The Eternal Chosen One

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear & attacks it straight on its face...!”

Millions of aeons ago, after the creation of the Universe

On a Lone Planet

Sagittarius was roaming around in the debris of the burnt down monastery he had just destroyed.

He was the Royal Commander of the Dark Army, comprising of demon combatants & elfs. Emperor Maleeath, the evil emperor who had gained immortality by trapping the 12 monarchs from 12 planets in his spear named Skofnung, had the dark army under him.

Sagittarius was the adopted son of the Emperor. He never knew about his real father. He only knew that the Emperor had raised him, had taught him all the warfare. He was an expert swordsman, an excellent archer, a physician & had won many battles for Emperor Maleeath. Using his magical powers, he had healed many injured dark soldiers. He was the most powerful, undefeated warrior in the entire Dark Army. Using his magical powers, he had created The Violet Fire, the most hazardous & indestructible fire in the entire Universe.

Sagittarius had never liked to kill the innocent monks, but the dark lord had left him no choice. He opposed the massacre that was happening in this & other kingdoms, but he feared the wrath, the power of Emperor Maleeath, which forced him to do things he never liked. He feared the emperor, & most importantly, he feared to be brave enough to stand against the emperor, who was now the most powerful being in the Universe.

 

As he walked in the wreckage of the monastery, he was silently mourning the loss of those innocent monk’s lives & all the ancient handwritten relics that were lost in this massacre. He looked at the birthmark scales he had, a series of horizontal lines on his right palm, still never knowing what was their purpose.

“Help me…...!” 

Sagittarius halted.

Thinking that someone required help, he walked slowly along the ruins of the monastery, searching for any sign of a living being.

“Please…don’t kill me…!” abruptly Sagittarius saw the hand of a monk in the light of the glowing torch he was holding. The monk was injured very badly, with bruises all over his body.

A good person at heart, Sagittarius felt pity on him. He lifted the old man & brought him to his hut. His hut was surrounded by forests & wonderful greenery on all sides. Being a well-known physician, he treated the old monk for the whole night, applying ointments & treating to his injuries.

 

The next day, early morning, Sagittarius woke up, only to find the monk sitting outside under a tree.

“What’s your name?” Sagittarius asked.

“My name is Grandmaster Elin,” the monk replied, “I was the royal advisor of Lord Valdimar…” the moment the old monk said this, Sagittarius was shocked.

“Centuries ago, The Eternal Tree of Life was very well protected by Lord Valdimar, the royal guard. This tree gives life to each & every living being in this entire universe. The three gods had instructed him to protect the Eternal Tree from all the negative forces. They had granted him the Lazarus,the divine bow & the most powerful weapon. However, certain evil energies in the Universe wanted to hold access to the tree. One of them was Emperor Maleeath. He was the son of Dalranoth, the evil one-eyed Demon. Dalranoth had betrayed the Three Gods because he wanted to become the Supreme Ruler of the entire Universe, but the Gods banished him from the heavens. He then became the Dark Lord & tried to gain hold over the Tree, but the three gods destroyed him in a fierce battle. Maleeath decided to continue his father’s fight. He kept attacking the Tree, but Lord Valdimar suppressed his attacks every time. One day, his father gave the Emperor all his powers, making him much more powerful than he ever was. After he got those powers, Maleeath attacked the Eternal Tree with full force. This time, the Lord couldn’t defend himself & the tree.” The monk’s eyes moistened as he said this.

“Out of all the Lord’s army, only 88 warriors survived. As the lord died, using his divine bow, to protect the tree from all negative forces, he created a massive shield around it. He then put a curse on the Bow, which said that the Bow will come to him, if he shall prove to be The Chosen One. The one who possesses the bow, will be the next royal guardian." The old monk remained silent for a while. 

"For every temple destroyed, Maleeath’s evil powers are increasing. His powers have already increased exponentially. He is using the powers of the 12 kings for himself & for attacking the tree.” as the monk said this, Sagittarius thought what will happen if the Emperor gets hold of the tree. 

"Soon, the Emperor is ready to launch attack on the tree." The monk said, feeling sad. "The tree has no royal guard to protect itself. No one can stand against the Emperor. If he succeeds in capturing the tree, all the life and all the positivity in this universe will be destroyed. The evil Emperor will challenge the gods and may even take their position.” The monk said.

"The Universe needs its Royal Guardian. The Eternal Tree may survive, but it will never be able to give life to anyone in this Universe...!" 

