The Heroes I-The Black Fire Lighthouse

Chapter II-Story of the Lighthouses

"Kyle, wake up!" yelled a young woman with bushy, brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes that where covered with a coat of fear. "We have to go now!" Jennifer almost cried this time.


"Yeah, Mum, whatever," Kyle managed to slur out before rolling back over. His bed shook violently, causing him to instantly throw himself out of bed, almost falling over due to the shake. He looked over at his mother when it was over. "Was that an explosion?" she nodded back at him. "What’s goin' on, Mum?"


Jennifer grabbed Kyle firmly by the arm, slightly hurting him, and started walking him down the stairs. She stopped and looked at him in the eyes when they got near the door. "There's no time to explain, sweetie," she said. "I want you to go to the entrance of Kio with th-the rest of the townsfolk, okay?"


Kyle grabbed hold of her hand as she began to run out the door. "Mum, what's goin' on here?"


There was an explosion that blew into their house, sending dust and debris everywhere knocking Kyle on the ground and separating him from his mother. He got up quickly to see her at the door about to leave and looking at him with those same eyes as when his father was killed. "They're attacking us again. I-I have to go help protect Kio!" And she was gone.


"Mum!" Kyle cried out, tripping his way over the rubble trying to catch up with her. "You can't go, they'll...they'll kill you like they did with Dad. Mum!"


He staggered his way out of the house looking for his mother only to see his once peaceful village of Kio in ruins and flames. People ran past him, ducking down and screaming trying to make their way to the entrance. The smell of burning houses and flesh stung his nose. There were bodies scattered across the ground, bloodied and burnt; some dead and some still screaming. He ran over to one of the bodies and tried lifting the man up, but he was too heavy for Kyle. During his struggle, a ball of Rainbow Fire threw him back to finish off the dying man. Kyle looked up at the cliffs to see a man glaring down at the village with his arms folded and about a hundred meters below him was a couple running for cover. Kyle started running against the screaming crowd toward the cliffs, he had no idea what drew him to that man right now, all common sense said he should be running the other way. He wasn't paying attention to anyone around him until he ran into someone, knocking them down on their backside. He looked down at the person he had knocked over and saw his childhood best friend shaking his shaggy black hair then looking up to see who ran into him, a frightened look in his deep green eyes.


"Garen," he said, helping him up. "Where are you goin'?"


"I'm going where I'm supposed to be going," Garen replied. "And you would be going where?"


Kyle just pointed at the man standing at the cliff and Garen stared at him in disbelief. "How crazy are you exactly, Kyle?"


"I think these are the same people that attacked Kio when we were barely walking, the same people that killed my father."


"Which is an even better reason that we should get away from them," Garen pleaded.


"No," Kyle started walking forward again, but Garen stopped him. "Get out of my way."


"I'm not letting you go."


Kyle opened his mouth to rebuttal, but was cut short by a high pitched scream coming from a woman he could point out in a crowd of a thousand people, Shelby. Just like Garen, Shelby was Kyle's lifelong friend, but sometimes it felt like more than that, almost like they belonged together. He could remember almost everything that they've done together and just like him, she lost her father to the people who raided Kio so many years ago.


Shelby and her family are the descendants of one of the two original founders of Kio and her father was next in line to be the mayor, but with his loss and her brother being too young at the time, one of the elders took up the position to fill the place until her brother, Forbes, was of age to take the mayor's spot. Her second brother, Layle, would be the mayor's advisor when he grew old enough for the position. Kyle could never explain it, but there was always a weird feeling, a connection between them that bonded them closer than just friends, closer than anything he's ever known.


It was almost the same thing with Garen. They were closer than just friends, almost brothers it seemed. The three of them were the closest friends of anyone in the village and always messed around with other people, having fun and toying with their powers, Fire of Color. Always testing each other's bravery by going as deep into the forest as they could, Kyle always being the bravest of the three, and pulling pranks on the elder students who were a few years advanced to them at the art of Fire of Color but never seemed to prove much of a threat. Garen could point her voice out in a field of signing sirens almost as well as Kyle and was now looking in the direction of her house just as he was.


They looked quickly at each other and ran to the set of stairs that would lead them directly to Shelby's house while ducking under balls of Purple and Silver Fire, Kyle forgetting all about the man at the cliff side. Garen started running quickly down the steps but Kyle stopped about a meter away from them barely peering down the side of the drop, feeling his stomach start to flip. Through all of his training, he still had one great fear that he couldn't master; heights. This was the highest set of steps in Kio and he could never go down them and always took the longest way around to Shelby's house.


Garen looked back at him about half way down the steps and shouted, "Kyle, this is no time for your fears to get in the way!"


"Oh yeah, right," Kyle said softly and started running down the steps with Garen, very hesitantly.


They reached the bottom and started running up to Shelby's house, seeing a group of people around the heavy running river that flowed past the house. There was someone lying on the ground, burn marks covering almost half of his body. It was Shelby's brother, Layle.


