoire in your hands, the dark grimoire chose someone. The last time this happened was centuries ago! The king who was still frightened continued: ‘Well, there is no coming back now, you have to be careful with this grimoire it can take you over at any time, try not to show this to anyone they will think you’re a monster.’ Hirad replied frustrated: ‘King Julius I don’t think I can handle this power, you are even frightened of it, and they say that you are the greatest wizard in Normand! It feels like the grimoire is taking my energy!’ Julius said with a calm voice: ‘Believe me Hirad, I know what this power can do to humans, but I believe in you, you’re a kindhearted person that never gives in to anyone or anything.’ Julius stood up and walked towards a pile of grimoire holders. He picked one holder up and gave it to Hirad: ‘Put your grimoire in here.’ Hirad did as he was told to. Julius continued while Hirad was busy putting his grimoire in his holder: ‘I will personally go with you to buy everything you need for your journey tomorrow’, until then take some rest. ‘Yes king Julius’, said the still frightened Hirad. ‘Hirad, I know that you can handle this, have faith in yourself’, whispered Julius. Hirad nodded and walked out of the library. Hirad left the cellar shocked about the ritual, he had the dark grimoire?! Hirad passed the guards who looked amazed and at the same time frightened at Hirad. Hirad ignored them and walked further. He stopped by the exit and looked at his grimoire, he grimaced and thought: ‘I have to work with what I was given.’





‘My king…’ Julius looked up surprised: ‘Ah, Ignis were you here the whole time?’ Ignis replied: ‘Yes, I was listening to the whole time my king, was it ok to lie to the child?’ Julius sighed: ‘I had no other choice Ignis, I know that the dark grimoire chose Hirad’s father too, but I couldn’t tell him the truth, about what the dark grimoire did to him.’ Julius continued: ‘Ignis I can assure you that Hirad is different he is not like his father, he is not like my friend, he is like a fire that no one can extinguish. ‘Even the dark grimoire my lord’, asked Ignis curiously? The king replied: ‘Yes, Ignis even the dark grimoire…’

Hirad woke up, he immediately fell asleep right after the ritual. Today was the day, the beginning of his journey. He was excited, but he still didn’t like the fact that he had nothing to say in this. He changed his clothes and was ready to depart. He was waiting on the nice comfortable bed until he heard someone knocking on his door. ‘Come in’, said Hirad. Julius came through the door: ‘Good morning Hirad, did you rest well?’ Hirad answered the question: ‘Yeah, I went straight to bed after the ritual.’ The king was again dressed in wealthy clothes. ‘Good, follow me, we don’t want to be late.’ Hirad did as he was told to, and followed the king. He still couldn’t believe how big the castle was. Julius and Hirad walked up the stairs. ‘Uh King Julius, isn’t the door that way’, said Hirad while pointing at the huge castle door. Julius grimaced: ‘We are not going to walk to the marketplace but fly.’ Hirad flinched: ‘Fly? Do you mean on a dragon?!’ Julius laughed: ‘Yes Hirad, on a dragon.’ Hirad still couldn’t believe that they were going to ride on a dragon. He never saw one before! They were almost upstairs. This must be the highest point of the castle, thought Hirad while looking at the big door. Two guards were guarding the door. The guards saw Julius and stepped away when Julius signed to them to open the door. Hirad whispered to Julius: ‘They must be strong to open a door like that.’ Julius nodded: ‘Yes, the dragon we are going to ride on is one of the last of his kind, so we need to be careful with him at all times.’ That explained why Hirad had never seen a dragon. The guards waited till Hirad and Julius went through and then closed it. Hirad immediately saw that the room was huge. ‘Hey Skai, are you there’, whispered Julius? Hirad saw a big dragonhead coming from a corner. Its head was 10 times Julius’s and Hirad’s bodies combined. The whole castle shook when the big dragon tried to move. Julius went to the dragon and petted him: ‘Time for a little ride buddy.’ The dragon stood up and Hirad could see the enormous body of the dragon. Now he understood why there is such a big room on top of the castle. Skai let Julius climb on his back. Julius saw that Hirad stood there amazed by the dragon: ‘Hirad come on don’t stand there, hop on we have to hurry!’ Hirad did as he was told to. Julius helped him up on Skai’s back. He commanded the dragon to fly: ‘Ok ready Hirad?’ Hirad signed that he was ready. He heard the king saying something to the dragon. The dragon automatically lifted his wings by hearing the phrase, and before Hirad could even say a thing, they were flying in the air. Julius saw Hirad cringe from the cold. He laughed: ‘You will eventually get used to it.’ Hirad looked to Julius who looked like the cold didn’t bother him. Julius continued: ‘Remember this Hirad, a dragon is the fastest way to travel.’ Hirad replied: ‘I know, I have studied about them at school, I was always interested in dragons.’ Julius grimaced and continued: ‘Oh and don’t look down.’ It was too late. Hirad saw how far they were up in the sky. It instantly made him dizzy, and he tried not to puke. Luckily he was distracted because he saw something: ‘Look I see a town, is that our destination?’ Julius replied: ‘Yeah, that is Elfwood.’ He commanded Skai to go down. Skai did as he was told to, and they were on the ground in no time. Julius jumped off the dragon: ‘Stay here buddy.’ He helped Hirad to come down and begun to walk to the town. It took some time for Hirad to get used to walking on the ground, but he managed. Hirad noticed that the town was smaller than he thought. They arrived at a huge door. ‘They have a huge door for a small town’, whispered Hirad. ‘Yes you are right’, chuckled Julius. He continued: ‘Welcome to Elfwood, salesmen from all over the world bring their products and sell them here. I think that is the reason that they have a huge door.’ Two guards blocked the way to the door. They asked them: ‘Who are you, and what is your purpose here.’ Julius showed the guards a stone and said: ‘I am the King of Normand and we need to buy this young man some goods for his journey.’ The guards suddenly stressed: ‘Excuse us, my king, we didn’t know.’ They bowed before Julius and opened the door. Julius and Hirad walked through the door. He could immediately see that Elfwood was a lively village. People were walking all across the town shopping for goods. Julius said: ‘let’s find you a magical sack first.’ Hirad was surprised: ‘A magical sack?’ Hirad had never heard of something like that before. Julius replied: ‘Yes Hirad, it is a sack with infinite space, you can practically put everything in there.’ ‘Wow cool, that surely will come in handy for my journey’, replied Hirad. Julius looked around: ‘Look, I see a shop which is selling sacks.’ They ran down to the sack shop. Hirad was curious and asked Julius if he comes here often. Julius answered his question: ‘Yes I come here once a month, just because this place is awesome. You think so too right, I mean look at this place it has everything!’ Hirad looked around him: ‘Yeah, this place is awesome…’

