Rossolous: Prologue (1)

Prologue
Two crimson orbs illuminated the darkness. A sudden rush of wind blew out the torches lighting the soldiers’ way, and the tunnel had became darker than the starless nights. Though caught by surprised, the soldiers remained positioned with their weapons ready at hands: swords, bows and arrows; and for some, long spears that seemed like tiny needles compared to the vast emptiness of the tunnel.
“Men, shields at the ready!” yelled Rossolous. The orbs began to glow, forming two auroras around themselves and shifted slowly, moving yet the height of the orbs did no help to their sights.
“Shields?” said a loud voice yet as if talking from a whisper. “You think shields will protect yourselves in the presence of Lamentar?” The orbs grew brighter with the sound of the voice and the knights became able to see that the orbs were the eyes of a colossal serpent that stood before them; its body was fully covered in silk-black-hair, each one wriggling violently as if they were alive and struggling.
Witnessing the serpent’s gigantic stature, most of the soldiers’ faces turned pale and their eyes filled with horror. The serpent began to approach them step-by-step on four limbs which resembled human arms, and it stretched out its fingers when it moved as if wanting to grasp everything that stood in its way. The ground trembled at the serpent’s every step; the vibration so violent that boulders fell from above as rocks slid down the sides and echoed loud in the tunnel.
As the soldiers stood mesmerized, the serpent stood up straight with its mouth opened and breathed out a stream of fire onto the ceiling, casting shadows onto their terrified faces.
“Everyone run!” yelled Rossolous, breaking their trance. At the command of their captain, the soldiers turned and dashed backwards to where they entered, against the falling debris falling from high above. Everyone ran as fast as they could, not stopping to even catch a breath, and after what seemed like hours they came to a blockade of fallen boulders.
“We are lost,” said a soldier. “We might have missed a turn.”
“That’s impossible,” replied another. “This is a one way tunnel, the tunnel of Saima Frum. The Goblins are simple but bold creatures; they made no other turns and no other ways for them to transport their goods.”
“Then where is the entrance? I don’t remember being that deep in.” There was a moment of sudden silence between them, and then he continued, “Are we all just going to ignore what we ran for? Or was I the only one who saw that thing?”
“Silence Regal,” said Rossolous. “We all saw what came out from the other end of the tunnel. But now is not the time to contemplate on what we saw but time to find an escape away from it. Now we might be able to…”
“Sir,” interrupted a soldier, “I think we’ve arrived at our entrance.” The soldier was standing behind one of the boulders with his hand stretched out on a part of a clean-cut stone. One after another the soldiers approached him. After their eyes became adjusted to the darkness, they saw an arch carved from the tunnel itself, cleanly shaped and polished, hidden behind the fallen boulders away from sight. The writings could not be read in the dark yet the soldiers instantly recognized the arch as one of the famous landmarks in the kingdom.
“The arch of Alethea…” muttered Rossolous. “We are trapped…” as Rossolous looked at the arch speechless, the glowing aurora that had been tailing them approached brighter with the loud tremble under their feet. Rossolous stared at his men who all had theirs on him. The knight tried to fight his own fear and tremble, holding his fists tightly. He wanted to simply run to save his life or if he could, to push the boulders away and make a way or him and his men. But instead, he closed his eyes and breathed in, and exhaled slowly when he opened his eyes. “Now, since the entrance is collapsed, there is only one way out. We are going to need to run fast, back to the direction of the thing.” He took off his helmet to let his hair fall on his shoulders. From a small bulky pouch by his waist, Rossolous reached in and took out two stones which fitted snugly on each hand. He clasped his hands together and whispered softly, “In the name of Apryl, goodness of the stars, giver of the diamonds in the dark night, please light our way and guide us safely home.” Rossolous opened his arms as wide as he could and closed them fast so the stones collided against one another. Slowly, lights in the color of emerald green began to glow within the stones and illuminated his blue eyes a tint of purple. “Now, let’s go. I have only these two stones and the lights are dim. We need to hurry if we are to escape the eyes of the beast.”
“But that’s insane!” said a soldier. “Did you not see its size captain? We will all be crushed by its hands or by the boulders before we can get there. Or be killed by the goblins for intruding their mine.”
