A Tale of Old: Part Two

     "Ancient or not, they will fall!" he boomed, his voice winding throughout the castle. He then went back to thinking what to do.

     "S-saran, have you come up with an idea yet?" questioned the Eyrie in a nervous voice.

     "Do not question me when I am thinking, Shatar!" shouted the Lupe, causing the Eyrie to shrink back in fear. The Eyrie did not dare to speak, for he did not want to find out what Saran would do to him if he did.

     "Ready the troops and fetch my steed," Saran ordered, giving the Eyrie a glare. The Eyrie quickly rushed out of the room, not looking back at the Lupe for fear that he might be punished. This left Ranar alone in front of the king, awaiting his orders. The Lupe locked his fierce eyes on the Gelert.

     "Ranar, fetch my armor and my sword," he commanded. Ranar ran out as quick as the Eyrie did, the king smirking at his fear.

     "They will fall," he said to himself, then let out a malevolent laugh.

      ~~~

The guardians sat in silence, hoping in their hearts that the land they cherished and loved would not fall because of some evil force. The ball of intense fire was retreating behind the mountains, causing the land to grow dark and the pale ball of soft light to gently touch the forest, telling all creatures to stop what they were doing and settle down for the night. The small, bright stars accompanied it, shining their light along with the moon for the creatures to see by. Taron lifted his head to gaze at them. They were beautiful, dancing on the stage of the dark night sky. Dranes was looking at the stars too, staring in wonder at them. This was rare, for the guardian of darkness usually was not impressed by things, but it seemed that he was impressed by the stars. Erina came over to Taron and sat down.

     "What are you looking at?" she inquired, holding the leaf of her necklace and then letting it drop down onto her chest.

     "The stars," answered Taron, not letting his gaze fall from the tiny lights in the sky. Erina smiled. Taron was always amazed by the things of the forest.

     "They are beautiful aren't they?" she asked again.

     "Yes. They remind me of our duty as guardians", he whispered. "They remind me that we have to protect the creatures of this land and the land itself. Let us hope that no evil will disturb it."

      ~~~

 In his bedroom, the king was turning in his large bed, trying to go to sleep despite the thoughts that were racing around in his head. He remembered that day long ago.......

     A young red Lupe stood in his room, looking out the window to see if his father had returned from battle. He was the prince of the castle, and had to stay behind because his father said it was too dangerous for him to go to war. The fire Lupe had ridden off on his red steed into the distance, his troops following behind him. How the young Lupe wished that he could be riding beside his father, battling the enemy in intense combat. A knock sounded on the door of his room.

     "Come in," he muttered, turning his head away from the window. A blue Lenny stepped in, a sad expression on his face.

     "Prince Saran, I regret to tell you....."

     "That the peasants are about to revolt? Father can easily take care of them," interrupted the Lupe.

     "No, Prince Saran. Your father, King Trason, is dead," continued the Lenny, casting his eyes onto the floor.

     "What?! How?!" Saran cried, his voice full of pain.

     "It seems that a Uni, a guardian of the ancient forest, killed him. I'm sorry." The messenger left the room. The prince clenched his paw in anger.

     "I shall have my revenge! When I am king, I shall have my revenge!".........

     Saran sat up in his bed, sweating heavily. Shatar entered the room, an expression of concern on his face.

     "Saran, are you all right? I heard you scream and came down here."

     "Yes, I am all right. Leave now," replied the Lupe. The Eyrie stepped out and quietly shut the door. Like he had said years ago, he would have his revenge.

      ~~~

 The warm light hit Taron's face, gently urging him to get up. He looked around him, finding that the others were still asleep.. He walked over and nudged Erina, who was curled up tightly, with his muzzle. She slowly opened one eyelid, then the other, and stood up.

     "Good morning, Taron," she greeted. "Are the others awake?" Taron shook his head banged one of his hooves on a rock, making small, harmless sparks appear. Each of the guardians awoke to the light of day, stretching to get the stiffness out of their limbs.

     "What is it?" growled Dranes, who didn't like being woken.

     "It is morning," said Taron.

      ~~~

The sound of marching feet and hooves sounded on the ground, making the small creatures in its path scurry away to avoid being trampled by the oncoming mass. One thousand soldiers consisted of it, each fully armored and carrying sharp weapons at their sides. A red Lupe rode at the front on a blue Uni, with an Eyrie on his right side and a Gelert on his left. Saran grinned. The guardians surely could not stand one thousand soldiers, no matter how strong they might be. He would get revenge. Revenge on that Uni for killing his father, revenge for the death of the one he loved. He could imagine each of the guardians falling to the ground in a lifeless heap, never to live again.

     He could almost taste it. It was far sweeter than any of the foods that he had tasted, far sweeter than any wine he had drunk. Even if some of his men died, he did not care. The only thing on his mind was revenge. Hatred and anger ran through his veins, making him want to fight even more. He was going to kill the Uni and the rest of the guardians, and make them suffer. He could imagine the fight, him finally defeating the Uni and gaining victory. Shatar stared at the Lupe for a second. Never before had he seen Saran this bloodthirsty in all the years he had spent at the castle. When he had been appointed captain of the guards, he never knew that he would be riding into a battle like this.

     Rathar was concerned too about Saran. He could see the fire in his eyes, the burning flame of revenge blazing fiercely in them, wanting nothing more than to fight. The Gelert shivered at the thought and looked ahead. He had heard many tales about the legendary guardians. He had heard how no one ever came out there alive if they intruded. Sweat trickled down his head and onto his nose, dropping to the ground. The Gelert did not want to ride into battle like this, but he had to, otherwise the king might kill him. He could only hope that this would have a good outcome.

      ~~~

Rilan soared through the fresh air, letting it hold up his wings as he glided. It was peaceful here, and he was glad that no one had invaded it yet. He flapped his wings and let the wind carry him again. Then he saw them. A large mass of something. He wondered what they were doing when he saw they were heading in the direction of the forest! He turned around and beat his wings as hard as he could, not caring if he was tired or not. He swooped down and landed in front of Taron, panting.

     "Taron, there's a large mass heading toward the forest," he said, head turned in the direction of the approaching troops.

     "No," Taron whispered to himself. "It can not be happening."

      ~~~

Saran smirked as he gazed upon the scene laid before his eyes. 'It's a shame I'll have to destroy it, but I must do it to gain revenge on that blasted Uni.' he thought, anger still surging through his veins.

     The sun was nearly above the mountains, its light gleaming off the armor of the soldiers and the king. Shatar and Ranar exchanged nervous glances with one another. The two had been close friends, and were now worried at being killed by the guardians they were about to face. Saran did not seem to be afraid. It seemed like he did not matter if he was killed, only that he got revenge and nothing else.

 To be continued.....

Author's Note: I hope you liked the second part! Now you know why Saran was searching for the forest. Comments are always welcome!