Bacorium Legacy (26 page)

“You cannot do this!” Brand shouted at Allma. “Think of the consequences! She is the princess of Sono! Have you lost your mind?!”

“She was dead the moment she set foot in this place,” Allma said in an emotionless tone. “Whether by my hand, or an Acarian's. She cannot leave here alive.”

“But why?!”

“It is no business of yours, boy,” Allma spat. “Now stand aside, or I will cut you down as well.”

“Princess...” said the halberd-carrying soldier. “You must flee while I fight this man.”

She shook her head. “I cannot. We have another visitor.”

Luca stepped forth, raising
Siora
and pointing it at Allma. “Put down your weapon. It is four against one. You have no chance.”
 

Allma turned, seeing him for the first time. His eyes practically bulged out their sockets. “Y-you! You were killed!”

“Put down your weapon,” Luca told him again.

“Brand!” Allma barked. “Lock him up! He must be working with the Acarians! He is a traitor!”

Brand did not move.

“Brand, this is an order!” Allma practically screamed. “As the leader of the temple-!”

“I'm done taking orders from you,” Brand said.

Allma spun and swung his sword at Brand's neck. Selphie's guard sprang forward and blocked the blade with his halberd.

“Damn it!” Allma said.

Allma tried to draw away from the soldier, only to find Luca's blade at his throat.

“Move and die,” he said.

A halberd, a scimitar, and two short swords were in Allma's face in moments.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Selphie asked him.

Allma was silent.

<> <> <>

Luca pushed Allma into the cell which had, only moments ago, been holding Ash. Allma's hands were bound, and his sword had been taken from him. The cell had a magick circle drawn on it's floor, which would block any mana flowing within it, to prevent prisoners from using magick to escape.

Ash had been beaten badly. He was covered in dirt and dried blood, and dressed in torn rags. But he was able to walk without help, and as he stood on the outside of the cell, he looked down at Allma in disgust.

Brand was there with them as well. “This is the best we can do right now,” he said. “He's the leader of the temple. We can't kill him. But after attacking a member of the royal family of Sono, he has to be detained at least for the time being.”

Allma stared at them, saying nothing. Deep in his eyes, there was a fear that he was hiding behind layers of rage.

Brand turned to him. “He's not going anywhere. We should go check on the princess.”

Luca nodded. He turned to his brother, but Ash raised his hand before he could speak. “I'm fine. I've had worse beatings,” he dismissed.

The three of them made their way back upstairs, where they found Selphie, her remaining guard, and Tranom, who must have just arrived. As he noticed their arrival, Brand's tall master drew near them.

“Allma has...” Tranom began to say.

“Tried to kill the princess of Sono,” Brand explained. “Whether by insanity, desperation, or plot, he drew his blade on a royal. I did what the law decreed, and had him locked away.”

“I know,” Tranom said, frowning. “The princess has already explained the circumstances. This has certainly complicated things - not only are we under siege by the Acarians, but our own leader has just declared war against Sono.”

“Whatever Allma the third is plotting, I will not hold the entirety of Allma Temple responsible,” Selphie reassured him. “So long as he is not commanding you against me.”

“After this, he has no right to lead us,” Tranom said to Selphie. “Dori is the second in command, and I the third. I assure you, that if we are in command, you have no enemy in Allma temple.”

“So you are challenging Allma's rule?” Luca asked.

“Dori and I intended to challenge it once the siege was over either way,” Tranom said. “We have had our doubts. What you told us about Rael only confirmed our suspicions. The Allma we knew twenty years ago would never have done something like that. Time has changed him. After attacking the princess - I cannot take orders from that man any longer.”

“Regardless,” said the halberd-carrying guard. “I feel that the princess should leave this place. Four of us were slaughtered here by a man who was supposed to be trustworthy. Her safety is my responsibility, and this temple is clearly not safe.”

“With the Acarians outside?” Brand asked. “She's safer here than anywhere else.”

