MATIAS' POV
The once peaceful village crumbled as it was engulfed in flames. Helpless screams and burning flesh occupied my senses, I watched before my eyes as the lives of men, women and children met a wicked end.
I awoke from my nightmare with a profound gasp, I looked around my room frantically before finally calming down. I was soaked in sweat from head to toe, and even though I had eased up a bit my chest still heaved rapidly.
"Not again" I muttered weakly to myself before I sat up. I felt Pascal tussle in the sheets next to me, I had probably disturbed his sleep. He frowned and asked "What?", confused and still half asleep. "Nothing" I replied as I bent down to kiss his forehead, he fell asleep right away.
It had been ages since I had been haunted by that familiar nightmare, their resurgence was definitely not a good sign, but I had to carry on as usual. I searched for my clothes and put them on before heading downstairs. I sighed as I reached our dining room, having your office and home in the same building could be tricky sometimes, our dining room was littered with paperwork. I made myself a cup of tea before starting off my day with a fresh batch of paperwork to sign, by far the most uninteresting part of my work.
About half an hour had passed and Pascal finally emerged from the bedroom. He appeared in the doorframe wearing my shirt, the velvet fabric hung loosely over his small body, it earned a chuckle from me. I noticed he held an envelope in his hand as he approached me.
"Good morning"
"Good morning"
"This came for us" he said as he handed me the ivory white envelope, I straightened as I saw the green royal seal pasted on it. Pascal sat in my lap and I handed him the letter to read.
He cleared his throat, "Dear Sheriffs Emiliano Matias and Pascal Edgar. You are cordially invited to the royal soiree that is to be hosted at the palace this Saturday. It is in celebration of our victory over the kingdom of Pulvador. The war is over! Glory be to Bravenik!"
"Saturday , that's tomorrow right?" I asked, he nodded.
"So, are you coming?"
"I don't think so"
I cocked an eyebrow, "Why not?"
"Not so sure I want to spend an entire evening hearing men talking about fighting"
"Fair enough. Guess you'll have to call in sick"
And so the next evening came and I got dressed in my best before leaving for the soiree. I arrived at the palace gates in a carriage and I could already hear music playing loudly from within the palace walls. I was escorted by some royal guards to the entrance, and the second those huge wooden doors swung open, I was transported into another world.
Serene music, elaborately constructed dishes, wine, gold studded walls, I was used to luxury but this far exceeded mere luxury. Nobles in delicate dresses dined, danced and discussed. I spotted the King and his men at a corner, all in a serious conversation. None of this could faze me though, I navigated parties like this with ease. I picked up a glass of wine and took a much needed sip as I absent mindedly explored the room.
Men and women in the centre of the ballroom soon began an elegant waltz. I thought to myself that with everything that had been going on, a little dancing might have helped get my mind off it, so I stepped forward to join in. Without looking, I strutted forward and bumped right into someone.
"Shit!" I cursed as my wine spilled all over the man's jacket. I apologized as I immediately pulled out my pocket square and started dabbing the wine stain off his jacket.
"Matias..." The man said in a low, familiar voice. I looked up at him and jerked back with surprise. His tall, muscular frame stood out in the room and his usual stern bearded face was slightly altered by a warm smile.
"Magnus?!" I asked in disbelief but it was undeniably him. His strawberry blonde hair was usually a mess of curls but this particular evening it was neatly slicked back, my face lit up and I lost my composure for a second. It had been years since I had last seen him, my friend for decades now, and by a stroke of luck I had quite literally run into him at the soiree. I had to think of something cocky to say, I couldn't let that idiot have the pleasure of knowing I was actually glad to see him.
"Look at you, all dolled up for once. Who are you and what have you done with the real Magnus Valdemar?"
The corners of his eyes creased up with laughter.
"It's good to see you too"
A servant passed with a tray and I placed my now empty glass of wine on it as well as my stained pocket square.
"Sorry about your jacket by the way, I wasn't looking"
"It's alright, I wasn't looking either. Also I noticed you are not here with that assistant of yours, what was his name again? Paul?"
