Sword upon Sword - a Variation of the War: Part Three

     "Me," Darigan retorted mockingly. "Return my Citadel, Kass. Give it up. You cheated and lied your way into being the lord and owner of MY Citadel. It's high time you returned it." The flaming arrows Kass minions were firing cast a shaft of light across Darigan's face, illuminating his features, twisted with rage.

     "Never!" Kass shouted defiantly. "It's my Citadel now, and I'll never give it up, you old fool! Don't you get it?" he shrieked in rage. "Your army is pathetic! We've already won! Meridell doesn't stand a chance!" He had a fierce gleam in his eye.

     Standing on the balcony of the Citadel, the Lord cut a figure of superiority that made the Neopets tremble. Clad in strong, thick battle armor and the traditional Kass army breastplate, he was armed with two swords, buckled to his belt in their sheaths. He held a metal spear with a fine tip and had his attention on Darigan. Their eyes met and they glared at each other for a long moment. Then, Darigan held up his sword and charged at Kass.

     Easily countering the blow, Kass launched Darigan off the balcony and into the melee below. Kass laughed maniacally. "Pathetic!" he screamed, paying no attention to the group of Neopets standing nearby.

     "You're…insane," said a purple Shoyru.

     "Call it what you wish," yelled Kass in a high-pitched scream. He was enjoying himself as the battle ranged below.

     One of the Neopets, a blue Techo, charged at him carrying a small sword. "You'll pay!" he shouted throwing the sword at Kass. It grazed his arm and he cried out in pain and anger.

     "You meddling brat!" Kass flung the Techo over the edge. Darigan, recovering from his fall, saw the Techo and caught him just in time.

     "You're brave, lad, I'll give you that. Somewhat foolish, but brave." Even though the flaming arrows were setting fire to the surrounding area, even though Kass was fending off the Meridellian warriors on the balcony above, and even though the army of Kass was driving back the Meridellians, he smiled. 'Like me when I was a kid,' he thought. Snapping back to reality, he instructed, "Come on, let's go get Kass!"

     Down on the battlefield, a red Grarrl minion and a spotted Gelert from Skarl's army were engaged in a vigorous fight. The Gelert charged at him, but was flung aside. She quickly recovered and tried to tackle him again. Not expecting her to get on her feet so quickly, the Grarrl was knocked down. He swiped at her with his claw, then with his sword. The claw knocked the poor Gelert aside. Three ragged marks pierced her side. She lay motionless.

     Thinking he had defeated her, the Grarrl turned around and looked for another opponent. Behind his back, the Gelert got up and pounced on him, knocking him flat. So it went on: a yellow Tonu and a split Buzz, a desert Poogle and a purple Lupe, and, of course, the fight with Kass.

     The fire arrows were being launched by Kass's army. He had commanded them to burn Meridell to the ground in his fury. One small house was hit and burst into flames. Luckily, every dwelling was empty because every dweller was battling.

     Once lone arrow thudded into the ground, missing its target. The grass caught on fire and then was completely engulfed with flames. Both Kass minions and Meridellians ran, some trying to put out the fire.

     They gazed in wonder and fear at the fire, forgetting the fight. Then one Kass minion shouted and tackled a Meridellian warrior. Both thudded to the ground snatching and slashing out at each other. This started a domino effect, and bit by bit the fight continued.

     Kass, back up on the tower, gazed at the flame. There was identical fire in his eyes as he cackled evilly. He had summoned minions up to the tower and they were aiding him in battle. One of them was knocked over the side and into the depths of the blaze below. The other fighters hoped their fate would be different.

     Kass slashed out with one claw and knocked an Elephante over the side. When the Elephante found himself in the flames and in pain, he struggled trying to break free. The Neopet couldn't breathe. He inhaled but was choked with smoke. He was seeing illusions of water and fresh air. Finally he could smell the sweet air outside the inferno. Crawling, he made it out of the fire and sank to his knees. Then everything faded as he slipped into unconsciousness. A Meridellian carried him all the way back to the castle infirmary, where he eventually recovered.