 

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‘Welcome my dearest customers, oh my you are King Julius how can I serve you my king’, said a salesman? ‘I need that magical sack over there’, replied Julius while pointing at a sack. The salesman grimaced: ‘Oh that one, that is not going to be cheap it is my best sack after all. ‘How much is it’, asked Julius? The salesman answered casually: ‘Around 500 Ruel.’ Hirad thought: 500 Ruel, you can buy a castle with that money! ‘Here’, Julius gave him the 500 Ruel and took the sack. ‘500 Ruel, King Julius isn’t that a bit too much, you can buy a castle with that money’, said Hirad! Julius suddenly turned serious: ‘No Hirad it is never too much if the fate of the world depends on it.’ He gave Hirad the sack: ‘Take good care of it.’ He continued: ‘You will need a weapon. Look I see a blacksmith in the distance!’ In knight academy, pupils train a lot with different kinds of weapons, but Hirad didn’t because he never took it seriously. They arrived at the blacksmith. ‘Hello mister, could you please show us all your weapons’, asked Julius? The blacksmith who was around 50 replied: ‘Oh, I know just the weapon for a strong man like you, this nice…’ Julius interrupted him: ‘It is not for me mister, but for the kid.’ The blacksmith looked to Hirad: ‘for him?! Fine then, you’re free to look around, but if you touch it you buy it!’ The blacksmith looked to Hirad as if he was looking at his prey. Julius ignored the irritating salesman: ‘Hirad, choose the weapon that attracts you the most.’ Hirad looked around in the weapon shop, he never actually trained with a weapon before, and so he doesn’t know what it feels like to fight with it. He couldn’t touch anything either to test a weapon, otherwise, he will need to buy it. He went further and further through the shop until the worst-case scenario happened. He accidentally touched a sword. The salesman was immediately alert: ‘Ah, one of the fallen elves swords these are pretty expensive you know.’ Julius interrupted him again: ‘If that is the sword that he has chosen, so be it.’ He continued: ‘How much is it?’ The blacksmith grimaced: ‘It is around 700 Ruel.’ The king already bought the sword without hesitation before Hirad could say that he accidentally touched the sword and that he didn’t pick it. The blacksmith happily received the money: ‘Thank you, mister…’ Julius ignored the man and walked away from the shop. ‘Here you go, keep it safe because this will always be your last hope’, said Julius while handing the sword to Hirad. Hirad received the sword without saying anything. He felt a weird shock when he touched the handle of the sword but he didn’t pay attention to it. He put the sword away on his back. He nodded to Julius that he was ready to go to the next store. Julius turned around and begun to walk. It was weird for Hirad to walk around with a sword, but the strange feeling was gone when he went was at another shop to buy the next item…



