Chapter 70 - The Dark-Age

"Do you think we're all going to be killed by this god-slayer being?" Avon spoke, the sun reached half-way into the sky; it shone brighter than ever. Staxius walked beside him, they looked like brothers. The red-shooting star piqued Staxius's interest so much that he spent half of the day thinking about it in the mansion. Though, they both left the noble district; exploring it wasn't their priority nor were they happy about it. Being a spirit himself, Avon felt something completely different; it was a feeling of nostalgia. The vermillion color looked familiar, it called out to him, just like the Kreston crest called out to Staxius before. "I haven't the slightest idea, as far as I'm concerned; Dorchester and the few survivors are what I'm worried about. As the makeshift camp grows, our cost will increase without stopping; feeding all those mouths is going to be a hurdle. Millicent might be praised as a duke, but the people don't know how much that is going to weight overall. I'm so stupid, I acted recklessly," annoyed, he kicked standalone rocks laying on the dirt path.

The noble district stood far away from them; the car controlled by Avon rested near Brisnet Heights. This meant that Staxius had no other means of travel. The vehicle Autumn and Julius supposedly used was badly damaged, they checked on it earlier, it laid outside with its engine blown. The sheer amount of things happening around them was mind-blowing, Staxius could keep track but his attention was elsewhere. A place where his conscience could not enter, it was out of his reach, thus the slight mistakes here and there. The reawaking, and breaking of Medusa's curse left a big void inside him. He felt empty, it was unlike anything else, it was his intellect; he knew something was wrong but could not pinpoint it. This frustrated him, he tried to focus on one goal but to no avail.

"Master, are you feeling alright?" Avon stopped, castle Garsley came into their field of vision, it looked more like a dot, but that was definitely it. The ground around them burnt with heat, the soil looked like dust, no plants nothing. The only bit of greenery left was on the other side of the ravine; Oxshield. The land looked vast and infinite, there was no real indication to where one was, easily one could get lost and die. This was a recurring theme, boys set off to go train in Dorchester's harsh environment but end up getting lost and die. The nobles who once lived here made signs to help with navigation were all now destroyed. A sixteen-year-old war between Duke Sten Parcyvell and Duke Hawkin Normannus, Staxius's home province fought hard, a losing battle but they fought. It left considerable damage; the royal family turned their back on them. The neighboring provinces did naught but add to the burning fire, war heroes were born, technology advanced further and lastly, the Order, none heard from them. All those things went around Staxius's head perpetually, he asked so many questions but never got any answers.

"No need to worry, Avon." He placed his hand onto the feeble looking shoulder. "-I'm just anxious that's all, things happened so fast I was taken by surprise. First Kreston picked a fight, it was instigated by Xula, but she's just foolish. I can't blame her fully, Kreston are the one who itched for a fight, greed can ruin even the greatest man. I mean, imagine working for a province for six years and then getting back-stabbed?" He referred to the silver guardians aiding in the battle against Sten Parcyvell. "Isn't that how the world works? Survival of the fittest." Avon resumed his walk, Staxius followed suit. "Yes, that is true, maybe I've just grown soft." At that moment, the slaughter of Thunderstain's army came into mind. "-Or maybe not," he smiled.

Behind Oxshield, in the land of mountains, a gigantic crater deformed the mountainside. A once gently sloped mountain face was turned into something hideous. In the middle of it, a black and red sludge made its way out. Soon, as hours went by, the crater was filled with this dark substance. As well as expanding upwards, it went down, deeper into the ground. It overflowed and made its way to the mountain feet where it reached into an enormous valley, full of green pastures, animals, and trees. This was one of the lowest reaching valleys in Totrya, one of the only habitable lands. Away from the cold and snow, this place was close to the sea and as a result, was warmer compared to the actual Totrya. Places were rarely named as none lived here; the nobles resided near the border. This valley, however, bore a name, Neuburg's Valley. A name was given to it by the one who discovered it, an ice-sorcerer who lived years ago. He set off to explore Totrya as rumors of ancient relics being hidden away there grew more common. It was a valley described as the portal between paradise and this world; none apart from a few wandering mages ever came across it. The only reference of this place was made in a book written by Neuburg titled; My life on ice.

