“Ah, so you’re here,” said Pyrrhon. “I guess it’s time for the next part of tale. The tale, of Pyrrhon! This won’t be as long as the first part…

“After hearing the kidnap of my relatives, Pyrrhon set off to the place described by the map. It was just the beginning of the journey, a mere wave in the tsunami of this awesome legend…”

And so begins part 2…

They travelled all day, across the calm forests beyond Glimahor. No events made their travel tiresome. Ignis seemed a little more determined than normal, travelling as fast as he could, having Bokhim and Rumhel close behind him. They left the forest as the sun was setting in a rather plain way of orange and yellow. A little beyond that they saw a great castle made of white (yet greyed with time) bricks and the same red and gold standards with a symbol of some sort of sun that the horsemen bore was on the rooks of the castle.

The guards saw the travellers and let them in, seeing they were with Ignis. The inside was draped with red and yellow walls, with a shining marble floor. There was attention to detail as the gilded painted windows had elegant designs of someone of a nearly naked handsome young man with blond hair. One of the guards went over to Ignis.

“Greetings,” said the guard. “Sorry for the more….direct method.”

“What do you want from me?” asked Ignis. “And what are you doing to mother and Korm?”

“They are fine. They were angry, but we treat them as guests. We don’t know what we need you for, only Lord Apollo needs you. He will reveal himself to you in the next room over there.” He pointed to a well hidden door to the right. It was clear it was a door, yet it seemed to be designed like that to not pay attention to it, as if it was some both scared and cursed room, almost as if they were afraid of it. “If you go in there, we’ll send men to send them back home.”

Seems simple enough “How do I know you will keep your word?”

“We try to be as honorable as possible,” said the guard. “We would die of shame if we didn’t keep a promise or follow an order correctly.” Reluctantly, Ignis went to the door, and it opened of its own accord. Bokhim wanted to follow, but the guard stopped him. The room inside was even more elegant than the main hall. The floor was like a mirror dusted slightly by the gravel of the road by his shoes, and the walls were decorated in the same young man like on that painted window. There was a window to the east, and one to the west. He then felt a presence, such a powerful force he could not comprehend how a being could just emit power and strength like that. Then, there was a glow of faint light in front of him, growing to be brighter and brighter until it was like looking into the sun. Then the light dimmed drastically, leaving a young man in white robes with bright blond hair. It took Ignis a little while before he realised it was the same person in the painted window. He hadn’t realised that the door silently closed behind him.

“Greetings, fellow human.” said the young man, softly yet with such a force you couldn’t help but respect him. “I am the Sun God, Apollo. I’m sure you have a few questions you wish to ask, so I’ll answer your most pressing one. The reason why I called you hear is because I heard from a dear friend of mine that a terrible war would fall on the earth, where every living thing is at stake, where not only the destruction of the earth is at hand, but the mere existence is also at stake, to be swallowed by a great force. He was Hades, and wouldn’t warn me of such a matter if wasn’t such a great urgency. The one problem with this is that, he told me you were the cause of the beginning of this war.”

Ignis couldn’t piece it together. Who was this Hades? And why, or rather, how could he start a war so big?

Apollo continued. “So it is with much regret I must ask you to offer yourself as a sacrifice.” Apollo brought out a dagger from under his robes. With a panic, Ignis started to reason.

“Isn’t there another way, anyway to resolve this without my death?” Ignis blurted. Apollo considered this.

“Hm, maybe, fair human.” the god said, returning his dagger to under his robes. “It won’t be easy though. You will entertain me. You will be trained in swordplay for a year, and will pit against the very best of my army. Should you be mortally wounded, you will be offered as a sacrifice. Should you win, however you will be part of my kingdom, to be kept an eye on, to prevent terrible war from happening, yet your life will be spared. I will, however, have to keep your relatives here to prevent you from escaping. Should you do such a thing, they will die.”

“But-“ Ignis began.

“That,” said Apollo. “Or instant death now.”

Ignis shook his head a bit. “I don’t have a choice, do I.”

“There’s always a choice in this, fair human.” said Apollo, in the same soft, yet gripping respectful tone. He didn’t seem biased in any of this.

“I accept then. Train me” said Ignis, and so it was done. Apollo sent word to his men what was happening, and disappeared in the same bright light he entered with. The finest swordsman gave him a place in his house, made him his apprentice and trained him throughout the year….

“And so Pyrrhon learnt the ways of swords.” Pyrrhon wrapped up. “He learned the many different skills and learned fast. Sure, the guy was a little aggressive and a sore loser at times, and his anger can get the better of him sometimes, but Pyrrhon appreciated all he taught him. Although the training went on for one year, it felt several times more. Now leave me. Pyrrhon must rest…”

And so ends part 2.