Young Writers Society

It was a bad time for the civilized races of Colterris. The fourth Shadow-War was being fought and the future seemed uncertain for the Angels and Humans. The beasts, known as Lar-a'Kan, were stronger now then they have been in the previous clashes. In the past seven years hundreds upon thousands of humans and Angels had been reported dead, all in the fourth ShadowWar, a time when the three races clash. The threat only seems to have begun. King Coren Robertson has allied himself with Rikku LionHeart, Marshall of the Angel forces. The humans numbered about two-hundred left and the Angels, only about hundred left. The group was fighting off a large horde of Kan,a communly used name for the Lar-a'Kan outside the human capital of Faregy. The siege has been going on for two days.

The Lar-a'Kan are horrible creatures from the nightmares of men. In place of skin they have a sort of leathery or scale like flesh that is gray or green in color and they are a little stronger than men. Their body is much like a man's but with small mutations such as tails and in a few cases wings. Their face looks much like a skull with the odd flesh they have covering it. Instead of teeth they have long, sharp fangs, used for different purposes. Very little is known about them besides this and their form of communication; barks, grunts,and growls. Some even know the human language. Split into two sub-species they are known as the Reapers or Stalkers. The Reapers are the most common form of Lar-a'Kan and can reach five to six feet in height. The Stalkers are the rarest of all the Lar-a'Kan and also the best and scariest. These ones always have wings and are usually commanders. To set themselves apart form their Reaper cousins the Stalkers always tattoo themselves. The Lar-a'Kan have been seen fighting with any weapon they can find and defending themselves with whatever armor they find too. They have little respect for the dead, eating and looting whatever they can from the corpses, even their own.

The fight for Faregy would be lost, the thoughts whirled in Rikku's head, unless we Angels were to group up with the humans. No, it wouldn’t work, the Lar-a'Kan too greatly outnumber us. If we were to group up we could cause more damage though. “Draken,” Rikku said to the man beside him, “tell the men to converge upon King Coren's men.” Draken did as he was told and a korel, a rune of gathering, was over the heads of the Kings men. In the matter of a few minutes the remaining forces, one-hundred humans and about sixty Angels, were fighting as one. “Coren.” Rikku said to the man in front of him. The king turned to face his Angel friend and when he did Rikku saw the look in man's eyes. It was a look of despair, the King knew they would not win today. “We're not going to make it are we?” Coren asked Rikku, and when he did Rikku was saddened even more. For the the past seven years, when the fourth ShadowWar began, the two had been good friends. Coren always saw the brighter side of any matter and never had Rikku seen the man falter in what he believed. This is why he was loved by his people, and highly respected by the Angels. He was known to his kin, and even the angels, as DragonHeart. When he was given this name the royal coat of arms was changed to reflect it. “I believe not.” Rikku said in reply. “I knew this day would come.” the statement was left hanging in the air.

The sounds of battle surrounded the small group as they made a final stand against the hellish creatures. Death cries of Angels, men and Kan filled the air. Smoke was still lingering from the day before. A great cry was sounded to the left of Rikku. Upon turning their heads they saw what it was. Before them was a single Stalker. Seven and a half feet tall with a wingspan of about eight feet. Fighting the creature was a mere nineteen year old boy, the King's nephew. “Carson!!” the king yelled, and ran to his nephew. Before the king could reach Carson, who was only a few more feet away, the Stalker knocked the boy onto the ground and stood, towering above him. The creature hefted his great-sword, and drove it through the child's heart. The king slowed and stopped. The creature lifted his head and stared at the king. The Kan before him was covered in small gashes and tattoos. Each opponent drew their weapon and dueled.

Meanwhile Rikku was still fighting with the group of Angels and men. During the past few minutes the group, which only numbered at about one hundred, had been caught with the horde in front of them and the great pillars of Issac and Yorah. Issac and Yorah were the two who created the pact between Angels and humans many years ago. Rikku looked around him and saw the King and Stalker dueling and hundreds of his own kin, and humans strewn before him. The corpses mutilated by the battle. There was possibly one act of magic that occurred to Rikku that might buy them some time. He could collapse the walls around the Lar-a'Kan and destroy the Great Bridge that traversed the gap between the castle and land. It would require a great amount of his energy, and possibly kill him. Rikku began an incantation that would destroy the bridge and collapse the walls. In the distance a sound was heard of the bridge and walls collapsing. From the canyon rose a great billow of smoke. “Draken, continue leading the forces.” Rikku said to the Angel that had been fighting by his side since the battle began. With the collapsing on the bridge the castle was still filled with Lar-a'Kan, but they no longer had a path to reinforcements. If only He had thought of it earlier, they would have won.

The Angel looked to his side and saw Coren fighting the Stalker still, and losing. Odd. Rikku thought. If only every Angel and human fighter possessed the King's ferocity, skill and determination the ShadowSpawn would have never lasted more than a few years. Rikku ran to where the king stood. In one last act, moments before Rikku reached the pair, the Lar-a'Kan thrust his blade into the King's gut. Seeing the blade there and remembering the deaths of everyone that had died in the war angered the king. A miracle happened. The king, no one knew, had a spark of magic in him. “Inculmus!” he shouted, and his blade was bathed in fire. With the blade now on fire he swung it, in one final effort, drove it into the creatures skull. The force behind the blow carried the sword all the way down to the beast's midsection, leaving him split in half. The king collapsed on the spot, barely alive.

“Rikku, I know I have asked much of you in the past, but I require only one last favor.” The king said to the Rikku when he approached him. When no reply came the King continued, “My wife evacuated the city and took refuge in Maykolar with my newborn child. I beg of you to take my child and keep him safe.”

“I will do as you ask, but not as a favor or a gift, but for what you have done today. I am glad to have had the privilege to fight by your side and to call you friend. But what am I to tell him about you?”

“Tell him the truth, and tell him I would have loved to meet him. Tell him of this day when our forces stood side by side and fought off an innumerable amount of these beasts. Raise him as your own, and when the time is right, tell him to rescue his people from the nightmare that plagues this land.”

“I will.” Rikku said. The king died there, with a smile on his face. Rikku would keep his promise, but he would do something never heard of before. The corpse of King Coren would be taken to the Citadel, the Angel's capital in the skies. Here he would be laid to rest in the Tomb of Echoes. His weapons he would also take, and give them to the son. He held in his arms the King's corpse. Rikku spread his wings, something all Angels had, and flew to Maykolar. The battle at Faregy was a loss, he knew. He would have wept, had he been able to. When Rikku left the field of battle a thought occurred to him.

One-hundred and thirty years ago three different Angels; Damian DevilSon, Demetrius DarkBringer, and the leader Lucifer HellBringer, had tried to enslave the human race. Within a few years ago they lost and Rikku had been the one to deliver the trio's sentence. All three were cast into a different realm, but if the group, known as the Dark Brotherhood, had escaped their prison they might have bound the ShadowSpawn to them. This would explain the Spawn's ability to speak the language of man, their use of magic, and their improved abilities. It was only a hunch, but it was a hunch the Counsel would have to hear.