Halloween Carnival part 2

  The day of the Halloween Carnival had arrived, it was a cold autumn night, the invisible face of the moon stared down at the earth below. On the border of the Autumn Forest and the Haunted Forest was a clearing, on the clearing was the site for the exciting and new Halloween Carnival.

 

            Lights beamed into the air signaling all to come and join the fun, giant black metal gates surrounded the carnival and only had one entrance through the front. People slowly and cautiously approached the new carnival. Music played, ticket sellers waited in their booth by the front gate and Charles Orchard was in his human form yelling into a cone that amplified his voice. “Welcome, ladies and Gentlemen! Children and pets! This is the first annual Halloween Carnival, where scares and fun wait around every corner. The Carnival may seem spooky but this is a safe, family friendly adventure. If you loved the joys of my Autumn Carnival, try the scares of my Halloween Carnival” Charles shouted, his voice echoed through the clearing. The carnival was new and strange but seeing Charles Orchard there made the people feel more at ease. His Autumn Carnival was a yearly tradition and many residence of the Autumn Forest knew him personally.

 

            The large gates opened with an eerie creek that echoed through the clearing. No one said a word and the whole clearing was dead silent, then suddenly a marching band came pouring out of the carnival to greet the guests. The loud band music broke the silence with a sledgehammer as the band danced, marched and shot confetti out of their instruments. Most of the band members appeared human, but some were a little strange looking, so strange that the locals just assumed and hoped they were wearing costumes. Most notable band members were a goblin hopping along cheerfully with a baton, a horse headed man in a tuxedo playing a trombone, and ghost of a woman who wore old style clothing, had a knife sticking out of his back and played the trumpet.

 

            The crowded seemed to warm up to the strange marching band and some were even dancing along with the spooky scary skeletons that danced along behind the band. Charles beamed with pride as it seemed his plan was working.

 

            The inside of the carnival was filled with creepy rides and fun Halloween themed treats. Snack stands were placed at the entrance to entice people to part with their money in exchange for purple slime apples, which were just caramel apples with food coloring, or Devil sandwiches, which were spicy meat sandwiches with a tangy-sweet sauce on a red tomato bun and little toothpicks sticking out to look like horns.  The stands also had various kinds of candy, apple cider, and fruit punch with fake eyeballs floating around in each glass.

 

            At the center of the Carnival was the Pumpkin Tree. Charles Orchard took a seed from the magical Autumn Carnival tree and planted it in soil from the Haunted Forest, the result was an autumn tree that grew pumpkins from the branches, like an apple tree, but instead of apples this tree was filled with small pumpkins with glowing Jack-o-lantern faces. The pumpkin’s faces glowed with green, purple, blue and red light and were most certainly not edible.

 

            If you traveled further into the carnival you wound find rides of all sizes. There was the dead drop ride where people are lifted into the air slowly, then suddenly dropped causing fear and shrieking from the terrified patrons inside the box. There was also a towering set of metal beams with a Jack-o-Lantern at the top. Guests would get into a little lift at the bottom and then brought up into the pumpkin, then the pumpkin head would spin around super fast, insane laughter would echo out of the Jack-o-Lanterns mouth as the people inside the pumpkin screamed. Lastly an actual haunted mansion was at the Carnival, it was a huge house filled with things that would scare even the bravest of souls. Charles found lesser creatures from the Haunted Forest and trapped them in the mansion, but put up a spell to protect the customers.

 

            The carnival also had rides for kids and the faint of heart. The Bat flight ride would let people soar over the carnival while riding on a giant mechanical bat. The Bat even had a cartoon-ish vampire voice that recommended food and rides to people new to the park. The Kids of the Autumn forest enjoyed the bouncy pumpkin, which was a giant inflated pumpkin that had bouncy floors and a ball pit to mimic pumpkin guts and seeds.

 

            Games dotted the carnival, such as Halloween hunt, where you shoot a pellet gun at incoming Halloween themed monsters. The carnival also had a game called Cat claw machine, where you control a claw that looks like a black cat, with each claw hook being a cat let. Kids would hover the cat over spooky treats and small stuffed animals like plague rats, skeleton mice and poisonous frogs.

 

            Charles wished there were more rides and attractions but he was on a deadline. He hoped this Halloween his carnival would be a huge success so he could keep adding things and make a new one every year.

 

            While the crowds of people laughed, ate and screamed in terror a familiar face was walking among the humans. Pumpkin Jack, the man with the carved face walked through the Halloween Carnival and smiled at all the good cheer toward Halloween. He spotted Charles and patted him on the back “Good work Chuck, you did good” Said Pumpkin Jack, who was dressed in all orange and black as usual. His jagged pumpkin-carving sword was strapped to his belt, but everyone assumed it was fake or didn’t seem to notice.

 

            Charles could feel the joy and entertainment that the park was bringing everyone and it brought a warm smile to his face. Then a sense of dread over took him, he looked toward the Haunted Forest and saw an uprising of shadow fiends, ghosts and spirits gathering behind the Carnival. Charles looked at Pumpkin Jack, who also saw it. The two ran along the outer gate of the carnival, they ran as fast as they could in hopes that they would be able to intercept the shadow fiends before they reached the carnival.

