So in order to keep myself from not getting bored over spring break, I have resolved to write a short story. I will post a chapter a day, the first one coming tomorrow and the last one with be Sunday the 3rd. It is a custom world that I made up so if anyone has any questions or comments, lease don't hesitate to post. Feedback is always nice!
All background (maps, lore of countries) can be found below in the attached file.
The rider was bloody and battered. His helmet was gone and replaced with a ragged bandage that was soaked through with thick, crimson blood. With one fist, he clenched the reins of his horse and in the other was a scroll. The open gates let him in without delay and hulking soldiers helped him from his horse. The scroll was taken from him and brought to the king while the man was dragged away to the infirmary. No one would see him again until his funeral two days later. The sturdy guards brought the blood stained parchment to the king who sat in his chair. His grey hairs fell in unkept knots down to his shoulders and he held in his right hand, the cepter that bestowed upon him, the right to rule. To his left was his eldest child, and only son, who strolled into the room captivating the attention of all around him. He had a noble face and a youthful spring in his step. The old king took the scroll and slowly let his eyes flow over the words on the paper. His expression soon changed to horror as he read. "No no, this cannot be.." His old lips let out. His son walked over to him and laid his stern hand on his shoulder. "What is it father?" The old king looked up, dread in his eyes. "They sacked it, destroyed it, no men survived." The son looked in confusion at the king. Surley this was a joke he thought. He shifted around to the back of the chair and let his eyes gaze on the scroll. His confused face became stern and solid. He took a step back. He had personally known the Lord of Castle Roost. They had shared many months of companionship, hunting wild game, making daring excursions into the Caldwell Confedarations land. "He must be avenged father. We cannot let these barbarians get away with this. Let me go down with haste to Castle Fairway so that they may at least be warned of the imposing attack." The old man thought for some time, thinking on what to do. If he called for levies and his armies to be raised, surley the people would panic. It had been over 100 years since anyone had dared to attack Valklonde, the people would grow scared that one would challenge their dominance of the peninsula. "No. I will not send you down to fight them. You must rule after me, I cannot risk sending you." The prince looked dismayed at this. But, as his nature was noble, he could not accept. He walked out before the people of the courts and standing before his father, took a deep breath. "How am I to rule, when the soldiers have no respect for me. How am I to rule, if the only place I can stay is here in this stuffy city. I must go out and do this, It will be good for me. Plus, my sword arm has grown weary of all these balls and feasts." The old man stood up angry. "You are my only son! Who is to rule, your sister? She cares nothing for defending a keep or diplomacy with other nations. Nay, in her rule this kingdom would crumble just as Castle roost against those
damned invaders! You will stay." He sat back into his throne weary from yelling. The young prince glared back at him with cold eyes. He turned and walked out of the room leaving the tense air of the court behind him.
It was the dead of night when he departed. Accompanied by only 500 soldiers, some regulars and others greenies recently arrived from the farm. All were volunteers to go. They thudded across the roads of the kingdom paying no head to traveller or caravan. When they camped, it was but for a few hours. Speed was of the upmost importance if they were to reach the castle in time but in the back of all their minds was the thought that they where already to late. The thought that the twin castles, on the edgs of their border, were already burning and with the flag of the barbarians floating triumphantly over their once pround battlements. And so they rode on, driving these thoughts from their minds as they grew ever closer to the descruction before them.
