Chapter 16

Dawn of Glory [the half-breed]



Chapter Sixteen



Theme: Isengard, part one.



The loud chattering of people could be heard. The crowds were walking around the market square, buying, selling, and dealing with all sorts of goods. For a while, everything seemed peaceful until a loud buzzing sound was heard. Not wasting any seconds, everyone sauntered toward the direction of the buzzing sound.



Emerging out of a tower balcony that was built with thick wood was a middle-aged man. He was wearing red armor, which could be recognized as D'arcy's uniform. He was holding a book, and his sword was strapped at the scabbard, which was slung around his waist.



The last sun of the day shone on his red armor which also revealed his white underneath singlet. He had a round face, a small beard, and short white hair. His boots made an echoing sound as they collided with the balcony's wooden floor. Behind him stood three other D'arcy soldiers, who served as his guards. Looking closely, one could easily know that he is a knight.



"People of Isengard, it's time to offer our customary evening prayer to Lord Darius." So says the middle-aged man. 



All around him, the people let out murmuring sounds which suggested that they weren't interested in his devotion.



"Seems like they are not willing to offer the prayer again," One of the soldiers whispers in his ear. "Lord Darius would be mad at us if he didn't receive the prayer."



At the hearing of that, Zedekiah let out a small chuckle. It was the tenth year of his ruling at Isengard, and also the eighteenth century of his services at Lord Darius's. No one has ever gone against his order. Ever since Lord Darius made him the ruler of Isengard, none of them had dared complain about offering prayer to him until the rumor of the half-breed started to surface.





Now they are trying to rebel against him. He even heard rumors that the resistance was growing in number. He examined the hill that surrounded the tower, and he smiled in satisfaction as he saw it. Surrounding the hill are the D'arcy archers and Lycans, not counting those that could fight with a sword.



"People of Isengard, let us offer our evening prayer to Lord Darius," Zedekiah said again, his voice carrying great authority. 



The people knelt reluctantly, and Zedekiah smiled at their obedience.



"Now repeat after me. Lord Darius feeds us," he said, and everybody repeated after him. "Lord Darius guides us, Lord Darius protects us, Lord Darius helps us, and he is our god." As soon as they finished the prayer, a loud screech pierced the whole atmosphere, which disrupted the prayer session. 



A large red creature with big bulging eyes emerged out of nowhere. It had a big wing with a raw spike at the end, which enabled the creature to fly and slash at the same time. He had hooves like those of a horse, and they were curved like the letter L. The creature dived down, with its mighty wings flapping in the air, and used them to grab a human with its claws.



As he attempted to fly away, one of the D'arcy soldiers transformed into full lycanthropy and pounced at the red, big-eyed creature. With his sharp long claw, he grabbed the creature by the wing, then pierced its neck with his free claw. The creature roared in fury, dropped the human he was holding, and then directed its full attention at the lycan.



The creature went low and hit the lycan's back against the hill, while the force threw some unlucky sword soldiers down from the cliff. The lycan stabbed the hill with his claw to avoid falling. He howled out in anger, clasping his claw tightly against the hill, and he used his other hand that was holding the creature's wing to draw it closer.





The red beast lost control as the lycan drew him closer, and his body ended up slamming against the hill. Before it could fly up again, the archer blackened the sky with a volley of arrows. Seeing this, the lycan released his grip on the hill. The arrow hit the creature only, while the lycan collided with the ground.



The people of Isengard screamed in delight as they had just witnessed the great battle. Their voices filled the atmosphere as they started praising Lord Darius and Zedekiah. They had finally forgotten the rumor about the prophecy of the half-breed and accepted Lord Darius as their ruler.



"People of Isengard," Zedekiah's voice boomed throughout the hill, and the people went silent to hear what he was about to say. "The beast we just saw is called Smear, and I'm sure we know how deadly she could be. However, one of my men just risked his life to save you all. So, will you serve Lord Darius, worship him only, and ignore the rumor about the prophecy of the half-breed?"



"We would serve and worship Lord Darius only!" The people chorused in unison.