 

            When Charles finally reached the group of spirits and fiends he noticed the Czars already standing between the fiends and the carnival. Pumpkin Jack and Charles quickly went to join their friends. “You won’t stop us human!” shouted a towering shadow creature carrying a black hammer. The shadow hammer had runes written into the side and Charles knew right away what they were. The shadow hammer was forged with shadow magic and physical magic, letting the wielder attack any ghost, spirit, shadow or human with crushing force. “Whats going on? We had a deal! Don’t you already feel the fear from the scary rides in my carnival?” Asked Charles. The leader of the small army laughed. “You promised a feast of fear and so far we’ve only had a snack. There isn’t enough fear to satisfy all of us. We all helped build your human entertainment and now we want the feast we were promised” said the shadow fiend leader. “Gentlemen, it doesn’t matter the size of your meal, this is a guaranteed yearly meal that you wouldn’t normally have. This is one meal you don’t have to hunt for, one meal that is delivered right to you. You all did a wonderful job helping build the rides, but now you have infinite years ahead of you of annual free meals. A month of work and now you have guaranteed fear to eat every Halloween. This carnival will go on for as long as I live and I plan to live a very long time” Explained Charles calmly. Some of the angry spirits and shadow fiends seemed satisfied with that for an answer. “ALSO if you go any further I will put every one of you whimpering spirits so far in the ground you won’t ever see the moon again!” Shouted pumpkin Jack who was holding his jagged pumpkin sword. Jack’s blade was also able to cut and destroy any ghost, shadow fiend, monster or human. Pumpkin Jack was older than most of the creatures in the haunted forest and the power of his sword was a product of absorbing years of dark energy from Hallows end and the Haunted forest.

 

            Between the rational explanation given by Charles and the convincing threat from Pumpkin Jack, the majority of the shadow fiends and ghosts decided to slink back into the Haunted forest and enjoy their free meal. The shadow leader and his closest followers decided to press the issue. “You don’t scare me, Pumpkin boy. My hammer can kill anything, no matter how old you claim to be. So I think its time to feast on those humans. Their pure fear will taste even better than this manufactured fear you are feeding us” Said the Shadow Leader as he began to march forward.

 

            Nyx and Poe, the Czars of Halloween, pulled their weapons out from the straps on their back. “I was hoping not to mess up my suit” Said Poe as he brushed his black and white suit with the back of his hand. “I was hoping to mess up someone’s face, so this works out” Said Nyx with a creepy smile. The Czars of Halloween, and Pumpkin Jack all charged forward with their weapons ready to strike. Charles stayed back and began to chant. After a few seconds Charles was able to create a barrier around the Halloween Carnival. The barrier let humans come and go, but anything supernatural couldn’t pass through into the carnival, the barrier also hid the fighting that was about to ensue outside.

 

            Pumpkin Jack charged forward and slashed like a maniac at the Shadow leader, Pumpkin Jack used to be a human sailor at one point in his life, he had sword skills, grace and a peaceful mind, now he had the mind of an animal and went berserk whenever he was in a fight. The shadow leader was able to block each sword strike with his shadow hammer but he was having a difficult time keeping up. The giant shadow monster swatted his large hand at pumpkin Jack then used both hands to slam his hammer into the ground. The ground shook and spirits rose up from the ground and began to latch onto Jack, sapping his strength with their supernatural powers.

 

            Poe ran toward Jack and swung his Axe scythe. The great blade sliced through the air, sending a spirit blade forward at Jack. The spirit blade went through Jack but only made contact with the summoned spirits. The Spirits all cried out as Poe’s special ability forced them back into the earth from where they came. The shadow leader melted into the ground and reappeared behind Poe, striking him in the head with a quick but deadly punch. The force of the punch sent Poe stumbling sideways before he crumpled to the ground. Nyx shouted in anger and alarm and rushed toward Poe. Nyx and Jack pulled their swords out and attacked the shadow leader at the same time. The force of two pumpkin swordsmen attacking at once was too much for the leader. Each strike of either sword left a trail of fire and burning wounds. The shadow leader tried to block with his hammer but the force of the sword strikes were too much and ever time a sword struck his hammer, the shadow hammer would shake and start to crack.

 

            The two swordsmen attacked with the force of an army of wild animals. The shadow hammer began to glow orange-red as it heated up. Poe finally stood up with a determined and deadly look in his eyes. He charged forward and swung his axe with all of his might, straight down at the shadow leader. The leader blocked and the force of Poe’s strike broke the already weakened hammer. The shadow leader flew backward as his hammer exploded.

 

            “uh…huh, fine. You win. But you can’t kill me. No matter how much I am sliced. Only a shadow fiend can kill another shadow fiend” Said the Shadow leader. Just then Pumpkin Jack realized he hadn’t seen Charles. The group of friends looked around only to see Charles in his true Shadow fiend form. A hulking shadow monster was ripping ghosts and spirits apart with his bare hands, then eating the ones who weren’t completely destroyed.

           

            Charles had been fed so well over the years from the Autumn Carnival that his true for was as big if not bigger than the shadow leader, who was an older shadow fiend than Charles. “You dare attack my carnival? You attack MY PAYING CUSTOMERS?!” Charles shouted, his voice shook the ground. Charles jumped in the air and landed next to the shadow leader. Charles had horns, glowing yellow eyes and jagged teeth inside his giant mouth. Purple and black swirls moved through his whole body as if he was a liquid, a smoke and a solid all at once. The shadow leader melted into the ground to escape but Charles reached into the ground after him and pulled the leader out, lifting him up in the air.

