Star Warden 3: CC. Chapter 10

 

Dance of Dragons

1

Blood burned off Lorcan's sword as the last of the Keeper resistance was slain.

“Lorcan report,” His master's voice bellowed.

“All resistance has been defeated, Dictator. I have just entered the core control room.”

“Make haste. The Star Warden has rescued the Elder Keeper. He will soon be on his way. Secure the ring and ensure the Spellbinder is destroyed.”

“By your command.”

The dark knight walked into the core control room. Stepping onto a hovering platform, moved by his own will, he lowered himself down into the spiral chamber. The hard drives that made up this station's computer were built in a layer of circles stacked on top of each other. A hum of power emitted as the computers lit up. From his armor, he produced a Spellscroll, a deep blue one. The glamour that disguised it was undone by either the march of time or by the Keepers.

Lorcan cared not which.

The disc tray opened on his touch and closed when the scroll was entered into it. The machine sounds grew louder. A burst of light flooded the room, forcing Lorcan to avert his gaze and back away. When it dimmed an orb of binary appeared shifting its shape until it became a deep blue band of metal with a large crystal inside.

Lorcan took the Cosmic Ring. The first of eight rings. The keys to the Command Matrix and through it control of the Well-of-All Stars. He held it his armored hand entranced by how something so small carried so much power. Captivated by the craftsmanship of the ring he stood there for several minutes unbroken. Only the klaxons of the station's alert system brought him back to reality.

“Someone has entered the facility with old clearance code,” he said to himself. “Just as my master warned.” He chuckled. The human was unaware of the surprises in store for him. He pulled out a flute and played a song.

******

Using the security codes given by Chronos. The artificial island's Bifrost gateway opened up its metal iris. The Star Warden ran through rushing for the main building. Normally he would take time to see that the station was closer to a floating city similar to the one on Ramia. But he was focused on finding any sign of Lorcan's arrival.

That sign appeared in form of a sudden and massive explosion. Sam was knocked off his feet entirely. Kaguya rushed over with Sam reassuring her he was fine. A roar drew both their attention to the sky. A dragon with green flaming eyes, a serpentine body, and whiskers stared them down. On its back was the dark knight giving a sinister laugh as he raised his hand.

Kaguya spotted it. “He has the ring!” But that was not all she saw. The dragon was corrupted. Dark sigils adorned its scales and the power of the Abyss radiated from every pore.

“The Spellbinder is destroyed,” Lorcan spoke in his raspy and electronic voice. “You have failed! The lights of the universe will die and the worlds of Fae and Man will fall!”

The ground shook as the Jabberwocky landed from behind and pounced on the two. Their agility saved from its claws but not from the dragon's breath. A torrent of lightning sent them flying to the edge of the island. The Jabberwocky fired its acid breath to strike them while they were still in free fall.

It would not reach them as a gout of flame evaporated the deadly liquid. Then another blast of heat fell upon the Jabberwocky who shared the fate of its earlier attack.

“Away from Caspar you evil wretch!” Only one being had such a thundering voice. It was Balthazar. Flying through the clouds like a vengeful rocket. Anger in his eyes.

“Fools! Can you not see death before you? Are you that blind,” taunted Lorcan.

“It is you who are the fool,” the dragon bellowed. “Release Caspar from his bounds or learn the lesson of the dragon's wrath.”

“You will die braver or more foolish than most, Balthazar. But you will die in vain!” The evil knight turned Caspar to strike at the Warden and the Princess. The flames of the orange dragon intercepted the lightning creating an explosion of power that rocked the island. The two heroes attempted to fly out of range but the force of the explosion knocked them out of stable flight.

Balthazar caught them both on his back and turned to face Caspar. He mentally informed Sam and Kaguya that he was summoned by Caspar's telepathic call for help. Sam summoned the runes causing fire to streak up and cover his blade. The mission was clear to all of them: Slay Lorcan, acquire the ring, and free Caspar.

