The Royal Axis: Pushing Back The Dark

     As she surveyed the chaos she had started, she watched as gargantuan Grundos waged war against a swarm of Light and Earth Faeries. At the western tip of the beach, Kass was surprisingly holding his end of the fight beyond her expectations, as he picked apart line after line of Altadorian Meerca archers. The Drenched sisters continued to sweep across the beach in their water chariots, as their enchanted sailor troops continued to battle King Hagan’s best fighters.

     Sweeping her eyes across the shore, the Darkest Faerie soon met the gaze of King Altador, who stood in the centre of the beach looking up at her. His was a face she knew well – they created Altador together, after all – but she knew that she held the upper hand now. Her ambition far outweighed his strength, and all that remained was for her to deal the final card. She relented with glee.

     From her seat, the Darkest Faerie rose to her feet and began conjuring swirls of power around her. As if the cloud couldn’t appear menacing enough, it had now begun to emit a bright purple glow from within.

     The beach settled down to a quiet, as fighters on both sides paused to look up at the cloud. An uneasy dread filled the air. Then, as if materialising out of thin air, purple-coloured spectral figures emerged from the cloud, descending upon the beach.

     The enemy forces cheered at first – in their minds, this was the decisive turning point that would win them the battle – but their thunderous celebration soon turned to panic, as these figures began placing enchanted amulets on the villains, turning them to stone!

     Lady Frostbite blasted the spectral blobs with jets of ice, albeit unsuccessfully as each frozen arrow passed through these ghostly blobs as if they were air. The Drenched, panicked by the sudden turn of events, raced their chariots back into the water to escape. Lord Kass and Eyes of Dark stood paralysed, forever immortalised in their eternal stony prisons. Meanwhile, Dr. Sloth began recalling his mutated Grundos from the beach, furious at the possibility of having been played for a fool.

     It was pandemonium everywhere you looked, but one thing was made crystal clear here: the Darkest Faerie had betrayed her comrades, and through the use of dark magic, gained control of her ex-allies’ forces. In a flat minute, she went from evil mastermind to unbeatable force of power.

     The battle resumed, this time with a multiplied intensity as the Darkest Faerie began doling out her orders telepathically. They had proven to be too much for King Hagan, King Altador and Queen Fyora to handle, and a wise strategist knew this was the hour to pull back.

     “Retreat! Retreat to the barricades!” King Altador shouted, as he watched his men run towards the safety of the towering spiked barricades. His expression was crestfallen, and he struggled to hold on to what slivers of hope remained in his heart. “Get back behind the line men!” An ice soldier tried to strike King Altador, but Kelland destroyed it with a swift swing of his staff.

     An evil cackle cut through the air, and it came from the Darkest Faerie’s cloud. She watched as her enemies ran back to their defences.

     “Cowards!” she taunted, her hands now glowing with red flames. “All of you will bow to me! I will rule over the lands of Neopia for eternity, and you will be my first prisoners!” As she screamed hysterically, the flames grew bigger and bigger.

     In her hysteria, the Darkest Faerie failed to notice the ocean underneath her cloud move. Where the waves would usually lap against the shore, this time, they began rushing in the other direction. Steadily, a whirlpool began to form underneath her.

     Then, like the blowing of a colossal geyser, a pillar of pressurised water shot up into the air, nearly breaking up the Darkest Faerie’s cloud. Fortunately, she swerved her cloud away in time, but her confidence was eroded when she witnessed what happened next.

     Out of the settling mist, a great water serpent rose from the sea, its piercing eyes staring at the battlefield. The waters surrounding this serpent-like figure began parting and shaping a ramp made out of seaweed. The Darkest Faerie and her men watched in anticipation, which grew into dread as a loud trumpet sounded from deep in the water.

     Suddenly, row upon row of watery figures emerged on steads made of coral. At the back of the pack, King Kelpbeard rode a heavy rock chariot. Together with his men and his serpent creature, Kelpbeard and his men dragged all of the Darkest Faerie’s armies into the sea in one deft wave.

     The panic amongst the villainous troops were tangible for only a split second, because in a fluttering second, they were gone.

     “What…what is happening?!” shrieked the Darkest Faerie, as she swooped down to the beach. If her soldiers weren’t able to win the war, then she was going to finish it by her own might. Circling the water serpent and King Kelpbeard, she threw fireball after fireball, but they fizzled out when met with the jets of water that Kelpbeard had conjured from his trident.

     One of Kelpbeard’s water streams hit the Darkest Faerie, and she lost her balance in the air and began freefalling into the water. Midway through her fall, the water serpent whipped its tail at her, sending her flying towards the shore. King Kelpbeard’s water troops then placed enchanted strips of kelp on her, binding her to the sand so she could stand up. No matter how much she tried to burn her way out of captivity, she remained haplessly tied to the ground.

     To make matters worse for her, she felt the powers that The Three had bestowed upon her seeping away, like streams meandering away from a river. Her strength was draining, and she had no way of regaining it back.