 

            Before the Shadow leader could beg for mercy Charles took a big bite out of the leader, crunching off his head with little effort. He dropped the leaders body in a slump, which quickly melted away. Charles opened his mouth, pulled the leaders head out of his mouth and held it up in the air. The leader’s head was still alive, losing his body didn’t seem to slow him down. Charles summoned a pumpkin out of this air and smashed the leaders head into a pumpkin. A face appeared on the pumpkin, it wasn’t carved but instead it looked as if it was painted on by glowing purple paint. The spirit paint appeared in the grim visage of the Shadow fiend leader. The spirit of the Leader was now trapped in this special pumpkin for all eternity, as long as no one smashed it open. Charles stashed the pumpkin away in a pocket that he seemed to open up out of the air.

 

            The Czars of Halloween seemed shocked and surprised, Pumpkin Jack looked like he had seen this kind of thing before and was unimpressed. “Well I am glad that is over” Said Pumpkin Jack. “Yes, me too! Thank you so much for your help. It may have seemed like I had everything under control but I certainly couldn’t have done it without you. The shadow leaders hammer alone would have put me down for the count” Said Charles as he slowly morphed into his human form.

 

            The customers of the Halloween Carnival had no idea that their lives were in danger and if asked they would say that they had a great time and looked forward to going again next year.

The Halloween Carnival part 1

        The night air was crisp and cold, each gust of wind howled and the full moon hung in the sky as it stared down at the world below.  

            Deep in the haunted forest was the Halloween loving town of Hallows End. Anyone inside the borders of Hallows End would see monsters for their true nature. No ghost could stay invisible and no shape shifter could hide their identity. Villagers of other towns would come to Hallows End for a yearly Halloween party and anyone who knew the magic of the town would be unsettled to see that the moon had a menacing grimace and eyes that fixated on the earth at all times. Many decided to believe it was the magic of Halloween playing tricks, but the creatures of Hallows End knew that they looked upon the moons true face. 

            Charles Orchard, the owner of the Autumn Carnival made his way through the Haunted Forest. The Haunted Forest was full of wild spirits, screaming pumpkins and gray, leafless trees that oozed green slime when injured. Charles Orchard had determined eyes and strode through the dangerous forest with purpose in each step. The man wore a black suit with a bright orange shirt, black top hat with a black and orange striped band at the base of the hat and a purple leaf sticking out of the side of the hat. Charles walked with a cane decorated with a silver pumpkin for a handle.  

            Soon Charles reached a clearing that lead to the ever-popular Hallows End. It was a week before Halloween and the town was lit up with orange, yellow, red and purple lights, brightly lit signs, and lanterns with green flames and Jack-o-lanterns on every corner and by every house.  Charles took one step into Hallows End and his appearance immediately began to change. His clothes stayed the same but his skin turned black as coal and his form became less solid. Charles Orchard wasn’t a human from the Autumn forest, he was a shadow fiend from the Haunted forest. It was entirely possible that he was the only friendly shadow fiend in the world. He delighted in seeing others smile and laugh and if he grew rich from it, then it was even better. While other shadow fiends fed on terror and pain, Charles was nourished from being around happiness and good will. The love of the Autumn carnival and the fun from the rides was enough to feed Charles for an entire year. 

            Shadow fiends didn’t care about hurting humans but Charles didn’t want to see anyone suffer, so he came up with a plan. He would make a Halloween Carnival that would scare AND delight humans once a year. By creating scary rides on the edge of the Haunted forest, the human fear would feed the Shadow fiends and keep the humans safe all at the same time. He would also be able to get a second, smaller meal of happiness and good will each year. He would use this extra energy to strengthen his magic, making it easier to teleport and maintain his Autumn and Halloween Carnivals. 

            Charles smiled warmly as he saw that production was ahead of schedule. His almost featureless face curled into a smile that would send most running for the hills but it was hard to look warm and lovable when he was in his true shadow form. Villagers of Hallows End and even monsters from the Haunted Forest pitched in the help to build the Halloween Carnival. For the residence of Hallows End the carnival would spread more Halloween fun throughout the land, the spirits and wraiths of the Haunted Forest only saw the carnival as a means to be well fed every year. Regardless of motivation, Charles was happy to see so many people working together. 

            The Czars of Halloween stepped out from a pumpkin shaped tavern holding beer mugs. They were both smiling and their smiles widened when they saw Charles. “Charles my friend, how are you?” asked Nyx who was dressed in a black and orange suit, a long sword was strapped to his back, the pommel was in the shape of an angry looking Jack-o-lantern. Poe waved “Hey”. Poe wore a black and white suit and had a large scythe shaped axe strapped to his back. No one was expecting trouble but the Czars of Halloween were not only chill Halloween loving dudes but also the fierce protectors of Hallows End. 

            “Boys! Everything is going wonderfully! We almost have all of the rides ready and when the construction is complete I will be able to teleport everything on the human side of the Haunted Forest” Charles said excitedly.

            The Czars of Halloween were in their late twenties and were still mostly human, but were often referred to as boys by the older inhabitants of Hallows End. Some monsters, including Charles, were hundreds of years old. For the Czars be relatively young humans and still be so respected, was quite a feat.

            Days passed since that day and Halloween was right around the corner, the Halloween Carnival had been completed and all was ready for the grand opening.

            This Halloween day promised to be one that no one would forget any time soon.

