Brian feels hard tug on his cloak as Justin pulls him to the ground and they both go tumbling down a small hill. Justin lands on his feet and quickly pulls Brian to his.
“Move,” Justin growls at Brian.
Brian tries to keep up with the long strides of Justin only to find himself running faster then he knew he could on his toes. Justin stops suddenly after a minute and stares over his shoulder. Brian stares up at him as he sees Justin’s eyes dart around quickly. He could hear the sound of hooves in the distance and goes to look over his shoulder as well only to have Justin pull him onto the ground. Justin pushes him into a small hole created by a fallen tree and the ground itself.
“Keep perfectly still,” Justin says as he sits in front of Brian hiding himself, but at the same time protecting Brian.
Brian could hear his heart beating in his throat and almost willed it to stop beating so it wouldn’t beat so loud. He could see only a small portion of the forest over the tip of Justin ones shoulder and the forest itself seemed to bend and droop downward almost in sadness or pain. The Dark Rider was near and he knew it. A soft breeze blew above his ears before he looked up through a small knot in the fallen tree and his breath caught in his throat. There standing high above him mounted on its dark horse sat a Rider draped in all black…the Grim Ripper.
Brian shuts his eyes tightly and holds his breath waiting for the inevitable, only it never came. There was a sudden gust of wind instead and a bright white light that filled his eyes even though they were closed. He could feel Justin push back against him almost cowering away from the light as well, but soon enough he could feel the pressure of Justin’s body stop as Justin stood up. Then and only then did he open his eyes and see that the light had vanished. Justin was reaching a hand under the tree and pulling him up to his feet again.
Brian lets out his held breath and looks over at Quest who was breathing hard and staring down at a mound of black clothing at her feet.
“Where’d it go?” Brian asks.
“Back to the Tesa,” Nick says from the corner walking over to him, “They exist wholly there. They only exist partly here. Their spirit exists here, but not their body.”
“What happened?” Justin asks.
Nick looks over at Quest who was still breathing heavily and had her hand clenched around the handle of her sword, “She did something.”
“Where are the others?” Kevin asks walking up with AJ, both of them covered in patches of dirt with a tired expression on their faces.
“They’re coming,” Justin says, “I can smell the shape shifter’s aura from here.”
Brian looks over at Quest as she finally lets go of her sword and looks up from the pile, “Are you ok?” she asks him.
“Fine,” Brian says, “What do they want?”
“You,” Kevin says flatly.
“But…but why?”
“I don’t know,” Kevin sighs as Josh, Chris and Lance walk up.
“What do we do now?” AJ asks.
“You rest,” Kevin says, “I’ll watch.”
“The horses,” Nick says.
“They’ll come to us,” Quest says, “They’re elven raised horses they’ll know how to find their way to us.”
They all did as Kevin told them to do. They laid down on the spot where they stood and tried to sleep.
None of them did though.
By the time morning broke Kevin had them all up mounting the horses, which had somehow found them during the course of the night one by one.
“We need water,” Nick says, “We hardly have any left.”
“There is a small lake over to the right,” Justin says, “I saw it last night while I was hunting.”
“Is it safe to drink?” Kevin asks Quest.
Quest nods, “The Calandro Lake is where our people would fetch water from long ago. It’s safe.”
Kevin nods, “Then we go to the lake and get the water first and then…we ride.”
Nick looks at him as he mounts his horse and sighs, “Justin lead the way then.”
With Justin leading the way on foot pulling his horse along by the reins they arrived at the lake within minutes. It was surrounded by lush green and silver trees that had roots dipping in the lake itself. The water was crystal clear, which Brian found out when he went to scope it out with his hand to drink. He kneels down by the edge of the water like the others and begins to fill his canteen with it.
He hears a soft rustle in the bushes behind him and he looks over his shoulder quickly. He looks over at Justin and AJ who were both still gathering water. If there was actually noise they would of heard it, so he figured there was nothing to worry about. He stands up quietly and begins to walk over to the other edge of the lake. A soft breeze brushes against his cheek and he smiles faintly as he sees a white horse creep out from the trees to the lake bending its head down to get a drink.
“My God,” he mumbles to himself as he sees a silver horn protruding from the horses head, “It’s a…a…”
“Unicorn,” Quest finishes for him and he spins around to look at her, “They’re rare now a days even here. Beautiful species aren’t they? They’re pure creatures too. Nothing hurts them or kills them. They’re…they’re just a gift I guess you can call it.”
“They’re real.”
“Of course,” she smiles, “Why wouldn’t they be? After all I am an elf,” she smiles and begins walking back to the others.
