Locmire's Quest: Book One A Tales from Calencia Novel Page 2
The Great War
Ryker's heart momentarily ceased to beat as he grieved for the fallen warriors that covered the battlefield, lying closely packed like a cobblestone road. A thick blanket of snow covered the corpses, resembling an artist's canvas that had been splattered with red and black blood. The grotesque road of bodies led to the Onock, where the Great War would finally reach its end.
The Human King, Ryker Graystone glanced back at his men to see them bent over and panting heavily. They had become physically and emotionally exhausted from the seemingly never ending battle against the evils that had laid claim to Calencia. Looking at the multitude of bodies before them, the warriors courage began to fade. The look of impending doom upon their faces angered Ryker.
"Their deaths will not be in vain," Ryker said to his few remaining troops. "The time for vengeance is at hand!"
Their eyes and ears fell upon their King, desperate for his words of strength.
"This war ends today. Never again will the Dark Wizard terrorize our lands. Never again will he slaughter our families and neighbors." Ryker was now pacing back and forth. "Look at how far we have come. Think of the losses that we have suffered. We are not yet defeated, for here we stand! We will not be defeated by fear! Only death will defeat us, and I do not plan on dying today!"
Ryker's words sparked a wave of fury within his loyal men.
"The Onock is within our grasp!" Ryker roared. "Hasbarie must come out from hiding and face me. He has no other choice."
A song of steel on steel filled the air as his men began slapping their swords against their shields.
The Onock was an organic, magical life form that the Dark Wizard Hasbarie, an exile from Fogarth, called his home. The Onock was Hasbarie's safe haven and portal to the world from which he drew his power and minions. The rolling blaze of darkness swirled continuously, emitting a low hum and a putrid stench of rotting flesh; it was pure evil. It was the greatest threat Calencia had ever known, and the Human Savior, Ryker stood only fifty yards away waiting for the Dark Wizard to emerge.
The last remaining Savior had desperately battled his way past all of Hasbarie’s forces, and he now waited for the Dark Wizard to appear. The Great War had come down to this final conflict between the light and dark, good and evil. Only a handful of the Dark Wizard's minions stood between Ryker and Hasbarie.
"The time has come," Ryker said, his breath creating a heavy fog as it collided with the cold winter air.
"What is our plan, King Graystone?" one of his men asked.
"We. . . kill. . . everything!" the Human Savior roared.
"Look!" a man exclaimed. "The Dark Wizard, he finally shows himself."
"My destiny," Ryker said under his breath as he watched Hasbarie emerge from the Onock.
The Great War, the rise of Hasbarie, and an unexpected unification of the races had all been seen by the Lookers of Fogarth. A prophecy revealed to them foretold of a Wizard who was to bring forth unspeakable evils that would ravage the land. That Wizard was Hasbarie, and, as envisioned, that evil had been unleashed upon Calencia. Endless hordes of his abominations poured out from within the Onock, along with the vilest creatures that roamed the farthest reaches of Calencia.
Hasbarie's most abundant and expendable servants were known as the Breathless. The Dark Wizard summoned these once living beings from within the Onock, or reanimated the bodies of freshly slain victims. The rotten flesh that hung from their bodies made them a terrifying sight to behold. Clotted blood and bodily fluids oozed from their decayed flesh, and their foul stench alone was enough to repulse most men. Whether summoned from the Onock or recently turned, all of Hasbarie’s dark puppets appeared strikingly similar. The Breathless showed no mercy, no compassion, and Hasbarie possessed unimaginable control over these beings.
Regardless of how he came into possession of such dark power, he commanded the largest army in all of Calencia and no lone faction could stand against him. The Dark Wizard's horde destroyed villages, cities, and anything else that crossed their path.
Hasbarie’s evil rose to power in the south, in a heavily populated area of the Free Lands. The Onock appeared from out of nowhere and Hasbarie's assault began immediately. Countless settlements and cities met his forces with insufficient resistance. Much of the Free Lands, later to be renamed the Dead Lands, became desolate after his forces ravaged the area. Hasbarie and his legion of the dead were indomitable.
During these hopeless days the races forged alliances that would have otherwise not been possible, but many seemingly impossible tasks are achievable when the world is in its eleventh hour. When realizing that their isolated military efforts were futile, the five kingdoms finally realized they had to consider a more unified approach if they ever hoped to conquer Hasbarie. The leaders of the kingdoms throughout Calencia, bound together by a common goal, put aside their differences to join one another in the battle against the Dark Wizard.
At the Calling of the Greats these leaders gathered and swore to unite and drive the evil out of their lands before their entire civilized world became consumed. The races that banded together formed the largest and most adept group of warriors ever to assemble. Driven by desperation and a glimmering hope that they, together, could stand against the greatest evil ever known, the newly mobilized army marched to the southern reaches of Calencia, where their forces would clash with Hasbarie’s.