"Pascal!" I corrected him sharply. I clicked my tongue and added "I'll have you know he's a lot more than just my assistant. His green eyes shot at me and we shared a knowing look.
"Oh. Well that's new" he said as an expression I assumed to be jealousy spilled over his face.
"It's been a thing for four years now so I wouldn't exactly describe it as new"
"So right after I left hmm?"
The sound of someone loudly tapping on glass silenced the entire room. Andrei Stefan lowered his glass and gave the ground to the King to address the room. King Roderic wasted no time in starting to talk about war and fighting, just as Pascal suspected.
"Let us take this fine evening to celebrate the victory of Bravenik over all her enemies". The room cheered, the King also added "We must also take a moment to appreciate the efforts of our army, they have never failed us. And most especially our commander, Magnus Valdemar, who is in attendance this evening" his hands located Magnus all the way from where he was standing and the whole room turned to us both before it erupted with applause.
I heard Magnus's breath hitch and saw his shoulders rise with tension, every single person had their eyes on him. He broke into an awkward smile and his ears burned red, it was always so funny seeing a man of his size get flustered so easily. I started to applaud him as well, he deserved it, he turned to me with a bashful smile and started to wave at everyone.
"Thank you! Thank you! Glory be to Bravenik!"
"GLORY BE TO BRAVENIK!" The entire room echoed back and I clumsily joined in late.
Otto Barrington, the King's nephew now stepped forward to also address us. His short blonde hair was firmly tied upwards, he adjusted his clothes before he began to boast about his role in stopping the rebellion that attempted to take the throne just a few days ago. Magnus looked to me,
"I got word about the coup just days before I got back" he scoffed "Could you imagine those idiots?"
"It was something else, I was actually at the palace with the King when it all went to shit"
His knuckles brushed against mine with concern.
"Are you alright?" He asked me.
What a stupid question that was, he could clearly see I was fine.
"What do you think about this Otto anyways? Why is he showing up now?" I asked him. His eyes darted around the room before he responded.
"You know we shouldn't discuss things like this in public!" his voice dropped to a whisper and he lowered himself to my ear "But it's clear what he wants, it's the throne. Have you forgotten that our endless battle with Pulvador far exceeded acquisition of territory? King Roderic's first son was murdered in this fight and young Reinhard left gravely injured. Otto knows Reinhard is the only living heir of the king, and his physical state is weakened. He hopes to find favor in the eyes of our King"
The King loudly clamped his hand on his nephew's shoulder. Otto's face suddenly turned to a clearly manufactured smile,
"Everyone! You are all welcome to join the birthday celebration of our dear King. He has served us selflessly for many years, now let us honour him. Be here tomorrow at noon, you will not want to miss it" he announced. The room cheered at the prospect of another party so soon. King Roderic and Otto shared an embrace, the King had grown fond of his newly reunited nephew so quickly, it was written all over his face.
"With all that out of the way, it is time for entertainment!" Stephan said as he welcomed in a jester dressed in a motley attire. He introduced himself with a complicated flip and the bells attached to his clothing jingled endlessly, he started to recite unfunny jokes while he threw himself around. The whole room was astonished by the spectacle, except me of course, it was laughable what passed as humor for these toffs.
"Oh god no, I'm not sitting through another second of this" I said.
"How about this? We go get ourselves a real drink and catch up. My treat" Magnus proposed. There was no way I was turning down a gorgeous proposal like that, so I left the soiree with Magnus.
A few minutes later, we were at a bar and I was already on my third shot, Magnus recounted numerous tales from the battlefield while we both got drunk. As we chatted, I took out a cigar and started to smoke, Magnus frowned and stole it from my mouth and threw it to the ground before squashing it with his boot.
"You still haven't gotten rid of this habit? What are you, a fucking chimney?!" He spat at me before I could even complain.
"Come on! I swear I haven't had a smoke all week"
He questioned me with his eyes.
