[nsw-fic] Rekindled Rivalries

[The Betrayer]

In the ancient continent of Hasvath, the land forgotten by time, were three kingdoms - Fallfair, Marblewick, and Leven. They coexisted in peaceful desire, peace uninterrupted by the other lands that surround theirs.

 

But when a sign of an ancient enemy found its way into Hasvath's doorstep, ancient and terrible anger was lit once more. This story chronicles the Second War of Darkness, and the instrumental role a Queen played in it.

 

CHAPTER I. The Letter.

 

“The sad thing is, she was right”, he spoke, sad and battered. “But alas, in our hypocritical ignorance, we did not listen. She was the voice of reason, forever to be drowned out by the screams of idiocy and stupidity.” The man stared the people present in the eye – a message of resolve and firmness. “Our screams.”

 

A MONTH EARLIER

 

“Your sadness will kill us all, milady.” The Queen’s advisor smiled. He had always been one for pranks, jokes and other silliness that the Queen will have none of. But the monarch loved him anyway.

 

“Let it. I tire of your presence”, said the Queen, playing along.

 

“And all this while I thought you were getting quite fond of me.” Leonard Wake feigned sadness, a fake frown appearing with his perfect facial features. His blue eyes drooped down, and his lips softly formed an arch.

 

“Come now, Leonard. You did not interrupt my rest for games, much as you’d love to do so. What is your purpose here?” asked the Queen, eager to get to the business at hand – and back to her beauty sleep. Her red hair stretched out off his her head without so much a tangle, and her crimson eyes were ready to provoke wars.

 

“Ah, yes, milady. Always ready to get to the fine pleasures of being Queen, I see. Let not this foolish advisor stop you.” Leonard reached into his pockets, and then pulled out a poorly-folded scroll. Looking at the queen, he unrolled it. Afterwards, he began to blurt aloud its contents,

 

“A letter to the glorious Queen Tanilae of the Ladyship of Fallfair, from the Regent Christopher atte Alard of the Marblewick Kingdom.”

 

Queen Tanilae sighed. It has been a well-known fact that the good Christopher atte Alard was a suitor of the Queen, and she did not delight in the fact. But still, the Regent was an important neighbor to the Ladyship, and it would be foolhardy for Tanilae to ignore atte Alard’s messages.

 

Leonard, none bothered by the Queen’s reaction, continued.

 

“My dear Queen,

 

Greetings! It has been a long time since our last correspondence, a fact that wounds my heart deeply. Your Excellency, however, would be very pleased to know that I am in good health as I should be. I write this letter in light of a very serious occurrence in my nation, an event you would no longer be interested in having knowledge of.”

 

Wake paused for a while, letting everything in the message sink in and enjoying a three-second rest. He then resumed reading.

 

“This message would probably take a few days to reach you, milady, so I will write the date of the happening that must harrow your attention here. November 27th, the date of birth of my infamous son, Baron.”

Tanilae knew much about Baron. Being the king’s only son, he had the great responsibility of taking over the Marblewick Kingdom in the event of the former’s demise, and he had been well-trained for it too. The boy is every bit as smart and as strong as his father, if not smarter and stronger.

 

“A sad tragedy befell one of the citizens in the square while my son had his happy celebrations. Now, of course, I wouldn’t be obliged to write to you about every single death in my kingdom, but this had most peculiar situations that surrounded it. Do you still remember of the Troshik Ascendancy?”

 

The Queen shuddered. The Troshik Ascendancy was the name of another human empire – this time one built on the darkest of magic. The Ascendancy began a massive invasion on all the three kingdoms of the Hasvath Continent – Marblewick, Fallfair, and the Leven. After holding back the usurpers, the three kingdoms started a crusade that would ultimately end the Ascendancy. Or so they thought.

 

“Well, this man who was brutally murdered was apparently killed by Troshik assassins. I did not believe it myself, at first, but the evidence is too overwhelming to ignore. For one, we found a red dagger was the cost of his death. I’m sure you’re familiar of the red dagger’s symbolism when the Troshik are involved.”

 

The regent was right. The red dagger to the Troshik meant one thing – Valhalla through death. Anyone murdered by the red dagger would be, according to Ascendancy beliefs, sent to heaven and be redeemed whatever his sins might be, though at the cost of his life.

 

“Next, the identity of the man who was murdered was something else to be considered. He was Captain Arkashar – the famous traitor who, might I add, was never caught by my men. Do you remember how an individual man cost us twenty-thousand of our finest when he decided to help the Troshik? Yes, that’s the one.”

 

Leonard Wake coughed, providing a brief interlude to his reading.

 

“All these things said and done, might I request your presence here in my castle the twenty-third of December? I’ve already invited the Leven Triumvirate, and they have agreed. Do write back.

 

Signed,

Christopher atte Alard

27th Regent of the Marblewick Kingdom

 

P.S. Do bring Leonard along. His presence amuses me greatly.”

 

Leonard grinned upon reading the last bit, but he looked up to see that the Queen was not sharing his sentiments.

