Many moons ago in a gray and discouraged land where magic binding sorcerers and sword wielding warriors dwelled , a great evil was born. Into a world where the scales of evil and good were balanced , and in the order that the gods had made it , save , one dark day when the clouds blanketed the sky and the land was at rest.
Out of the darkness came light. Nimble flashes and sharp talons of illuminations ran across the sky and loud thunderclaps could be heard in the distance.This earsplitting sound contaminated the peace of the villager’s slumber and they arose. The rage of the storm and the force of the wind was incredible and new to the country folk. The scurrying crowd of Orange and brown leaves and twigs made it’s way through town and the fall season had commenced.
Echoing howls were perceived in the late night by all in town. This storm was like no other. The climate had never been this harsh before. The frosty wind and the bitterness in the air felt like the breath of demons.
From the mountain top , there was a figure. Just hiking onward as if there were no storm at all. He walked. This figure was a middle sized man. His skin tone was as white as the pumice from a freshly burst volcano. His neatly trimmed dark brown beard protruded from his side burns and from the peak of his mouth. He was wearing a vest of green over a white embroidered wide collared shirt that wrinkled back and forth at every step he took. His legs , as built as a horse’s legs , over the labors that he had as a boy on his father’s homestead. His arms were popping with blue blood vessels. He carried a shining silver halberd and a small , but very expendable and practical dagger. Both just dangling to his side on his belt that carried his utilities. Water , food , and herbs that’s all he ever needed for his nature hikes.
Tendons flexed back and forth as he put pressure on his walking stick. Grinding into the ground , his every step , he was bound for his destination. The top of the mountian.
This mountain that he was hiking up appeared to be very grand from the sides but as he walked it only seemed like he was climbing the hillsides. He had done this many times before but this time it was very different to him. He felt the presence of a premonition coming across his mind and yet he still strided on with a dying effort to reach his goal.
A whitish pink thunder bolt struck the ground at about 200 yards in front of him as his eyes twitched toward the rapid white lines. As the bolts of light shot closer to him his dauntlessness decreased and his fear became stronger. The strenght of his fear and the weakness of his body made him begin to shiver. His mind had finally been distracted enough to make him realize the cold around him. One of the bolts stamped the ground and crawled closer by. Reaching and brushing the ground every flash made it’s way toward this suddenly shocked character and his forehead began to drip clear fluid and the viens in his forehead began to pulse even harder than before.
The strange thing about this is that the sky had started to open. The shallowness of the skies had been lighter than the deep darkness inside this vortex. Tensed and afraid , Falis had looked up to quench his nervous curiousity. He spied blends of dark colors merging with marks of white and grey. The sky began to twist and disarrange but the air stayed calm , as if it were a sunny and non breezy day and there was nothing wrong going. The skies were migrating in a circle , the air was still and the place was too quiet. From the dark circle there came transparencies of enormous villanous creatures of whom were portrayed as the heart of evil itself.
The monsters flew down and denounced from thier high place and glided to the ground. Their wings appeared to be as hard as steel. With dark metal bars protruding from their shoulders. These bars arched and supported the collosal shuddering of metallic wings. Their faces were squeezed together , like that of a face of a bulldog. With suits of armor frequently lit by the flashes of lightning. These creatures were as advanced as the folk of Falises’ world. They beared claws of silver that were grasped by large brown fuzzed hands. These weren’t just medeval beasts that just any magician can defeat with a blast of fire , but these were much worse. They were of a different dimension. They were of the Majestic Overworld. A myth in middle aged story books but this myth began to come alive in the heart of Falis.
As he stared at the monstrosities , their hideous muscles bulged in an attempt to decline from the sky and assail the ones that they wanted to overtake. The ones of Earth. They ranted , enraged in their pre-battle motivation.
