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Tournament of Champions 2 (The game has begun)
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Black smoke was filling the air all over the central districts from the burning ruins in the west. The boy ran on the roads to the west as the houses continually became more ruined and the streets began to fill with corpses of the dead. Hundreds upon hundreds of bodies that were half burnet or buried underneath the ruins. Soldiers and civilians alike. The smell of the dead and burnt flesh became stronger and difficult to withstand but the boy continued as he had to find his parents. He saw whole families killed and scorched by the flames that had turned the streets black of soot. At one occasion the boy saw a mother embracing a child most likely her daughter. The mother’s face was burnet off and the child’s hair was still burning with a small flame. The horrifying images made the boy feel sick and his eyes were tearing both from fear and from the smoke. Soldiers were running across the streets trying to save some people stuck among the ruins while others were either carrying buckets of water or carrying the bodies. Every time the boy saw a soldier that was similar to his mother or father he turned them to see their face and every time it was some else. The boy had hope in his heart that they were still alive somewhere. He asked the soldiers but no one had seen anyone of the descriptions. He later met a blonde soldier that gave orders out orders to the others. The soldier shook his head to the question but pointed towards the western plaza and the bazaar.
The boy arrived at the plaza which was full of dead bodies from soldiers, knights and some civilians. Some were burnt black while others had been crushed, both or dead by something else. After an hour or two of turning bodies of both men, women and even children the boy ran further down the streets. He was exhausted and his legs and arms were shaking uncontrollably. He tried to convince himself that everything was just a terrible dream and mother would soon shout his name because he had slept for too long. The streets had begun to be filled by other civilians looking for their loved ones and the constant working soldiers. The boy had problems running beside them as his eyes were filled with tears limiting his vision. After a little while he tripped and fell upon a soldier. The soldier almost pushed the boy off him before another soldier who saw the boy’s bad condition came and helped him up. This soldier tried to spoke to the boy but the boy’s words were almost impossible to understand as she was shaking in the soldier’s arms. The soldier took the boy and carried him away to the southern plaza were someone could look upon him.
The soldier had left the boy he was cleaned and given something to eat by a woman. The boy did not sit down for long before he saw a familiar face through the mass of people.
An old captain and friend to his mother was sitting by the fountain with a nurse trying to cover a burned wound he had on his arm. The boy walked over to the captain. The captain looked at the boy with tired eyes as he offered a seat behind him and the nurse. The boy refused and through the pains of his lungs“Where is my mother? Where is Eleanor” The captain looked at the boy for a couple of seconds and then he gave a short shout “Mikhas!”. A young adult male with yellow silk robe came walking with a gold-red box. The man reached the box to the captain who took out one necklace and a small leather emblem which he reached to the boy. The boy didn’t need to take them as he recognized them clearly enough. The necklace had an emblem of a silver fox within a red frame and the leather emblem was blue with an orange pheasant, the emblems of his parents.
The captain when nursed took the boy with him to the morgue to see his parents. They came to a room dedicated for captains and their partners. One body was burnt black at the torso but the boy recognized his father’s wound on the left leg. The other body beside it was Eleanore. She was seemingly unharmed as if she was sleeping except that her ribcage was broken. Before leaving, the captain gave the boy the emblems of his parents. The boy took them and went back outside.
The hours passed by and the sun descended beneath the horizon. The city was still burning with a red light that kept the night from being completely dark. People were going around the town. Some were blaming the stelladora while other blamed the Kilmaeren or something else. The boy sat down on a bench with the emblems in his hands. He looked at his mother’s necklace. Two years ago he lost Byron and his grandmother. Now he had lost his mother and father and thus his whole family. He looked up and saw a pot of flowers in a window. In the pot were one single lily and he remembered her and the promise he had made her. He would be her hero and return to her. A knight passed by the boy. He looked down upon him and asked if he could help with anything. The boy looked up and back on his mother’s emblem and at the lily. He then asked were Friyena was. The knight pointed in a direction and the boy ran off after thanking him. Friyena was sitting down in the middle of a huge crowd of people making it difficult for the boy to reach her. After he had forced his way through many of those in the crowd the mass separated making a small path for him. Friyena was looking at him with her hands out welcoming him. He walked and she embraced him as she had done for so many children before this day. Her embrace reminded the boy of his mother and for the first time for many hours he was not sad anymore. When Friyena released him he bowed down on his knees. He asked her to let him become a knight of her order after which he explained his situation. Friyena took out the necklace of his mother from his hands and put it around his neck as she accepted his service. A nearby knight took care of the boy and walked off towards the headquarter of the order and days later the barracks.
----
The city burned for three days before the fire was completely put out. The royal family reported increasingly numbers of the dead each day and the last report came after two months when almost 130 000 people had been confirmed dead or missing.
The second commander had been promoted to general and given the title as a knight of Friyena for his heroic actions and thus ensuring that his funeral would be honorable towards him and his body buried in the halls of heroes. Many other were also promoted to higher ranks upon their deeds and death in the defense. Both Tengil and his son had died during the attack so the Letholdus sword was inherited to his only grandchild, the 5 year old Emilia Letholdus. A soldier named Viktor of Frejdan had for his phenomenal contribution during the attack and the 3 days thereafter been promoted sergeant and not much later to commander. However not everything was fine after the Margeficus attack.
A couple of months after the attack diplomats from Stelladora approached the king and Frieyna. Sedric believed that they would admit that they were behind the Margeficus but not. They brought words, not from the Stelladora royal families but Decaotus that Friyena had betrayed the other gods and would be set to trial. To come with such accusations towards their goddess and their savior was an insult beyond anything ever before. Sedric was left speechless. He accused the diplomats for claiming false accusations but it was later proven that it really was decaotus that had sent them. Sedric defied all accusations and sent the diplomats home. Two years later when Sedric had fallen ill the diplomats returned. This time in addition to the old demands they demanded that the region of Lalden would be given back to the Stelladora. In his illness and fury Sedric ordered the diplomats executed for their insults. Two weeks later when king Sedric died of his sickness, the war broke out.