It was noon in Elfwood village, they were finally done with all the shopping. Julius had bought a lot for Hirad: lots of food and water, armor to wear, knives to cook, maps and so much more. Luckily, Hirad had the magical sack, without it he would have drowned in all of his new equipment. It was around 4 pm. Julius sighed: ‘I think that we are finally done with shopping, it is time to say goodbye.’ Hirad was shocked: Already goodbye? Julius replied as if he read his mind: ‘yes Hirad.’ But I am sure that you will return from a journey, and that I will see you again. Hirad walked toward Julius: ‘That is a promise!’ Julius laughed: ‘Oh, come here.’ He gave a strong hug to Hirad. Now go Hirad, go receive the elemental stones before lord Demor does. Hirad walked away from Julius, while he was bidding him farewell. He almost cried by the thought of leaving him behind because over the past few days Julius had become like a father for him. He grew up not having one. ‘From now on I am alone, and everything will be different…’

 

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~ Chapter 3 ~​

Hirad sat beside a tree; he was looking at his map he had bought from the market. ‘The nearest elemental stone is in Igneous. According to the map, I will find the firestone there’, said Hirad whispering. He noticed that the map was old. Should he trust the map? He ignored his own question, and remembered the final piece of advice Julius gave him before he began his journey: ‘Don’t travel at night, there will be monsters lurking in the shadows.’ ‘Who knew traveling is so hard’ said Hirad. Hirad saw that it was going to be night soon. He waited till he finished his apple, and got up from his spot beside the tree and begun to walk: ‘I have to get as far as possible before nightfall!’ He walked as far as he could, he also needed to pay attention to not eat too much of his ration. By nightfall, he was almost out of the woods, but Julius clearly said to not travel at night. What bad can happen if I just travel a bit in the night, just to get out of these woods: thought Hirad? He walked through the woods, he barely recognized the woods at night, it is like if he was in a totally different place. He walked further and further. ‘I think the king was overreacting’, whispered Hirad. Suddenly he felt something pulling on his leg…



‘Aaahh’, screamed Hirad. He instinctively pulled his sword and tried to cut whatever was pulling him. He didn’t know what it was, but whatever it was, it was strong. He felt blood dripping down from his leg. , after a lot of struggling, he finally managed to push the creature away from him. Hirad heard his enemy scream with a distorted voice. He heard that the thing struggled to stand up for a short period, but it recovered quickly. At that moment Hirad could see what was attacking him because the creature was standing in the moonlight. Hirad had never seen a creature like that before, it looked like an ape with massive bear claws. Before Hirad had a chance to settle his thoughts the creature attacked again. He felt really frightened for the first time in his life. He tried to push off his enemy and slash him with his sword, but it was too quick, it quickly maneuvered behind him and slashed him in his back. He screamed because of the striking pain he felt. He felt the creature slashing and slashing on his back while he was passing out.



