The Seven Seals: Dragon Crusade
Chapter 27: Ice and Flames

Kirith ran through the fray of the battle, dodging the on going battles between man, elf, and dragon, along with some of the fleeing civilians. He looked to and fro, hoping to see if Orin might be there. The intense amount of smoke and heat made it hard to keep on moving at such a pace. Where would an elf like Orin be in a battle such as this one? Probably behind enemy lines like the coward he is, Kirith thought.

He skidded to a stop just as a dragon from above slammed its back claws into a building. The building was easily knocked right over, slamming into the one next to it. Kirith shielded his face with his arm, trying not to inhale the dust and soot.

From above came the sound of a loud crack, like a glacier being split in two. Kirith cautiously lowered his arm before looking up where the sound came from. In between the line of moons was a long streak of white, almost ice-like in appearance. His eyes followed the streak, which stretched directly from the center tower of the city. Specs of forms were just barely visible at the top.

“Orindir…” Kirith mumbled. He clutched the hilt of his sword tighter and wiped his brow. Orin had to be up there, and that streak of light couldn’t have been for nothing. He knows we’re here.

Kirith clenched his teeth and bolt for the tower, feeling a new strength inside him. After all this time, he would finally be able to take Orin head on and actually fight for once. This time, there would be no interruptions. Kirith would have Orin’s head and the conflict with the Felorians would end. Brother, if only you could be here to fight by my side, he thought.

Making his way towards the tower, the chaos of the battle was slowly left behind him, but there was still the exception of flames here and there. Bodies of men, women and children lay strewn about, blackened from the flames or mangled up. The scent of their burning flesh rose up and caught with the wind. Kirith put his arm over his mouth, looking away from the bodies. How could one being enact all of this? Who could bring themselves to do such things? Obviously someone as heartless as Orin.

From up ahead came rushed footsteps and the clanking of armor. Kirith bolted into an alley and hid behind a crate. Being sure to keep quiet, he peaked around it just in time to see two Felorians rush past the alley. Kirith scowled in disgust. It was quite obvious now that Orin was indeed at the tower, based on the direction the Felorian soldiers were coming from.

Coming out of his hiding place, Kirith continued up the street. The tower of Atara was just up ahead. It was odd to come back to the place. It had used to be a welcoming area of power with the light of the sun dancing across its surface. Now it was lifeless, dark, and threatening. The garden surrounding it was up in flames, some of it no more than ash. The flags of the pegasus had been torn down and ripped to shreds.

Racing up the steps and stepping over the broken down door, Kirith entered the dimly lit building. Furniture and tables were over turned, papers scattered the room. He could smell the corpses again, and he didn’t bother to have a look around the main desk. Kirith jogged into the long hall, remembering the last conversation he had with the council member. If only that idiot had believed him, then maybe so many lives wouldn’t have been lost.

The stained glass windows were broken and looked more misshapen than heroic and noble. The red glow of the flames coming through the window made the area all the more eerie. Blood mixed in with the scene, splattered across the floor and walls. The bodies of those he had seen before the mess lay about.

Kirith felt the bile big to rise in his throat and he quickly covered his mouth. There was…too much! The smell made him nauseous and sway. Kirith wanted to turn back, he didn’t want to face the massacre before him. But then he remembered Orin. No! So long as he is still alive, innocent people will die! he thought. Forcing down the stingy substance, Kirith rushed forward, not bothering to make a sideways glance.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, Kirith spotted a staircase leading up. His eyes widened as he felt a spur of success. This was it! Orin had to be just up the staircase. It would be a long way up, but he was ready for that run.

Inhaling, Kirith darted up the spiraling stairs. The wall opened up to reveal the inside of the tower being only the staircase going up along the wall. Kirith kept close to the wall, fists clenched tightly as he made his way up the flight. Minutes passed as he ran, and he could already feel the fatigue coming to him. There was still so much to run up ahead.

Tripping over one of the steps, Kirith’s chin smacked into the stony surface as he plummeted face first. He gasped in pain but held tight to his sword. Everything ached. His muscles begged him to not move, and his lungs, still containing some of the smoke’s toxins, wanted to give in. Kirith shut his eyes. What was he supposed to do? Get back up? Was he even ready for Orindir? He probably had a much better understanding of his own power than Kirith did of his, and that was what worried him the most.

Visions flooded into his mind, visions of his friends, visions of all the trials they had been through, visions of…Nomaru. He had gone through it all, he had seen it all, he couldn’t give up while he was so close. I can’t let them down…not now!