@everyone I have now ended the first act of this story and thus I believe it is a good opportunity to ask for some critical thoughts. What do you think is good or interesting. What do you think is bad or just boring.
Is the length good, too short or too long?
Is the writing style too violent for any of you?
If you have any question, I am happy to answer them.
"@Jonteman93 So you want to let tournament contenders in but not planeswalkers. I suppose Avelaide could be in the MtG multiverse, but have some kind of artifact or enchantment that blocks Planeswalkers/hampers Planeswalkers/makes Avelaide seem negligible to Planeswalkers. The precedent has been set by the Immortal Sun and the Phyrexian pipes. Keep in mind that Planeswalkers have visited Avelaide before (@sanjaya666 ‘s Merchant, at least). Is Avelaide still separate from the tournament plane?
I don’t mean to be nitpicky or annoying, I just like having esoteric discussions about the structure of fictional realities."
Please tell me if you tire of my prattle.
XI. Investigations
Coltras sat at the bar, drinking a glass of seaweed wine, when he heard a whisper from above. "Coltrass..."
Coltras looked up into the shadowy rafters. The torchlight from below caught on a fanged face as pale as snow, hanging upside down with its body cloaked in shadows. Coltras's face contorted for a minute. "Are you Zintius?" he ventured.
The vampire smiled and motioned for Coltras to join him. Coltras paid for his drink and raised his staff. It glowed faintly red as he floated up into the rafters. The barmaid looked surprised but Coltras paid no attention. The light from his staff illuminated Zintius's body until the glow faded, leaving the two in near-complete darkness. Coltras set down on a beam and sat face-to-upside-down-face with Zintius.
"Pleasure to meet you, Zintius. What do you require?" asked the merfolk wizard.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Koorir yesterday," said Zintius in a somber tone. "I didn't see the shade in Ertenstor, but I felt something in the forest. Something that was sleeping but now is stirring, sending out tendrils of consciousness. And the shade attack in Salaxum was troubling." Zintius paused, waited for Coltras to say something. When he didn't, Zintius continued.
"I would have blown it off, but two nights ago I saw something. The full moon, it was. The old aspen outside was creaking more than usual so I went outside. The tree was still, but its shadow was swaying and somehow creaking. Then part of it detached and slunk away, lifted itself up. It was a shade. It disappeared into the town. I waited. Some time later, a luminescent purple smoke drifted up from the town. I don't know what to make of it, but I think you can help me find out."
"What do you have to gain from this?" asked Coltras.
"In my homeland, I dedicated my life to killing vampires until I became one. After that, I had to hide from the very warriors that were once my friends. Vampirism is a curse, but it I have learned to use it as a tool to fight the darkness that plagues this world. It's my purpose."
"Very well, Zintius," said Coltras. "I would love to help you find the source of this darkness. But we might need someone else..."
"Calm down about this 'great darkness'!" yelled an annoyed Koorir. Coltras and Zintius had interrupted his nap and were now trying to get him to join some kind of strange conspiracy!
"Koorir, you fought a shade yourself. And you witnessed the shade attack in Salaxum. I saw a tree twisted by dark magic, and Zintius saw a shade right outside the tavern. Zintius and I think - no, are convinced - that these events are connected."
Koorir grunted. "Why didn't I think of that? The shade I fought did look a lot like the one in Salaxum. Well, if you're right, I guess that is pretty important. Fine, I'll help you."
Zintius smiled, baring his fangs. "Perfect. We must leave at once."
"Now?!" shouted Koorir. "It's the middle of the night!"
"The signs of dark magic are more visible in moonlight," said Zintius.
"Also, Zintius can't traverse in sunlight because it burns him," added Coltras.
Huffing and puffing, the minotaur warrior accompanied the vampire and the wizard into the night.
The trio walked down the deserted streets of Ertenstor. The aspen tree outside the tavern did not show any unusual properties. "Koorir, can you lead us to the place you fought the shade?" asked Zintius. Koorir grunted an affirmative, and turned down a side alley. It was almost pitch black, even with the light of the waning moon which shone eerily on the brick walls which formed the alley. Coltras summoned an orb of blue light that floated above his staff to light the way.
The group turned a corner. Koorir stopped. "Here it is," he said. There was a small open space with the alley extending from it forward and behind. The wall held signs of the fight - burn marks, slashes from Koorir's axe, a spatter of blood, a clump of black feathers. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," said Koorir as he unsheathed his axe. "There's been this black stain like rust on my axe since the fight." Coltras and Zintius examined the axe. The blade was covered in a thin layer of black. It smelled faintly of decay.
The three broke off to examine the area. Coltras was the first to find something. There was a small patch of dirt beneath the wall. In it was growing a small plant that Coltras recognized as blacksage. The three knelt around it. Coltras remembered when the ranger Tajay guided him through the forest surrounding Ertenstor, and his words on this dark herb that grew in the swamp. "Can be used to make a healing or strengthening potion, though it needs life energy to do so," Tajay had said. The dragon Karnax had used the herb in a ritual before his match with gunslinger Roland.
"Fascinating," Coltras said.
Zintius stood up, saying, "There's something else here. I can feel it." He muttered a spell of revealing, then all three gasped. On the wall above the blacksage plant, glowing purple lines appeared, then faded, revealing a door marked with runes where before there was only brick. Coltras picked the lock magically, and the door swung in, revealing a gaping darkness. Coltras, Zintius, and Koorir stood around the door.
