The Last Battle
We stood quietly in a great corridor, which,
reminded me somewhat of the Faerieland Palace. Just around the corner were four
skeleton guards, Felkora peered round at them. We needed to get past them and
into Helabora's chambers, which were behind the doors that they were guarding.
Brain_stew and ReelBigKougraFish were crouched behind me.
"What do we do now?" whispered Brain_stew, "We'll
never get past them without making a noise."
"I know," I whispered back looking around me
for some sort of weapon. "Ah, here look." I plucked a spear out from behind
a coat of arms that was hanging on the wall behind me. "Felkora!" I whispered,
passing him the spear. "Can we use this?"
"This is perfect," he whispered, "Are there
any more?"
I looked down the corridor and a bit further
on there were more of them. I tiptoed down the hall and grabbed three more,
and then turned back to the company, we had a few members of the clan with us,
about thirty in all, and each of them was carrying their own weapon, it was
a good thing seeing as I was pretty sure that there would be more skeletons
inside Helabora's chamber and we were going to need all the help we could get,
as well as dealing with Helabora himself. But I had no doubts that the clan
could take care of as many skeletons as they needed.
I passed the three spears to Felkora, he beckoned
to three of the Eyries, who stepped forward and took hold of one of the spears
each. Without a word the four of them raised the spears and then sent them sailing
through the air. The skeletons fell to the floor with perfectly aimed spears
jutting out of their sides. Their eyes burned out and Felkora stepped cautiously
forward and removed the spears from their skeletal sides and put his ear to
the door that they had been guarding. He turned back to us and beckoned for
us to meet him by the door.
"Five to the left and about seven to the right,
there are more further into the room, but I can't tell how many," he whispered
in his noble voice. "The three of you take the ones to the left and if you four
take the ones to the right then that leaves the rest of us the deal with Helabora
and the other skeletons," he instructed, pointing to the various Eyries.
"Right then, let's do this," I said drawing
my sword; Zutore gripped a sword for one of the fallen skeletons and faced head
on towards the door.
"No more waiting," said Zutore firmly, "We finish
this, now."
Felkora lifted himself into the air and blasted
the doors open with a powerful kick from his back legs. I was pushed forward
as I got stuck in a wave of battle hungry Eyries, Zutore managed to pick me
out of the stampede as he flew past overhead. The room was almost exactly as
Felkora had described, Helabora was at the far end of the room with his snarling
skeletons by his side. There were less of them than I would have anticipated,
but as they rushed forward, wielding their swords and axes, something came over
me. I dropped to the ground with a rage burning bright in my heart, with Zutore
by me side we charged, yelling into the wave of destruction.
I must have lost count of the times I saw those
fiery eyes fade, but no matter how many I killed they never seemed to stop coming.
Zutore and I stood back-to-back in the middle of a circle of advancing skeletons.
The skeletons themselves weren't that hard to kill, it was just the sheer number
of them that made the battle tiresome. Still the circle of skeletons edged forward.
We were outnumbered. I lunged forwards, sending my sword slicing between one
of the skeletons' eyes. It flopped to the ground, but another soon stepped forward
to take its place.
"We can't keep this up!" I yelled back to Zutore,
who swung his rusty sword at the skeletons.
"Where's Helabora?" he yelled back, "If we can
kill him then we won't have to worry about the skeletons."
I peered around the room, trying to see where
Helabora was, but he had disappeared. All I could see was the struggling fight
between the members of the clan and the skeletons.
"I thought Bong was gonna try and keep the skeletons
back," I mumbled to myself "Helabora's gone," I yelled to Zutore. "Let's go
and find him. Anywhere's better than here right now."
Zutore jumped into the air and grabbed me with
his front paws. We left the circle of angry skeletons and headed for a door
at the back of the room, it was the only way Helabora could have got out, the
only other exit was being watched. We tore past the skeletons as they waved
their swords at us. I dropped to the ground and hurriedly opened the heavy door,
Zutore burst through just as a hoard of skeletons trampled on the place that
he had just been standing on, I leapt inside and slammed shut the door, flicking
back the lock. I jumped back as the door was rammed, trying to be forced open,
but luckily, it budge. We started off down another passageway. It wasn't like
the intricate corridors outside Helabora's chambers, but reminded me more of
the tight stone passage that was hidden behind the wall of the mountain.
