THE DRAGON LORDS OF ELEBOR - MIHIGO EMMANUEL (red seas under red skies txt) 📗

a broken leg.” Ntende said as he slowed to Mihigo’s pace. “There is something about this book.” Mihigo answered “So read it.” Ntende replied confused. “No, there is something about these markings on the cover. I feel I must first understand them before going any further.” Ntende sighed. “You think too much.” He then proceeded to glace at Amber. Mihigo smiled “Not unlike you.”

“You saw her this morning, right?” asked Ntende his gazing at Amber’s back. It was Mihigo’s turn to sigh. “Enzo we are on another planet, light years from anything remotely close to home. On a world where trees talk and move; A world where fire takes the form of men and proceeds to attack a village; whose entire existence mind you is melded into a forest. If you find something strange I think it best to ask about it rather than fretting over it.”

Ntende gave him a knowing look. Mihigo grinned. “The book is different. I can’t fully understand it but I know that if I am to read it I must prove myself worthy. Remember what Nowamani said, ‘before one can wield a sword, the warrior must first strengthen his body.’ In other words I must prove I have the mental capacity to understand what is written in this book by first figuring out the title.”

“Yeah, ok.” Ntende relented. Their path was soon shrouded in shadows as they neared the mountain base. It looked like the sun was setting yet it was barely noon. Before long the sun was bloated out by the thick canopy of the vast forest that blanketed the mountain side. With the road completely nonexistent now they walked in single file; Albadeluz at the front followed by Alexandria, Ntende, Mihigo and Amber bringing up the rear.

The eerie forest reminded Ntende too much of the forest crossing the barrier and he shuddered. The forest felt strangely similar to the eternal forest but much older, powerful even. The wind felt like the steady breathing of one entity and Ntende’s heart beat melded with the forest as if by walking through it he had become a part of the forest itself.

Pressing on, Ntende put one foot in front of the other, his thoughts a drop in the sea of psychic energy that encompassed the forest. Suddenly he bumped into Alexandria. “Are you ok Ntende?” She asked. Blinking he answered “I am fine, just lost my train of thought for a moment.” They stood on the edge of a great winding road looking down into an “S” shaped canyon.

“Before us is the serpents’ canyon.” Declared Albadeluz, “Here we must remain on guard it is here that my informant says the ambush is staged.” They descended without incident and had soon taken up defensive positions around Alexandria; something she did not fancy but realized she may have to get used to. Time seemed to slow down and the forest seemed to be holding its breath.

Mihigo knew the enemy was near but could not bring himself to speak so as not to alert them. It was a typical warning of the forest. The ceasing of all sound and the lack of wind all together were not good signs. Mihigo begun to shift his stance, slowly crouching to the ground; this would allow him to leap out of the way of any attack as well as duck faster. It was then that he heard it. A shift in wind though he knew it was not wind for it was unidirectional, carried sound and seemed to come out of nowhere.

 Reaching out Mihigo grabbed a dry branch and hurled it at the source. It seemed to strike the air to his left. A groan, the shuffling of leaves and a hooded figure seemed to materialize before him as it stumbled back. Suddenly there was a flash of light quickly accompanied by a loud crack. The shock wave rose a cloud of dust and as it cleared where there were once was five now stood six encased by a translucent shield.

“Well done my friend.” Said Albadeluz as he tightened the grip on his staff; hooded figures begun to materialize out of the air around them and the battle begun. One of the figures attacked Mihigo. It lunged at him with a short knife. An image filled Mihigo’s’ mind and he knew what to do, how to do it but not where he it learned from. ‘A question for later.’ He thought to himself.

With his mind made up, Mihigo’s vision suddenly cleared. Details jumped out at him even as his attacker lunged out, his actions slow, Mihigo could still move. He quietly thanked Wizard and proceeded to perform the moves that seemed to play out in his mind. With his enemy’s actions slowed by Wizard’s spell Mihigo easily disposed of one assailant after another until the forest was quiet once more.

Ntende and the others were alright from what he could tell but they seemed in much higher focus than usual and even slower. A wind blew past and there speed returned to normal as suddenly as it had slowed. Mihigo blinked and realized he couldn’t hear anything during the battle. It was as though he was just catching up to sound, but he wrote it off as adrenaline.

Mihigo noticed Ntende staring at him strangely “What’s wrong Enzo?” he asked concern evident in his voice. Just as Ntende opened his mouth Wizard placed his hand on Ntende’s shoulder silencing him. “It’s nothing.” He eventually answered.