@Bobman111 @shadow123 Either of you can join in now. Maybe something about how Nya, Tai, and Sylva followed Coltras, Zintius, and Koorir to the door. Or do whatever you want. After that it's a free for all. Let's make a great story!
@Bobman111 Wasn't even thinking of it.
As I said, I invite you and @shadow123 to write the next chapter of the story.
I do not mind what you do or how you perceive the plane's location in the universes anymore.
It is up to Tenebris after all to judge your uses of planeswalkers.
http://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/3820/planeswalker-s-journey#latest
What's really important to me (and hopefully for you as well) is that the tournament continues, makes it all the way to the finals and then reveals us which contestant will become the truest champion of them all. I got lots of catching up to do with reading, writing and other stuff, but I try to be as fast as I can with all the free time I have.
I'm happy this tournament will continue.
@DoctorFro - That's good to know.
@ShaperKyon - I will check it out, but I want to get things started from where I left them first.
The boy who met seven gods – Chapter 5: Birth of kingdom and conflict
It was almost 600 years ago when the kingdom of Lisakdonia was born. 574 years before the Margeficus attack on Crastine to be exact. The western continent of Eviera was divided into many small kingdoms, republics and other lands. Among these were the kingdoms of Lisiena and the kingdom of Akdonia on the eastern coast under the shadow of the Xellaran republican empire. Lisiena and Akdonia had been in war over a small region at the coast between the kingdoms. An area that included the isles of Frejdan and an important trading settlement, Crastine. The war between the kingdoms had been fought for almost a century so the people had become tired of the war and was now longing for peace. Almost no one that had been alive when the war was declared was alive anyway. Then one day a caravan of seemingly civil Akdonian trading ships were attacked by pirates outside of Frejdan. The nearby Lisienan navy lead by the crown prince Marcus intervened and saved the trading caravan who in which the princess Julia of Akdonia was residing. A couple of Lisienan captains called for her being taken hostage but Marcus decided that she and her fleet would be transported safely home.
This act was seen as heroic and very honorable by the Akdonian king and not far thereafter an agreement was made between the kings. Prince Marcus and Princess Julia would marry and their first born would rule over a unified realm. This angered the first born son and rightful Akdonian heir, prince Kilmartin who even began to hate his younger sister but he pretended as if he still loved her until the day when their father was attacked and killed by a group of assassins. Kilmartin and his kilmaeren followers blamed the assassination upon Marcus and had him executed in secret before any trial could be made. The only obstacle left was the child that growing within his sister that would be born within a month. So one day he offered to help his sister out of bed who did not know anything of her brother’s schemes. When they got to the stairs he pushed her down. He watched her fall down the stone stairs and land beneath them with blood streaming from between her legs. Their younger brother Gaius heard Julia’s scream and came to help her. Seeing his brother on top of the stairs he understood what had happened. Kilmartin threatened his younger brother. ”Soon I will be king so don’t dare to turn against me brother.”
Gaius carried Julia to the infirmary where she had to give emergency birth. Kilmartin later joined by a handful of soldiers and the royal judge who would confirm his rightful coronation when the child was confirmed dead. After a more than half an hour a baby boy was born, dead. Kilmartin told the judge that he would be waiting in the throne room for his coronation and then before he left he ordered the soldiers to kill Julia and Gaius if he intervened. Kilmartin left knowing that his brother would intervene. Gaius did just that and told the soldiers that Kilmarting could not give such orders before his coronation had been completed upon which the judge agreed so the soldier withdrew their weapons. Gaius tried to reason with the soldiers in an attempt to help them escape the city. The attempt was soon made unnecessary as the scream of a baby was heard. Julia had given birth to a living twin to the dead boy. A baby girl. The judge and the nurses examined the child and confirmed that it was born in a healthy condition regardless of the early birth and the dead brother. Lisiena and Akdonia had been given a unified heir.
Kilmartin was sitting in his throne room where he had gathered his closest friends and administrators waiting for the judge to arrive. The doors then opened and the judge entered but what Kilmartin had not expected was for him to be followed by Gaius and the royal guard. “What is this!?” Kilmartin asked fiercely. “By order from the mother of the rightful queen. Justified by treason, murder of the queen’s father and a threat to the queen and her family been sentenced to be executed.”
Kilmartin laughed at his brother but his smile disappeared when the judge confirmed the accusation and the birth of the queen. Probably half of the administrator’s that sat with Kilmartin stood up and turned towards him now backed up only by his Kilmaeren loyalists. Kilmartin and the kilmaeren were arrested by the guards and later that day executed in the town center. One of the kilmaeren could not be proven guilty for any of the accusations and thus set free. When Julia was able to travel she travelled to Lisiena personally to talk to Marcus’ father and the king of Lisiena. He had been furious about the death of his son but when he met Julia and her daughter he calmed down. It was after all his granddaughter and the guilty had already been dealt with. Julia decided to not live in neither Lisiena nor Akdonia but in the unclaimed lands in-between and Crastine was the perfect city for that.