“I know,” said Rossolous. “But that’s our only chance. The goblins can be easily negotiated with if we say the right things that will trigger their greedy appetite for valuables. Now, we will need to spread out into groups no more than three. The beast is getting closer and by staying here we are doomed to die. I will run alone in the front and lead the way.” He fell silent momentarily so that his men had time to think his proposition through. “I give you my word brothers,” said Rossolous, “though I do not expect all of you to come, I will sure lead us safely home if you are to join me.”
After a moment of silence, Regal approached Rossolous a stood in front of his captain, speechless. Then, he raised his right hand onto Rosslous’ shoulder and smiled.
“Well captain, what are we waiting for?”
“Thank you,” Rossolus smiled back. “Let’s go.” He turned and ran, holding the star-stones tightly in his palms with his arms lifted as high as he could so his men could see. He then yelled back. “When we pass the beast, look out for the light. If I were to perish, I expect one of you to take the star-stones and lead the rest of us. Are we clear?”
“Yes captain!” replied the soldiers in union.
Rossolous ran. His heart beat faster and faster not because of the physical labor he was enduring but from the fear he knew his was about to face. The glimpse he caught of the serpent began to appear in his mind: the colossus stature; the crimson-red eyes; the silk-black-hair covering every inch of its body, moving, intertwining like a million worms wriggling, dancing--A sudden rush of wind sent Rossolous off his feet and onto the air and he fell hard on the floor. The last thing Rossolous remembered was the pain of his chest plate bruising his ribs and the shear weight of his shield landing heavily on his legs…
As Rossolous slowly opened his eyes, he saw a blur of green in front of him, emerald but dimmed. When he became fully conscious, he saw a star-stone glowing wearily on the floor. Crawling quickly, he found one dying star-stone and he dusted off the dirt of its surface. The stone shone brighter momentarily but returned to fading. He then tried hitting the stone against the floor, hoping that it’ll glow like it did before. As he continued repeatedly, he felt a warm breath on his neck that sent chills up his spine; it was the same feeling he had felt when he thought of the serpent. The warmth turned into heat as a sudden glow of light eliminated the darkness around him and killed whatever light the star-stone had within.
Rossolous turned his head and came face-to-face with the serpent. Though he tried to look at it, its glowing eyes were like two suns not only blinding him but also caused his armor to burn.
“Greetings, lion-son,” said a loud, whispering voice. “It has been awhile. I am sorry that we have to meet once again in such, terrible circumstances.” Rossolous recognized the voice. Was it not the same as the one who yelled when he and his men first saw the beast? He turned around and saw a levitating figure, hooded, shaped like a man. The figure’s robe was brown and dusted, looking ruined as if centuries old and on his right hand was a staff, its body made of wood, attached to a dark globe on the tip; the globe was so dark that it made the darkness of the tunnel seem like the twilight of the mornings.
“Who…who are you?” asked Rossolous.
“Me? Why don’t you remember who I am?” replied the figure. “Why I am Kalguin. Rogue mage, in the service of the kingdom of Hiduran.” Kalguin took a bow and the serpent began to walk towards him. “I have come, not only under the command of Hector Greimo III, king of Hiduran, but to also return a gift. One cursed to me, twenty-one years ago.” Kalguin flew away from Rossolous and threw back his hood. Underneath there revealed a head, burnt and ash-like, and all the more terrifying from the shadow on his face casted by the eye of the beast now standing behind him. There was no hair and no skin on the face but two eye balls, one with a yellow pupil and the other blue, both staring at Rossolous. There were no lips but two sets of teeth, yellow and black, rotting and missing. A large red scar ran across Kalguin’s face. It was still bleeding; droplets of blood dripped one by one down his face and onto his cheeks. “Do you see this face lion-son? Because of this face, I, Kalguin, the greatest mage of this world, can no longer blink, no longer feast, and I can no longer delight the hearts of young maidens. For it was your father! He gave me this face!” The black globe on Kalguin’s staff grew all the more darker and seemed barely visible anymore. “Your father should pay! Pay for his fault! Pay for his foolish crime against me! And now his pain will begin! With the death of his son! Lamentar!” The serpent stood up and pulled its long neck backward; with its chest raised forward, red and sinister flames began to glow within its dark and hairy lips. The serpent then shot its head forward and opened its mouth to release a fountain of fire at the knight. Rossolous closed his eyes and waited for the pain of melted armor to burn his skin, but he felt nothing, and wondered if his death was so fast that he wasn’t able to feel anything.
