The Heroes II The Eternal Night

Chapter XII-Battle of a Great City

It felt to Garen as though they had

been training for hours. It took him a long while to adjust to how heavy it felt in this area and he still wasn't able to use his full speed or strength. Heather was a lot stronger than he expected her to be, probably stronger than Becky. He had red marks and welts covering his body from the flat side of her blade from every time he failed to block, dodge or parry an attack; she would go easy on him. Ax was having the same difficult with Becky. She was much faster than we was, naturally, and his duel fighting style was sloppy and slow. He couldn't grasp onto the concept of using both of his axes during the fight. Always using one or the other. Garen felt a hard sting against his ribs as Heather broke through his weak defense; he has to stop watching Ax and Becky. He focused on Heather, who was running at him, twirling her sword around and then attacking him in a wild fashion. It was almost impossible for him to counter it. Her fighting style looked random to him, but she used it as though it was a refined style. Every time Garen has trained with someone or fought an opponent, he was able to figure out a pattern that they used and could adjust to it to put them on the defensive. There was no figuring out her pattern, she didn't have one. Every attack and combination was different from the last and he couldn't find a way to adjust to her style.


When Heather charged at him again, he threw up his hand causing the ground in front of him to shoot up to block her off. He looked up and saw her falling toward him from the air. Garen opened his mouth and Green Fire shot out at her, which made Heather throw her sword in front of her to cut through. She landed behind him, breathing heavily and smiling at him with sweat slowly falling from her face.


"I don't remember saying that Fire of Color was allowed for this training," she panted.


"I don't remember you saying that it isn't," Garen said back with a smile.


"Oh, you're right about that one. Let's take a rest, we've been doing this for awhile."


Garen nodded at her and sat down right were he was, pulling water and a small piece of deer out of his pack. Heather sat next to him and started eating on some rabbit as she watched Becky and Ax train. Ax looked as though he was improving. He was now able to parry off Becky's attacks and successfully land his own on her. The only problem he had was worrying about hurting her every time he made contact. Becky took advantage of it every time and attacked him, saying that he cannot worry about the enemy's well-being while in real battle. Garen looked up at the sky, his bright green eyes shifting back and forth. He wondered how Cody was doing now. Had he been able to suppress the spirit that was left inside of him and restore his powers? He hoped that Cody could do it but, at the same time, he didn't want him to. If Cody's powers remained unstable then Garen would be the stronger one, but that could also mean disaster for them when that time for battle came.


There was something else that was bothering him now. How long had they been away? They would train for hours at a time every day and the Near Star never set. It had to have been a few days by now, so how long had passed on the outside? He turned to face Heather, who was still watching Ax and Becky train.


"Don't worry," she said before he could speak. "We'll be leaving this area after they're done. We should be back before the battle has started."


"How did you know what I was about to say?" Garen asked.


"People make the mistake that reading the mind is only for those who possess Rainbow Fire; Purple can as well. Only, we can look into all of your thoughts, past or present. This ability helps us better manipulate the mind."


Garen starred at her as she explained, swallowing. "You Purple Fire Raiders are a disturbing type."


She let out a high pitched laugh and patted his head. "All Fire Raiders and Elves can be disturbing if they master their Fire right."


Garen wanted to reply, but Heather had already stood up and was walking toward Becky and Ax as they began to pull out their food and water. When she got their, she pulled Becky aside and motioned for Ax to go sit next to Garen. What were they talking about that he couldn't be over there for? Garen wished he had the ears of the Elves at this moment because he had a feeling they were plotting. Becky was smiling as Heather talked to her, nodding her head. Then, they started walking toward Garen and Ax with their weapons drawn. Garen realized it almost too late that the training wasn't over and Ax never realized it at all until Heather was attacking.


Garen brought his sword up to parry Becky's attack but forgot that she had her other sword to attack and was slapped across the face with the flat of her blade. They just planned this out now, to throw off Garen and Ax. They had been training with the same partner for so long that they new each other's attacks now. Switching the oppents caught them both off guard and they were now struggling to adjust to the new fighting styles that were now being thrust upon them.


