Authors: Philip Mcclennan
It was around forty minutes later that Sergeant Cooper, along with his daughter and Professor Milton, stood before the graduates who were lined up in the courtyard. After being briefed by the sergeant, the graduates, who consisted of James, Chad, Sophie, Rick, Cody, Jade and Rachel, boarded a helicopter that was waiting for them on the courtyard. After they had all strapped in, the helicopter set off from the training complex for the final time. It was a place they would never return to again. This fact filled the group with sadness but at the same time, they were excited by what would happen next.
James took one final look through the helicopter window at the training complex below.
It’s been fun,
he thought as the facility disappeared from his sight.
Auron wished to set out on his trip to Underworld immediately but thought it wise to consult the king first. Zeris also knew of the Dark Archer back in the days before he was king and he remembered well of his betrayal to the people of Alexandria. So Auron waited patiently, for seven days and seven nights until the peace festivities had ended. On the seventh day, all that had travelled to the palace from all corners of the realm bid farewell to the king and left for home. Kaltor and the serpent men set off back to the enchanted river to the east while Bremusa and the amazon’s set off back to their island, west of the palace. Before Bremusa left, she gave Auron one final thing, a map of the known parts of the Dark Forest. Over half of the forest was uncharted and had never been explored. Bremusa was keen to ensure that Auron didn’t get lost in the unknown areas of the forest.
“Do not stray from the path,” she told him. “Those who do, never come out.”
Many had entered and never returned from the dark lands, however until now it had been thought that those who hadn’t returned simply got lost and starved in the endless labyrinth of the woodlands. However, it seemed there might have been more than meets the eye to these disappearances, at least Auron thought as much.
It is him! He preys on the innocent and kills them in cold blood.
Auron bided his time until all the guests had left the kingdom. The king usually took counsel in his throne room, with many of his advisors present, however, this time Auron requested a meeting in private. Auron’s words were not those he wished to be known to others and once the king heard what he had to say he knew he would agree. So the pair met alone, inside Zeris’ personal chambers. Auron told the king of what he had learned from Bremusa, but much to his surprise, the king had already learnt of the mysterious figure that wondered within the Dark Forest of the Underworld.
Both Zeris and Auron knew the man, Vincent Xavier, a haunting figure from their past. It was Auron’s intention to pursue the former traitor that had now made the dark lands of Underworld his home. He wished to hunt the man down and settle the score once and for all.
I have not forgotten Xavier. I will never forget!
The king was strongly opposed to the idea, not wishing for Auron to risk his life on a task that was fraught with danger. “Let him rest in peace Auron,” Zeris said to him. “His soul is damned and he is cursed to live for eternity with the guilt of his treason.”
Auron pressed the king again and again, but he would not change his mind. The knight reluctantly agreed not to pursue the man and retired to his chambers. The next few nights Auron found little sleep. Always his mind was on the traitor who roamed free.
He isn’t paying for his sins,
thought Auron. From his bedside, he looked over to his broadsword, which he always kept leant against the wall no more than an arms reach away. He looked at the blade, dreaming of cutting the throat of Vincent Xavier, the so-called Dark Archer.
I should have brought his head back to Alexandria.
Auron regretted the mercy he had shown his old friend.
How can I simply go on about my business when I know he roams free?
After much deliberation, the king’s longest serving Knight set off on the long road to the Dark Forest anyway. He had never disobeyed the king before in all his many years of service. This time was different, however, for this time it was a personal matter. He knew that it would forever eat away at his soul if he did not at least seek the traitor out.
Apologies my king, but I must go.
The king looked out from the balcony of his chambers. He had a clear vision of Auron leaving the castle. Zeris sighed and shook his head before making his way back inside his chambers.
Auron journeyed for many days on the dangerous road to the south in search of the cursed Dark Forest of the Underworld. The knight was a legend of Alexandria and many knew his face, therefore he kept just off the main path. He wished to keep his journey as discreet as possible and travelled via the mountains or the woodlands when he could. He had a personal score to settle and didn’t wish for any unwanted guests getting in his way.
