Ramiro commands, "Phantasma! The time has come for you four to once again bring upon the Conqueror's Wrath upon our enemies. The Kingdom of the Eastern Plains is a vast kingdom stretching from the southern shores up to the northern mountains and stretching from the western forests to the eastern coastline."
He continues, "With all your combined might, you will bury the entire kingdom into the earth it sits on, and you will bring the ocean's water to smother all the grasslands. Go now! May the world witness today the incredible power that is the Conqueror's Wrath!"
In booming and resounding voices, the Four Phantasma bow their heads and respond, "Yes, master!"
With King Caizzod still bound by the Conqueror's magic, Ramiro and Uriad take to the sky and drag Caizzod up into the air with them.
Algumektahl the Mud Toad begins to burrow itself into the ground. It's strong legs and massive hands and feet send tremors across the plains. Giant plates of earth begin to rise and fall simultaneously all around. Within seconds, the scorched battlefield is swallowed into the earth, along with miles and miles of grassland.
The Mud Toad burrows deep into the ground, several miles beneath the surface. It pushes its enormous vines through the dirt and rock, stretching them for miles in all directions. The Mud Toad releases an incredibly loud ribbit as it begins to pull on its vines. The entirety of the Kingdom of the Eastern Plains experiences earthquakes that rip apart the ground.
Guerranguntarr the Great Lion of Fire releases a ferocious roar as it begins to dash across the plains. With each step, the flaming footprints left by the Great Lion of Fire turn the ground into pools of lava that send geysers of molten rock into the air.
The Great Lion of Fire makes its way along the border of the Kingdom of the Eastern Plains, severing the land from its neighboring countries. The Phantasma runs at a blinding speed, covering miles in seconds and leaving a river of fire along the border of the kingdom.
Kenisverra the Nine Tailed Wind Fox takes to the sky like a hurricane wind, and Teilukaidom the Stallion of the Seas stampedes across the plains and tramples everything in its path like a tidal wave. The two Phantasma travel at incredible speed towards the ocean to the south. In a matter of minutes, the Nine Tailed Wind Fox and the Stallion of the Seas cross a distance equivalent to that of five countries.
The Stallion of the Seas gallops across the surface of the water, forcing wave after wave of ocean water into the air. The Nine Tailed Wind Fox swirls its many tails and collects the waters into a tornado that rises high into the sky. Thousands upon millions of gallons of water are carried up into the air second after second.
The combined might of the two Phantasma sends the surging tornado crashing down directly at the center of the Kingdom of the Eastern Plains. The ocean's water swallows everything in all directions. Miles from the battlefield, entire towns, villages, cities, and farms become totally submerged.
All over Caizzod's kingdom, masses of people suffer from disaster and scream in agony as they meet a horrible fate. They fall victim to Algumektahl's earthquakes. They are burned by Guerranguntarr's river of fire. They drown in Teilukaidom's and Kenisverra's flood. The Conqueror's Wrath consumes all.
With tears in his eyes and a tremble in his voice, King Caizzod addresses Ramiro, "Conqueror, I beg of you. Kill me now. I cannot bare to watch any longer."
Ramiro answers him firmly, "I will not grant you such a luxury. It would be too easy for you if I let you rest in death. This newly created Ocean of the Accursed will trap all the souls of those who drown in its waters on this day. I will keep you alive as my prisoner of war so you can live knowing the horrible fate you brought upon your people."
From their position in the sky, Ramiro forces Caizzod to watch as the grasslands are burned, as the ground sinks into the earth, and as the waves begin to swallow the once Kingdom of the Eastern Plains.
***
Standing within the mountain courtyard upon the peak of Mount Meirotzia, Edilmondu the Storyteller can hear the cries of millions suffering at the hands of Ramiro and the Four Phantasma. He rushes to pull a scroll from the basket he wears on his back.
Quickly, he unravels the scroll and recites an excerpt, "Wielding the magics of the universe and with the powers of earth, wind, fire, and water at his command, the champion of the gods shall make this world pure in his works to bring order and peace..."
Edilmondu stops reading. He turns from looking at the scroll and gazes out across the sea of clouds that surround the mountain of mountains. He falls to his knees as he drops the scroll onto the floor of the mountain courtyard.
His body trembles as he reaches his hand outwards towards the sea of clouds and speaks, "So much pain. So much suffering. I wrote his path. I wrote his deeds centuries before he was born. Fleorridiah, Goddess of Life, forgive me. I had no way of knowing that Ramiro would do such horrible deeds to accomplish his goals. Fleorridiah, as the Mother Spirit, I hope you can comfort all who are in agony. Save their souls from eternal accursedness."
