CHAPTER: 4 THE final touch and the NEMICIES
Shivan shivered but this time he doesn’t have his trident with him but offa can hear the howl. Shivan held him together and asked: “ you, you mean you told them about our secret tunnel, why offa…why?” He roared, offa burst out with his cry, it seemed Like as if held it inside of him from more than a decade. Offa answered, “because you made me kill my own son, sire, he is about to become a father his wife is 9 months pregnant and you made to kill my own son with my own hands for your mere delusion, just to make them believe your no-sense, you took an oath from me my lord without even asking I swore to you, later you asked Orson to scarify his tongue and you asked me to kill my own son, at first I didn’t understand why you asked me to announce that my son is dead in the battle and you asked me to hide him I thought it is part of some plan but at that time I couldn’t guess, later u asked me to kill my son after he shouted Valhalla before you and your audience came to his grave I killed him with these hands even he didn’t know who killed him or why. I did that because I promised you but you used my son in your plan, I couldn’t say anything at that time, I wanted to kill you but I can’t because I love you and I love this soil but my son haunted me like a ghost in my dreams and illusions. As a father and a grandfather I want to avenge my son, till date, no one knows this truth except you, me and Orson but in any way, I didn’t mean to harm Annona I mourn more than you for this loss. I decided to stay put but after seeing her dead and you like this I couldn’t resist. My king, I avenged my son and I betrayed my king execute me my lord, burn me alive and set an example to them those who want to betray his motherland.” Shivan stayed silent with tears rolling out he eyes, but his tears feared to come out. Offa sobbed, slapped himself and murmured “I had to avenge my lord, I couldn’t bear this anymore, I can’t bear this please kill me your highness please kill me” he pleaded shivan to killed him, shivan told: “he is how exactly I felt after that meeting, after knowing that you really killed your son, I didn’t believe that you would kill your son until I saw his body in the grave that night I couldn’t bear I wanted to die but I have to bear because I am a king and now you have to bare your betrayal you cannot escape from it Offa you cannot and I cannot kill you it is entirely because of my doing.” Offa said, “no my lord I couldn’t bear that due to my betrayal to you Annona died, it is also my fault,” shivan said, “no it is not your fault, its fate, now I understand, I made a horrible mistake for my greed I made you kill your own son with your own hands now destiny made me kill my own wife with my own hands. get up offa. what’s done is done. I thought I am changed man now but mistakes of my past are haunting me. Raise offa I ask you to forgive me and regardless of your forgiveness I forgive you” offa sobbed even more after hearing this he fell onto his king’s feet and asked for forgiveness, he didn’t get up for so much time. Shivan has let him grieve and after some time, he has raised him and as him to leave him alone for some time. Mangi came to visit Annona`s pyre not knowing that king is still there while she is about to leave he stopped her and asked, “ mangi Annona in her last breath asked me to fulfil my promise what is it?” Mangi said: “my king, Annona came to your kingdom because she wants to explain her problem in her village which is an island far from mangi, many people from her village had to go to different kings and seek their help that’s why she came to our kingdom but she said that you both share a past and due to reasons that I can’t understand, she told something about taking advantage and selfishness they stopped her from saying this to you.” Shivan understood what those meant and thought, “Annona you are the purest soul I have ever met”. Shivan asked, “ what is her village name mangi?” Mangi sobbingly replied, “ I don’t know my lord, she said that I would be her best woman in her marriage” they both couldn`t stop crying he hugged her so tight and tried to ease her pain. The next day they are attacked by two small armies they attacked them from far with catapults and arrows, they barely survived that. The king summoned a meeting and said: “soldiers we are vulnerable, we are out here in an open field exposed, but they are inside our forts, they will send these groups until we all die, for now, we have to go and hide and re-structure ourselves and find our scattered brothers and gather our army. I will form an alliance with wolf kingdom, I know that relations are bad but now Wulf Kiba their previous king is with us and soldiers do not forget that while are running back to the fort I ordered few of our sliders to go with them too. This is my fort and I grew up there, my grandfather told about many secrets about the fort, there is a secret gateway but it has to be opened up from the inside. Our brothers who are inside, we have to pass information to them and they will open it from inside and then we will enter inside like ghosts but before going inside we will fire up the entire fort perimeter so that they can’t escape and with the army that we are going to gather as I told earlier we are going to burn them alive but for now my people we have hide-be alive-rebuilt. Meet you at the junction