Hunt for the End

             "Are you sure we should be doing this, Theia?" asked a young man, roughly about 18. His scruffy reddish brown hair bounced in the breeze that blew through the forest. The pine green tunic he wore had a few rips at the base of it; the man's white pants, made of a soft cotton fiber, were coated in a fine layer of dirt. He held a sabre, still in its sheath, with his right hand, ready to draw it with his left at a moment's notice.
             "No one else is, so we have to," I said to him, watching my step as we traversed through the thicket.
             "Why do we have to? I thought you said that General Yerz was going to lead an attacking party," the man asked, tugging at his shirt that was stuck on a branch.
             I reached for Paluna, my stalwart falchion, and sliced the branch cleanly in two. I tucked her back into her scabbard and continued walking. "Keep up and keep quiet, Julio," I hushed at him. "He's not going to have enough time to prepare a good attack. The eclipse is in a few minutes and Yerz only learned about it less than a few hours ago."
             "That's not enough time for General Yerz to get a party together?" Julio asked, ducking under a low hanging branch.
             "I may not have been part of the army for long," I told him, "but with the time I saw it takes those guys to prepare for a battle, Yerz would be lucky to get even twenty people ready." I gently pushed aside a few branches, making an opening for Julio to pass through.
             "I still can't believe you managed to be part of army for so long," Julio said, taking the lead, sword at the ready. "I thought for sure you'd be found out in the first week."
             "Hey, I'm a woman of precision, not some brute wall of meat," I replied, swatting at a few pesky insects. "Besides, more than half of those guys are pretty brain dead anyways."
             "Yeah, plus it's a little hard to say 'no' to someone of your stature," Julio said, gesturing to the over six feet tall woman following close behind him. "I think anyone who did find out you were a girl was too afraid to say anything or risk going without a head."
             I couldn't help but smile at the thought of beheading a few of the army men. "As much as I would love to, and probably could, take out most of the army by myself, I'm still a devoted citizen of Catonia." I crossed my right arm over my chest, as a symbol of devotion to our great nation.
             We had been at war for years against the greatest plague to ever cross our country lines: the Magiks. These are beings who are capable of manipulating the world around us with magic, whether its fire, lighting, ice, or even other magic that I'm not aware of. They have attacked and killed many of our citizens in cruel and inhumane ways. Today, that would all end on the 50th anniversary of our nation's founding. A full lunar eclipse renders the Magiks' magic useless. This was our advantage and possibly the only option for defeating the Magiks. Julio and I continued sneaking through the woods under the guise of the night.
             "Theia..." Julio said softly, gesturing to a clearing. The scent of burnt wood and flesh filled the air as the two of us came into a clearing cleared by a large fireball. The bark of trees surrounding the clearing were coated in a fine layer of ash and soot while the ground was a dim black. Bodies of Catonia soldiers lie scattered around the clearing, all of them motionless and charred like a log. The two of us scoured the scene before us, looking for anyone who may have survived the attack. The clanking of metal filled the air as bodies covered in armor were shaken and turned over.
             "Yerz..." I softly let out after turning over the sixth body that I came across. Julio turned and came over to the body with me. Despite the darkness of the night, it was still painfully obvious that the body belonged to the General. Julio looked around and found the General's sword stabbed in the ground a few feet away. We desperately wanted to give them a proper deceased ritual, but we didn't have the time. The eclipse was going to start soon and we couldn't afford to waste time. I at least took the General's sword and laid it across General Yerz's chest. I nodded to Julio and the two of us continued towards the Magik's headquarters, Castle Ciphsen.
             Within a few minutes, the looming tower came into view, the lunar eclipse about to start within seconds. The tower was illuminated with flames without a traditional fuel source, instead burning off the magic energy in the surrounding area. Composed of bricks as black as the moonless night itself, at the top is where Todon, leader of the Magiks, resided. I gripped my blade handle tightly at the memory of Todon. Images of fire engulfing city blocks and people screaming for help flooded my mind. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn't until Julio placed his hand on my shoulder.
             "It'll be alright, Theia. If this is our last fight, we're taking some of them down with us," Julio said with confidence. I smiled at him and shoved aside my past baggage. Preparing myself for the eclipse to begin, I attempted to find the entrance to the castle. We kept to the shadows of the forest, so as not to alert any guards. I couldn't see any doors or passage ways.
