Legends Of Zyconia Part 27

The army had camped for two days. Terrek was virtually back to normal, at least physically. Celarus too had shown drastic improvement. Celarus still remained unconscious, but the healers that tended him thought he had a much better chance for survival now that his shivers had stopped. They all were glad for the rest that they had now, but they knew it would soon be time to move on.

Terrek and Diana hadn't talked since the night after he had escaped the Swamp of Ghouls. Terrek sat on the edge of a nearby wagon watching John demonstrate his skill with the design of a new crossbow he had built. The crossbow had a small wooden compartment on the underside of the bow, which encased five extra arrows. As one arrow was released the soldier would simply pull back on a small lever and the bowstring would be drawn back and the next arrow in the case would be sprung into place. It was a great accomplishment. John was a man of many talents. Besides being able to translate ancient texts, he was also an expert in state of the art weapons design.

"It's excellent, John," Terrek said quietly.

John smiled and pulled the trigger releasing one of the arrows; it hit the bullseye of his target.

"You should probably have a handful of soldiers help you create duplicates. Your new crossbow could be of great use to us," Terrek finished as he started walking toward his tent.

John looked in Terrek's direction; his face lost its glee.

"Terrek?" John asked.

"Not now John," Terrek replied.

Terrek sat in his tent in a small chair. Emptiness cascaded from all points of his surroundings. His brain was an amalgamation of confusion. So many emotions spiraled through his mind, but the feeling at the forefront: pain. He thought about the future. He thought about the past. He thought about the living. He thought about the dead. His insides ached and he wondered. Yet he shut himself off from his hopes. They were not to be. He couldn't have what he once did.

Perrin entered and approached Terrek.

"Terrek I -" Perrin began.

"Please leave Perrin, I wish to be alone," Terrek said coldly.

Perrin moved back out of the tent, "as you wish, Commander," Perrin muttered.

Terrek sat back and stared at the ceiling. Moments later another face entered his view. He frowned but said nothing. What was the use, no one would leave him alone anyway. Hemoth sat down on an adjacent chair and looked at the floor.

"You're worried that it might happen again, aren't you?" Hemoth asked bringing his hands up to support his temple and peering directly at Terrek.

Terrek neither moved nor adjusted his gaze in any way and when he answered it was in a low tone.

"Yes," he managed.

Hemoth looked down again.

"Zyconia is a volatile land, prone to death and destruction. What if I wasn't there? What if it happened again? How could I ever live with myself?" Terrek said.

"But you can't just shut yourself off, how can you ever remain sane if you do?" Hemoth asked.

"I can't, don't you get it?" Terrek yelled jumping to his feet and knocking his chair aside.

"Didn't you see how much pain it was when it first happened? I just can't live that life again! Didn't you see how much I wanted to die?" Terrek cried, horrendous misery and horror etched on his face.

Hemoth, disturbed by his emotional eruption, became edgy and also stood. Terrek turned away from him and lifted his hand to his face in torment.

"Just go!" Terrek said.

Hemoth approached Terrek one last time and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Terrek,"

Terrek struck his arm away. Hemoth rubbed his arm as he turned around and left.

The Vicar stood alone. His essence shared between two places. This time the traitor from Terrek's army met the Vicar on a non-corporeal plain. Reality was alien to this existence. Everything here was a blur except them. Their surroundings appeared as mist. The Vicars eyes glowed as he spoke.

"I'VE DECIDED TO LET TERREK CONTINUE ON HIS JOURNEY," the Vicar said.

"What?" asked Terrek's traitor dumbfounded.

"I HAVE OTHER PLANS NOW, THE CRYSTALS WILL BE MINE, TERREK WILL DIE WHEN I CONQUER ZYCON1A," he explained.

The individual looked around puzzled.

"I WILL NOT EXPLAIN MYSELF FURTHER," the Vicar roared.

"I understand, my lord," stated the individual.

"SOON ALL OF ZYCONIA WILL BE AFLAME WITH MY POWER, AND ONCE THAT HAPPENS, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP ME," rasped the Vicar.

The individual again was perplexed, but not wanting to anger the Vicar, kept it hidden. Both dissolved with their surroundings resuming their corporeal states of consciousness.

Diana sat with Zyron her eyes red and raw. She said nothing. Zyron watched her. His soul cried for her. He wanted to tell her, so many things, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't his place. It wasn't the right time. All he could do was try to keep her from her own desperation. He brushed his hand across the sceptre's blue gem. In time, he thought. He moved toward her to try to speak with her.

TO BE CONTINUED...

TO READ FROM THE BEGINNING GO TO: LEGENDS OF ZYCONIA PART 1

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TO READ THE NEXT PART GO TO: LEGENDS OF ZYCONIA PART 28