The Trials Of War Read Count : 54

Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Fantasy

   A long time ago, when the land was once wide and vastly undiscovered, there lonely far off forest village in the central region of Asephulas. The village had been far from the trials of war and destruction. The villagers were well known for their prowess for living off the land. Only hunting for what meat they needed to survive. The children of this land were brought up to love and respect nature, but on one cool fall evening, a messenger came to deliver an urgent message to the village chieftain. Than everything in this village had changed.

  "War has crossed into the furthest depths of our homeland, The Empire from the far West, Asmarta, has been claiming territory throughout our plains. They have been capturing villages along their path of destruction, burning any of the villages who stand against their rage. Think you've spilled the blood of Innocents, and left countless bodies in their wake. Take my advice friend, and stand against them for free of you still have your life. For they will take it from you if they get the chance.


  With this news in his hand, the village chieftain's heart felt heavy with burden and grief for those innocent villages. That night, he called the leaders of Ardis, into a meeting to informof the impending danger. The villagers, had never been in conflict with a great military force before and he wanted the villager's opinions on how to handle this crisis. A crisis which they would soon face in a week's time. The people of the village argued for three hours straight, before a platinum blond haired boy, no older than twelve, stood up and told the chief he had an idea on what to do about the Empire of the West. The chief said to him in a soft voice.

  "I would gladly give you my pedestal, if you can get the village to hear your plea my child. For it seems nobody has any notion of what they must do." The boy stood up in front of the villagers, though no one paid the lad any mind at all. In fact, despite his efforts to speak up.

  "Ummm......Excuse me!" The boy said in a calm manner four times. Than as he saw the people wouldn't pay attention he raised his voice.

  "People of Ardis, now is not the time to quarrel amongst ourselves!" The boy roared at the bickering villagers. The people became silent, and the boy apologized for his outburst. Though he felt upset at how they carried themselves. His heartbeat quickened, and he felt a little sweat drip from his eyebrow.

  "Ardis villagers, I wasn't born in this forest, but you good people have given me a home and a family. A place, I can proudly say I belong to when I had absolutely nothing. This is our homeland and we must defend it. With the exception of myself I would recommend some of the men and women take the children to the next village and tell them about the Empire's lust for our resources and seek their aid. Meanwhile our men should shore up a defensive position near the bridge. That will slow the Empire's movements. A small group of scouts including myself will attempt to sneak behind enemy lines and learn what we can about their movements. They threaten our homes and we should stand to defend it."


  “Thus, we hear a single boy's words of course and love. The elders of our village will discuss this boy's suggestion.” Elder Maximus, spoke in a solemn voice.


  After the chieftain spoke, he asked the boy to leave the room. the elders began to discuss the boy's suggestion, and agreed to go along with the boy's plan. The village split up into two groups and both went their separate ways. One group stayed to protect the village while the other left to take the women and children to safety. There were only were six days left until the impending attack.

  After nightfall, the villagers heading to the bridge led by the boy reached it without delay, while the other group led by the chieftain still had another day of travel left to reach the neighboring villages. The boy knew this bridge was the only way for the troops to cross so they spent the day destroying it, while the scouts returned to the village to gather supplies and build up traps to weed out the enemy soldiers. While heading back to the village, the boy was ambushed by a vicious black wolf that lunged at him through the trees. The boy drew his knife to defend himself from the beast, but before he could stab it's neck, an arrow came flying through the trees and went through the wolf's body and into a tree on the other side of it. The boy examined the arrow and could tell it was made by the Wood Elves who lived in that part of the forest, but not to his surprise they snuck up on him, and captured him for trespassing on their lands.

  The leader of Elfenhain recognized the boy, and interrogated him nonviolently to learn why the humans from the Ardis were treading on their land. The youth told the Elves about the Empire of the West seizing control of portions of the central province. The Elves acted curious and  disturbed at what the boy was telling him, and offered them weapons and a dozen of their best archers to help take down the great military force that threatened them. The boy thanked the Elves for their aid and support. With the archer's carrying the weapons behind him, The boy excitedly told the villagers about the run in with the Elves and the fact they offered to aid them in the fight against the Empire of the West. The bridge had now been destroyed , and they set up a base of operations not far from Ardis. The people took refuge for the night hoping to build up the defenses around the village. Their were only five days left until the impending attack on Ardis.
  By the evening, the Chieftain believed that he and the rest of the village would make it to there neighboring village. The women, elders and children were exhausted with their long travels. With a handful of farmers and hunters they had managed to get through the Darkwind Forest and across the Misty Morningside Plains. Though traveling across the plains with children in tow, proved to be a difficult task, they had succeeded and reached Morningside Valley. Past this valley and they would be in Bovine Village. Meanwhile, the boy was looking at defenses the people of Ardis had set up, to slow the Empire of the West’s movement into the forest. They were well supplied with bows and swords, but Adrian, the eleven year old boy, knew that the dwarves ballista and catapults would give them a fighting edge, yet the dwarves were not fond of humans and would not consider helping them unless he acquired a pure, Levirate crystal. This was a dangerous task, because the Levirate crystals were far in the forest depths near the Empire soldier's camp at the Crystal Falls.