Duel blades are usually used to have one as an attack blade and the other as the defense blade, but Becky was using them both to attack, which gave her a huge advantage. Garen couldn't react fast enough to block both blades and she was too quick to give him time to use his Fire. He had never been in a situation like that before. Cody had trained him to use his Fire first in battle but Heather and Becky had taught them the opposite. Now, Garen couldn't even use it because of how fast Becky was. It was great training for him. There may come a time when he could run out of power if he's pushed too far and then he will only be left with his sword and if he were to fight with someone more experinced, he could die.


Ax didn't have as much difficulty as Garen did. He could easily parry Heather's single blade, but he could never land a blow because of her speed. His speed had increased majorly since he first joined them but he was still slow compared to the Elves; too slow compared to the Fire Raiders as well. Eventually, Ax started attacking with both axes in a wild fashion, not as controlled as Becky or Heather's. Garen and Ax had ended up back to back and were both holding there heads up as Becky's and Heather's blades were held centimeters from their throats. They had lossed. In a real battle they would both be dead right now with their heads rolling across the battlefield. The both of them were breathing hard, Garen was angry at the fact that he had failed. There was no room for failure in this mission that they were on. Failure meant death; failure meant the destruction of the land.


"Don't be upset, Garen," Becky said. "We've been training and fighting long before you were even born, it's only natural that you would lose to us. The fact that you both held your ground so well against us is impressive. We didn't hold back at all during this training because we felt that you two had enough experience by now to face advanced training and we were right. You don't realize it now because of this area, but you both have grown much stronger."


"Once we step outside, you will notice it," Heather said. "You'll feel lighter and stronger than you ever thought possible. You're bodies have been fighting the heaviness of this land for days and once you step into our own land, they will no longer have to fight. Now, let us get to the war room to see where the enemy is."


Becky and Heather dropped their swords and sheathed them, followed by Garen and Ax. It was time for another battle soon and they had just got done with intense training. He hoped they would have enought time to recooperate because, if not, things could end horribly in the following days.








The war room felt much lighter than it did the last time. Canola and the Generals were told to wait outside because of the strain it had on their bodies and Cody and Neotasha were still training. The room only had Garen, Becky, Heather, Ax, Langholm, Neota, and Queen Ellenor. Jake was resting after his long trainig session. Langholm had told them that Neota and he trained him harder than he's ever been pushed, so he needed the time to rest. What Heather had said held true. Garen and Ax felt much stronger when they stepped back into Adsmeria, so much stronger that war room didn't even have an affect on them now.


Garen looked down at the map and saw that half of the enemy camp was nearing Adsmeria and out of that half about a quarter of the red were now black, signaling that they had been killed. The other half of the camp had been engaged in battle with the camp they had left and the casualties looked equal on both sides so far. Every once in while, Garen would see either a blue or red dot go black as men and beast alike were killed. The Queen, Neota, and Heather were studying the map, devising a strategy to defeat them before they hit the Capitol. The number of Elves who patrolled the perimeter had been doubled and they were doing a decent job at taking them down, but it wasn't enough. At the rate, they would still cross into Adsmeria territory and they were almost there now. Garen was tensing up as he watched the enemy crawl closer and closer to their loctation. Were there Humans with them this time? If there were, could actually muster up the strength and courage to kill another Human or Fire Raider; to kill a living being just like him? He knew they Elves with them, but that wouldn't be like killing a being like him. No, it would be like killing one of his comrades; it would be like killing Becky or Neotasha or even Heather.


She glanced up at him quickly as her name floated through his thoughts and she forwned at him. You'll do fine, Garen. Her voice echoed through his head, causing him to jump slightly. Just remember your training and remember the reason why you're doing this. Another ability of Purple Fire was to talk to someone through their mind? Garen had never known this, it seemed that there was a lot more behind Purple Fire than he'd ever known.


"If they enter Adsmeria, there's nothing we can do but fight them here," Neota's voice came in, interupting Garen's thoughts. "If they make it this far, they will not make it any further. We have at least tripple the numbers that they do and every Elf is a highly skilled fighter."


"True," Queen Ellenor agreed. "They also have skilled fighters though. Remember they have Elves on their side and those beasts. They may have Fire Raiders as well and I sense an extremely evil and powerful presence with them."


"Is it the Dark Lord?" Garen asked.


