Aikur's War Read online

  Aikur’s War

  By

  Sam Ferguson

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Dragon Scale Publishing, 212 E Crossroads Blvd. #119, Saratoga Springs UT 84045

  AIKUR’S WAR

  Copyright © 2018 by Sam Ferguson

  Artwork Copyright © 2018 Dragon Scale Publishing

  Published by Dragon Scale Publishing

  Front Cover Art by Luciano Fleitas

  All Rights Reserved

  Other Books by Sam Ferguson

  The Sorceress of Aspenwood Series

  The Dragon’s Champion Series

  The Wealth of Kings

  The Netherworld Gate Series

  The Dragons of Kendualdern series

  The Fur Trader

  The Haymaker Adventures

  Flight of the Krilo

  Winter’s Ghost (Novella)

  The Moon Dragon

  The Beast of Blue Mountain

  The Dwarves of Roegudok Hall comic Episode 1

  Also, take this free gift:

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  About Terramyr

  Other Books by Sam Ferguson

  For Lexie, Maurice, Bob, and Levi.

  Prologue

  Thunder rolled across the purple and black clouds. An acrid, stale odor permeated the darkened air below as Lysander’s chest heaved for breath. Fireballs tore through the atmosphere, roaring as they passed overhead and left columns of gray and black smoke in their wake.

  Icadion, the All-Father, was bleeding from his left arm, and his strength was draining. He cast his eyes about the battlefield and then turned to his son. “The demons are too strong,” he said. “We must pull back.”

  “Father, no!” Lysander cried. “If we leave, then we will be abandoning the world to the Four Horsemen.”

  “It is too late,” Icadion shouted. “The Sacred Dark has been unleashed upon the land by your brother, and there is nothing we can do now to stop it from spreading.”

  Off in the distance there was laughter as a massive blue demon with wings of fire swept his blade through an army of men. Scores fell with one swing, their screams filling the air for only a moment before the demon’s crimson heart of crystal glowed bright and pulled their souls in.

  “Soulfin grows stronger with every life he takes,” Icadion said. “Only the Four Horsemen can stop him!”

  “NO!” Lysander shouted. “I will not leave these people. I have grown among them, and come to love them.”

  “We can create a new world!” Icadion shouted. “Do not let your emotions rule you. You are a god, act like one!”

  Lysander stood and drew his powerful sword, Myrskyn. “For the first time in my life, I am acting like one,” he said. “I will not leave!”

  A four-legged beast lunged at Icadion from the side, but the All-Father turned and drove his spear into the demon’s head, killing it instantly and spraying the ground with a shower of black blood as the spear exploded through the creature’s head. The creator of Terramyr then flung the corpse back toward a group of twelve such demons before calling down seven bolts of lightning that blasted through the others.

  “My energy is spent,” Icadion said. “Even a god must rest. If you stay here, I will be forced to leave you behind. Hildervahl will close Bifrost as soon as I have crossed back to Volganor.”

  “Then, until we meet again, Father,” Lysander said. He turned back to the battlefield and rushed down the hill, his tired legs pounding the hard-packed dirt and his lungs burning for reprieve. All around him, men, elves, dwarves, and other creatures threw themselves endlessly at the creatures spewing forth from the bowels of hell. A nine-foot tall ogre charged him, wielding a club, but Lysander easily dodged the blow and countered with a single thrust of his sword to the ogre’s neck. Dark blood ran down the enchanted blade for only a second before Lysander used the magic to call down a massive storm of lightning that blasted the ogre’s body away from him.

  “We can’t let that thing through!” someone shouted from Lysander’s right. He turned and saw Jaeger, a powerful gnome warrior who had come with him to the great battle against Atek and his minions. “That demon will crush everything if he crosses the mountains,” Jaeger shouted.

  A goblin rushed in, screaming and wailing as it readied its axe, but Jaeger turned and drove his spear into the green-skinned warrior’s face and forced the goblin to the ground.

  A tall orc stepped in to attack Jaeger while the gnome yanked his spear free, but there was a wet, thabunk! The orc went rigid and then fell to the side, revealing Drenylin, a stout dwarf with a reputation nearly as fierce as that of the gods themselves.

  “I’m with you if you want to make a run for the thing,” Drenylin called out.

  Lysander nodded. “We may not win, but we can at least give the others time to pull back. They can form a better defensive line within the Nahktun Mountains. In the open field, the demon is unstoppable, but in the narrow crags the others might be able to bring it down.”

  “Well, if the three of you are about to commit suicide, then I suppose I had better join you,” a familiar voice rang out over the din of battle.

  Lysander turned to see a tall elf and smiled. “Lysander and the warriors three, it has a good ring to it,” he said with a nod.

  “I prefer Yaen and his lackeys, but I suppose you can name the group just this once,” the elf replied.

  Lysander turned and watched as the demon swept through a contingent of cavalry numbering at least fifty strong. “We have to sound the retreat. The more he kills, the stronger he becomes.”

  Wings beat the air overhead and then the ground shook as Nagé dropped to the dirt before Lysander and bowed to him. “My prince, it is not my place to command you, but I must remind you that Soulfin can kill you.”