There was only Falis with his long handled axe and his miniature dagger. One of the creatures had landed. Falis ran toward the creature on impulse and had striked it in the cervical area of it’s neck with his shaky rigid knuckle and it had staggered once or twice before it had taken it’s fall. Falis had proclaimed , “ Who are you?!! From where do you come??!!! “ The monster had replied with a grunt of pain , “ We are from the Overworld and this is a warning to your kind , be ready for battle. For the next time we won’t be as gentle. “
Falis had never been in a more terriffic battle than this but now he knows what he must do. Falis had saw his father ( the town head mage ) cast this spell in one event where he was surrounded by many people in a fight and he imitated his father exactly. Falis had never tried magic before and he had never wanted to but now he had to compromise. He was in danger.
He had crouched down in a position to where his hands touched the ground. He had put his eyes to rest in this position while reciting certian words. These words , his father had told him , held a great power that no one could ever take. Smoke came from the ground as it sizzled but Falis could not feel this. A blue light engulfed his body. Falis unsheathed his eyes from his eyelids. The whites of his eyes had appeared crystal blue as he glared at the fiendish monsters who stood in the path of endangering the Earth. Falis opened his mouth and let off a high screech at the crowding monsters. The spell had worked. The monsters that were in his view had lifted their feet from off of the ground and had flew from their spot without the use of their wings.
The last words of the monsters before reentering the vortex were ,“ We will return!! In one exact year and you will have rallied your forces against ours for a fight for your Earth! And in one exact year THIS world will parrish and our race will comethrough! “
Falis had sat and reviewed the whole situation with the most curiosity that is capable of the human mind. He had thought to himself about how if the world that he lived in had just suddenly been destroyed. What would he do with out it. As the thunder clapped and the rain beat upon his head, he thought.
Thinking about who he would gather for his mission and where he would find his minions and allies. He would travel far and work hard for this success. For, he knew that the earth was depending on him as his mind began to turn and new thoughts came upon him.
The mythological creatures in the fantasy tale that he heard as a child were terrifying enough just to hear about them and as he saw the creatures hover down and dominate, he wasn't going to let the lives of many childeren, adults and elders be ruined by those of an outworldly origin. He was going to fight and put a stop to this injustice.
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The previous night had been a terror to Falis and he was surprised that he had gotten any rest at all. Slowly reaching for the blinds, sleepily clawing and scratching, trying to find his way toward the curtains, he arose from his slumber. Squinting at the sunlight, trying to adjust, he reached for his garments and had concentrated on putting his clothes on while stretching and yawning at the same time. His breakfast was a strip of salted preserved steak from the meat cutters of his town, Blajaren.
Gnawing his way around the edges of this meat, gaining his nutrition while he tried to stay sober. He slowly came to reality when the scent of rhubarb floated into the kitchen as his wife, Adora, greeted him with a smile and a sweet tangy rhubarb pie. Rhubarb pies and his lovely wife were one of the many reasons for what he lived for.
Yet the morning was peaceful, full of the bright warm sun and the sound of birds chirp attaining the atmosphere, Falis was still not happy about what he was about to do. He had to announce to his wife that he was going on a quest. A mission for global peace and the redemption of the carnage and the sacrileges that will be committed in the future.
From the hunger that approached him, Falis had said, with a mouthful, "Adora, I need to discuss something of importance and of great consequence with you and I am asking you for your full support."
With the greatest attention, his wife resounded, "What is it Falis? You are doing the right thing by coming to me."
" I have a great dillemma and I am asking for your advice. I have been forced into a standpoint to where I have to preserve this earth and save many lives. When I went on that walk last night--do you remember-well, it was no ordinary walk and I had come across something that could destroy the earth and cast malice among the whole population."
"You know of the tale of the creatures of the Majestic Overworld, right?" She made a quick reply, not to slow him down, "Yes, go on." So he finished, "Anyway, as the storm proceeded to rain and thunder, I had saw what no other man can see in a lifetime.""And what is that?""I had saw a quantity of the creatures of the Majestic World as they bombarded the landscape. As one of them landed, I attacked it on impulse, out of my fear and it just fell to the floor. Others of his kind had raced to his side and they tried to eliminate me, as a team. There were many, but I triumphed over all of them."