This should not happen, Sagittarius thought.

He always opposed the Emperor & his way of working, but he couldn't speak against the person who had raised him. He feared the emperor & never supported his way of ruling, but nevertheless agreed to serve as a Commander.

Today as he came to know that the Eternal tree will be attacked, he then made a decision.

He finally decided to stop all of it. This was not what I’ve been made for. I will stop it, he said to himself, even if that means I have to sacrifice my life. I will fight for the tree, not because I don't like the Emperor, the person who raised me, but because if the tree is not saved now, no one will ever be able to save it. No positivity will be left for the coming generations. This Universe will become the Dark One, with all negativity & evil forces around.

Taking his sword, he stood up. “Tell me where are those 88 warriors.” He asked the monk.

 

The next night, at the rise of the first rays of the full moon, Sagittarius & his small army of 88 warriors stood on the Lone Planet in front of the Eternal Tree of Life.

Emperor Maleeath had declared this night for attacking the tree.The Tree was enormous, huge in size. Gleaming beautifully in the divine white colour, it had multiple branches which spanned exactly in the 8 directions. Its stems were golden in colour & its leaves were shining brightly in silver shade. Even though it was covered in a shield, it had a very pleasant smell which was filled in the air all around. Earlier the lone planet was shrouded with wonderful gardens, but the dark army had destroyed all of them during all the multiple attacks that had happened to the tree.

The 88 warriors from the Lord's army had taken refuge in an isolated area, fearing the dark forces. But Sagittarius brought them together in this fight, to save all the lives of all the future generations & most importantly, to save the positive energies for the entire Universe.

“Tonight…we rise as warriors….! We are here to fight not just for ourselves, but for our future ages...! We’ll defend the Tree till our last breath…! Remember…a true warrior is the one who will always defend the right & protect the truth…! Even though the dark army is enormous in numbers, we will defend them till we die...! If each one of us fights with 600 of them, then we will be counted as true warriors...! Do not forget what our Lord did…Hail the Lord….!” Sagittarius roared like a lion.

“Hail the Lord…Hail the Lord….!!” All the 88 warriors screamed in unison.

 

Emperor Maleeath’s army was could clearly see the small number of soldiers on the other side. The Dark army which comprised of hideous looking elf’s, animals & demons, was already in full force. Maleeath had 66 commanders in his army, & Sagittarius used to be their leader. Tonight, however, Sagittarius was on the other side, serving the good. These 66 commanders had 666 armed demon combatants & elfs, animals under them. Maleeath himself was well prepared with all of his powers. Looking at his army & his strength, he was certain that victory was his. His main aim was to take the Tree of Life & he had clearly instructed all his commanders to take down anyone or anything that came in between him & the Tree.

 

Sagittarius looked at the Dark Lord. The night before, he had gone to request the emperor to call off the attack. But the Emperor kicked him out of his army, & proclaimed him as the traitor.

Tonight, even though he was standing in front of the person who raised him, he was certain that he will stop the attack at any cost.

“Hail the Lord….!” Sagittarius screamed, lifting his sword.

Maleeath observed this from a distance. He knew his commanders were waiting for his order.

“Goooooo….!” He shouted, pointing his sword in their direction.

In an instant, the entire line of 66 commanders along with their soldiers rode on their horses & marched in the direction of Sagittarius. Swinging their swords, they galloped on their horses at breath-taking speed, targeting the 88 warriors. Within seconds, the two met in the middle, their swords clinging & hammering on each other.

“Keep attacking them…! Flank them from all sides…don’t let anyone of them move ahead…!” Sagittarius screamed at all his warriors.

Sagittarius was a very skilled swordsman, unmatched by anyone in the entire universe. He moved his swords easily along as he ran, slicing away all the demons & elfs who came in between. 

The 88 warriors were very much skilled in their fights. They knew their movements clearly & therefore were taking down every dark soldier quite swiftly. They were greatly outnumbered by the dark soldiers, however, the warriors were so courageous & brave that no one could even stand their attack.

Every demon was attacking Sagittarius, but he was equally alert.

Around 20 soldiers pounced on him directly, but Sagittarius used his sword and blocked them. With tremendous force, he pushed all of them aside. Dashing forward, with lightning speed, he ducked down & swung his swords speedily, cutting down the legs of all the attackers. He then saw archers ahead, who were about to release their arrows. Instantly, he stopped running & jumped high up & as he landed, he stretched his hands & created the Violet Fire. The fire spread wildly & burnt down the approaching combatants. The other 88 warriors were fighting in the same way, each & everyone killing & slashing the dark soldiers. They were so brave that till now not a single dark soldier had broken their defence & advanced towards the Eternal Tree.