When the king of Lisiena retired 16 years later, the kingdoms were formally united into the kingdom of Lisakdonia under the rule of the 16 year old queen Vearone
Peace would not last for long as the one kilmaeren that had survived the executions had rallied the rest of the kilmaeren to rise up against the Julia and Vearone and thus rage war against both Lisiena and Akdonia. When the kingdoms later unified upon Vearone’s coronation the Kilmaeren persuaded the Xellaran republican empire that the newly formed Lisakdonia and its queen was a weak kingdom ruled by a weak queen. Lisakdonia’s armies was indeed weak compared to the Xellaran power. Queen Vearone however was not as she had been taught by her mother Julia, Gaius and the best administrators of both Lisiena and Akdonia. A lesson the Xellaran and Kilmaeren would learn the hard way. Even as the Xellaran and were annexed by Lisakdonia the Kilmaeren continued to fight. A conflict that would last for centuries even though the Kilmaeren was almost completely extinct sometimes they managed to live on in the shadows. The year 589) after the birth of Vearone, or 573 after the unification. Eleanor was promoted to citadel guard in Crastine with the main objective to bring down the Kilmaeren loyalists. However when the great Margeficus attacked the year thereafter and Crastine was saved by Friyena, the Kilmaeren got economical support from Stelladora and could thus poison king Sedric. The years that followed the Kilmaeren hired bandits and mercenaries to create unrest in Lisakdonia. 6 years after the Margefius attack. Eleanor’s 16 year old son, a knight of the Friyena’s order took upon his mother’s duty to bring down the Kilmaeren once and for all.
Summer had come to an end and autumn began to bring its cold to Lisakdonia. 5 years has passed since the Margeficus attacked. The kingdom had not been in peace since then, the opposite. When Sedric died, most likely poisoned. The Stelladora declared war. The Kilmaeren began to hire bandits and mercenaries to attack trade routes and smaller settlements across the kingdom. The whole operations were funded by Stelladoran contacts. These raids and attacks could mostly be handled by the local militia and city guards but recently a unified force of mercenaries and Kilmaeren wizards had taken over the mines of the Kieran chain in northern Eviera. The first commander in Crastine was sitting down with the generals of the army and the leaders of the knightly order of Friyena. He was holding a bunch of papers with the names of multiple young novice knights in his hands. Among the papers were names such as, Richard, Antonio, Kasper, Friede, Malin, Draguf, Pier, Basil, Alice, Rowan and many others. He looked through the papers while he the others were discussing. He put aside papers into two piles. When he came to one of the papers he stopped.
“This boy is only 15 years old. Who nominated him?”
One of the leaders of the order spoke. ”It was me. That boy is the son of the former citadel captain Eleanor and one of the gate guardians. He has been trained in archery and hand to hand from childhood by his parents which is clearly visible in practice. Also he has been in contact and survived the attack of an infected wolf. I believe he would make a good choice for this operation regardless of his young age.
The commander looked through the paper again. “Well if you praise him so highly Maria. Also it seems his birthday is only 2 months from now in November. He looks promising so I will put him under your responsibility for these two months.”
After he had looked through the rest of the papers and confirmed all the nominated novice knights they would include in the operation to reclaim the Kieran mines. Six were chosen. Alice, Antonio, Basil, Felix, Janet and Rowan. “Then if it is all set then the operation can begin. Commander Tristan will lead the operation together with Lady Maria of the order. The departure is in 7 days so make sure to prepare.
-------
The day came and 500 soldiers and 20 knights began a march north towards Kieran. The boy was the youngest and only one beneath 16 years old in the company. The other novices were not much older but all of them had at least seen their 16th birthday. Janet was the youngest as she had become 16 just a week before the operation began. Alice was 17 and Antonio was the oldest at 18. The other two were both 16. The boy had trained for more than 5 years with all of them except Alice who had become a novice at 14 years age after she had jumped off the school of magic so she was the only one of the 6 that could cast spells with confidence. However none of them had been able to reliable cast the white flame, a symbol of the knights of the order and goddess Friyena’s signature spells. Even though the boy had trained with the all, he had trained the most with Antonio so he knew him the best. Antonio came from the kingdom of Kelmatein on the western coast, a vassal state under Lisakdonian.
Antonio had a very different accent than the other, a slow speaking but calming accent so the boy had during his first year at the barracks kept close to him and thus they had become close friends. Antonio had been on four missions before this one and hoped that this would be his opportunity to finally cast the white flame and become a real knight instead of a novice one.
The weather had been rather mild so it took only a little more than a month for the company to reach Rockhold, the first village in reach of the Kieran chain and only one that had not been taken by the Kilmaeren. The company there met a force of 200 local soldiers and guards that joined them in the operation. Scouts had made sure that the Kilmaeren were not planning an ambush so the following days the company made camp in the small forest village before they took off towards the Kieran mines and battle.
The boy, Antonio and Alice together with a handful of soldiers and a veteran knight were running through one of many tunnels in the mountain. When they got to an open room they were met with a group of mercenaries that released a volley of arrows towards them. The soldiers raised their shield but two were hit and had to lay down. Alice threw a ball of red flame towards the mercenaries to split their formation. The veteran and Antonio were the first ones into battle with the rest tight after. A few mercenaries were killed and more were injured and taken. Many managed to retreat further into the mine. The Veteran had received a cut wound so he had to stay together with the two other soldiers. One soldier was dead. Alice stayed to help the wounded while the rest of the group continued deeper now with Antonio in the leading role.
The came into contact with the same mercenary group as earlier but this they had reinforcements. A kilmaeren stood behind them. Antonio ordered the soldiers to form a shield wall to shield from the arrow volley. The kilmaeren wizard then threw a spell at the roof above the soldiers which made it break and collapse over the soldiers. The boy had to jump back to avoid being hit. When the smoke began to disappear the boy noticed that only he and two other soldiers had avoided the rocks. The only light that came into the tunnel came from a small hole above the rocks. The boy could hear shouts and weapon clash. The rocks were too heavy to move so the boy and the other two soldiers had to run back and see if they could find another way.