The burning passion grew inside as he felt his strength return to him. Kirith pushed himself up as the lightning from his blade began to appear and grow. The energy surged through his body; it was nothing like he had ever felt before! But it was a good feeling. Standing up fully, Kirith balled his fist and ran up the stairs, the light in his blade intensifying. The pain in his muscles was still there, but he was determined to not let it bring him on his knees. Kirith ran faster than he had before with a new sense of ambition inside.

It was less than a minute before he reached the last few steps. At the very top was a flat landing. Across the floor stood Orin with a white dragon. His deep navy blue cape flapped softly in the wind along with his long pale blue hair. He stood so proudly, as if he had won the battle already.

Kirith felt all the rage against Orin build up inside from the month. “ORIN!” he yelled, the lightning on his blade growing to become violently powerful.

Prince Orindir looked around slowly, looking Kirith dead in the eyes. There was a coldness that emanated directly from him. “I knew one of you would show up,” Orin said as he faced Kirith directly. “I am surprised you made it passed all the obstacles my kin have presented to you.” He whipped out his sword, causing the blade to make a high-pitched shing against the metal of the sheath. “But you will not make it past me, I will make sure of that!”

Kirith tightened his grip on his sword and glared at Orin. “How stupid you are! Those obstacles were pathetic. You think the Creator would simply allow us to die against you and your forces?” He held his blade out in front of him, readying his stance. “It ends now, Orin!”

Orin narrowed his eyes. “The Creator? He does not side with the likes of you. You claim to be the Seals of old, but you only use your powers for self-indulgence and your so called quest! He has chosen me to be the Seventh Seal who wipes out all who disregard the Creator’s will! He only sides with those who bring about justice and peace.”

“Well then we’ll just have to find out whose side the Creator is on!” Kirith lunged forward, swing his sword down at Orin.

Orin quickly blocked his blow as lightning and ice exploded in light. He clicked his tongue. “You think by winning this fight the Creator will surely be on your side? You are wrong, Seal.” Pulling back, he moved to the side, swinging his blade towards Kirith’s midsection.

Kirith dodge Orin’s attack, but just barely. With a tear in his tunic along his hip, blood began to trickle from the wound. He winced and held back his sword as it charged with lightning. “Killing innocent people isn’t the way to earn the Creator’s favor!” Kirith slashed down in Orin’s direction and a bolt of lightning zipped in his direction.

Orin somersaulted to the side just as his dragon came into action, breathing a stream of ice. Kirith spun out of the way just barely and bent low. But something…didn’t feel quite right. He looked to his arm as his eyes widened. Small ice crystals layered his left arm and shoulder. His hand and fingers were completely blue and numb, as if all the blood had been drained from them.

“Do you not know of a silver dragon’s breath?” Orin asked, letting out a soft chuckle. “It carries five times the coldness of the Felorian Mountains. Very soon your whole left arm will become unusable forever.”

Kirith felt a chill go down his spine. This is…unbelievable, he thought. Kirith glared up at Orin and stood back up on his feet. This was two against one, how could he possible fight both at the same time?

“Some simple magic won’t stop me, Orin!” he growled. Kirith dashed towards Orin and made multiple quick slashed that flew by with a blink of an eye. Somehow Orin parried all of his attacks, though it was obvious he was struggling only slightly.

Kirith made a plunging blow towards Orin’s head, but he made a grave mistake by doing so. The attack just barely nicked Orin’s cheek as he stepped to the side and slashed across Kirith’s midsection.

Kirith stumbled back, staring down at the wound in shock. Just as he began to look up, the dragon’s tail came swinging right into his stomach. Flying back, Kirith smacked into the small wall along the edge, having the air in lungs nearly taken out of him. His heart pounded beneath his chest as he felt blood begin to rise up into his mouth. Kirith moved on his side and coughed up some of the red substance. His whole body ached and throbbed as his head began to spin.

Ever so slowly, Kirith sat up and coughed some more. Orin and his dragon stared down at him without a hint of emotion, almost impatient with him. “You see, Seal? You cannot win this fight. You are weak,” said Orindir.

What am I supposed to do? Kirith thought. I can’t give up on this fight. I have to defeat Orin. But was it even possible? Could he really defeat someone with such skill?

Travis cleaved the dragon’s head off cleanly with his flaming axe of Haidar. He could feel the fighting-spirit coursing through his veins. The dragon’s head rolled to the side as its body made its last movements before collapsing. One of the Felorian soldiers dared to draw near and swing his lance directly towards Travis. Travis blocked his attacks before jabbing the axe right into the soldier’s chest, tearing through metal.