This time I will kill you, Xavier, no one will interrupt us!
After eight days, Auron reached the Alexandrian border. The warrior arrived at an area known as the Wilderness, a place that separated the two realms from each other. This was the most dangerous place within the joint world of Alexandria and Underworld.
The Alexandrian’s abilities were enhanced in sunlight due to their genetic makeup whilst the people of Underworld were at their strongest under the shadow of darkness. Within the Wilderness, however, neither race had the advantage of sun nor darkness for this land was cast in fading light. It was neither day nor night within the Wilderness, a place forever in a state of sunset. It was for this reason that neither realm had an advantage when engaging in combat within this region. The area had become a derelict wasteland because of this. The conditions nullified the advantage of each race, which was exactly what Trenkenth the Creator had wanted. The disadvantage the Wilderness posed disheartened both races to venture into it, and each of them would be risking death by stepping into the opposing realm of their enemy.
Auron knew this all too well. He knew by stepping into the Wilderness, and then eventually into the realm of Underworld, his legendary skills would be greatly diminished. Only the greatest of warriors would survive in that terrain. Auron was as good a fighter as they came though. He knew that all his years of training and battle experience would at least see him able to defend himself within that dark nightmare like realm. Besides, the enemy that he sought was originally of Alexandria. Whatever the myth of this Dark Archer, he was of Alexandrian blood, and, therefore, shared the same weakness as Auron.
The Alexandrian General pulled up the hood on his robe, disguising his face as he entered the region of the Wilderness. He feared no man, but he didn’t wish to get into conflict until he found the Dark Archer. Auron was legendary for his fighting abilities within both realms, even going toe to toe with Kanto, the king of the Underworld during the Great War. The pair fought in a brutal battle, which until then, Kanto had known no equal on the battlefield. Auron became almost as feared as Zeris himself within the Underworld realm after taking on the king in battle and living to tell the tale. Only two people had ever faced the Underworld king and lived, the other being the Alexandrian king Zeris. Indeed, many people argued that Auron was indeed stronger than his king. This did not matter to Auron however. The pair had been the best of friends since a young age and hence had never done battle.
Upon advancing through the Wilderness undetected, Auron finally passed over the border into the Underworld realm. Since the end of the Great War, and the merging of both worlds, it was rare for Alexandrian’s to venture into the dark realm. Some small factions of Underworld folk had settled in the outskirts of Alexandrian, but this was because the rule of Kanto was not as pleasurable as Zeris’. Kanto ruled the Underworld realm with fear and the people were slaves to his will. The entire realm was essentially a prison and those who were lucky enough to escape had settled inside the safety of Alexandria.
Alexandrian’s had no great wish to visit their neighbouring realm, however. Auron became more cautious as he crossed the broader into the realm of eternal darkness. He was in Kanto’s domain now and every soul he encountered from here on in was an enemy. Auron struggled to see in the darkness at first for it had been many years since his eyes had witnessed night. Remember, Alexandrian is a realm cast in eternal day and, therefore, many of its natives would never have seen the darkness in their lives. Auron’s adjustment to the darkness was slow and he set onwards with caution, drawing his sword in case an intruder lay nearby.
The knight passed through the Misty Swamp, a deadly area on route to the Dark Forest. Due to the combination of darkness and mist, visibility within the swampland was almost none existent, meaning it was tricky for Auron to negotiate. Progress through the Misty Swamp was slow and many times Auron almost lost his footing in the swamplands, which would have meant certain death. The swamp was enchanted; meaning anyone who fell into it had no chance of getting out. Every person who had ever fallen into the swamp had perished. If you looked closely enough into it, you would be able to see the bodies of men who had lost their footing and with that, their lives. They lay there trapped; their souls unable to leave the lifeless bodies due to the magical force that lay within the swamp. Auron had heard of the enchantment from Bremusa and took great care in passing through it.