     Queen Fyora stepped out from behind the wooden barricades, and as she approached the Darkest Faerie, the bounded villain begin to writhe in desperation, hoping to break free. Fyora shone her staff over the Darkest Faerie’s face, and as the defeated transgressor began to shriek, Fyora had the Darkest Faerie imprisoned into the orb on her staff, so she could transfer the Darkest Faerie back into her statue prison. She muttered an enchantment, releasing the rest of the villains from their stony forms and dissipating them into vapours.

     The cheers of joy reverberated through the air, as King Hagan and King Altador strode out to meet King Kelpbeard and Queen Fyora on the shore.

     “King Kelpbeard,” King Altador said, warmly shaking the royal Koi’s hand. “Our gratitude can never be fully expressed, but you have helped us win the battle for Neopia.”

     Kelpbeard, wary of surface dwellers, wore his usual grouchy expression. Wordlessly, he accepted the thanks of his fellow royals, and turned tail to head back to Maraqua.

     “Just a second,” King Hagan called from behind him. “How did you know we needed back up from the Maraquan forces?”

     King Kelpbeard stopped and turned back to face them. With a knowing smile, he nodded towards the eastern point of the beach, where Siyana was sitting by the shoreline and chatting with a Maraquan girl.

     “Your Faerie is apparently friends with Isca,” Kelpbeard explained, his demeanour finally softening up. “When she was in Brightvale, Siyana had written a letter to Isca explaining the situation, and had the letter delivered to Maraquan’s cross-surface postal box. Isca read it, and sensed that Maraqua would need to at least be on ready with a strong defense, in case the battle went underwater. So she warned me, which allowed us ample time to prepare.”

     Polishing his gold trident in the warmth of the reappearing sunlight, King Kelpbeard continued. “We observed the battle from under the safety of our waves. Yes, it’s true that Maraquan folk don’t interact with inhabitants above the surface of the water, but we felt that if we had not contributed to the fight, then it was only a matter of time before this terrible war would find its way to us.”

     A silent minute had passed, before Queen Fyora sighed in relief. “Well,” she said, nodding to the kings, “Thank you for fighting the good fight. We will now be returning to Faerieland with our prisoner to ensure she doesn’t try her hand at world domination again.”

     With that, she fluttered her wings and rose several up into the air, disappearing into a portal that swirled open for her Faerie troops and her. King Hagan, King Altador and King Kelpbeard returned back to their men and their troops, comforted that a fragile peace was restored once again.

     +++++

      Months after the armies and fighters had healed, Faerieland was a riot of laughter, colour and joy as Queen Fyora welcomed the armies of King Altador, King Kelpbeard and King Hagan. A special convoy sent by King Coltzan’s daughter Amira was also in attendance to receive a special gift to be brought back to Coltzan’s shrine in thanks for his help in the battle.

     The streets of Faerieland were showered in confetti, as Brightvale men, Faerieland dwellers and Altadorians danced and shared in the celebration. Even the siblings Klingus and Paloma were there, after they were rescued to safety by Kelland.

     High up in her hidden tower, Queen Fyora held court amongst her fellow kings, alongside the council of Altador and an ambassador from the Lost Desert. Goblets of sweet twirly fruit juice were handed out, and the rulers held their cups up as a toast to the cooperation amongst their kingdoms.

     After, a sumptuous spread of foods were brought out and laid on a long table. Every manner of succulent meats, savoury pie and tantalising desserts were presented to the kings.

     “To my fellow brothers and sister,” King Hagan bellowed mid-meal. “I propose we take this as an opportunity to denominate this newfound friendship.” He put down the piece of ham that he had been gnawing on, cleared his throat and stood up.

     “Much as we celebrate now, we must be aware that evil is never too far away that it cannot rear its awful head again. And in that moment, I believe that it is in our best interest that we remain prepared.” The Skeith king looked around at his dining companions.

     King Altador was the first to rise, meeting King Hagan’s posture with a show of solidarity. “I agree with you, Hagan.” Turning to King Kelpbeard and Queen Fyora, he began to explain.

     “Our kingdoms are our pride and joy, and we have now witnessed how great evil can grow when it gathers in large numbers. Had this battle been with any one of our armies alone, Neopia would’ve been lost.”

     King Kelpbeard flashed Queen Fyora a sideways glance, and slowly, he used his trident to stand. “We Maraquan dwellers may not like your world very much…” his sentence trailed off into a wistful pause. “…but if Neopia is affected, Maraqua will not be spared.”

     Queen Fyora nodded in agreement – she had nothing to add to the already eloquently said speeches her guests have given. Rising from her seat at the head of the table, Fyora smiled and asked. “What shall we call this then?”

     Everyone turned to King Hagan – he was the wisest of the lot, after all. Thumbing his chin for a few seconds, his face lit up with an idea. “How about The Royal Axis?”

     Nods and low murmurs of agreement passed through the room. King Altador exulted his joy and raised his glass, proclaiming to everyone present. “Here’s to The Royal Axis.”

     The End.