The passage was long and winding, with the end
clad in darkness, the hammering on the door behind me sounded distant, I looked
at Zutore whose eyes were set in confusion.
"Something doesn't feel right," he said, I shook
my head and then pressed on into the passage. I could hear Zutore's soft padding
feet behind me, as I got further into the passage a siren blasted inside my
head telling me to turn back, but it was as though I had no control over my
body, and I kept walking steadily on. Soon the passage opened into another room,
I drew my sword, being ready for anything that might jump out at us. The sword
glowed mysteriously and the jewels in its hilt began to swirl, before I knew
it I was being hit with another vision. It wasn't like my other visions, this
one was blurry and the sharp at the same time, flickering in and out, like a
flame.
Helabora was standing with Felkora's sword imbedded
in his muscular chest, and a glowing green light hovering in front of his face.
His razor sharp teeth lined his bellowing jaws as he began to falter. Another
flash came and I was back in the room with Zutore holding my arm to steady me.
"What did you see?" He asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied finding my balance
again.
As I looked around I saw that the room we were
standing in reminded me of the old throne room, in the way that it was dark
and dusty. There was a small window at the top of the room that was only big
enough for someone to crouch down in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pair
of glowing red eyes in the darkness, and then they were gone again. I held up
my sword again and scanned the darkness. The glowing eyes came forward once
again; I nudged Zutore and pointed over to where I had seen them. We both watched
for a sign of movement. Out of the darkness emerged Helabora, snarling, eyeing
us evilly. He slammed his clawed foot down as he took another step towards us.
"Okay, erm, one of him, two of us, that's in
our favour right?" I said, edging backwards.
"In theory, yeah," said Zutore flaring up his
wings in an attempt to make himself look bigger.
Helabora held out his hand and a curvy elaborate
axe materialised in his palm, he gripped it tightly, passing it from one hand
to the other, edging forwards all the time.
"What do we do?" I asked frantically. Zutore
didn't answer; instead he was looking around him trying to find something that
could help us.
"Get on my back," he ordered, I clambered
quickly on and he lifted off the ground just in time to see Helabora's axe slice
through the air just below him.
"So, what's your plan?" I asked "I, erm, don't
have one," he replied, watching Helabora intently.
"Well, I'm guessing we have to think of one
quickly or he might think of one first," I said.
Helabora snarled and lashed at us as we flew
by, well out of the way. But time was running out, we couldn't keep this up
forever and Helabora was going to get mad if we didn't fight him soon. I decided
that there was nothing else for us to do than to get down there and fight him,
we couldn't hide any longer.
"Drop me," I said to Zutore
"What? Are you mad?" he exclaimed.
"If you fly the other side of him then he won't
know who to go for," I explained, "That's when he'll be the most vulnerable."
Without another word Zutore swooped down to the
floor and let me drop a little way from Helabora. He grinned and headed for
me holding the axe above his head. Zutore sped past and landed neatly behind
him, brandishing his rusty blade. Helabora turned back toward Zutore.
"Hey!" I yelled, "Aren't you forgetting someone?"
He turned back to me with a rage so fearsome
that I staggered back a few spaces. He closed in on my with his axe raised high,
within a few seconds everything would be over, I closed my eyes and braced myself,
waiting for it all to end. But the end never came. I opened one of me eyes to
see Zutore hovering in behind Helabora slicing at his face. Helabora swung his
powerful axe at Zutore, but he moved back in time to see the axe flash past
in front of his angry eyes. Zutore lunged forward with his sword but with the
flat side of his axe, Helabora knocked Zutore back across the room and he collided
with the back wall.