Czars and the Dark secret of Hallows End

            The Czars of Halloween stood at the center of Hallows End. Their names were Poe and Nyx. Nyx was tall and slim, had brownish orange eyes, olive skin and short brown styled hair. Poe was slightly shorter and didn’t stand up quite as straight, but was also slim like Nyx. Poe had thin black hair, the front came down to his eyebrows and the back went down to the bottom of his neck. He had pale gray eyes and pale skin. Since it was almost Halloween the two were dressed up. Not in costumes, but dressed up for a party. Poe wore a black bowler hat with a white stripe in the middle, a white shirt, black vest, jacket pants and shoes. He also had a black bowtie with skeletons on it. Nyx wore a black shirt and jacket, orange vest, black pants and dark green orange shoes. He didn’t have a hat, but did have a long straight orange tie with little pumpkins on them.

            The two stood in the center of the city and marveled at the decorations and lights. “I love this place year round, but there is something about Halloween that really brings out the spirit” Poe said as he stared mesmerized by a pumpkin light that was blinking and changing colors. “Yeah” Nyx muttered back as he too seemed enthralled by the majesty of this rapidly color changing pumpkin.

            Hallows End was a small town, even after years of success and tourism. The buildings looked old fashioned and twisted, some even seemed stitched together like Frankenstein’s monster. Strings of orange and purple lights ran along the tops of the buildings and orange pumpkin lanterns were strung between buildings and over entrance ways  Jack-o-Lanterns were placed at every door and most doors had Halloween wreaths set up. Made of black sticks from the dark woods and tied together with festive ribbon. The great pumpkin stood at the center of town. It was a large Jack-o-Lantern that would mysteriously start to glow when Halloween began to approach. There was also a large fountain in the town, it was a stone statue of a skeleton drinking from a beer mug. It looked as if the skeleton was drinking and water would pour out through a hole in the back of his head, never even reaching the holes in his rib cage  Every Halloween the fountain water was drained, cleaned and the water was replaced with pumpkin ale. So party goers would line up behind the skeleton and put their mugs under the hole in his head as the ale literally passed right through the poor undead statue. It was customary to then say “Thanks for the drink and sorry about your luck”. This would be said with a tone of pity as if the town really was swiping beer from a skeleton that was so desperately trying to drink something.

The residences of Hallows End were out in the streets singing, drinking and setting up more decorations for the fast approaching Halloween day. It was Hallows eve and there was still much to be done. Poe and Nyx had regained their senses four hours later after being entranced by the pumpkin that flashed lights and changed color. The all Hallows eve party was about to start. This was the countdown to midnight, which made it Halloween. Then the next day everyone would have a different kind of party that was bigger than this one, to celebrate a happy Halloween and celebration of another good year past. For in Hallows end, the end of Halloween meant the end of the year.

Poe and Nyx walked to the bar Jack and Lanterns. They smoothed down the wrinkles in their clothes with their hands as they walked excitedly to the party. “So Hallows Eve you wear party clothes, what are we going to wear for tomorrow’s party?” Nyx asked. “Well since its Halloween people dress up as monsters and such. But since Hallows End is full of creatures already, lets all just try to dress as spooky and Gothic as we can” Poe replied. “I’m going to dress up as a nun!” Said a villager, who was clearly undead. He was some kind of bluish zombie person. Poe tried not to laugh. For once he didn't have a sarcastic comment for this one.

The night continued on and the Czars were the life of the party. Drinks were flowing and everyone was in a good mood. The skeleton fountain only poured out free drinks on Halloween, so on Hallows Eve everyone would have to buy their drinks from Jack or John lantern. A friendly mustached man came up to the counter. “what can I get you?” Asked the bartender. “Just a beer please” said Poe as the two stepped up to the bar.” The bartender gave Poe one of the best pumpkin beers in the bar. “Thanks John” Said Poe. The bartender smiled “you got it right this time” smiled John. “sure did, you don’t look so much like your brother. Some people just aren't as observant as I am” Poe replied. “We aren't actually brothers, but thanks” Said John with a smile, then walked off. “How did you know who it was? Jack and John look exactly the same. They might even be the same person” Nyx said. ‘I just guesses as usual and this time got it right” Poe replied casually.

“Whooooo!” cheered a very drunk Pumpkin Jack, the towns own Halloween enthusiast and violent psychopath. Jack stumbled over to the Czars, dragging his orange cloak behind him. “you guys throw the best parties” Said Jack with a big drunk smile. Nyx was about to reply, but was interrupted by a rumbling. The ground shook and the lights flickered. It was two minutes till midnight, but the shaking became so violent that no one noticed. “I didn't think we got earthquakes here” said Nyx as he hung onto the bar. John Lantern was flung over the bar. “We don’t” he said. Pumpkin Jack seemed pretty stable on his feet for once and had a determined look on his face.

The party guests all shuffled outside to see what was happening. Then at the center of town the ground began to break apart under the Great Pumpkin. Jack jumped and knocked it over, pushing it out of the way just as a hole opened on the spot it had been sitting. Screaming souls and green energy blasted out of the ground in a loud and violent scene. The earth stopped shaking and when the souls had all flown away all that was left was a hunched over man in a black cloak. Jack seemed to know who this was and pulled out his sword. He lunged forward but was stopped at the last moment. He stood there his sword seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall. “You pathetic residence of Hallows End cannot harm me. I have been locked away in your wretched cage for one thousand years. This whole time I have absorbed the power of this town. Feeding off of it as you threw your parties and celebrated like fools” Said the hunched over hooded man.