"No, the feeling isn't that dark. But it is very menacing. Whoever this is has a heart full of malice."


"It has to be Nerag," Becky said.


"Why only weaker one?" asked Ax. "All them can do much damage."


"Even though he is the weakest in their group, he is extremely powerful," Neota answered. "He could do a lot of damage here himself if he so wishes."


"So what's the battle plan?" Garen asked.


"We wait," replied the Queen. "If they enter the Capitol then we will attack them unrelentlessly and we will leave no survivors. Even Nerag will meet his end here."


Garen was seeing a new side of the Queen now. She wasn't cheery as usually, but intimidating and angry. She wore a face of a seasoned warrior instead that of a graceful queen and it terrified Garen. She would do anything to protect her city and her people. They can not fail, they will not fail. Garen has to be the one to kill Nerag because Kyle will probably show up again to toy with Cody or all of them. He was not strong enough to face Kyle right now, he knew that, but if Cody regained his old strength plus the training he is going under with Neotasha, then he may be strong enough to kill him. Kill him. The thought bounced through his head. They had once been the best of friends, almost brothers, and now they were on opposing sides and wanting each other dead. He could still barely wrap his mind around the fact that Kyle was the one under that mask. The friend that he thought had fell to his death was actually the man that lit the Black Fire Lighthouse, defeated them all in battle and almost killed Becky. The thoughts made him cringe and angry. Kyle was no friend of his, he let the powers of Rainbow Fire take control of him. Cody would never allow that to happen, even with that piece of the Dark Lord still inside of him.


The war meeting had concluded while Garen was lost in his thoughts. They had all agreed on what Queen Ellenor decided, even he did without realizing it. It was now time to prepare for the battle. Everyone exited the war room to go get ready. Becky, Heather and Neota went to go gather the Elves while Langholm and the Queen went to inform Canola and the Generals of their plan. Ax had decided to go off to his room to meditate before the battle; Garen never knew that Giants meditated. That left him there alone, thinking what to do to prepare for what was coming. He looked up at the highest door again and decided that was where he would go. He would tell Neotasha and Cody the plan and join them for some final training. It was the only real way for him to get stronger.








Cody was on one knee panting hard as a puddle of sweat and blood formed up below him. Neotasha and he did not train with the flats of their blades, but with the sharp end. Cody had learned how to use the Black Fire's ability of healing through his Rainbow Fire. Some times he forgot that Rainbow Fire had the ability of all the other Fires. It wasn't nearly as effective as Max using it or even Ax, but it was enough to heal any wounds sustained from Neotasha. He was healing himself now as Neotasha drank some water. He had not been able to hit him once. He was much more powerful than Cody had ever known and he realized that he was hiding his true strength in fear of being discovered of who he was. Now that they all knew, he didn't hold anything back. Even at his full power, it was hard to land a blow on Neotasha or even parry or dodge his attacks. He had gotten adjusted to the room days ago, or had it been weeks? He did not know; the time moved different here.


During one of their rest periods after their first day there, Cody had observed the land a little more closely. It was quite strange from the land they were from. It had two Near Stars, one was red and the other blue. He never knew that there different colored stars like that or that there were more lands than their own that would have a Near Star, not to mention two. They were usually in the sky together and at night, there was no moon. That made things difficult for him because Neotasha insisted on leaving some harsh training during the night. At first Cody was annoyed by it and confused on why they would train in pitch darkness until a few nights went by. He began to see better in the dark and his other senses grew as well. He knew were Neotasha was at all times now by hearing or smelling him. That was up until Neotasha decided to not make a noise during their night training and his scent seemed to had vanished as well. That left Cody with only one option; sensing the life energy of him. It was a technique that all the Elves knew because they drew their powers from the living land around them and that made them masters at sensing life energy. Cody thought he knew how to do pretty well at first, but Neotasha knew how to hide it, making it more difficult for Cody to sense.