  "We need the dwarves help if we ever have a hope of stopping the Empire." He muttered under his breath. He knew that going during the day, would assuredly get him caught by Empire soldiers.


  He thought about attacking the Empire, but if they spotted them, they'd send for reinforcements. Adrian, couldn't risk letting the villagers getting hurt because of the impending attack. He pondered what he should do about the Levirate and decided he would try to slip into the enemy territory under the cover darkness. Meanwhile, as evening had set in, the Chieftain and people of Ardis had reached Bovine Village. The village elders had opened up his arms graciously at the Chieftain's site, but when the Chieftain explained the severe situation to him, He lent his ear. The Elder of Bovine Village, agreed that Adrian's plan to attack the Empire in the forest would give them an advantage over the Empire troops. The Elder commanded the Bovine Town Guard, to help the Chieftain stop the troops before they reached Ardis. Not only did the Elder offer him men, but horses as well in order to get back to the forests quickly. The Chieftain thanked the Elder for helping him, and left on horseback with fifteen armed soldiers follow owing close behind. When midnight had fallen and Adrian had readied himself to sneak into the enemy's campsite. There were only four days left until the impending attack.
  Adrian left a note explaining where he was going, and was fully prepared to sneak past the Empire of the West's scout camp to acquire the Levirate to parley with the dwarves. It turned out to be a little more difficult than the lad could have imagined. The forest was nearly to dark for him to tell where he was going; however, he continued on as he saw a flicker of light from a hilltop. He headed down the slope and followed the light as it became a little brighter, ducking behind the bushes and trees as he neared the light. Some of the scouts were visible to him. He watched them from the shadows to avoid detection. He wondered if these were the bloodthirsty monsters that they were told about? Adrian slipped away, had headed upriver to the Crystal Falls where an ore vein of pure Levirate was well hidden. He neared another outpost when he noticed dwarves working alongside the Empire scouts. He got closer to eavesdrop on their conversation.

  "Hey when are those weapons going to be ready?" One of the Empire soldiers said.

  "You can't rush fine art. If you want these blades fast you'll have to sharpen them yourselves, eh!" The stocky Dwarven blacksmith replied.


  "Whatever, just be sure their done and Commander Igralle will reward you for your work." The soldier answered back.


  "Aye, you can be sure of that lad, we don't pound steel for anyone unless you pay us with Levirate. I can't wait until the Elves are staring down our ballista. They'll die of a heart attack!"

  Suddenly, the boy heard footsteps behind him and quickly turned around to find two soldiers with blades drawn against his chest. The two men, disarmed the twelve year old lad and jostled him into to the camp. They stopped him in front of the center tent and called inside.


  "Commander Igralle, we've captured a boy outside spying on us." One of the soldiers said loudly.


  "Bring him inside for questioning, I'll find out why our guest is here.” Commander Igralle answered back.

  One of the soldiers jostled the boy into the tent and went outside to stand guard. The boy stared at the large man sitting at the desk wearing a pair of bifocals. The man had a burly build and appeared very intelligent. There was a strange aura flowing around the room.

  "If you were a resident of the Empire, out at night you would be lashed by a soldier for being out after curfew. You don't look like a soldier to me boy. Tell me who you are, and why are you here?" Commander Igralle asked.

  "My name is Adrian, a citizen of Ardis and I'm here to stop you from destroying the forest and our village.” Adrian answered bravely staring him in his eyes.

  "Oh, so you're from Ardis and your here to stop us from reaching the village. I heard that the Elves had sided with Ardis and about the Bovine Guardsmen coming with the Chieftain from Bovine Village. You have the wrong idea about the Empire, Adrian of Ardis. Tell me what do you know about the Empire?" Commander Igralle inquisitioned while examining his scratched face.

  "I know you've been destroying villages and murdering women and children! You've also been burning forests everywhere you go. The people in the Empire are greedy and too lazy to gather mother earth resources themselves, so they take it from honest and hardworking people." Adrian screamed without realizing his childish tone.


