The Return of the Souls

Title : The Return Of The Souls Author: Rodolfo Quijano Gabasa Jr. "Hail king Ridulf ! Hail king Ridulf !" "Viva king Vlademir ! Viva king Vlademir" The loyal and mighty soldiers from each powerful kingdom shout furiously as they prepare for a deadly battle.

"Brave and mighty loyal soldiers of Ridulf kingdom, we fight for freedom and die for it if it is needed for the sake of our families and for the sake of our next generations to come! We are the superior race and we are the superior kingdom! We are destined to rule the world! I'm your king Ridulf! The one and only Ridulf , the leader, the king of the world and I will give this kingdom victories till the end of time! I will live if you live! I will die if you die! We will fight together till the end of time and till our last breath!! Fight! Fight and live! Fight in the name of your almighty king Riduuuullllfff !!!", king Ridulf full of hate addresses his valiant and loyal soldiers. "Mighty and invincible soldiers of Vlademir kingdom, don't be fooled by Ridulf's misleading words! He is full of trickery! He is only exploiting the precious lives of his ignorant and weak soldiers. That I will never do to you because you are not ignorant and you are not weak! You are highly intelligent and very strong elite soldiers second to none! You are the elite soldiers of this kingdom, Vlademir kingdom! This is our kingdom! This is the supreme kingdom of the world!!!", king Vlademir inspires his enraged and ready to fight mighty soldiers. Soldiers of each kingdom praise their king. "Hail king Ridulf! Hail king Ridulf! You are the conqueror of the world!" "Viva king Vlademir! Viva king Vlademir! You are not only a king! You are a god!!!" Then follow the thundering sounds of attacking horsemen and yelling soldiers from both kingdoms. The battlefield is likened to a hell on earth blazing with wrath and heroism. Clash of swords, strengthening the defense of their kings, piercing bodies of brave soldiers with very sharp lances, and beheading soldiers in both sides. Clash of bravey and wrath, shouting and flooding of heroes bloods show the severe and very miserable scenes of ancient war. The war goes on for several years applying all the strategies to annihilate the enemies; climbing the high defense walls, blocking the supply of water and foods to the kingdom to dehydrate and starve the enemies until almost all soldiers die from each kingdom. Not because the soldiers are very loyal and diehard supporters of their kings ,they sacrifice their lives but because of fear to their king. If they refuse to fight , death punishment from their king awaits them. The war ends upon the death of the two kings; king Ridulf and king Vlademir. Nobody wins the war. Mourning and gnashing of teeth dominate the atmosphere of both kingdoms. Thousands of soldiers' lives are wasted with the clash of pride and greed of ambitious and greedy and very proud kings of the ancient world; king Ridulf and king Vlademir. Nobody wins the war. Only losers remain. Wives and children of the warriors weep. Some relatives of the warriors search for the dead bodies in the battlefield. Ruins dominate the scenery. Foul odor of the dead bodies mix with the smoke left by the fierce realities of war. Some relatives of the warriors find it difficult to identify the headless warriors. Blood of warriors and their bloody dead bodies scatter everywhere. Some naughty survivors steal the precious gold rings and swords of the dead warriors. Some wives have just delivered their newly born babies when their husband warriors are among the casualties of war. Some surviving warriors experience war shock. They become insane, shouting, crying, laughing, and trembling while running around. However, there are few war survivors who remain strong mentally and physically. They have been into many wars already. They are veterans of war. They are among the elite warriors close to the king. They are protectors of the king and loyal to the king. In the kingdom of king Ridulf , the high ranking officials and the elite warriors honor the remains of the king. They organize a vigil. The priests in his kingdom do the rituals. They offer prayers and sing religious songs for the eternal repose of king Ridulf. The kingdom choir sings praises in honor of the king whom they consider the greatest king they ever have. Trumpets sound and the surviving warriors and their families and all people in that kingdom shout out, "Hail king Ridulf ! Hail king Ridulf ! Hail king Ridulf !!!" Meanwhile in the kingdom of king Vlademir, the high ranking officials and the elite warriors and the kingdom priests, are also organizing a vigil. The priests offer prayers and sacrifices for the soul of king Vlademir to rest in peace. The kingdom musicians blow their trumpets to honor king Vlademir in his last days on earth. The crowds weep and shout loudly, "Viva king Vlademir ! Viva king Vlademir ! Viva king Vlademir !!!" Both kingdoms are honoring their kings for 3 days. Special choir members and elite musicians of king Ridulf perform a classic song composed by one of the talented warriors. Some skilled warriors perform a deadly exhibition fight of almost a real fight using swords. One of the high ranking officials deliver a heroic speech honoring king Ridulf. The crowds react with a thundering applause. In the other kingdom, the Vlademir kingdom, there is also a grand choir organized before by king Vladimir himself when he was still alive. They perform with perfect timing and having a balanced blending of first tenor, second tenor, and bass voices of singers. They sing with perfection and with powerful voices being well controlled from pianissimo to fortessimo, a crescendo finale performance with sharp perfect ending, the crowds stand for a standing ovation and react with a thundering applause. "Hail king Ridulf ! Hail king Ridulf ! Hail king Ridulf !!!" "Viva king Vlademir ! Viva king Vlademir ! Viva king Vladimir !!!" These are the last grand praises thundering in every wall of both kingdoms for the last 3 days for the two kings to be honored as kings and leave this world including their kingships and face another world , a new world for them to begin a new kind of life to live and to love.