***
Floating within the dark void that is the outer spaces of the Realms Beyond, Irohleim sits upon his throne instead of being out across the cosmic bridge that is known as the King's Tolllway in search of Esmeralda's soul. The God of Order gazes upon his beloved homeworld from afar. From his viewpoint, Irohleim is able to notice flashes of red, and he also notices a large portion of the land that is green becoming blue.
Irohleim speaks within the void, "Flame and flood... My champion, what on earth have you done? I had asked you to save my world and bring it to order, not destroy and decimate it. I am powerless from my position. If this is a necessary sacrifice, then so be it. There will always be consequences to action, and one must always answer for their deeds."
***
On a plot of land not yet swallowed by the coming tidal wave, the shepherd's tent shakes violently from the disaster that has struck the land. They can feel the shock from the tremors. The shepherd's belongings topple over and fall onto the floor of the tent.
The shepherd rises to his feet, extends his arms out to the queen and her son, and says, "We must hurry. There seems to be no time left for this kingdom. The Conqueror's Wrath is almost upon us."
Queen Namia rises to her feet. She follows the shepherd's notion to exit the tent. He holds open the tent's fabric that line its entranceway with his shepherd's staff. Quickly, the three of them leave the tent as additional tremors shake the ground at their feet.
Outside the tent, Queen Namia notices that all of the shepherd's flock have fled into the forest except for one. The commotion has scared all of the sheep, but only the one young lamb from earlier remained. Suddenly, a crack of lighting comes out of nowhere. The booming sound and the flash of light startle her and her baby.
She turns to look at the source of the lightning, and she finds the shepherd glowing in a soft white light with pulses of electrical energy surrounding his body. To her surprise, the shepherd has transformed into some kind of warrior dressed in majestic white garments and royal blue cape with shoulder armor and an armored waist band.
The white glow and electrical pulses quickly disappear from his body, and Queen Namia notices the warrior to have a bold look with a strong jawline. She also notices that the humble shepherd's staff has transformed into a gloriously decorated gold staff with a large sun ornament at its top. She is amazed to see the true form of this man.
With a sense of hope in her heart, she utters, "Caizzod, you were right. He is a servant of Verashuen. Our son will be saved. Our son will live."
The warrior of light addresses Queen Namia, "Behold, I am Virtue the Light Bearer, and I am servant to Verashuen, the God of the Sun and the Spirit of Light."
With the staff in his left hand, Virtue extends his right hand and continues, "Through me, your son will have life as the light shines through me from the sun. For the sun gives life from its light as the spirit of light is life. Allow me to receive your son, and I will deliver him from the impending doom that is the Conqueror's Wrath."
Queen Namia kisses her baby son on the forehead for the last time and with tears in her eyes, she says to him, "You will be alright my son. Let the light shine in your heart and let the light guide you always. Where you go, I cannot follow, but always know that your father and I will be with you. I love you."
The queen hands over her son to Virtue. With the child in hand, he bows his head slightly to the queen, turns away from her, and begins to walk away towards the forest. She watches as Virtue, her child, and the lamb gain distance from her.
Within moments, a beam of light shines down on the three from the sky above. The light grows in intensity and becomes nearly blinding. All of a sudden, the three of them vanish before her very eyes and the beam of light begins to decrease in intensity until the beam of light completely disappears.
She is now left alone. She has only the hurricane winds and the violently swaying trees to keep her company in her final moments, but she is able to smile. She smiles as she knows there is hope for her son.
She whispers in the wind, "Caizzod, we did it. We delivered our son to him... to Virtue, and the light took all three of them. He will be safe. He will live on."
Queen Namia hears the very loud sound of water rushing. She knows what is coming. She can sense the giant wall of water coming to crash upon her and submerge this entire forest. The wave sounds like the rumble of a thousand beasts coming to trample... like the clamor of a thousand soldiers banging their swords across their shields... like the roar of a thousand waterfalls crashing onto a river.
Seconds before the giant tidal wave crashes over her, she thinks back to a moment when she was sitting in front of the gentle fire in the tent and recalls an exchange of words between her and the shepherd...
"My queen, what is your son's name?"
"His name is Torren, and he will save our world from this age of chaos."
[Book End]
This story of fantasy and adventure unlike any other will continue in...
Tales of Torren - Age of Chaos