All was quiet on the lands leading across the wide expanse of medow. The battle that waged somewhere nearby did not reach this serene place. Instead, it exuded a sort of... calming effect. As if the moment you stepped into the fields all your worries could be just lifted away. No more cares, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks. Nothing. Oh, yes, did it bring apon a calm to any who stopped to admire it for more then two seconds. Almost ominiously so. Nothing was ever this calm. And, if it was, that's because it was right before a major storm. Figuratively and/or literally. Not many could feel that sense of foreboding. Most just wanted to be lulled into a false sense of security, to think that all was right with the world. As if that could ever happen. It would probably not even be in this lifetime. Ten generations could pass, and that calm could still very well be fake. That the only way to escape would be in your own little mind.
Where else could you go when war raged all around? When every kingdom known to man was sending kids barely at fighting age down a path of certain doom? When these same flowers a year from now, maybe more or maybe less, would be trampled under thousands of boots as this place was invaded? That all this beauty, as great as it was, could be obliterated in a blink of an eye. Then where would you hide? Cowering in a little secret compartment in your house, hoping that you were not found? Hoping that little Lisa would not give away your position with her chattering teeth or the smell that came from her as she releived herself, unable to help it. No, there would be no peace, no security, no calm. Not until this war was put to an end. One way or another. That's what it always came down to. One way or another. Which is just one of many reasons that the war raged on ever more. Because leaders, kings and queens, sought the quickest way to end all the bloodshed.
With more bloodshed, more death, more destruction. More kids lost, more security ended. One way or another. Famous last words for many. What was the toll? A thousand? Ten thousand? One million? No one knew anymore. By now most soldiers did not even get a proper burial. Sure, they tried to bring back bodies, but even when they succeded the bodies were just dumped into dug out ditches. There almost wasn't enough land anymore to bury the bodies. So, a lot of kingdoms had taken to burning the bodies. They even made a huge ceremony out of it down in the fire kingdom. Instead of mourning their death, they honored them the way that the dead surely would have wanted it: With a huge feast, dancing, and couples falling in love. When life was so unpredictable it was easy to see how one could find comfort in others arms. Most found love early and worshiped every moment they had together. Half the time churches were overflowing with those who wanted to be wed as soon as possible.
Most found the love. There were a few people, very few, who did not believe they deserved love. That happiness was too out of reach to even strive for. Why should that person be allowed these things when this person was the cause of many deaths? Those kids barely able to hold a sword in their hands, sent to their death by orders, never to know what love could be. It was enough to drive anyone insane. A lesser person could not actually handle all the guilt. So, it had to take either someone completely cold of heart, or severly detatched from the people, or a commander of the army that could picture a better way. That these kids did not have to die for nothing, that peace could be achieved. It had to be. Otherwise, what's the point of them having to be slain? No, their deaths had to mean something. It had to be possible to set the world right. To end all the bloodshed. And it had to be a way that did not require more sacrifice. That way may be the "quickest" path, but it was not the right one. There had to be room for diplomacy. Right?
A lone man walked into that same clearing of calmness, leading a beautiful white mare by its reigns. The guy paused for a moment to survey the path in front of him. This was a perfect time for the horse to begin munching on grass, so it lowered its head and began to pull it up from the roots, as all horses did. Flowerd dotted this landscape, making it a sea of pinks, and oranges, and yellows, and greens and so many more. A veritable oasis to a person dying of thirst. Such a sight was not lost on the man as a wide smile appeared on his face for a moment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it all out in one long breath. "Ahhhhhhh." Sharp brown eyes opened to sweep over the flowers. Out of nowhere a slight breeze picked up, brushing his hair around his eyes and making the sea wave all around him. Utterly beautiful. Such sights were rare these days considering that most of them had been raized by blood, boots, fires, or worse. Even with a mission as urgent as his, only the heartless could pass this by without stopping a moment to enjoy.