“He's right, Jared,” Selphie said to her guard. “The Acarian army blocks the road, and we have no way of knowing what parties of them may be in the woods. Not to mention the bandits and monsters out there. There are only a few hours of day left - not long enough for us to make it to the nearest town. We must remain here, at least until the siege is over.”

“How can we trust them?” the guard, Jared, asked her. “One of them already tried to take your life!”

“Tranom gave me his word,” Selphie said sternly.

“As did Allma.”

There was tension in the chamber as they watched the princess glare at her guard. Whatever was to happen, it would be the result of whatever she said.

But she never did. For at that moment, the sound of a loud boom cut through the air.

“What was that?!” Tranom exclaimed.

“It came from outside!” Brand said, darting for the door. Brand threw open the door and ran outside. They all followed behind him.

Outside, there were sounds of shouting and panic. They came from the other side of the behemoth corpses - at the temple gate.

“Dori!” Brand shouted, who had already reached the clear.

As Luca drew up behind him, he saw an unexplainable sight. Acarian soldiers were everywhere - hundreds, no thousands filled the temple grounds. There were pouring in by the masses at the shattered gate, where Austille was using his claws and heavy tail to take them down by the dozens. They were coming out from behind buildings, or firing arrows from rooftops where the temple's own archers had just been. Everywhere, white-robbed students were being stabbed or struck with arrows, their bodies vanishing. The Acarians moved with mechanical precision, never stopping or hesitating.

It was a massacre. The Allmans were outnumbered at least twofold. Acarians continued to appear, as though from nowhere, everywhere they could. The number was unbelievable - far more than the small army that Austille had chased outside.

Luca felt a shiver and prayed Emila had listened this time.

And yet, he could still feel her. His false heartbeat continued, so Emila was still alive. And he had no sudden pains from their shared connection, so she was unharmed as well.

“This can't be...” Tranom muttered.

“How?!” Brand exclaimed. “How are there so many of them?!”

They were then noticed. A group of archers atop a nearby building turned their attention to them, and two dozen bows were aimed and drawn. The Sonoian guard Jared stepped forth, and a surge of mana filled the air as he used his magick to raise a shield of earth from the ground. The arrows were fired, but they were safe behind the stone wall.

“It does not matter how many there are,” Ash said. “So long as we have Austille, their numbers mean nothing. The masters know this, and they will react accordingly. Dori's just waiting for everyone to get out of Austille's range.”

“
Get back!
”
 

There was then a gust of wind, the telltale sign of Austille's wings. The dragon, with Dori on his back, rose up into the air. In only a few seconds, he had risen above the Acarians gathered around him, and with a blast of his fire-breath, they were incinerated.

“Princess,” Jared said to Selphie. “We cannot stay out in the open like this.”

Selphie nodded. “Tranom, what would you suggest? It may be time to consider retreat.”

“Flee if you wish, Princess.” Tranom had drawn his sword. “You can take shelter back in the sanctum. But we stay and fight. If these bastards think they can smear the legacy of Allma Temple...!”

With those parting words, Tranom left them and ran out into the sea of black-armoured men, cutting them down left and right. He screamed, primal and enraged, and his sword was soon dripping red. He was joined by several students, who were beginning to gather in groups.

It was a war-zone. The once-serene temple had become a haze of screams, clashing steel, and bursts of fire. Luca looked to where Dori's house was. Though he could not see it clearly, there seemed to be few people in the area.

“What should be done with Allma?” Luca asked, suddenly remembering the imprisoned leader of the temple.

“Leave him in his cell,” Brand spat. “Nobody will look for him down there, and he won't be a problem, either.”

Ash turned to Selphie. “If you're going to flee, I would suggest you go now, before any more of them come. The underground caverns have a secret passage that will take you out into the woods.”

“The Acarians first attacked from underground,” Brand pointed out. “They could still be down in those caves.”

“You could always try your luck with the front door,” Ash said, pointing to the shattered gate, where swarms of charging Acarians were being consumed by red fire.

Jared scowled. “It seems our best bet. We cannot remain here.”