Is he awake? Hirad heard voices around him. He slowly opened his eyes. He saw a boy from around his age bowed over him. The boy asked again if Hirad was ok? Hirad wanted to answer the question, but then he felt a striking pain in his back. He groaned. He suddenly remembered last night where he got attacked by some kind of beast. How was he still alive? The boy saw Hirad’s confused face: ‘We were scouting in the woods, and we heard screaming, we quickly ran to the screams and saw you knocked down on the ground with massive wounds on your back. You also had this grimoire in your hand.’ The boy pointed at Hirad’s grimoire which was laying on a table. Hirad was confused: ‘Did the grimoire save his life?’ He quickly asked the boy: ‘What happened to the thing that attacked me?’ The boy answered his question: ‘I didn’t see anything, it must have fled.’ Hirad suddenly remembered his mission, he tried to stand up, and this time he managed it. ‘Can I get that back please’, asked Hirad while pointing at the grimoire. The boy hesitated: ‘Sure, but you shouldn’t stand up, your wound could go open again.’ The boy gave him the grimoire. Hirad asked the boy: ‘What is your name?’ The boy replied: ‘My name is Lee, and I am a knight apprentice, ‘just like you’ said Lee while pointing at Hirad’s sword.’ Hirad looked at the boy who was also carrying a sword. He also saw that the boy was a bit short for his age and had wild messy hair. ‘Thank you Lee, for all the help, but I need to leave now I have a mission to complete, can I get that sack over there?’ ‘Fine, but don’t blame me if your wounds go open’ , replied Lee. Hirad grimaced: ‘I won’t.’ Hirad opened the door to leave until he heard Lee talking again: ‘Can I ask you something?’ Hirad sighed: ‘Yes, what is it?’ He needed to hurry, he didn’t have time for this. Lee continued: ‘We were scouting for a reason, monsters are attacking our village, and each time they come they kill some of our knights. Can you please help us?’ Hirad was surprised: ‘That was pretty straight up.’ Hirad thought about his mission to save the world: Is this village worth saving compared to the whole world? Hirad decided: He will delay his mission and help these people! ‘How do the monsters look like’, asked Hirad? ‘Uhm, I think it is a combination between an ape and a bear’, replied Lee. Hirad flinched, that was the monster that attacked him in the woods. Lee continued: ‘They are almost impossible to kill, we didn’t have a chance to see a single weak point!’ Hirad agreed to that. Lee changed to another subject. He asked if Hirad would like a tour of the village. ‘Yeah sure’, answered Hirad, it will be important to know how the village looks like, that way he will be able to help these people better. They walked through the village, it sure was a peaceful one, but because of the bear apes (the name Hirad gave the creatures), it was all ruined. Hirad looked at Lee who was staring at him. Lee looked amazed. Hirad asked: ‘What is it?’ ‘Don’t you feel anything, I mean look at your wounds, people who are under your circumstances can’t even walk’, replied Lee shocked! Hirad looked at the wounds on his back: ‘Now that you mention it, I don’t feel anything.’ Hirad switched to another subject. How many people in your village can fight’, Lee? Lee answered his question and ignored the fact that Hirad could walk with his wounds: ‘Well, we have lost quite a few warriors, including me we only have about three people that can fight now.’ Hirad was shocked, only three people in the whole village left to fight?! They will need more warriors. Hirad was forming a plan in his head: ‘Call all the people in your village but leave the kids.’ ‘Oke’, replied Lee. He needed to train the villagers somehow, what would his mentor and King Julius do? That’s it! We only need the villagers to learn the basics, the warriors left from the village plus me can teach them. And then they can at least defend themselves a little against the bear apes. That will be our only option. He saw Lee coming back with about 50 people. Hirad just had one day to train those people. He whispered: ‘Let’s get to work then…’

 

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‘Left, right and forward repeat these moves 10 times’, said Hirad. Hirad was also inexperienced so he trained along with the 50 villagers. They split the villagers into groups to train them better. He taught the basic sword moves to the villagers. Those were the only moves he perfected on the knight academy. He looked up from his training and watched Lee training his group. Lee was an incredible knight, he had a lot of talent and experience. He was training 15 people all by himself! Hirad was very impressed. He looked interested in the other 2 groups, who both had 15 men in their custody. The other two warriors from the village were teaching them. ‘Uh Hirad, we already did 10 times the moves that you told us to do, what now’, asked a villager? Hirad completely forgot his own group, which was made of 5 villagers. Hirad continued the lesson: ‘Ok, now I will show you how to defend against the attacks, the bear apes; that is what I call them, will often try to get behind you and attack. So, be alert, and watch each other’s back ok?’ The villagers nodded and performed the exercise.