   "As I thought, hardly any of this is true boy. A few women and children died in Zalanar, but we don't go around assassinating innocents. We are not the cold the cold hearted creatures, our nemesis paints us out to be. They died in a fire started by a fire caused by a lit arrow. Usually when we come across women and children, we capture them and send them to a nearby garrison. We don't even know who started the fire in Zalanar. As for some of the other remarks, there are lazy and greedy people in all provinces." The Commander sighed.

  "Whether it's true or not, we won't bow down to anyone that invades our land and destroys our land. You don't want to resolve this peacefully, all you do is take. No matter what you do, I'll fight to protect my home." Adrian said no longer listening to him.

  "You remind me of a Carbuncle, the legendary creature of the forest that stands to protect it to it's last breath. I want to resolve this peacefully, but your people have prepared to fight. It's a waste of people's lives." Commander Igralle explained to Adrian. "What are you going to do with me? Are you going to drive your sword into me?" Adrian asked

  "No, Carbuncle. What a waste that would be. I want you to accompany to the port town Zalanar, there you'll truly learn what happened. Maybe, just maybe we can stop the battle before it begins." Commander Igralle says.

  "Guess I don't really have much of a choice. If I refuse, you'll just tie me up, and take me along anyway. But I doubt there would be anything there that could change the people of Ardis opinion of the Empire." The sun was up and light shone through the trees as they went to the horses. The Commander asked one of the soldiers to bind Adrian's hands and mount up with him to make sure he couldn't escape. They headed Northwest to the port town of Zalanar. There were three days left until the impending battle. What is in Zalanar? Is it strong enough to sway Adrian's opinion and help stop the battle before it happens? The boy agreed to accompany the Commander to see the truth about Zalanar, with his own eyes.
  The trip to the port city of Zalanar was a long and treacherous journey. Adrian had never stepped outside of the forest before in his 11 years of living with the people of Ardis. The hilly plains were much more expansive than he could've ever imagined. The soldiers accompanied Commander Igralle and the boy to an old ruin in the central eastern part of the plains. Commander Igralle and the Empire soldiers got down from their horses and the man riding with Adrian helped him down and untied his hands.

  "Men, we will soon be heading into the Shrieking Valley, than we ride for Zalanar. We'll show our young friend to the port city so he can see for himself who is really the enemy. Hopefully, we can reach the town before nightfall." Adrian felt a strange presence in his chest, it was admiration for the Commander Igralle of the Western Empire. The man openly treated him with respect and consideration. This man was nothing like he had pictured. He assumed that the Empire was full of thugs and greedy thugs wanting whatever they could take, but the Commander seemed he was a good man. Fond of nature's beauty. The other soldiers didn't seem very bad to him either.

  "Commander, may I ask you a personal question?" Adrian asked the burly man.

  "What is weighing on your mind young hunter?" Igralle answered back calmly.

  "I've been wondering, wouldn't it be easier to have attack Ardis to take control of it than wait for such a long time before you attack it. Nobody in Ardis is a skilled warrior, not like the Elves or the Dwarves." Adrian Inquired.

  "I'm aware that your village aren't combat trained. It was my hope that we could make a beneficial arrangement for us and the village. It was our misfortune, the messenger made it their before we could intercept it. The message was written by enemy agents to halt our advance to the eastern province. It caused a great deal of interference in our pursuits of gaining valuable intel. It's sad to say many needless lives have been lost due to what happened in Zalanar. If that's not bad enough, When elves found out about the dwarves aiding us, they decided to join your resistance against us." Commander Igralle stated.

  "They knew about the dwarves? The Elvenhein didn't act like he knew anything about your squad or the dwarves. He just offered us help." The boy mentioned.       

  "He knew all about our alliance with the dwarves. Did you ever wonder why he only gave you twelve archers. The Elfenhein Lord hates humans and dwarves both. He's using your people as a shield and when that shield breaks, he intends to ambush those of us that survive the battle." Commander Igralle explained mounting Adrian on his horse. Adrian wasn't certain if he ought to believe Commander Igralle's statement, but he began to wonder if it was true. The Elfenhein was definitely plotting something."

  They headed southwest into the Shrieking Valley and after an hour of silent riding they made it through without being attacked by a single beast. The skies began to darken, and they rode their horses the once famous city, Zalanar. There were only two days left before the battle that could destroy Ardis. They hurried through the valley and reached the plains leading to the port city.
  Adrian had set his sights on the massive port city of Zalanar, for the first time in his life. He was amazedand excited as the boy inside him came out and the hunter was locked inside.Deep down he realized that this wasn't a pleasure voyage, like one of the giant cruise ships in the bay. They were there because Commander Igralle wanted to show him something of great importance. The Commander parked his horse, and dismounted. He reached up to help Adrian down from the horse and led the lad to the site of the Zalanar Fire, the troops had been blamed for. Adrian found it difficult to stomach as he saw the scorched furniture and charred bones all over the place.