  Lysander smirked. “The demon can do more than that,” Lysander said. “He can destroy the entire world.”

  “You brother Atek is defeated. If you return with us, we can protect Volganor from Soulfin. There is no need to risk your life, my prince.”

  Lysander summoned lightning and fire to sweep aside a small number of orcs and goblins that were marching up the hill toward him and the others. “Soulfin doesn’t only destroy the bodies of those he kills, he is eating their souls. I cannot run away from such an abomination.”

  Nagé nodded. “Neither can I,” she said.

  “Nagé, if you stay here, Bifrost will close without you.”

  “I have three hundred Valkyries at my command.” She rose and stretched her wings proudly while stamping the butt of her silver spear on the ground. “I was given the task of collecting the honorable dead from Terramyr. That is not a duty I can reject now. If you stay, then I stay as well.”

  A flash of silver split the air between them, accompanied by a crash of thunder. A tall man in a green cloak stepped out from the light, holding a pair of spears. As Lysander brought his arm away from his eyes he motioned for the others to stay their weapons. Each of the warriors present lowered their a
rms a bit, but no one put them away.

  “I thought you couldn’t interfere,” Lysander said.

  “I have two spears,” Reshem said, avoiding the other question. “They are made with the horn of a special ram. The golden horns come from a realm far from here, and they are able to destroy beings made from Sacred Dark.”

  Nagé’s mouth fell open and she glanced to Lysander.

  “Are you saying this can slay the demon?” Lysander asked, ignoring Nagé’s uncomfortable stare.

  “I believe so,” Reshem said.

  “He doesn’t sound that confident,” Drenylin put in. The dwarf hocked a loogie and then spat onto the ground.

  “I have enough confidence that I am willing to go into battle with you,” Reshem said. He held out one of the spears for Lysander. “If I am right, then this horn can not only slay Soulfin, but it will destroy his very soul. More than that, this weapon has the power to fight with ghosts.”

  “Ghosts, why would we want that ability?” Jaeger shouted. “The tall one is mad.” Jaeger made a circling gesture with his finger beside his head and crossed his eyes.

  “The orcs that die, are their spirits not gathered into an army in Hammenfein?” Reshem asked.

  Lysander nodded, knowing already where this logic was going. “So if Hatmul decides to unleash the ghost armies, we will have a way to defend ourselves.”

  “If Hatmul unleashes thousands of ghosts, two spears isn’t going to do much of anything,” Drenylin said.

  “We don’t have much time,” Reshem said.

  Lysander looked to the others and then back to Reshem. “What about the other Watchers?”

  Reshem smirked and offered a shrug as his only answer. “You should take the spear.”

  Lysander tossed his sword to Jaeger. “See that you take care of this.”

  The gnome caught the blade and gave it a practice swing. “It will be an honor to fight alongside you.”

  Lysander shook his head. “Change of plans. I have Nagé and Reshem at my side. You three help the armies retreat. See that you lead them to safety across the mountains. The Valkyries will assist you.”

  Drenylin and Jaeger started to protest, but Yaen stepped in. “This is the wisest action. We can save many if we act quickly.”

  “I shall have the Valkyries cut a swath through Atek’s armies, and then the others will be able to make a run for the mountains,” Nagé said. The tall goddess closed her eyes and bowed her head. A moment later Valkyries filled the sky and flew in unison.

  Lysander offered a final nod to his friends, and then he, Nagé, and Reshem held hands.

  “This might sting a bit,” Reshem mentioned. A flash of silver light blinded Lysander as the ground fell away below him. The wind ripped at his hair and clothes and then everything stopped, as if the world came to a complete stand still. Lysander looked down as another flash of silver light deposited him in the air a few feet above Soulfin’s head. Nagé flew out to the side, her wings gliding effortlessly as she pulled a bow and began firing at the blue-skinned beast below.

  Lysander, second son of Icadion, fell through the air and pointed his spear downward, hoping to land a solid blow and drive his weapon through the demon’s skull. A second flash of silver exploded off to the side, and Lysander could just make out Reshem as the tall man lunged in for Soulfin’s ankle.

  Time moved slowly at first. A fall that should have spanned only a second or two seemed to stretch out for much longer as the demon turned his head upward. Nagé’s arrows flew sluggishly through the air, spinning and turning at a fraction of the rate they should have.

  Inexplicably, time lurched forward. The arrows zipped downward and Lysander crashed into the demon’s head, only the spear did not penetrate the beast’s skull. Instead, the tip of the ram’s golden horn tore through the thin layer of flesh and then bounced off the solid skull beneath. The demon took a swipe at Lysander, forcing the mortalized god to leap out of the way. It was a seventy foot drop to the ground, but Nagé was there in an instant, catching Lysander and then darting back and away from Soulfin as the creature swatted at her with one of his fiery wings. The wing itself missed, but it created a wake of searing hot air that forced Nagé to fly even farther away.

  “Reshem is down there, we have to get in for another attack,” Lysander cried out.

  He watched as Reshem stabbed Soulfin’s ankle twice, spraying blood that looked more like glowing, red-hot magma out onto the ground.

