The Uncovering by Evan D. Heuker (Warriors Legacy #1)

Editor: Rebecca Rue

Warriors Legacy: The Uncovering Copyright Š 2019 Evan D. Heuker All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please write to the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by BHC Press Library of Congress Control Number: 2018946944 ISBN: 978-1-64397-040-0 (Hardcover) ISBN: 978-1-947727-73-1 (Softcover) ISBN: 978-1-948540-05-6 (Ebook) For information, write: BHC Press 885 Penniman #5505 Plymouth, MI 48170 Visit the publisher: www.bhcpress.com

prologue

A

t the end of the first war, no one expected a second would soon follow. It was such a violent eruption of evil there wasn’t a single soul that could stop it. The impending darkness spread throughout the universe like wildfire in a dry forest, and the devastating wave essentially destroyed all that came close.

The ever-growing evil began on planet Daigaton. The Daigatons themselves are bloodthirsty killing machines that look like an enormous, hard-scaled Komodo dragon standing on its hind legs with long, extremely sharp claws and hand complexions. They have rather long arms and legs and are very agile. Their full length, including their tails, is nearly twelve to fifteen feet long.

The universe seemed defeated, but eight Warriors arose to save the galaxy. Each had their own special powers and abilities. Together, they were able to save each planet, one by one. As for the Daigatons yet living after many battles, they were imprisoned on their home planet and guarded by these eight Warriors.

The Warriors, guarding the Daigatons for many years, tried to come to a unified decision on what they should do with their prisoners. When it became clear they couldn’t come to an agreement on the

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Daigatons’ fate, the Warriors decided to rest for as long as they needed in their necklace enchantments, which each resembled something of themselves. They traveled to a planet of many colors and mysteries and created a cave with tunnels and entry points to hide, leaving the Daigatons imprisoned on their planet.

The Daigatons, now unguarded, were somehow freed from their prisons. Their numbers were few, and it took a long time to build up their new bloodthirsty army to its original number so they could dominate the galaxy once again. The entire galaxy believed they were in captivity, so the Daigatons went on unchallenged. When they were ready, they struck quick and hard. The war erupted again, and no one could stop it; all that tried were killed. The Warriors alone could put an end to the Daigatons’ rise of power, but they could not release themselves from their enchantments. Instead, eight others, of the Warriors’ choosing, could receive the Warriors’ powers and obtain their secrets.

The war went on until, finally, one man brought the many different races of the universe together to fight for their freedom.

They prepared for battle as they approached Daigaton from all angles, determined to defeat them at any expense. After they landed and departed from their ships, they marched out to face the Daigatons for the final battle.

The battle waged on forever, seemingly at a standstill, with neither side getting the upper hand. It wasn’t until the Daigatons’ leader, the worst of them all with a thirst for war that couldn’t be matched, fought that things took a turn for the worse. Walking with his humongous double-sided blade, he killed with a single blow, looking in their eyes as they died.

The leader of the other races finally came forward to fight the leader of the Daigatons, and they fought with all their might as the horrific battle continued around them. As time passed agonizingly slow, no hits were traded between them, but the two leaders tiredly fought on. Then, finally, the man slammed the Daigatons’ leader’s sword out of his hands before lifting that sword and slicing along the leader’s monstrous face,

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causing the Daigaton to fall to the ground. The remaining Daigatons knew their leader had been struck down and were frightened. They turned tail and fled immediately.

The man and his people may have won their freedom, but so many of his people had died that they still lost. He returned to his home planet a broken man, not knowing the Daigaton leader would return to wreak havoc once more.

Twenty years have passed, and we begin the journey with me, Ezmer Jouzmon. I recently turned fifteen years old, and I have a giant imagination for adventure. With it, I end up meeting people of all sorts, some who are very nice and some who are among the worst villains in the universe. Of course, I’m talking about the Daigatons. These Alieazoids, as some have come to call them, seem to have no living soul, just an empty case. The Alieazoids, led by the worst of their kind, Vile, the most feared monstrosity, have been taking over planets throughout the galaxy once again, seemingly quicker than before. Despite their efforts to protect themselves, most planets have been conquered.

In this age, there have been advances in technology for many things: medicine, space travel, communications and the like, but little in the areas of weaponry or armor. Guns are not common in the universe, and, although some exist in quite a variety, they’re not even heard of in some places and are difficult to come by. Most planets’ weapons consist of what you would refer to as medieval: swords, spears, bows and arrows, and other such weapons are used. Metal armor is worn, and shields are used for protection against these weapons. There was no need to advance weapons in the universe after the Treaty of the Stars was declared, in which after the first war, every planet in the galaxy signed for universal peace. Since peace was tenuous, however, all agreed not to allow the advancements of arms. That agreement may have been their downfall in the battles against the Alieazoids.

Also, in this age, the galaxy has become a land where magic spells and other sorceries are used. What you would consider to be mystical creatures live among everyone in their everyday life. Creatures such as

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fairies, unicorns, goblins, dwarves, elves, and many others live among us in the galaxy.

My home planet is called Rhybannon. The Rhybainions have a greenish plant texture to their skin, pointed ears, and silver angel wings that sparkle in the light. I live there with my parents on our farm. In places such as this, people wear tunics and dresses or work clothing.

It’s harvest time on Rhybannon, and that’s where my story begins.

one a hard start

I

’d been sitting in my room for a long while now. With my art pad in my lap, I was working on another piece of landscape art. The walls of my room were covered with plenty more, some from years before. If you looked through all my work, you would see that I’d improved over the many days of practice. The compliments people had given me on them, especially since I was just fifteen, were incredible.

But here I was, my own worst critic, saying that they were nowhere near what they could be.

