The Shadow Wanderers

Chapter 22

Subconsciously, Zayden's gaze kept wandering to his right, where she sat beside her friend on one of the logs. Her hair blew in the cool forest breeze, disturbing her carefree face as she laughed at something Naomi was pointing at. It was his first time seeing her in one of their traditional dresses, and he couldn't help the smile that found its way to his lips at the idea.

She, one of them.

His smile faltered as an image appeared in his mind, and he had to shake his head to lift the effect it had on him. He brought his gaze back to the soldiers in front of him, assembling themselves around the trees, preparing for the King's address.

Zayden stepped forward and took his place in the middle of the meadow, his back to the thrones. The chattering died down as all eyes settled on the King of Vakenes.

"My valiant army, commanders, Serafiels, Royal members, and... mortals," he said, addressing and looking at them one by one. His voice echoed wonderfully and reached the ear of every person in the clearing. "The past couple of weeks have been hard. For all of us. There had been no progress whatsoever on our quest to find the escaped demon. But we're getting closer. The Chief of the Serafiels turned out to be a traitor and we were successful to seize him. Today marks yet another step towards the completion of our quest. As always, a friend in life and death, the planet Liggen's royalties have offered us their undying loyalty by allowing their soldiers and army to join the Vakenian army. Our Liggenian brothers and sisters will fight alongside us if necessary and we will forever remain grateful to them for having our backs. And, of course, to the Liggenian King and Queen, who offer their own services to this greater cause as well," he paused, giving a little bow to the addressed royal figures who sat behind him.

His voice turned raw suddenly. "As you all might have assumed, things might have gotten graver than before. We may have a potential threat of war. Yet another with this terrible demon. We have been waiting for a sign, a battle cry so we can react. Quadruple the damage for him that he plans to inflict on us. The fear that he instills in our hearts is a mere sensation and we can fight it. Because from fear blooms hope too. Arik's objective is to seek vengeance on those who imprisoned him, and to torture and annihilate mortals who are nothing but as fragile as insects in his eyes."

He paused, looking around the clearing. He could see the different emotions swirling in every pair of eyes looking back at him; fear, hope, anxiety of the uncertain.

Resuming, he said, "With the help of every immortal blood, with the strength of every man and woman who steps forward to volunteer for the sake of their people, we shall secure peace once more, and eliminate this threat for good. We shall secure our planets and the mortal world.

"We are not to disappoint our former king Lugus, who had fought bravely against the very demon and had secured peace on the mortal and immortal lands. Once again, Arik stole that from us, and we are to steal that back."

The soldiers let out exciting roars, and Zayden held up his hand to silence them.

"Today, this feast is organized in honor of the Liggenian King and Queen, to thank them for their undying affinity to Vakenes and its interests, and for the soldiers of both planets whom I know have been losing their spirits. With deepest regret, I have to say that we could not hold the Festival of Lights due to the extenuating events surrounding us. But I've tried my best to arrange an event that could work as an alternative. Soon, there will come a time, when all of you will enjoy the festival with your families. As of now, we'll have a feast. Enjoy while it lasts!"

As Zayden said his last words, the crowd let out cheers of excitement and scattered around, smiling, Calista looked around at the Serafiels standing at every corner of the meadow. They had their arms raised to the sky and made movements with their fingers. Naomi and Calista let their gazes wander to the sky and watched as pieces of wood twisted and splintered, creating perfectly smooth round tables. Along with them, pieces of logs floated up to the sky and started getting chopped, making round seats to sit on.