They ran through the tunnel system that appeared as maze for them. After half an hour of running in circles and getting lost they found a group of people on the ground beneath some rocks. Janet was trapped with her leg beneath a rock but she was alive. The three began to help her remove the rock that had broken her leg. Sounds came from deeper within the tunnel. The boy ordered the two soldiers to take Janet out of the mines while he ran further in. He came across more bodies of soldiers and mercenaries. After a short while he came to another open chamber were a group of soldiers were in combat with mercenaries. There were mine cards and piles of ore all over the room.
The boy arrived just as the mercenaries began to break. The one that was most likely their captain ran into a door on the other side of the room. The boy avoided the battle that and followed the captain into the room. There were an open furnace burning in the corner and a bunch of benches and tables with tools upon them. The captain attacked the boy from behind a corner but the boy had been surprised like that many times during training so he easily guarded the attack. The boy rotated his weapon so that he disarmed his opponent. The captain ran back further into the room and the boy followed. The captain threw down hammers and back onto the boy who just blocked them with his shield. The captain dropped down onto a charcoal pile and held up his hands showing that he surrendered.
The boy smiled exhausted while still holding his sword towards the captain. Finally a victory. The door opened behind him. When the boy looked away from the captain towards the door the captain jumped towards and laid his hands on his armor at the waist. The boy screamed of pain as he fell back on the tools on the floor. The plate mail had melted and the cloth beneath burnt from a flame spells that the captain or rather Kilmaeren wizard had cast upon him. The boy had difficult to see his surroundings and even breathe as the pain was extremely intense. He heard a hammer being thrown at the kilmaeren and then he heard Antonio shout. “Are you okay? Are you alive!?” The boy answered with a painful grunt as Antonio ran up towards them Kilmaeren. The wizard threw balls of fire towards Antonio which he blocked with his shield. Antontio threw another hammer at the wizard who had to back off, almost tripping on the charcoal. Antonio moved past the boy who was shaking on the floor. Antonio continued to block the fire balls but as he came closer to the wizard, the balls became hotter and began to turn his shield glowingly red. Antonio threw his shield towards the Wizard who ducks beneath it. Antonio then attacked with his sword but the wizard cast another spell that threw him back, dropping his sword. The wizard was clearly exhausted from the spells he had cast. He took up Antonio’s sword who now was without shield and sword. Antonito still lying down took off his right glove and then grabbed a hammer. He turned around towards the wizard who stood above him. The wizard took the sword and thrust it towards Antonio took the tong and blocked the sword with his left arm. He then grabbed the sword with his left unprotected sword and after a little moment the sword began to glow a gentle white light. Antonio shouted loudly and the sword exploded in the wizard’s hand. He then kicked the legs of the chocked wizard and hit his head with the hammer so he fainted.
A couple of hours later outside of the mine. The boy lied in a bed with a bandage over his abdomen. Janet was sleeping in a bed beside his. Antonio and Alice came to meet him. The operation was still going on but the success within the mine had forced the Kilmaeren and the mercenaries into the villages to the west which would be much easier to retake. Antonio, Alice and the other two novices came daily to meet the boy and Janet at the nursing house. It took 8 additional days for the operation and retaking of the region to be successful. The day after the four returned to the boy and Janet, now brining messages and a pot of flowers as a symbol of victory. The first message they got was that Antonio had been promoted from Novice to a real knight since he had managed to fully cast the white flame. The other message was from leader Maria. Since the boy and Janet had been so injured from the operation they would be given exemption from duty until they had fully recovered. The two bed-bounded were left for a while. The boy stared at the flowers by his side. Janet continued to sleep until the evening. When the sun went down and the celebrations began, Antonio brought beverages for the group in the nursing room. Alice later asked the two what they would do during their exemption. Janet would return with the company to Crastine and just rest. The boy looked at the flowers where as he answered. “I have a promise I 6 years that I will fulfill.”
Janet was still bound to the bed but the boy was able to walk the days thereafter and after the preparations had been made the company set off towards Crastine again.
The boy followed the company for two weeks before he turned off towards the west, towards his birth home where he would keep his promise he made to Lily 6 years ago. He would bring her with him to Crastine.
I really hope someone finds interest in them...
The winter’s first snowflakes had begun to fall. The inland road began to wake up old memories in the boys mind. He walked passed villages open fields, bridges, forests and mountains that he had travelled over with his father when he was young. Everything looked as he remembered them only that he was much older now only days from his 16th birthday. He had given most of his equipment to Antonio for caretaking as he did not want to be slowed down by a damaged armor. He had however still his sword and shield, both of which he had inherited from his mother Eleanor. Just in case Lily would not recognize him after all this time. He had even begun to grow a beard, well if you could call a few hair straws on the jaw a beard. The days passed as he continued south. One evening he got a bad feeling in his left arm kind of like it was being choked. He decided to put up his tent and go to sleep early. Tomorrow he would pass by the last village before his home village.
The sun rose up and the boy was met by a thin layer of snow making the whole world white. He packed the tent and continued. He came across the village a few hours later but no one seemed to be awake, or no one was home. The village was completely silent and there not even a single animal there. It felt strange as that village had always been full of life since it lied in connection to a lake rich with salmon, trout, bass and even pike even though it is seen as trash fish. The boy continued across a small bridge and through a number of farm fields. After a while he finally saw something. On one of the field was a horse searching for food. He walked out towards it and as he came closer he recognized the horse as one of Yorvan’s foals, Najda or well she was no longer a foal. She was a 7 year old grown horse with a black but with a distinct white mark on its face that could not be mistaken. He was so happy to see her that he never thought why she was out there alone. He approached Nadja who was a little doubtful at first before she recognized him. The boy patted Nadja and gave her a hug. Her body was warm and soft. She was however more eager to see what he had in his bag. He took out a piece of carrot which he gave to her before he made an attempt to step up on her. She was not unwilling for it so Yorvan had probably planned to use her as a riding horse. It was rather uncomfortable and difficult without a saddle but it worked. They then made off towards the village together.