************



"Seems like they have lost their hope," Joy mumbled beside Dan. She hissed and walked back to Garry. "How do we even begin the mission now?" She asked no one in particular.



They were sitting under a tent that Mrs. Sandra had magically created. They were now inside Isengard, perhaps a few houses away from the boundary. They managed to sneak in before the so-called prayer sermon, all thanks to Garry. They had a hood covering their faces, which made it impossible for people to recognize them. 



A friend of Garry's is the one that accompanies them. He was also living on a high cliff which gave them access to everything that was going on in the tower. 



"That creature, what's it?" Joy implored Garry.



"It's called a Smear," Garry retorted. "They only came out at night. How it appeared in the daylight is still a mystery I'm trying to unravel." He clarified. "Besides, it was said that the last Smear had been killed."



"If I get you right, you mean something is fishing," Joy said, and Garry nodded his head. 



Joy took a deep breath and allowed her brain to process what she had just heard. Even from where they were watching, she could guess that the people of Isengard were not ready to kneel before Zedekiah. 



"What if he was doing this to fool the people?" Joy suggested, but Garry couldn't answer that.



She had seen how everything happened. The fight between the lycan and the creature, as well as how the people immediately kneel after the fight. She could tell they weren't being forced this time, unlike the first time; and she could tell they were pledging loyalty. Without being told, she knew something was fishy, and she was ready to dig it out. She had begun her mission as a savior, and she would make everyone in the middle land believe that she could kill Lord Darius. She won't leave any stone untouched.



"Our half-breed, what did you think about the current situation?" Mrs. Sandra's voice brought her back to reality. "Did you think the Smear in broad daylight looked natural?"



Hell No! Joy thought. 



"If Garry is right, then how can it be natural? It wasn't natural.” She replied sharply.



"My wife is here. She is also in the market tower. Perhaps she can tell us what happened at the market square." Garry's friend said as he walked towards them. He was a short man with a big belle. He also had a mustache and a bald head.



"Zedekiah is forcing us to worship Lord Darius," the woman's voice said. 



She walked towards them while Dan accompanied her. Joy quickly stood up and moved closer to her. Mrs. Sandra and Garry also follow her, making the woman stay in the middle. 



"He said something about the prophecy of Half-breed, and the people of Isengard had also heard about it. That's why they are reluctant to offer the daily evening prayer to Lord Darius." She explained.



"For what reason on earth will you be praying to a human? That's insane." Says Joy as she holds her waist.



"That's how we have been doing it ever since Zedekiah became our commander," Garry's friend replied instead.



"What can you say about this?" Joy asked, her gaze now resting on Mrs. Sandra.



"In ancient times, people offered prayers to the Olympian gods. They burnt incense and made sacrifices for them. This sacrifice always made the gods strong, powerful, and invisible. In return, they bless and protect their followers."



"That means Lord Darius is getting stronger and more powerful every day you make those prayers to him." Joy guesses, her eyes now resting on the woman. "If my guess is right, Isengard is not the only territory that is offering those prayers."



"We didn't want to follow his order because most of the people had heard rumors of the half-breed," The woman continued. "However, we had no choice but to bow because we didn't have enough evidence. Besides, Zedekiah won't hesitate to burn us as an offering to Lord Darius just like he had been doing to the resistance."



"Everything is now becoming clearer," Dan said. "Zedekiah planned the Smear's attack so he could make the people bow."



"What should we do now?" Joy asked.



"We have to stop the people from offering prayers to Lord Darius," Garry joined the conversation. "And to do that, we would have to kill Zedekiah."



"That's impossible! Zedekiah is undefeated. He had once slaughtered a large group of resistance within a few minutes." The woman argued. 



"Not when the true half-breed is with us." Her husband retorted, and the woman looked at him, puzzled. 



"She is the prophecy half-breed," The man clarified, and the woman stared directly at Joy. That's when she saw the sword in her hand. 



"The blood sword," she mumbled, her voice barely coming out more than a whisper. "If you can defeat Zedekiah and free the people of Isengard, then the resistance will be willing to help you. Not only that, they will spread the news across the middle land," says the lady.