Ripping it out in a spray of blood, he watched as the Felorian fell to the ground. Travis quickly turned his attention away as his heart rate went faster. Though he was a Seal, he wasn’t entirely comfortable with all this death. By the end of this I’ll be immune… Travis thought.

He looked over to see Laela healing a large open wound in a young girl’s hip as Rossiel quickly subdued a Felorian soldier with only an arrow. Bodies of Atarian soldiers and citizens lay scattered through the streets. Atara didn’t have much of a defense left, maybe only a couple hundred able men left, and the number was going down fast. They wouldn’t be able to last the fight much longer, even if the alignment ended.

“Travis!”

Travis turned around to see Rahz hustling over to him, an old woman on his back with a younger elf following behind. He couldn’t help but smile at the sentimental sight.

“What took you so long?” Travis asked.

Rahz stopped to take a breath. “I-I had to get these two— out of a building.”

Travis nodded. “Good, we’ll take them back to the sewers.”

The elven girl stepped towards Travis, her eyes sunken with sadness. “You’re the Seals, aren’t you”

Travis was surprised at this. How did she know? He nodded in agreement and replied, “Ah— yes, that’s us.”

The elf clasped her hands. “I knew I could sense the power you all have,” she said and bowed her head. “Bless you! We’ll be saved!”

Travis tried to smile reassuringly. “We’ll do our best, miss.” He turned towards the rest of the group. Laela and Rossiel were already finished and helping some of the other victims walk. But something was missing… Travis’ eyes widened in shock. “H-hey, where’s Kate?!?”

Shoving the door open with all her might, Kate stumbled into the abandoned inn. The whole place was dark except for the dim light from outside filtering in. Tables and chairs were overturned. Some of the drinks of the previous participants had spilled onto the floor, giving off a soft scent of alcohol.

Kate walked inside, looking around the room. There seemed to be no one around. Maybe I should try the upstairs, she thought. Walking around the bar, Kate was just about to walk to the upstairs when something caught her eye.

In the corner, just behind the bar, were two children, a boy that looked to be ten and a younger girl with dark matted hair. The two of them were shaking and petrified, the older one holding the younger one as she sobbed quietly into his shirt. The boy caught sight of Kate and immediately went on guard. He whipped out a small cutting knife and pointed it at Kate. “S-S-STAY BACK!” the boy growled.

Kate felt all the color drain from her face as she stared at them. They were so frightened and confused. An image of the two watching their family and friends burning in dragons’ flames floated into Kate’s mind. She pushed the thought away and held up her hands. “It’s okay! I won’t hurt you,” she assured them.

“Just stay away!” the boy cried. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Kate sighed, almost feeling the pain they were feeling. She set her sword down on the floor gently, looking as submissive as she could. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I can’t imagine what you two are feeling right now… I can help you get to a safer area with the others, I promise.”

The boy stared directly at her for a moment before lowering the knife. His hostile expression was replaced with that of glumness. “Sis, come on,” the brother said as he stood up. The girl stood up with him, wiping away tears and snot.

Kate smiled comfortingly, though she was actually quite scared herself. Picking up her sword and sheathing it, she motioned for them to follow. “We can’t stay here any longer. This place could be up in flames soon too.”

“Um…what’s your name?” the boy asked timidly.

Kate blinked, somewhat surprised. “Ah— it’s Kate… I’m with the Six Seals.”

The little girl looked up at her with flushed cheeks. “Seal…?”

From outside the inn came the swooshing of wings flapping. Kate went tense at the sound of it and quickly walked to the doorway. “Come on, we don’t have much time!”

The two children hastily followed behind Kate as they raced out into the streets. Kate kept a close eye on the two to be sure they were keeping up. She was surprised herself that they were going at a good pace, even with all the destruction going on around. They were such innocent children too; they didn’t deserve any of this.

Turning down a street, Kate was just about to call out her friends’ names when something hit her. The street was completely clear of anyone, and Travis, Rossiel, Laela, and Rahz were nowhere to be seen. Had she taken a wrong turn? This has to be the street, she thought as her palms grew clammy. I just came through here! Kate considered going back to retrace her steps and look for them then. But that would take too long and she needed to get these children to safety.

Suddenly, from the building to her left came a scream of terror. Kate looked to the homestead, part of it covered in flames and soon to be consumed. Someone was inside there! Could she really go in and help them? Kate looked back down at the children. I can’t leave them unsupervised…but there’s someone in there!