The path would have taken another two days but with Nadja they only needed to make rest for one more night. New snow had begun to fall the following morning and the boy was eager to set off so he woke up extra early. He would finally see his birth home and Lily again. He also wanted to see Yorvan, Thomas, Simon, Ebony, Silver and the others. Tomorrow he would finally turn 16. He thought that maybe just maybe he should ask Lily to marry him then. No that is just silly. They haven’t seen each other for so long. What if she had found someone else? What if she is already married?! Nadja was neighing at him. Right she is only 14 soon 15. She is not old enough to marry yet hehe. He tried to shake his silly thoughts out of his head as he took down the tent and prepared to set off. He did however continue his silly thoughts for another hour on top of Nadja.
They rode through one last forest before they came out on a large field with some large hills. They traveled up on the first hill and as they got the top the boy could see a gravestone up on another. The grave of Byron. The boy bowed towards the grave as he said ”I am home Byron, my friend” They continued across another hill and as they came around he finally see three houses, one of which was his birth home. The boy dismounted Nadja as they came to the house. He walked up to the door and knocked. He was unsure if anyone had moved in after they had moved out so he was not surprised when no one opened. He looked through the mirror and saw nothing. No one had lived there for a long time. When he walked towards Nadja he noticed something. He saw a bush that seemed untouched by the winter’s touch and from the bush grew a lily flower and a red rose. They grew on the exact same place where He and Lily had danced for Levirga 7 years ago. A red rose has only two symbolizations in Lisakdonia, one of which was marriage. Since it was newly grown did Levirga bless a marriage between him and Lily? He picked up the rose and the lily and held them onto his breast as he smelled the flowers. They smelled lovely in the winter. He held the flowers close as he approached Nadja and walked down the road with her.
After a little while he saw a bunch other houses. From one of the light escaped the window and smoke was pouring out of the chimney. It was Yorvan’s house. He decided that he would meet up with Lily first, that way he could maybe bring some other good news to Yorvan, Thomas and Simon when he went to meet them. A dog was barking from the house as he walked on the road pass Yorvan’s house. He laughed a little for himself. ”Yes I am eager to see you too.” To his side he saw the great tree where he had said good bye to Lily those 6 years ago. ”I held my promise Lily. I am here now.”
He could not set his eyes off the next house that appeared behind the trees. Lily’s home. It looked dark in the windows. Well he had gone up very early and Yorvan was always up before everyone else so it was nothing out of the ordinary. He was shaking now of anticipation as he approached the door. It appeared to be unlocked. He was thinking if he should knock first. Then he thought that he would wake Lily up himself to the smell of the flowers he had brought. Her father could get as angry as he wanted. The boy would take Lily with him either way. He took a deep breath from the flowers to calm his nerves. He then opened the door and stepped inside.
It was complete silent in the room except for a squeaking sound followed by the flowers falling onto the floor. The world around him disappeared for the boy as he looked at Lily. Her lifeless eyes were starring towards the door, towards him. Much of her golden brown hair was trapped beneath the noose around her neck. Her cloths had ripped from her and now only pieces of it were hanging from her waist exposing her upper body. She was covered in bruises and dried blood was streaming from beneath her cloth down her legs and feet, forming a small red puddle on the floor. The boy took out a knife and ran forward to Lily cutting the rope from which she was hanging. He caught her in his arms as she fell. He removed the noose from her neck believing in some desperate illusion that when the cursed noose was removed she would come back to life but no. Her body was cold and her eyes were grey instead of their usual honey brown color. Her lips and skin had lost their color and dark blood had been trapped in her hair. She had a large mark on her neck from the noose and scratch wounds around it. Her finger nails were dirty with blood beneath them and her arms were covered in bruises. The boy was shacking as he held her tight while tears were filling his eyes. He tried to scream but only weak breaths left his lungs.
The floor was covered with metal kettle, books, candles and other stuff that had been thrown off the table. Two chairs were pointed towards Lily two meters in front of where she had been hanging. In the behind the door laid Lily’s father. His head had been hit by something blunt like a war hammer leaving a nasty wound. Over at a bed in the room lied Lily’s mother. Her dress had also been ripped apart and her hands and legs were tied to the bed. They did not seem to have been dead for very long. Probably not more than two days. Most of the desks and dressers were open and the content within had been thrown onto the ground. No kind of valuables could be seen anywhere. He held Lily in his arms for an unknown amount of time. It felt like nothing of it was real. That it was all just a terrible terrible nightmare and that he would soon wake up in his cold tent. He hit his own head with his fist to wake up but the only thing he managed to do was to spread his tears all over Lily’s face. He proceeds to close Lily’s eyes and pull up the broken dress so it covered her bare body. Nadja was neighing outside of the house. The boy looked up towards the door and he notices the smoke from Yorvan’s house. The world came to him. He took up Lily’s body and put her in the bed beside her mother. He then walked outside to Nadja, He drew his sword from the sheath in his package and began to walk towards Yorvan’s house.
He walked straight towards the house over the snow covered fields. As he came closer towards the house he noticed a pile of bodies behind the house. Horses, dogs and three human bodies. The dog inside the house began to bark and become more violent as the boy came closer to the house. He could hear two voices inside.
Man 1: “Now he starts again like he has gone on for the last two days. Take care of your stupid dog Steve!”
Man 2: “He is not stupid! What is it Buddy, is someone here?”