“Son!” my father yelled. “Help me with the harvest!” That’s my dad, Zyne. He can get a little grumpy, but he’s a pretty cool guy over all.

If you imagine a burly, heavyset man with a bit of a gut, that would be my dad.

I put my art pad away and exited my room. “Why?” I complained, while I stumbled out of our underground house. It was a nice residence that was dug out from underneath a huge tree. “I don’t like doing it. Besides, I’m only fifteen; I should be going out and having fun with my friends. I don’t think I can do much more than that.” I wouldn’t consider myself a weakling, but I’m nothing close to what my dad is, more than what someone would call skin and bones.

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“Yes, you can,” he replied. “But only if you get off your lazy ass!”

“Fine, I’m coming,” I said, groaning. I made my way out to the field where my father was. Grabbing one of the gardening tools, I began to help him. This was always the worst part of my day. I think my dad only made me help him because he knew that it annoyed me, a lot.

After working for a couple of hours, I wanted to get my mind off the vegetation. “Dad, have you ever thought of leaving this planet to go somewhere else?” I asked him as I threw some of the harvested goods into the wagon.

“Of course, I’ve thought of it, son,” he told me. “But if we left here, where would we go, and what would we do? There’s nothing out there except trouble. War and death are all that awaits anyone that leaves. Besides, all our friends and family live here, so there’s no reason for us to leave.”

“Well, have you ever left the planet before?” I asked him, throwing another load of harvested goods into the hover wagon. It was an old piece of equipment, but it made hauling the vegetation easier than having a beast pull it for us.

He stopped working for a moment and looked over at me. “I have only left the planet once, and it wasn’t exactly the best time ever,” he told me as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Oh, really? What happened?” I was just dying to know. It could have been the highlight of my day.

“Dinner’s ready, you two!” we heard my mother, Mai, shout from the house. She’s nice; she has never thrown a fit about anything, from what I know. I would give her the title “pleasantly nice,” and her face always showed it.

“Never mind now, son. It’s time to eat,” my dad said as he walked to the house.

We went into the kitchen, and right away we could smell the fantastic aroma of a home-cooked meal. The stump table in the center of the room was set with food and ready for us to eat. As I sat down, I

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looked at all my mother’s crafts around the room, along with the elegant flowers that she would bring in. She brought the main course to the table, and we began to chow down.

As dinner progressed, I wasn’t eating like I usually did, and my mother noticed this. “So, Ezmer, how was your day?” she asked, trying to get a conversation started.

“Boring as usual,” I replied. “It seems as if nothing ever happens around here except farming, eating, and sleeping. I want to do more than that.”

“You have your artwork, don’t you?” she reminded me.

“That second-rate stuff?”

“You’re always your worst critic.”

“My artwork’s all the same thing, just like my life.” I started to break off into fantasy, like I always did. “I want to go on adventures and become a hero. I could have the time of my life saving people. The universe needs a hero; that hero could be me. I would be the best sword wielder ever, and I would charge into battle with thousands at my back fighting for me. I could be what the galaxy needs.” I paused for a moment and broke out of my little daydream. “Yeah, like that would ever happen. Wonder what that’d be like.” There was a quick silence between my parents. “What?” I asked them. There I went again, me and my big imagination.

My parents looked at each other. “Honey,” my dad said, “do you think he’s old enough to know the story?”

“I think he is,” she answered.

“What are you two talking about?” I asked, curious.

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” my dad answered. “Just finish eating your dinner and get ready for bed. I’ll have to get something to show you when I tell the story. You’ll have to wait until then.”

When we were done eating, I had to clean up the table. My parents went out to finish the day’s harvest.

Left to myself, I kept wondering what they meant by “Do you think he is old enough?” And what story were they talking about? I was just

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too eager to wait until tomorrow to find out. With my luck, it would just be some sort of farming tale. But what if it wasn’t? What if this could change my life? That would be quite the story.

I let my thoughts run wild as I placed the dishes in the sink. Then all of a sudden, I heard a loud blasting outside. I quickly looked out the door; my parents were being shot at by a gun from above. It was one of the more advanced guns, top-of-the-line quality. Before this, I had heard about guns. This was my first interaction with them, and it was terrifying.

I quickly ducked down underneath the stairs inside of the house before I was seen. The firing stopped. I cautiously peeked outside to see what was going on, and someone came down in what appeared to be some state of levitation. He was a huge, buff, well-built alien of some sort. But he was ugly and had a disgusting grayish-green color to his scales and a large distortion on his face. His eyes also had a nasty bloodred glow that would horrify anyone.

As he came down, my father demanded, “Who are you, and what the hell do you think you are doing?!”

“Don’t you recognize me?” he asked with a tone of death that was spine-chilling. “It’s your old pal, Vile. It’s time for you to die, and I’ll be the one to kill you.” He pulled out an enormous double-barreled gun, and with one shot, he killed them both!

He landed and walked into my house; I remained hidden and did my best to remain quiet. He began to search through everything, constantly yelling, “Where is it?!” I kept wondering what he was looking for. We, honestly, didn’t have too many things of value. He tore through and trashed everything in the entire house, even breaking the stump table with a swing of his tail. He couldn’t find what he was looking for and began to leave.

Furiously, he made his way to the door. In the entranceway, he stopped and pulled out his gun, placing a red attachment of some kind on the side of it. He raised the gun above his head, pulled the trigger, and a burst of flame came out and spread over the entirety of the room.

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He was setting fire to my house! He finally walked out the door, muttered something that sounded like, “Hafth,” and hovered away.

I knew that I’d have to wait awhile before I could come out of hiding. The flames closed in around me. I didn’t want to die, not like this.

