The Sword of Silence Part 1

Chapter 1:

The power of the Dark One rises,
With his army and devices.
By the last day of winter,
The weapons master, with the ruler of Kongor,
Shall march the army thither, to the west
To challenge his wrath.
Else darkness will befall mankind,
As the world the Dark One shall hath.

And so the prophecy wrote. Volund sighed as he looked out of the window, looking at his own reflection. He was growing older, and he knew better than to deny that fact as he saw his once beautiful long, dark brown hair growing white. His sharp elven features were still distinct.

He was worried for the siblings and wondered when they would come. They had enemies so powerful that he feared for them.

Centuries ago, the births of the siblings were predicted, and this prophecy was written. About twenty five years ago, the girl was born and her parents were killed when she was ten. He rescued the siblings, telling the brother to come to him when she came of age. That was the last time he had seen them.

As much as he wanted to stay and help them, he could not do it. His presence would only invite suspicion and it could get them killed. He could only hope for them.

Now was the time. It was already winter, and the gnomes and trolls were gathering South at the Dark One’s command. He hoped that the siblings were still alive, for they were the only ones whom he knew had a chance against this impending evil.

As the prophecy stated, they had only until the end of winter. If the siblings did not find a way to stop the Dark One, all was lost.

And it hurt him to know that he could do nothing, but wait for them.

Chapter 2:

The sun was bearing down again, signifying the end of yet another day. It was winter time and the days were shorter. Hercles Ilidur, dressed in a flaxen shirt and brown trousers, wandered about in the forest, all alone. He was a big man, and did not fear the threat of the elements. Not after spending more than ten years outdoors, all alone.

Suddenly, Hercles was alerted by a movement in the trees. He stopped moving. His years of experience in the woods told him that this was not a rustle made by the wind or
an animal. He started out towards the direction of the sound, making as little noise as he could.

He caught sight of seven two legged creatures wearing forest cloaks and dragging a sack with them. Although he could not see their features properly, he knew what they were.

Gnomes.

As he saw the green scaly creatures, he was brought back to the day which his parents were killed.

At that time, he was only ten.

His father managed to kill several of them, but was eventually killed. From under the bed, he saw his own father fall down dead, right in front of him. It took all of him to keep from screaming.

His mother screamed at that sight. The gnomes walked towards her as she staggered back helplessly. They cut off her hand and took the bracelet she had always worn. By that time, she had already fainted from both pain and fright.


After a while, he stepped out of the house and saw that his entire village was destroyed. Houses and huts were burning, bodies were everywhere. The gnomes had left, leaving behind a path of destruction in their wake.

He screamed and ran into the woods. He did not care what was happening. He continued running, without stopping.

He closed his eyes, trying to get the image out of his head and realized that the gnomes were carrying a sack. It seemed to be moving slightly. A captive? Hercles wondered. However, from what he knew about gnomes, they did not usually take live captives. He did not know what was happening and he knew that there was only one way to find out.

Without hesitation, he drew his sword from its sheath. The familiar sound of ringing steel alerted the gnomes, but Hercles did not care. He went straight for the one closest to him, cutting its throat. The others charged at him, weapons drawn. Hercles did not panic. He calmly blocked their attacks with his sword. One of the gnomes tried to kick the sword from his hand, but Hercles saw the leg coming and severed it before thrusting the sword into the gnome’s heart. Another managed to get close enough to Hercles that it came face to face with him. “Die!” it rasped. Hercles stepped aside and put his sword into its back.


By the time the last of the gnomes died, the cold forest ground was already covered with fresh blood. Hercles finally killed the last gnome and went to look at the sack. It was dark brown and covered with small holes, probably to ensure that the captive could breathe.

Hercles cut open the sack and saw the gnomes’ captive for the first time. She was a beautiful young woman of about Hercles’ age, perhaps slightly younger. Her green eyes and beautiful long black hair astounded him. She looked around and did not seem to be shocked by the bodies lying around as Hercles had expected her to be. This was no ordinary woman, Hercles knew.

“Thank you for saving me,” she whispered, breaking the awkward silence. From her accent, Hercles could tell that she was a Northlander.

Hercles did not reply. He broke off from her gaze, put his sword back into the sheath and started walking off, ignoring her completely.

