I sat in dismay, contemplating my experience. what was this dream? I looked around my room, trying to figure out If I was still asleep or awake. I got up, the sun shining through my window was yellowish, so that was a relief. I looked through my window, the sun was high, and the land beyond the castle walls was green. I sighed. How peculiar.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard knocking at the door. Thump, thump, thump. Cautiously, I approached the door, the fear of what I experienced painted at the back of my mind.
As I got closer, I was startled by Eva. "Master Zarek! The recruiter is here to collect you." Eva shouted. I cursed underneath my breath I messed up again. "Thank you! Eva, be down in a minute." what a perfect way to start a new job.
I ran down to meet with the recruiter, but What I saw made my jaw drop in awe. A gigantic carriage was attached to two of the most enormous and rarest horses in Selediano, an Elhorn.
I went towards the man speaking to my father. He was tall. The man wore black armor with a hood and also a mask to cover his identity. On his back, he had a sword strapped, almost the size of him. On his cloak a symbol with a hand holding a sword was smeared with dirt, almost making it unrecognizable.
"How old is he?" The knight asked.
"He'll be eighteen come Redfall."
"Has he had any training before our meeting?"
"Yes!" Father answered. "He started training at the age of ten. He can also use magic."
The knight nodded and looked at me. "If he fails the entrance exams, Engar, I can't do anything for him."
"I understand! He's not going to fail, I assure you." He shook hands with the knight before turning to me.
The servants came to the front gate where we stood. They carried both of the chests my father gave to me. The hooded knight whistled to his men, telling them to load my things in the carriage.
My mother walked up to me and locked her arms tightly around me, "Make us proud son, but most importantly, make yourself proud." My father smiled at me. I smiled in return. Our moment was interrupted by the knight who was moving hastily.
"Come on kid, we're on a schedule." I waved my final goodbye to my family. I got in the carriage, and we were on our way, this would be the last time I would see my family in a long time.
The coachman told me the trip to Asallerolon would take up to a month. That would give me a lot of time to prepare myself for the challenges ahead. My thoughts were interrupted when the Knight recruiter started to question me. "Have you ever traveled before?" he asked.
"The only place I ever went to, was the royal capital of Quiadiff, in the province of Trelo. but I learned the maps of our kingdom at home." He nodded his head. I could tell he was happy with my answer.
"That's a good lad, if you're serious about this job, you need to know your locations... it could be life or death." He seemed to fixate his gaze on the floorboards of the carriage.
"Listen," he said. I came for you because your father asked me to take you on, we are underfunded, and that means we had to take in fewer people this year... I hope I made a good the correct choice of taking you on."
I didn't know what to say, but getting chosen because of my father's charity felt unfair. I was curious about something. "How do you know my father?" I inquired. The recruiter looked at me for a good couple of seconds.
"Seems like, your father didn't tell you much about himself... He was the supreme commander of our retinue, and I was the Lieutenant-commander, he promoted me even though I was young, if he told you nothing, then I have no reason to give you any more information." I was disappointed, I thought I had a chance to hear about my father's past.
"Can you at least tell me your name?" I asked.
"It's Zorion... Zorion Azyrat."
Several weeks passed, and we were a couple of miles away from the tower, But we were low on supplies. If we didn't want to starve for the next three weeks, we needed food. We changed directions and headed west towards the town of Yarlford. This was the most hunger I felt in my entire life, and even worse, it started to rain; which made it even colder. The sun was no longer up, making it harder to see the road ahead and anything surrounding it. To get us to our destination without trouble, Zorion sent one of his men ahead to spot with a torch. As we got closer to the town, the rain gradually stopped falling, revealing the moon. In the distance, the Sword saints cathedral was a dark silhouette against the bright moonlight, standing tall above everything else in the area.
Our path was now illuminated, but the shadow of the trees on the dirt road sent a chill down my spine. This feeling wouldn't last long, this meant we could arrive sooner than expected. My mouth was watering just thinking about all the delicious food that would be available to eat when we arrived. But something seemed unusual, it was eerily quiet, it seemed that I wasn't the only person realizing something was wrong. Everyone looked alert as if they knew an attack was imminent. Even the horse took careful and slow steps; their ears moving in many directions.
Suddenly, a gush of wind sent the most horrid smell, right into my face. We turned the bend and there it was, the origin of the smell, a horse lying in a pool of blood, still connected to its wagon. The sight made me nauseous. Immediately four of the soldiers accompanying Zorion drew their swords and exited through the door, Zorion grabbed my shoulders and said to me, "Zarek! whatever happens outside, do not leave this carriage understood!" I shook my head in agreement, and he exited.
I could hear him outside whispering an order to his men. "Form a perimeter around the carriage, and hold your ground." They all replied. "Understood."
What was going on?