The paradise changed however, from today forth, the blackish substance crawling off the mountain touched the plain. It all changed, the speed at which it infected everything could not be put into words. The animals changed, their gaze turned red and proceeded to slaughter themselves. The plants instead of being subtle and flowing gently with the wind now ate up anything that passed before them. *Crunch, Crunch,* everything stopped, the animals, now turned into beast all faced where the sound came from. The footsteps paused and resumed with whistling. Whoever or whatever that came too close to the carnivorous plants, it charged. "Shhh," it stopped, the plant's mouth halted.

"Master, master," footsteps scurried behind, "is this place desirable?" three small looking green creatures asked. "Yes, this place is adequate. My slumber has been broken after so long, make this place my domain. My comrades are to arrive shortly, I feel it, their strength, my beloved servants approaches." The whistling resumed; the valley soon changed. "First order of business," the same being after a few hours leaped from the valley all the way to the peak. The peak of the mountain that bore the full force of the crater. "this world is far too ugly; I've been reborn once more." The right-hand shook, a staff appeared.

*I am he who controls everything. My will is absolute, may you be gods or angels, the only one who can stand against me is myself. I'm the god-slayer, the harbinger of chaos and apocalypse, by my authority, I order thee, portals to the abyss and void, open. Change this already changing world, fill the Earth with dread, fill the sky with blood, and fill the living with fear. Us monsters who've been alienated and cursed to never be born; I now sever it. I reject all, reality is what I want it to be; Absolute Control, World-break.*

The crater in which the meteorite landed glowed: howling, snarling, and screaming came through. *Poof,* one by one, beings from another world rushed out. Some looked human, some looked like beast-men, they didn't look that dissimilar from how the people in Arda looked. The aura around Totrya changed, this all took place in a single day, while Staxius and his party made way to castle Garsley. Alongside the beasts that rushed out, a dark vermillion colored mist began enveloping the vicinity. It reached astounding distances and heights, to the point it covered the whole province, it looked as if the clouds had descended onto Hidros.

"Far too long have we stayed in the shadows, and far too long has the gods oppressed us. Time has come for us to build our rightful domain, the place we can all call home, today is the start of a new beginning, none shall be allowed to leave nor enter until I give strict orders. I'm your god now, I've earned that title by slaying gods who ruled for too long, obey me and you shall be able to roam free and terrorize as you please. For now, I order you all to help my servants, we need to build our forces, this new world is ours for the taking. Now go and don't report to me unless you've got something urgent." The god-slayer sharply moved his hand, everyone dispersed. All the creatures who were summoned through that portal obeyed and never dared to look up. The god-slayer was more powerful than all the mages combined throughout the world. On that day, the world entered into a new era, a new age; the dark age or otherwise known as the era of heroes. Despite how it looked, the dark vermillion mist went unseen to normal sight, it was condensed mana. Only gifted people that had the boon of clairvoyance could see it. A rare and sought-after blessing, the ability to see the unseen.

Nighttime came faster than usual, the trucks drove. The defending party who first left had made it a third of the way, the driver took no break whatsoever. Adelana and her party, on the other hand, were now reaching the half-way mark. Today was a success for everyone, and everything went by as soothingly as possible. Staxius and Avon decided to stop long before dusk, Staxius felt drained. As he slept, Avon decided to try and control the car from afar. It worked, part of his spirit was called back, and now two versions were brought forth. One stayed with Staxius and the other controlled Void.

Night fully took over; Julius's truck didn't stop. The driver slept, it was Autumn who drove, they decided to drive throughout the night. Ayleth was the main reason, she desperately needed medical help. Purely by coincidence, Adelana's party made the same decision. Thanks to this, their arrival was predicted to be somewhere after dawn.

"Master, master," Staxius awoke, the sun had risen hours ago, the night went by. "What is it?" the strength he somehow lost yesterday had returned. "Time for us to move."

"Alright, the castle is a few hours off, let's get going."

A menacing roar came from behind Adelana's truck. As if lightning struck, Void drove straight past them. "Damn that's a fast car," Floyd yelled out. "Keep your eyes on the path ahead," Adelana slapped the back of his head. She was next to drive, the engines worked tirelessly.  