"Fine.. maybe just two. But I can't smoke at home, Pascal won't let me"
"Good, at least someone recognizes you have an addiction"
I sighed and rolled my eyes before picking up another glass.
"You're gonna kill yourself drinking like that" Magnus warned me as I downed my fourth shot.
"Oh please, this is nothing. My expectations for whiskey went through the roof since I had Satan's Spit"
"Satan's Spit?" He laughed at how ridiculous the name was.
"Yes! Yes! I had this case where I had to go to a small pub. I had a taste of it and I swear to god my soul exited my body!"
As we both laughed he reached for my hand, as I held his hand I quickly noticed that the top of his right thumb was completely missing, I retracted with shock.
"What happened?!"
"Oh this? This is a little something that happens when you fight a monster and win. And I mean an actual monster" he said as he proudly raised up his hand. I stared back at him puzzled, he drew nearer to me and his voice dropped to a whisper.
"Far off from here, my comrades and I faced a monster!"
"Who's drunk now? Me or you?" I asked him.
"I am not drunk!" His voice became more serious.
"We were returning to base just after a storm had hit, our usual route had been flooded so we had to take another. And as we travelled, right before our eyes this creature emerged, covered in mud. As big as this building with long black spikes on its back!"
"You're fucking with me"
"Oh but I'm not! It shot its spike right at us and took out a number of my men, its aim was off a few times and its spikes cracked against the floor and sent shards flying, that's what happened to my thumb" he said as he stopped his narration and twiddled his fingers in my face.
"But we didn't stop, we showed that fucker hell! Took out its legs first before I hacked into the ugly thing's skull. And even as we left, we found footprints larger than the monster itself. We fought a baby! Hope to god we never run into its mother!"
He laughed and joked about the story but I on the other hand was terrified. A monster? Blue eyed sorcerers already kept me up an night but monsters existed too? Magnus handed something to me, I skeptically held the black and sleek object, it thrummed with energy as I carefully ran my fingers around it. It had to be a shard from the creature's spikes, I was more surprised that he just randomly carried it around with him.
I gulped down my fifth shot and slammed the small glass against the counter. This was all getting too much for me, the lines for what was real and not had been completely blurred, my rational thinking was obsolete at the moment.
"So what's stopping them from coming here?" I questioned him.
"Are you... Scared?" He asked as he chuckled.
"No! Answer my question"
"Don't worry about it! That was worlds away from Bravenik. And besides, even if they come we'll deal with them"
I sighed as I took my sixth shot, I finally felt the alcohol begin to swirl in my stomach and there was numb pain in my head.
"I better stop at this one, you're starting to look attractive" I admitted. Magnus and I said our goodbyes and I returned home.
THIRD PERSON'S POV
It was late at night, the borders of Bravenik stood silent and empty until footsteps approached. Ezra stood on the very line that separated the kingdom from other lands.
"Wow! Hello Bravenik, it's been about a hundred years now hasn't it?" he placed his hands on his waist and drank in the sight. The architecture had vastly changed since he was last there, the kind of changes you would expect after that many years.
"It's a little too quiet for my liking though. What do you think Kiwi?" He asked the green snake wrapped around his neck, it responded with a hiss.
"You're right, they could use some visitors" he said as he wiped his hands together and took deep breaths. He spread out his hands and began to chant:
"Precious beasts all around
Hear this call, hear this sound
Arise from where you hide in the ground
Wander these lands for you are no longer bound!"
He recited these words until the ground surrounding the kingdom started to emit a light blue glow. The light began to intensify and soon, ancient symbols levitated from the ground accompanied with a magical chain. The glowing chain suddenly snapped loudly and all of the light disappeared once more.
...
The next afternoon came, hundreds of people were gathered in the ballroom once again awaiting the arrival of the King so that the festivities could commence. However, the King had not left his chambers yet, and he was already two hours late. Magnus paced around the ballroom in his heavy golden armor, beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead. He had no idea where his King was, but he was forbidden from entering his chambers to check on him so he had to wait like everyone else.