             "What if they don't use doors like us?" I whispered to Julio. "We are we going to do then?"
             Julio glanced up at the moon, inches from the full eclipse. "We'll have to try to make one somehow." With that and the moon's eclipse just beginning, Julio charged ahead towards the castle.
              "Julio!" I yelled as I ran after him, but something stopped me partway as I ran. A trap hole had been dug into the ground and I fell down into the murky darkness. The last thing I remember before the blackness fully engulfed me was Julio yelling my name and alarms going off.
             I'm not sure how far I fell, or even if how long I was unconscious, if at all. It was pitch black, the hole that I had fallen through covered. Scrambling around, I managed to find Paluna and tucked her back into her scabbard.
             "Julio!" I called out, but there was no response. My voice echoed, as if I was in a chamber of sorts.
             I crawled along the floor, hoping I'd hit a wall. Within minutes, I found my face against a wall. Clinging closely, like a baby to a mother, I hugged the wall and felt it, searching for any way out. I must have had to feel every wall twice because I did finally manage to feel an odd section of wall. It wasn't earthy like the other walls, but was made of stones that had been meticulously stacked up. I'm not certain if I imagined it or not, but I could softly feel air blowing through a small crack  I took a step back and fiercely kicked the stone section. I could heard a soft crumbling and I proceeded to kick it again. Immediately, a soft beam of light came through a tiny crack. I decided to be direct and I pulled Paluna out of her scabbard. With all my might, Paluna was thrust into the crack. I felt her go all the way through and I wiggled her around. The rocks slowly managed to fall out of their positions, leaving a large opening and flooding my eyes with light.
         I had to cover my eyes for a few seconds and wait for my eyes to adjust. As I blinked, I surveyed the room I found myself in. The walls were a dull gray and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. There was a decaying wooden table in the center of the room and an oak door in the wall across from me. A few bookshelves lined the walls, but the books were absent. The room seemed to have been abandoned long ago, as a thick layer of dust covered everything. Calmly, I walked to the door and leaned my ear on it.
             I could hear a person softly mumbling on the other side. The language they spoke was that of the Magiks, completely illegible and incomprehensible for a native Catonian like me. They sounded half asleep, like they were a guard with a very boring shift. I wasn't sure if the eclipse had started or was over, so I unsheathed Paluna and readied my blade. Quickly, I flung open the door and thrust my sword into whoever was behind the door. There was a groan as the sword cleanly went through the body's heart and out the other side. As if on impulse, I pulled Paluna out and quickly looked around the new area for any more Magiks. It was an empty hallway made of the same gray bricks as the room I was in. To the left was a set of stairs, which I assumed lead to a main section of the castle and to the right, the hallway bent in an L-shape. I huddled against the opposing wall and shuffled to the right part of the hallway, since I'd probably be thrown straight into the fray if I went up the stairs.
             Taking a deep breath, I peeked around the corner. There were two Magiks guarding another set of stairs, one dressed in red garb and another in blue. They seemed heavier and bulkier than the Magiks that we were used to seeing on the battlefield. The red one on the left held a giant two-handed battle axe while the blue one held a staff adorned with jewels. Neither of them appeared to notice me, but I didn't stick my head out for long. I took another deep breath and gripped Paluna tightly.
             I dashed from my hiding spot towards the blue one, since I'd rather take out the one primed for using magic first. Paluna was lifted into the air and thrust towards the blue one's head. Startling the blue one with little time to react, Paluna found her target, stabbing through the blue Magik's skull. The red one paused in shock for a bit before starting to regain its composure. It began swinging the axe wildly, separating me from Paluna. Swiftly, I darted left and right, but I couldn't get around the range of the red Magik. It kept speaking in Magik language while I desperately looked for an opening to grab Paluna. The red Magik got closer and closer, pushing me back further and further towards the wall behind me. As soon as my back hit the bricks, I began to really breathe heavy. The red Magik lifted his axe up above his head, preparing to strike. As he did, I lunged out of the way and dashed for Paluna. As if on cue, we both held our weapons and faced each other.
