The Old Wounds

Xao Chang and Assayah were sitting in the dining hall as Nakamura came with the news of Kavana and Kystion's defeat and eventual death. Xao Chang clenched his fists and said angrily, "I cannot tolerate such nonsense anymore. Two great warriors got defeated so easily like this. What happened with Kystion? Didn't he had the Purple Mace with him?" Nakamura said grimly, "Yes, he did. But, Kappa died too."

Xao Chang fumed with anger and said, "Without the Blood Spear, there will be no way for us to defeat them. I still don't understand how could you guys let them become so powerful? Your delay and stupidity costed us so much. Now, there is only one way to end this." Assayah asked, "What way?" Xao Chang said grimly, "The Blood Spear is connected with the temple and if anything happens in the temple like if the idol gets broken or the temple is demolished, then Alice will have no other option but to come to the temple. There, we can defeat her. But, before that we will need to do something." Nakamura asked, "What?" Xao Chang replied grimly, "We have to resurrect some old friends." Assayah and Nakamura looked at each other and sighed.

Xao Chang poured some blood in the fire and then closed his eyes and started chanting some words. Assayah and Nakamura also chanted some words and soon the fire started to ignite even brighter and then the fire took the form of a large mass of thick blood. Kenchi arrived in the palace and looked at the massive fire. He closed his eyes and also started chanting some words. The fire grew bigger and bigger until the whole palace was filled with fire. Bones and flesh started to collect in the ground and small parts of skin started growing on the bones and flesh. Soon, the bodies started growing and took the form of Abigail, Frostbite, Hilda, Tammy, Jammy, Kystion, Kavana, Camilla, Libitina, Ryder, Gongamtei, Bacca and Gayumb.

The people looked around and saw each other and laughed. Xao Chang looked at them and said in a stern voice, "You all were failures in your past lives. You were humiliated and killed by people weaker than you. But, I want to give you all a second chance and therefore I have resurrected you. The people who caused your death and made you look like clowns are alive and laughing at your condition. It is time to make them cry and suffer the same horrible fate that you suffered due to them. So, are you ready to join me to take back the lost respect and fear that once you had in the minds of people?"

Everyone cheered, "Yes, Master." Xao Chang smiled and walked towards the balcony. He looked at the sky and forwarded his hand. He screamed, "I beg you Lord Xao Lin to give enough power to release you and re-establish the lost glory you had. GIVE ME THE POWER!!!" A ray of red energy flowed through the sky and an orange sword appeared in his hand. The sword touched Xao Chang's hand and the energy within it flowed through his arm and covered all his body with orange lava. He grew bigger and stronger and four hands appeared on his back. His head grew bigger and two big horns appeared on his head. Black inscriptions started appearing on his whole body and a third eye opened between his pecs. The eye was monstrous and the black pupil was surrounded by an orange iris. Xao Chang looked at the people and then blew power in them.

They grew bigger and more powerful than ever. Everyone was surrounded by orange smoke and had a ring on wrist. Kenchi, Assayah and Nakamura were different looking from them. They had blue, pink and magenta coloured cloaks and had a crown on their heads with stones of the same colour as the cloak. Their muscles grew bigger and their abs were more visible now. Two bracelets made of lava were on their wrists of the colour of the cloak. Nakamura received a sword with magenta coloured blade, Kenchi received a glaive with the blade coloured blue and the shaft was golden coloured but Assayah received nothing.

Assayah looked at his hands which were glowing with pink energy. He moved his hand and a chair exploded in pieces. He looked around and smiled. Xao Chang said in a stern voice, "This powers are a gift from the Almighty Xao Lin and you will receive even better and mightier gifts from him if you help me release him. Our enemies think that they have won and have defeated us. They think that we are finished and will not be able to stand up again. But, they are WRONG and it is time that we make them understand that very clearly. Once and for all." All cheered.

Xao Chang said grimly, "Our hands are indebted to the service of the Almighty Xao Lin and it is our foremost duty and religion to protect him from false zealots like Aliyah and Elgin who claim themselves better than us. They see us as filth and they want to sweep us away like we are dust. But, will we let that happen?" All cheered, "NO!" Xao Chang looked at his sword and raised it. He said loudly, "We are the ones who have showed every adversity that we are the ones who have never gave up and we never will." All cheered, "YES!" Xao Chang said, "We will march towards the Blood temple at the first break of dawn and will reclaim what has been taken from us." Everyone shouted, "YES!" Xao Chang smiled and walked outside the room.

Aliyah and Elgin were bandaging their wounds when Mother Manaca walked inside their room. They stood up but Mother Manaca signaled them to sit. She smiled, "It was indeed a tough and rough day for all of us. The enemy was strong but our courage and unity defeated them. I would like to thank all of you for the crucial victory and congratulate all of you by organising a small party. Please, come downstairs." Elgin and Aliyah smiled. They walked downstairs and looked at people gathered all around them.