mates.” After this meeting everyone scattered and they passed the words of king shivan around the villages and amongst people. They are slowly gathering strengths in numbers with Wulf Kiba Shivan and offa succeeded in forming an alliance with wolf kingdom. Everything is going as planned but one day 250 soldiers of Ouro came to know about the king’s hideout, they are searching every house and our king is very easy to identify with his wild eyes. Soldiers are three doors aways from where the king is. Shivan heard those steps, he can manage to kill a hundred but they’re at least 250 soldiers surrounding the place. It is very important for him to alive now more than ever. He has hidden his trident under the grass and he can hear their steps minutes aways, soldiers are outside of the room he is hiding, they opened the door with a bang and checked him and they left that room and moved onto the next. Few minutes before soldiers entered his room he took a knife and stabbed right into his gold eye and cut this hair as much as he could he cleaned all his blood and covered all his pain when they opened his door. The very next minute they left he silently yelled so much, that is insufferable pain. He crawled to his trident, he stiffly held it and he could hear the howl. After they went from the village offa came to see whether they have captured the king but he hasn’t heard any news he came to his room, he could hardly recognise shivan. He couldn’t see his king like this that too he felt that this also happened indirectly due to him. King took rest for a few days, the messages have been sent to Agartha soldiers inside the fort. Today is the day. All the army gathered at one place among with hundreds of wolfs and thousands of soldiers and their both kings Wulf Kiba and Shivan Ernest leading them. They have set the fire around the perimeter and they are waiting outside the secret gateway, offa is tensed, “sire, it is taking too long, this is our only shot, have they been caught or have they been…” he is interrupted by the thud of door sound, the king shouted, “ Valhalla it is”. there are no drums his soldiers are making sound with their legs and hands. They marched in like ghost riders, no one ever saw the king this furious, he barged and lashed every single person in his way, he is stabbing 3 persons at a time with his trident. His soldiers and wolfs are no less than him in terms of their anger. King saw Sol from a distance, this time there is nowhere to escape. Seeing at him he shouted, “kneel “ this time he kneeled. Entire Agartha army is shouting. As shivan is walking towards sol, sol thought that he had done a big mistake. He feared from his head to his guts, as shivan came near to him he kept his trident aside and is crying and shouting at the same time. He appeared more like a wolf, he went to him and raised him up holding his head, he shouted with all the voice he has and applied all the force he can and separated his head from the body with his naked hands. No one in history has suffered this pain while dying, even after a few seconds he eyes blinked. Shivan took this head and started smashing it over and over and over on the ground until its all smush. He threw his body to the wolves they have eaten him without leaving his bones in a matter of seconds, even Agartha soldiers are scared to see this. Shivan is still sobbing, offa came and controlled him and took him to his chambers. While going king said, “soldiers we really have eaten them alive. Thanks to all of you.” Soldiers showed expressed their love towards their king with their yells. Fortis restored, cleaned and fort gates have opened. Agartha suffered a heavy loss but it survived this too with a triumph. The very next day he asked his counsel to find all about Annona’s village. He left to meet the old one. Right before entering old one’s chamber one soldier came and said, “the village name is Sarayu which is on the other of Darbu but they both are separated by the forest called…” the old one yelled, “YUNGA”. King came inside and sat there. The old one: “ Time has come my friend, the time has come for you to be a necromancer.” King: “ I don’t understand, what is this place and how do you know this place”. Old one: “you should understand it by now my child, the prophecy, nemices, Duance of the Duo. Now I am able to see it you should also, in the battle many said that you looked both man and a wolf and you are born on  the dark twilit eclipse” Shivan: “ I didn’t see this yet I don’t understand what are you saying” the old one: “ Nemicies is a huge creature, which is in the forest, Yunga and there are two villages either sides of it called Darbu and Sarayu, No one from Sarayu can enter the forest and go to Darbu nor the people in Darbu go to Sarayu, the only way is by the sea, it is called Curve of horrors, no boat ever went into it came out alive. They can’t travel towards they can only travel away that is the people in Darbu can only travel away from Darbu and not towards Sarayu and same to the people in Sarayu. So they have no choice except to travel opposite direction the people who have come from that island to here are people of Sarayu because Mangi is opposite to Sarayu. In the forest Nemicies will kill anyone who entered its perimeter from any of four directions, two directions are blocked by the curve of horrors and the other two are either side of the forest.” Shivan asks, “why it is