When it got too hot to bear, I fled from the inferno.

By the time I came out from underneath the stairs, it was too late to put the fire out, and it was way too late to save my parents. I had no clue why that Vile guy would want to kill them; they’d never done anything to anyone, as far as I knew. I didn’t know what I could have done to help them and stood over them for a moment in a petrified position.

I knelt beside them and gave a little shove to see if they would get up, but they just laid there, blood pouring onto the ground. I knew that I should do something. Feeling helpless and a little sick, I took them both and placed them against the burning house. Biting my lower lip, I backed away, turned, and left in tears.

I couldn’t stay there. What if Vile came back? But I also couldn’t just live out in the middle of the woods by myself; I wouldn’t have the skills to do that. I had to think of where I needed to go now and quickly tried to think of friends and family that I could live with for the time being. Wherever I did go, I would have to get there in a hurry. Then it hit me that one of my dad’s best friends, Endokia Markman, lived the closest, about thirty miles from my house. I set off, trying to remember the path to his house because it had been a while since I’d been there last. I remembered the general direction but not the exact path. The thickness of the forest made it impossible for me to just fly over and spot his house; I was forced to walk.

I headed off down the path in that direction, but sure enough, not long after I left, I became lost just as I expected I might. I had no idea of where I was or where to go. The trees were so dense that I couldn’t even see back to where my burning house might potentially be. It soon became dark, and I decided that I would make camp and continue the next morning.

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I had a really hard time falling asleep that night. Too many thoughts were running through my head. I kept thinking of that Vile character. The “why” and “who” and “what” all revolved around in my head that night.

It was cold and dark. I used my wings as cover for warmth. The trees were so thick that only traces of light shone through to the forest floor. The faint amount of wind that made it into the thicket whistled, and creatures stirred in the night. I attempted to ignore the noise, but the more I tried, the louder it seemed to become. I kept telling myself that it was all a bad dream that I’d wake up from sometime soon. I covered myself even more to hide from it all. I didn’t ever want to be found by the animals that lived here. I started to shiver, and that’s when I noticed that I’d been crying for who knows how long.

When I finally went to sleep that night, I had a horrible nightmare that Vile and I faced off one-on-one in some kind of broken-down, rusty, old factory. He got the better of me and knocked me out. As I woke up, still in that horrific dream, I was being tortured, and he kept asking me where something was. I couldn’t understand what he kept asking. Even though it was a dream, it seemed so real, and at some points, I could even feel the pain. It was beyond terrifying. It had become a reality of its own.

I awoke on the third day of my departure wondering which direction I was going to try today. At this point, even I would say that I was completely lost and hadn’t the slightest sense of what to do.

Unraveling my wings for a morning stretch, I took off down a pathway of the Tethered Forest, hoping that this one would lead me in the right direction.

I began to get the suspicious feeling that someone was following me, and I flew upward in the best open area I could find to see if I could spot anything. I wasn’t high by any means, but it was a better van-

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tage point. I stopped in midflight, looking around, and I saw these two glowing, white figures in the forest. I turned around to follow them before I heard a subtle noise in the brush behind me. I stopped again for a moment. Suddenly, I was slammed to the ground from behind. I rolled over and looked up to see a wild eagle.

The eagles on Rhybannon are huge, about ten feet tall with extra-sharp claws on their feet. Some of the larger eagles even have claws that grow out from their wings, more vicious than any carnivore claws.

I was completely dumbfounded and had no idea what I was going to do as it slammed on the ground directly in front of me. It stood as high as it could, spread its wings, and let out an enormous screech.

There was something wrong with it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was definitely something abnormal about its behavior.

Turning tail, I flew as fast as I could away from it, but it came after me with a hateful intent. I flew deeper into the Tethered Forest, hoping to escape from it. I was sweeping through the smallest areas between branches trying to get away, but the eagle smashed the branches into twigs. This was way out of character for an eagle; they would never destroy what could possibly be their home.

The overaggressive eagle got closer and closer as it tried to hit me with its claws. It got close enough, took a swipe, and slashed my left arm, wing and back. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I squeezed the cut on my arm to stop the bleeding. I kept flying on, pouring blood down the path. The immense eagle hit the side of a tree, which bought me some time. By pure luck, I spotted a hole in a tree and immediately hid inside.

After the eagle had passed and I could no longer hear its cries, I flew to the ground and began walking back to my shelter. It hurt too much to fly. I tore off my sleeve to examine the cut. There was a huge gash on my left arm, about halfway around on the outer side, and I could feel that a good bit was taken out of my wing and part of my back.

I also felt my blue blood trickling at a tremendous rate down my skin.

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Taking my sleeve, I wrapped it over the cut and tied it as tight as I could to stop the bleeding. I walked and walked, exhausted, sweat slowly trickling down my face, barely able to move through the thick forest. I became too tired and had to rest against a tree for a few moments.

Ripping some of the larger leaves from the smaller plants, I covered the gash on my back the best that I could. My breath became more even as I slowly passed out in the crevice of the trunk. I laid there, feeling as if I was going to die. I fell into a thick slumber.

I awakened later that day by an awkward wind, dazed and in excruciating pain. I, nevertheless, was able to slowly get up. My wounds were healed somewhat. Not enough that they didn’t need tending to, but enough that the bleeding had almost come to a complete stop. I headed to my shelter. When I got there, I examined my cuts and tried to clean them with some water and a cloth, just hoping that they would get better. I placed the wet cloth on my wing to help with the cuts that I couldn’t see on my backside. But they were healed, like I had thought, although they still hurt and needed to be cleaned. This led me to wonder What healed me? What were those figures? The thoughts lingered with me as I scratched another path off my imaginary list of future routes.