...Okay. That moment was over. No matter how wonderful it was there were pressing matters that needed attending to. His eyes raised from the flowers to stare further ahead, his hand free hand covering his eyes so he could shade it from the sun. There it was. Two weeks of travel found him within a few miles of his first destination. The kingdom of Light. From here it was not more then a tiny dot, but still discernable to any who researched it. During both the day and the night there was a sort of... shimmer-yeah, that was probably the best way to describe it-glittered all around the kingdom, which could easily be seen well before you saw the castle. Finally. It had been too long on the road. Though he was no stranger to camping it out, roughing it, he missed a warm bath water, a comfortable bed. Oh, how it would feel to be in clothes cleaned the right way rather then dunked into a river bed then beat with rocks and left to dry. "I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing day before I get down to business." If only he knew how wrong those words were at this moment. He'd-
Actually, it would not change his course of action. In fact, he would probably work on getting there faster. Better go. Rest time was at an end. He tugged gently on his horse's reigns, and she stopped eating immediately. The man nodded at her to give her thanks. She was a true mount and excepted that show of respect by him. He turned and put his foot in the stirrups, throwing himself over to land with a soft thunk. She was better trained then any normal horse, and could perform many actions on her own. When she knew where to go, she could find her way all by herself, even blinded. So, the man held loosely onto the reigns and let her pick out the safest route down through the flowers. Somehow she was even able to avoid stepping on a single flower. Any stranger seeing this horse move would think that she was dancing her movements were so perfect. Many a time she had been the cause for people to get on the wagon. No drinking hallucinations for them. Pink elephants and dancing horses were best left to a child's innocent imagination.
Before long the mare could step normally as she left the flowers behind. They had reached the bottom, very near the gates of the castle town. "Thank you," he said to her. Her ears swiveled around towards him, picking up his words. As if she understood them she snorted, and the man smiled. He knew that sound. It was the one she made when she was all proud and egotistical, practically saying 'Yeah, you better thank me. Your sorry a** would not have even made it here had it not been for me'. She was as tempermental as her master. He just shook his head and pointed forward, towards the gates that she was to go towards. She bobbed her head once and walked forward. When they got near the gates her ears flatened on her head, and the guy quickly looked around, his hand on one of his swords. She only reacted this way when there was trouble nearby. And not just the normal kind, like a single brigand, but the kind that could be truely horrible. Like a group of bandits, or a huge battle, or... He reached down and rubbed the left side of her neck. "What's wrong, Rena? Is it close?"
Rena bobbed her head. "That's not good. The only thing close is the town and..." The man clipped his fur-linned boots gently into the side of his mare, making her trot the last bit of gap between them and the gate. As he neared his suspicions were confirmed. A rather large contingent of guards saw him coming and barred his path. One... two... Five guards in all. Most times only one guard was posted on any single gate at a time. Even the fire kingdom had only two at any given time. They were a bit more paranoid when it came to someone unscrupulous getting through. Even when it was just one guard at a gate it was merely to keep only the shadiest of elements out. Like you held a sword in your hand and yelling out some sort of war cry. Otherwise you were just waved in, barely given a glance. This could not mean that all was right with this tiny bit of world. The man let out a small whistle, bringing his horse to a quick stop. The guards looked him over. Him with his silvery white hair, his sharp brown eyes, his rather muscular frame, and the two swords at his sides. Their eyes narrowed in suspicion and they whispered with heads bent.
Only a few minutes passed while neither man nor horse made a move. Then one of the guards, the strongest looking of the bunch, approached him with his sword partially out of its sheath. He circled around, judging his chances at taking this guy if he turned out be be trouble. The guard ended his procession in front of the horse, crossing his arms and trying to look stern. "State your business, stranger, and what it is you want in this town. Whatever it is, I'm sure it is not important enough to get through. And I doubt you... have any reason being in the castle town of light, anyhow." His judging eye looked at the man's traveling clothes. They were the best peasent-type clothing money could buy for traveling, but peasent all the same. The man on the horse hid a smile at the man's apparent lack of any decent information on people from other kingdoms. "In case you did not know, there is a bit of trouble in the palace right now, and we are to let no others through unless they have pressing bussiness inside." The way he said 'you did not know' sounded like the man was accusing him. "So, state your business and leave."