Now, he could effectively fight him in day or night. They were equal in speed now as well, the only thing Cody had left was increasing his powers. Neotasha had explained to him that Fire Raiders and Elves use Fire of Color in two completely different ways. Elves using the land around them where Fire Raiders had the power passed down to them through blood. They both had there strengths and weaknesses. Cody came from a powerful bloodline so he, naturally, had the potential to be much more powerful than any being the used the land to support their Fire of Color. That was the weakness of the Elves, they could only grow as strong as the land would allow them, granted it was extremely powerful once they were skilled enough to gather large amounts of energy. But some bloodlines were to powerful to compare to. Neotasha had said that Cody, Kyle and Garen all had extremely powerful bloodlines that would be hard to match. The weakness of the Fire Raiders was a crucial one, though. If pushed far enough in a battle, they could expend all of their Fire of Color, it wouldn't kill them but it would take awhile to recover from. There was a way to overcome this, though, and that was to learn how to gather energy from the land. Cody had mastered this technique as well and now he was working on something else privately and without Neotasha's knowledge. He was attempting to us that technique to increase the power of his own Fire of Color, but this proved difficult. If he drew too much power from the land around him, his power would fade, and if he used too much of his power, then there wouldn't be any from the land. It was an extremely difficult and delicate balance that he had to master.


As Cody finished healing himself, he saw the doorway open and Garen came walking through. He bowed under the weight of this land for a second, but quickly regained himself. He looked a lot more powerful than he did before. His muscle build had grown, his face looked more fierce and he had an arua of absolute confidence about him. Cody smiled at him and stood up, grasping him tightly when they met. Garen looked over at Neotasha and nodded at him with a smile, which he returned.


"What has happend to in here?" Garen asked.


"Huh," Cody hadn't realized he had changed as well. His beard was now growing in thick and rugged. His eyes had a lighter grey to them than they usually did and his muscle build had also grown. The hard, war-like expression he always wore looked softer and he had a more gentle way about him. Garen could tell that the piece of the Dark Lord that resided in him had been subdued. "I suppose I would look different after a few weeks of training."


"A few weeks?" Garen look confused. "It's only been a couple days."


"To you guys, yes," Neotasha cut in. "Time moves much slower here than it does in our own land. We could probably train for another week here before the enemy arrives."


"That's one of the reasons why I came here," Garen said. "They're almost here, probably a day if not a few hours. We also have a plan." Garen explained to them the strategy and what was happening in the forest and out. They both nodded in understanding as Garen talked on.


"I see," Cody said. "We should probably prepare soon then. So, what was the other reason you came up here?"


"Oh, uhm," Garen stuttered. He didn't know why he'd be nervous. He's trained under them both before. "I would like to train with you guys for a little while, if that's alright."


"Of course it's alright," Cody said, his smile growing. "I should warn you, though, it is extremely grueling, even for me."


Garen smiled at his responce. A training that was hard for Cody had to be good and should make him much stronger. Strong enough to maybe defeat Nerag.


Cody hadn't lied about the training be hard. They were only a few hours into and Garen was already cut up and beaten down. He had decided to fight Neotasha and Cody at once, but that proved to be extremely challenging. Neotasha was a lot stronger than he ever played off and Cody's powers had grow exponentially. His fight with Becky, however, helped him with the fight. He was able to fend them off for awhile. Neotasha was a lot easier for him to adjust to because he had trained both Heather and Becky, so their fighting styles were very similar. Cody was more difficult, though. His fighting style had changed since the last they fought, it seemed more natural and fluent now. Garen realized that this was his real fighting style, the one that Cody was using before was the Dark Lord's.


It had been a few days now since they started the training. Garen had learned how to sense life energy as Cody had and mastered the night training as well. They were now siting around, eating and drinking as they used their remaing time to recuperate. The enemy had to be arriving soon and they had to be rested for it. The sky was strange to him, having two Near Stars and both being different colors than their own. He wasn't sure if they were in a new land or if it was some kind of illusion. Neotasha was a master of the Fire of Mystery, so it had to be a new land. Now Garen understood why Silver Fire was deemed that name; everything about this place was mysterious.


Neotasha and Cody stood up, followed by Garen. They had rested enough to fight and now it was time to see where the enemy was. They all gathered there supplies together and Neotasha led them out of the strange land into Adsmeria.








All of the Elves in the Capitol were ready for battle. All shops have been closed down and they wore chain armor and were armed with either swords or bows and arrows.

More to come in this chapter