"Hold here!" The young prince shouted to his column as they pulled their horses to a halt. Before them lay the desolation of Castle roost. Above the battlements was the green flag of the Caldwell army. Evidence of a great fire still lingered and parts of the wall and keep where collapsed. Around the entire castle where pikes, laiden at their points with a head of a defender. On the longest was the lords head. The Prince lowered his head in despair. "So the letter was true. If the horde is not here then it must be at Caste Fairway by now." He turned to his men whose faces showed pure horror. "We ride for Castle Blackmont, on the crags we will hold them." He pushed his horse along. The greenies and regulars eventually followed having enough of the scene of slaughter. The company rode hard for several hours until making camp on the edge of the woods before the mountains. The great war map was rolled out before the prince and his captains and the chest of pieces was put to the side. The first man to speak was the captain of the city watch back at the capital, Harry was his name. He held no knighthood or title of renown but was skilled in battle and a natural leader. "If I may, prince, I am going to state the obvious. We have 500 men." He said grabbing 5 pieces from the chest. "Half are greenies" He stated again placing three of the pieces off to the side. "And half are regulars who can actualy fight." He placed the two remaining pieces on the board. "The only way that we could possibly hold back this storm is to buy time for the main forces to muster. And, time could mean training for our greenies." He picked up the three pieces and held them for all to see. The prince rose from his seat across the table. "My dear captain, we have a mountain pass! We cause some rock slides here or their and that army won't move for a week." The prince smiled smuggly as he let the last words linger in the air. Their was a brief moment of silence from the captains. "MY prince you know nothing of war. It would take us a week to cause that rock slide unless we had the equipment of a full army. No, the best we can do is roll a boulder down here and their." said Harry grimly. The other captains nodded in agreement. "Aye, we can't hold them back unless we got a fortress. Why don' we ride to Castle Blackmont and just hold their? Ma' cousin would gladly wlecome us. And with their ships we could hold for months!" Said one of the captain, who was the Lord Blackmont's cousin. "Yes that could work. Make some traps along the way then hold them on the mighty crags of the castle." The prince said looking at the man who just spoke. All nodded in agreement. "Then it is settles, we ride for the castle and set out traps. We have plenty of hands, it should not take long." And so it was decided, the army would ride for the castle in the morning.
Their night was restless and filled with bad dreams. Many men still had the image of slaughter lingering in their head from the days travels. When they awoke, they had dark circles under their eyes from a restless sleep. They broke camp slowly and mounted up on weary horses. From the edge of the camp came shouts and war whoops. The prince tore open his tent door to see a man panting. "Scouts sir! Watch saw a scout riding away!" The man said. "Well don't just stand their! Order the men after him!" The prince bolted back inside and grabbed the last of his possesions for riding then joined the small company riding after the scout. The main army rode away to set the traps. It was a hard chase tiring to both rider and horse. The scout's horse foamed at the mouth and rode swiftly away from the persuers. It was a lucky arrow shot that brought it down. Barely knicking the heel of the horse and senting its rider to his death. His head, cast hard against a rock. The small company circled around and the prince dismounted to look at him. "This is no Caldwell scout. Look, look here!" The prince ripped part of the mans cape and showed it around. On it was the red volcano of the Valcan empire. "Surely they are not in league with the barbarians. It can't be." The princes speaking was interupted by the sound of marching. Thousands of boots crushing the soil beneath them and sending clouds of dust into the air broke over the hill. All men in the group turned and fled to catch up with the main force except the prince who looked on in awe. The banners of the Caldwell barbarians and Valcan devels marched side by side. The princes eyes narrowed and he mounted his horse. He road hard to catch up with the others. Surely they had been spotted.
"Make haste! Move men!" The Prince called aloud as he neared the rear of the host. The men picked up their speed thinking nothing of anyone but themselves. They where pannicked, scared. Only the vetran soldiers stayed in the column formation. The greenies rode far ahead of the group not stopping when told. They rode far and away from the group. A sense of defeat held over the heads of Vetrans who stayed with the prince. They did their best to set traps along the way. Caltrops here, a boulder to roll down when triggered their. Few where placed, not nearly as much as the captains and prince hoped. Never the less they rode on. Day and night with no stop except for 2 hours to sleep and eat. The horde that chased them drove them. On the fifth day of hard riding, the Castle blackmont came into view. The gates where opened without delay. The small group of horsemen rode into the courtyard like weary travelers. The Lord Blackmont was waiting for them. "Some of yer lads stopped by here m'lord. About half stayed here, the rest scattered. You need those lads trained harder." The prince walked up to the tall man and laid is hand on his shoulder. "Bloody cowards. We got an army on our tail. We have no estimate on their numbers but we can expect a lot." The lord looked up blankly then back down on the prince in understanding. "We need to get word to the rest of the kingdom and to your father that he needs to ready to fight back." The prince motioned to some of his men to lead his horse to the stables and fetch him some water before turning back to the dark haired lord. "Send a boat to all our allies. I will send some of my few riders to the peoples of the area to try and find any levies." The lord nodded and walked away and down to the docks. From their, all ships would be sent to an ally asking them to come to their aid. A rider was sent to the king stating the dire situation and pleading for aid and a muster to be sent out. To every village under the lords command, an evacuation edict was put in place and every able bodied man above the age of 14 was to be sent to the castle for emergency training.