Magnus soon heard the familiar creak of the chamber's door and sighed in relief, but he was disappointed to find Otto exiting the chambers and not the King.
"Any word from the King?" Magnus asked Otto as he descended the stairs. Otto remained expressionless as he responded,
"Don't worry, my uncle will be coming down shortly"
As Otto passed him, he adjusted his jacket to cover up a small tattoo on his neck, Magnus might not have been paying a lot of attention to him, but he could have sworn that the tattoo was not there the last time he saw him. Left a little shaken by the strange encounter, the commander searched for Matias in the crowd.
MATIAS' POV
Pascal and I were bored out of our minds and I was a little hungover from the night before, we were waiting in the enclosed ballroom for the King to show up. We left our seats and hung around a wall where we had a clear view of the entire room. I soon caught sight of Magnus scurrying towards us. His golden armor glistened and chimed with every movement, I got a tinge of emotion as I remembered myself in that very same fine piece of armor.
Pascal's eyes lit up with surprise as Magnus finally neared us, his body swiftly shifted into a salute. Magnus's intense expression briefly cracked with laughter,
"At ease soldier" he commanded Pascal.
I chortled at both of them before I asked,
"So where is the celebrant?"
Magnus groaned with frustration as he ran his hands through his disorganized hair.
"I don't know. Something is definitely off, I just saw Otto leaving his chambers"
"Maybe he just wanted to say hello to his uncle. You should drink some water, you look a bit dehydrated" Pascal suggested.
"Listen to him, I am sure everything is fine. In the meantime, this is still a party, pour yourself something" I added.
Magnus sighed before he replied,"You know what? You're right, I am sure there is nothing wrong, and that drink doesn't sound like a bad idea" as he turned around and walked away.
"You do know you're not a soldier anymore? You don't have to salute him everytime you see him" I said giving Pascal a judgmental squint. He ignored and carefully pointed out to me that Prince Reinhard was in attendance. The frail Prince sat in a chair that was carried around by two hefty men. An intricately designed quilt was draped over his laps, only a few people like me knew that the quilt was there to hide the fact that both his legs were missing. Numerous people soon gathered to greet him, it had been years since he last shown his face in public.
Abruptly, a soft vibration coursed through the floor and the room paused. We all looked around with confusion, another vibration hit, only this time it felt more like a tremor. Pascal and I drew out our guns and began to investigate the sound. Soldiers in their silver armors filed out of the room with precision and palace guards also got curious and started to parade the room.
"Are we under attack?!" A terrified guest loudly asked with her lips trembling.
"No my lady, there is nothing to-" Magnus was calming the woman down before anguished screams from the outside pealed through the air. Panic finally welled up in the room and guests left their seats, some trying desperately to leave the room and others simply trying to make sense of what was happening.
Pascal and I including every law enforcer in the room tried to get the guests under control and back into their seats but we were already failing. A swarm of people zoomed towards the doors, I saw Magnus hurry to shut the doors and we both jumped in to help him. We were immediately bombarded from every direction, the crazed bunch clawed, punched and kicked at us to let them through, it was scary what fear did to a person's mind.
Eventually they managed to force the door open and we all fell to the ground on top of each other and into the palace courtyard. I quickly got back on my feet, the guards had left the palace gates wide open, probably to investigate the strange sounds, and so I watched in shock as large numbers of guests poured into the courtyard and exited the palace, running frantically into the streets.
An inexplicable shriek cut through the sky above us, the rest of us that remained outside looked up and then suddenly, like a canon, an enormous creature crashed into the ground and crushed a woman with its feet. In the same breath, it picked up a man that was trying to get away, brought it to its mouth and bit off his entire torso.
Blood sprayed everywhere and my heart froze. The primate like creature was black all around and it's back riddled with strange spikes. It slowly turned its head and its blood red eyes narrowed in on us, its mouth and several feet long teeth dripped with fresh blood.