"I am very fortunate that my father was a magician and I am also lucky that a father and son bond so well. Because I remembered when he was in that fight, long ago, at the Tavern with all of those out of town soldiers and defeated an entire group with his repellent spell that hurled everyone against the wall."
"After casting the spell and seeing the monsters being thrown back into the vortex, I ran never looking back, until I had returned home."
With a gasp and watering eyes she said, " That's horrible. You should deal with this right away," her tone turned from fearful to serious as she said, " and you should search to the ends of the earth until you find help and the ones that will aid you on your adventure."
Most of the day had passed and his wife had already left to pick up the groceries. Falis had his chin resting upon the palms of his hands and the edge of the deep dark oak table pressing creases in his elbows as he leaned into them. As he sat slumped in his chair, with his slowly wrinkling compressed forehead, his pondering began.
Falises thoughts were soon going to turn into action as he revealed his master plans to his wife , sitting at the dinner table late in the evening.
“Adora , I have thought and I have thought hard. With the insight of a wizard. I uncovered all of the possibilities that I may encounter and I have came up with a plan.“
Speechless , his wife looked at him and didn’t move her eyes in any other direction in an attempt to listen.
“ In this world , there is an obvious thing that I indefinitely recognized. That is that if everyone alive , under any consequences , wants to do something no matter what , they need money out of their purses to pay for it. ” With a look of disappointment and a smidgen of confusion upon his wife’s face and as her forehead turned and her face grimaced , he continued.
“ I wanted to double check with you , since it is both of our savings. I was wondering if-- , “ he alternated his eye contact with her with a sudden glance at the floor , “-if I could borrow some money out of our bank. You know , so that I can ....uuuummm......buy a ship. For my travels. “
She had sighed and had defered for a moment’s time.She had taken a while to reply. “ Falis , what am I to do with you?” Her eyebrows shifted upward and her face became long as she stared out into space. She let out a sigh of relief as she began to speak. ” Yes , just go to the bank and withdraw our 2000 rupees and go to the nearest ship merchant in town. I’m sure it will be enough for a decent ship. “
He bent over the waist high table and gave his wife a quick kiss goodbye , “ I will see you when I see you. Thanks! Goodbye , wife! ”
He set out to the town bank. The walk was short as he spotted the bank in the horizon.He ran to the entrance and swung open the doors. Half walking , half jogging and anxious he transported himself to the nearest teller.
Before him there stood an employee of the bank. With a nod of approval and a quick ” ho-how-goes-the-day ?” , the bank teller sleepily greeted her customer. She seemed to be very fatigued. As if there had been no business all morning she stood with her arms drooped to her side as she spoke.
“ So , sir , how may I be of service? ” As she slowly blinked at him , as a mark of giving him the right of way to speak.
“ I want to make a withdrawl out of this bank account ,” just then he held up a piece of paper with his and his wife’s name and identification , indicating what he was talking about ,” and I would like to take all of it out , please.”
Just before the clerk went back she took the piece of paper and examined it thoroughly. Her eyes moving quickly to test the authenticity of this letter. As she reached her destination. She pulled out a drawer with jingling sack inside which held Falises prize. When she came back Falises hands were jittery as she handed him his money. He thanked her by waving and smiling.” Farewell! ”
“ The Enemy Waits As He Reaches For His Weapon “ Chapter 4
As soon as he received his money and was on his way from the bank he was humming a jolly tune in his head on the way to the ship merchant’s.
He had noticed everything in town from a different perspective. Like one of the things that he had never cared for which was The Museum and another place which he had never considered going into would be the shop , Intermediate Nations of Diamonds and Gold.
Even though , he felt tempted to go into one of these stores now that he had money , he was reminded of the fact that the whole world was in danger and he had kept walking. Toward the ship yard.