     Darigan had swooped down and set the Techo down back at the Meridell castle. Then he shot off to aid his Neopet warriors. The brown Uni that had informed Skarl about the Aisha, Furnum, flew off the balcony. His pursuer clumsily dove after him and slumped to the hard ground with a thud. He winced and flew back up to the tower, back into the fight.

     * * *

     Meanwhile, the group of Neopets inside the Citadel locked up the prison cells and made sure the villains were in check. Most of them left, leaving just five behind to temporarily guard the prisoners. Wondering what to do next, the remaining Neopets were approached by a Darigan Peophin, a shadow Draik, a white Zafara, and a Darigan Lenny. Each was armed with some weapon or another.

     The Darigan Peophin snatched the key from a dumbfounded Mynci, who turned around and grabbed around her neck. As the Peophin sank to the ground, the Zafara lunged at the Mynci, who threw the keys to a Gelert. Running with the keys in his mouth, the Gelert was confronted by the Lenny minion. It hissed and tripped him. The keys fell from his mouth and into the hands of a Grundo. He took off out of the dungeon, followed by the Kass minions.

     There was a lot of fighting and cursing from the Kass minions, but eventually a Scorchio was left with the keys. He noticed the minion charging at him too late… It was the shadow Draik.

     The Draik snatched the keys and threw them to the Zafara with an unnoticed sleight of hand. The Neopets defending Meridell chased the Draik, still thinking he had the keys. Once they had caught him, the Mynci gasped in realization and ran, tackling the Zafara. But she had also released the Kacheek, Jagg. It was a bit too late. Still, they rolled in a bundle of purple and white, each yelping when it was hurt.

     Although only one of the imprisoned Neopets was set free, he was the one with the most evil potential.

     Jagg hissed an oath and then yelled, throwing Neopets aside to aid his lord in battle. Running up a stairwell to the balcony, he sprinted all the way. Holding a stolen sword, he jumped upon the back of Darigan, and shrieked, "For Kass!" Then Jagg struck Lord Darigan's unprotected back.

     Darigan froze, dumbfounded, and sank to his knees in pain. Jagg grinned wickedly and saluted to Kass, who saluted right back. Eyes shining with anger, Furnum kicked Jagg backwards and into the smoldering flames.

     Darigan's eyes closed and he stirred just once. Full of hatred, the Uni launched herself at Kass, screaming angrily, "Meridell will conquer you!"

     The Darigan Eyrie flung her aside and strode down to Darigan. The Mynci who was guarding the prison cell stood behind him, sword in paw. "Look familiar?" she snorted. It was the sword Darigan had been stabbed with. Kass fled to the adjacent balcony where there was no fire, just in case.

     The group of Neopets followed in hot pursuit. They caught up with him on the other balcony, and, pushing in unison, the Neopets sent Kass tumbling down. He landed on the ground with a loud thud.

     The two young warriors ran back to Darigan's side. Everyone sat quietly weeping, when Darigan sat up. He smiled weakly and said, "Way to go… we won." They happily flung themselves into his arms and savored that moment high above the ground on the Citadel balcony. They had saved the Citadel… destroyed Kass… and won the war.

The End

As recorded by Furnum the Uni, who fought in the war years ago. Information was collected from spies, warriors, and minions. Darigan survived and healed. His Citadel was restored back to its former glory and most of the Meridellians survived. The ones who did not gave their lives bravely to defeat the villain who wreaked havoc upon the peaceful land of Meridell.

     All of the minions were either defeated during battle or taken as prisoners by Skarl.

     The peace treaty between Skarl and Darigan worked out well, although Darigan is still a bit restless. Some of the Meridellians that became attached to him, such as the blue Techo (whose name turned out to be Gamrok), stayed in the Citadel. I myself frequently visit Darigan. He has changed since he lost the previous war to Meridell.

     This is a variation of the war the way I collected it. If it was a dream I do not know. But Meridell was restored and no harm came upon the peace of either land. All was as it should be.

     - Furnum the Meridellian Recorder