Undead Rising: Part Four

      It had been a long time since Bernard had been to Faerieland. The last time he went was when he was very little, and that was when Faerieland was still up in the clouds. Since then Faerieland sat in a crater in the ground west of the Haunted Woods. It would take some effort and a little white lie to get away from his parents, but Bernard managed to sneak away from the house without drawing attention to himself or Edward. His sister Molly seemed a bit suspicious, but he wasn’t worried about her enough for her to be a concern. She was too much of a scaredy-kadoatie to venture out of the house without him or an adult to accompany her.

      After what seemed like hours, the twosome reached Faerieland, with Edward having evaporated into thin air from the bright sunlight. The Lupe wandered around for a little while through the streets of the Faerie City before coming across the opulent gates to the Fyora’s Tower. The sight of Faerieland still made him a bit sad to see… though the city had fallen from the skies a long while ago now, it still looked to be in rough shape. It must be taking the faeries’ a lot of work to get things repaired, what with tourists still visiting every day and wraiths still on the loose, it could take years before Faerieland returned to the sky.

      Bernard approached the Fyora’s Tower, immediately stopped by two armored Faerie Hissis. They held out their spears, blocking the door with their spears in the shape of an “X”.

      “We apologize, citizen, but Fyora’s Tower is off limits to visitors today. We can provide a tour for you tomorrow.”

      “Wha- But why is Fyora’s Tower closed? It’s always open to visitors…”

      “That information cannot be passed on to a mere Neopet. It is to be kept among the high rulers of the lands of Neopia and no one else!” One of the Hissis barked sharply.

      CRASH!!!

      “Help, help!” a tiny voice came from behind them. It was a Faerie Wocky, being gripped by the tail by yet another zombie. This zombie was much different than the gigantic bruce that they had seen the other day, being that this one seemed to almost be a hybrid of faerie and zombie… it was a faerie Eyrie, looking like it had seen better days. It squawked and bit down on the Wocky’s tail, causing her to yelp loudly and squirm even more, flapping so wildly she looked like an injured Crokabek.

      The second zombie that the two had seen in two days, this time the two were prepared to face the worst. Bernard and Edward rushed in to help her, and though Edward could not be seen, he managed to distract the zombie faerie with small flashes of light that he formed out of thin air, presumably from his amulet. Whipping his head around in all directions, the zombie struggled to focus on the light and eventually began to stumble sideways, landing on the ground with a “plop”. Dizzy and confused, the Eyrie lay on the ground, too tired to fight back anymore.

      Edward swiftly used his amulet to shine a beam of light on the Eyrie, but this time, he disintegrated into nothing but dust, sparkling a variety of colours like faerie magic.

      Where in the world were all these Zombies coming from? If this was how things were going in Faerieland, Bernard could only imagine how things were going everywhere else.

      The Faerie Wocky had pulled free from the Eyrie in the midst of the confusion, and now sat behind Bernard grooming the unruly fur on her tail. She let out a relieved sigh. “Phew… Thank you for helping me with that. I thought that thing was going to eat my brains…”

      “You sure you’re okay?” Bernard asked with concern in his voice. “That Eyrie was pretty rough with your tail there.”

      The Wocky patted her fur down, satisfied with her work. “I’m fine. Just a little brushing was all it needed.” She stood back up, ears twitching with curiosity. “My name is Zeena by the way. What’s yours?”

      “I’m Bernard, and this is Edward.” Bernard gestured to the air beside him. The Lupe could feel a drop of sweat rolling down his cheek as he grinned nervously. “If he’s even there…”

      Edward couldn’t help but chuckle. “Indeed, friend, I am here.”

      Zeena gasped. “Your friend is an Invisible pet? Cool!”

      Bernard shook his head. “No, he’s a ghost. He can’t be seen during the daytime.”

      “My apologies that I cannot greet you properly…” Edward replied in an embarrassed tone.

      Zeena waved a paw dismissively. “Nah, its fine. I’ve known plenty of invisible pets before, so it doesn’t bother me. Just don’t sneak up on me, y’hear?”

      Edward chuckled. “I will do nothing of the sort, I promise.”

      “You cannot speak with Queen Fyora. We already told you that her tower is off-limits today.”

      “But this is an emergency!” Bernard argued. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think there’s something big going on here. Something that goes beyond the power of the Faeries…” Bernard could only imagine the scenarios in his mind. “Look, we need her help!”