The boy held the sword in both his hands as he approached the door. He kicked the door open revealing the two men inside that was sitting at the fire cooking food. One of the men was quick to reach for an axe but the boy was quick to cut his arm straight off making him fall back screaming. The other man had taken a sword and raised it but the boy was quick and thrust his sword into the man’s throat killing him. The dog was barking violently at the boy but he was tied to some metal equipment. The boy reached down for the axe and picked it up.
Steve: “Wha what are you doing? No please don’t hurt Buddy. Please NOO!!”
The boy did not care as he raised the axe and buried it deep into the dog’s skull.
Steve: ”NOO! Buddy! Why? What do you want from us?”
The man was crying while holding his bleeding arm tight in an attempt to prevent the bleeding.
The boy took out the axe from the dog’s skull and pointed it towards the man. ”Who is your leader?”
Steve ”I, I, I am not allowed to give out that info- information.”
Boy”TELL ME OR I’LL BURY THIS AXE IN YOUR HEAD LIKE I DID TO YOUR DOG!! Who is your leader and where is he?”
The man was even afraid now. ”He he his name is Philip. He is in the wooden fortress to the east of here. Now please let me go.”
The boy looked at the bleeding man. He then raised the axe in his hand.
Steve “Woah! No! Please. What I’m saying is the truth. Please you have to believe me.”
Boy: “I do believe you.”
The boy then struck down the axe into the man’s skull killing him as well. He left the axe in the man’s skull and drew out his sword from the other man’s throat. On the table was a small pouch with coins. He took a coin and looked at it. It had the appearance of a dragon’s head. A coin from Stelladora.
The boy stepped out and into Yorvan’s shed where he took a spade. During the following hours he proceeded to bury both Lily’s mother, her father, Yorvan, Marcus and Simon. When he was finished many hours later burying them he went to Lily. He first cleaned her as well as he could before he dressed her with her finest clothes. He then wrapped her in a rug from her house before he carried her to the tree were he began to dig her grave. His hands were in pain and full of blisters but he continued as the sun went down.
He lowered her into the grave and filled it with the soil. He then ran to his grandmother’s grave and took her gravestone. He cut away the text and filled in Lily’s name instead before he put it on her grave.
He sat down before the stone at on which he put the two flowers. ”Do you remember this tree Lily. It was here we first met… It was here we last met. I promised you that would return, that I would come and rescue you. I failed you Lily. I failed you and I can never undo it. Forgive me Lily. I should have come sooner." He continued to speak to Lily’s gravestone for hours until he fell asleep on her grave. He welcomed the cold night as maybe it would take his life so that he could be with Lily again.
@Jonteman93 Are you going to tell us why Stelladora hates Lisakdonia so much?
To begin, the major geography and demographic of the world.
Like earlier said there are three major continents.
Eviera, the continent on which Lisakdonia and most events covered in both this story and the tournaments occur. This continent is located in the west with 70% of it being located above the "equator". This is the smallest of the three continents but not by very much. This continent is inhabited by Humans of mostly of Greek, Germanic and Frank appearance.
The eastern continent Dormania is the by far largest continent. This continent is most often separated into two parts. Western Dormania mostly consists of the lands under the Stelladora union and the lands of the Aephonaeran people. Eastern Dormania is the larger of the two parts but does not belong to any glorious realms of man. These lands consists of the great deserts, the lands of the giants, the white mountains, the great lakes of Ellastor and much unexplored land. These lands are considered the most ferocious of all lands in Avelaide because of the great dragons and other great beast that resides here. So the only people that live here is 100% small nomadic tribes as larger settlements would fall prey to the beasts. Eastern Dormania is with the only exception of the great dragons irrelevant for the rest of the world.
The land under Stelladora is so vast compared to Lisakdonia so the people is of many different physical appearances (The northern peak of Stelladora is more north than the northen peak of Lisakdonia. The same is true for the south. It is easier to organize the differences for each of the three major realms that are parts of Stelladora. The northern and greatest of the kingdoms, Stellearon is home to people that have somewhat similar apperance to those of Lisakdonia except more wider eyes and longer faces with a little more eastern skin tone. if that makes sense. The eastern and southern, Ecedolon and Eagrolyn have more Spanish, Argentinean and Brazilian appearance with some groups of northern african and turkish appearence. Some of the minor realms have people of central African in the very south. Stelladora in general have people of all skin colors present in Avelaide.
The Aephonaeran people are mostly of Kazakhstan appearance.
Dormania crawls over and to the west of the third continent Aekudin. These continents are separate by a belt that varies between 1 km and 15 km wide. This continent is home to the Eli Bidean which is kind of a union of kingdoms/states but not really since they don't have a unified rule, except during war times when a temporary ruler is voted for by the different states. But this ruler have very limited military and economic power since the states have to willingly provide the resources except for a mandatory 15% depending on current agreements. Also military that serve under this temporary ruler need to give an oath to at minimum the state house, the state military force, the regional coalition, the ruler and the captains and generals which he serve under. This to ensure loyalty which makes war very troublesome to even start. This is the simple version.
This might be the reason why Eli Bidean has not started a war for hundreds of years.
Eli Bidean might not have an efficient unified offensive military or a unified leader most of the time but they have phenomenal research and documentation together with a great trade system between the states. This makes so they have the largest and best libraries in the world and their states are very rich from their domestic and foreign trade.
Eli Bidean does not have much connections to Lisakdonia but they do have quite many links to Stelladora.
Eli Bidean is the home of mostly people of Persian appearance but also central African in the western and southern states.
In the south west of the world far away from the other continents is the Kalakmul Archipelago. This is a system of hundreds of islands. These are mostly covered in jungle and a volcanoes. This region is very special for one attribute in particular. There are no humans here. These lands belongs to elves and dryads. These elves are however very different from those that lives in the three continents.