When he had gotten to the long green building ,which had coasted along the shoreline for over a thousand feet , he had taken a few minutes of his time for which he used to stand still and look at all the things that he was leaving behind when he buys his ship. His family’s wellbeing , the vacations and trips that he will take with his wife and child and many heartfelt moments that will be neglected , due to his worldly responsibilities.
Falis noticed many busy bodies hard at work on ships , chariots , wagons and many other transportable devices.
He approached one of the men that seemed to be in charge. With a querent look upon his face and a certain curiosity in his tone he asked ,” Excuse me sir , but , who is in charge here? I have money for who can build me a sturdy good sailing ship. That’s why I came here. “ The person who Falis was talking to had an expression of exhaustion upon his tanned face and his shoulder long light mouse brown hair hung in his face. The man had managed to slowly crack a smile with sweat beading from his eyebrows and working it’s way down through his unneatlly trimmed beard , from laboring in the hot sun , but he felt the cool breeze brush up against his naked shoulders from the low tide as he started to move his lips behind his big beard , “ You’re talking to him laddy! “ Falis had gone along with the sociable business man and laughed with him as he shook hands.
As soon as they were friendly acquainted , they introduced themselves. The hardworking man of the ship yard spoke up , “ So what’s your name? Mine’s Jackson Clover , but evry’ one calls me Leprechaun. “ “ I am Faliseus Gordon. Falis for short. Pleased to meet you. “ Just then the man lost his smile and changed into his business face.
“ So what kind of ship are you looking for?” ”I am looking for a travelling ship. Something that will get me anywhere I need to go. “
“ Ah , I’d say that you’re looking for one of the best ships on the market. The Galleon. “ The ship builder looked into the skies.” That is the best ship you’ll ever find. It has room for 190 crewmen and plenty of space for cargo. Infact , it has 260 spaces for crates.”
“ I’ll build it in oak for you for only for 10,000 rupees. It’s the only ship that will last you. None other will be as reliable. “ Falis hung his head low and showed the man the bag of lute.
“ I only have 2,000 rupees , sir. “ The salesman retorted , “ Before you make any other decision. Could you tell me? What is the purpose of buying this ship? “ “ If I told you , sir--” “ Please , we’re business men. There’s no need to call me sir. It’s Leprechaun. “ “ Ok , Leprechaun , if I told you , you wouldn’t believe me. “
“ Go on , I have opened ears for any story. “ Falis looked at the face of the salesman before him and as if confessing a secret that he promised to tell no one , he gained the courage to speak. “ I plan on saving to world. “
Chapter 5
Leprechaun looked at Falis long and hard , as if an inside joke was being announced. Leprechaun stared until his extended gaze at Falis got the attention of all of the workers.
The workers all dropped what they were doing and they gathered slowly around Falis. One of the men in the back started to snicker.
Now , it was obvious that the ship builders didn’t believe him so they laughed their guts out at Falises presumed rediculous reply.
“ Falis , my friend , you are a silly man! Thanks , pal. I haven’t laughed that hard ever since 1467 when I saw one of those mimes knocked unconcious by a bothered old hag. “
In a great defense and at peak seriousness , Falis restated , “ If you will not believe my story , then I don’t know what to tell you. “
“ Man , it’s just such a hard story to believe. If I’ve turned you away from buying a ship because we have laughed at you , then I regret letting the slightest of a chuckle out. “
“ No , you haven’t , but there is not enough money to buy the one that I need. ”
“ What to do then , Falis? Where will your expenses come from if you can’t afford the Galleon? We don’t do loans here. I couldn’t tell you. “
Falis raised his brows , put a sad look of worry on his face and put his hands on the back of his head as he tugged and scratched the back of his head. In a whisper loud enough for Leprechaun to hear , Falis said to himself , “ If he could only believe my story. “
The smoky dark blue clouds shrouded the skies of day and thunder struck the ground behind the group of ship builders.
A fire burned so bright that the workers shielded their watering eyes from behind the blast. In a flash , the light from the fire and the remains of the fire itself were gone.