"R-RUN!" I screeched out before all hell broke loose. We all scrambled back inside, tripping over each other. The creature's squawk sounded loudly as it was undoubtedly coming after us, we had no time to check, we shut the door as soon as enough of us were in. As we slammed the door shut, the creature banged against it so hard that all of us who held the door flew a couple feet back. We listened in horror as the rest of the guests who we left outside were viscously torn apart, Pascal threw his hands over his ears to block out the horrible sounds. But I had no time to wallow in guilt, we had to do something.
"NOBODY LEAVE THIS FUCKING BUILDING! SECURE ALL THE EXITS!" Magnus ordered. Without thinking, people started to push heavy tables and chairs to the doors.
"TAKE THE ROYALS TO THE BUNKERS AND SEE TO IT THAT THEY ARE SAFE!" He added, his soldiers obeyed him without question.
The creature threw itself against the building again, rattling the structure.
"WHAT NOW?!" I asked Magnus with my heart throbbing, before he could respond the building shook again.
"IF WE STAY ANY LONGER THE BUILDING WILL GIVE IN!" Pascal shouted. He was right, the palace might have been a solid piece of architecture, but with pebbles already falling from the ceiling and a monster relentlessly ramming into it any second it would crumble.
"Here's what we are going to do" Magnus whispered to me."This palace has three secret exits, we only know of two. You and Pascal take the guests out through the one in the library, it should lead to another part of town. My men and I are going to lure this thing away so this building doesn't fall apart"
"Lure that thing away?! It is going to kill you!"
"Ha! Let it try" he laughed as he readied his sword and shield.
"Now you make sure you find somewhere safe to hide" he said as he ran off to meet his men. I had no time to argue, we had to act quick, I threw my hands up and waved them.
"EVERYONE! COME WITH ME!" I shouted, I got everyone's attention and the terrified guests swiftly obeyed.
We rushed to the library and I started to turn the small circular table at the center of the room. First I turned it clockwise twice and stopped each time I heard a click and then finally I turned it anticlockwise and heard the final click. The clicks of several complicated mechanisms sounded before the table lowered and opened at the center. It opened up and revealed a ladder leading down, the guests were awestruck by the secret exit that had been hidden in plain sight all the while, we all started to climb down quickly.
We dropped into a tight tunnel that had walls mostly constructed with wood, we had no light but we wasted no time in continuing forward. After traveling through the hot tunnel on foot for about thirty minutes, I reached forward and felt the cold metal of the second ladder, I shouted out to everyone that we had reached the exit and began to climb up. I pushed open the circular object that resembled a storm drain and light finally penetrated through the tunnel, I climbed out without hesitation.
We appeared at a junction joined by four streets, I looked ahead and saw a large church building which I thought would be a perfect place to hide. All of us had climbed out of the hole and I signaled to the church, before we could start to move we were interupted by thunderous footsteps approaching.
"Oh no" I whispered to myself, something else was coming after us. I screamed to everyone to run to the church and just then, a three headed monstrosity several castles tall emerged.
It swung its elongated necks around in a deranged manner, knocking into buildings with enough force that pieces of concrete crashed to the ground. By this time I had lost control of the guests and we all ran for our lives in different directions. The creature noticed us and came after a few of us right away, I took off running, mute with pure horror. Behind me, I heard the wet, unmistakable chomp of the beast devouring some people followed by blood curdling screams of agony.
My ribs ached, fear coursed through me, and that very same fear had stolen my voice. My legs moved without me even having to think, I turned into every street I reached, I needed to get away from that thing. I raced into the next street and just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I was proven wrong.
From the sky a rhinoceros with large wings soared downwards, each flap of its wings sent huge gusts of wind my way and the air filled my clothes pushed me back. I stood alone in the deserted street staring with horror at a behemoth that had not noticed me, not yet. I finally started to tremble from the inside, I had no words to describe the things I had seen that day, I felt a scream creeping up my throat. Before I could let it out, I felt a hand from nowhere pull me into a building.
I kicked and punched as I was pulled. I felt cold metal press over my mouth, I relaxed as soon as I saw Magnus's face. A squall of wind slammed into the building and filled up the small shop as the creature flew past, Magnus finally removed his hand from my mouth and my breaths came in ragged.
