Trojian Horse

The air was filled with the sounds of gun fire, the flowing of water and metal smashing against metal as Arien and Reeger exchanged blow after blow. Arien had gained an incredible amount of agility and showed it by repeatedly somersaulting over Reeger to avoid the swinging axe. He could tell he was beginning to frustrate Reeger which was what he wanted. Reeger got sloppier when his movements were no longer measured and his confidence dwindled.

Reeger struck out at Arien who deftly blocked the blow using the Kata which glowed a brighter blue the longer Arien used it. They fought so long that some of the by-standers sat down when they could no longer stand idly by. Fatigue was beginning to catch up to Reeger despite his incredible physical prowess so he knew he had to end this battle soon. He lunged at Arien again, who ducked to one side. Reeger turned and swung his axe in the direction Arien had moved. The manoeuvre almost worked as Arien rolled away, barely escaping the sharp edge of the axe. Another swing of the axe meant to catch Arien cracked open the skull of a dracien who had not retreated fast enough, forcing Reeger to violently shake off the lifeless body before swinging yet again at Arien, who rolled away again then rising onto one knee raised his sword and struck Reeger’s armour.

“My armour is impervious to your weapons,” Reeger said gloating.

“You might want to look again,” Arien said as he rolled away and prepared for another attack.

Reeger looked down to see the blade had sliced through his armour and his flesh. Orange blood oozed out of the wound. It was not deep enough to severely impair him but now he knew that his armour would not protect him from the sword’s edge. Reeger charged again, foaming at the edges of his mouth, mouth, his eyes bloodshot, only for Arien to deflect the axe with his sword. Reeger snarled, kicking his foot out at Arien after another failed swing but Arien leapt into the air and kicked out at Reeger’s chest sending Reeger flying into the Dracien side of the observer divide.

Reeger landed on several Dracien, whom he trampled on hatefully as he leapt onto his feet and charged at Arien again. No matter what he did Arien seemed to always be a step ahead, that little bit faster than him and still the boy had not actively tried to hurt him. He lunged again hopefully rather than with any real conviction pouring all the hate he could into his swing. He hated them all, their righteous looks, and their pretended innocence. He would destroy them all no matter what it took. Despite Arien’s drastically improved agility, speed and strength, he felt confident he could beat him, as he had many other opponents before him. He swung again with renewed vigour but this time Arien jumped into the air landing behind Reeger who did not have a chance to react before Arien swung his sword, which grew in length as it moved through the air, and sliced through Reeger’s thick neck. Reeger’s head slid off his broad muscular shoulders as his body crumpled to the ground.

There was a weighty silence on the bank. The Dracien were too stunned to move but their silence soon turned into rapturous screams as they charged Arien in their vast numbers. Arien swung his sword this way and that, hacking through the Dracien that chanced a meeting with his blade. The dracien soldiers fell over dead behind him as he advanced into their ranks. The Vulpeculae, who were not sure if they could believe their eyes, soon joined in the fight rallying to Arien’s side as they fought against the hordes of Dracien, which had begun to retreat into the surrounding forests. The Vulpeculae, with Arien at the helm chased the Dracien into the forest with shouts of victory. Hours later they began returning to the river bank. When the word spread that their commander had been killed in battle, the dracien seemed to lose their will to fight and the battles in the air, and on the ground, became subdued. They quickly turned to flee and the remaining galactic cruisers began lifting off attempting to escape into space. Many dracien soldiers scrambled to climb into the cruisers before they were marooned on Trojian. Many were left behind. The Vulpeculae let the ships escape but they knew the dracien who remained on the planet would have to be hunted down and killed.

The battle was over at last. Arien planted himself next to Hethios and Roue on the river bank who were tending to their wounds.

“I just don’t understand.”

“Well, it’s hard to explain.”

“How did you do this?”

“Like I said, it’s hard to explain. I will try to explain when we are all together. For now, can it be enough that I am here? Where is Turo?”

“I’m not really sure. She disappeared into the forest I think,” Roue answered.

“I need to go find her.”

“Will you tell us what’s happening Arien?” Hethios asked.

“I will, later. First I have to find Turo.”

Roue pointed him in the direction of Mato and Elia-bi who were in the distance tending to the wounded. Roue thought that if anyone knew where Turo had disappeared to it would be them. Arien thanked Roue and galloped off toward them. They in turn told him they had all been separated once the battle began again but they pointed in the direction they thought she had gone. They remarked how glad they were that he was around. They told him about Reinon, whose body had been placed away from the returning crowds. This prompted an overwhelming show of emotions from Arien, something he was not anticipating. He hoped that she had not met with Reinon’s fate.

He scampered off into the forest in search of Turo unsure how he would find her in this large forest nor why he felt this strong impulse to find her. He reached the edge of the forest before stopping then closing his eyes imagining Turo, wondering where he would find her when he felt something invisible tugging him in a precise direction. He ran in the direction he felt he was supposed to go, running as fast as he could into the forest with a steely determination. He raced through the sparse forest which gradually grew thicker until he reached a waterfall where he found Turo sitting quietly by the pool at the base of the waterfall with her feet in the water.