Slowly, Rossoulous opened his eyes and saw Kalguin levitating at the crown of the serpent, his staff raised and the globe gleaming with blue light. The light felt cold, freezing as it touched Rossolous’ face. He then realized what was happening: the fire from the serpent was melting his armor while Kalguin’s staff molded the liquid metal. Rossolous could not move, for if he did, his skin would burn or freeze into the metal.
Not before long, both flame and ice ceased. Rossolos was trapped. All the parts of his armor had melted into one; his armored boots turned into claws that sank into the ground t hold his body in one place. He could not move, not one limb, not one finger. “Now now. You don’t think that I’ll let you die so soon do you?” said Kalguin. “No. No! Ha ha ha… I will torture you. Enjoy the pleasure to witness you agonize, pleading for you death in pain. But being the nice person I am, let me give you a gift before we start. Tell me lion-son, do you miss your comrades?” Rossolous felt his heart sink. He suddenly remembered that he did not see one of his men when he woke. In his panic, he turned his head left and right to try and find them. His eyes fell upon his left palm, there, grey as a rock was the once-glowing star-stone. Rossolous laughed.
“You do not scare me, mage,” he said. “Regal and men are gone. They left me here. They escaped you and this beast with the guidance of my star-stone. You don’t scare me!”
“Oh are you so sure?” replied Kalguin. “Tell me, did you see them leave? Or were you simply too busy with your nap?”
“What did you do?” asked Rossolous, his face turning pale.
“What did I do? Why I haven’t done anything. But Lamentar might have.” Kalguin laughed. Loud and mad. Kalguin’s staff glowed red. The ground which Rossolous was held glowed crimson as Kalguin’s staff glowed brighter and brighter. The beast opened its mouth once more, yet this time, two holes, only half the size of its gigantic mouth, opened on either sides of its cheeks and glowed. As the beast pulled its head backwards again, three streams of fire attacked Rossolous. But the fire did not touch him and was instead breathed onto the ground.
As the glowing ground became a blazing sea of fire, Rossolous suddenly felt a light grasp at his ankle. Even while covered in metal, Rossolous could feel the strength of the hand. He looked down and saw skeletons engorged in flames emerging cadaverously from the ground. Some of the skeletons wore melted armor; metals on their ash like skins that looked like a part of themselves. Some carried melted shields and weapons, as they climbed one by one. “You see,” whispered Kalguin, levitating besides Rossolous, his mouth close to Rossolous’ ear, “Lamentar’s flames do not only consume. His flames also create, like these fiends you see before you.”
“…a…p…tain…”
“C…ta…”
“Ro…sul…”
“…t…in…so…” The fiends crawled toward Rossolous and called his name.
“They recognize you,” said Kalguin. “Now, captain. Why don’t you answer back to your men?” Kalguin laughed again, more mad and more fiendish than before. Rossolous stood speechless, his face pale. A swarm of mixed emotions came upon him. He felt tears falling on his cheeks, but did not know whether it was because he was scared or sad. He wanted to move: to either run or go to one of the fiends who still looked familiar to him. “Lion-son, you are cold-hearted, why don’t you go to them. Oh I apologized. You cannot move. But, being the generous one I am, I will have them come to you. Now my fiends, feast.”
The fiends threw themselves at Rossolous and began feeding on metal and flesh while the others pulled at his arms, vomiting larva as they do. The heat passed through Rossolous’ metallic jail and burned him. “Yes,” said Kalguin. “Suffer lion-son. I shall watch you die. I shall laugh at the sight of you being eaten alive by you comrades as they burn you to death.” Kalguin laughed. The laugh ached Rossolous’ ears and it continued and echoed through the cave long, everlasting…

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