It had been seven difficult days since I had left my home. The water and food rations were getting very low. I was down to a few sips of rainwater, two fish, and some fruit. I grabbed the fishing rod that I had made from wood and a woven clothes string. I headed down to Aquwer Lake hoping to catch “the big one” for a meal.

I began to walk along a trail, and as I spotted it, it glimmered in the sun’s light with calm, inviting waters. As I walked closer, I heard a voice say, “Well, hi, Ezmer. I didn’t expect to see you today.” I looked around.

There was this head bobbing out of the water. It was Angelina Lizkin, the princess of the Aquwers’ underwater kingdom. Aquwers have

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different male and female complexions and have a humanoid torso and marine-like tails with long, flat tentacles coming out of them. The males have long, flat fins that come out of their arms and back, and the females have one pair of large, retractable fins on their arms, as well as two dorsal fins of a larger size lined up on their backs. Some type of fin is also at the same place an ear would normally be. Both males and females have bluish-green scales covering half their body, and the other half is covered in pure white skin. They are supposedly the fastest water creatures on the planet, maybe the universe.

“Hi Angelina,” I greeted. “How’re you today?”

“I’m good,” she replied. “Just out for a while.”

“Won’t the king get mad?” I asked as I threw my line out.

“Not likely. He doesn’t even know I’m out.”

“Angelina, don’t you remember how mad he was last time?”

“He wasn’t mad that I was out. He was mad because I was talking to you. Daddy is like that sometimes.”

“Why’s that?” I questioned as my line began to tug.

“He believes that we are superior to you Land Fliers, as he calls you.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I said, pulling my line in. “I’m no more important than anyone else.” I had almost pulled my line completely in when Angelina’s father, the king himself, jumped up out of the water and knocked me over.

“What do you think you’re doing with my daughter?!” he demanded.

“I uh…I…I…uh,” I stuttered.

Angelina swam over. “It’s nothing, daddy. We were just talking,” she explained.

“How many times have I told you not to talk to the Land Fliers?”

“I lost count,” she told him.

“Don’t you get smart with me, young lady,” he snapped. “Now you swim on back home.”

“Fine,” she complained, going under.

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“As for you,” he said, pointing at me. “I never want to see you with my daughter ever again. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” I answered, nodding my head.

“Good,” he replied. “Now leave and never come back.”

I left as he dove back into the water to go back to his kingdom.

“What a jerk,” I said to myself. “He thinks he’s correct right away.

He didn’t even want to hear my side of the story.”

I kept talking to myself about how rude he was as I walked down the path. Suddenly, there was this familiar, loud screeching sound. The eagle whipped out onto the path and began to charge at me. Dropping my fishing gear, I turned around and bolted down the path back toward the lake. I took off over it, hoping to get away this time. Yet, over the deep drop of the lake, the eagle was lingering just above me. It plummeted down upon my back and knocked me into the water.

I slowly slipped away from life as I sank deeper and deeper. I gradually lost the feeling of my body as I drifted away. Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around me, lifting me toward the surface. When we broke free, I was still unconscious and half-alive, being pushed to the shore.

Once we made it, I was still unable to get up or move and simply laid there. At that point, I just wanted to let go, but I couldn’t. It was like my mind wouldn’t let me do anything except lay there.

“Ezmer,” a voice began. “Ezmer, get up…get up, Ezmer. Oh, I’ve got to be able to do something.” At that moment, I felt a slight breeze blow over me, similar to that awkward wind from before. I began to violently cough and cough. I rolled over to my side, still coughing, and I finally hacked up a load of water as it flew out of my mouth and ran out of my nose.

I wondered what had happened. I looked around to discover Angelina next to me, halfway up the shore. She looked at me with a smile as her tail flopped up and down on the sand. I could tell something wasn’t right as her scales began to flake gradually. Aquwers can’t last long outside of water. Her eyes were gently closing, and her smile be-

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came a cold, flat line underneath her nose. She seemed to fall asleep as she slowly slumped over.

I forced myself up under my own strength, walked to her, put my arms underneath her rough, dried out, scaled body, and carried her to the deeper water. I simply dropped her in and waited, wobbling to and fro as the waves crashed into my chest. Not long after, Angelina came up in front of me, and a small grin crossed her face.

“Thanks,” she said shyly. I just looked straight at her with a stunned face.

“You’re…welcome,” I bluntly said as I turned and began to walk toward the shore. The waves hit my wings and back, and every time they did, the sorer I became. I finally made it to the shore. I could see those two glowing figures, but I was too exhausted to identify or even go after them. As I collapsed to my knees, then onto my beaten and battered body, the side of my face kissed the sand, and I rested there for hours until I regained my strength.

After what seemed like four or five hours, I got up off the warm sand and walked down the trail. I picked up my fishing gear and went for my shelter.

I set my gear down and began to make a fire. After about ten minutes, I had a fire lit and burning strong. I picked up the smaller fish, stuck a stick through it, set it over the fire, grabbed one of the fruits and began to eat. As I ate, I started to wonder if I would make it out of the forest, if I would be able to eat good food again, and if I would sleep in a bed with fluffy pillows, warm, soft blankets, and a cozy mattress.

I missed waking up with the remembrance of a dream that would stay with me and put a smile on my face even in the worst circumstances. I began to believe that I would never have that experience ever again. I ate the fish, and then went to bed early, crying myself to sleep.

That night, the nightmare of Vile and me sparring came to me once again. He was the cause of all this. I swore that I would get my revenge on him. I was quite sure that it would be a long time coming.