"Zutore!" I yelled, getting to my feet, Helabora
only glanced round at me and then turned back to Zutore. Zutore's eyes flickered
open again and he yelped as he saw Helabora's axe come crashing down on him,
as quick as lightning Zutore rolled to one side. The axe hit the floor with
a clang and Helabora growled dangerously at Zutore. Zutore reached for his blade,
which had fallen next to him but Helabora kicked it aside before he could reach
it. He was trapped. With no weapons and nowhere to go, things weren't looking
good.
"Hey, Zutore," I called, throwing him Felkora's
sword. "Here."
Zutore caught the blade and just as he did, something
clicked inside my head. I knew what my vision meant. It was showing my how to
finally kill Helabora. The glowing green light was the Jewel of Ligmoore; we
needed to use that to capture him inside it. Just like the Clan of Ligmoore
had been. I hurriedly undid my bag and reached for the Jewel, Its cold, shiny
surface touched my hand and I seized it, pulling it from the bag. Before I had
time to think what to do next Zutore had thrust Felkora's blade through Helabora's
heart, the Jewel leapt from my head and flew in front of Helabora's face.
Helabora gasped and tried to claw at the jewel
but a bolt of light shot through him and he began to swirl into the jewel, crying
out his last breath. The Jewel glowed and began to float gently to the ground.
I rushed to Zutore's side.
"Are you all right?" I asked worriedly.
"Yeah," he said, "I'm fine. Can someone please
explain to me what just happened?"
I looked down at the Jewel, I had little idea
myself. I bent down and peered inside the green stone. Helabora's snarling face
flickered to the surface, screaming and clawing, but he would never be getting
out of there again. I picked it up and placed it back inside my bag, Felkora
would know what to do with him.
"Amerock! Thank god I found you," said
a voice from above me. I looked up to see Taba gliding down from the window.
"Taba!" I called, relieved to see him again,
but there was fear him his eyes like none other I had seen before.
"We have to hurry," he said, dragging us back
down the passageway. "It's Kathlon, he got hurt and we need Zutore to heal him,
_Thean_ isn't strong enough and he can't heal himself."
"What happened?" asked Zutore fearfully
"There's no time, we have to hurry," he replied
and bolted off down the passageway. I swung my leg over Zutore and we flew close
behind. We tore back through Helabora's chambers and back down the corridor.
The entire army of Skeleton's had disappeared. Soon we were back in the throne
room, there was a crowd of Eyries and Bong and _Thean_ knelt by Kathlon's side.
The Eyries parted as we rushed forward.
"Kathlon," I cried, skidding to his side. His
eyes were weak and there was a deep gash in his chest. Tears filled my eyes
as I held his hand. "Zutore?" I said but he was already healing him. He laid
one paw over the other and then pressed on the wound. Kathlon groaned in pain
and screwed up his eyes. A white light shimmered out from beneath Zutore's paws
and after a few seconds Kathlon sat upright again. My heart sighed in relief
and I hugged him as hard as I could. "What did I tell you? I told you, you were
going to get hurt."
"Do not regret anything you do," said Felkora,
appearing behind me.
"But it almost got him destroyed!" I argued
back.
"Better for him to learn from is mistakes than
to never make them at all," he said back.
"But, Kathlon could have been hurt badly! And
if I had just let him come with me then he would have been safe," I said.
"The more you protect you're pet the worst they
are for it!" He yelled back. "That's what I did, and now my wife is dead because
of it." My eyes fell, Felkora was right, I can't keep my pets safe all the time,
if I had let them take more risks then maybe they would have stood a better
chance when we were hacked. I could feel a part of me rise up, I knew now that
life is not worth the time if all you do is play it safe all the while. Life
is for living, and we weren't going to do anything but that from that moment
on.
"I guess we got all the skeletons then,"
said Brain_stew peering around.
"No, they were sent back to where they came
from," said Zutore, "we got Helabora." I watched as the Clan's faces lit up
with a mixture of joy and disbelief.