 

“I guess you have no choice but to bring me along, milady Tanilae”, said the advisor, a jovial smile apparent on his fair-skinned face. “Today, by the way, is December 20, milady. Taking into account the two-day trip it requires to reach Marblewick, I presume you wish to travel tomorrow?”

 

“You would presume correct, Leonard. This letter has been most distressing to me. I would appreciate it if you let me rest and think on these things”, said the Queen, obviously very deep in thought.

 

“I shall, milady. You should try to relax. I will settle everything we need for tomorrow’s journey.” Leonard had a way of making every trouble seem much smaller than it is, and it is in his soothing words that Queen Tanilae finds refuge. For now, truthful those words might not be, they are the only words that the Queen of Fallfair has. So she rested, none-the-wiser of the troubles that would come in the times that are to follow…

[The_Catto]

I like it. The storyline so far is rather intriguing, and I am interested as to what exactly the Troshik are and how they have returned.

 

If I may, two suggestions - albeit, small as they may be ...

 

In the introduction, I found in the few sentences that are there, that the words, 'ancient', and 'peaceful' are repeated twice very close to each other. I'm not sure about others, but I just find that cumbersome and a "little" irritating to read the same word over again really quickly when perhaps, another word could be used in its place.

 

" They coexisted in peaceful desire, peace uninterrupted by the other lands that surround theirs,"

 

I know the word isn't repeated exactly, of course, but it still gives the reader a little repetition. Perhaps, instead of 'peace', a word like, 'tranquility' or something along those lines could be used?

 

Also....

 

"But when a sign of an ancient enemy found its way into Hasvath's doorstep, ancient and terrible anger was lit once more."

 

I was thinking that maybe the second use of 'ancient' could be left out and it would still give the reader a sense of evil when they read of the as of yet, unknown threat.

 

Anyways ... those were my suggestions but indeed you do not need to follow them as this is your story! And I will continue to read whatever chapters you post because I love these types of fics

 

Enough of my ramblings though, haha.

Nice work Betrayer!

Bring on some more!!!

[The Betrayer]

[Thank you for the feedback, Mr_BFA! I'll amend those soon. ]

 

 

Chapter II. The Harrowing Past.

Damien stood watch on the mountains of Beaurind, the natural border between the kingdoms of Fallfair and Marblewick. He was a member of the Elite Fallfairan Guard, a chapter of knights that only the King himself commands. In normal days, the Guard would be watching over the welfare of the leader of Fallfair. Today, however, was not a normal day. And Damien knew it. And the five-hundred men Captain Damien Xavier had with him knew it.

 

There was one thing that troubled the men of Fallfair that day, and only one thing – the Troshik ascendancy. It was the third day into the First War of Darkness, and already a lot of losses have been incurred by the people of Hasvath. Anxious to see the army that has advanced deep into Marblewick and Fallfair cut off from the main army, King Cypran ordered a large portion of his Guard to watch over the Beaurind peaks. And so they stood there. Then, the Fallfair Army regulars and the Knights of Marblewick would be able to handle the remnants that still existed in their lands, and a proper defense could be mounted against the evil men.

 

The real problem, however, as Damien and the King knew, was the push into Leven. The Marblewick Kingdom and the Lordship of Fallfair were both separated from Leven by a vast plain – one that stretched so long that the travel between Leven and any of the other two countries was called “The Month-long Journey”. The Troshik Ascendancy, with all its Dark Magicians and Black Knights seemed to know this, and they took advantage of the fact. The safety of Leven depended on the quickness of the Marblewick and Fallfair Empires to quickly deal with the Ascendancy in their lands.

 

So Damien stood there, and his men stood there, and the sun of the land caused them to sweat. But they stood there, for they were obligated by the king to do so, and a lot of lives rested in their hands.

 

They were stationed in the center of the Forest, where a large Troshik force is expected to resupply their exhausted brethren. Damien’s job is simple: Stop them via all means necessary. The King’s scouts estimate that the arriving force would outnumber Damien’s ten-to-one, but King Cypran had trust in the Captain of his guard.

 

Such trust vested on my shoulders, thought Damien Xavier to himself, I only hope I do my king and my land proud. As he thought, a messenger approached him. The messenger looked like he had been running for two days, and Damien started to believe he did. After realizing he had been standing with the common Guard, he motioned for the young messenger to join him in his tent, where they can discuss in private. Once they arrive, Damien broke the silence.

 

“What word of the front?”

 

“They’re coming, sire Captain. They’re coming as we anticipated.” The messenger panted, desperately gasping for air. Damien decided to give him the comfort of a five-second rest. Afterwards, his questioning commenced once again.

 

“How many?”

 

“Ten thousand, sire. Twice the number we expected.”

 

Damien’s eyes widened with this new information.

 

“Ten thousand! We’re outnumbered forty-to-one! How come we only knew this now?!?”

