"Well… well… well." Talos said while smacking his kunai onto his left hand. The surrounding area is scorched with flames and ruins; screams of the wounded echoed past them, shouts of people screaming the names of their loved ones.
"I never thought a priest could wield such a fine sword. Is that Dasmas Steel? Verlin steel?"
Father Howard didn't answer and remained silent, still his eyes locked onto Talos.
"Cat got your tongue priest?"
Father Howard again didn't respond and still continued to look at Talos in the eyes
"STOP STARING AT ME LIKE THOSE FFYCIN IMPERIAL PIGS!!". A strong breeze swept through the ground pushing back the hood that covered the face of Talos. Exposing only the upper face as he wore a mask to cover his lower face. Father Howard's eyes widened when he saw a familiar face with a slave collar of a white britacian young man with golden hair, ears long, he had black earrings on both ears. Eyes hazel in color.
"A Britacian" Howard thought to himself.
(A/N: Britacians are elves)
"Are you that boy with three other Britacians girls in one cage on display at a slave market in Roma?"
"FINALLY! The coward talks." Talos paused, realizing the words coming out from Howard.
"How do you know about that?" Talos asked
"He has grown tall…" Howard thought to himself again without replying
Father Howard raised his sword slowly to his chest and closed his eyes, meditating. His sword slowly glowed in red orange.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SILENT SHIT!!" Talos screamed in anger.
Talos conjured eight purple magic circles. Seven of those emerged from a top on Howard that stacked from biggest to the smallest, while the eighth magic circle emerged beneath the feet of Howard. Talos laughed hysterically
"DIE PRIEST! TAMANG KIDLAT! (Lightning strike)"
Cracks of lightning started from the smallest magic circle as it passed through each magic circle its luminosity intensified, so does its power. It struck Father Howard with a thunderous applause of lightning. The ground shook, cracking the cobbled stone street. Buildings collapsed from the shock wave. As the purple light from the spell illuminates the surrounding area, flashbacks of young Talos with his sisters begin to emerge.
It was seven years ago. Eight year old Talos with his three four year triplet sisters huddled together to conserve their warmth on a cold winter day. Placed in a small cage, which they can't stand inside of, was on display at a slave market stall in the slums of the Imperial city of Roma, passersby looked at them with eyes of racial discrimination. Britacians who are native to the Isle of Britacia, north of the province of Lugenden, Empire of Karnorath, who the empire tried to invade four times, but all four invasions failed. Talos covered his sisters with his cloak keeping their heads down while Talos looked at them with resentment. Some spat on them and kicked the cage, frightening his sisters. He tried to retaliate by using his magic, but was blocked by his slave metal collar that glowed in red, he stumbled back and rolled left and right on the cold cage floor. Gripping on the collar trying to remove it, his sisters rushed to him trying their best to help him, by taking hold of the collar that was squeezing tight on Talos' neck, choking him. One of Talos' sisters screamed for help at the slave salesman who was just sleeping on a chair next to a fire hearth. Still the salesman didn't wake up. The sister used her telekinetic power to lift a small stone on the ground and hurled it on the forehead of the salesman; she didn't know how to control the speed that it struck the target forehead with such force that the salesman stumbled backwards.
The salesman rose from his chair, slowly groaning in pain placing his right hand on his forehead, he opened his eyes and heard the screams of Talos who was choking. The sister who woke the salesman screamed in Britac that the salesman couldn't understand a word.
"Helpu! Mae fy mrawd yn marw!" (Welsh: Help! My brother is dying!)
"HA!? I don't speak Britac girl!"
A cloaked knight walked past and heard the screams of the Britac boy, he knelt, unsheathed his blade, inserted it inside the cage and tapped the collar with the tip of his sword. The red glow dissipated and slowly the collar was cut clean in half and fell off from the neck of the Britac boy. The knight sheathed his blade to its scabbard and stood. Salesman witness the situation and ran towards in front of the knight and barked
"YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT COLLAR SIR! EVEN IF YOUR A KNIGHT…"
The salesman was cut off when a small purse filled with Dracs when the knight threw the purse which landed onto his mouth, losing two of his front teeth and the purse landed on the ground. The salesman clasped onto his mouth and groaned in pain, as he composed himself the knight before him was gone. Beside him, the sisters huddled together onto their brother who was still weak due to the pain.
"Brawd wyt ti'n iawn?" (Welsh: Brother, are you okay?). One of the sisters rocked his brother who was half awake looking at the direction where the unknown knight vanished. The salesman kicked the cage where the Britacs are in, forcing them to stay quiet.
Back to reality
KABOOM!
Clouds of dust swept through the ground creating a temporary dust storm blinded Talos. He shielded his eyes from the dust, as it swept through him. Moments later he saw two orange hue dots in front of him, like eyes watching him through the storm.
"It can't be!?" he thought to himself.
Then a fiery shaped sword emerged in the middle of the two dots, it raised upward and cut through the dust. Clearing the dust storm, as Talos begins to clear his eyes from the dust, Howard was nowhere to be seen, he scanned his surroundings.