“Sir!” the young woman called. Hercles stopped. “Can I come with you?”
He turned around to face her beautiful face once again. This time, she was standing up. Despite being rugged and dirty, Hercles could see the elegance in her, as if she were a princess.
“You can come if you wish, and just call me Hercles.” Hercles said. His voice was deep, and a little raspy. It was almost as if he hadn’t spoke for ages.

The young woman smiled gratefully. “My name is Vass,” she said. Hercles nodded his head in acknowledgement and waited while she walked towards him.

They walked on for a little while more before setting up camp for the night.

Chapter 3:

“Run Vass! Run! Don’t bother about me.” Her brother’s voice echoed in her head. Vass woke up, her face covered with sweat and tears. She shook her head, trying to shake off the terrible memory of watching her brother killed.

She forced herself to think of some other things and saw Hercles sitting by the fire. She got up and went towards him, hoping to talk to him and to learn more about him. His silence intrigued her, despite the predicament she was in.

“Hey,” she said, sitting down beside him. He turned to face her. “So, what were you doing in the middle of a forest? I mean, before you rescued me,” she asked.

He looked at her, showing no emotions. He had dark features, which, she thought, reflected his dark personality. The way his intelligent black eyes gazed at her never failed to send shivers down her spine, as if he could see right through her and read her thoughts.

“If you do not wish to answer me, then it’s okay,” she added quickly.

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

“Me? I was kidnapped by the gnomes on my way home, until you saved me.”

Once again, he did not reply, but looked away into the night. He knows, she realized. He knows that I am not just an ordinary woman.

“Alright, my name is Vass Sieg,” she resigned.

He turned to look at her, his face showing no sign of surprise. “I am the niece of the King Sieg from Kongor,” she continued.

“When I was young, my parents were framed and killed by my uncle, who wanted the throne for himself. My brother and I were forced to flee our homeland and to go into hiding from my uncle, who wanted us killed. As I grew up, my brother taught me to hunt,
fight and to survive in the woods until…until the gnomes killed him,” she said, unable to control her tears.

“You have to help me,” she begged.

Help you with what? Hercles wondered. He did not know what to do, or how to react. All these years, he had gotten used to living alone, minding his own business. If not for his hatred towards gnomes, he would not have rescued her.

“If anyone can help me, it is you. I have gnomes and my uncle’s men after me. I can’t do this alone!”

“Why are the gnomes after you?”

“I do not know why,” she said, exasperated.

He understood gnomes. As bloodthirsty as they were, they did not usually go after a specific person. They only hungered for blood and violence, it did not matter whose blood they had. He was a victim of the gnomes himself, and he knew.

“How can I help you?”

“Before the gnomes arrived, my brother mentioned an elf called Volund in Elfheim, perhaps he might know something.” She replied in between tears of joy, joy that he was willing to help her.

Without another word, Hercles walked on, leading the way.

Chapter 4:

The Dark One roared in rage. He could not believe that the fools could not get such a simple job done. If they had not died, he would have made them suffer a fate worse than death. He only learnt about the deaths after his scout returned and reported them.

He calmed himself down, reminding himself that not all was lost. He could not let such a minor setback affect him. Although his plan was ruined, he could always think of another one. He was patient, and he had the dark arts to help him.

Sieg had promised to ally with him if he could bring his little niece to him. Kongor was the biggest kingdom in the north and with the alliance, he could easily seize the whole of the north, after which, he would deal with Sieg accordingly.

The elves in the east, no matter how powerful they were, would not be able to withstand his crushing army once Kongor joined him. Then, he would move to the west and take the dwarves and Haron.

Meanwhile, he would just build on his army by taking the smaller cities and villages.

He sent more gnomes out to look for Vass Sieg. Whoever killed the gnomes was powerful, and if she had such a powerful ally, she could not be underestimated.

Chapter 5:

Hercles and Vass walked into the city of Elfheim. The place simply reflected the beauty of the elven race. It was simply too grand for words.

As they crossed the drawbridge leading into the palace, they were stopped by the elven guards.

“State your purpose.”

“We’re here to see Volund, the senior advisor.” Vass replied.

The guard sent a messenger in. After a while, the messenger came back out and nodded to the guard. “You are not allowed to bring your weapons in.”