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Two weeks had passed since Vile had destroyed my life. I decided to go off and search for Endokia’s house again. I wasn’t sure if I would find it, but today felt different. I took some time to pack food, and then I headed down to the lake to say good-bye to Angelina. I cautiously moved to the water, hoping I wouldn’t be seen by her father.

“Angelina? Angelina, are you there?” I whispered. Just then, bubbles came up to the surface of the lake, and after them came Angelina, flying up out of the water before she dove back in. She had her head just over the top as she swam over.

“What do you want, Ezmer?” she questioned kindly.

“I’m going to search for Endokia’s house again. I think I might find it this time, so I’m going to say good-bye because I might not be coming back; so good-bye.”

“Good-bye,” she calmly replied. As I walked away, she shouted out, “Hey, Ezmer! Wait! Do you think if you ever left the planet, that when you came back, you could tell me if Aquwers are truly the fastest water creatures in the universe?” she asked shyly.

“I promise,” I answered. “I promise whatever happens, I will come back and tell you if you truly are the fastest water creatures in the universe. That is, if I leave the planet.”

“Thanks, Ezmer.” She smiled. “That really means a lot to me. I guess that I’ll see you around sometime.”

“Well, you’re welcome. I’ll see you around sometime as well.

Good-bye.” I finished the conversation and turned away, heading back down the trail feeling hopeful; I was going to find Endokia’s house.

I found myself heading through one of the thicker parts of the forest with the low, damp tree branches and the tall, rough, scratchy grass.

It seemed as if I couldn’t see five feet in front of me. One minute, I was swatting at bugs in the air, and the next, I was flicking annoying ticks and parasites off my arms and legs. I looked up to see if I could fly over

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the treetops to get a better view, but it was nearly impossible to even see the sky.

I kept walking for about ten more minutes, and then I began to smell the nasty aroma of old, scorched wood that seemed to be at the end of the forest where the light was gleaming through. I had no idea what to expect until I stepped onto the black, smoldering ashes. I was so lost that I ended up at what was left of my house. I could hardly stand there as my eyes slowly began to water up at the sight of it, destroyed and burned to the last tip of the roots that were buried deep beneath the ground. I saw the embedded skeletal remains of my loving parents, and at that moment, I fell to my battered and bruised knees. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I burst into tears that rolled down my cheeks, my nose, my chin and slid into my mouth as chills flowed through my entire swollen body.

“Why?!” I cried. “Why couldn’t I have gone with them? Why should I live? I want them back. Why can’t…why can’t I go back to that day, with the smell of sweet, brisk wind in my nose? I would have helped my dad with the harvest more often or my mom with the cooking. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t help either of you. I want to go back to help you. I’m so sorry!” I managed to say all this in-between the coughing and snorting of my shivering, runny nose. My body was completely exhausted.

It took quite a while to get myself together. When I did, I stood up sniffling and slowly walked in the direction that I thought, yet again, was the way to Endokia’s house.

I walked back into the forest, tired and exhausted. My body was telling me that I needed to rest. I quickly found a place to lie down and take a break. I took a deep breath as my eyes remained closed, and the day marched on without me. I was mere moments away from falling asleep when I suddenly heard a gun cock. I quickly opened my eyes to see where it came from. It was too late; I’d been shot!

two training

W

hen I finally opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything except tainted black everywhere. I blinked a few times to clear my senses and nothing became visible. It remained dark.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” a voice said. “I thought you were an Alieazoid, sorry. Can never be too careful. I’m Endokia, and you are…?”

“Ezmer, my name is Ezmer. I can’t see,” I said, shocking both of us.

“Oh my word, are you all right?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I think so,” I replied.

“Well, if I’d known who you were, I wouldn’t have shot you. Besides, the gun is only supposed to temporarily paralyze.”

“How’d you come by a gun? They’re very rare.”

“I got it when I was off the planet years ago,” he told me, then quickly changed the subject.

“Well, I, uh, made you some food, so eat up.” He handed me a bowl with some type of soup in it.

I sniffed; it had a horrible aroma. “What is it?” I asked.

“It’s canto soup made from the bark of the layered canto tree.”

It smelled nasty, but at this point, I was starving, so I just hoped it tasted better than it smelled. I took a small sip. It didn’t taste that

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bad, so I began to chow down. “It’s good,” I complimented him, between sips.

“Thank you,” Endokia said. “So, Ezmer was it? That makes you Zyne’s and Mai’s child. Do you know what happened to your house?” he asked me as I heard him walking around.

I took a deep breath before I put my head down and said, “Some alien came hovering down with a power; I can’t tell you what power. He was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen, with dirty and torn clothes, wearing some smashed-up armor. He had a distorted face and a long tail to go with his scaly body. He announced his name as Vile and then killed my parents. When he showed up, I hid in the house. He came barging in, destroying everything, yelling ‘Where is it?’ over and over. He apparently didn’t find what he was looking for and left, but before he did, he set the house on fire. I stayed where I was as long as I could so he wouldn’t spot me. I left the remains of my home to look for you, and I was lost for two weeks. During that time, I took a break, but I decided to look for you again and accidentally came across my house once more. I spent some time there before I set out again. Then you shot me, and here I am,” I said, finally finished with my story.

“Wow,” he began. “That’s amazing. You lasted two weeks on your own. That’s good for someone your age.”

“All right,” I interrupted. “Enough of the insults. I just want to know how you got a gun.”

“I got it on one of the adventures with your dad,” he explained.

“Adventures? What adventures?” I questioned.

“You mean he didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Well, first of all, you said Vile was looking for something, correct?”

“Well, yes,” I answered. “But what’s that have to do with anything?”