Everyone seemed clueless about what were happening, Everyone except Jack and the mayor. These two were apparently much older than they let on. Pumpkin Jack’s sword was flung off into the trees by a mysterious force, then he too was thrown away without any effort. “I am the Lich. This used to be my home. But then a group of hooligans attacked me and sealed me into a magical cage. Then built a town over the wreckage of my castle.” The Lich explained. “You were the terror of the autumn land, we did it to save everyone” Said the mayor who seemed to show up suddenly. The mayor was short and round, but had noticeable muscles under his layers of fat, looking like in his younger years he would have been insanely strong. The mayor also had a thick mustache and a black hat.

Suddenly all of the residence of Hallows End dropped to their knees, Powerless and helpless to the Lich’s magic, everyone except the Czars of Halloween. Since they were from the Autumn forest, the Lich didn't have power over them. The two Czars stepped up in front of the crowd. “Listen buddy. You might have owned this place once, but this is our town now” Poe said. “Well the mayor runs it, but we help!” Nyx added, but still tried to sound tough. Poe nodded in agreement. “Yes I suppose its more of the mayors town. But our wealth and social status, plus the fact that everyone here likes us, kind of makes this our town too” Poe replied, no longer looking at the Lich. “that’s true but we usually just throw parties so the actual ownership…” Replied Nyx, but he was cut off when the Lich shouted “ENOUGH!” the Lich’s yell shook the town and would have forced most people to their knees out of fear.

“Short response. You are going to have to leave” Poe said. The two Czars looked determined to protect their town and the Holiday they loved. The Lich began to laugh. “you don’t even have weapons or powers!” The Lich continued to laugh. The Mayor made a strained noise. Nyx looked down and realized the Mayor had come ready for a fight. Nyx laughed when he pictured the chubby little mayor swinging a sword. The mayor brought a sword and an axe. Nyx threw the axe to Poe. “Right, now we have weapons. Lets end this guy” Poe said.

The Lich chuckled and then slowly began to stand up straight. As the Lich moved the sound of bones snapping and popping could be heard. Finally the Lich stood up over six feet tall and the cloak fell off. The Lich stood as a giant skeleton, green and purple flames burned inside his skull and his bone hands glowed with magic. He wore black wizard boots, and ripped black pants. His spine bones were sharp and Jagged and his empty eye sockets glowed yellow. Then Poe noticed a hole in the back of the Lich’s head. “Doesn't he look like a larger meaner version of the statue?” Poe asked. “He is. The statue was made in honor of his defeat” Said the mayor as he struggled to move and talk.

            After hearing this the Lich became enraged. Green flames burst up all around him and he pointed a magical staff at the Czars. “this is the staff of souls. I will use it to enslave your souls and torments you for all of eternity. Your misery and torment will fuel my magic as I conquer this land” the Lich said then began to laugh. The laugh was cut short when Poe’s Axe struck the Lich in the head then bounced off and rolled back toward Poe. Poe ran up a little to retrieve his weapon as the Lich to put his head back on straight. The Lich now had an axe chop mark on the top of his skull. “Fine, if your in a rush to die” The Lich said. Then dark energy waves shot forth and hit the Czars and all of the citizens of Hallows End. Poe and Nyx clenched their teeth and tried to move despite the pain they now felt.

            The Lich spun his hand around and darkness rose up into the air, the starry night sky was blocked out by an unnatural evil magic. Now the sky looked like a swirling abyss of darkness and shadows. “Already starting to feel like home” The Lich said. Nyx stood up and rushed forward with his sword. “You can’t do this to our town!” He said then stabbed his sword into the Skeletons rib cage  “I don’t have muscle, flew or organs, stabbing wont do anything” The Lich laughed. His hands burst with green flames and he reached down to grab Nyx. At that moment Nyx turned his blade with all of his strength. This twisted the sword up and broke several bones in the Lich’s rib cage. The Lich recoiled and his hands lost their fire.

            The Lich rushed forward to attack Nyx before he got away. Right before The Lich got to Nyx another flying axe came sailing forward and hit the Skeleton Lich right in the chest, breaking the rest of his rib cage  The two regrouped and moved back to avoid direct attacks. The Lich stood up and used his staff of souls to heal his broken bones. Soon he was back to full strength. Poe grinned “thank you for showing us your weakness” Poe shouted to the Lich. Without the powerful soul magic, the Lich was just another skeleton.

            Nyx nodded to Poe then ran straight at the Lich again. The Lich looked ready, his skeleton hands glowed with a green death magic and one touch could wither a person to bones. The Lich shot blasts of shadow energy out at Nyx as he rushed forward. Nyx dodged those and got up right to the Lich. The Lich reached down and was going to grab Nyx before he could strike. Then Poe flanked the Lich from the side and slashed his axe down with all of his might. He slice the Lich’s arm off, the Lich turned and tried to attack Poe with his other arm but at that moment Nyx stabbed his blade into the Lich’s skeleton face. The sword went right through the evil wizards head and made a second hole, going straight through between the eyes and out the back of the head. This hole was above the original, made by Jack a thousand years ago, when Jack stabbed his pumpkin blade through the Lich’s mouth and out the back of his head where the spine met the skull.

