Chronicles of the Chosen: Rise of Zirania

Prologue

The Final Battle

The boy stared at the graves. They were wooden poles that stuck out of the ground. One of the graves had a sword lodged in front of it. Another had twin daggers. The last had a pair of fingerless gloves. I never thought it would come to this... The boy thought to himself. He sat upon a cliff that overlooked a large blood red castle.

This is it. The boy sighed. His hair had become as black as a starless night. “I’m going.” he spoke to the graves. “I will put an end to this. All of it.” He raised the hood of his cloak over his head. “I will make sure that our hardship wasn’t for nothing.” He began walking down the side of the cliff.

The landscape was desolate no matter where the boy looked. The mountains that once stood proudly to the east were nothing but rubble. The desert had blackened with death. The forests rotted. The waters evaporated permanently little by little. The boy almost couldn’t believe that this land was beautiful only a few years ago.

“What has it all been for?” The boy asked himself. “What did you accomplish? What was the point of this war?” His voice rose until it shook the skies. He looked down upon the castle once more. Guards lined up in front of it, waiting for him. There had to have been at least a thousand men and women in armor. They stood between the boy and his goal.

“You are fools.” The boy muttered to himself. “You shed blood for a dream that could have been achieved through peace. You segregated yourselves from the normal residents of the world, only to try and destroy them.” The boy reached into his cloak, taking out one knife. “I will show you exactly what you have brought upon the world.” Heh. The boy thought. Look at me being all poetic. I guess it’s all I’ll have left from now on.

The boy jumped towards the castle, landing directly on a soldier. His foot completely crushed the man’s skull, whose allies immediately aimed their weapons at him. Eight shots were fired, but none hit the boy. He slid under the bullets, tripping a female soldier. As she fell he sliced her neck off cleanly with his knife. Some of the soldiers began to panic, firing everything at him.

This time the boy hopped over the rain of fire, kicking one of the soldiers in the head, causing it to come off. Blood flew everywhere as his corpse fell to the ground, which deepened the fear the army had of the boy. This will take too long at the rate I’m going. He folded his arms. The enemies had taken this chance to fire at him. He didn’t dodge. The bullets simply disappeared when they touched him. The boy took out all ten of his knives. Time to get serious.

The boy threw out his knives. They moved with a will of their own, mowing down rows upon rows of soldiers in a matter of seconds. Some close range combat specialists made their way through the net of flying metal. One charged at the boy only to be kicked in the stomach. The force of the kick was enough to tear through to the other side of the man. He flicked his foot towards another group of soldiers, flinging the body of their friend into them.

The boy gathered all of his knives around him. He lifted his hand towards the sky. The clouds darkened as rain began to pour down. The boy snapped his fingers and lightning struck him. It wrapped itself around him, forming a ball. The ball moved off of his body and onto his hand. It condensed until it was small enough to fit in his palm. The boy threw it on the ground, tearing the earth asunder with an electrical blast. The cries of soldiers echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

Everything around the boy was now barren. The blast had been large enough to wipe out half of the entire army. Their corpses were burned to a crisp. The boy then turned his attention to the sound of clapping. A man sauntered up to him, stepping on the corpses of his allies. He flipped his purple hair, laughing in amusement. His blood red cape waved in the wind.

“You truly are strong.” the man giggled. “I should have expected as much, honestly. However, what boggles my mind. What truly baffles me, is the fact that you fight for the sake of those inferior beings.”

“I don’t fight for those fools.” The boy clenched his fists. “They are just as blind and stupid as all of you here in Zirania.”

“Oh?” The man put his index finger to his lips. “Now that was an unexpected answer.”

“Get out of my way!” The boy took out a wakizashi. “I have no time for small fries.” He placed the hilt in his mouth.

“That is an interesting fighting style.” The man cooed. “To wield a blade with your mouth. Is it because your hands are busy with something else? Nonetheless,” The man took out a broadsword. “I shall show you true swordsmanship.”

The boy’s knives flew at the man. It took all he had just to block it. The flying blades danced as if each were wielded by a master swordsman. The man was being pushed back.

“You dare to think that something of this caliber will work on me?” The man said exploding with anger. His entire body became enveloped in darkness. “You will know the power of a comman-!” His words were cut short as his throat was slit by the boy’s wakizashi. The man made gurgling noises as he attempted to strike the cloaked figure.

“I knew that wouldn’t be enough to kill you.” The boy sighed, his words slightly hindered by the weapon in his mouth. His knives all pointed towards the man. “Here. If you like darkness so much, how about you become buried in it.” The blades burrowed into the man. After a moment they seeped out darkness which engulfed him. There was no corpse left over.

“Well, that takes care of that trash.” The boy took his wakizashi out of his mouth, placing it back in his cloak. He faced the castle. The remaining soldiers that once stood in his way now cowered in fear. He stepped toward the entrance, determination in his gait. One woman sneaked behind him. She stabbed him in the back, but the moment she did her body crumbled, electricity flowing through it.

“This is it.” The boy mumbled, his left eye crackling yellow and black. He noticed a bloodied mass sitting at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the door. It was a knight. His blonde hair was a mess. “It’s you.” The boy’s mouth stayed agape at the sight.

“It seems...” The knight coughed up blood. “I could not protect anything.” He looked up at the sky. “What was this battle for? Perhaps you were right. It was all pointless.” He breathed deeply, coughing up more blood from the effort. “Do you know where he is?”

“Yes.” The cloaked boy nodded. “I’ll go take care of this.” He walked past the knight. “Stay alive. I’ll come back for you.” With that, he ran up the steps and into the castle.

“Ha. There’s no need for that. I already know that these will be my final hours.” The blonde knight closed his eyes. “I am sorry... That I could not even fulfill your wish.”

The boy entered the castle. He examined his surroundings. The place was like a maze, but that didn’t matter. He knew exactly where he needed to go. “Here I come!” He screamed.

In the throne room a man sat. He stared at the door in front of him, expecting his guest to arrive at any moment. I never thought it would come to this. He ruffled his black hair and stood. “I will end it.” He said quietly. “I will put an end to this. All of it.” He reached into his cloak, taking out ten knives and a wakizashi.