“I believe I know what he was looking for,” he told me. “Just stay there; I’ll be right back.” I heard him walk off, open something, and begin to move things around, making clunking and crackling noises. “Ah,

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here it is,” I heard him say. “Your father wanted you to have this. Be very careful with it.”

“What is it?” I asked him as I felt it. There was a long handle attached to a long, flat metal object. The edges were sharp, and it was surprisingly light.

“It was your father’s sword,” he answered. “He named it Cleanser.”

That’s silly, I thought. “Why’s that?” I asked aloud.

“Because it can cleanse away evil and cure the injured and ill, but only those of his bloodline can use it. No one else knows how, not even me.”

“I don’t know how to use it, and my dad no longer can,” I pointed out. “So, what wouldVile want with it if he can’t use it either?”

“There is something very important I should tell you,” he began.

“See, before you were born, your father was on an adventure, a quest if you would. He was one of the few that took a stand against Vile and his Alieazoid army, and I was his first follower among what was later a much larger group. Your father inherited the sword from his father, and, in a way, it became part of him. He learned how to use it as he went, and, with Cleanser, he scarred Vile’s face during a great battle.

Many of your father’s followers died during this fight, however. Your mother, one of them, came back to Rhybannon with your father. He settled down with her, ended his heroic adventures, and gave the sword to me. I was told to keep it safe in case Vile’s evil Alieazoids arose again.

That’s why I was at what was your home; I came to see if your father wanted the sword back.”

“Wow,” I said, excited. “That’s amazing! Why didn’t he just go off with my mother and have adventures with her?”

“He felt he needed to settle down anyway,” he said, stuttering.

“Well, I believe it is time for you to begin your training.”

“Training? What are you talking about?” I asked.

“If something happened to him, your father asked me to train and look after you. He made a special request for major conflict fight training. Since you’re blind right now, you’ll have to learn how to navigate

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without running into or tripping over anything. You’ll have to learn how to live with your disability, which, hopefully, won’t last that long.

Your father wanted you to learn all this because he had a feeling the evil would rise again. He told me to hold on to the sword and remember everything he taught me.”

My training started out simple but got progressively harder. At first, I needed to simply familiarize myself with his house and identify each room as I walked in. Later, I had to identify his ship in a similar fashion, which, from what I could tell, was decently sized. After that, I navigated my way around the forests surrounding his home, each trail and every shed.

Finally, I started to practice my attack and defensive skills, which had to be the best of them all with its own levels of difficulty. I began with basic weapon handling tactics for the sword and practiced attacking wooden dummies. I had to cut them with Cleanser in a certain amount of time, and more were added as my timing improved.

I also needed to be able to defend myself. To help me do so, Endokia chose decent sized stones and threw them at me. Listening closely to Endokia’s movements, I used Cleanser to knock them away; fast footwork—along with rolls and tumbles—to evade the stone’s path was a necessity. At first, I took quite a few rocks to the face, but after a few days, I was able to detect them a lot better.

Finally, I moved on to physical combat training with Endokia and learned simple steps and movements with sticks before transitioning to the sword. Next up was slow motion conflict before I was ready for full speed fighting at last, which, unfortunately, took a while. I could always tell that Endokia was holding back during our fights. Most of the time, I attacked, and he defended. I knew if I fought a true enemy, I’d be the one less likely to win.

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About two months of training, fighting, and long exercises had passed, and I felt buff and wished I could see myself. Endokia and I had both originally expected my eyesight to have returned by now.

I went out on one of my morning runs throughout the forest around Endokia’s property, and while I did so, he would time me. I used Cleanser to cut through various objects such as small trees and rotten logs. I began to wonder, What if I never see again? Is that possible?

Not having my sight would make it extremely difficult to take down Vile. Eyesight or not, I wanted to be the one to take him down. This would be my chance to be the hero I always wanted to be.

Lost in my thoughts, I wasn’t paying attention to my trial run. I began to imagine myself home again, spending time with my parents hiking or flying on our family nights. I was locked away in those memories, wishing that those moments would come back, when I suddenly collided with something. I dropped to the ground, and Cleanser flew out of my hand.

“Are you all right?” I heard a sweet, comforting voice ask.

“Yeah, I’m all right. Can you help me find my sword?” I asked, rolling over and feeling around.

“Only if you help me find my flute.” I easily determined it was a girl, maybe older than me. “It is a silver bello flute that can extend.”

“I won’t be able to do that,” I replied, still feeling around.

“Well, why not?” she complained. “I’m helping you; you could at least help me.”

“Why don’t you look closely at my eyes?”

I heard her get closer to observe. “What? I don’t see any…oh my gosh! You’re blind! I mean, sure I’ll help you find your sword.”

“Thanks,” I replied glumly.

“Uh, my name is Kendra Klaymore,” she said. “What’s yours?”

“My name’s Ezmer Jouzmon,” I stated clearly.

“Ezmer, huh? Not a bad name. Well, here’s your sword,” she said, handing Cleanser to me. I nodded my head to say thanks. “Umm, can I come with you?” Kendra asked sweetly.

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“Sure,” I answered. “Just follow me.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but how do you know where you’re going, being blind and all?” she questioned.

“I know this track quite well. Oh shoot, we have to hurry. I’m being timed. This is a trial run to help me navigate through obstacles.” I sprinted away from Kendra to get back to Endokia’s house and arrived before she did, jumping out of the forest.

“Your time was slower,” Endokia announced.

“I kind of figured,” I said, coughing as I gasped for air. “I ran into someone I think you’d like to meet.” As I finished, Kendra came running out of the forest.

“I lost you for a second there, Ezmer,” she said. “Oh, hello there.

You must be the one timing him. I’m Kendra. And you are?”