Seeing his army suffering, Maleeath closed his eyes & muttered something. Instantly stones from the nearby mountain rose up and transformed into mighty creatures. 

Sagittarius saw this & immediately created the Violet Fire on the ground. Instantly, the fire rose up & burnt down all the advancing creatures. Maleeath created more such beasts, with larger in size, but Sagittarius was equally smart. He created Violet Fire every time the creatures came towards him, destroying them before they advanced ahead.

Even though the 88 warriors were brave & fighting vigorously, their courage was not able to help them withstand the mighty Dark army. They started falling in numbers, most of them injured so badly they couldn’t get up to continue their fight.

In his hut, Grandmaster Elin could feel the disaster that was happening. He closed his eyes & prayed to the Three Gods to help Sagittarius, who was giving his life to protect the Eternal Tree. All that thou had seen, all that thou had thought, may please be the truth, he prayed to the Gods.

 

Sagittarius marched ahead, killing the emperor’s guards in one swift movement of his sword. He then charged at the emperor & raised his swords, bellowing loudly.

Maleeath blocked the attack with his spear & pushed him back. The force was so strong that Sagittarius fell several steps behind. But Sagittarius never gave up. 

In spite of the multiple injuries, he still got up & charged ahead, raising his sword. Maleeath banged his spear on the incoming sword attack. The metals clanged & the sound was so harsh it sent waves of tremors on the ground. Sagittarius attacked again, this time swirling around & hitting the swords at two different points, but Maleeath was equally alert & fast, blocking his every attack. Sagittarius pounded blows of his sword in the emperor’s direction. He swung hard & hit the emperor’s legs, but Maleeath blocked it & in a swirling movement hit the butt of his spear on Sagittarius’s head. Before he could recover, the emperor hit him again with his spear on his back.Swirling the spear, he moved swiftly & hit the third time straight on Sagittarius’s chest.

The resultant blows sent Sagittarius flying high up in the air. He landed on his head, the hard rock below smashing his skull badly. His vision slowly started diminishing. In his diffused vision, he saw the Emperor approaching towards him. With an evil look in his eyes, forgetting all that Sagittarius had done for him, the emperor raised his spear & pounded it down straight into the chest of his adopted son.

Sagittarius screamed in pain. He tried getting up, but couldn’t do so. He felt all the power draining away from his body. All the 88 warriors were badly injured now. In his diffused vision, he saw the Dark army advancing towards The Eternal Tree of Life.

 

In his hut, Grandmaster Elin felt his tears dripping down. Dear Gods, please help him, he prayed. We all know who he is. He is fighting for all of the living beings.

More than thousands of Galaxies away, on a deserted planet, suddenly a huge bolt of Blue fire shot down from the sky. With thunderous sound, the entire planet exploded, revealing an object inside it, kept hidden from the entire Universe by the Three Gods. With speed thousand times faster than light, the object flew towards the Lone Planet giving out huge flashes of thunder as it went.

 

The Dark army reached at the base of the mountain and started climbing. The shield was up ahead. Maleeath was continuously firing huge shots of black fire on the divine shield, trying to break through it. Some demons had already climbed the mountain, & they approached the shield, trying to break it in whatever possible means.

Suddenly there was a huge blow of thunder in the sky. The sound was so huge, it looked as if the whole sky had fallen. The thunder sounds kept on coming, dashing lightning bolts, but this time, the bolts were blue in colour. The whole dark army stood dead on their tracks, as many of them knew what was coming.

Grandmaster Elin heard the thunder sounds. He immediately smiled. He knew those sounds. He had been hearing them in his dreams, and now in reality.

Sagittarius faintly heard the huge thunder sounds above. With much efforts, he opened his eyes & in his diffused vision, saw a huge ball of Blue fire approaching him, with tremendous speed. In an instant, before he could realise, the ball of fire engulfed him.

Maleeath couldn’t believe his eyes. He knew this phenomenon. He thought that while he killed the Lord Valdimar in a battle on this same planet centuries ago, it will be the last time he will be seeing this. But now the miracle was happening in front of him.