Hercles glared at the elf. The elves closely resembled men, except for their pointed ears and sharp nose. From what he knew, the elves were said to be a group of men who migrated from the south to the east to study magic. Over the years, they evolved into a race by themselves as they were altered both physically and mentally by magic.

Hercles removed his sword, bow, arrows and short daggers from his belt while Vass removed her short sword. Together, they were led into the palace.

The palace was so magnificent that Hercles and Vass could hardly find words to describe it. However, it proved to be a maze. It was designed in a way which only the elves themselves could recognize. This was to deter any attempt of invasion from others.

They were finally led into a room. The walls of the room were painted in gold to represent the royalty, and it was decorated with beautiful paintings and carvings. A beautiful carving of a hawk caught Hercles eye. The hawk spread out its wings, as if soaring in the air freely. In the middle of it all, there was a large cozy armchair, with an elf sitting down.

“Greetings, Vass Sieg, I’m glad that you have finally arrived. But where is your brother? And who is this man you brought with you?” the elf asked. He looked older than the guard in the gate, with smooth long, white hair.

“Are you Volund?” Vass asked uncertainly.

Volund smiled. “Yes, I am Volund. Please make haste and answer my questions. We do not have much time left.”

“My brother was killed by the gnomes before they captured me. This is Hercles Ilidur, the man who rescued me from the gnomes. Can you tell me what is happening?”

Volund sighed. “You are the world’s only hope against the Dark One then. Prophecy stated that you and your brother are the only ones who stand a chance against him. Now, you are the only one left.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Long before you were born, your birth was predicted, and so was the rise of this Dark One. He used to be an elf, but he ventured into the dark arts of magic and became corrupted to the core. Over the years, he gathered his powers and went even deeper into the dark arts. His appearance was twisted by the dark magic and he became ruled by the dark magic he claims to control. Recently, he started gathering the gnomes and the trolls. As you know, the gnomes are a brutish race, raiding small villages for survival while the trolls are a tribal race, who is easily tricked into joining the army. These two races, of course, would be the Dark One’s first target.

“I believe that the gnomes were sent by the Dark One to capture you in order to persuade your uncle to be allied with him.”

Vass was in a daze. She almost could not believe what she was hearing. “So how am I supposed to stop this Dark One?” she asked weakly.

“I have no idea how, only that you will be the one to do it. Hercles Ilidur, since you have helped her once, I trust that you can help her complete this quest.”

Hercles looked at the elf blankly. What in the world was going on? He thought. In a matter of days, his life has been changed greatly because of this woman. He was just a normal man who lived in the woods, how could he help this woman here save the world?

The elf looked at the big man, much taller than Volund himself and definitely more powerfully built. He knew then that this was the weapons master mentioned in prophecy, and the mistake he had made when he thought that Vass’s brother would be the weapons master.

However, he could not tell him this; for fear that this man grew over-confidence and ended up getting himself killed. Prophecy could be fulfilled, but if one thought that he was invincible just because of prophecy and went charging into an army of thousands, he would still die.

“Very well, let’s go.” Hercles muttered.

“You have to stop your uncle from agreeing to ally with the Dark One. If need be, kill him. I will ask my grandson, Val to aid you in this. The first step to stopping him is to go to Kongor, and prevent your uncle from agreeing to help the Dark One. As the prophecy states, you have until the end of winter to destroy the Dark One.”

Hercles nodded and went out of the room without another word. Vass nodded at Volund and went out after him.

As they were walking out of the palace, another elf joined them. He looked to be about Vass’s age but Vass knew that he was at least eighty years old by elven standards, and was still in his primes. He greeted them lightheartedly and introduced himself as Val, Volund’s grandson. Vass thought he looked a little like his grandfather as she returned his greeting. Val dismissed the guard and the three of them walked out together. Hercles just continued walking.

After recovering their weapons, the three of them went on straight to the barn to get their horses. They did not wish to waste anytime at all, as they knew that every moment was crucial for them.

“How long does it take to travel to Kongor on horse?” Vass asked.

“About four days of horse ride. We will have supplies now and won’t have to hunt for food like you guys did before you came here, so it would be faster.”

“Does he ever speak?” Val whispered to Vass.

Vass managed a small smile despite herself. “He is a man of few words, but he does speak.”