“I’m Endokia,” he answered. “Kendra, do you mind if I talk to Ezmer for a moment?”

“No,” she replied, looking around.

Endokia grabbed my arm and took me off to the side. “What do you think you’re doing!” he whispered angrily. “You have no idea who she is. She could be some sort of spy for Vile.”

“Oh, I get it; you’re jealous. So she’s really that hot?”

“Ezmer!” he growled, grabbing me once again. “I’m not kidding.

Can you tell if she’s a spy?”

Now it was my chance to turn the tables on him. “Can you tell if she’s a spy?” I rudely reversed the question.

“Don’t get smart with me, Ezmer!” he said, still whispering. “Remember, I’m the teacher, and you’re the student!”

“Yeah, but you have to teach me no matter what. Remember, you promised my father.”

“Excuse me,” Kendra interrupted. “I couldn’t help but overhear you two arguing about me. I’m not a spy for whoever it is you mentioned, and my run-in with Ezmer was fate.”

That she chose “fate” over any other word interested me.

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“I don’t think you’re a spy, Kendra,” I told her. I completely believed her.

Endokia bellowed, “Well, I’m not convinced yet.”

“Well, I can’t help that,” Kendra proclaimed. “But I can assure you I’m not a spy.” We stood in silence for quite a while.

The sound of the rising wind caught our attention. It began to blow stronger until, suddenly, there was an extremely loud roar. A ship hovered above us and began shooting. It was Vile! We ran and avoided the gunfire as we headed toward Endokia’s ship. I felt a hand grab mine.

It was too small to be Endokia, and Kendra held it as she aided my way.

We made it onto the ramp as it was closing, and I heard guns blasting and engines roaring as we took off. I wished I could’ve seen what was happening; it all sounded so awesome and yet so frightening at the same time.

We advanced into the cold, still space as we fled from Vile. There seemed to be no escape as the lasers from his ship zipped by us, disappearing into the distance. Kendra and I sat in the cockpit passenger seats as Endokia worked the controls of his ship. A laser hit us, and the ship shook rapidly, making everything uncomfortable. Endokia managed to stabilize the ship and continue.

“Don’t you have any weapons on this hunk of junk?” I wailed to Endokia.

“I really wish I did,” he shouted back.

“What about anything to build a weapon?”

“I have materials to manufacture small explosives,” he replied. “Go check in the stockroom.”

“I don’t know how to put a bomb together.”

“Kendra, go with him,” he ordered, swerving his ship a few more times. “The materials are all stacked together. Grab them and bring them here.”

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Kendra and I ran into the stockroom and grabbed anything that could be used to make any type of explosive. We brought all the materials up to the bridge and laid them out for Endokia to build our explosives. Kapow! We were shot once more, and the ship shook again. “Take over the controls!” Endokia ordered.

“I don’t know how to fly a ship,” I said, freaking out at him.

“I can do it,” Kendra volunteered, jumping in the captain’s chair.

Endokia went to the bomb supplies while I sat there feeling worthless as the ship’s shield took another hit. I wished I’d found a seat before Kendra took the helm, beginning to tumble around as she swooped and dived to avoid the oncoming projectiles.

“Careful with my ship!” Endokia commanded.

“I got this under control. Just finish what you’re doing,” she barked back.

Endokia completed four explosives, but we still needed a way to jettison them from the ship. “Take these down quickly to the landing gear compartment and put them in. Get back up here as fast as you can,” he commanded, taking over his chair once again. Kendra and I gathered the bombs and proceeded to the rear landing compartments.

We opened the cover guards, placed the makeshift explosives, and headed back to the cockpit.

“What’s your plan?” I asked when we returned.

“Strap yourself in. I’m lowering the landing gear.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Just trust me,” he told me. Kendra and I buckled up and held on tight. When Endokia lowered and raised the landing gear, I could hear warning sounds as the explosives whizzed out. He checked his radar and saw them moving toward Vile’s ship, which zipped past the first three before the fourth clipped one of his wings and exploded. Vile’s ship backed off slowly and then disappeared from our radar.

“He’s gone,” Endokia said, taking a deep breath. I let out a sigh of relief and fell back into my seat. “That was some skilled flying,” Endokia complimented Kendra.

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“It was nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I take it you have some experience with space vessels?”

“More or less. I’d rather not talk about it.” Kendra left the bridge, and we weren’t too far behind.

We decided to have something to eat, so Endokia went to the kitchen to whip up a meal, and Kendra and I went to the bedrooms to rest. I laid on my bed, examining my father’s sword with my hands. I wanted to determine the markings that were etched into both sides and found they were two different designs altogether on each side of the handle; I just couldn’t tell what they looked like.

I heard a flute’s beautiful tooting from Kendra’s room. I stood up, put my sword back in its sheath, set it down, and walked quietly toward her room down the hall.

As I got closer, the music seemed to get even better. The whimsical rhythm made me want to sway. I stood outside the door for a moment before slowly pushing it open. Yet again, I wished for my sight. Being blind, to put it bluntly, was a real downer.

Kendra finished. “That sounded amazing,” I complimented her.

“Ezmer, I’m in my underwear here!” Kendra cried.

“I can’t see that,” I reminded her, walking in and closing the door.

“It’s still rude.”

“I can leave if you want,” I offered.

“It’s fine, just let me get something on.” I heard her shuffle through her clothes and put them on. I walked in farther and sat on the opposite side of the bed.

“So, umm, how’d you learn to play like that?” I asked, trying not to make the situation more awkward.

“My mother taught me whenI was little,” she replied. “I would always listen to her play, so, finally, she bought me a bello flute of my own to play with her.”