"Where is that priest?"
As he turned to his left, he saw a tip of a fiery sword just two inches from his left eye, he deflected it hastily and jumped back, skidding through the ground. He looked up and no one was there. Then blood lust behind him emerged as he turned around an edge of a fiery sword was inches away from his neck he deflected it hastily again and jumped to the air, threw a series of kunai knives to the assailant that was pursuing him and threw another kunai with runes at its handle, to a wall of a building behind him. Talos raised his right hand, extended both his index and middle finger, and then ravens emerged, he teleported to the kunai with runes he threw earlier; his left hand holding onto the kunai. Using his right hand he conjured a purple magic circle, as large as a ferris wheel, crimson chains, shoot up toward the assailants location
BOOM
Dust emerged from the impact, splinters of debris of stone and wood flew above the impact. As the dust clears, the crimson chains grabbed hold onto a fiery sword but it was pinned down on the ground. Talos' eyes widened when he saw Howard, with red fiery runes of baybayin scripts moving in circles in a horizontal position behind him, reading; (Filipino: Pinagpala ni Sunfyre translation: Blessed by Sunfyre).
"A DRAGON KNIGHT!?" He screamed inside of his head, he's breathing heavily of the fear facing an extinct Knight order of House Veyrdrassil.
"Calm down Talos" he thought to himself and closed his eyes.
"He is nothing compared to those Mozart's Knights"
As Talos opened his eyes, his whole body trembled, when Howard looked straight into his eyes; with eyes of a dragon, making Talos pissed his trousers. The immense aura emitted out of Howard was so intense that ground beneath him crumbled. Talos' chains pinned down on the ground with the tip of Howard's sword. He removed his sword from the ground, and raised it in the air along with the chains, then using his left fist he punched each chain toward the direction of Talos.
BOOM!
Into the mist of dust and splinters of stone and wood. Talos flew to the air, threw another kunai to a building, but to his surprise, Howard emerged six meters away from him, cutting his teleportation kunai in half. Howard moved his sword toward his right with an intention to use a slash attack targeting Talos' abdomen. Talos noticed what Howard was intending to do, He extended both his arms before him, and enchanted
"HADLANG!" (Filipino: barrier)
Ten barrier shields emerged from Talos. As Howard swung his blade in a slashing motion toward Talos, the tip of his sword embedded itself into the air, slicing it open, a black void revealed within the tear. Then time around Howard stopped, and he could hear both His and Talos' heartbeat beating in unison. After Howard finished slashing the air from right to left, he sheathed slowly his sword, as sheathed sword snapped.
Howard then chanted "Elemento Talim. Hiwang Grabidad (Filipino: Elemental Blade. Gravity Slash)
The black slashed void moved toward Talos' shields, breaking them one by one. As the black void breaks the last shield, Talos was pulled by the gravity into the black void that was coming towards him. He turned around and desperately threw a kunai toward a crumbling building behind him but the kunai stopped midair and flew back toward Talos. He deflected it hastily and the kunai went into the black void. Building behind him crumbled into debris and was sucked by the Black void. Talos desperately leaped debris unto debris using his mana feet to stick into the debris and threw teleportation kunai to teleport. Until he lost ground, and flew backwards to the void. Talos raised his right hand and conjured a huge crimson magic circle with its size similar to that of the largest ferris wheel in the world (located in Ain Dubai). It emerged into the sky eight-hundred-twenty-eight meters above Nebo. which turned the sky into a crimson, blocking the sun.
"I WILL BRING YOU TO HELL WITH ME DRAGON KNIGHT!!" Talos screamed and laughed hysterically while being sucked into the void.
Talos chanted "GARDD METEOR!! (Welsh: Meteor Garden)
After Talos was sucked into the void by the gravity slash, the magic circle above was retained. As Howard landed on the crumbled cobblestone street, he looked up to the sky and
"To think he managed to enchant one of the ancient britacian spells that was used during the empire's invasion to their home isle " Howard thought.
Howard drew a circle around himself using his blade. Above the circle lines, he inscribed a baybayin spell; "Panunumpang Apoy" (Flame and Oath), in four directions: North, East, South, and West. Once finished, he thrust his blade into the center of the circle and sat cross-legged. From within his robes, he retrieved a small dagger, unsheathed it, and cast the scabbard outside the circle. He tested the blade's sharpness with the tip of his right index finger. Satisfied, he made a cut across his right palm, and clenched his fist. Raising bloodied hand, he let the blood drip onto the sword. Then, Howard closed his eyes and began to speak.
"Lord Sunfyre, I, RICHARD LIONHEART, PLATINUM-RANKED FLAG BEARER OF HOUSE VEYRDRASSIL, call upon you by Flame and Oath. Give me a fraction of your power-to save the last descendant of Lord Vaeryn… and also my daughter."