“Let’s go,” Hercles called out.

Chapter 6:

Daer watched from his hiding place as the gnomes and trolls overran the town, killing anyone in their way. He could hardly believe what was happening. In a matter of days, the invading gnomes and trolls have taken over his entire town.

They took the heads of any who tried to oppose them and hung them on poles to make examples out of them. The stronger men were taken away to join their growing army, while some of the more beautiful women were raped by the men amongst the army. Tears filled his eyes as he recalled his sister and wife being taken away.

He did not understand any of what he was seeing, growing up in such a small town, he only heard tales of gnomes and trolls, and as far as he heard, they did not move in such big groups. And they didn’t take men to join their armies either.

As he was pondering, he saw four gnomes heading towards his hiding place. He started to panic. He did not want to join those bloodthirsty creatures, but he didn’t want to die either.

He prayed silently that they would just ignore the fruit basket he was hiding amongst.

But he knew he couldn’t count on his prayers.

He daren’t moved, for fear of arousing their suspicions. One thing he knew for sure, if he had to fight his way out, he wanted to keep his only advantage over them, the element of surprise.

As the gnomes approached him, he pounced out suddenly, throwing the baskets in the gnomes’ direction. The gnomes cried out in surprise as he rolled over and grabbed the sword of a dead man lying nearby. Sword in hand, he charged towards the gnomes, fueled by his hatred as he recalled the scenes those creatures did to his fellow men. As he got closed enough, he put the sword into one of the gnomes’ chest, killing it.

He blocked a blow from a gnome and kicked the creature away. As he turned around, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw that he was shot by an arrow. Gasping in pain, he continued fighting his way through. He managed to cut the throat of another gnome while a second one got too close and slashed him in his left arm.

Roaring with fury and pain, he elbowed the gnome aside and charged towards him, sword in right hand. If he had to die, he was bringing as many of these hideous creatures as he could with him. As he was about to put the sword through the gnome, he felt another sharp pain, this time in his chest. He looked up, finally realizing that the forth gnome was shooting the arrows.

The third gnome took advantage of his surprise and stabbed him in the heart. He dropped to his knee. His strength was failing him. As he looked up at the gnome, it grinned at him, ready to swing its sword.

That was the last thing he saw before he dropped dead.

Chapter 7:

Hercles and his companions rode hard for the next two days, making only brief stops for meals. No words were exchanged among them as they rode past plains and forests.

“Alright, let’s stop here for our mid-day meal. We should be able to reach Kongor by nightfall tomorrow.” Val announced, his bright blue eyes glittering.

Hercles stopped his horse and looked around. The woods around were quiet, except for the occasional rustle of leaves caused by the winter wind. He came down from his horse and started unpacking their supplies for the meal.

Without warning, he heard a loud war cry. He saw gnome raiders charging towards them. He immediately drew his sword and started killing as many gnomes as he could. As he was slashing through the gnomes, he saw Vass desperately trying to ward off the onslaught of gnomes charging at her. On the other side, he could see Val sending waves of elven flame at the attackers.

Suddenly, Hercles heard a scream. He turned and saw that a gnome put his sword through Vass’s stomach. Instinctively, Hercles reached for his daggers and threw one of them at the gnomes around Vass, killing the gnome. He put his sword into a gnome and rushed forward to Vass’s aid.

He stood in front of her and defended her. Meanwhile, Val was also trying to reach the two of them. Finally, the last of the gnomes fell.

“Oh my…” Val muttered as he turned towards Vass. She was losing too much blood, Hercles realized as he bent down to look at her.

“Where is the nearest village?” Hercles asked anxiously.

Val shook his head. “The nearest place where we can get help from is Kongor.”

Hercles took off his shirt and used it as a bandage around her stomach to try to stop the bleeding. He carried her up his horse and mounted the horse himself.

“See you in Kongor.”

“I’m coming with you.” Val said as he too, mounted his horse.

Chapter 8:

Val and Hercles, with Vass with him, rode hard throughout the next day, not stopping even once. When they finally reached Kongor, they were stopped by the guard at the city gates.

"My sister was badly injured when we ran into bandits in the woods. Please let us seek help in there," Hercles said, trying to hide Vass's face. From what he knew, she was a wanted woman by the king himself.