            The Lich let out a loud shriek and dropped his staff. He staggered backward and the two Czars went after the staff. As it hit the ground they both slammed their weapons down onto it as hard as they could. The staff shattered and all of the trapped souls were released. Then the remaining magic mixed with The courage of the Czars and went into their weapons. Poe’s Axe became large and bent like a scythe. It was black with a skull at the top and a shiny silver blade at the end. Nyx’s sword became a straight long sword, with a pumpkin for the pommel and a black hilt with orange gems. The blade was also silver and looked a little like a pumpkin carving knife, but as a sword.  “The Carver” which Nyx now calls it is different than Jack’s pumpkin sword. Jack’s sword was jagged and the hilt was orange with a Jack-o-lantern face burned into the blade.

            The two Czars marveled at their new weapons almost as much as they marveled at the glowing color change pumpkin. Then they both turned and saw the Lich was still standing and trying to summon the last of his magic to attack again. Before the Lich could do anything. Poe and Nyx attacked, slashing their weapons down at him. Orange and black energy streamed from their combined weapons as the two struck the evil Lich. The attack was so strong the Lich exploded into dark energy and his bones turned to dust.

            Hallows End had been saved and the Czars had been rewarded with fancy new weapons. The citizens cheered as the Czars slowly walked back to the bar. “I need a drink” Poe said. “Me too” Nyx replied, sounding tired.

The two drank and then slept. The next day was Halloween. The darkness in the sky had disappeared, the hole in the center of town was filled, the Great pumpkin was placed back on its spot and any damage done to the town was now fixed.

            Poe and Nyx started getting ready for the big spooky Halloween party. They wore black robes, Nyx had a hollowed out Jack-o-lantern over his head and Poe had a skull mask. “So we let home, started new lives in Hallows End, became rich and powerful, threw the best parties, defeated a Lich, saved the town and gained powerful magic weapons. What should we do now?” Asked Nyx with a smile. “Now we celebrate Halloween” said Poe as he pulled his black hood over his head.

Czars of Halloween part 2

         Hello everyone, this is the final part of the 'Czars' origin story. The Czars of Halloween will have many spooky adventures, but i am saving those stories for another time. This story is a little long. a full page longer than previous stories. I assure you it is well worth your time though. this will put you in the Halloween Schmooood. as long as your not looking for a bloody story about an axe murder or ghosts that pull your face off. My stories are about Halloween, not murder. So with that, please enjoy!

   Years passed since the day Poe and Nyx first found a way to get into Hallows End. The two boys were in their mid twenties, they worked and lived most of their lives in Harvest town, but on special nights and weekends they would sneak away from their friends and family and hang out in Hallows End. They didn't always  party when they visited Hallows End, sometimes they would just relax at the local tavern “Jack and Lanterns tavern and Inn”. the tavern was shaped like a pumpkin, similar to the one in the autumn forest. But this one had a great big grinning Jack-o-lantern face and flames floated in circles around the tavern. Also the bartender wasn't a burly man who turned into a werewolf, the bartender here was Jack Slender and John Lanterns. The two men looked exactly the same, but wore different hats. They were also never seen together, leading everyone to believe that Jack and John were both the same guy who just changed between hats. Jack wore a fedora and John wore a bowler. They ‘both’ were thin men with brown eyes, brown hair and wore a black and orange vest, white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black dress pants, black dress shoes, an orange bow tie and had a slender mustache.

            It was the little things like ‘Jack and Lanterns’ that kept Poe and Nyx coming back after so many years. They also discovered that everyone in Hallows End had jobs and homes like every other village. This village just emitted a yearly feel of Halloween, even though they only celebrated Halloween like everyone else. Poe and Nyx would sit and enjoy the atmosphere of the town. The quiet nights had a charm of its own. Then when Halloween came, Poe and Nyx would travel through the haunted forest with the other residence of the Autumn forest and it would still be the best day of the year. Since Poe and Nyx enjoyed the daily life, the weekends, the nights and even the big Halloween party all in their own way, they two men would talk about moving to Hallows End Permanently. The only trouble would be leaving their friends and family behind. They would only see them once a year. “Do we follow our own selfish ambitions or do we stay with our family and not live life to its fullest the way we want to live?” Poe asked Nyx. They both just remained silent. To some this might seem like an obvious answer, but Nyx and Poe were seriously torn.

            Then came the day the two men would have to choose between Halloween life or the simple autumn farm life. It started as a suggestion by Halloween Jack. a man with a face covered in scars and a smile a mile long. He always carried a dangerous looking sword around with him and wore a orange cloak. “So just tell your family. Ask em to move here wit you. Or if they wont move. Just tell them how much you love Halloween and Hallows End and are thinking about moving and want their opinion. Let your family convince you to stay. You know, give them a fair shot before you decide to move for good” Jack suggested. He drank down the rest of his beer and slammed the mug down “John, get me another!” He shouted playfully. “Im Jack” Jack Slender said, wearing his fedora. Halloween Jack chuckled “Too many Jacks around here. I haven’t seen a Dennis or Robert in a while” Halloween Jack chuckled.

            Poe and Nyx realized that Jack had forgotten he was talking to them and were left with their drinks to ponder this new idea. “Yeah, we should just tell our families. Let them help us decide” Nyx said with a smile. He was surprised he hadn’t thought of it before. “Yeah. They will either be like. ‘stay with us we love you’ or maybe they will say ‘you should do what makes you happiest’” Poe said. the two agreed and finished their drinks. “By Jack, and Jack. tell John I said by” Said Nyx as the two got up to leave. Halloween Jack waved and then drunkenly fell on the floor. Bartender Jack just waved and made a motion that he would go fetch ‘John’. Poe just shook his head and followed Nyx out the door.