The prince stood alone on the outer wall watching his riders go to call for aid. '1500 men, no 1242 men, against an army more than 3 times that size. hell more than that.' The prince spoke aloud to himself. 'If any aid is to come, it better come quickly.'
(Sorry for the short chapter, its easter so I don't have much time to put into this one.)
Days had passed since the riders and ships had set out. Still none came. Sentinels watched out over the wall every minute of the day in hope that some would come. It was on a peaceful day where a gentle breeze blew in from the sea that something was sea. A man as tall as the princes warhorse rode towards the city. His face was mean and cruel. His clothing was ragged and tribal looking and showed a great deal of skin. On the back of his horse was the banner of the Caldwells and the Valcans underneath it. Horns from the wall blasted sending men to arms and to man their posts. The prince lept from his dinning table and rushed out to the walls. No army followed the man. "Probably some damn envoy coming to offer us our lives if we flee." said He walking along the wall through rows of men. "Do not open the gate! Fetch my horse and armor, I will ride out and meet him. We do not need to give away this castles secrets to early." With that, the prince mounted up and rode out accompanied by banner men and guards. They stopped before the man and drew weapons. "What resoning do you invade out lands." The prince called to the giant. He stopped for a moment translating what was said then preparing to speak. "We invade because we hate you." The man said plainly. Some men of the princes company laughed as the obvious was stated. "Leaders say, run and live, stay and die." The men said paying no head to the laughing soldiers. The prince chuckled at this last part, letting his cool look slip away. "Run, to be persued by your dogs? Stay, and keep our lands and slaughter you, dispatching your army one man at a time. Your leaders must be fools if they think we will leave." Again the prince laughed. It was not natural but almost forced, like somehting else was weighting on his mind. The giant nodded and rode away to return with the message. The prince and company turned their horses and eagerly rode back to the castle before them. In the courtyard, they dismounted and the prince ran up the stairs past the second wall and into the keep to speak with his court.
"If they march on us and are almost upon us then we should shore up the gate. We have given the riders enough time, they may not be coming back." Harry said staring blankly into the map of the castle and surrounding lands. The lord blackmont was not convinced. "My prince, I am sure your father has taught you all about defending your keep. This castle is large and will hold fast for many days, maybe even weeks or months. What is to say that their army won't just ride on by it and not bother to take it? We need to stop them from doing this. Give me half the force, cavalry and pikes mostle, maybe some archers and I'll hold them on the gravel crags that surround here." He put pieces into several spots on the map that armies could camp and defend. "You hold the castle, I hold the outside." He added once he was finished. The prince and captains thought it over. Silence engulfed the room until harry again spoke up. "You make a good point lord, but we do not have the numbers to hold both locations, we have a choice of either on or the other."