He hid another smile at the man's use of and leave instead of or leave. The man drew himself to his full, regal height and declared exactly who he was. "I am Jacob Hurthorn Clearweather, prince and one day ruler of the fire kingdom. As for my business I am here to see her majesty the queen Gabriella Lumaxa Seraphiel on business that is between me and her. Though, if you truely must know, I am here about the war, and possibly finding a way to put an end to it. That's all you need to know. Now, may I go through, or are you going to keep me here until we both wither and die?" At the name he gave, plus his kingdom, all the men at the gate had paled considerably. Even the fierce man let his arms drop. Though they did not really believe him, the name carried some weight. Well, not exactly the name, though many knew it, but the kingdom itself. The guards at the gate knew that if he wanted to get through Jake could easily dispatch the men at this gate, and the ones at the other gates. The fire kingdom was well known for its fierce warriors.
They did not want to believe he was from where he said he was. However, he did have that certain look and held himself like one from that kingdom. The man held up a finger and went to confer with the others. More whispering could be heard as Clearweather waited for their deliberation. He did not have to wait long as that same man from before came back. "I have spoken with the others, and it seems that one of them has seen a portrait of you at one time. You are indeed who you say you are, but that does not mean you have nothing to do with what is going on in the castle, so I am afraid that... I cannot... let you pass? You see, the warning bells sounded a while back from the palace, which means it is under attack. We would rush over to see what was going on, but our position is clear. When the bells sound we are to increase guard at the gate rather then remove it. We have no clue as to what is going on, so you have to stay here I'm afraid until we get the all clear. Our leader is not even here at the moment."
Hurthorn chuckled at the man's reaction and how he asked it rather then commanded it, but found his eyebrow raising at the news that the queen herself was not here. Sometimes he hated the kingdom he was from, if just for the reaction he illicited from others not from the fiery lands. They either cowered from him, put on an act of bravado to try and be all tough, or hated him outright. The power that came from his homeland was seen as a greater threat then most. Not by much, but enough to stir up extreme feelings of distrust and anger and hate. Jacob nodded in their direction, seeing their faces relax as it seemed he was giving in. "I understand, you are just doing your jobs. I would do no less if I was in your position. You five are doing exemplary jobs, I must say. I commend you." What such an obvious way to get a man to let his guard down. If you wanted to bust through an enemies flanks you don't push through, you just compliment them, making them think that they are doing a job a prince or a king would do.
And he could even see how well his ploy was working, that they were relaxing once more. Fools, all of them, though he really did believe they were just doing their job. "Well, then, boys, I don't want to take up your time. I shall wait a bit further away so as to not make you nervous at my presence." They relaxed completely at the tought of not having to deal with the prince from the fire kingdom. Jake clicked his tounge and turned Rena's head back the way they had come from. The prince let her walk for a bit before turning her around to face directly at the guards. By now they had practically forgotten his presence, chatting amicably between one another. Clearweather gave a sharp whistle and Rena ducked her head, starting to run, quickly going into a trot, then a gallop. Too late did the guards realize what he was doing. As they were struggling to get their swords out of their sheaths he braced himself as his mare jumped over them.