My heart was racing, my eyes darted around searching for the threat. The light from the moon began to fade, slowly obstructing how far I could see. I ran to the front of the carriage, The coachman and I looked at the sky In disbelief. The moon was being blotted out by unusually fast-moving clouds. Whoever cast this spell would've had to use very ancient magic. We both turned our heads when we heard crackling coming from the woods all around us. We then heard multiple persons, or creatures approaching through the trees.
I heard Zorion whistle to his men. I went back to my original spot and looked through the windows. They were retreating. "Why are you running?" I asked, fearful as if death was imminent. All four of the soldiers ignored me, they had looks of serious and intense focus with hints of fear. Zorion was the last man to enter the carriage.
"What's going on Zorion, why are you retreating?" I asked still ignorant of what was going on.
"We're surrounded by witches if we stay in this position any longer we're dead!"
He signaled for the coachman to go. The coachman Picked up the reins, and we were heading towards the town fast, the carriage was shaking violently. Zorion whistled for his men to listen, "We're headed straight Into the enemy's trap, but if we want to return to the tower, we have to push through this town!"
He sent two of his men upstairs to defend the deck, and the other two stayed inside. We entered the entrance of the town, the streets were empty; besides dead bodies laying on the sidewalks. My eyes widened in surprise at the gory horror. How could the soldiers of Selediano let this happen? Everyone was on their toes, the coachman was still moving fast-- If we could get through the city, we would be on a path straight to the tower. I felt a sense of hope as I repeated these words in my head.
I sat next to the driver searching--nervously looking at each rooftop we approached, through the darkness, I saw a figure rise with a small red dot between each palm and I knew immediately what was about to happen, I stood up next to the driver, I outstretched my arms and with extreme concentration, I cast a spell of protection, I could feel the magic entering my fingertips. A blue and slightly transparent circle appeared in front of the carriage. The red dot turned into a fireball, and it approached us fast, illuminating every building it passed by. Swiftly the firebolt hit my shield causing a massive explosion; almost killing the killing horses. I dropped back to the floor feeling exhausted from casting such a huge spell.
"Stand your ground men!" Zorion shouted. To my left, I heard a horse galloping, I got up, and shakily walked to my seat to see who rode beside us. I took a peep through the iron bars and two people were on a horse, a female rider, and a man with a sword who crouched at the back. They both wore light leather armor and black cloaks.
They were ready to board our carriage. Effortlessly the man leaped onto the top of our deck, I could hear the shouts of men fighting, feet stomping and swords clashing. The exit of the town was soon within our reach, but the witch soldier was still battling it out with the soldiers at the top deck, but it would soon end with the screams of one of Zorion's men and the screams of the enemy dropping from the carriage.
The door to the top of the deck opened, and an Injured soldier was being carried. I saw something I'd never seen before. The soldier's arm was cut at the wrist, which left his whole hand dangling from his arm by a piece of flesh and cloth, he was groaning in pain. The soldier accompanying him had a distressed look on his face, he turned to me and shouted.
"Do you have any healing magic?!"
I looked at the injured soldier with horror, then at him.
"I haven't learned healing magic," I said. He sucked his teeth and returned his attention to the injured man.
We were approaching the gate, when we saw a single witch standing in the middle of the road, blocking our path to safety. The driver pulled on the reins, stopping the horses. She pulled back her hood, but I couldn't see her face clearly. "Surrender now!" she commanded, "and you'll be granted a swift death." Her voice was gravelly. Zorion jumped out of the carriage.
"You would be foolish to think we would surrender without a fight...witch!"
Out of the blue, more than a dozen hooded figures emerged onto the rooftops from the darkness. We were heavily outnumbered, Zorion's men also got out they stood beside him, their swords drawn, and ready to fight alongside their leader. Watching them, be so fearless in the face of death made me feel like a coward, I got my key for the chest that kept my sword and joined them.
The witch was angry, "You fool, you shall die an agonizing death for your pride, Kill them!" With that order, a squad of the hooded figures jumped off the roof and headed towards us with incredible speed, Zorion, and his men went forward to meet the attack and I was frozen in my position.
Zorion was an excellent fighter, swiftly he cut down four of the enemy soldiers with ease. One of them slipped past and was headed towards me. I've never killed a person before, but this man was coming to take my life, and I had to do something about it. I grit my teeth and tightened my grip, and with all the courage I could muster, I swung fast and hard with a scream. The man's eyes widened with fear, as he knew he was about to meet his demise. As a last-ditch effort, he tried to block my attack. My sword broke right through his, and in one fell swoop, I cleaved his head right off his body. His head rolled to the side, eyes still in shock from what had occurred.
I fell to the ground, feeling physically ill from what I had just done. I returned my attention to the battle taking place, Zorion and his men had already cut down multiple witch soldiers, But why were the rest of them just standing on the roof? Only then did I realize too late.
They were charging their magic to kill not only us but also their own. I was trying to warn them, but my voice was being drowned out by the clashing of their weapons. In the distance, a loud boom was heard, which made us all stop to listen. Something whistled through the air getting closer and closer, Zorion turned to us and shouted with widened eyes, "Get down!" Just at that moment, something crashed into the roof of the building the soldiers were on, and it caused a massive explosion. Debris fell to the ground like rain along with pieces of flesh.
