The path of Unity

Chapter Eight - Jacob

Jacob's eyes were wide open, and he was unable to breathe properly. The Blight looked at him, smiling; it seemed like it wanted to laugh at him.

"Jacob! No!" Trion screamed as he ran towards him, ready to swing his axe. But as he got closer, a third Blight jumped at him and pinned him to the ground. Trion dropped his axe, and it shrunk back to his pendant. It laid there out of reach on the ground.

Trion struggled to get free, but the Blight just stared at him. The Blight turned its head to the right and looked at the event that was unfolding.

Jacob looked down to see the Blight's claws punctured into his stomach. He felt like his heart was slowing down, and his vision was going blurry. He wanted to scream, but he felt his body go cold. His eyes started to close; he was dead. The last thing he saw was the Blight opening its mouth to bite his throat.
.

In Jacob's mind, time slowed down.

He had died without finding his father from whom he wanted answers.

He heard a voice.

"What? Who's there?"

An echoing voice answered him.
"It's not your time to die. Take my arms and call my name to save yourself".

The voice faded away.
.
.

Jacob opened his eyes and a heavy blue fire appeared. It seemed to cover him. Jacob didn't feel any pain from the flames. It felt natural, like it was a part of him.

The Blight panicked and pulled out its claws from Jacob's stomach while jumping back and letting out a loud scream.

Jacob stood there completely healed with the help of the fire. He just stared at the Blight for a second. Jacob then slowly extended his right arm out to his side and called out, "Gellador!"The blue fire grew larger and a long white sword with a crossguard on it appeared. He was able to hold it in one hand.

Jacob began to run forward like he knew it was the right thing to do. The fire completely engulfed him and he looked like fire heading towards the Blight. As he hurled himself towards it, the Blight stood in a ready stance and screamed. Within a second, the Blight stopped screaming as Jacob sliced through its waist. The Blight's torso landed on the floor first and its legs thumped down as well. Its innards slowly slithered out. Jacob then turned to the blight on his right that was pinning down Trion and grinned. He began to charge, and the fire was just about to engulf him once again; he was full of rage. But as he reached the Blight and Trion, the fire extinguished and Jacob collapsed to the floor, falling face down. The sword disappeared, just like Trion's axe did when he had dropped it.

The Blight hissed at this. Still struggling, Trion was able to raise his feet high enough to kick the Blight off him. It fell backwards, leaving enough space between the two of them. He quickly rose to his knees and placed his left hand on his right bicep, with his right arm stretched out and the palm of his right hand facing towards the Blight. His index finger was bent, and the rest of his fingers were flexed out. The Blight got to its feet and saw a light shining on Trion's hand.

Trion had a scowl on his face. He released a ball of light from his palm, which cut through the air and landed at the base of the Blight's feet with a loud bang. It panicked, hastily turned on the spot and ran back into the woods.

Trion struggled to breathe for a moment, as that technique took a toll on him since it was not his speciality. Trion slowly lowered his arms and stood up straight. He looked to his left and saw Jacob sprawled on the floor. "Jacob!" he called out, and he ran to where he was lying down. He dropped to his knees next to him and placed two fingers on his neck. "Good, he's still breathing", Trion sighed thankfully with an exhausted smile.

He flipped Jacob onto his back, placed his left arm underneath his legs and weaved his right arm between Jacobs left arm and torso, reaching around his back.

Trion got back to his feet while carrying Jacob in his arms. "Don't worry, lad. I'll get you some help", he reassured. The night was still cold and windy as he struggled to walk through the forest.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He felt the wind go silent. There was absolutely no sound - not a mouse, a bird, nor a bug. Suddenly, a loud whirring noise was heard and a bright light issued from behind him, casting his shadow in front of him.

Trion slowly turned around and saw an oval-shaped door just standing there. Then, six shadows hastily emerged out of the light. Five of them wore white robes with red sashes around their necks. The sixth wore a black robe with a white sash. Each one of them donned a white mask.

One of the white robbed shadows stretched out his hand. "Guardian Trion, we've been sent to help. Please, this way", he said in a concerned tone.

"Followers? Why are you here?" Trion questioned.

"The Grand Enchantress sent us. She wants you two back at the temple quickly. Now, Trion, please?" he insisted.

Trion gripped Jacob tighter as he felt him slipping and started walking towards the gateway. The followers parted to let him through and then proceeded to follow him.

The bright light dimmed and the gateway closed. The wind blew noisily once again.

Some bushes rustled near the tree line and Harold appeared, clutching and rubbing his head.

"Trion? Jacob? Guys?".