  The demon raised his foot and moved to stomp Reshem into oblivion, but the Watcher vanished, teleporting before the foot could drop. A flash of silver opened up in Nagé’s path and the goddess let out a startled scream before trying to turn to the side. Reshem reached out and grabbed Lysander’s forearm and in another flash of light the two were transported away, leaving Nagé flying alone in the air.

  Reshem deposited Lysander on Soulfin’s left side, forty yards away from the demon, and then he smiled at the god. “I will draw his eyes. Wait for your moment, and then strike.”

  Soulfin turned and focused on Nagé. An orb of black formed in the beast’s open mouth, and Lysander knew what was happening next. The demon would unleash a powerful spell that would suck the living soul out of any creature it touched. It had already consumed several lower level gods and countless others with this same power.

  Lysander stood to call for Nagé, but Reshem teleported to her and snatched her away in an instant, pulling her out of harm’s way just as the black orb shot out from Soulfin’s mouth, crackling with electrical energy as it grew and tore through the air.

  A flash of silver appeared high in the sky over the demon, and then there was a second just atop the demon’s shoulder. Lysander had to keep from shouting out as Reshem drove his spear into the base of the demon’s neck. Soulfin spun around, but Reshem had already teleported down to the ground. A moment later Soulfin roared angrily as Reshem tore a gash in the demon’s foot. Nagé fired several enchanted arrows from above, blasting Soulfin with missiles that called down lightning from the heavens and drilled into his flesh while the Watcher continued to teleport around the beast and harass it with quick stabs and stinging slices.

  Soulfin snarled and desperately lashed out through the air in an attempt to catch Reshem, but the Watcher somehow always appeared in a safe place just long enough to jab Soulfin and then take off again.

  The only problem was that no matter how many times the demon was struck, it didn’t seem to tire. The wounds Nagé inflicted upon the beast healed up only seconds after they had been made, and even though it appeared that Soulfin could not heal the areas Reshem had struck, the injuries did not seem to do much more than anger the beast.

  A few moments later, a dozen Valkyries flew in from the south. Their spears and bows gleamed brightly under the light of Nagé’s magical attacks. Reshem focused his teleportations away from Soulfin to keep the beast focused on him, but it was no use. Soulfin must have heard the winged warriors coming. He flexed his mighty, fiery wings and sent a wall of flame up that consumed the first six Valkyries. The others turned away, but even as Reshem kept poking and stabbing the beast, Soulfin spun around and caught two more Valkyries with his sword, and devoured the last four with his orb spell, sucking their souls away for all eternity.

  Nagé wept and charged in from above, firing her bow so rapidly that Soulfin flinched away from the unrelenting lightning.

  Reshem continued his assault, focusing on the demon’s shoulders.

  Lysander stood up, ready to strike. With Nagé coming in from high above and blasting the demon in the face, Soulfin was already arching upward, exposing much of his torso. Reshem’s attack forced the beast to raise its arms and wings up to counter, meaning Lysander would have a clear shot, but the window of opportunity would be brief.

  Had Lysander not been born into a mortal life upon Terramyr, he would have retained all of his former glory, and he could have traveled the distance in the blink of an eye, but not now. Though he had magical weapons and extraord
inary strength and agility, he had none of the powers he had once wielded as a god. He didn’t even have any magical ability, for those things had been stripped from him for his mortal probation.

  “Father, just this once, grant me a portion of your strength!” Lysander whispered, hoping that his small prayer would be answered, and then he charged across the battlefield. His feet felt light upon the darkened ground, but he knew in his heart that he could never reach Soulfin in time. Nagé was closing in much faster, and would be forced to turn away or suffer ultimate destruction, and Reshem was running out of safe places to appear along Soulfin’s mighty shoulders. Another three seconds, and the demon would surely kill one of the two, if not both.

  “PLEASE!” Lysander grunted through his tightly clench teeth.

  An explosion of light sent myriad colors out over the darkened field and scattered the purple and black clouds from the sky just long enough for a thick, golden bolt of lightning to streak across and down to Lysander.

  “Aim true, my son,” Icadion’s low voice instructed as the lightning snaked beneath Lysander and lifted him upward, rocketing toward Soulfin’s chest.

  The demon lost interest in Nagé and Reshem. It turned toward Lysander, but Lysander held true to his objective, aiming his spear for the demon’s heart. Riding the writhing, charged force beneath him, he managed to pierce the demon’s chest. Thunder rumbled over the valley and tremors rocked the ground below as Lysander’s great spear plunged deep into Soulfin’s heart. There, instead of a heart of flesh, was a solid, pulsing crystal behind the demon’s protective ribcage. The spear exploded upon impact, showering Lysander in shards of crystal as Icadion’s lightning bored deeper into the hole Lysander had made.

  Soulfin gnashed his teeth and fell to the ground. His fiery wings broke apart as if made of nothing more than ash fighting a hurricane wind and scattering out over the land behind him, poisoning the ground it touched. The demon’s blue skin melted away to reveal thick cords of muscle that hissed and smoked once exposed to the elements. Reshem teleported down and drove his spear into the same hole as well. It caught the last bit of crystalline heart remaining inside and created a terrible explosion.