  The Commander stopped near a wall and turned to the young hunter and spoke. "Smell that, against this wall?" The Commander asked the boy curiously.

  The boy took a sniff against the wall and coughed. The inside had been drenched in a chemical with a strong odor. The boy asked the Commander about it and the Commander pointed to another room where the boy entered. There was a colder presence in the room he had just entered. He looked around and found traces of the chemicals and skeletons wearing Eastern Province uniforms scorched.

  "Why didn't your men clean this out all ready?" Adrian asked Igralle inquisitively.

  "This room was blocked off from the inside with iron doors. My men stationed in town wanted me to see this, just like I wanted you to see this. It appears we were both set up. The Elves at war with the Dwarves, us tracking eastern province spies, and the message being used to drive out or tricking villagers into fighting us. All the work of the Eastern Empire." Igralle answered to the boy.

  The Commander led the boy back to the soldiers and mounted him on a different horse. The reason for this was so he could conserve each horses energy so they would be able to ride back to the by the morning sun. The Commander, soldiers, and boy began riding back toward the Shrieking Valley. As the troops and horses were tired from their long journey, The soldiers managed to make it through the Shrieking Valley, but were ambushed by a pack of boar. The large boar ferociously attacked the soldiers and horses. They managed to kill the viscous boars with the use of longbow sand metal tipped arrows, but most of the horses lay dead and the soldiers were injured. They had no choice, but to set up camp and send a rider into town for help. Adrian helped the soldiers set up the camp in a circular position for defensive purposes and helped gather herbs that would help soothe the soldier's injuries. After gathering a plentiful supply of medicinal herbs he helped treat the soldier's wounds.

  After most of the soldiers were treated, the Commander told the boy to get some rest. They would have no choice, but to head back to the forest on their own. The next day, was when the people of Ardis planned to attack the soldiers.               Adrian, wondered if the two of them would be able to make it back in time to stop the attack from happening.
  Adrian, was awakened by Commander Igralle before dawn and jostled him to the horse hurriedly. The soldiers of the western empire were mere hours from combat with the the Elves and citizens of Ardis. The hours grew dim, as Adrian recalled his passion for protecting his village. He spoke so freely against the Empire soldiers without realizing that it was a setup to slow the troops march to the Eastern Province, but by the time they made it back the battle had already begun, and many soldiers lay on the ground dead.

  "I...I'm so sorry Commander Igralle. This......this is all my fault! These people hurt and injured. It's my fault they got killed." Adrian whimpered.

  "No, Carbuncle. These wounds were made with Elven arrows. They were ambushed from the treetops, but this is just a few of our men. We should hurry and find out where your people are before the Elves attack them."

  The two of them hurried through the forest towards the outpost, only to find a small squad of soldiers and a few Ardis villagers that surrendered. The squad told them, the Elves had let slip about the ambush and the Ardis villagers sent for aid; however, they suffered many casualties. Igralle gripped Adrian's shoulder as they headed further into the depths past the bridge. Many of the villagers lay dead or injured, and among them lay the Ardis Chieftain, blade clutched in his left hand with eleven arrows in his body.Adrian turned away to hide his tearstained face, and they continued in the forest. The duo found the rest of the villagers safe, but the people of Ardis did not look kindly upon the boy. Adrian immediately went to gather herbs to help clean and disinfect the people's injuries. The healers snatched the supplies away from him and scoffed. The battle was over and the Elves had been slain, but the cost of the battle was expansive. The people and soldiers returned to the village of Ardis, to bury the dead and plant flower seeds on the graves. Before the people retired for the night, five of the village leaders captured Adrian, bound his hands, and dragged him to the Chieftain's hut.

  Many village elders sat before him arguing about his fate. He had not been solely responsible for everything that happened, but the elders felt he was to be blamed. It was because of him the else had been there, and it was because of him that they were going to fight with the army. The townspeople have been fooled, but had they not acted so irrationally, it could have been avoided. It was not a difficult conclusion for them to lay it all on the boy. They started ridiculing him, and told him to take the knapsack of supplies from the village and leave. He had been banished from the only home he had ever known, Ardis.

Comments

  • This is the rebuffed first chapter of "The Legend of the Carbuncle". I hope any readers who remember this are happy to see it's length. Thanks for all the support. There's about 15-18 pages here so happy reading.

    Dec 05, 2018

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