Thunderclap and Flash

A mass of rock and ice stood before them, called the Cloud Splitter because its peak is completely hidden from the bottom, as if it stretched out to the ends of the world. But there was a peak, and though Robin would happily have lived his life without seeing it, that was where Stormcaller resided.

Oswyn once again stood between the boys and their trial to instruct and explain what would await them.

“The Ingot Isles were once one landmass, and this Cloud Splitter mountain was a beacon to distant travellers. Over time, the waters rose and split from one to three, and thus, the isles were formed. The mountain has since been conquered. A great king ordered it be dug into and scavenged of rare ores and jewels he could use to make the crown. Tunnels, tracks, and staircases were carved into it over the centuries, and eventually, they reached the peak.”

Robin continued staring at the mass, the harsh rocky exterior. Knowing there was a pathway cut inside made him feel slightly relieved. Climbing was not his strong suit; add that to the sheer size, and he was ready to crawl into a ball and die…

But when his eyes wandered, he saw Coryn looking his way. He, unlike Robin, was unfazed. He enjoyed the challenge, a new, literal mountain to overcome. But there was also last night that may have added to that. Robin recalled their deal, to work together to beat Aurelio… and that if it all went well, Robin would hold a legendary magical sword…

The night before the second trial, Robin met with Coryn at the mountain’s base, followed closely by Kamau for safety. He stared at the night sky when they approached, leaning against the wooden dock.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Wonder what it looks like from up there…”

But Robin had no time for such whimsy; that and the sight of the behemoth above still terrified him. “I’m here to accept. Your deal to work together. If it means we can stand a chance against your brothers, then we have no choice.”

Coryn’s face flashed delight. “Really?! Well that’s a relief; I thought for sure you wouldn’t trust me.”

“I don’t.” Robin replied, wiping away the jovial smile on Coryn’s face. “Like I said, we don’t have a choice. Aurelio and Arian are dangerous, and they don’t make empty threats, but they also don’t play mind games like you do. Sorry, but I don’t trust any of you, not you, your brothers, or even Oswyn.” He was nervously playing with the pendant around his neck as he spoke.

Coryn sighed lightly but continued staring up at the night sky. “Fair enough…” he mumbled.

“Before we do this, can I ask you something?” Robin asked, piquing Coryn’s curiosity enough to pull him from the stars. “What did you think of your father?” He asked quietly. But Coryn did not answer right away. His head dropped, and he fiddled with his fingers. “When I said what I did, the other two were angry. If Oswyn hadn’t said anything, I think I’d have been killed there and then. But you, you didn’t do anything.” Robin noted, remembering that Coryn sat back and watched on with a sullen look.

“Same as you, I guess.” Coryn answered cryptically as he hopped back to his feet and turned away from the two. “His habit of abandoning people extended further than just his subjects...”

Coryn left, walking back to the Iceglider and dragging his feet.

Oswyn had noticed the wandering eyes and raised his voice to regain their concentration while looking rather irritated in the process. “Eventually, the riches dried up and people stopped coming to the isles. Those caverns were abandoned, but soon after, a horde of creatures made the mountain their home. They do not care how rich the blood is. They will spill it if they can.”

Legend had spoken of those halls, even reaching the slums. People ventured in, be it lost souls or overzealous adventurers who didn’t believe the stories; each entered and never left. Those beasts would tear out your eyes, split your stomach and eat away at you. Robin would have fainted already if not for Kamau, but instead, he remained focused. Go in, get the sword, leave. He repeated the instruction over and over in his head like a prayer. But, thoughts and prayers held no power here.

“In there lies forces that WILL try to harm you. Our guards will be on standby, but know that survival is not guaranteed here.” Oswyn warned. “You are welcome to give in now; however, you will no longer hold a claim to the throne. Any that wish to give in, say so now…”

He waited, but only the whistling wind and the splash of the waves responded. And so, he lifted his arm to the sky and held it still. “Very well…” he acknowledged their answer. The contestants eagerly awaited the signal. Aurelio gathered mana around Azura, Arian stretched out his fingers, and Coryn bounced in place. Robin looked back to Tara and Kamau; they cheered him on quietly.

Finally, Oswyn’s hand dropped, and Aurelio swung the blade before him. A wave of water washed Robin and Coryn away. Arian quickly evaded, but Aurelio was already rushing through the halls. He knew he would have difficulty catching his elder brother, and as Coryn and Robin rushed back to their feet and into the hall, he wondered. Staring up at the skies above and seeing thunder.

*-*-*

The first floor was completely empty; it had the grandeur they would expect of such a wealthy place, but further up, that was where the danger lay. The staircase was misrepresented by Oswyn; he made it sound like every ordinary set they had seen. In truth, the way up in the mountain was a sloped spiral at the very centre. Doorways jutted off into smaller corridors, but most were caved in or bolted shut.

But when they reached the fifth floor, they saw that Aurelio had given up his advantage. Instead, he stood guard of the passage up, waiting for his brothers to come to him. Coryn and Robin stood a fair distance away, but Aurelio looked at them strangely when they did.

“So it’s true. The weak come in numbers.” He mocked while he checked the edge of his blade with his thumb.

“This is bad.” Coryn spoke quietly, and Robin noted it was the first time he had seen fear on the young prince’s face. Robin looked at him, confused. “Bad? This was the plan, right?”

“The plan was to catch him off guard. Attack him from both angles and use the surprise to rush for the sword. He knows. We’ve got no chance.”

Aurelio’s lips cracked slightly as he heard them speak. “I did think you’d do something like this, little brother. You haven’t the skill of me nor the power of Arian. You’re pragmatic. You’d make a good chancellor.”