            Nyx and Poe were excited and a little nervous as they stumbled home. After years of living between worlds, they would finally decide on a town to live in. In the morning they would gather their families and talk it over. Tonight, they would sleep off all the pumpkin beer they drank. They each got home and slept like babies. Dreaming of each life, steady peaceful life on the farm or a weird and twisted life in the fun but dangerous Hallows End.

            That morning the two men gathered their immediate family together as one group and explained the situation. Poe and Nyx took turns explaining how much they loved Halloween as children and continued to love it as they grew up. The magic and weirdness of Hallows End was so appealing they dreamed of living there. The two men explained how they got a skull compass and since then would sneak off at least once a week and got to Hallows End to hang out or sometimes have little weekend parties at the tavern. They explained how they loved both towns so much that they needed help deciding if they should move or not. Their families were silent for a while. Some were more supportive than others. Poe’s father thought of Halloween as something for children and figured the two had grown out of it, even though he knew the two went to Hallows End every year with the rest of the village. He figured it was to flirt with ladies and drink beer, not to carve Jack-o-lanterns like a five year old. Nyx’s Father wasn’t any better and even got angry. Poe’s father might have mocked their interest, but Nyx’s father was angry by it. “You two boys need to grow up! Get wives and settle down. Not move to some town of freaks and endless parties. That place is fun for their weird parties, but that’s it. Only criminals and slackers live there” Spat the father. Poe almost hit Nyx’s father after hearing this. Meanwhile the two mothers didn’t want their kids to move away. They didn’t see the point of moving and wanted grandchildren to play with.

            Some of Poe’s siblings were supportive but most didn’t care. Nyx’s siblings and Uncle Tom were about the same. Poe was furious, He matched then overpowered the anger of Nyx’s father. “You Ignorant, lying pieces of garbage! If this is how you treat your own family then you lie every time you have said you loved either of us. You are all ignorant too. Too dumb and foul to understand that someone might work hard AND live in Hallows End. Nyx and I work hard and do everything we are supposed to. We are adults and we love Halloween. What’s more, the people of Hallows End are good people and never judge anyone. So that’s it, I am done with this sleepy, boring town.” Poe said, his normally pale face turning various shades of red. He felt so betrayed by his family. Nyx’s family tried to reason with Nyx, as if Poe was the crazy ringleader leading Nyx into disaster. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m moving to Hallows End. This is my choice. Please visit me if you ever decide to let go of your ignorance.” Nyx said slowly. He wasn’t angry, just sad and disappointed.  The night before, Poe and Nyx actually had considered staying in Harvest town. Yet their families called them foolish and said they were wasting their lives. They called the people of Hallows End criminals and slackers, people who had become great friends with Poe and Nyx and always treated them well.

            The two walked off that day and disappeared into the forest. From that day on they were never seen in the Autumn Forest again. They moved to Hallows End and got jobs, they lived in the town they loved. They got a house together and every Halloween they threw the biggest Halloween party in town, then Poe, Nyx and all the party guests would join the other villagers and tourists in the center of town and countdown to midnight. Then at midnight flames and fireworks would explode out of the giant Jack-o-lantern at the center of town. Everyone would drink and eat until they passed out.

            They ‘boys’ lived like this for years. Soon people started calling them the ‘Czars of Halloween’. This was because of how great their Halloween house parties were. Every year the party got bigger and crazier. It got to the point where they no longer just held a big party at their house, but instead threw a giant party for everyone in town and the town’s countdown to midnight became part of the huge party the Czars would throw every year. The Mayor loved the Czars for their Halloween spirit, so he and the rest of the town backed them up and encouraged every idea they had. So with the Help of the Czars, the mayor and the whole town, every Halloween in Hallows End was a party to remember.

            The rest of the year was pretty much the same as it had always been. People working on weekdays and relaxing and drinking on nights and weekends. This was the same as any village. Thanks to the Czars though, the population of Hallows End grew. More people wanted to live in Hallows End after enjoying the yearly parties so much. With a bigger population, grew better trade between lands. Soon the haunted forest had paths lit with torches and guards patrolled the roads. It was now safe to trade with and visit Hallows End. The town of Hallows End prospered, but never lost its spooky Halloween feel.

            All of this happened over the course of ten years. The Czars moved to Hallows End in their mid twenties and now by their mid thirties they helped a small spooky town thrive and prosper. In this time the Czars became wealthy with both riches and loved ones alike. All of their accomplishments were rewarded. They saved their money and bought pumpkin hill, then they built a castle to live in. over the years and after many adventures they acquired treasures and magical artifacts, which they held in their treasury vault. The two ‘boys’ might not technically rule over Hallows End like kings, after all there is still an elected mayor every couple of years, but they do sit on thrones in their castle and watch over Hallows End as the Czars of Halloween.

The Czars if Halloween part 1

Its October and that means Halloween stories every week! this is Czars of Halloween part 1, part 2 should be out by friday. I'm doing two stories this week because I only get five Halloween stories to tell this month and i don't want two weeks of the same story. So here is Czars of Halloween. Enjoy!

Hallows End has always been home to the many monsters and spirits of Halloween. But beyond Hallows End, through the Haunted forest and up on the top of Pumpkin patch hill, stands the skull fortress. The inhabitants of the skull fortress are the Czars of Halloween. They are the best of friends and together they rule and protect the land of Halloween. This hasn’t always been the case, the Czars weren’t always friends and they certainly weren’t always czars. Like everyone else, they started as children.

