The Cave - Part 1

Content warning: Mentions of blood and physical violence

Darkness and silence surrounded Prince Thallios. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest. His breathing became shallow and erratic.

“Leiyu?” he called out. No answer. He moved his feet and heard the sloshing of water.

Where am I? he thought.

The moments before had been a blur. After he touched the hilt of the rusty sword, which in retrospect had been foolish since Leiyu had said to be careful of traps, the cave turned chaotic and the darkness swallowed him up.

It scared him to not have Leiyu by his side. Leiyu had always been there since they fled Ishkhandar, protecting him and providing everything.

Am I in a lower part of the cave, with all this water? Can he hear me if I keep shouting? What if he was crushed by falling rocks when everything started shaking? Tears began to well in Prince Thallios’ eyes as his mind turned to distressing possibilities. What am I going to do? I don’t know how to handle anything….

“Goddess of Fire!” a menacing voice boomed, causing Prince Thallios to nearly fall backward. “What are you doing here?”

Goddess? Prince Thallios thought. Who is that and who is he talking to? Is someone else here?

“You are in an unfamiliar form, but I can tell it is you.”

“Are you speaking to me?” Prince Thallios asked timidly.

“Who else would I be talking to, Goddess of Fire?”

“You…must be mistaken,” Prince Thallios replied. “I am not the Goddess of Fire.”

The voice laughed. “Tell me, who are you then?”

“I am Prince Thallios, son of King Xenon of Ishkhandar.”

“And your mother?”

“My mother?” Why is he asking about her? “Queen Selenia, but she passed away years ago.”

“She was the avatar of the Goddess of Fire.”

What? Prince Thallios’ heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

“And now you are the avatar.”

Prince Thallios tried to calm his breathing before continuing. “I’ve…never heard my mother or father speak of this before.”

The voice laughed again. “Of course not.”

“Who are you anyway? How do you know about my mother?”

“That will be revealed in due time.”

Prince Thallios’ spine was run through with ice cold tingles.

“So, what brings you here, Prince Thallios, if that is your name?”

The prince gulped. Should I tell him? He hasn’t even revealed who he is yet. But if I say nothing, what will happen? I might as well try. “My kingdom Ishkhandar has fallen to enemies, and my father has perished. I seek the Sword of Ages in order to avenge him and take back the kingdom.”

After a second of eerie silence, the voice broke out in maniacal laughter. Prince Thallios shuddered. Then he felt indignant.

“Why are you laughing?” Prince Thallios demanded. “It’s not funny! My kingdom, the only home I’d ever had, was completely destroyed. All of those lives were lost!” He could feel fresh tears welling in his eyes.

The laughter died down and the voice resumed its serious tone. “I am not making light of your tragedy, princeling, but rather your request. Do you think you are worthy of the Sword of Ages?”

Worthy? Prince Thallios’ heart sank. I can’t do anything on my own. “How…can I prove my worth?”

A column of light suddenly appeared next to Prince Thallios, illuminating an ornate sword with jewels on its hilt and a newly sharpened blade with its tip submerged in the water. It had the same shape as the rusty sword he had seen earlier.

“Is this the true Sword of Ages?” Prince Thallios asked.

“Do you think it a false one?” the voice asked mockingly. Prince Thallios furrowed his brow in annoyance.

Another column of light lit up a short distance away. Prince Thallios gasped. Standing within the light was a shadowy figure dressed in a dark hooded robe. The figure wore a white mask with a thin horizontal opening for the eyes and a vertical opening running down the middle.

“Who is that?” Prince Thallios asked.

“Why, your worthy opponent of course! You two are going to have a duel!”

Prince Thallios’ heart nearly stopped. “Duel?”

“To prove yourself worthy of the sword, princeling! If you cannot even defeat one enemy, how are you to avenge your so-called kingdom?”

Prince Thallios’ forehead broke out in cold sweat. A lump formed in his throat. This isn’t happening, he thought. Yet it was the only logical conclusion that if he sought out the Sword of Ages, he would have to actually use it. Where’s Leiyu? I really wish Leiyu were here. But he knew that he could not rely on anyone else to fight his battles for him.

The shrouded figure drew a sword from his robes and began to charge toward Prince Thallios. The water sloshed menacingly, the sound growing louder and louder.

Oh no! Prince Thallios grabbed the Sword of Ages’ hilt and yanked it out of the water. As his opponent loomed over him and swung his sword downward, the prince held up the Sword of Ages just in time for the two blades to clash. Sparks flew as metal edge ground against metal edge. The stalemate ended when the shrouded figure pushed forward with great strength. Prince Thallios fell backwards into the water.

The voice laughed again. “Is that all you have? Not very worthy it seems.”

Prince Thallios propped himself up with the Sword of Ages. He was completely soaked and breathed heavily. Though his vision blurred, he could see the shrouded figure start to charge toward him. His heart pounded in his head.

Let me handle this, a woman’s voice whispered in his mind.

Heat surged through his limbs as he tightened his grip on the Sword of Ages’ hilt. As the shrouded figure came closer, the prince felt a wave of calm wash away the panic and fear.

The shrouded figure loomed overhead and raised his sword. As his opponent’s blade came crashing down, Prince Thallios raised the Sword of Ages and blocked it. The clang echoed into the darkness. The jewels on the Sword of Ages’ hilt glowed a brilliant ruby red. Flames danced upon the metal. The prince pushed his sword forward and a fire bloomed around him like an infernal flower. The shrouded figure was propelled backwards by the explosive force and skidded across the water.

Never before had Prince Thallios felt like this. Fear, melancholy, the endless worrying, all of it gone, burned away like the flames surrounding him. All he saw in front of him was an obstacle he had to overcome in order to win the Sword of Ages. If he could defeat this one enemy, he could defeat them all.

The shrouded figure returned to fighting stance, mask betraying no emotion. Dark waves wrapped around his blade like lightning as he charged forward. Prince Thallios also charged forward. They met in the middle and each clash of blades sent silver ripples through the water. Backwards and forwards and sideways they moved, a clang here, a crash there. Golden light and dark waves swirled like fire and smoke. Finally, the shrouded figure swung his blade in a wide arc and Prince Thallios leapt into the air to dodge the attack. When the prince reached the peak of his ascent, he aimed the tip of his sword’s blade downwards, and swooped down like a hawk with talons ready.

The shrouded figure lifted his sword to block the incoming attack, but the prince’s momentum was too great, and the Sword of Ages pierced his heart. He fell backwards and crashed into the water. The prince stepped off his chest and slowly yanked the blade out. Crimson bloomed into the water beneath them. The shrouded figure was completely still, and his sword’s hilt slipped from his fingers. A single line snaked down the forehead of his mask. When it reached the openings for the eyes, the mask cracked and both halves fell to the sides.

Prince Thallios leaned in to get a closer look. Their surroundings were still very dim, and the residual flame on the Sword of Ages just barely illuminated his fallen opponent. He held the blade closer to the shrouded figure’s now unmasked face. When the shadows melted away and the features were clear, the prince’s heart nearly stopped and ice ran down his spine. The Sword of Ages dropped from his hand. A scream that he could scarcely recognize as his own tore through his throat.

“LEIYU!!!”