killing and why they just can’t leave that place”. The old one resumed, “ even they don’t wish to be there in the middle nowhere and amongst a monster but many years back our ancestors had hidden all their money, assets and treasure far from Agartha in this island because they were warned about The Kreepers, these are foreigners who raid every country and stole their wealth, they don’t want to fight a war or invade, they will come they will raid they will steal and flee back but there are more like animals than humans, they will kill anyone who stood in their way knowing this our ancestors thought of keeping only one-fifth of our wealth with us and the rest is secretly hidden in the island. They those this island because in the middle of it there is huge, deep, drenched forest. The king named this forest as Yunga, one of our goddess name. The king took all the nation’s wealth and went to this island and buried it there. They went on 20 big ships with around 800 people few of them are soldiers and few of them are normal people who came to protect the treasure. Along with them my teacher, No-one also went to Yunga. They know that kreepers will eventually come to this place and take all the pressure buried there. Many voices were raised against the king. The king and No-one came up with a solution. No-one had performed a ritual to capture all the trapped and drenched souls and made it into a creature called Nemicies, this creature constantly requires souls to stay alive, they created it like this because they expected that this will drive it to kill more Kreepers and to make this secure we have to spellbind it. Necromancy only works when it is spellbound. So they drew perimeters around the whole forest. Nemicies is bound to this land. No man can ever enter this perimeter can be alive. It consumes them. But there are many ancient ways to unbind a spell. So, they choose the most impossible prophecy of all from our gods’ stories, that is Duance of the Duo.” Shivan said “: it is the prophecy which you had told me earlier right?” The old one said: “ yes my child, It is a mere myth they thought this is impossible. Two Men of Two different land who are born on Two different dark twilit eclipses which occurs very Two hundred years, out of which each man should possess Two Qualities one man should be both wolf and a man and the other should a three-eyed and Two-headed man, only they can enter the perimeter and they have to kill the nemicies Twice only then this spell can be breached, this is the prophecy of Duance of the Duo which in time slowly changed into the prophecy of Nemicies” Shivan said “listening itself made my mind go insane, this will ever not be possible” the old one said “ that’s what they thought and even me but thanks for gods they made them think that is impossible at that time, they choose this because even if keepers got spell breakers this spell can be broke and at that time 78 years are reaming for a dark twilit eclipse itself. The only person who can walk freely to this and break the spell is the king, but there no-one added his own touch to this prophecy of Duance and the best part is no one really knows what it is even the king but something unexpected has happened keepers raided Agartha and mangi no one opposed them they stole everything they can and they left but the king had to wait because he has to be sure that they have left from here permanently, it is one of the wisest decisions he took, eventually they went to this island, the island is empty all the 800 people hidden on either side of the forest, kreepers went inside the forest but no one came back. Few who saw this left the island but one man, who belongs to Rogaland also came to his place and he threw something valuable than the money our fortune, Rogaland is the place where black magic thrives, they captured our fortune and seized it a bottle and they threw that bottle inside the perimeter, no one really cared about what that is and even why they did it? “ Shivan asked, “is it really possible to capture our fortune in a bottle, does it really affects?”. The old one replied, “ on the same day they poisoned our king’s food king died, they found who did that and he told all of this. words spread faster than wind, I don’t know whether its possible or not but in Mangi you know all we have to do is believe, everyone believed this and misfortune followed that’s why still they say that this is the reason for the droughts, wars and untimely seasons. The king died now there is no-one who can break the spell. Nemicies didn’t allow any of the 800 people to leave because it feeds on the soul. It had let them breed and these 800 people now have become two villages. Without any reason, at least 2 people die every month and people who tried to flee they said they die soon.” Shivan said: “Is that the real reason why Annona died” The old one replied “ fate work in many mysterious ways my child, this might be the reason why Annona came to this kingdom, she wanted to ask to help to liberate their village. This is not the first time before many armies tired but none succeed.” Shivan: “ I promised her that I will do whatever she asked, she asked this. Well, I might meet my death. I am certain that death will also meet me and think he’s stubborn. I will die trying not regretting,”. Bless my old one.” The old one: “ my child, this is a miracle it is only happening because our gods finally want