Leprechaun’s crew crowded around the previously thunderstruck sight and spied the grounds for any trace of singed ground. The only thing that they saw was a scroll held down by the wieghts at it’s sides.
Falis rushed to the scroll in a paced jog. Falis explained to the ship builders all around him , “ This could be a message from one of the creatures of the Overworld. ”
But it really wasn’t. When Falis cleverly put his hands over his head he had a chant a chant on his mind and had summoned the God of Thunder to strike the ground with a bolt of lightning which had just heated and illuminated the area. Not injuring a single person. The scroll had just come from his pocket , already written. When the tremendous light came he had just tossed the scroll behind him , to where he felt the greatest heat. ‘ Something he learned off of his da ’ was what he thought of it.
Hiding his grin , Falis unsealed the scroll and opened it , “ My friends , “ he said , pausing , to point to a part in the middle of the paper , “ look here , it is all here. “
Appearing very convinced , even Leprechaun , in bitter humility , looked over Falises shoulder as he read , “ ‘Humans , by the end of this year your world shall have rallied the strongest of soldiers and have steadied your defenses. WE , the dominate force of the Majestic Overworld , oppose your kind and work toward your destruction. By September 12th midnight of the next year , you shall be stormed and it will be the day of your destruction and the year of our triumph over your kind.’ “
Falis with his head still down at the paper rolled his eyes up at Leprechaun and said , “ Now do you believe me? “
Leprechaun shook his head at the whole series of incredulous events that have happened before his eyes. “ It is still hard to believe......but after seeing this and hearing the words of another world - I think that I’m going to have to go with you on this one. I , a ship builder , can’t stay neutral in this war , because it involves all of us and our loved ones. I also have the tools and weapons of a warsmith stashed away for these purposes. “
Falis , reminising of the previous conversation respoke his offer , in a final manipulation of the shipbuilder’s mind , “ About that ship....do you still want 10,000 rupees for it? “
Leprechaun , shocked , said “ Forget about it son. This one’s on me. “
“ I am much obliged , Leprechaun. Many thanks to you and your craftsmen. ”
Leprechaun shouted out to the ones around him , his employees , “ All of you , will you stand and fight? Fight for the freedom and peace of this world???! “
A chorus resounded for his victory speech , “ Yeeaaahhhh!!! “
“ Laddy , you now have a friend and ally in your battle against our arch-rivals. Your enemies are now mine. “
Falis and Leprechaun discussed their plans and strategies while walking toward the shipyards’s cellar.
As Falises’ eyes shifted from the direction he was walking and to where Leprechaun was , he asked , “ So , Leprechaun , tell me , what kind of weapons in this secret passage of yours do you have? “
With a turn of Leprechaun’s head and a slant in his neck , Leprechaun replied , “ Well , my dear friend , Falis , we have cannons , guns , a plentiful amount of swords , lumber--of course-- and we have lists of battle tactics that were recorded from the greatest battles imagined. “ With his arms open and his palms faceup , he said , “ Let’s just say , we have everything. “
From the shadows came a voice deep and from the throat ,“ Sometimes everything ‘is never enough’. “ The light engulfed this unknown character’s face and he stepped foward.
“ Hallo , fellow! “ With a look of surprise and confused happiness upon Falises’ complexion this person continued, “ The name’s Jonjaunjawn , but people call me Jon , but I don’t know why. What’s your’s , my friend? “
“ My what? “ “ Your name of course! “ Oh! Well , Jon , my name is Faliseus Gordon and I’m pleased to be your accquaintence. “ Falis asked , “ So , how has your day been? “ Jonjuanjawn replied , “ Fine. And your’s? “
In a deep relaxing breath , to gather words , Jonjuanjawn said , “ I don’t know , Faliseus , “ pausing to correct himself ,” Is that right? “ Falis simply retorted ,“ Actually , people call me Falis , but , please , go on. “ Jonjaunjawn continued , “ But , anyway ,ever since yesterday , in that storm , I’ve been spooked. I’ll be fine though. Thanks for asking. “ “ You’re welcome. “
Leprechaun interrupted the conversation that Falis was having with this newly found character , “ Falis , would you like to see our best ship? “ and in a lower tone Leprechaun moved in on Falis , “ It’s even better than the Galleon , you’ll like it. “ Like music to Leprechaun’s eyes , Falis replied , “ Sure , let’s see it. “
Leprechaun , Falis and his newly found friend , Jonjuanjawn travelled deeper into this abyss-like cavern and continued with their conversation.