Bird song had returned to the forest and once Amber and Alexandria were done tying up the ambush party, a bird of flames with tail feathers orange and deep yellow, its body red and crimson with eyes deep set and shining of an intelligence that is undeniable settled on a branch nearby. Wizard and Albadeluz smiled. “I wondered why there were so few of them.”

Said Wizard as a tall slender man walked out from behind the tree it had landed, followed by three others. “There were a hundred to begin with but the last one was more trouble than we anticipated.” Said the man who walked out first; He wore light amour with a crest of the bird perched on the tree. A red kerchief was tied to his right arm, probably to mark him as leader.

He walked up to wizard and asked “Why is the sky blue?” Wizard answered boldly “That’s one of my best works, you like it?” Everyone gaped at Wizard. The leader was the first to laugh followed by his men and Albadeluz.

The now group of ten led by the lieutenant of the phoenix resistance army made their way to the infinite city. Mihigo couldn’t remember how but he was suddenly facing huge double doors. He gave the lieutenant a cold stare. “I don’t like people messing with my head.” The lieutenant looked at him with disbelief and a little fear. Wizard chuckled “I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He said to Mihigo. “If you wish to blame someone she is behind these doors.” Bolts could be heard being pulled out of their sockets and the doors swung majestically open, then Wizard announced “Welcome to the Infinite city.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Light spilled into the passage in which they stood. The sight before them was as spectacular as it was breath taking. Ntende knew they were underground but somehow the sight before them was so contradictory that he glanced back into the dark tunnel through which they had travelled. Albadeluz and wizard chuckled and proceeded through. Ntende turned to Alexandria and Amber and was relieved to see that they were just as stunned.

Together they crossed the threshold into what seemed like another world. It reminded Mihigo about the portal they took to Wizard’s house; the sensation of moving through space over great distances in one step; ‘That will take some getting used to.’ Mihigo thought.

The scene before them was that of breath taking splendor; in spite of that the first thing Mihigo scrutinized was the slab of gray stone that rose up from where the horizon should be into an endless sky above. The stone seemed to stretch for miles in every direction. Mihigo turned to the massive double doors through which they had just walked and found that it was curved right out of the wall, hinges and all, such that it seemed almost invisible when closed. Come to think of it he couldn’t remember what it looked like on the other side.

Scowling he turned back to the scene before him now taking in his surroundings. Stretching out before him is a wide expanse of trees, and from his vantage point they looked like a sea of green leaves. Realizing this Mihigo thought he must be upon a hill. Gazing around him he noticed an array of hills and even what could be small mountains though he was too far to tell for sure.

Jutting out from the canopy here and there crystals of different sizes adorned the land scape. They flashed hues of blue giving the forest a pale blue glow.

A rustling to his left caused Mihigo to turn and find Ntende kneeling down and running his fingers through the grass at his feet. “We are supposed to be under ground.” He meant it as both a state mate and question. Amber sniffed the air. “The air is fresh.” Standing up Ntende answered “The trees.” Pointing, Alexandria said “They’re green.” a note of awe evident in her voice.

“You know,” said the lieutenant as he walked up to Ntende. “Most children that arrive here start with ‘wow’ or ‘amazing!’.” Wizard chuckled “They aren’t ordinary children.” Albadeluz lightly struck the ground with his staff, turning attention to him. “To think, Imongit Michael, they have only just arrived.” The lieutenant gaped at Albadeluz who simply added “I also don’t like people messing with my head.”

“Dramatic as ever I see Alba.” Said a voice; everyone turned to see a short, slightly plump woman about 5’1. She carried with her a beautifully engraved wooden staff about a foot taller than herself. Ntende gasped. He did not think it was possible for anyone to have eyes as green as the forest itself. In fact they were rivaled only by Amber’s eyes, but stunning none the less.

“My name is Kalende; it is a pleasure to meet you.” These words she directed to Ntende and Mihigo. “Thank you.” answered Ntende. Mihigo on the other hand remained passive.

Kalende the forest witch smiled. It had been a while since any being had so easily brushed her aside; and without training. It amused her. She applied a slight pressure to show her strength and hopefully spare this sapling the pain. She was surprised to find an astonishingly well-fortified wall. ‘This is interesting.’ she thought as she re-studied her subject.

He was nothing special; if anything he looked ordinary at best. Then she made eye contact and instinctively set up her own wall.

Those eyes, that look; she’d seen it before. Now she was curious. What is behind those walls? She had to know. Shoving with as much might as she could without causing any permanent damage she ploughed forward and was met with the same result. She realized now that he wasn’t as unaware as she had originally thought.

He was giving it his all. Now, so would