"What happen to him?" Kyle asked, panting.


"H-he and Ivy were o-on a date," Shelby choked. "They were looking d-down at Lake Kio w-when i-it happened and started running. Layle pushed Ivy out of the w-way of a fire ball and th-th-then..." she started sobbing more and turned away from Kyle, not being able to look at him.


"Kyle," Shelby's mother said, "you and Garen have to get to the mayor and let him know what happen. He can use the healing properties of Black Fire."


"Right," Garen said. "Let's go, Kyle."


"Yeah, right," Kyle said slowly, looking down at Layle then running after Garen.


They got past the bridge and both stopped at the same time, feeling a darkness pour over them. It's something that Kyle had felt before, the same presence that took him away so long ago. A friend that Garen didn't know about and a secret he hadn't thought about in years. Now the presence was back again, could it be him or was it someone else this time? As quickly as the darkness was there, it was gone and replaced by voices coming from above them that didn't sound quite human and sent chills running down both Kyle and Garen's spines.


"It seems that there are more secrets in Mount Killimore then we originally thought," said the first cruel voice.


"Very true, how 'bout we kill everyone here, instead," hissed the second voice that was full of malice.


"No," said a third voice that was harsher than the other two and sounded full of power. "We can't do that, we still need some people here. Kyle and Garen can be very useful, plus Killimore proves full of knowledge."


"How do they know our names?" Garen whispered almost too quickly to hear, but Kyle singled him to keep quite anyway.


"And it seems that we may have some visitors," said that third voice.


"Run!" Kyle yelled out and started running toward the mayor's house, but a cloud of smoke appeared in front of him and he was sent flying back. Garen went to run the other way towards Shelby's house and the same thing happened to him. They flew back at each other, hitting their heads.


"Now what do we have here?" the third voice whispered, darkness covering his face and the other two.


"I want to eat them, bother," exclaimed the second voice.


"No," said the first. "How bout we tell them a little bed time story before we go. A story of the Lighthouses perhaps?"


"Sounds like an excellent idea," the third voice said. "These are the two boys that could prove useful to us, after all. How about a story of the Lighthouses?"


"We're not going-" Kyle started but quickly grabbed at his throat, choking.


"Now, now," said the third man, his voice expelling frightening power, "it is very rude to interrupt your elders who want to tell a good little bed time story."


Kyle collapsed to his knees, Garen running over to him, holding his throat and coughing violently and giving the man a cruel look.


"Now, where to begin?" he asked himself. "Ah, here it is. A few thousand years ago, the founders of this village, Killimore, Kio and a man whose identity is unknown, decided to build seven lighthouses to represent the colors of our Fire to make themselves stronger. With these lighthouses, they built seven tablets to also represent the seven Fires to light the Lighthouses. After the Rainbow Fire Lighthouse was completed, the men were approached by an elder Elf who warned them against the lighting of these Lighthouses, for there were already four lighthouse that represented the four elements, that kept the planet at balance. If they were to light these Lighthouses, it would throw the balance of the planet off and destroy everything.


"Fearing this power, Kio and Killimore went to this mountain here and hid the Tablets, but the other man, whom we shall call the Masked Hero, still wanted to light them. Fearing his greed, they banished him from the village to never come back and he was never heard from again. A few years after, however, Kio and Killimore also disappeared, leaving their wives and children behind. So that is a little history lesson of your village."


Garen stood up and looked at the men in front of them. "Well now we know to protect these tablets from anyone. By the way, you’re quite dreadful at story telling." Garen was sent flying against the cliff next to them from one of the other men, whose arm was outstretched.


"You are a fool," growled the first voice. "We are here to steal the Tablets and light the legendary Lighthouses."


"Damn it, Elyk!" shouted the third man at the first. "Now we must make them forget this moment, they mustn't know our plans!"


"Yes, sir," Elyk said, Silver Fire lighting on his outstretched hand.


"No, Silver Fire is too much; they are too young to know the mysteries of that Fire. Nerag, your Purple should be enough. Only wipe their memory, that’s what the Fire is good at. Don't kill them."


"As you wish, master," hissed out the second man, walking towards Kyle and Garen.


Kyle got up and started charging at Nerag, his hand emitting Rainbow Fire, but it vanished to dust and he was blown back with a flash of Purple Fire. Pain seared throughout his body and his head started feeling light. The scenes around him were slowly darkening. He saw that same flash hit Garen, who was knocked out instantly.


"You're still awake?" said the third man. "You're strength is impressive for your age, we'll come back for you later. Nerag, finish his memory," he walked off and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, followed by Elyk.


Nerag lifted his hand, the whites of his teeth showing a cruel grin. He let down a large flash of Purple Fire searing through his head. He saw Nerag look past him and vanish as the two before him did. Kyle looked in the same direction, seeing Shelby and the mayor running at him, Shelby screaming. The day's events began to flash through his head quickly, each memory of the horrible day disappearing, until he was left starring past Shelby with no life left in his eyes.