Trojian Horse

As the chaos ensued on the bank nobody noticed the swirling water which licked the bank before it turned back on its way to a spot some distance from the bank which began to swirl with increasing intensity till it began to foam. Bubbles of air raced to the surface giving the appearance that something was alive in the lake moments away from bursting through the surface of the water onto the bank which hung just above the water’s edge. Several vortices of water formed all along the bank and then joined together to form a larger vortex though the force of the movement was not yet enough to distract from the events occurring on the adjacent bank. The swirling continued, round and round, until the vortex grew larger and larger until it was large and loud enough to attract some attention from onlookers on the bank. Droplets of water were sprayed in every direction as the vortex in the water gained so much power that it caused a rumbling noise much like the sound of thunder and still more attention was diverted from the fight between Reeger and Roue toward the storm that was brewing on the river. A curious blue light glowed in the water surrounding the vortex, very pale at first but gradually growing in intensity in direct proportionality to the strength of the vortex. A few of the Vulpeculae on the bank craned their necks to see what was happening at the bottom of the river curios to know what was brewing within its depths.

On the bank, Reeger yanked his axe out of a rock that was a hair’s breadth away from Roue’s head. Roue had moved at the very last second to avoid the razor-sharp edge of the axe from slicing his head open. Reeger, visibly annoyed lifted his battle axe to bring it down again when he noticed the bright blue light coming from the vortex in the corner of his eye. He turned to inspect it when a ball of light burst out of the vortex and exploded when it reached the surface knocking him and everyone else on the bank off their feet. His axe slipped out of his hand, flew into the air then landed in the soft earth narrowly missing Hethios’ head. Reeger rolled onto his feet, grabbed his axe and turned to face whatever was coming from the lake waters. The ball of light hung suspended over the surface of the water until the surface gradually became calm again.

The ball hovered over the water, then slowly began floating toward the bank, spinning slowly while the observers at the bank found themselves clutching to each other unsure of what monstrosity was coming toward them. Dust, leaves and water flew into the spinning ball of light that had managed to create a minor whirlwind. Lightning skipped across the surface of the ball at irregular intervals. Hethios and Roue, who were nearest the bank, dragged themselves away from the sight and were met by Turo who helped them further away from the episode that was still in motion. When the ball reached the bank, the whirlwind stopped immediately causing large volumes of water mixed with bits of rock, leaves and twigs to come crashing onto the bank. The lake regained its composure while a bright flash of light forced them all to cover their eyes though Reeger attempted to keep his eyes firmly directed at the mysterious ball of light. Even he soon succumbed to the bright force and turned away. The bright flashes and thundering was replaced by the sound of the ships hovering overhead still engaged in battle and all that remained was a lone figure still hovering over the ground just above the bank.

“It can’t be…it can’t…” Hethios said when his eyes had turned back to face the ball again.

“Impossible!” Reeger exclaimed in a shrill voice punctuated by a look of astonishment.

“How is that possible??” Roue asked loudly.

“It is!” Turo shouted with elation laced in her voice.

“Arien!” Hethios called out loudly unsure of what he was seeing.

“Reeger, your path ends here,” Arien said then placed a foot on the bank.