The Royal Axis: Pushing Back The Dark

     At the head, Fyora and King Hagan were already seated, with their plates being filled up with warmed oats and honey. The three royals greeted each other, and together with Kelland and Siyana, sat down and partook in one final meal.

     As the last of the berries were cleared, King Hagan displayed an uncharacteristic break of his usual gruff and unreadable demeanour. He looked longingly around the room, sighing to himself.

     “I’d hate to lose this castle,” he thought out loud, his words directed at no one in particular. “And all the knowledge that has seeped into the very walls that we now sit in.”

     “You won’t,” replied King Altador. Somehow, he always knew how to dispel uncertainty with his strong voice.

     After packing their belongings and thanking King Hagan, Fyora commanded three clouds from the sky to descend. The Altadorian visitors stepped on the clouds, and slowly, they were whisked back home.

     A short while later, the Altadorian trio lands safely in the Colosseum. Stepping off onto the hot sand, the trio watched as Fyora’s clouds ascended back up, blending into the cumulus masses in the sky. Their brilliant whiteness formed stark shapes against the bright blue sky.

     For a moment, King Altador felt the first stabs of worry and woe, as he pensively gazed up at the clouds. His mind was miles away from Altador, as he imagined a Neopian world plunged into darkness and despair. He saw his charges fleeing for their lives, with nothing more than the thin threads of clothing on their backs, and the meagre scraps of food in their pockets. The conviction and resolve he felt this entire time only hardened deeper within him – come what may, he would do all he could to protect his people.

      +++++

      Kass stood against a giant glass windowpane, staring out at the infinite space dotted by the countless twinkling stars that held promises of unimaginable life forces and possible parallels. “Funny,” he thought to himself. “The only thing standing between me and being a shrivelled up piece of ice is this thin piece of glass.” He knocked it lightly with his claw, testing the windowpane’s strength, before gazing down at the sad little packet of lime and orange sherbet drops laying on the windowsill. Parlax had brought it out as a form of reception snack while Kass waited for Dr. Sloth’s return. The Darigan Eyrie began poking at the packet, breaking up each perfectly-formed sherbet ball into a flat piece of unrecognisable mush.

     “You must be Kass,” a voice called out from behind. Lord Kass’ attention snapped back into the room, and he spun around quickly, hand on the hilt of his dagger. Even though he hadn’t been in battle for quite some time, he still retained his trigger-fast reactions. The battlefield does not take kindly to slow warriors.

     Seeing the towering figure standing across the wide metal conference table, Kass lowered his hands, and nodded at the speaker.

     “Dr. Sloth,” Lord Kass replied, finding his place at the table across Dr. Sloth and Parlax. “I come with a proposition from my mistress the Darke–“ Just before he could complete the opening sentence of his pitch, Dr. Sloth had begun waving his hand at the Eyrie.

     “Yes yes, Parlax has given me the gist of it,” Sloth replied as he fiddled with his cloak. “Your “mistress” has a plan to wage war against the whole of Neopia, and we would take over as the new rulers. Your “mistress” will then exercise some form of “control” on us “warlords” by taxing us till infinity runs out. Did I miss anything?” As the villainous figure spoke, he punctuated the sentence incessantly by making unnecessary air quotes with his fingers.

     Sensing Dr. Sloth’s reservations, Lord Kass pondered for a moment, and finally spoke after what felt like a terse eternity of silence. “We know you have the largest firepower, and the Darkest Faerie acknowledges that. Word of your troops and their legendary strength far precedes the regions of outer space. Having you in our campaign against Neopia will greatly sway the battle in our favour.”

     Neither Dr. Sloth nor Parlax reacted, which beckoned Kass to continue. “Therefore, we are prepared to offer you first picks of the gains. Any land that you’d like will be yours. That, and you will also be bestowed an honorary title that gives you some controlling stake in the rest of the factions.”