Brian watches the unicorn until it lifts its head again and looks at him quickly before trotting off back into the woods. He was in a land of imagination and he was sure of it. A place where anything could be reality and he loved it. Everything around him was beautiful and seemed to be thriving in a world untouched by humans.
“It was a gift to man,” Quest says trotting up on her horse pulling Brian’s horse along with her by the reins.
“What was?”
“The Earth,” she says, “Elves had lived there for hundreds and hundreds of years before man cam along. After so much time though we figured it was time to go back to our home land, except for a choice few who stayed behind, and we gave the Earth to humans for them to watch over it like we had for so long,” she sighs and then looks up at him, “And now look at it. Nothing but buildings and roads,” she sighs again letting the reins fall out of her hand.
Brian stares at her as she seems to daze off and grabs the reins to his horse.
“Let’s go,” Kevin says and Brian quickly mounts his horse again.
And so the journey continued.
“Where did elves come from?” Brian asks Nick who shrugs in reply from his saddle as the ride across the plain.
“They have just always been here,” Nick says, “They’re the founders of civilization. They influence everything you have of Earth. They’re lovers of nature and like vampires seem to find beauty in everything. They’re immortal and powerful, powerful beyond imagination. Quest has to be one of the most powerful out there too. They’re usually small around five feet to five feet and a half, pointy ears, and always beautiful. I have never seen a picture of an ugly elf. They’re just beauty I guess.”
Brian nods, “Fairies?”
Nick shrugs, “Fairies are an odd bunch. There are tales that go as far back as Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden some say. It says that Eve had children and she was cleaning them in a river. God told her to show him all of her children and she did so except for the one that was unwashed. God then said that all the ones hidden from his view would be hidden from mankind’s eyes forever and that was how the fairy folk came to be. Do I believe though? No. I think they’re creation was something totally different, but I’m not sure what.”
“I thought they had wings.”
“They do,” Nick says, “Under that cloak,” he says motioning to Lance’s back, “there is a set of wings folded up. They’re clear usually and have a distinct marking on them to show what house they usually came from.”
Brian stares at Lance’s back as he rides in front of them, “And vampires?”
“Vampires are mysteries on top of mysteries. They were human once which means the first vampire was human, but somehow humans mutated into them. Well I don’t want to say mutated they more or less evolved into vampires. The first known one was the Vagrant who changed five offspring into vampires and those five have produced all of the vampires in the world today. AJ is a very close descendent of one of the original five Calphurnia. Other then that little is known about the vampire origin. They are such a secluded species it’s hard to no anything about them without being one yourself. But they are the most powerful beings in any realm and have powers some people can only dream off. They’re amazing creatures if you ask me.”
“The Lores?”
“A branch of witches like the Riders, but they were instilled with the power to watch over lower beings like Riders were too.”
“Shape Shifters?”
Nick shakes his head, “I have no idea. Shape shifters are so rare now. They have human characteristics and were once human, but they change once they reach a certain age of maturity and become immortal somehow. The first shape shifter is still unknown and we can only trace their species back a few thousand years.”
“And they all lived on Earth at some point?”
“Mostly elves. The elves are the builders of civilization and the worlds are better places because of them. They’re the keepers of nature and embody everything that is good and righteous.”
“Then why do they fight with the dwarfs?”
“The dwarfs take apart the elves beloved earth stripping it of resources and tearing down trees to make things. They dig mines and permanently damage the ground they walk on. Basically think of it as some kind of religious war. The elves believe whole heartedly in what they think is right is what should be and the dwarfs in turn do the same. The war between the two species as been going on since the beginning of time. I don’t think it will ever end.”
“Well then whose right?”
Nick looks at him, the elves, he says to Brian in his head telepathically then looks forward again.
Brian stares at the land around him and then over in the distance he sees a herd of white horses running across the hills toward the north same as them only running at a faster pace, “Unicorns,” he says to himself.
“Did you say something?” Nick asks.
“No…just thinking,” Brian says and turns back toward the herd as it moves off into the distance away from his eyesight, “This place is beautiful.”
“This place…” Nick says, “This place is the land of the elves.”
“When the cold of winter comes. Starless night will cover day. In the veiling of the sun. We will walk in bitter rain. But in dreams. I still hear your name. And in dreams. We will meet again…” Quest sings as Justin and AJ stare at her smiling to themselves as Kevin shakes his head at them.
Brian was sitting on a horse riding with an elf, a vampire, a dwarf, a fairy, a Rider, a Lore, a shape shifter and a werewolf while unicorns ran over the hills in the distance. Maybe it was all a dream. A very long dream and if it was a dream…did he want to wake up?
“Kevin,” Brian says walking up to him as they stop for a break to rest and get something to eat.
“Yeah,” Kevin says, “Can I help you with anything?”