Hirad was proud of himself, he would have never believed that he would teach people how to fight! Hirad grimaced. He remembered what Lee said to him about the Bear apes: They attack every night because that is when they are strongest. Hirad looked up to the sun; it was almost under. He concluded that the next attack from the bear apes would begin soon. He looked at his group and saw their sweaty faces. ‘You can rest now, I think that you have learned enough’, said Hirad to the villagers. The villagers replied with relieved voices. They all stood up and went separate ways. Hirad heard someone calling his name. He saw Lee running towards him. ‘The other 2 warriors want a strategic meeting, they want you to join them’, said Lee. ‘Ok, right after you’, replied Hirad. He followed Lee to a villager’s house. The house was big, probably the biggest one around. Lee saw Hirad thinking: ‘This was the Chief’s house.’ Hirad flinched: ‘Was?’ ‘Yeah, the chief died by a bear ape one month ago’, said Lee sadly. ‘Who is the current chief of the village’, asked Hirad. ‘The chief’s son took his place as chief, his name is Akin’, replied Lee. Lee continued: ‘He wants you at the strategic meeting. Come on, he hates latecomers.’ He went through the door. This was Hirad’s first time meeting the other warriors. They both were around 30 years old. They all looked like strong warriors, who judging by their wounds had fought many battles. The warriors signed to them to come in. They introduced themselves. Apparently the two warriors were brothers. The older one was akin: The village’s chief. The younger brother was called Ajani. Ajani called Lee and Hirad over: ‘We were already thinking of a strategy.’ ‘We have one weak spot in our entire village, and that is here’, said Akin who began explaining the situation on the map of a village. He was pointing at a drawing of the main gate. ‘Is it an option to put our entire force on that spot’, suggested Lee? ‘No, then they will be easy prey for the bear-apes’, replied Ajani frustrated. Hirad thought hard, and suddenly there sparked an idea in his head. ‘What if we just spread our forces against the walls surrounding the village, we can perform a surprise attack’, suggested Hirad. ‘Yes that is actually a good idea’, said Lee! ‘Good job kid complimented Akin. Hirad blushed of the many praises. But it was over fast because he suddenly heard screaming, a villager with a deep wound on his back came through the door yelling: ‘ We are all under attack, it’s the bear-ap…’, without finishing his sentence, he fell dead on the ground…



‘Quickly, pull up the defenses. Go against the walls surrounding the main gate to perform a surprise attack’, ordered Akin to the villagers. He continued: ‘The man who fell dead on the ground was a scout. He did a good job of returning to the village, otherwise, we all would have been dead.’ Ajani sprinted to the villagers, he quickly explained the plan in detail. The villagers did as they were told to, they spread against the walls surrounding the village. Lee went with Hirad to the center of the main gate. They would serve as prey to attract the bear-apes. They both agreed to this plan, even though it was dangerous. They maneuvered quickly through the villagers, Hirad was relieved that they had the element of surprise. Because of the scout, they knew that the bear apes were coming. Everything went as planned. Hirad heard a villager shout: ‘I see the bear apes, they are coming!’ Hirad was immediately alert. He heard Akin shout: ‘Don’t be afraid guys, watch each other’s back.’ Hirad looked to the sun, it was going under. Hirad heard the earth rumbling, he couldn’t believe what he saw: around 150 bear apes coming straight at them! The first wave of bear-apes arrived at the main gate. Hirad saw that the bear apes clearly were confused that there were only 2 boys standing in front of them. They looked around for other people. Hirad saw this as a chance: ‘Now’, yelled Hirad! All the villagers who were standing against the walls stormed into the horde of the bear-apes. It was hard to see 50 villagers at night but you could clearly see 150 bear apes. ‘Let’s go Hirad’, yelled Lee. They busted into the group of the bear-apes swinging with their sword as much as they can. Some of them recovered quickly from the surprise attack and begun to counterattack. Hirad saw Akin and Ajani busting through a group of bear apes, but he couldn’t stay watching for long because another bear ape was attacked him. Hirad slit as many throats as he could until he suddenly saw something. He heard the earth trembling under his feet and saw falling trees in the forest. Hirad finally saw what had caused the falling trees. A huge Bear-ape came through the forest. ‘Lee, do you see that’, yelled Hirad. ‘Yes, I think that is their leader, if we kill him it will be all over’, yelled Lee. ‘Do you think we can take him on’, asked Lee. ‘We don’t know until we try’, yelled Hirad! He heard Akin’s voice: ‘Go, defeat the Alpha ape, we will clear the way.’ Hirad saw that Akin and Ajani were sprinting towards Hirad and Lee, killing countless bear apes. ‘Go’, yelled Ajani! ‘Let’s go then’, yelled Hirad to Lee. Both Lee and Hirad quickly maneuvered through the dead bear apes to reach the Alpha. It was sad to see villagers laying on the ground. The only thing that he could do is pray that they were not dead! Hirad could see the big alpha Bear-ape clearly, although it was night. ‘Let’s get him Lee’, replied Hirad. They tried to surprise him by slashing his back, but it knew that they were coming. Both Lee and Hirad made eye contact with the Alpha, they were horrified by what they saw. Such dark eyes which gave them shivering in their spines. But they quickly recovered from that and tried to attack again. The Alpha dodged the attack and begun to counterattack. He was really fast for his size. He wildly slashed with its long claws towards Lee. Lee didn’t expect the attack and lost balance. He desperately tried to keep up with the Alpha. ‘Lee’, yelled Hirad! He ran as fast as he could to save his friend. Hirad knew that he could never reach him on time. ‘Noooo’, yelled Hirad. Suddenly he was away from the battlefield, he was in a dark place that he somewhat remembered. He heard a distorted voice laughing at him. Hirad knew that voice but couldn’t remember. He suddenly felt that something had grasped his neck, he couldn’t breathe. Hirad felt his eyelets becoming heavier, he tried to remain conscious, but his eyes slowly closed, and he felt everything slipping away…..