"You don't sound so sincere...Perhaps..." the guard replied with a toothless grin. He was older than Hercles and there was a scar in his left cheek. Hercles kept his calm, looking into the eyes of the guard and showing the same, emotionless face. There was no point making a scene here, drawing attention to themselves before they accomplished what they were here for.

Just then, Val stepped in, slipping a few silver coins into the guard's hands. "Please let us through, she really needs help."

The guard gave that same toothless grin to Val and let them in. The city was run-down and old. It looked to be the sort of place where the rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. Hercles and Val brought Vass to the nearest inn and got a room. Hercles summoned for a healer and they waited, looking desperately at Vass.

"You do care for her, don't you?" Val asked.
Hercles did not reply. He didn’t care for anyone, and he couldn’t get used to the idea of caring for someone. He hadn’t engaged himself emotionally, whether in terms of love or friendship, since his mother died.

As a child, he was very close to his mother. When the gnomes killed her, he was very upset, and he knew he did not want to experience the same pain again. Ever since she died, he lived alone, never making friends.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The healer was here.

Hurriedly, Hercles went to open the door. An elderly man stepped in, nodding at the two of them. Hercles showed him to Vass. The man gasped when he saw her.

“She is…she is a wanted woman!” the man gaped. “I can’t do this, no, I can’t… I’ll be executed!”

Hercles drew his sword and pushed the elderly man to the wall. “If you don’t save her, you will be executed immediately.” He hissed into the man’s face.
“On the other hand, if you heal her and keep your mouth shut, you will be rewarded.” Val added, flicking a gold coin in his hands.

The man gazed at Hercles fearfully. Slowly, he walked towards Vass and examined her. “She’s lost a lot of blood, but no internal organs were damaged,” he stuttered, still unable to believe what he was doing.

“I can prescribe some herbs for her; and she will need plenty of rest. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave.” He said, handing the prescription to Val.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Hercles declared.

“But…but…”

“We are here on a mission, we can’t let you go out and blabber rumors about us.”

“I swear I won’t sir…I swear...”

“We can’t take any chances.” Hercles said coldly.

“Don’t worry; we will let you off once our job here is done. Don’t let my friend here scare you; he won’t do anything to you, unless you prove to be a threat by attacking us or trying to run away.” Val cut in.
“Val, come here.” Hercles called. “I’ll go get the herbs and look for any gnomes along the way. From what your grandfather told us, they are probably the Dark One’s messengers.”
Val nodded. “Kill as many as you can. If we’re lucky, the Dark One might even think that Sieg is declaring war by killing his messengers.”

Hercles nodded and walked out of the room without another word.

Chapter 9:

Kain the dwarf walked into his house. He was exhausted from digging graves for the whole day. He has been digging graves for nearly a decade, carrying on the line of business ran by his ancestors.

He sat down on the wooden chair in the house. He took out the steel blade and looked at it, as he always does. He wondered what this blade was. It has been his family heirloom for a long time.

Darkness against darkness. He has been reading those words imprinted on the blade for years, but he was still unable to make out what the words meant.

He knew there was something strange about this blade, probably something magical. The steel was still glimmering proudly after so many years. It was strange how it did not rust after being passed down for so many generations.

Recently, he has been having this strange feeling; that something, or someone, was coming for him. And it seemed to have something to do with this strange, glittering blade. He wondered what it could be.

Drifting deeper into his thoughts, he fell asleep.


The Dark One sat down patiently, waiting. He found it hard to believe what he has just read. Now, he finally understood what Volund was doing. That would explain why his messengers to Kongor never returned; the girl was there and the weapons master mentioned in the books of prophecy was probably with her.

He had to stop the weapons master and the girl at all cost, or else his plans would be ruined. He closed his eyes and extended his powers throughout, searching for objects of dark magic, dark magic more powerful than himself. All he got in return were three words: Darkness against darkness.

He continued tracing the object, but it was too powerful for him to find out exactly where it was. In the end, he only found out that it was somewhere in the west.

He had to prevent the girl and the weapons master from getting to the west at all cost. He knew that all he had to do was to wait until the end of winter.

He was versatile, and could change his plans strategically. He smiled to himself as he ordered his first group of gnomes to move into the west.