      “No trespassers!” One of the Hissis swung his spear, knocking him back against the stone walkway. Zeena gasped, quickly helping Bernard off the ground.

      “You meanies!” Zeena snapped, ears twitching in annoyance. “Why you gotta go picking on him like that?! Why can’t we speak to Queen Fyora?”

      “The Queen has an urgent matter that she is taking care of, and she cannot take on any visitors! Now, leave before we forcibly throw you out of the city!”

      “Wait.”

      A gentle, warm voice came from behind the Hissis, causing them to freeze where they stood. They sat up straighter and moved their spears aside. “Kneel before Queen Fyora!” They barked, causing Bernard and Zeena to jump. They swiftly obeyed, kneeling on the ground.

      The doors to Fyora’s tower slowly heaved open as she appeared in the doorway, holding a book with an odd symbol on it. “You need not trouble these visitors. Allow them to pass.”

      “Y-Yes, Queen Fyora.” They quickly shuffled aside, allowing for Queen Fyora to usher Bernard, Zeena and Edward inside. Bernard wondered if Fyora could see Edward at all… maybe that was the reason that she invited them in?

      The doors to the tower slammed shut, and the three began the long climb up to Fyora’s chambers. Bernard found it harder and harder to climb the higher they went, even if Faerieland was on the ground now, the altitude was too high for him to handle… or maybe it was the fact that they all had wings, and Edward could float. Probably both.

      By the time they reached the top of the tower, Bernard found himself gasping for air. The yellow Lupe collapsed on the ground, crawling on the floor until Zeena helped him up. “You really should see if you could get yourself painted faerie. It could help you in situations like this.”

      Bernard rolled his eyes, unable to utter even a single word in the midst of his huffing and puffing. Edward said nothing in response to Bernard’s struggling; he probably didn’t want to hear it anyway.

      “Now then, children… I know why you have come here.” Fyora pulled the drapes over the window to her tower, covering the entire room in darkness. Edward was able to re-appear in the darkness, allowing for both Zeena and the faerie queen to see him more clearly. Fyora grasped the amulet around Edward’s neck in her fingertips, careful not to pull it from the Lenny’s neck. “There have been strange things happening around Neopia as of late… the dead are rising from their graves across all lands, not just the Haunted Woods. The Eyrie you just saw is only one of the pets rising from the ground.”

      Bernard looked back and forth between Zeena and Edward. Both looked equally as shocked. “Isn’t there something we can do?” He asked concernedly.

      “There is, however… we cannot harness the solution’s power without knowledge of your friend’s past.” She pointed at Edward. “The amulet that you hold is beyond even that of the faeries’ knowledge. However…” She walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a rather worn looking book. It had an image of a sun on the front of it. “This should help us in the quest for answers.”

      She opened the book, revealing a picture of the very same amulet that Edward was wearing around his neck. “The Amulet of the Sun Warrior” was written above the picture. “Long ago, there was an amulet as bright as the golden sun of Altador.” Fyora read to them. “This amulet could dispel darkness and destroy those that wielded dark magic, turning them to dust and stone. Many sought out this power to use it for themselves, but without a pure heart, none could use it. The amulet chose only one hero to wield this power for himself… a warrior known as the Sun Warrior.”

      “Sun Warrior?” Zeena repeated. “Where can we find this Sun Warrior? Is he somewhere in Neopia?”

      Fyora continued to read, answering Zeena’s question with the text before them. “He was valiant and fought for truth and justice, siding with some of the greatest warriors to bring down the most heinous villains.” She turned the page, sighing softly in dismay. “He was truly the bravest… but there was only one who ever bested him in combat. A pair of twins who commanded the armies of the dead. The twins seemed weak at first, but with their masses behind them, the Sun Warrior did not stand a chance against them.”

      Bernard’s eyes widened. “So… he…”

      “What happened to him?” Zeena interrupted.

      Fyora continued, turning to the final page. “In order to protect Neopia from destruction by the strange twins and their undead army, the Sun Warrior sacrificed himself using his amulet. He channeled all the magic he had into the amulet, creating an explosion of light that banished all of the twins’ forces underground. However, doing so came at a price. By using up all of his magic, he had exhausted himself to the point of death, and perished along with the army. His burial place was unknown, but somewhere in the world, his amulet remains, storing the energy to once again resurrect the brave hero…”

      To be continued…