~Chapter 6- Enter the Lands of Ralosia~

Lunahreim looked at the now wilted and decrepit forest. The fires had been extinguished, but most of Petri's woods didn't survive the attack. He saw it as unneccessary. It wouldn't lead to the better world that he sought, but for now, he accepted it. He needed to go along with Zantii to an extent to bring his goal to fruition.

General Edi and Commander Ujiic left with a small militia force and headed for the nearby base. Lunahreim guided the rest of Zantii's army headed north through the desolate and cracked terrain. Lightning sprouted from the sky as they came to a temple covered in vines and shrubbery.

"This is the Link Temple. When we pass through it, we'll be transported to the Lands of Ralosia," Lunahreim gestured to the structure before them.

Zantii looked at the unassuming temple and smirked. Without any hesitation, they headed inside, with the droves of soldiers filing behind them. It would take a while for all of them to pass through the tight corridors of the temple.

The temple was dark on the inside; many of them created Focus Lights to help them see their way. There were stone etchings on the walls with the symbols of a Penguin, Moth, and a Raccoon.

Lunahreim came to a short staircase leading to an open circular gate within the temple. Beyond that gate, the temple continued but was lit by torches on the walls. Zantii passed through the gate without a second thought. Though he didn't realize it, he had just entered the Lands of Ralosia.

They turned a corner and found colored but worn stone etchings on the wall, with the symbols of an Owl, Ram, and Tortoise repeated through this side of the temple.

"Zantii," Lunahreim beckoned, "Look at this."

They came upon a large-scale mural portraying a great battle. On the far right stood a representation of the God Ranuulo surrounded by a giant Moth, Penguin, and Raccoon. Muscular with ebon arms, a pale face, bright red eyes, and hair that could be mistaken for fire.

Ranuulo held a jagged great sword, the same one that Zantii now held, and led an army of Ranuulans, Regenek, Arachna, and Densius.

On the far left of the mural was an opposing army comprised of beings that were foreign to Zantii. Some had a trunk, tusks, and bulky bodies. There were beings with flesh that looked like metal that commanded fire and ice. There were Ralosians and Densius as well. But the rocky Densius were not like the ones found in the Lands of Ranuulo; these took on humanoid shapes rather than that of beasts.

At the far left stood a woman with light skin and bright red hair. She wore white robes and wielded golden gauntlets. She was surrounded by a giant Ram, Tortoise, and Owl. It was a representation of the Goddess Ralosia and the three deities that served her.

"This is the war between Ranuulo and Ralosia, isn't it?" Zantii asked after looking over the intricate mural.

"Yes, from nearly a thousand years ago," Lunahreim confirmed, "Ralosia killed the three deities of our world long ago. We'll do the same to theirs." "Ranuulo's sword must be stained with the blood of Ralosia's creations to gain the power of Ranuulo himself," Zantii said, "That's what you told me, isn't?"

Lunahreim nodded.

They continued through the temple with the army filing behind them before reaching a long ascending staircase that led to the exit. They walked out onto a desert.

When Lunahreim gazed at the sky, he saw a calm dark blue and the moon. Nothing like the harsh purple and red sky of the Lands of Ranuulo. As the soldiers spilled out of the temple one by one, they looked up at the moon, wide-eyed.

"What is that thing?" Zantii asked.

"The moon. When Ralosia won the war, she casted a terrible curse around the Lands of Ranuulo. The moon was always high in the sky above; you just couldn't see it."

Zantii stepped out further into the desert. He and Lunahreim looked north. Mountains, lush green plains, dense forests, pristine lakes of water, all manner of beauty laid ahead of them. It was the Lands of Ralosia, the land they had come to conquer.