Kate turned to the two children and spoke quickly, “I have to go in there and help them! I don’t know if I’ll come back out. Do you know the way down to the sewers?!”

The boy sucked on his lip and nodded. Without a word of goodbye, he took off with his sister.

Kate took a deep breath. Turning to the building, she breathed a silent prayer. Kate couldn’t believe she was doing this, but at that point she had no other choice. She dashed into the building, jumping over the collapsed door. As soon as she was inside, Kate was met with a wave of heat and toxins. She winced and guarded her face with her arm. Kate looked around, just barely catching sight of a staircase. “H-hello?! Anyone here?!”

There was several seconds of nothing but the crackling of flames, a voice peaked up above it. “Help me!”

Upstairs! It had to be coming from there. Kate moved towards the stairs, avoiding the flames as much as possible. Climbing up the stairs was another obstacle. Some of them were completely ashen and black, most likely not suitable for stepping, while other spots were up in flames. Kate squinted her eyes as she hustled up through the smoke and into the second level.

Entering into a small hall, Kate heard the muffled cries of the woman from the room to her right. She dashed inside, but skidded to a stop in front of a line of fire. An old woman wrapped in a dark cloaked sat on the other side, staring at the flames in fear. How did she manage to survive for this long? The smoke is so intense! Kate thought. Coughing a fit-full, Kate managed to blurt out, “You have to jump across!”

The old woman coughed and shook her head profusely.

Kate clenched her fists. “Please, you have to try! There’s no other way!”

The woman stared at the flames and slowly got up. She feebly moved closer before lunging through as best as she could. Flames caught on the dark cloak as the old woman rolled to the floor. Kate scrambled over and batted the flames out as best as she could. Upon standing up, the woman quickly threw the cloak away and clutched herself.

Kate grabbed a hold of the woman’s shoulder and hastily guided her along. “All right, come on, this way, and careful where you step!”

“W-wait—” The woman pointed to the staircase leading to the third floor. “My son!”

Kate felt her heart drop in her chest. Another? She pushed the woman towards the stairs leading down. “I’ll go get him! Get yourself to safety!” Kate darted down the hall and shielded herself from the flames. She turned to the stairs but suddenly collapsed as her lungs wheezed. Kate coughed violently as she felt her body grow weaker. She couldn’t do this any longer. It was so hot! Was this woman’s son even still alive? Kate could always just head back and tell her he was dead…

No, she couldn’t do that. As a Seal, Kate had to risk her life for the good of others. That was what it was supposed to be. Standing back up, she walked up the stairs, using every ounce of vitality she had left. This fire wasn’t going to beat her; she would pull through.

With legs like jello, Kate climbed the last step into a hall much like the last. She gritted her teeth and walked down the hall as she used the wall as leverage. Kate searched the first room, nothing. Then the second room she searched, and there was still no one to be found. But something pricked her hearing, a soft sobbing. Through a small whole burned through by the flames, Kate could see a form hunched over. There!

Kate quickly walked over into the next room and stumbled upon the sight of a woman crying over a man’s body. That must be the son… There was nothing that could be done about it. Jogging to the woman’s side, Kate grabbed her shoulders and yanked her up. “Get out of here! Go!”

The woman was shocked by Kate’s appearance and didn’t put up much of a fight. She gave the son one last look before disappearing around the corner.

Kate was just about to follow when her attention was drawn back to the corpse. Was he really dead? She couldn’t tarry there any longer, but she just had to know…

Just as she was about to lean down, the floor several feet away from her and in the hallway collapsed and shattered as it hit the floor below. The sudden impact on the wood caused the floor beneath the third floor to give way. Kate shot up as her heart pounded in her chest. No, this couldn’t be happening, she was trapped there on the uppermost floor, and the planks beneath her would sooner or later break too. I have to jump, it’s the only chance I have! But would she even be able to make it? What if it ended in a much worse way of dying? She had to try; she had no other choice.

Taking several steps back, Kate tried to calm herself as she measured the distance. She clenched her eyes shut, feeling the most afraid she had ever been. “Creator, protect me…!” Kate whispered to herself.

Opening her eyes, she began to run forward. A loud snap came from above as a wooden pole smacked into the back of her head. With a cry of pain, Kate fell face first onto the floor, feeling her world begin to spin all around her. What was going on? She could only feel pain, and the air in her lungs disappeared. Another crash came from above as the ceiling itself came crashing down on Kate and threw the multiple stories of the building. Feeling all her pain become one singular center point, she lost all sense of reality and fell into darkness.

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