             We stood there, eyes locked at each other, neither of us moving from our spot. Blood from the blue Magik trickled down Paluna's blade onto my fingers. Finally, I broke the frozen scene. I dashed towards the red Magik, Paluna held over my head, as he did a battle cry and prepared to swing his axe horizontally. Just as he began to swing, I quickly fell to the ground, the axe missing my face by mere inches. As if on instinct, I leaped up and stabbed the Red Magik through the face, twisting Paluna just to be certain. The red Magik screamed in agony as he stumbled backwards. He swung his axe even more haphazardly, causing me to recoil back a few steps. Finally, the red Magik took his last breath and collapsed on the floor. I panted heavily, standing there with Paluna raised as the Magik died. Finally, I sheathed Paluna and turned to the stairwell.
             "They were guarding something," I said to myself and I began to climb the stairs. It must have taken nearly a half-hour to climb those stairs, but I had finally reached the top. A large wooden door stood before me and an open window to my left. I looked out it towards the sky. The eclipse was still occurring, so I drew my focus down to the ground. My eyes widened as I saw the bodies of Magiks scattered around the clearing, while a lone human body, skewered by his own sword, sat limp in the center of it all. Tears began to well up in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away. Julio knew what could happen if he followed me; I just didn't know that he'd be willing to if the time came. I mustered up my strength and I turned back to the wooden door, opening it forcefully.
             "Didn't your parents teach you to knock?" asked a gruff voice. The voice came from a man who was staring out a large window, his back turned to me. "No, they couldn't have. They died way before they could teach you something. That may have just been a slight solecism, but it matters not."
             I drew Paluna, enraged and frightened, and pointed it at the figure. "Turn around and face me!" The man chuckled and turned around. I gasped at the sight of the leader of the Magiks. He was known throughout the land as Todon, and was the most powerful Magik ever born.
             "Where's all that boisterous attitude you had before?" Todon asked, chuckling. "For someone who tries to act calm, your quixotic battle nature tells a different story." He crossed his arms, his elegant violet robe swaying as he moved.
             I gulped and tried to steady my arms as I took deep breaths. "I am going to kill you here and bring an end to this war. Too many lives have been lost because of you and it all ends here! By the negating powers of the eclipse, I will kill you!" I lunged towards Todon, but was stopped partway through my attack. It felt as if Paluna was actually being pulled out of my hands. I gripped with all my might, but Paluna was finally tugged out of my hand and tossed out the window. "Paluna!"
             "Insolent worm. Did you honestly believe that would be all it would take to kill me? A simple lunge attack?" Todon taunted.
             "H-How did you do that? The eclipse..." I panted, shocked at what just happened.
             "You think I became the most powerful Magik by a democracy vote? My powers are still usable, though limited, under the lunar eclipse!" he proclaimed, summoning a dagger from the shelf to his right. "Now, it's my turn."
             With a flick of his wrist, I was flung against the stone wall, suspended by an invisible force and pressed against the wall. Smirking, Todon levitated the dagger towards me in a slow and menacing fashion. I struggled against the forces holding me, but no luck. The dagger plunged itself, not into my chest, but into my left shoulder. I screamed in anguish, unable to do anything. I panted heavily and I could feel myself beginning to lose consciousness. My head bobbed up and down as my eyes fluttered. As I struggled to stay awake, Todon flicked his wrist again and I collapsed on the floor, stabbing the dagger deeper into my shoulder, popping out the other side. At last, my eyes closed and I went limp.
             "Foolish girl," he said, turning back to the window. "Just a minute more, and the magic shall flow once again."
             My lessons in feinting unconsciousness finally paid off as I jumped to my feet and dashed at Todon. Surprised, Todon turned around, but found himself unable to do anything. I pulled the dagger out of my shoulder, shattering what was left of my ribs and shoulder blade, and plunged it into Todon's chest. The force of my impact caused us both to fly out the window and sent us hurtling to our demise.
             "You little trickster rat!" Todon yelled as I plunged the dagger in as far as I could.
             "I learned from the best, Dad!"
             Our bodies crashed into the ground below, the sound of bones cracking and blood spurting out our orifices filled the silent air. Todon lie motionless below me, having taken most of the impact. I tried to get up, but my shoulder and rip injury wouldn't let me. I collapsed again, the sight of Paluna, stuck in the ground with the blood of the red and blue Magiks still fresh, being the last before I took my final breath and died.