“Why am I here Kevin honestly.”
“I don’t know Brian,” he sighs, “I’ve tried to figure that out many times.”
“What are those things after me?”
“The Black Riders?”
“Yes.”
“Once they were Riders just like Nick, but somehow they turned toward the dark side. They fell from Octavious’s graces and became associated with Memnoch…”
“The devil?”
“Yes, the thing that came to your apartment that night was Memnoch. I don’t know why he was there, but he wanted you for some reason. Memnoch rules over hell stuck forever in eternal sadness with the millions stuck there with him. He usually just stays there, but he came up for you and I’m still trying to figure out why he wants you. But I’m losing track of the conversation now. The Black Riders exist, but at the same time they don’t. They come from the world called the Tesa like Nick where all the Riders are kept. Nick is the same as them. But in his case he is with us wholly except for part of his soul that stays in the Tesa. The Riders, on the other hand, have their bodies in the Tesa while their spirit comes over to here. That’s why there was nothing left, but a black cloak. They also can’t cross water for some reason. They’re terrified of it.”
Brian stares at him as he drifts off with his thoughts again. Brian had become used to the fact that Kevin did that a lot and decided it was better to just leave him with his thoughts. He looks over at Quest who is bent towards a bush that has strange blue flowers growing on it and walks over, “What’s she doing?” he asks Justin.
“I have no idea,” he says as AJ stares at her standing next to Justin.
“Oh come on now,” she says picking a flower off the bush and walking over to them slowly, “Don’t be like that. Fine be that way,” she says stopping in her tracks, “Y’ enillor morne. Tulinte I quettar. Tercano nuruva. Hlasta! Qyetes. Hfirimain: The Ringspell,” she sings softly into the flower as it starts to glow a bring blue color and a small ball of blue light comes out of it slowly stopping in front of her face, “There now was that so bad?” she asks reaching up as the light sinks into her palm.
“What is it?” Justin asks.
“This…this is a Sutcliff.”
“A what?”
“A sprite,” Brian says as the others turn to look at him.
“Very good,” Quest says to him, “They live in plants and flowers. The elders would tell me when I was little that they predicted the future, but I never believed what they told me,” she says as Brian walks up and stares at the small blue girl sitting in her palm, “Here,” she says to him as she places the small girl in his hand.
“What did they tell you?” Brian asks staring at the small girl in his hand.
“They told me I would see my father again,” she says before walking off toward Josh and sitting down next to him.
“Odd little thing isn’t it,” Justin says looking at the sutcliff.
“It’s beautiful,” Brian says, “What was she saying to it Lance?”
Lance shrugs, “I only know some elfish words. I can read it though. It's harder to make it out when they speak.”
Brian stares at the small sprite girl in his hand and smiles, “What do you see for me?”
“Danger,” she says in a small shrill voice, “Danger. Leave the Havens. Go north. Please. The Ringspell has been summoned.”
“Ringspell?”
“Please. Go,” she says before flying out of his hand and back towards the flowers.
“Kevin,” Brian says.
“Yeah,” Kevin says.
“Where are we now? Like what is this place called. Just this specific area.”
“The Havens. Why?”
“We need to leave,” Brian says walking up to his horse and mounting it.
“What’s wrong?” Kevin asks.
Josh stares at Brian and then mounts his own horse, “Danger,” he says curtly and everyone else follows their lead.
Brian didn’t think he could ride as fast and as far as he did when he was so tired, but by the time they all finally stopped it was the dead of night. Kevin was walking around in a circle on his horse over the small area making sure everything was safe for the others.
“Is everything…” Brian goes to say ok as a sudden pain rips through his head and he falls off his horse. His migraines were back. He could hear the others move towards him and he could feel Kevin pull him up to his feet and shake him.
“Brian are you ok?” Kevin asks.
Brian covers his ears and shuts his eyes tightly. He could hundreds of voices chanting in his head. They were saying, “Doom. Doom. Doom. Doom,” over and over again.
“Oh God no,” Quest says, “Everyone on their horses! Now!”
“Is it Riders?” Nick asks as Kevin helps Brian onto his own horse and then gets on as well holding onto Brian.
“No,” Justin says as he looks out into the darkness.
Brian opens his eyes slowly and then stares out into the darkness. He could barely make out small figures walking over the hillside. No they were running over the hillside.
“Pendragons,” Quest says, “Ride! Now!” she yells at them all before taking off in the lead as the others follow close behind.
Brian could feel Kevin holding onto him tightly, but the voices in his head were still there chanting, “doom,” over and over again. Brian only heard one more thing before he finally blacked out and that were the voices in his head chanting one last word, “Ringspell.”