     This seemed to greatly interest Dr. Sloth, whose stern expression was betrayed by a hint of an evil smirk when he was told that he would not only have full control of the largest slice of the pie, but that the other villains would also have to answer to him. There was little need for further barter, so a deal was made between the Eyrie and the Chia.

     Kass bid both Dr. Sloth and Parlax goodbye, clambered onto his personal space mobility vehicle and jetted back to the castle, eagerly bringing news to the Darkest Faerie.

      +++++

      It had been months since King Altador had set up defensive measures around Altador, had his meetings with King Coltzan, Fyora and King Hagan. Each day passed uneventfully, but the very mundane nature of these last few months filled King Altador and Siyana with growing dread. Every day, they’d arise from their sleep half-expecting to see a war waging on during their slumber. The more each day went by without nary an attack, the more their anxiety increased. Instinctively, they knew that this could only mean one thing: evil was gathering strength, before launching a full-scale attack.

     Just on the outskirts of the Altadorian city walls, a young Kacheek and his sister were busying themselves with their usual errand of gathering up fresh berries for their mother’s jam-making business. For three months, they noticed an increase in the movement of armed guards around the forest trails, but they were too young to think twice about the significance of their discovery.

     The siblings followed the same route each morning: a mile down the road, then left at the great oak tree, before sliding down a small slope to land in a large patch of berry-bearing bushes. As they made their way towards the bush patch, the younger girl spotted some odd-looking rocks lying underneath an apple bush. She had seen many different things – from barbed wire to pieces of wool and half-eaten fruit – but never a helmet-shaped rock.

     “Klingus! Come see what I found!” she hollered at her brother, who was strolling ahead of her. Turning around, he paced over to her quickly. “Hurry up Paloma,” he beckoned her. “Mother needs those berries soon, so she can start working on the jams that we need to sell this weekend at the market.”

     Paloma was still fascinated by her finds, but she knew that if they didn’t make it back with four baskets full of berries, their mum would be cross with them.

     “Alright Klingus, let’s–” She stood up and turned around, but her older brother was nowhere to be found.

     “Klingus?” She called out, but only hearing her voice echoing in reply. “Where are you Klingus?”

     No answer.

     Paloma began to feel nervous, when she felt someone move behind her. Before she could turn to face the stranger, she felt a pair of strong hands grab her by her shoulders, and another pair of hands over her mouth. She tried to scream, but her mouth had been dry with fear and her timid squeals were suppressed by the large hands that held her quiet. She tried to turn her head, and saw that the two pairs of arms belonged to a mutant Grundo with glowing red eyes.

      +++++

      King Altador was taking his breakfast on his patio the same way he’s always had it since the birth of Altador. Perched on the sunlit balcony of the castle, he sat at a long table that was arranged so that every seat faced the sea. It was as if they were sitting in an oceanic theatre hall. Splendorous spreads of foods laid out in front of him, from rich cheeses to fruity tarts and piquant meats.

     Following royal protocol, Finneus was giving the royal Lupe his morning briefing when out of nowhere, a flaming rock shaped in a perfect sphere landed on the table, burning a neat circular hole through the white linen tablecloth and scorching the white marble tabletop. The Lenny and the Lupe exchanged nervous yet knowing glances at each other, before simultaneously turning to face the horizon.

     Where the bright morning sun was, a massive purple cloud had taken its place and it was gaining speed as it raced towards the Altadorian coast. As it inched forward each second, it shot out rows and rows of flaming spherical rocks. Finneus ran back inside, panicking at the unfolding mayhem, but King Altador lingered on the balcony for a moment. It was as if he had seen a familiar face at the tip of the cloud, looking back at him. It was the Darkest Faerie, and though she wasn’t alone, King Altador could not make out who she was with yet.

     Finally, as he headed indoors, he saw Marak and Torakor sprinting up to him. Looking at them straight in the eye, he spoke ominously.

     “Get ready, it has begun.”

     To be continued…