 

He screamed, taking the messenger by surprise. After looking into the young soldier’s eyes, and realizing how morale is a very important thing to consider in the coming battle, he calmed down.

 

“But still, screaming about it will change nothing. How long do we have?”

 

“They are to arrive in a night’s rest, sire Captain. After a day, when the sun rises again, their troops will climb the mountain.”

 

“Good work. Oh, by the way, would you please call for my lieutenants? A long and serious reconsideration of our strategy would be very much required.”

 

The messenger nodded, and then bowed down to Captain Damien. Damien Xavier dismissed him, then afterwards proceeded to check the maps laid down on a wooden table placed in the center of the room. Something is not right here. Why would the Troshik Ascendancy want to risk sending 40,000 men to climb a mountain range where we clearly have the advantage? The more Damien thought about it, the more it puzzled him. And then, something occurred to him…

[machievelli]

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[The Betrayer]

Chapter III. A Bad Omen.

 

It was a carriage for four, parked in front of the Royal Palace of Fallfair. Adorned with gold and driven by four white stallions, the Queen’s royal transport was really the prime example of luxurious travel. And how she loved it so.

 

Why do I not travel more often?, pondered the Queen Tanilae, as she took step after step descending the staircase that would finally lead her to the carriage that would bring her to the lands of Marblewick. Her guards were quick to follow and lead, treating the Queen rightfully so, watching every step and being careful not to get in the way of Her Excellency.

 

As she reached the final step of the white staircase, Tanilae heaved a sigh of relief, and then entered the carriage for four. The sight inside was not what she expected to see, but it did not startle her.

 

“How excellent of you to join me, milady. I was beginning to think that the Queen’s royal convoy would leave without the queen herself”, said her advisor Leonard, flashing a smug grin in the process.

 

“You should join the Troshik Ascendancy, Wake. You have a way of showing up in places where you need not show up. And where you shan’t be”, said the Queen in quick reply. This time, the Queen gave her advisor an arrogant grin of her own, proving that she can beat Leonard in his own game.

 

“Me? In the Troshik Ascendancy? You do not honestly want the Troshik charlatans to start winning wars now, do you milady?”

 

“I don’t, and that’s why I want you there.”

 

“Not bad.”

 

The two of them chuckled, and the carriage began its long journey. Their first destination, as required by royal custom, is the town square, where the carriage will pass by and the people will bid their Queen farewell. The ceremony is a most boring one for the Queen, where the people who wish to suck up to Her Excellency would cry in public and do whatnot, while Tanilae will pretend to be grateful. It despised her, but tradition demanded for even the obscene.

 

Leonard opened the curtain of the carriage momentarily, putting his head outside to look. He saw one of the Knights that were to escort the carriage to Marblewick on horseback, and Leonard gave a nod.

 

“Everything’s going well, I trust, Captain Xavier?”, asked Leonard, familiar with the good Captain Eduard Xavier outside. Leonard vaguely recalled a warrior bloodline apparent in one of the captains, but whether it was present in Eduard or not eluded him. Leonard decided not to give it much more thought, going back inside the carriage. The good Queen seemed to have dozed off a bit. Leonard did not blame her. The carriage moved very slowly – one of the reasons why the short trip between Fairfall and Marblewick took two days. One day longer than when an average person riding a horse would go there. But still, people who ride in horseback going to Marblewick can hardly brag about riding in a carriage adorned with gold. Wake took silent comfort in the fact, until the Lord of Dreams snatched the good adviser into his realm…

 

But fate would have it that Leonard Wake would not have a long nap at all. Wearily, he opened his eyes, seeing that the carriage’s curtains were no longer there, and that the Queen was saying goodbye to the people of Fallfair. There was an incessant cheering from the outside too, one that irritate Leonard so. But he was not in a position, he reminded himself, to show his irritation, so he started to wave with the Queen.

 

Leonard, though force it he might, cannot seem to stay awake for long, so he stole rest in short bursts. One thing awakened him up for long, however. The cheering that his ears had gotten used to morphed into something very different – loud screaming. Leonard struggled to get a glimpse on what’s happening, seeing the Queen very much in shock. He looked at where the Queen focused her attention, and then saw a most disturbing sight – one of the Knights who rode in horseback along with the carriage was missing one thing in his body – his head.

 

But there was something even more peculiar. Whereas if you saw a man missing his head, the first thing you will think and notice would be a large amount of blood dripping everywhere. This scene was different in that sense. For one, there was a noticeable absence of blood. There was just a body, without a head, and lots and lots of screaming.

 

Thinking on his feet, Leonard grabbed the Queen, and then put her down so that she was not visible from the outside. Afterwards, he proceeded to close the curtains of the carriage. The Queen’s protection was the first priority - the only priority. She was, as Leonard observed after stealing a quick glance, very much shocked indeed.

 

“Are you okay, milady?”, asked the young advisor.

 

“Troshik… they’re back”, uttered the Queen, devoid of all emotion and with her eyes still very much widely opened. And with that, the monarch of the Ladyship of Fallfair fainted.