The Legend of Grim Reaper

CHAPTER 5 — THE OTHER WORLD

The morning sun shone into the room of Alrodes. He was awake, Julie and Andrew were awake almost the same time with Alrodes. Michael due to the healing herbs slept on.

"Wake him up" Alrodes pointed out. Some ladies had come to see Alrodes. They were his maids.

"Lord, may we clean up your chambers now?" The head of them all knelt.

"Oh Miranda, never bother yourself today. You and your sisters can go home. I'll need nobody to clean my house, or look after it, till my visitors are gone" Alrodes said.

"But my Lord, the visitors need special tending in the house of Lord Alrodes of Nafitath" Miranda smiled.

"Yes, yes, they need it, but that will be after victory," Alrodes said.

"Victory?" One of Miranda's sisters asked.

"Yes, they are on a mission. Mission to save Queen of Nafitath" The Miranda ladies dropped sadly.

"Ever since the disappearance of our lady, my sisters have been worried. I lost two sisters to death of grief because of this. And lots of 'Amazons' are missing. Nafitath is in great trouble. Only our Lord's meditation keeps Nafitath together." Miranda said sadly.

"Why not use your powers to destroy enemies and defend yourselves? By the way, what is Amazon?" Michael who had woken up asked.

"The inhabitants of Nafitath are pure at heart. We don't destroy, we make. We don't kill, we save. We use our powers for good not evil. We are left to the maker to keep and preserve us from all perils and dangers." Miranda explained.

"Then Amazon?" Michael asked. They were all seated apart from Miranda and her two sisters who stood.

"Amazons are a race of warlike women. They are the ones licensed to fight against evil in Nafitath apart from lord Alrodes and his sons, Master Nedrol and Master Nehiel. But they have been missing in large numbers lately, leaving Nafitath to be defenceless. I'll support anybody who willingly chose to free our Amazons and the Queen'' Miranda knelt in loyalty.

"Stand up! We promise to find the Amazons and your Queen" Michael assured.

"Michael!" Julie exclaimed.

"Yes," he answered. "This is our mission here and we need to accomplish it" Michael completed.

"Of course my ladies, we'll need privacy, for now, thanks a lot," Alrodes said.

"Yes our lord" Miranda and sisters bowed then left.

"So there are disappearances in Nafitath too!" Andrew let out a cry.

"Hours back, at home before we got here we received news of disappearances. Most shockingly, only seven women disappeared – why isn't there a male amongst them?" Andrew added

"All with lockets and notes?" Alrodes asked.

"Yes" Julie replied

"And women are gone," Michael added.

"Do the lockets get opened?" Alrodes asked Julie.

"Yes and they've all got the same logo-gram and same message in the note, 'Grim Reaper'" Julie informed.

"Alrodes we came to ask for your help. We need to know the meaning of the logo-gram" Julie added.

"And why is he capturing only females?" Andrew added.

"Okay. Follow me" Alrodes took them to an open field behind his cottage.

"I'll tell you the meaning, but first I'll tell you why he captures only females," Alrodes said. He had his hand microscope and lots of scripts with him. They all got seated on the grass.

"Grim Reaper was once a man (a visible man), he loved women and got entangled with many. He had no respect for women that he treats them anyhow he likes because he was very powerful. He lived in Nafitath then, but how he got bad is a mystery. But Denos a lady of great beauty, wife of Aries god of war, charmed Grim Reaper unknowingly with her beauty. Thus Grim Reaper wanted to have her. It wasn't possible, and I told him, but he bragged about his powers. He drew a battle line with him and Aries, thus destroying some innocent souls in Nafitath. Nafitath is a home of good gods. Why they've kept silent on these happenings is what I really don't understand. Grim swore to destroy Nafitath, and he bragged to own his own empire, populating it with more women than men. I guess he's doing just that. Grim Reaper was only called Grim. Reaper was added to his name as a curse. He fought with Aries, joining forces with Phaethon, son of the sun god.

Phaethon however lost a great number of his powers because he tried to drive the sun's chariot and that almost set fire to the world. Grim saw that he needed Phaethon no more, he left him aside. Pride was Grim's weakness, he was so full of his powers that he forgot that Aries was the god of war and would defeat him.

Aries defeated Grim, he almost killed him because Grim slept with Denos, but he resolved to make Grim invisible and irritably covered with green clouds and cursed him to be Reaper – cursed to destroy and be destroyed.

So now Grim Reaper's resolve is to take away my Fadarela and my Amazons, and some other women from other parts of the universe.

Only you. You Michael can stop this. And I have to prepare you." Alrodes ended his story.

"Am ready. Angela and the rest must get freed" Michael pledged with a new iota of strength and energy.