"WHAT IS- HOW IS THAT-?" I made out incoherently, Magnus rubbed on my shoulders trying to calm me down but it was not working.
"THAT THING SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FLY!" I shouted.
"Shh, I know, I know" he said still rubbing my shoulders, he asked "Where's Pascal?"
My body pumped with dismay, I had no idea where Pascal was, I was so focused on saving myself that I had lost Pascal in the process. I started to pant heavily, Magnus tried to convince me that Pascal was fine and that we would find him but I had no way of knowing.
"Listen! We are going to find him, but you have to keep calm, you're a soldier for god's sake!"
"I am not a soldier anymore!" I said before Magnus slapped me across the face and gripped my head.
"Yes you are! Once a soldier, always a soldier. Now get your shit together and fight!" He said staring me deep in the eye. He peeped out the door to check if the streets we were clear before he hurried outside, I took a second to compose myself before I reluctantly followed him outside.
The streets were empty but we could hear screams and inhuman shrieks all around us. Instead of trying to get away from the sounds, Magnus bravely charged towards them, I followed behind him, slowly regaining some courage. We turned into another street and we once again encountered the primate like beast, it had its back turned to us while it fed on fresh human remains, my stomach turned with disgust. Magnus started to bang his sword against his sheild to draw in the monster, I quickly pulled out my gun and gripped it tight, the creature's head turned to us in a fast motion and it started to approach us.
Every normal person would be scrambling for their lives but Magnus and I stood firmly, the creature seemed surprised by our defiance, which was why it still had not attacked us. The creature neared us with every slow step and so I finally pointed my gun at it. It's eyes snapped with anger as it noticed my gun and it immediately came straight for us.
I wasted no time, I aimed straight for its eyes and fired six precise shots, three in each of them. I was not surprised that my bullets could not penetrate the thick membranes of its eyes, but the shots were enough to temporarily blind the animal, it squawked uncomfortably as it covered its eyes. Magnus quickly jumped to action and sliced the creature in one of its feet twice, its thick purple blood shot everywhere as it writhed in pain and retreated.
I sighed with relief as the monster limped away. We might not have killed it but we had dealt with it at the moment, it turned into a street and disappeared behind the tall buildings. Magnus and I gave each other grateful glances, but I could not relax just yet, I had to find Pascal. I stepped forward but I stopped in my tracks as I heard what sounded like concrete scraping against concrete, I looked around right before the unthinkable happened.
In an instant, the creature reemerged from behind the buildings holding an enormous collapsed pillar in its hands. Before I could blink, the monster threw the pillar at us, I momentarily saw Magnus jump in front of me before it all faded to black.
...
I woke up with a sharp pain in my head, I was lying face first on the ground with no memory of where I was. I forced myself up but I quickly collapsed to the ground once again, my legs were far too weak to move. It took a few minutes before I tried to move again, I managed to kneel this time and I noticed that the vision from right eye was obscured by a strange redness.
"Blood" I immediately said to myself.
I looked around and all the buildings surrounding me had completely or partially crumbled, that was when all the memories came rushing back. My eyes darted to a body lying a couple of feet from me, dressed in golden armor and lying motionless. A bolt of panic surged through me as I crawled to the body. I shook Magnus's entire body and slapped him in the face a few times but he did not move. Still panicking, I checked his neck for a pulse and thankfully he still had one.
I still had not seen Pascal, with all my might I pushed myself up and I finally got on my feet. I started to slowly make my way through the empty street, unearthly screeches started to ring through the air. I momentarily paused but I continued to move, I had to find him. As I neared the turn to the next street, the shrieks and squawks became louder, I took a deep breath as I made the turn.
Terror sealed my throat. Mammals, reptiles, amphibians, creatures of all kinds and sizes had invaded the kingdom. They climbed, slithered, crawled, jumped, and took flight, this was their new home and they were not leaving anytime soon.
Bravenik as I knew it was done for.