"Finally, I can see it, the castle." The small hill onto which it rested came into view, Julius drove, a few hours went by. "Wasn't that long ago that we were about to fight in this very place," Fenrir added. "Yeah, it's weird, isn't it. Honestly, I was ready to die that day, Sten had been a good friend to my family; I wanted to repay the debt with my life. But alas, he chose to die by himself. I know full well that his personality wasn't that welcoming but deep down he cared for Dorchester, not the people but the land." They closed onto the path leading up to the front gate. On the way there, on the right, Autumn spotted Staxius and Avon.

"Master, your comrades have arrived just as we have." Avon pointed out to the truck, badly damaged to the point of no return. Having heard the news of Ayleth's injuries, Staxius ran, he knew she was on board. The truck entered the castle walls before Staxius. Carefully, Annet took charge and ordered people to help carry her sister inside. Everyone around here helped, one of their guardians was hurt. Millicent came out with Ancret, and her unconscious body was carried into nearly built sleeping quarters. It was allocated just right when entering the castle. The tavern, usually brewing with activity felt lifeless; everyone held their breath as Ayleth got carried inside.

"Everyone, thank you for your help but can you please clear out?" Millicent courteously asked; they all left without making any sound. Almost like swimming against the flow of a river, Staxius forced his way against the incoming hoard of people. A few pushes here and there and he arrived. The room was dim, only three beds were present, all placed on the left side, facing away from the wall. The temperature was cold and chilly, the perfect opposite to the outside. Ayleth laid on the nearest bed. Fenrir, Julius, Annet, and Autumn all stood on one side, while Ancret was crouched down showing her back to Staxius. Millicent stood near her as Ancret tried to heal her sister.

"How is she doing?" he asked as he gasped for air. "Viola took care of the curse from Knightfall but her body needs a doctor, not healing magic. We've passed the point of no return, honestly, if this goes on, we might lose her in a few days." Ancret replied. She was already informed about everything thanks to Annet. Staxius slowly approached, what laid before him looked pitiful. The right side of her body was destroyed, the limbs didn't work, her skins charred and her face nearly gone. "How is she still alive?" he asked, mesmerized by how she fought. "Her vital organs weren't touched, that's beside the point. We need a doctor now, but as far as I know, no one in this entire kingdom has the talent to pull that off." Ancret rose up, "you knew one of us was going to die, we don't blame you, master. We did agree to that suicidal mission." She rolled her eyes defiantly, everyone looked at him with disgust, they were disappointed.

"Isn't it funny,' Staxius laughed, his face went blank. "-how people always look for someone else to blame for their mistakes?" He sighed. "Look, I'm not that heartless." He closed in on Ancret's body, it still drew breath. "Why do you always worry, I know someone who can help you, my friend." He leaned close and patted her head, "a doctor who saved me long ago, I don't know if she remembers me still." Staxius glanced at Julius, he nodded, they both knew who it was. "Doctor Jona?" Autumn asked curiously.

"Yes, that's her, and I know full well she still works at Claireville Academy. I did check on all their personnel before sending Eira over." He replied and approached Julius. "Good job, old friend, you've done far more than I can ever repay." He whispered gently and shook his hands. "No old friend, thank you for allowing me to be by your side once more," Julius smiled. "How are you going to get her there?" Millicent asked, "-our trucks aren't that inconspicuous and I'm going to guess that it's broken as well." She looked at Fenrir who just averted her gaze.

"No need to worry about that issue," a loud roar came from outside. "-our ride has come," Avon added smugly. "You've done it once more, good job Avon." Staxius leaned over and picked up Ayleth gently, he took his time, everyone watched how immaculate he was. "Master," Fenrir came up behind him, "who is that boy?" she asked playfully.

"That's Avon, Julius will fill on you the details later, I really have to get going." He walked and reached the doorway, "-Millicent, you can trust Julius, his my long lost friend, a powerful mage as well as a duke." He walked out. "Wait for me," Avon scurried behind. The once tension-filled room eased up, Staxius's presence set everyone's worry aside; they all relied on him.