to free us all, its true Duance of Duo is one of the stories of our gods, it is only possible for them to make this happen but child this is what your father tried to tell you that you may yield power to bring us our fortune back because you are born on Dark ellipse and you are from one land Mangi, You looked life both Wolf and a man, I am so lucky to see this happening you are far beyond a king remember this my child, Man who is after fame and power will be famous but a man who is truly after a cause is will be a Legend. You, my child you are already a legend, Annona is your destiny to help you find your cause.” Shivan remembered the moment when he said the exact same thing to her. “my child, get ready to learn some necromancy. I have no answers so no questions”. A man who is born in one land, born on a dark twilit eclipse and who looks life both wolf and a man, a legend is now in his way to Sarayu. He has no other option other than staying doing this because he promised. Old one huge him and said, “faith is all” and he alone left. One of the assistants of the old one asked why you didn’t say about No-one’s condition they say even if all this happened it is difficult to do that, what is that old-one what is that one condition I know that you know,” old one replied “ oh! Yes indeed, it is the last condition but it is also foremost, he chose one of the most impossible things, it is that one can enter only if their intention is pure and only if, they believed themselves completely with any doubt that they can succeed only then they can enter or they will get killed.” The assistant replied, “pure intention is the rarest thing available in this world and how can anyone believe themselves completely when they are going to the unknown, by words it sounds not so tuff but in reality, it is the most difficult thing in this entire saga.” The old one said, “ I now understood why king Ahi had to fight with Wulf Kiba,” the assistant said, “ what I didn’t understand” old one stabbed her in the gut and said “ you have already understood more than you should. The final touch of No-ones’s” and she died.
Shivan reached the shores of Sarayu, along with he bought his trident and the snake which crawling beside him, the moment they reached the shore the snake escaped. He took his trident and knelled down and saw Annona in his heart. Wulf Kiba howled. The villagers of Sarayu thought that he is just one more man who is going to die today. He moved towards the forest, he is now running he is few feet away from the perimeter, his leg touched the perimeter, his heart is purest and he is the bravest nothing stopped him, he suddenly saw a very huge creature, on the other side, Darbu people are sleeping without knowing how their lives are gonna change from Tomorrow. There is a long battle between Shivan Ernest and Nemicies, every stroke with his trident hit it as death. They both are clobbering and clubbing against each other under a moonless sky. Wulf Kiba and Shivan Ernest are now both are in their best forms it’s truly when he is both man and a wolf. He won at last. With all the blood on him, he fell on to the ground and felt like he is in the moment where he was holding Annona right before she died, he said,” Annona I have fulfilled both of your promises and you always laughed at me when I said that you are my destiny, see now it’s true I didn’t lie you are my destiny, now I can come back to you my sweetheart I have no burden, he heard Annona she said, “you killed Sol but you still haven’t really liberated my village sweet heart, you are not done yet” it echoed in this heart he looked down for Annona all that he could see is sand. He gathered his strength and with many injuries and a lot of bleeding he came outside of the forest. By now he is so tired of life, after, all that he has seen and achieved, he should be tired but not of life but of him. He has a diamond face shape with the rock-like jawline and a thick grey beard, his boar strong shoulders, he has only one eye which is emerald blue they say that no one can stare directly into his eyes for more than a second because it feels like looking straight into the wilderness. His hands are so big that he can hold watermelon with one hand at ease yet they shiver quite often except when he holds a sword which is A Trident with sharp ends both the sides and blood bounded with a wolf spirit. Just the word of his presence can make his enemy feel so obnoxious. Now he is walking into Darbu, alone in pitch darkness with many wounds he can barely walk. At last, he reached the village. A boy who is barely in his adolescence stopped him and asked: “hey man who are you?”. He is shocked and then he laughed and thought “I thought I would never come across this question in my life”. the boy asked him again “hey man who are you?”, laughingly he said “oh! Me I am shivan nice to meet you and may I know who are?” the boy with a big gasp said “shivan!!! ”, The boy shocked after knowing his name and he kennelled before Shivan. The Seer of the town is here and his chest felt warm within a second after seeing Shivan Ernest, feeling surprised and enlightened by seeing a man who is both a man and a wolf he said, after all, it is true, the prophecy of Nemiceis” he shouted and gathered his people and said “here he is, one of the Duo of Duance” everyone kneeled before Shivan Ernest. The sear asked bellman to ring the bell without stopping.