His progress through the swamplands was so slow that he set up camp for a few hours in order to rest, taking the time to replenish his strength with several rations he had picked up on the journey. After running out of food several days ago, Auron had taken to hunting wild beasts to clench his hunger. He knew that engaging the traitor in the woods what not be an easy task, therefore he took care to conserve his strength, setting up camp and sleeping when he could.
Thirty-eight days after he had set out from Alexandria, Auron reached his destination. He stood on the edge of a cliff and the forest loomed in the distance. Auron picked out the map that Bremusa had given to him, looking for the safest passage. The warrior left his horse outside the forest. A horse of Alexandria could sense death a mile away and the forest reeked of it. Auron sensed it too.
The stench of death is everywhere.
Auron tried a few times to get his horse to ride through, but his efforts were in vain. The animal feared the forest more than it feared him.
Auron slid through the forest like a silent predator. He wanted to use the element of surprise in order to take the traitor unawares and so took great care to stay hidden. He used the tree’s to shield himself from view. He never forgot the warning Bremusa had given him back in Alexandria. “
Don’t ever leave the path,
” she had told him, and he never did. The forest was silent, not a sound could be heard. Strangely enough, Auron never came across any form of wildlife inside the woodlands. It seemed even the animals were afraid to dwell within these parts. He searched the forest for hours but found nothing. The forest was huge in distance and it would take him days, maybe even weeks to cover the whole area. Still, Auron had no plans on leaving until he had done what he set out to do. Then suddenly, Auron heard something in the distance. It was a sound of a horse walking along the pathway not too far in the distance.
In horse…in this place?
Alexandrian horses were afraid of the stench of death, but a horse breed in Underworld was more accustomed to the aroma. The Alexandrian knight was aware of this all too well and the thought made him uneasy. Auron had remained close to the path that ran through the forest. He had been careful enough to negotiate in such a way to never be fully visible, though, hurrying from tree trunk to tree trunk. Auron wished to catch the creature by surprise as he knew the Dark Archer would remain hidden if he seen him coming. You see Auron and the traitor used to be friends many years ago, in a time when the demon like creature was a man. The horse was getting ever so closer and the footsteps were becoming louder. Auron peeked out from behind one of the tree trunks and could see a figure riding on horseback in the distance. The figure wore a black robe, which was difficult to see in the gloom of the forest. In fact, Auron had first thought that there was no rider on the horse until the animal got a little closer. The horse rode at walking pace on the pathway. Auron presumed the rider had also heard the tales of the creature in the woods and was, therefore, riding with caution. The knight was unclear if this was the creature he sought. So much was myth and legend when it came to the demon inside the cruised woods. In fact, there were very few that had seen him in living flesh.
With this in mind, Auron took a deep breath and stepped from behind the cover of the tree’s and onto the pathway.
The rider, who was several yards further along the path up ahead, came to a sudden halt. Auron and the rider stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
“Who goes there?” shouted Auron, finally tiring of the silence.
“You dare ask me that in this realm Alexandrian?” said the hooded figure who sounded not at all pleased to be questioned. The rider dismounted from his horse and began to slowly walk down the pathway towards Auron.
The Alexandrian reached for his steel slowly, placing his hand on the sword handle, but he did not draw it.
“If you draw that sword you shall never leave this place,” said the hooded figure as he continued to advance forward slowly.
Auron stood confused for a few moments, wondering how this person knew his identity. “Since you know my name I would very much like to know yours.”
“I need not tell you anything. You will leave this forest Auron while I still allow it!”
Auron, never someone to back down from a challenge, began to dislike the tone in which the man spoke. Still, he tried to remain civil. After all, he was in the realm of Underworld and he was the one trespassing. Part of the peace agreement between the two worlds hindered on each race staying out of the others realm unless they had the approval to be there from the opposing king.