            The two Czars, who were named Nyx and Poe, grew up in Harvest town, a small town in the Autumn forest. The two boys would fight over everything, but the one thing they had in common was their love for Halloween and the yearly celebrations held in Hallows end. Since Hallows end was surrounded by the Haunted forest, the two boys couldn’t get to the town by themselves, so they would have to wait for the Hallows end celebration when villagers from Maple town, Harvest town and Pumpkin Patch would gather together and travel through the forest. Everyone knew the way and with so many pairs of eyes to watch for danger the forest was forced to behave and let them pass.

            So it was on these Halloween nights that Poe would put on his skull mask and Nyx would wear his pumpkin mask. They would dress in all black and retrieve their trusty travel bags from their rooms, and then they would rush outside and join the others in the exciting walk to Hallows end. Nyx had a travel bag that was orange and green and Poe had one that was black and white. The bags were souvenirs from their first time in Hallows end. They used the bags to smuggle Halloween treats and knick-knacks back home when the celebration was over.

            Every year the boys would wait and every year they would have the most fun ever when Halloween rolled around. They were always so excited about Halloween, that for one day they forgot their rivalry and got along. Back in Harvest town, they would fight and argue. For almost the entire year they were enemies. Nyx would even go so far as to throw snakes at poor Poe.

            As the years went on the boys grew and the fighting was less frequent. They both were about eighteen at this point and began to work in their family’s farms. The mundane life of a farmer began to settle on them and for a little while they began to wonder if they would ever get to live in Hallows end or would they be forced to ‘grow up’ and be farmers like their parents. One day while Poe was cutting tall grass a bizarre looking was traveling up the road past his farm. The man wore a black and purple top hat, a black coat with tails, white shirt, black pants and carried a huge bag on his back full of the most random assortment of things. This was a little over weight, he had a long mustache and a big smile. Poe was going to ignore him, but then he spotted trinkets that looked like they were from Hallows End. Poe ran down to meet the man “Excuse me, sir. What is all of that stuff you are carrying” Poe asked. The man’s smile seemed to grow even bigger than before “Well, young Sir, I am a trader and these are my wares. My name is Gransom the great and I things from all over the world” Said Gransom. Poe didn’t stop to ask about the name because he was too excited about these exotic wares. “Well I noticed you have things from Hallows End and I love Halloween. So could I take a look at them?” Asked Poe.

            The merchant set his large bag down and pulled on a rope, the bag opened and all of his wares fell out and landed in neat orderly piles, sorted by region and size. Poe was impressed. Gransom went over to the pile of objects found in the autumn lands, maple syrup, apple peeler and various pictures and painting of trees and scenery. Poe wasn’t impressed. To him these things were ordinary and though Hallow End was so close to his own town, it was also exotic because of how difficult it is to get there. Gransom continued to look through his things without saying a word. Then he found something. “Aha!” Said the man. “I have just what you are looking for” Gransom held out a compass in the shape of a skull. “This will help you cross into Hallows End any time you want” Gransom said. Poe would have been happy just to buy a jack-o-lantern mask or something, but this sounded way better. Poe paid for it and then ran off to find Nyx.

            Nyx was resting under a tree drinking maple syrup when Poe found him. “You lazy butt, get over here and look what I’ve found” Poe yelled to Nyx. Nyx stood up and walked over to Poe, and brought his maple syrup with him. “What is it you deranged lemur?” Asked Nyx. Poe was about to punch Nyx, but decided there was no time for that. “Look at this. I just bought it. It’s a compass that will help us go to Hallows End whenever we want” Poe said holding out the skull compass. Nyx looked at it with awe and began feeling just as excited as Poe. “Poe, I take back some of the bad things I’ve said about you. Lets go as soon as we can!” Nyx said.

            That night Nyx and Poe traveled to the edge of the haunted forest and Poe pulled out the compass. Instead of pointing north, the compass seemed to point toward Hallows End. With a deep breath they two stepped into the forest and began following the arrow on the compass. It was only once they could no longer see the exit that they began to realize that if the merchant scammed them and they were holding a fake compass, they would be in real danger. It was like jumping into the ocean before you know if your boat floats or not. Since they were already in the forest they had little else to do but follow the arrow. Time didn’t seem to pass in the haunted forest, because it was always dark. The trees were gangly and gray and their branches seemed to reach out for Poe and Nyx no matter were they went. Strange sounds could be heard along with the ones you would expect. Owls, crows and frogs made their own noises, but then every now and then a loud “Gerrump!” could be heard or the sound of trees breaking and falling over. It was very unnerving.  The two wondered the forest for what seemed like hours, their journey seemed longer now than it did when they traveled with a group during Halloween, but they kept marching on.

            After many hours of traveling Poe and Nyx saw light up ahead, they ran up through the trees and jumped over rocks and large tree roots and when they came to a clearing they saw Hallows End up ahead. “We made it!” The both cheered. It was night and Hallows End was shining bright with orange lights, lanterns and torches. The buildings were all different shapes and sizes, some were bent weirdly, some had spikes on them, Pumpkins were by every doorway, strange looking people walked the streets and at the center of town was a giant Jack-o-lantern. Poe and Nyx made it and ran into town. They spent that night partying with monsters and maniacs and women that their parents would never let them go near normally. Then when morning came they would travel back to their hometown before they were missed. Since they had the magical skull compass they could go to Hallows End every night and that is just what they did.