The witch who was the leader vanished with a bright light. My ears were ringing and I was disoriented, the clouds started to drift away from the moon illuminating everything, I went to Zorion for answers about the explosion, "What happened?" I asked, nervous the fight was not over "We're saved that's what happened," Zorion retorted.
But by who?
My questions were answered. Carriages just like ours poured through the gate, followed by knights and soldiers of the Sacred Hand. An old man riding a horse was last to enter, and it looked to me like he was the leader. Zorion ran to him followed by his soldiers and they all bowed to him, "Supreme Commander Hawkins!" Zorion said, "Thank you for gracing us with your presence," I was about to approach when one of the commander's men drew his sword, he had fear in his eyes as if looking at a monster.
"A demon!" he said, "It's a demon. The commander drew his sword and approached me on his horse.
Is this what I left my home for? to be called a monster by people who don't know me. My blood began to boil in anger, but Zorion came in between me and their blades.
"Please I beg of you to lower your blades," he said, "This is the son of Engar Rheatonsey, he's not a monster. The men all looked at each other, commander Hawkins grumbled before getting off his horse. Slowly, he walked toward me with his hands at ease. His casual demeanor made me nervous--I couldn't look him in the eyes.
"Do you have any proof of this?" he asked, I grabbed the bloodied blade of my weapon while avoiding his intense eye contact and showed him the pommel.
"Yes, it is very well made," He mumbled while examining the weapon. "And it has the symbol of your father's house as well, a wyvern!"
"There is no denying it, this is his son, now lower your weapons and be on your way," he commanded.
"So do you believe he is Engar's son?" Zorion asked.
"Of course!" Commander Hawkins said. "when I saw him, I almost thought it was Engar," he guffawed, patting my shoulders. I did not expect commander Hawkins to be such a happy man, I expected him to be crueler and uptight, but he was a man bursting with happiness. "Now that we have established you are his son, can you please explain to me why your eyes are the color of blood?"
I quickly searched for answers that would please him. "I was...born with a sickness, that made my eyes look this way," I answered nervously. Of course, I would tell him but my mother would dodge the question every time it was brought to her attention.
He nodded. "And what brings you all the way here from the safety of your father's home?"
"I was chosen to be a recruit at the ceremony."
"In that case, there is a convoy carrying recruits to the tower, if you follow this road you'll be able to catch up to them." Zorion thanked the commander, We left Zorion's injured soldier to the healer, we stocked up on food, and were on our way to the tower.
When we left the town, we approached a hill, and I saw the cause of that massive explosion, It was a cannon on the hill, manned by two gunners.
On the road, my first kill replayed in my mind. Every gory detail is now embroidered in my memory. "Aren't you hungry?" Zorion asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
To be honest, I lost my appetite. "No thank you I'm not hungry anymore."
He nodded and looked at my weapon. "Ya know kid, if you don't clean that sword, it's gonna start rusting," He was right, I was so occupied in my mind that I forgot Lernac's rule, "Always keep your weapons clean." I grabbed a cloth and picked up the sword, but something smelled delectable, I looked at my sword, and there it was coming from the bloodstains on my weapon, I wanted to lick it but I chuckled, and immediately dismissed the thought.
We arrived in Asallerolon, you could see the tower from the village we were in. The tower looked ominous in the distance with its peak being hidden in the grey clouds. As we got closer I could see the convoy, I realized something the tower was a fortress as much as it was a tower, the walls were high, bigger than the castle walls that surrounded my father's home, and the battlements had fixated cannons ready to destroy anything dangerous that approached, and the gatehouse was massive. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Zorion asked staring at the castle as if its construction was his greatest accomplishment. I nodded my head in agreement.
We arrived in Asallerolon, you could see the tower from the village we were in. The tower looked ominous in the distance with its peak being hidden in the grey clouds. As we got closer I could see the convoy, I realized something the tower was a fortress as much as it was a tower, the walls were high, bigger than the castle walls that surrounded my father's home, the battlements had fixated cannons ready to destroy anything dangerous that approached, and the gatehouse was massive. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Zorion asked staring at the castle as if its construction was his greatest accomplishment. I nodded my head in agreement.
We were at the gate where the convoy had stopped, the draw bridge was lowered, and the portcullises were lifted. The carriages entered the bailey. The fortress was grand. Stables were connected to the walls where many elhorns were kept. In front of us was a secondary wall with a massive gate and two guards at the front.
Zorion's men unloaded my belongings before the carriage was taken away. They followed the path that probably circled the entire fortress. Soon, the carriages were out of sight.
Zorion knelt to my height and told me to stand at ease when a commander approaches. In a half circle, I alongside the other candidates awaited the second commander. There were only a handful of nobles including myself, and the rest were commoners.