As he passed over their heads he smiled down, their mouths dropped open. 'Sorry lads, but I really do have pressing matters in that palace, and it sounds like trouble is brewing inside. I am always up for a good brawl. No way am I missing this chance to battle evil!' Prince Hurthorn raised himself up as his horse dropped back onto all fours, still galloping. Though the streets were mostly deserted he still found that they were passing by stunned onlookers at the out of place man on the back of the stunningly beautiful war horse. It did not take long to go through the winding streets to reach the steps of the castle. Rena came to an abrupt halt. Not at any command, but because there were evil, twisted forces guarding the steps. He grinned and pushed off the horse, landing with his legs apart, his hand on the ground, and his head bowed. His hair hid his face for a moment before he raised it up to stare at the swiveling creatures of darkness. A single eye glared out at them with fire burning inside, and twinkling in amusement.
A grin spread across his face, not quite reaching his eyes. "Oh, how nice. A royal welcome. How kind of you. And here I thought that my arrival would be practically ignored. I feel special. Now, who wants to die first?" To answer his question one of the creatures came rushing at him. Just as the man raised his sword to strike the prince a slash of movement could be seen, and Jacob stood on the other side, sword in hand. The evil guy fell to the ground, bleeding from the wound in his stomache. You may be wondering why he thought of the man as a creature, or the other descriptions he used. It is because when he fought he tried not to see the person, but an evil, withered being from another realm. It made killing easier, though he always asked their forgiveness afterwards. For now, he had to kill some things. Fun. He shook the hair out of his eyes and turned his gaze back towards his mare. "What do you think? Can you handle the creatures out here? I have a feeling that I am needed inside. Or will you need my help?" Rena leveled a look at him and snorted. Jacob just laughed and ran up the stairs, barely stopping to kill a few people here and there.
"Mmmm, goody," he said to himself as he entered the great hall. "So many creatures to kill, and so much fun to be bad." Most attention was drawn to center were a few people were engaging each other. The soldiers left behind to guard the palace. Oh, how sad that some people could not help but be evil. What a true and utter shame. Prince Clearweather shook his head ath such blatant evil use of their powers. Abuse. Waste of lives for what? To try and assassinate one queen? Who clearly was not evnen here? Sighing, Jacob started forward towards the nearest of creatures. "Oh, today is a good day to kill." Though almost all faces were turned towards the center, some were watching the doors. When they saw him emerge they turned their swords towards him. "Good boys and girls. Shall we dance?" Answering his own question, he put a hand to his chest and acted like he was dancing. This stopped the soldiers in their tracks. Though his sword was out, and the man was clearly covered in their comrades blood, they could not help but look at him as if he was insane. Before they could react he struck down a couple of soldiers.
Now hackles were raised and more turned to engage him. Where the hell was the queen? Why was she not protecting her own castle? What a foolish of a woman to leave but a few guards behind. What, did she think that while she was away her land would not be attacked? Which element where these guys from? Which kingdom. He felt a dark ball brush past his ear, barely missing him. That answered that question. Of course they would be from the dark kingdom, the ones most at war with the land of the light. But, why would they be here, trying to overthrow this land? They would only be here if they were sure the queen would not be here, nor most of the guards, which meant. "Oh. What a great queen she must be. Attacking a kingdom without any thought to possible invasion. That they wanted to bring her into battle so they could make short work of the few guards left. I wonder how long it will take before she realizes that she isn't even fighting half of the force that the kingdom has at their disposal."
Jacob dodged a couple more dark balls being slung in his direction. Better focus on the battle. Questions could be asked later. For now at least he could protect her kingdom. He cleaved a path regardless of the risk to his own body so he could reach the soldiers in the middle. They had been completely surrounded and were in dire straits. When he reached them they took one look at the fierceness in his eyes and they sighed in relief. None of them were really equipped to handle this sort of battle, though to their credit they had been holding their own for a while. Only two lay dead at their feets out of the fifty. Considering they were surrounded by hundreds of dark forces this was quite an accomplisment. He would have to congratulate them. After they survived. They could tell just from one look that the man standing there was a true commander, one that could lead them safely through the battle. And that he was, because he was none other then the commander of the entire fire kingdoms garrison.