“ What is it that this ship we’re going to see has , ol’ Leprechaun? “ Falis asked. Along with a crunch in his forehead to gather thought , Leprechaun said , “ You’re just not going to believe this , but this ship has bombs that can blow an entire ship up into rubble....But , by the gods , these bombs are no bigger than the grip of my hand , they’re very “ neat “....Of course , no ship would be fully equipped without cannons--the best on the market--they can fire up to 500 yards-ooooohhhh , boy , and here’s the icing on the cake....Listen here , and I mean listen closely......this ship can fly. “
Falis , with astonishment widened his smile and his dark black brows slowly began to raise. He quickly came back , “ What? Ughhhh , how’d you do it? “ None the less , Leprechaun looked up at Falis and told him , “ Well , if you hadn’t interrupted me than I would have told you. As I was saying , this ship is suspended in mid air on a balloon of gases that my scientists Herb and Larry have been working on. They’re right over there. Let me go and get them . “
Leprechaun and Jonjuanjawn went over to get Herb and Larry. Falis then took a glance at the dirty , black , cobweb draped ceiling and scouted his relative position , to become familiar with his surroundings , because he knew that in some event that he might have to go back into this ‘dirt hole’ once again.
Feeling awkward in a complex that he had never been in before , Falis awaited his fleeing and shortly returning company , Leprechaun and Jonjuanjawn.
Falis felt lucky that he had met so many people on this day , but just after Falis took a sigh of relief , Jonjuanjawn spoke up from beyond the distance , “ Falis? Would you like anything to drink? Herb and Larry are always hospitable to thier guests and not to mention they’ve came up with a new invention. I think that they call it Malanmo. It’s very chocolatey. “ Following Jonjuanjawn’s inquery he took a sip of his Malanmo , “ Mmmmmm , Herb , Larry , you’ve really out done yourselfs this time. “
Turning around to talk to one of the scientists Jonjuanjawn said ,“ I’d really have to tell you Herb , what ever you and Larry have been working on , then just keep at it , because this is the first thing that you guys have made that has actually made a difference in my day. “
Herb simply replied with a smug gesture as Larry watched the both of them babble , “ I know. That’s because me and Larry--oh , grammatical error--Larry and I are the best scientists on this world and we take much pride in our work. “
Jonjuanjawn said , “ I know you do , but as I always say , pride isn’t always the best thing to have. Larry , Herb , let me introduce you to a friend of mine. “
In a whisper into Larry’s ear and pointing at Falis , to distribute the conversation more evenly , Jonjuanjawn said , “ He says that the whole world is going to end this next year. “ In a whispering reply , Larry said , “ Yes , the word spreads fast , we have already heard. “
Falis noted , “ Hello , Herb and Larry. So , what’s it like working down here? You actually find a way around thinking about how dirty it is in here to invent things? What a skill! “
Larry extendend his arm in a sincere gesture to greet Falis , “ To answer all of your questions , Falis , we’re inventing and doing just fine down inside this dusty maze. “ “ Good. “
“ And , “ Herb quickly added on to the subject , ” we also would like to show you what we’ve invented. “ Herb pointed , “ You see that Falis? “ Falis said , “ Yes. What is it? “ Herb said , “ It’s what Leprechaun was talking about and he couldn’t explain it all himself so he introduced you to us. It’s our floating gas , Hilanum. “
Falis drawn into the pull of his own curiosity asked , “ So , can I have a ride on it ? “ Herb and Larry both gave a quick , similtaneous reply , “ Yes. “