"Now to the logo-gram, let's see what it means" Alrodes cleared his throat.

Michael brought out the locket and the note. Alrodes went in to pick the locket he found on the day Fadarela got missing. Opening the two lockets, and studying them.

"Both have the same logo-gram," Alrodes said.

"Definitely all the other lockets have the same logograms" Michael responded.

"The meaning is 'death'" Alrodes informed. "I also searched for the meaning that day I discover my dearest Fadarela was gone and it interpreted 'death'" Alrodes voice turned pale.

"Death? Do you mean they are all dead?" Michael panicked.

"No, they aren't"

"How sure are you?" Andrew asked.

"A person who is dead wouldn't have access to communicate with the living without the help of Kemila the diviner in Nafitath, and I have had communications with Fadarela without having Kemila as a middle aid. Furthermore, Fadarela told me, ``every one captured by Grim reaper isn't dead, but alive and works as servants to him." Alrodes said looking into space as if seeing Fadarela.

"So when last have you heard from Fadarela?" Michael questioned.

"The last time I heard from her was a fortnight ago. She said Grim Reaper ruled in Hormelus and she and the others need liberty. I pledged to help, but I need your help" Alrodes spoke with pain

"Take it easy Alrodes. We'll help you. Just tell us how to go about this. You know we're humans'' Michael consoled.

"Yes, I'll help you. We need not wait anymore. Julie I'll teach you some magical charms to add to your chemical solution. Andrew I'll train you to fight and meditate. Michael, we have a secret class to enrol in. Tomorrow, Julie, you will begin lessons. You must learn in two days. Andrew, you learn for a week, and Michael will join you, then for another week, Michael and I will engage in our secret lessons. So let's get dismissed. You can go for a walk." Alrodes dismissed.

Julie started her lessons, she made mercerization in a magical way.

In chemistry, a mercerize solution is to treat cotton cloth or thread with a chemical to make it stronger and shinier. But in this aspect Alrodes taught her, she would be making the cloth or thread invisible and stronger. This would enable Michael and the rest to appear invisible to Grim Reaper.

Mescaline drugs were more effective in a magical way, but she would make them bullet-like, and they would be loaded in a pistol.

Julie made magical loden. Naturally loden is a thick cloth made of wool and usually green in colour that does not absorb water.

But magically transfigured, the loden would not absorb those green cloud smoke that Grim Reaper produces which hypnotizes and weakens anyone it touches. She made magical ester, ether and lots of magical chemical components.

"Now you are good to go. Keep this intact in your memory" Alrodes applauded.

Julie was an expert now, she knew different kinds of leaves, their names and functions. She could pass as a physician.

"Now Andrew, you and Michael should meet me in the woods. Come with those swords I gave you" Alrodes said as he walked out to the direction of the woods.

Andrew and Michael were taught how to handle swords, and throw knives. It was easy to learn as the duo were already used to knives in the human realm.

A week later, Andrew and Michael were expert fighters.

Now it was Michael's personal class.

"Julie, do take care of the cottage. Michael and I would be having a little travel. We will be back after a week" Alrodes said, packing his bag.

He had some antiquity, swords, herbs and cloth.

Michael had his clothes, a sword packed beside his waist belt and some short knives. He also had two pistols loaded, one with a bullet and one with Julie's mescaline drug.

"Bye. Take care" Michael said.

"In case something goes wrong, call me. Andrew, you know how to meditate now? So call me through that" Alrodes said. They were out now of the cottage.

"We are heading to meet Mars," Alrodes explained as they walked side by side into the woods. Michael held two bags, one was his, while the other was Alrodes'.

"Mars? Who is he?" Michael asked.

"Mars, he is the god of war," Alrodes explained.

"But I thought Aries…"

"Yes, Aries was a god of war, but he has a story too, but the summary is that he went into oblivion because of unforgiveness. He was jealous of his brother. Well we are not going to that. Mars is another god of war, even mightier than Aries'' Alrodes interrupted.

"So what do we seek from Mars?" Michael asked.

"Oh, detective! Mars is my old friend which I told you about. He offered to add to your training, besides you know you'll need Mars to teach you because you're going to face a very powerful being." Alrodes said as they walked on. A fig tree stood ahead of them.

"When we get to that fig tree, we need to vanish" Alrodes snapped his finger quickly.

"Wow! I am even into more of what I thought I was" Michael marvelled.

"Michael you're a special being. There is a being in you that needs to be aroused, and Mars will help with that. Moreover, there are things about yourself you don't know of. Let's get to Mars" Alrodes said.

Michael only nodded with a face expressing the complexities of untold. They had reached the fig tree. Alrodes looked if anyone was coming at that time, then he chanted some incantation, off they went…