"No." The prince said finally speaking up. "If we yield the castle, we loose. If we yield the crags, we loose. We must hold both. We still have time, order the men to begin constructing a wall and trenches on the outside. Have them dig pits and lay caltrops so that their cavalry is useless." He stopped and took a quill and dipped it in ink. With a shaking hand, he drew a line from the castles southern wall across to the sea. "It doesn't have to be big, infact it won't be. But it will do a great deal to make up for our lack of numbers." Harry obviously did not like the idea but shook his head nodded ok. The lord blackmont to did the same. Captains began to file out of the room and order their soldiers out of the walls with tools to begin work. "Blackmont!" The prince called just as the man was leaving the doorway. He looked back without saying a word. "Send out fishing boats and all boats we can. We need aid. Don't just send them to our lands, send them to others. Let them know what is happening." The lord nodded and rushed out of the room. The prince stayed for almost an hour after the small council. "Why did I decide to come south. I led all the men that came with me to death. And plus, I was to late to save anybody. I should have stayed home and waited for the legions to come forth so that I could march south in greater force and crush those barbarians, those murderers."
"Sir, a great many torches can be seen in the distance." The prince turned to where the man was speaking and looked out the window of the keep. "So be it. Order all men to arms and to their posts. Have the outer crags manned with pikes and horsemen." The soldier left the room. "Excuse me my captains, but I must prepare my armor." The prince nodded to his generals and stepped out of the room and crossed the hallways of the keep. His room was empty and void of all life. It was dimly lit from candles and a small fire smoldering in the fire place. "So this is how it will end. The peace destroyed by savages." He lifted the heavy breast plate and set it upon his chest. Doning the armor was hard work for a single man to do but the prince struggled through. His gauntlets, chestplate, and other armor was the finest his nation had to offer. It was strong yet light, intricate but plain. It was made for function over beauty. The helmet was the last thing he put on. It weighed on his neck and head and obscured much of his vision when the protective visor was down. His household shield was placed upon his back. He walked out of the keep like a king. His face was grim but his eyes betrayed the stern look with a slight glimmer of hope. Hope that aid would come, hope that they could still win. He gave a nod to the lord Blackmont who was adorned in a grand and dark set of armor. "Men." He paused as soldiers turned to look at him. "Today we not only fight for our lives, but for the lives of the kingdom, the lives of each and every soul who breaths on our land." The soldiers faces still where grim and dark. "Ok..." The prince whisprered under his breath. He sucked in the cool night air, letting it fill his lungs. "I'm not going to cover what I am going to say in sugar and sweets. We are all going to die." Again he paused. The soldiers faces grew scared, sorrowful, angry. "But if we are going to die, let us make our deaths worthy of songs and tales, worthy that it will be talked about across the world. From the city states of the south, to the frost bitten north! Let us make such an end that all will think twice before coming before our mighty kingdom, before defiling our lands." Soldiers faces changed now as the passion flowed from the princes mouth to their ears. 'Aye, I could go out like that.' The lord blackmont said wit a sly smile. 'Well, get to it lads! To arms! To arms!' Men across the courtyard and walls shouted. Not in joy or triumph, but vengence and anger. They moved out of th castle and to the small gravel wall that soon would divide them from death and life.
The Caldwell and Valcan army approached slowly. They had no estimate of numbers, they new aid must have come. The garrison that the messenger saw would surley be strengthened. Their boots crushed the gravel beneath them. Any small shrub was crushed in the armies wake. They marched with anger and hate in their bellies. Their supply lines only fed them with more. Their rugged armor and cruel weapons heavily contrasted the noble figures before them. They stopped out of longbow range and sent forth another messenger. "Again the masters say to you, surrender, of die." The prince stole away a bow from a man to his side. He let loose and arrow from the wall that went straight to its mark. The man dropped death with the shaft poking through his neck. "We choose death!" He let out with a roar. Soon, all men on the wall, all men onthe crags where all sheering for death. Like mad men they would fight and they would take the barbarians down to hell with them.
The barbarians did not take the slaughter of their messenger lightly. Their faces grew angry and they began banging the ground with spears and striking their shields with swords. They sent up a tremendous noise that shook the mens hearts. Their shouts where in vain however. Their commanders ordered them back to set up catapults and other engines of war. Both armies retired for the night. In the morning, their would be battle. The men in the castle slept unevenly and a great many where on watch. Their was to be no trechary this day.