“Not a king?” Coryn asked playfully.

“Jokes are a fool’s trade. Then again, you dance around and laugh and act like an idiot… you even come with your own mask.”

Coryn’s darker mood returned, and he looked at his elder brother more like a wolf challenging him. But Aurelio was done with him, and he turned his attention to Robin.

“Peasants and Fools. And you think you have a right to stand against me? You think you have the right to look me in the eye? No…” he held Azura to them at arm’s length. “I will teach you to lower your heads!”

Aurelio didn’t get to act upon his threats as the ground began rumbling beneath them. First, softly, as if far away, but then louder and more violent. “An earthquake?!” Robin cried.

Coryn thought the same but remembered what Oswyn said before they entered the mountain… “No… worse.”

Without warning, the walls up above burst open and a flood of bodies and metal stormed out and towards them. Short and stocky with sickly, infected skin hidden behind armour made of old bones. Some were insect-like, with extra limbs or pincers or scorpion tails. Their teeth were blackened and filed to points so sharp they dug into their own gums. And while their size was comparable to small children, they were many in number and fighting in a small space. They were so rare they were believed to be legend, written about in fable and spoken of from parent to child, but they were very real indeed.

“What the hell are they?!” Robin asked as they slowly got closer.

Coryn still retained his childish smile despite the fear reaching him. “Orkan. They’re easy to kill when there’s only one, but…”

“There’s a lot more than one!” Robin added.

The golden child at the centre of the young princes and the rushing crowd, holding his water sword at his side and imbuing it with his mana. But Coryn called to him, “Aurelio, they’re too much for you alone. We can fight them off for a while, but only as a team.”

“I do not need your help.” He replied arrogantly, summoning a thin blade of the waves into his free hand. “I will not cower, nor run nor back down.”

“You’ll back down when they cut your hands off!” Coryn replied. But it did not discourage the golden son; he changed his stance and lowered himself to the ground, feeling the floor vibrate.

Faster than they could blink, he was breaching the first line across the great hall. He cut through them like butter, evaded glancing blows like it was in slow motion. He truly was one of Alden’s finest soldiers, and at just 19, Robin feared what kind of warrior he could become.

Needless to say, he noticed his two brothers slowly catching up to him and changed his tactics. First, he tried to fire odd water slices towards them as he killed off freaks. But it was not stopping their approach, so instead, he skipped over a few rows of his attackers. Quickly zooming past them and killing any in his way. And those left in his dust returned to their feet, seeing the other two making their way up. They immediately forgot about the elder brother and zoned in on the two ahead.

“Incoming!” Coryn called with a smile plastered on his face. The first of the beasts launched its tail towards him, but he quickly slipped past as it split the floor. It landed right in front of Robin. He kicked at the floor, hoping to stop in time and he did, but he was not nimble like Coryn, who was darting through the Orkan, dodging pincer slashes and the stabs of stingers. Robin stumbled to his feet, just managing to duck under the next attack and reach one of the side doors. A few of them followed him in there, but it was dark, and inside was a corridor fanning into smaller, darker rooms. If he could manage to slip past, he could lock them away and move forward, but for now, he was hiding away, desperately praying to non-existent gods that none would find him. And though he managed to get by without being hit so far, without any way to fight back and Aurelio ahead of him, Coryn was in serious trouble.

Aurelio watched them struggle, smirking while still effortlessly gliding through waves of enemies. But he was careless and cocky. Little did he know that the monsters inside had an ace to play.

*-*-*

Arian was nowhere to be seen, and that was because he chose to never enter the tower. Instead, he endured the cold and harsh, climbing the rockface in stoic silence. He was quick and strong and making good progress, but when he looked above to see how far he was from the peak, he realised he may have underestimated the climb. The air was already thinner even this high up, and the rough rock dug into his bleeding fingers; they became slick, and his grip started wavering.

Finally, he reached a point deep enough to relax his arms and breathe deeply. The climb was gruelling, certainly not the worst he had gone through, and he had the confidence to make it higher… or could he? Doubt began to creep into his mind. Aurelio is probably already there. How disappointed Father would be… you couldn’t even beat that peasant.

His thoughts filled him with fire, but what good would it do now? He looked to the bottom. If he couldn’t climb to the peak, he would need to go back down and follow his brothers. But the doorway was a long way down, and it would completely ruin his chances. His treasured strength would be sapped, and there was good reason to assume that Aurelio would have pulled the sword from the stone before reaching the bottom.

Frustration at his stupidity boiled over, and he smashed his bleeding fist into the rocks beside him, smashing them to pieces and sending out a shockwave that could be heard by his brothers inside… amongst other things.

He started to think, but that was when he heard a reply to his shockwave. He looked above and saw lightning strike. Once, then again, and another time in quick succession. He watched it strike, being drawn to the power. But suddenly, it stopped, silencing the stone. He could see a spot behind the clouds, slowly getting closer, larger…

His eyes bolted wide open, and his jaw dropped. “That’s…”

The closer it got, the more massive it became. It breached the clouds, and he saw its frame. Dark green scales with stained yellow spikes all around. A large jaw filled with knives and spitting lightning. Its wings opened wide as it closed the distance, slowing its descent as it saw the sole heir and dive-bombed him.

It was a beast of great danger. A beast that had made the peak its nest, stealing sailors and burning them to ash, or taking their corpses back to the mountain to split their bellies and feast… it was no simple monster… it was…

“Wyvern!” He cried.

Just as he did, its blackened jaws opened wide, and energy formed in the back of its throat. Before the prince could even move, black lightning flashed in the sky and struck him where he stood.