"Let your mind be at rest, ma'am," Joy said as she placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. "I will try my best." She assured her.



"I also promised you that Zedekiah is going down tonight." Dan supported the woman and her husband while they smiled heartily.



******



The night came so fast, even quicker than Joy had thought. After several hours of following the route that Garry's friend had given them, she was now standing at the entrance of Zedekiah's chamber. Besides her stood Dan, who had a hard expression on his face. She was clad in a black outfit, with her hair tied in a ponytail.



She had just one aim in mind: to command the man and get out of the chamber before the guard would notice anything suspicious. 



Garry's friend had told her that there wouldn't be anybody guarding the entrance because no one had dared attack Zedekiah before, and they wouldn't be expecting one. 



After she had commanded the man, Dan would assist her in carrying him to their hideout where they would wait for Mrs. Sandra. She had told Joy that she wanted to pay a visit to her friend and asked if there was another copy of the undead book or if they could cast a reverse spell. After that, they would set out for the next phase.



Silently, Joy opened the chamber door, and it made a creaking sound. Thank goodness it doesn't alert anybody of their presence. 



She stepped forward, walking as stealthy as she could, while Dan followed behind. She could feel the weight of the blood sword on her waist, and she placed her hand on the fine ivory in readiness for any unexpected attack.



As Joy proceeds into the inner chamber, she can't help but think that something is wrong. Everything is just too silent. At least, there should be a guard or two that will be protecting Zedekiah. 



"Dan," she whispered, "Didn't you think something was odd?"



Dan, on the other hand, shushed him. "A lycan, wolf, or vampire has super hearing. They might be listening to us." He retorted.



As soon as Dan finished his explanation, three arrows flew in from nowhere, and the duo barely evaded them. Another arrow rained down on them, but Dan shielded Joy with his body. The arrow pierced his body, and it broke as it came into contact with his skin. 



He said with a smirk, "The advantage of being a hybrid Alpha."



The chamber door opened while D'arcy soldiers trooped in. Some have already transformed into their lycanthropy form, while some are holding an auto-reload trajectory bow, with a quiver that contains dozens of arrows behind them. Emerging out of the inner chamber was Garry's friend, and he had Garry's head in his hand.



"You, why did you betray him?" Dan asked in a rage.



"I have been working for Zedekiah against the resistance." He replied with a smirk. "Well, my name is Duncan, and I'm a brother to Zedekiah. Now tell me, how did you expect me to betray my blood brother? "



"Mrs. Sandra and your wife, where are they?" Joy asked as she drew out the blood sword.



"You mean that old woman," Duncan said with a smirk. "She managed to escape the ambush we laid for them. And for my wife, I'm sure Zedekiah is on his way to make her the new Smear." Duncan elaborated.



"That means you are transforming humans into Smear so you can deceive the people,’’ Dan suggested, and the man nodded in approval.



"I knew my brother wouldn't be expecting an attack, not from the half-breed. That's why I made you pass through the wrong way. With the pixie dust, I appeared here within a few minutes, and we planned everything out before your arrival.”



Finally, Joy was able to process everything together. A little pixie dust could teleport anybody to any place of their choice whether they have been there before or not.



“With the help of the last Smear, we could transform anybody into its species. Then we will chain the newly turned beings before they wake up, and then release them in the daylight to confuse the people." Duncan elaborated as he inches closer to Joy. 



"I didn't know he was the hybrid Alpha. I would have prepared something better for him. Nonetheless, you are still outnumbered; our dear half-breed and hybrid Alpha." Duncan said as he moved back to his soldier.



"I swear, you will pay for that with your life." Dan cursed.



"Not when I present your head to Lord Darius," Duncan said with a devious smile. "Guards, kill them." He ordered his men.



Not wasting any seconds, Joy holds the blood sword firmly in her hand as she gets ready for the first bloody battle of her life. 



She had never held a true sword before, nor had she fought a real battle or killed humans. Nonetheless, she had to do it. She might not have a battle experience like Dan, but she trusted her power to guide her. 



The D'arcy soldiers roared out, their voices piercing the night, and they charged at the duo.



T.b.v