Silvia Told Tales;
The Legend of Zachariah Agrabath.
Panicked as they were, they still had complete confidence in their commander- their king, the first divine mortal since the dawn of the First World. Named after the son of Eden, creator and founder of the Agrabath tribe, now a vast empire, and crowned king at the tender age of fourteen.
He alone subjugated the grandson of the Dragon Mother, and united the three major clans of South Landis. The coast was bathed in sea and blood, battered by broken metal and cold corpses and razed by a smouldering green blaze scattered across the battlefield.
A dragon coated in obsidian scales, emerald eyes, horns reminiscent of a demons and talons that would shred whole countries in two, tucked it's wings under as it began diving into the fray. The sky cracked in fear as lightning emanated from the beast and danced along the clouds. It's rider pulled his sword from his hip, the lightning converged on it's blade.
"Prepare for the second volley!" a wounded warrior exclaimed- not in fear, but in trust.
He was familiar with the thundering roar of a dragon made divine. The aura of his king once he entered the fray. The sound of fyre hurdling towards the earth, bringing the wrath of gods along with it. Those who wore the symbol of the Agrabaths on their back were relieved. They rejoiced at the sight of the Dark Knightmare barrelling towards them.
Those who wore the mark of the Saint watched each other as their faces turned pale. The dragon's rider raised his blade high above his head, both hands gripping tightly on it's hilt. He shut his eyes drawing in a deep breath as the lightning pulsated across his arms.
"Kazuri," the rider growled. "Burn everything in sight."
"Understood." The dragon answered back, it's tongue already smoking in heat.
The dragon roared green flames across the field, and dozens of soldiers caught ablaze under Dragon Fyre. The rider followed suit, his sword cackled lightning as he wrought down like an iron hammer. With a single swing he brought lightning and fire down onto the battlefield. The holy knights- much rather, the Paladins, were scorched in a matter of moments before the Fyre.
"Is it over?" Kazuri asked his rider. "My liege?"
"I told you not to call me that," the rider, Zachariah, snapped at Kazuri. "It should be over. Set us down, Kazuri. Any who survived will be taken as prisoners."
"You're certain?" Kazuri asked.
Zachariah drew a deep breath before answering him. "They invaded our lands. I understand your anger, and believe me I'd like to burn them to ashes as well."
"So why don't we-"
"Because we're not savages," he exhaled. "This war has gone on for far too long. Slaughtering them all won't change their perspective of us, it'll just fuel their fear."
"Let them fear us." Kazuri snapped. "You're a Divine Being, the first in over seven hundred years. Yet they dare to invade our territory."
Exasperated, Zachariah simply whispered. "Divine Being. If only you knew what that means."
"My liege?"
"I said not to-….." Zachariah cut himself short. "We're taking the survivors as prisoners. That's final."
Kazuri set his talons against the earth, the ground spiked outward where he set his feet. Zachariah leapt off from Kazuri s saddle, his boots hammering against the ground. The battlefield was marked in green embers as they danced like dying stars.
The clouds began weeping and with their cries the blood from Zachariah's armour and sword washed away. The Paladins trembled more and more with each step he took, they thought themselves assured to die at that very moment.
When Zachariah opened his mouth, they prepared themselves to have their worst fears realized. It was only when a flash of yellow struck from the sky did the tide change. A golden silhouette slid through the defeated Paladin's forces; it struck Zachariah with the force of a hurricane and sent him skidding back from the recoil. He got his bearings back rather quickly; the experience he gained from battle became apparent to his opponent. Without missing a beat, the silhouette struck again, landing a high kick to Zachariah's shoulder. He blocked the attack and grabbed the silhouette's foot before throwing them towards Kazuri.
"Kazuri!" he roared, "Burn him."
Within half a second, Kazuri begun readying his fire. The emerald blaze curdled in his throat at swam it's way up to his mouth. He bore his teeth with fury as he roared his flames towards the unknown fighter.
"Burn, human!"
The flames engulfed the silhouette in an instant. The ground smouldered and melted on contact almost instantly. Molted rock sizzled where the silhouette once stood, and all that was left was a metallic breast plate of an unusual size. Zachariah sighed slightly suing the opportunity as a reprieve from the attack.
"If you think that's enough to kill me then you truly are arrogant." a female voice snarked right next to Zachariah."
A rush of air gushed Zachariah away. This time the source of the wind was unclear, and it continued to remain unknown for the following two attacks. It struck again from his left side, then again from his lower chin, sending him into the air. His soldier's faces grew pale as their witnessed their king being tossed back and forth by an unnamed, unidentified source. One of them even cried out, "Your majesty!" as he flew into the air.
Kazuri flew into the air to catch up to his rider, yet he felt the sky was eons away. All the strength he had in his wings simply faded away without cause. Kazuri flapped them twice before finally succumbing to the exhaustion, but before he could fall graciously to the ground, the mysterious silhouette climbed on Kazuri's head and leapt towards Zachariah. Kazuri looked closer and realized that the silhouette was in fact female. A woman with striking golden hair, sky blue eyes, golden skin that glinted the suns light. Her attire was reminiscent of a Paladin. She wore the same red cross as the rest of the armies. What's more, she had a robe hanging over her hips.