The sun lowered over the horizon and the two moons took their place in the sky, Fomoria rising with Aurora descending. The gathering clouds further set the sage as both dragons and their riders charged each other. Fire and lighting clashed, shock waves and thundering claps filled the sky. Dark and light magic locked horns as well adding to the storm raging all around them. To any outside observer, one might believe the end of the world had come.

When the dragons were up close they would bite and slash at each other. Balthazar did his best not to go for the kill but fought with the same furry as Caspar showed. There was no such compunction for the two swordsmen. They fought with the strength and cunning of beasts doing everything in their power to punish the other for the slightest mistake. Sam would use his ray gun and shoot holy flames in close quarters. While Lorcan responded with black razor winds aimed at the thin section of the armor and discharging energy from his fingers in an attempt to sever Sam's hands.

Kaguya summoned flares of light in an attempt to blind Lorcan. While chanting a powerful spell. One to remove the corruption around Caspar's body.

The battle dragged on as both sides tried to gain a killer advantage. They moved higher into the atmosphere, deeper into the clouds, underneath, and on other islands. The land was scorched beneath them and the sky began to rumble adding its own thunder and lightning. Wind and rain came crashing down as if the world itself wanted to join in on this fight. Both Balthazar and Caspar were scarred and bleeding while Sam's breathing grew ragged.

Despite this, he couldn't help but smile. He was riding a dragon, fighting another dragon, and an evil knight. His mind's eye could imagine his childhood self at the edge of his seat. Cheering for the good knight to vanquish the evil one. Sam was enjoying himself and laughing as he fought Lorcan even taunting him whenever he got close. To him, this was the time of his life, if he were to die here. He would die with a smile on his lips.

In fact, his enjoyment gave him an idea to break this deadlock. On the next pass, he told Balthazar to grapple Caspar and hold him as tight as possible. Once the dragon did so Sam leaped and tackled Lorcan off Caspar. With a rune-covered gauntlet, he broke the helm in one blow. What he saw next shocked him to his core. A bleached skeleton with implants in its skull and wires in its throat stared back at him with bright lights in its eye sockets. Lights that flickered like holograms and had zeros and ones filling them.

Chronos was right. This was some sort of wraith, a digital shadow inhabiting physical remains. Who's skeleton was this? Was it an innocent taken from some graveyard or was it Lorcan's remains? If there was indeed any Lorcan at all, at least as far as the Warden knew the name could be just some designation. Sadly there was a Lorcan once, a living being, but that individual is no more.

This digital lich that fought the Star Warden was only a shadow and a shell of the former Templar Knight.

Hurtling earthward the two warriors landed on the ground of a smaller island. Despite the pain from the hard landing. The Warden was ready to re-engage in the duel. It was as brutal a struggle as it was in the air. But it did not last as long. For at the moment when Sam pierced his opponent's armor in the chest, he called upon the might of Excalibur. Sending a shaft of holy light through Lorcan's body. The skeleton began to twist and burn, melting into smoldering slag before Sam's eyes. Then the slag began to pixelate and went through a state of de-resolution before disappearing.

Excalibur quickly moved to free the lost soul but it did not find it. The will of the sword would log this information for later. Clearly, the Dark Lord had protected this one differently. With Lorcan's banishment, Caspar lost the will to fight and Kaguya's spell banished the evil symbology from his body. The dragon roared in triumph as he was free, Balthazar joined him in the roar.

Keeping himself standing based on adrenaline alone Sam picked up the blue cosmic ring. He raised his hand with the ring in the air and roared his own cry of victory. Tears of joy streaked down his face. Kaguya flew over to Sam embracing him tightly with her own tears running.

One more step was needed for the final victory. But right here, right now, was a magnificent victory. Aetherium's journey through the long night would soon end. Just one more battle was needed. The light at the end of the tunnel was getting closer. All due to a simple band of metal, one small thing.

Chapter 11

Chapter 9