"It's true," I said taking the Jewel out of
my bag. "Helabora's inside here now." I handed the jewel to Felkora, who peered
down at the jewel. "What do we do with him?"
"We make it so that he can never come back again,"
said Felkora simply. He raised the Jewel above his head and thrust it down on
the stone floor; it shattered into a thousand pieces. I watched as a green light
rose from the jewel, the spirit of the Clan of Ligmoore. I tiny green speck
of light fell on the head of each of the Eyries. I watched as the green light
fell gently onto Zutore's forehead. I smiled. There was no doubt about it; Zutore
was defiantly part of the clan.
***
A few months had passed since the battle with
Helabora, and a lot had changed, Taba was now purple for one thing, and we had
been doing as much as we could on our Neohome, it was no longer the tiny three
roomed flat that it once was but now there was a room for everyone, and most
important of all, it felt like home. We were all sat outside in the front garden
planting some new flowers joined by Zutore's girlfriend, Pasinet_linx, a purple
Eyrie, when it happened. Since the battle we had seen no other member of the
Clan, but as Felkora swooped down outside the front gate and landed with a most
perfect ease, we had no choice but to make him feel welcome.
"Felkora!" cried Taba as he flew over to him.
The rest of us look up from our gardening and rushed to meet him, a smile on
all of our faces.
"Good afternoon Taba, I like your new colour,
it suits you," he said in his proud voice.
"Hello Felkora," I said, wiping the dirt onto
my jeans. "Long time, no see. How've you been?"
"I have been fine, thank you Amerock," he replied,
"But I'm afraid I can't stay long, I told the clan that I would meet them later.
I have come to say goodbye, for I know not when our paths will cross again.
We have to protect Neopia again, as we once did, our ways have not changed."
"Has something happened?" asked Kathlon.
"No, nothing has happened, yet, but it may do
and that is what my cause is," he said. Zutore stepped forward, leaving
Pasinet_linx to stand dumbfounded by my side.
"You will keep in touch won't you?" Zutore asked,
"And if there is anything we can do to help, please just let us know and we'll
do all we can."
"We will, Zutore, I am sure that one day we
will be needing your help again." Felkora laid his hand on Zutore's shoulder.
"I am proud of you son," he said, "You are a worth member of the Clan." Zutore
smiled, a long silence befell them, it wasn't one of those awkward silences,
but a peaceful one.
"Goodbye...Father," said Zutore, Felkora smiled
and dipped his head in departure. We watched as Felkora turned and beat his
wings, lifting his form into the air, without another word he flew off. We stood,
watching, until he had vanished over the horizon.
The End
We haven' t heard from Felkora since that day, though I'm sure that one day
we'll get some unexpected Neomail
come through the door. I still carry Felkora's sword on my back, I get some strange
looks from time to time, but I have seen some very strange people in Neopia before
me. Kathlon now has his own library, which he shares with _Thean_ when Bong comes
over from time to time. Taba is still exploring and him wanting to go on mad adventures
often causes us being pulled out of the house at all hours of the morning. He
adores his new colour and still spends most of his time sitting on Zutore's head.
Zutore no longer fights for fun, he has been taught be Felkora that no good comes
from a needless battle, though he still continues to train in case we are called
upon again. Zutore only battles when he really needs to. One thing's for sure
though, all our lives have changed since we found out about the Clan of Ligmoore.
And things will probably continue getting weirder, day-by-day.
***
This is where my story ends, I would like to thank a ton of people, but
mostly my best friend, Beth Howard, who you all know as Bong. She gave me a
ton of support whilst writing this. It was tough finding the time to write this
story, as I have to battle my brother to get onto the computer most of the time,
but hey, its finished now and I am overwhelmed by the response I've had from
it. Helabora and Felkora are, of course, fictional characters, as is Tharvald,
the Faerie Queen's apprentice. Thank you all so much for taking the time to
read my story, it really means a lot to me. I hope to write more stories in
the future but I'm planning on having a little break before I do! You've all
been so kind to me and I do plan to keep writing. But who knows what the future
will bring. Thank you. | 