Suddenly the ball of fire diminished. And then Maleeath saw it. “No…!” he said to himself, “This is not possible..!”

Sagittarius was standing up, healthy & strong. He was shining in divine light & he had the Bow with him.

Lazarus, the divine bow.

 

“It’s happening…. I knew it…!” Grandmaster Elin exclaimed. He had seen the birthmarks on Sagittarius’s hands, which resembled nicely to the ones that Lord Valdimar had. He also knew that Sagittarius’s father, Kronos, was a loyal servant to the lord, & that Sagittarius was a gift to him from the Lord for his loyalty & sincere service. Kronos had lost his life while fighting with Maleeath. The Grandmaster then remembered the words that Lord Valdimar had used to put a curse on the bow:

 

He who has shown true courage and valour,

For over himself has he won.

With glowing hands will he own the holy powers,

As he be called The Eternal Chosen One.

 

Sagittarius suddenly felt a huge power surge inside his body. Both his hands were glowing in white light.

He then saw that he was holding the divine Bow Lazarus, the most powerful weapon in the entire universe, in his right hand. The scales on his palm fitted perfectly with the scales on the bow, giving him a tight & perfect grip while holding the bow. Now he realised the true meaning of those scales on his palm. He was indeed The Eternal Chosen One, the only bearer of the divine bow in the entire Universe.

He also saw Faaveodo, the Lord’s divine horse, coming towards him, for now the horse had found his true master.

Breathing heavily, he raised his hand and screamed loudly, "Hail the Lord....!" 

At once all the fallen 88 warriors rose. All of them were injured, but when they saw the Divine Bow in their commander's hand, their courage increased, and they triumphed with power. 

"Hail the Lord.........!" all of them screamed in unison.

"Charge ahead...!" Sagittarius ordered as he mounted the horse. Immediately the entire army of 88 warriors dashed ahead. With tremendous force, they started slaughtering the demon army. Sagittarius targeted the Emperor. Galloping at lightning speed, he took and arrow and darted it towards the Emperor. 

With crashing force, the arrow hit the Emperor. The impact made him fall down hard. He lost the grip of his spear. Desperately, he tried getting up, but Sagittarius fired another arrow towards him. Maleeath got further pushed away. Sagittarius then saw that most of the Dark Army was still trying to break the shield to the divine tree. He then took another arrow & aimed it at the ground. As he fired it, the arrow shattered the ground. The shockwave was so strong that all the dark army fell backwards. Sagittarius then fired another arrow in the sky. As the arrow came down, it turned into thousands of arrows & hit the Dark Army. In a moment, the entire army was reduced to ashes.

Maleeath knew that Sagittarius had gotten too strong now. He tried to retrieve his spear but couldn't succeed in it. Sagittarius then held the spear in his hand and using his sword, sliced out the top layer, releasing the trapped 12 Kings from 12 different planets. They came out in full form, and stood facing Maleeath. Each of them had a separate dress colour. 

"Finish him...!" Sagittarius ordered. Instantly all of them fired their fireballs at the Emperor. Totally powerless now and his army finished, the Emperor had no resistance left. He tried to escape, but the fire engulfed him, reducing him to ashes. 

Sagittarius then thanked the Kings. The Kings then left to their individual planets and re-established their rule. Sagittarius fired the Divine arrow, and removed the shield from the Eternal Tree. It then started glowing wonderfully with silver glow. Silver coloured birds who were hiding in the branches came out, and started chirping pleasantly, sitting on its branches and nicely playing with its leaves. 

 

Grandmaster Elin witnessed the fight. He was now finally happy that the tree received its Eternal Guardian.  

Some days later, Sagittarius & Grandmaster Elin met the Three Gods. Sagittarius insisted the Gods to have a Universe of equal wavelengths, meaning to have equal amounts of Positive & Negative in every intelligent life form created, which will help maintain a perfect balance in its life. In this way, it will learn to face all its problems on its own, & thus will learn the importance of negative situations in its life. This negativity will test the mindsets & the attitude towards its life, thereby making him realise the blessings, the truth of relationships & the reality of life that being wealthy of any kind is not important, but the real happiness lies in the values that he learns, making him a different person than he previously was.

The Gods agreed to this, & granted his wish.

After protecting the Eternal Tree for many aeons, Sagittarius & his 88 warriors died. The Gods then converted them into constellations, allocating every warrior a separate location in the sky. It is said that they still protect the Tree, & will continue to do till eternity.