When the day broke over the sea the men came out. Clad for batlte and glory. To their south was a great array of tents that stretch across the gravel earth. The defenders where the first to prepare for battle. Their own catapults and equipment was loaded and ready to strike as the attackes came into range. "Take heart men! For in these few moments, peace still lingers in our hearts." The booming voice of Lord Blackmont came over the llines of soldiers. The barbarians came forth. Many hid behind large rolling ladders to avoid archer fire but others charged straight for death. "Draw!" The prince shouted as hundreds of archers began taking aim at the incoming force. The prince waited almost a full minute passed until his voice rang like a song over the battlefield. "Fire!" The arrows where loosed into the sea of attackers. They dropped like flies in the arrow hail only to have their place taken by another. The shots fired continuously into the army. The catapults fired sparingly. Their shots where aimed at the ladders and catapults of the enemy. Few hit but those that did caused a great deal of damage to the enemy army. Mens bodies flew like splashed water as the rock skipped across the gravel. Not long after the battle began did the first men reach the crag wall. On top was stationed pike men resembling a porcupine of sharp iron. Behind was javelin throwers who hurled their heavy spears into the incoming men. Death and blood flowed through the front lines of the bloody clash. So far, the brave men of the castle held against the storm.
The slaughter at the front lines continued for almost an hour before the horns sounded the retreat of the barbarians. They pulled back like beaten children and slunk back into their holes. The masters of the army where not happy with their troops preformance. After the brief recess, the battle was back on. This time, cavalry in the thousands coupled with great war elephants from the southern deserts came forth. The sheer size of the great beast sent the men back. Their faces filled with fear of the strange creatures before them. "Get back in line! Get back in line!" The lord shouted as the host came thundering forward. "Javelins!!" The front line was decimated before it reached the pikes. An elephant and several horsemen collapsed from the heavy blows. The pikes broke under the weight of horsemen one the first waves hit. Fighting up hill and against the splintered wood of the pikes, the barbarians made no head way. Javelins held the great beasts at bay and sharp wood held the war horses. Again the horse where blasted for reteat. The whole day after was peaceful and quite except for the screas of dying men. Stench of beast and men ripped across the land for miles. The prince smiled out on the scene, his men had held for the first day. Many where lost, but much more of the filth of the south fell before them. The bodies of the dead where piled high on the gravel wall and heads cut off and thrown towards the barbarians in mockery. The men of Castle Blackmont would not fall so easily and when they did, they would bring many more heads with them.
The next day brought more death to the land. Great sheets of black arrows launched from Caldwell lines slaughtering the Lord Blackmont's men in droves. The men on the small outer wall where forced back from the fields from the slaughter until the archer hail stopped. The remaining men peered out of hiding holes and their retreating positions. The lord himself came out from under a mighty shield and let out tremendous laughter. "You think yer pointy sticks will defeat us!? Cowards!" His men joined in laughing uneasily. All around where dead companions who resembled porcupines. The Caldwell men took the lords challenge and began coming forth. Thousands lined up for a great charge. "Reform the lines men! Reform!" The booming voice called to the survivors of the arrow rain. They rushed back to their posts much fewer than before. Their line was not neat and orderly as before but was full of gaps. The barbarians charged causing the ground below to tremble. The Lord Blackmont looked around. He had taken the front lines with his remaining men. "He won't hold long out there sir." Harry said leaning to the prince. He nodded slightly and turned. He walked down the stone steps and to the courtyard where he began mustering cavalry men who had remained in the castle. "We simply cut off the barbarians from an advance and give Blackmont time to retreat. Understood men?" A soloumn nod passed from head to head. They awaited the princes signal to charge.