A robe that was worn by a select few warriors amongst the paladin's ranks. Warriors known as....
"It's aCommandment!" Kazuri howled.
His dragon's voice snapped back into reality. Zachariah woke and found himself high up in the sky, the clouds were merely a few metres away from where he was.
Blood erupted from his guts to his throat where it finally crawled it way out through his lips. With a violent cough he expelled all the blood that had built up from his mouth, then wiped off with the cloth from his wrists. Meanwhile, the Commandment Warrior continued climbing her way up the sky, giving intense chase to Zachariah. A smirk spread across her face as she witnessed Zachariah struggle to get his bearings. It fueled her to press him harder than before.
"This is the end." she exclaimed. "Agraba-"
She, the air, the clouds themselves. In fact, it was as though the very fabric of time was splitting itself in two. He stood himself upright in midair as he grabbed the hilt of his sword as tightly as possible. Nature itself cried out as the lightning growled, readying itself to jump at Zachariah's command.
"I had no intention of going this far," he whispered. "Sine you're a woman, much less a human woman, I felt little need to use force against you."
"You underestimate humans too much." she snapped back.
"Perhaps I have underestimated your kind," Zachariah growled. "I'll never make that mistake again. And you will be the one to suffer the consequences of that."
A flash of lightning snaked it's way through the clouds onto Zachariah's sword. IT coated the blade in lightning mana, the steel vibrated violently and in force. He raised the blade high above his head and waited as his opponent flew to him at high speeds. Once she was close enough, her body became the forge, the lightning dropped like a hammer and the blacksmith was none other than Zacharia himself. With a flash of lightning, both Zachariah and the woman hurdled down to the earth, shattering it on impact. The two of them dug a hole on impact, sending debris and shattered rock all over the battlefield.
A cloud of dust blanketed them both, the wind blew violently in response to the impact. Zachariah stood over the woman, his crimson gaze looming over. She was still breathing, although her breath was laboured. But her condition was obvious. She couldn't fight anymore.
"I'd rather not kill you human." Zacharia began. "If at all possible, I'd like for you to withdraw your forces. Leave this continent and never look ba-"
"Never," she cut him off. Even through her bleeding lips she still forced herself to speak. To defy Zachariah even as she was defeated. "I heard. The stories about you. Your kind, your entire continent is cursed. You're children of the Chaos God."
"Still think we should spare them?" Kazuri asked.
"Children of the Chaos God." Zachariah echoed. "If you believe that, then so be it. But remember, it was the Chaos God's child that spared you when you, the children of Terra, struck at us first. Take them all as prisoners. We're going back to the palace."
The paladin woman lost consciousness before long and her body was dragged along by the Agrabath soldiers. Those who lost their lives during the battle were set onto one mountainous pile. That pile was surrounded by wood, fabric and all other materials that would catch fire with ease. Kazuri insisted on lighting the fire himself, but Zachariah insisted on burning the bodies all on his own. He didn't even use magic; he set the fire using stone. Once the bodies were set ablaze, he stood and watched the fire devour everything. Agrabath and Paladin alike, burned together side by side. Even though they were corpses, at the very least, they were together in peace. In that sense, Zachariah felt a tinge of jealousy knawing against the back of his mind.
A set of boots trudged against the soot of mud and ash, a set belonging to an Agrabath soldier. He bowed his head before speaking to Zachariah.
"My liege, we're ready to depart."
"Do you have any children?" Zachariah asked flatly.
"Pardon?" the soldier squeaked.
"Your children, would you ever allow them to fight your neighbour's children?"
"I suppose not, Your Grace."
"And yet our father, the Chaos God, he's watched as we've waged war against his sister's children. Though, I suppose Terra is no better, she's done nothing to reprimand her children."
"Your Grace, I'm not quite sure I understand."
Zachariah sighed before finally turning to the soldier, his eyes glowing in the fire light. "Mark my words, I will end this war. No matter the cost."
A sense of pride, faith, hope and awe, all of it enveloped the soldier's heart as he bowed his head deeper than before. A smile spread across his face, as well as Zachariah's. The two shared a light chuckle before Zachariah cleared his throat. He dawned his king's authority as he spoke.
"Ready the troops for a march. We're heading home."
"Yes, my liege." the soldier yipped.
A sense of relief washed over Zachariah. From his observation of the soldier, he was tired. Perhaps even exhausted. But his spirits at the very least seemed to be high. They'd suffered many loses that day, but in the end, they secured victory for their side. With that, Zachariah nodded his head and began the trek home. To his people, to his castle, and to his wife. He was three steps into his journey, and a meteor fell from the sky. A blinding blue light blinded Zachariah's eyes. The pillar of light fell from the sky to the direction of the convoy. To the direction of his wounded soldiers. And all his surviving prisoners.
More specifically, the Commandment that Zachariah captured. The thinned on the convoy then beamed into the sky again, leaving a deathly explosion in its departure. Too much flowing through Zachariah's mind to fully focus on what was happening. His consciousness began fading and the world felt heavy. He finally surrendered himself to his exhaustion when he finally heard Kazuri's voice calling to him.