No matter your position in that army you were guaranteed to see major battle, since the fire kingdom was attacked quite often. Most times just from the water kingdom, but they also saw it from all others. Except for light, that is. They had a very strained sort of cease fire while they dealt with the other kingdoms. You only entered the army if you were prepared to possibly lose your life. Still, they were the fire kingdom, and being in the army was an honor. They also got the biggest pay over all other jobs considering the huge death risk. If you did die under their banner a large stippened was paid to the family they left behind. "Okay," he suddenly barked, his face that of the complete seriousness he wore when in a battle and commanding his soldiers. Instantly there was a change in how they held themselves, and an extra thing of confidence seemed to enter their eyes and weary bodies. For the first time since this started there was a glimmer of hope that they would get out of this safely.
"Listen to what I say, heed all my orders, and we will all walk away from this alive. I promise." He did not make promises lightly, and only did so when he was two hundred percent certain that it would go the way he wanted it to. He raised his voice so that the others could hear him over the sounds of battle. "Hear me, and listen well. I am prince Jacob Hurthorn Clearweather of the fire kingdom. You do not belong here. Those that want to live leave now. The rest stay and meet certain death." When he decalred his name the soliders at his side straightened a bit taller, and the dark creatures shrunk back. Sometimes who he was gave a positive reaction. Before he could utter another word about half of the force broke off, running for their lives. What they did not know was that Rena was waiting to pick them off. Of the amount that left, only one would make it. That's a firey war horse for you. Bred to battle and kill.
"Now, for the rest of you, you have sealed your fates. Prey to whatever makers you believe in, for you will not leave here alive." Now that his little speech was over he barked out orders to the fourty-eight remaining soldiers. They followed them to the letter, forming a wall on all sides, protecting all flanks. "Now! Strike back! Make these bastards regret ever having invaded this land!" Even after those that left there were still hundreds, so it was a long, weary battle. The soldiers had already used up quite a bit of energy protecting themselves, but they still rallied under Jacob, pushing the dark creatures back. A few hours passed before the last one fell. Prince Hurthorn shoved his blade deep into the man, his teeth barred in anger. He watched as the man's eyes glazed over and blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth. When Clearweather was sure that he was dead, he let the man go, removing his sword from the guy's heart. There was a delightful, and most final, thud as the body fell.
It took a few moments for the realization that the battle was over to hit the soldiers. Once they figured it out they let out rather loud cheers that could probably be heard through the rest of the castle. The battle was won, and all had survived. A little worse for the wear, sure, but alive. All had wounds somewhere on their bodies. Nothing that could not be dealt with by a few priests with healing salves. There it was. It was done, and the adrenaline was fading from his body. Only then did he feel the crippling pain. "AH!" The prince fell to his knees, clutching at his stomache. During the battle one had gotten a lucky blow through his defenses to rip open a gaping wound in his gut. The battle, the adrenaline, ahd kept him from hearing it. Already he was fading out of consienceness. From somewhere far away, yet right in his ear, someone yelled out "Commander!" as he fell to the ground. Hands grabbed him, lifting him up.
The last thing he remembered before he slipped into troubled sleep was of being laid on a bed and his clothes being ripped from his body. And for an order for the priests brought in. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he hoped that they dispatched a runner to the battlefield where the queen was. Oh, what did he care? Sleep time. He was so weary. Besides, there would almost certainly be a man on their fastest horse running out the gates before the priests arrived with their salves. "At least," he breathed before he was taken completely under, "the kingdom has been saved..." That was it. He dropped into that major sleep. The one that bordered death. Though he was not aware of it, the priests had arrived and were quickly pressing all manners of herbs and poltices into his wounds, his body cringing despite his mind not being there. When they were done they wrapped him up, and shook his heads at the soldiers. There was no telling if he would survive the rest of the day. Though the prince was strong considering where he was from, without a healer he would almost certainly die before the moon finished its cycle.
((I hope this is okay for my first post. If anything needs to be changed, please let me know.))
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