Out of the field was a scene of slaughter that rivaled the great massacre of Fortlorn when that ancient empire came crashing down. The weakened lines stood no chance against the heavy number of barbarians and men of the south. The gaps in the line filled with men who surrounded and cut down Blackmont's men. It was hardly even a fight. From the castle, the horns blasted and the cavalry charged forth into the invaders. "For Blackmont!" The prince shouted as his sand colored war horse slammed the flank of the barbarians. The armored wedge delved deep into the barbarians. Their charge only seemed to gain momentum as them became closer and closer to the other end. The men in the slaughter took this charge as an oppertunity to flee. Many retreated back to the castle but many fleed to the country side, routed from the main army. The horsemen wheeled around as they broke through the side and cut back into the massive host to fight their way back to the castle. Their swords and spears cut down man after man as they moved. The light infantry of the invaders was no match for the heavy cavalry of the prince. Their moment of glory was short lived when the finally fought back into the castle. The gates where sealed and the attackers in brief retreat. The prince now turned to see what remained of his host. Shock filled him as more than half where gone. His triumphant charge had cost many lives and on the floor beneath the horses lay the bodies of many dead and dying. Among them was the lord Blackmont who had lost arm and leg and was riddled with sword wounds from head to foot. The force on the outside of the castle was defeated, the force on the inside greatly weakened. The Prince took to the wall never the less with his men to look out defiantly on the army closing in aorund them. "Barricade the gate men. And do not open it until we have won." The prince said looking down over the wall to the men down at the gate. "Why m'lord. Why should we fight. We have lost so many men, it is pointless. We will all die if we fight." a young soldier said who stood on the wall with the prince leaning heavily on his longbow. "Because the king needs time. Time to muster the full force of our kingdom. Fear not, soon they shall be marching down to us and lifting this siege from our lands and we shall walk out of the gates in peace and life. They will come, they would not abandon us." The prince turned after speaking to the north where he watched for any signs of an army coming. No aid had come, not even a single soldier. "They won't abandon us."
The Castle was silent for the days that followed. The small garrison of soldiers left watched as they where slowly surrounded by the enemy army. Soldiers began to settle in for a long siege. The area around the battle field and castle reaked of burnt flesh as the funeral pyres of the barbarians rose high into the sky, and the bodies of the dead defenders where catapulted naked over the walls of the city to try and spread disease. They where taken out to the water front and loaded on a fishing boat which would carry them out and bury them at sea. Early on one of the mornings, the catapults brought much more gruesome scenes to the eyes of the men. Instead of naked bodies they where showered with limbs and heads ripped from the torsoes. No clean cuts but litteral tears as if the men had been tied to two horses and pulled in opposite directions. As ordered by the prince, the bodies where moved quickly away and into the boats. The roads and pathways of the castle ran red when all was moved and all hung their heads low and demoralized. The fishing boat did not return until several hours from when it was set out. When it did return it brought strange tidings of massive ships with white sails billowing out and pushing them on towards the castle. "We wached fer some time. Sips kep comin in closr and closr till we cided to come bak." The fisher man stated as he stood before the prince who sat in the old lords chair. "Any flags? Was our banner on them or the banner of our enemy?" The prince asked with urgency in his voice. It could be a trap, or aid coming to help them. The fisherman brought his hand to his chin. "Naw not ar banner. Had a boat on it with a wing'd helm over it." The fisherman thought for a moment longer. "Had a dark blue back-round." The prince nodded to the man and walked up to him and thanked him for his service then went to the lords private library to fint out what the fisherman was talking about. He had been well versed in banners of the world but could not make out what the semi literate fisheman was saying. His searched brought him to a book on the history of the world banners. He recognised the title as it was a book he often looked over in his youth. This one was in much more disrepair and had some words smudged out through age. "Well it looks like the old banner of Atland, minus the ship. But they such a small navy..." The prince turned though more pages. "Embel? Has the longship, the winged helmet. They are no friends of ours though so why would they come? We haven't had contact with them in years." An old man walked up behind the prince. "You talk loudly to yurself. If I might add to the information of the book..." He waited for the princes nod of approaval which came swiftly. "The only reason we have nod had contact with them was because your father's father started us on a path of seclusion. Grimy king, thought it would be better for th nation but now look at us. Weak armies, not respected and not under invasion! You see now what he has done." The prince dismissed the man after these words nd left the small library. If they wher coming to help then they would be gladly accepted but if not they would be met with spear and sword.