After Richard finished his words there was no reply. The sounds of meteors showering down from the magic circle filled the air as they plummeted to the ground causing tremors. Buildings collapsed under the impacts. Screams of men and women echoed in the distance. Moments later, the runes facing the four different directions began to glow and ignited into flames. The circle Richard drew followed, catching fire as well. Then the flame surged upward forming a pillar of fire. An ancient voice echoed from within, shaking the ground.
"Richard Lionheart…. By Flame and Oath, I, Sunfyre, Monarch of Dragons, heard thy calling, and shall give a fraction of my power to you as per our contract. But heed this, mortal: Thine lifeforce shall be consumed, for thou mana core isn't enough to hold my power."
"I am aware of the consequences, Lord Sunfyre. I have been prepared to die since the day I swore my oath as a Dragon Knight and forge a contract with you - Monarch of Dragons, guardian deity of House Veyrdrassil"
"So be it.."
Runed behind his back multiplied, creating copies of themselves. They moved and embedded into Richard's arms, swirling around like serpents climbing a tree. The runes stopped at his upper arms; ethereal lines of flame extended upward tracing along his shoulders, neck, cheek, and into his eyes. His orange dragon eyes turned crimson, with slit pupils. The glowing lines continued to his eyesbrows and forehead, where they formed holographic dragon horns from his skin. From the horns, a holographic dragon helm of flames took shape. Richard looked up at a massive meteor, nearly one-fourth the size of a moon, slowling descending from the magic circle above the town. Debris from the molten meteor plummeted to the ground like a hailstorm of fire.
Richard then heard a woman's voice crying out the name of her daughter.
"Ruby!? Ruby!? Where are you?!" A woman cried out.
Then a small hand took hold unto Richard's priestly garment. He turned his head and saw a young child, holding onto her teddy bear, her clothes were still intact.
"I didn't sense her life aura, until the moment she touched my clothes. How did she manage to conceal herself?" Richard thought.
"Hey there… are you, Ruby?"
The girl nodded, her eyes wide with fear, as she scanned her surroundings. Her lips sealed in silence.
"That's a beautiful name," Richard smiled gently. "I'm Father Howard, from the church. Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
She shook her head slowly, still too shaken to speak.
"Alright," he said, offering his hand. "Let's find your mother."
Her tiny fingers wrapped around his calloused hand, and together they followed her mothers voice that echoed Ruby's name.
As they walked, the girl kept pointing the direction they would take, as if she was tracing the steps her mother went. Moments later they found a disheveled woman who was desperately calling her child's name.
The woman gasped when she saw them. "Ruby!" she cried, running forward.
Ruby let go of Richard and rushed into her mother's arms. Tears flowed freely as the woman held her daughter close, sobbing with relief.
"Thank you… thank you so much, Father Howard," she told Richard. But her eyes widened when she saw the Richard aura, a flaming holographic spartan helm with dragon horns. Baybayin runes and ethereal lines from his arms to his face. Then baybayin runes behind Richard's back.
"Are you that dragon knight…"
The woman was cut off when Richard leaped from the ground and sliced a debris in half that was falling just above the woman and her daughter.
"RUN GET TO SAFETY!" Richard shouted in mid air.
The mother didn't hesitate. She took her daughter's hand, and they ran. But as they fled, the little girl looked back—her wide eyes fixed on Richard. For a brief moment, time seemed to slow. That look… It reminded him of Tania, when she was little. Richard then smiled as he landed on the ground. He looked around the destruction around Nebo. The air was thick with the ragged groans of the wounded, each one a raw, broken sound that clawed at the ears. Some cried out for their mother's long dead, others whimpered beneath collapsed beams and blood-soaked rubble, their voices barely more than a rasp. A chorus of pain and fear, echoing through the ruined streets like the town itself was mourning.
Richard looked up at the descending asteroid. An apocalyptic mass wreathed in flames. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, steadying his breathing. He stood still meditating, then the runes on his arms and behind his back began to glow brighter, He raised his sword to chest level, holding it with both hands. The blade turned molten red, its heat rippling through the air. He opened his eyes, and they were no longer the eyes of a man but of a dragon. With a roar, Richard lunged straight into the sky, towards the falling asteroid with his sword blazing like a sun. At the moment of impact, he drove the blade forward and stabbed it mid-air.
Then cracks of light erupted from the point of contact, spreading like white lightning across the asteroid's surface. The celestial mass groans, then split in half. With a cataclysmic force, the asteroid shattered, bursting into thousand fragments that erupted like fireworks across the heavens. Tiny shards of glowing stone rained down, each one disintegrating into ash before it ever touches the ground.
As Richard poured all his strength in destroying the asteroid, he fell from the sky, exhausted and was ready to meet his end. He plummeted into the town square, the impact carving a small crater into the earth, shattering the cobblestone street beneath him. Dust billowed outward, blanketing the horrors of the ruined town. Lying still, he steadied his breath, eyes fixed on the celestial fireworks he created above. Blood streaked his face, pain throbbed through his shattered rubs, and broken spine. Both his arms are burned with the runes and ethereal lines. Each breath he took a battle of his own to stay alive.