Kendra went silent for a moment. I needed more talking; the silence between us was going to drive me up a wall. Since we were on

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the topic of family, I asked, “What about your dad? Did he enjoy your music?”

Kendra sighed. “I never knew my father. My mother told me he died in a great battle of some kind before I was born.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, feeling a connection as my heart wept for her. The topic of death sat heavily on my mind because of the recent murder of my parents. The two of us were linked by a loss, and if she felt anything like I did about it, she’d join me in my quest for revenge.

“Not as sorry as I am,” Kendra spoke once more. “My mother hardly spoke of it. Any time I asked her about it, she would do her best to avoid the subject. Eventually, I quit asking about him. All she told me is that he died, along with many others that’d tried to restore the universe.”

“Oh my goodness,” I whispered to myself.

“What?” Kendra questioned.

“Well, Kendra,” I began. “I think your father may have been in the rebellion against Vile and his armies, along with my father. All of them had a chance to go back to their own lives but chose to fight for what was right instead.”

The two of us were quiet again. I wanted to keep the conversation going, but before I could say anything, Kendra got up and walked around to my side of the bed. Sitting down next to me, she placed her hand on my shoulder, edged closer, and asked in a struggling whisper what I believed was a hard question to answer, “What is the right thing, Ezmer?”

I sat there, thinking. The right thing is more a matter of opinion.

Vile is fighting for what he thinks is right and so are we. I felt put on the spot and feared if I didn’t respond soon, this conversation would create an emptiness we would struggle to overcome when we talked to each other again. I finally came up with an answer and spoke, improving and molding my words along the way, “The right thing is to fight for our loved ones, to vanquish the enemy, to save the goodness that’s left

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in our galaxy and universe, and, finally, to take back what is rightfully ours and to keep it that way for everyone else now and in the future.”

Kendra placed her hand on my cheek and turned my head toward hers. I felt the warmth of her face on mine as we leaned closer together. “That, Ezmer Jouzmon,” she muttered slowly and quietly, “is exactly what the right thing should be.” As our lips closed in even further, I felt mine tremble, and my heart raced faster with anticipation.

We were just a moment away from connecting when Endokia shouted, “Ezmer, Kendra, time to eat!” We calmly backed away from each other.

“Ahem, I guess we’d better go eat then,” Kendra suggested.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” I said as we stood up. We walked out of Kendra’s room and went into the kitchen—or more appropriately the cargo hold. It wasn’t much, but I’d scoped it out before and found a table, some chairs and a stove with a cooling component for food. Both of us sat at the table and waited for Endokia’s food. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was that we were eating, but I could tell it was some sort of meat and maybe a vegetable with a sweet drink. I didn’t really care because it all tasted delicious.

During our meal, I thought about how that would’ve been my first kiss, and I missed it because of dinner. I hadn’t even seen Kendra yet, and I was already in love with her. I guess it’s true that love is blind, but I began to wonder why she would want to kiss me. I found myself to be more average than attractive. I knew she was feeling down about something. Did that make me her comfort? The shoulder she needed to cry on? I’d never been that guy before. Should I have given her a pat on the back and said everything would be all right or was the kiss the right way to go?

We were still eating when Endokia said hesitantly, “I, uh…ahem, I’m sorry I accused you of being a spy, Kendra. I just jumped to conclusions.”

“It’s all right,” she replied. “I understand that some people are overprotective of others and themselves.”

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After Kendra spoke the silence resumed, and only the ticking of our forks and the slurping of our drinks could be heard. I could tell that Endokia’s apology embarrassed him, but Kendra felt better because of it. Ultimately, I was glad it was over with because, kiss or not, I liked the company of this girl. It was different, and I liked different.

After we finished eating, Endokia cleared the table, and it became silent once again. I’d pondered multiple thoughts since the meal had begun, and one stuck out at the moment. I asked aloud, “What are we going to do now?”

What do you mean? Endokia questioned. “We’re going to go to bed.”

“No, no. I mean, where are we going to go from here?” I stated more clearly. “We have to go somewhere to hide from Vile.”

“That’s a good point,” Endokia said thoughtfully. We were on the run now. Vile wanted Cleanser for some reason, and there was no way we’d let him get it.

“Let’s discuss this. Maybe we should go to Monjovy, the planet of the fairies,” he suggested.

“They’re mean and nasty little creatures. I think we should go to Jovic, the water planet,” Kendra insisted.

“There’s very little land. Think about it,” Endokia argued. The bickering continued while each of us gave our opinions and didn’t stop until I suggested to go to Shadow Zero.

“Excuse me?” Endokia asked in confusion.

“Shadow Zero,” I exclaimed. “It just came to me.”

“Are you crazy? Can you hear yourself, Ezmer?” he questioned.

“That entire planet is nothing except complete darkness with no functionality, little vegetation, and some explorers even wonder how it still supports life with its moderated, unchanging conditions.”

“Exactly,” I said proudly.

“I’m not following you,” he remarked.

“Don’t you see? With all that darkness, we can build an underground hideout that Vile and his armies will never find; it’s perfect.”

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“How will that work out?” Kendra asked. “It’ll be too dark to see what we’re doing, so how can we build a shelter?”

“Well, we can stock up on lamps,” I suggested.

“No need,” Endokia proclaimed. “I’ve got a lot of lamps stocked in the back if they weren’t sucked out with the explosives. And the lights on the ship can help us as well.”

“All right then, let’s head for Shadow Zero,” I stated proudly.

about the author Evan was born and raised in a small town in Michigan where there are more cows than people. He favors science fiction and fantasy, and he credits The Hobbit as his biggest writing influence. A graduate of Oakland University, he holds a BFA in theater acting. When not writing, he enjoys RPG video games.