 

[ரோசி கஜன்]

~Chapter 4~​

Lee looked frightened up to the Alpha. He desperately defended himself with his sword, but he couldn’t keep this up for too long. He felt his bone and sword cracking every time the monster slashed, it had such immense power. The alpha slashed again, and Lee’s sword was thrown away. Luckily, He was able to stand up and run away. Lee turned around and saw that something was not right. He saw that the alpha had completely lost interest in Lee. Lee looked a bit closer at the alpha, he couldn’t believe what he saw. It looked like that the alpha was in trouble, It was being pushed back! ‘By who?’, whispered Lee. He heard the voice of Akin: ‘Hirad!’ The battle had suddenly stopped, the bear apes and the villagers had completely lost interest in each other. In fact, they were all looking at the same thing. Lee followed Akin’s eyes, it leads to the alpha. ‘Wait’, said Lee surprised. He sharpened his eyes and looked again. A person was standing in front of the Alpha?! A person, who had a sword, was pushing the Alpha back! It looked like the person was equally matched with the Alpha! He suddenly felt a huge amount of magic power coming from where the person was standing. He heard a scream so loud that his eardrums were almost exploding. He recognized the voice immediately. ‘Hirad’ whispered Lee? A dark light was coming from his friend. Hirad’s arm was covered in dark flames! His sword was glowing the same as his body. Lee could barely keep his eye open. The Alpha tried to punch Hirad, but he was too fast. He quickly dodged that attack and slashed him in his back. Black blood was coming out of the Alpha. ‘It is like he had got a power-up’, thought Lee. The Alpha roared, it ran after Hirad to get him but he was simply too fast for it. Hirad began to counterattack, he quickly slashed one arm of the Alpha. The alpha screamed angrily. A huge magic power came from the alpha, it went berserk. Lee couldn’t stand watching Hirad fighting the Alpha alone, but the bear apes, which were focused again, blocked his way. The alpha gathered all his magic in one fist, ready to kill Hirad. But Hirad didn’t run away, instead, he just stood still. ‘Hirad what are you doing, run away’, yelled Lee who was looking up from his fight with the bear apes. Hirad didn’t listen to Lee, it looked like he couldn’t hear him. Hirad concentrated all his magic to his sword. Lee was surprised, he could feel the amazing amount of magic, but he never knew that Hirad could perform magic! He could see magic symbols being enchanted on Hirad’s sword. The Alpha came closer with the fist where he had focused all of his magic. But Hirad didn’t move an inch, instead, he was waiting for the right moment to attack. ‘Hirad what are you doing, run’, yelled Lee! The monster came close to Hirad! ‘Dark Magic; Shadow slash.’ Lee couldn’t see what just had happened, the only thing he saw was a dark flash. The dark flames slowly faded away, he saw Hirad walking out of the smoke. His flames were gone, and there was no sign of the Alpha. Lee ran to Hirad who had used up all of his magic power and fell unconscious. Lee saw that villagers and the 2 warriors were looking surprised at the battlefield. Lee saw why: all the bear apes were suddenly gone. Asher ran over to Lee asking him if Hirad was ok. ‘Yes, he is just unconscious’, replied Lee who was checking his pulse. Asher looked around him: ‘Where is the Alpha?’ Lee heard Ajani’s voice before he could answer Asher’s question. ‘Guys come over here.’ Lee carried Hirad on his back and ran with Asher to Ajani. He was shocked by what he saw. All that had remained from the Alpha, was a pile of ash.