There are many different calendars used in Avelaide all ranging from a few hundred years to thousands of years.
There are in general 3 large calendars, 4 if you include the most common used in the Kalakmul Archipelago.
The oldest of these and one of the oldest of all is the Alfader calendar which was put to use 6441 before the Margeficus attack. The calender was put to use when a man named Alfader Vorad came in contact with one of the gods for the first time when praying for a good harvest. This calendar is also known as the common calendar and Levirga's contact and is the most common throughout the world and is today used in academic purposes in Aekudin and Dormania as well as some isolated islands.
The Alfader calendar was later reformed 4674 years before the attack into the Jovana Calendar when Jovana the prophet was born in the great temple of of Zechiran. People are however unsure if she was actually born that year. However Jovana claimed that she could speak with the gods at will and demanded that their followers would build some special spherical structures. Only three of these structures were constructed during her lifetime. As timed passed more were built, some by orders from priests and others as gifts to the gods.
The Jovana calendar is the main calendar used in Aekudin and Dormania. It was also the main one used in Eviera until another calendar was put to use.
The Kalakmul's calendar does not have a name so it is just called the Kalakmul calendar. It was put to use 1781 years ago when the stars were falling from the sky.
The Lisakdonian calendar was put to use 590 years before the attack when the queen of the unified Lisakdonia was born. This calendar would end up being the main calendar used in Eviera a few hundred years after its introduction when Lisakdonia became the greatest kingdom on the continent.
continues...
The people in the audience were focused on the large water orb before them, where they could see what was happening to the two contestants within the deserted town. When they saw a black knight destroying a rune-stone, Eetu, the merfolk wizard, dismissed the orb. Civilians got confused and began to look at different directions, at other civilians, at the guards, and finally, at the tournament hosts. During the hustle, Gaspar gave orders to Sir Killian and Eetu. The knight and the wizard walked away from their seats, then they went to two separate directions. Sir Killian walked onto the podium, and tried to get the audience's attention with his loud voice.
"Listen! I ask you to calm down and stay put! This interruption will be dealt with right now! Stay here with the guards until we've returned!"
Eetu walked out from the plaza with a dozen tournament guards marching behind him in a formation as Killian was speaking. Sir Killian gathered his own band of soldiers a moment later and marched to another street behind the buildings at the edge of the plaza, out from the audience's sight. Both hosts were going to the direction, where the Sylva and Nya were most likely fighting. Tai, who was still sitting on her tiny bench, couldn't stop worrying for her friends' lives. She wanted to go and help them. As she was going to stand up and fly for their aid, she saw in the corner of her eye a certain wolf in the distance.
Konus?
He stopped at the edge of the plaza and turned his head to look at the audience, directly into Tai's eyes, as if he was telling her to stay back. The faerie could see how Konus worried about her friends as well, and it seemed as if he had already made his decision to disobey Killian's orders. Tai collapsed back onto her chair and watched as Konus swiftly ran into the shadows of the buildings. Clouds were darker than before and the wind was getting stronger. It felt like torture for Tai, but she decided to stay put and count on Nya's guardian.
Please save them from harm, Konus...
Dead leaves and a howling wind made Sylva shiver as she arrived to the large street between the abandoned stone buildings of the ghost town Salaxum. The airship repairer stopped running in the middle of the street and leaned onto her knees with her hands. She was breathing heavily and her heart was beating rapidly after running to the terrified shout's direction as fast as possible. After a moment, Sylva raised her head and looked around the eerie grey street. She noticed the broken rune-stones around the buildings, the odd atmosphere that surrounded the area, and the black shadows in the distance that seemed to stare into her soul.
"Sylva!"
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice shouting her name. Sylva turned to look at her left side and saw Nya hurrying to her direction. The expression on her pale face hinted that she had seen a ghost. A ghost that had tried to take her life.
"Nya? What is happening--"
With her free hand, Nya grabbed Sylva's left hand and pulled her as she was running. Sylva almost fell, but thanks to her reflexes, she managed to put her feet into action, once again, and followed Nya to wherever she was leading her.
"H-hey, tell me what's wrong!"
"We must get out of here right now!"
During the hurry, Nya didn't listen what other questions Sylva asked. As they were about to exit the large street by going through an alley, they heard ominous noises above them. Both girls raised their heads and saw three pitch-black shadows flying through the air to the direction where they were heading, only a few meters above. The shadows swirled around while letting out ghastly cries that seemed to belong to countless animals and monsters. In a blink of an eye, the shadows merged together and splashed onto the path before Nya and Sylva. The two girls stopped running and watched as the shadow widened, blocking their way completely. As seconds passed, it grew enormously taller while dim, spectral images of animal carcasses flowed within it.
"No... No, we can't stop!"
Nya cast vines through the cracks of the stone street below her with her staff and controlled them to whip the wall open. But it was no use. As soon as the vines contacted the wall, they withered away. Desperation filled Nya's mind, so she prepared herself to jump through the living darkness.
"Nya, don't!"
As soon as the warrior born of the leaves took a step forward, Sylva reached her both hands and, in turn, grabbed Nya's right hand, stopping her from moving. The young repairer saw as a menacing wolf materialized from the wall and walked slowly towards the two girls. Then it growled and jumped at Nya's direction, whose arms were too stiff to do anything on that moment. When the wolf was about to bite her throat, Sylva thrust her dagger through the wolf's head in an incredible speed. The dagger's blade clinked at the stone wall on Nya's left side and the dark wolf turned to black smoke as its head hit the wall.
"Come on," Sylva said to Nya, whose eyes were wide open, then grabbed her right hand and pulled her away from the wall of darkness.