“I know,” Selphie said, her eyes sad and regretful. “I'm truly sorry, Luca, Brand, Ash - I cannot stay here. It was safe enough before, but now that they are within the walls... I cannot stay, though I hate to run away. I would help you and fight by your side - but my duty comes before honour. I have an obligation to my kingdom and my father, and fighting here would put my life at risk. Were I not a princess, I would not hesitate to stay.”

“Your safety comes first,” Brand said. “Get out of here while you still can.”

“I know those tunnels better than anyone here,” Ash said to her. “It's easy to get lost down there. I can go with you. I can't help much here as it is. The Allmans think I'm a traitor.”

Jared frowned, but Selphie smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you. Where are these tunnels?”

“The entrance is at Dori's house.”

Luca placed his had on Ash's shoulder. “Brother. When you get there, you'll find Emila waiting for me. Tell her - tell her I want her to go with you. Tell her to get out of here while she still can.”

Ash looked him in the eyes for a moment. The implications of her waiting there for him remained unspoken. “I'll tell her... So long, brother.”

The three started off for Dori's house, ducking past the behemoths and making a break for it, leaving Brand and Luca behind.

Brand stared at him for a moment. “You're not fleeing with her? After everything that happened - what made you change your mind?”

Luca looked down at
Siora
, sheathed at his belt. “I keep trying to run away from things, it seems. But every time I try to run, there's always a reason why I can't.”
 

He thought of Arlea, and their secret plan to run away from Arimos. He thought of his first meeting with Emila, and how he tried to flee from the inn. And he thought of his first attempt to run away from the temple, no more than an hour ago.

“I can't leave while everyone here is being slaughtered,” he told Brand. “I couldn't run away before, and I can't now. Whether I can or can not die out there is irrelevant. The Code of Uro tells me to stay and fight.”

Brand raised his eyebrows. “Well, that explains a few things. You should have told Emila.”

Luca found he couldn't say anything.

Brand placed his hand on Luca's shoulder. “There's a lot of them out there. Odds are we're gonna die. You still up for it?”

Luca smirked.

<> <> <>

Dori sent another wave of wind magick to Austille, keeping the dragon from hitting the ground as he swept low once again. His friend let out another breath of fire, and two or three dozen Acarians were reduced to nothing more than blackened armour.

The old man felt young again for the first time in years. It had been so long since he and Austille had had a chance to fly - not since a large group of bandits had tried to rob the temple nearly ten years ago. He knew that Austille was glad to be out of the underground. The caves were spacious, but a dragon only felt free in the skies.

Austille was shamed by his people - banished from his home in the mountains in the south for aiding in a human conflict. Allma the third had agreed to let Austille live in the caves beneath the temple at the end of the Acarian War on the condition that he defend the temple when Allma called for it. The leader only wanted his secret weapon out of the arrangement, but the truth was that it had saved Austille's life. Had he not spent those years under the temple, he would have been slain by bandits, hunters, or his own kind long ago.

And the dragon was enjoying himself, as well, Dori could tell. It had been many years since they had last fought together, but he had a deep understanding of him.

The story between them was a long one, but it had a simple beginning - at the beginning of the war, Dori had found Austille, wounded by Acarians. He was a young dragon, his skin not yet thick enough to block an arrow. Rather than killing him, as most humans would have, Dori healed him, and Austille vowed to repay his debt.

The debt had been payed long ago, but the two had never parted. They were kindred spirits - both outcasts to their own people.

Dori looked down at the temple grounds. There were many Acarians down there - far too many. They were emerging from outside the temple like ants.

This new war - if indeed that's what it came to - was far different than the one Dori and his apprentice Lodin had fought in all those years ago. The Acarians of then were just the people of another nation. They were the enemy, of course, but the Acarian soldiers had families and stories and honour in their hearts. Manorith was a ruthless leader, but he did what he did for his people. The war he launched was the desperate last resort of a dying nation. A three-year plague had killed more than half their population, and was still going. Acaria had never been a prosperous land - but it had survived. For the first time, that had been in doubt. Manorith told his people about the green grass on the other side of the mountains, and led them to Sono so that they might take that land for themselves. In the end, the war was what finished them off.