They started clapping and showering flowers on them as they walked towards the bar. Aliyah and Elgin sat on the sofa and ordered some wine. Vexana brought two glasses of wine to them and sat on a chair adjacent to the sofa. She crossed her legs and sipped some wine and said grimly, "Today was surely a very big day. If we had not won today, we would have been finished entirely." Aliyah smiled, "No. Today's victory was certain. Xao Chang knew that attacking here without any planning would be foolishness and therefore he only send Kavana and Kystion here and not Assayah, Kenchi or Nakamura. He just wanted to see our strength and he cleverly measured it."

Elgin said grimly, "It is not that simple, Aliyah. Today's victory was mere luck. Kavana and Kystion were seasoned warriors and if we had met in open battlefield then the result would have been much different. I experienced it during the fight with Kavana. His swings of the sword were very strong and there was no way to control it if you had not intervened at the right time. Kystion was also very vigilant but his old age still got the best of him at last. But, still it was only luck that helped us to stay alive today." Aliyah laughed, "Bullshit! Luck is the weapon of the scared people. Brave people depend on the strength of their swords. Kavana was definitely a capable warrior but his different approach to war made it hard for him to win against us. I stayed there and fought but he moved only forward trying to attack Alice.

Dancing on other people's tunes are the most lethal thing for a warrior. He should have his own tactics and mind. He was good till he listened to his gut feeling and stayed true to his own cause and not some third world demon lord's." Elgin said, "Leadership is important. Xao Chang lacked leadership and thus suffered defeat." Mother Manaca walked towards them and said, "Don't start underestimating Xao Chang so quickly. That man defeated not only you but your ancestors when he was still an young lad. Now, he is old and experienced and has become more powerful than ever. He is surely not troubled with dead soldiers as he has the power to resurrect them as his wish. Even though, he might not use this power right now but he will definitely use it eventually when he sees the war getting against him.

A clever tactician and a courageous warrior never have restrictions on the battlefield." Alice walked towards them and sat beside Aliyah. Aliyah hugged her. Diana walked towards them and said grimly, "My spies near the outpost house noticed a strange person during the interval of the war. They claim him to be of average height and weight and didn't pose any threat." Mother Manaca smiled, "Kenchi. A man of average height and weight and seemingly non-lethal. Quite a reputation he has build. He must have come here to stealthily steal the Blood Spear when we were in the thick of war but when he saw the dead bodies he changed his mind and went away." Elgin said grimly, "That means Xao Chang had a backup plan ready. So, he used Kavana and Kystion as pawns to hide his bishop."

Aliyah said grimly, "No. That is not the case. Kenchi is not a reliable person for such stealth strategies. Xao Chang will never let him come here if he wants to use such a clever tactic. Kenchi must have come on his own to steal the Blood Spear. He was a treacherous person from the start and I remember he once defied Xao Chang's orders and raided a village on the West side. The place was barren and very less populous yet Kenchi sacrificed a good amount of his time and energy going there. Xao Chang was quite angry and even slapped him once he returned. Kenchi will be more dangerous to handle if he has enough power to come here alone." Vexana smiled, "I am not afraid of that tiny organism. My main concern is Nakamura. After killing Kavana and his brother, Nakamura is the one who is still left." Daina said grimly, "Don't make it so personal, Vexana." Vexana said grimly, "It is personal. I have to kill him." Alice said grimly, "What about Trisha? When will she come? I'm getting bad feelings that she might be in danger."

Mother Manaca smiled, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Mount Tysogame is the safest place in the Elf Kingdom right now. Thousands of sages have created a barrier around the mountain and Robert and Safi are also there." Aliyah stood up and said, "You guys continue chatting. I must go and pee. Then, I will sleep." She drunkenly walked towards her room and then fell asleep.

Elgin stood up and said, "I must go and sleep too. I will see you guys tomorrow." He walked towards his room and fell on the ground and fell asleep. Mother Manaca also closed her eyes and fell asleep. Vexana and Alice walked towards the shore with Daina and sat on the cold beach sand. The waves gently touched their feet and then would go away. Alice looked at them and asked, "Why didn't you guys married?"

Vexana and Daina laughed. Daina said, "Marriage is a very delicate and complicated matter, Alice. We seldom got chance to think about marriage after the First War. Everything changed. People changed and their dreams changed too. Friendship, family, love, trust, happiness all vanished in an instant. The only thing that remained was duty. The duty towards the Elf Kingdom and the duty to make a better future for our future generations. People like Tammy became kings when they managed to gain trust and respect for them from the common folk. But, people like us stayed alone and maybe a little emotionless. Vexana felt deceived by the sudden death of Aliyah and I never got the chance to see love in another person. Maybe, I just lost the heart for it." Alice said grimly, "I didn't know that you two had such sad stories." Vexana and Daina laughed. They hugged her and smiled. Alice closed her eyes and soon all three of them fell asleep as the cold waves touched their feet...