Write To Rank 2022 -- Contest Collection

Round 5 - Blue Belt: For King and Country

"Comrades..."

Crack!

"We charge on my signal!"

A hail-like projectile chips away the top of a merlon, bits of rubble raining over us through the missing ceiling.

"We are the only force that stands between The Sorcerer and our king! We cannot fail for the sake of the nation!"

Turning on my heel, I scan the scene outside. The bright, cloudless sky of the morning and the joyous playing of a lute in the town square have ceased to exist, a sea of Demons of the Day, blood-curdling screams, and utter destruction serving as the terrible replacement. The Sorcerer, the Master of Magics and trusted advisor of our beloved king, has betrayed his country and used his knowledge of these lands to tear it asunder. I see him now, graying beard whisked up by the merciless wind and red eyes alight, steering a mighty wyvern which swiftly soars towards the castle.

With every military general and knight lost, it is up to me and the twenty remaining Enchanted Warriors to slay the wyvern, to eliminate The Sorcerer, and save our homeland.

"One!"

Spell-bound missiles like hellfire beat against the fortress. The foundations groan under our feet.

"Two!"

The Sorcerer raises his hands and howls with joy. If we were estranged, I would have cowered in fear, for the Devil has certainly possessed him.

But I do know him. And I am not afraid of any Devil.

"Three!"

Releasing a guttural cry from my smoke-torn throat, I surge towards the window, thrusting myself into the air and towards the maw of the wyvern with untamable fury. Blue flame engulfs my hair, dark clouds rolling quickly over the land as fierce lightening strikes the air-field of Demons. The Warriors in my company, adorned with magic's kiss and shining like diamonds, fly before me, eating away at the enemy fleet, burning away the wings of the wyvern. The beast releases a mighty roar that shakes the skies, The Sorcerer seated on its back... laughing.

Laughing? We're destroying his army and he... pleasures this?

"You fools!" He booms, each word vibrating through my body, clutching my heart with an iron fist. "To vanquish me is to vanquish your king, for you forget: for a Sorcerer to lay his loyalty at the foot of a mortal is to tether his life to him! So, continue your rampage! Tear me limb from limb and hold my heart victoriously in your palm! So, also, will the heart of your nation cease to beat!"

I freeze, the thunder growing mute and the lightening ceasing to crackle. The christening... at the prince's christening years ago The Sorcerer and the king had made a blood oath sealed with unbreakable magic. If he speaks the truth, then that would mean...

My fists tighten, anger burning in my eyes and sending tremors through my body as my glare finds The Sorcerer. "You bluff, Master of Magics! Our king would never make such an oath!"

"Even to ensure the survival of his reign for a thousand centuries?" The Sorcerer snickers, an ugly, dangerous snarl twisting his countenance. "Oh, courageous Commander of Enchanted Warriors, a liar, I am not."

And, breaking into a fit of laughter, he and his army vanishes in a black cloud. My heart sinks.  The wyvern, the Demons -- they were a ruse to weaken us and reach the castle without a fight. The only element that remains are my fleet of Warriors, all of which hang like dead stars in the sky. All at once, they go limp, hurtling towards the earth with eyes, plagued by darkness, widened.

"No!" I scream, tears streaming down my face as I catch one of them in my arms, falling weak with despair to the cobblestones of the town square. The youngest of the Warriors, a young fellow I had taken under my wing years before, lies unmoving in my embrace, his cheeks pale, lifeless. I bury my face into his shoulder, my hold on him tightening. "No."

It's over. We lost this war. The kingdom is lost.

I lower my comrade to the ground, smoothing the fair hair on his head and closing his eyes before rising to my feet, taking in the destruction surrounding me. Homes are obliterated, shops are crumbling, and flames swiftly consume the dead and stray debris. There's nothing left. Nothing and no one.

Then I hear it: music, soft and sweet, drifting on the breeze. I follow the sound to the bell tower where a young girl sits against the stone, stockinged feet hanging over the edge. She hears my approach and lowers the instrument, a lute, to her lap, a smile gracing her fair face.

"What are you doing up here?" I ask, my voice trembling, tears obstructing my vision as I sit beside her. "Where are your guardians?"

"I no longer have guardians," she responds, her face falling a little as her eyes, emerald green, find the castle in the distance, "And I was afraid and fled here. I was supposed to meet the young prince here like I always do, but I do not know where he is hiding. I was hoping he would hear my song and present himself."

I flinch when she takes my hand, a chill running down my back when my eyes meet hers.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are the Commander of Enchanted Warriors?"

My shoulders slump and I release a melancholy sigh before answering her. "I cannot be the Commander of Enchanted Warriors if there are no Enchanted Warriors to command. They are all lost. I, alone, was spared."

Her hold on my hand tightens, a fervor in her eyes I have never witnessed in someone so young.  "But you are an Enchanted Warrior, a powerful one whose mission it is to protect king and country, yes?"

I give her a weak smile, clasping her hand firmly in both of mine. "I suppose I am. But I have failed my mission. If there is a piece of the country that still lives, I am seated beside it now."

"And the prince."

I still, my breath hitching in my throat and dread's weight falling away. The prince... the prince still lives, hidden from The Sorcerer by his own efforts according to this young girl.

This kingdom is not lost, for a rightful king would still live. A new heart would beat in replacement of the old!

I know what I must do.

The young girl rises, cupping my cheek gently and gifting me a sweet smile. "If you find the prince, please tell him that Pfion is waiting for him."

I nod up at her feverishly, cupping the back of her hand. "I swear to you, Pfion, I will return your prince to you... even if it costs me my life!"

My gaze drifts back to the castle, a bittersweet smile stretching across my face revitalized with life, my body flowing with strength and power unimaginable. Leaping from the tower, I soar through open sky in pursuit of the good king and The Sorcerer shrouded in evil, the distant tune from Pfion's lute and a roiling storm acting as my trusted reinforcements.

The lives of King and Bearer of Magic, of good and evil, are tethered just as The Sorcerer expressed... and I must slay both and rescue the prince to preserve this broken nation.