VALENOR (Illustration by Alejandro J.Serrano).

“The abomination has spread too far Dranos! Close the damned gates or you’ll kill everyone within these walls!” “No! Trust me Gerbroth, we can hold for a bit longer.” “If your brother were here…” “Well he’s not! Now silence yourself and hold this line!” The roar and growling of the living dead echoed against the walls of Fort Termor. The night sky carried within countless cries of the men who desperately protected Valenors’ final strong hold.  Those who had been bitten by the unholy jaws of this new evil now began to collapse and rise once more to terrorize and destroy what remained of Valenor. “Steady men, if this be our final stand then we’ll give these demons something worth remembering.”  In one glorious moment the golden army of Valenor shimmered like the Sun as a stampede of lightning flew from the darkness.

The wave of parasites swarmed toward the shimmering wall of warriors; each of them baring the flesh of a tragically fallen brother. Dranos raised his arm giving the command to prepare.  “Hold men,” he said as he watched the monsters approaching.  As the snarling and drooling of the beasts reached the soldiers final perimeter, Dranos shot his arm forward and shouted, “Now!” Arrows shot from the behind the golden wall and tore through the night sky until at last penetrating the decomposing hides of their former brothers. “Draw swords!” The tingling of metal resonated through Termor, and as the desperate army unleashed a horde of thrusts and slices, the fate of Valenor was quickly decided.

 *        *          *

Talenos galloped gallantly through Fernoc forest, the roaring at his back slowly faded into the darkness. He could begin to see a dim fire lit in a nearby clearing. Close behind him rode Aletas concealed within his dark cloak; he was nearly invisible against the dark forest. “Can you see them?” asked Aletas as he gained on Talenos. “Hardly the clearing seems brighter!” Aletas removed his hood and studied the clearing. “That’s because it’s no longer a camp fire!” he exclaimed. “The clearing is burning completely!” “What?”

As the two warriors eyes adjusted and clearly revealed their former rendezvous point burning, the roaring behind them became as close as the trees that zoomed past them. Their horses shrieked in horror and flung their riders off their backs. Talenos hit the ground with his left shoulder, while Aletas flipped through the air and landed on his feet, sword drawn. As his gaze turned to the forest behind them, it was met by the terrorizing gaze of nonliving eyes. Aletas swung his sword with speed not even lightning could match, and slashed across the demon’s neck. “Vampires!” he shouted as he looked back at Talenos. In the blink of an eye both warriors stood defending themselves from the greatest evil to ever walk the earth.

The light of the surrounding flames was reflected off the blades of the two swords as they were swung through the air and spilled vampire blood upon the soil. The horde of demonic beings was endless. As Aletas and Talenos desperately looked around for their missing brothers, they soon realized that the heads that now lay on the moist soil belonged to their missing comrades. “No,” whispered Aletas to himself in disbelief. “Talenos, we need to move!” “I agree…” before he could speak a Vampire sprang from a burning tree and flew away with Talenos in his grasp. “No!” shouted Aletas.

The endless waves of the living dead soon became too much for even the mighty Aletas to suppress. As he thrust forward through the heart of a former brother, another of the beasts pierced his sweating neck with its venomous fangs.

Poison swarmed through Aletas’ blood, changing the legendary warrior in a matter of seconds. He felt his teeth stretching and becoming razor sharp, his senses heightened and his strength skyrocketed in an instant.  However, before his transformation was completed, the first rays of the sun came up over the horizon and struck him as well as the remaining vampires. Aletas felt his insides catch fire, he saw the surrounding vampires turn to ash. He wasn’t sure what was happening to him, but whatever it was, it would change him forever. As Aletas struggled to remain conscious, he felt his heart jolt inside his chest.

When he finally arose from his forced slumber, Aletas was now fully aware of what had happened. He was luckily not a vampire, but his senses were no longer those of a human.

To be continued……………….