Demi-God: The Story of Ryu ΩChapter 9 is out!Ω
Posted: November 19th, 2009, 7:52 pmDemi-God: The Story of Ryu
Characters
The Gods
Models were obtained on the RO Database.
The Humans
Special Thanks to my sister for correcting grammatical mistakes
Prologue
The night sky was dark. Ominous clouds conquered most of the sky; a gloomy and depressing example of the war that had rose in the midst of the land. A massive burning rock flung through the sky, arcing swiftly in the air, and landing directly into an army of ten thousand men. Screams were heard, cries were made, but the war against the Elisians and the Frides continued. High up on a small cliff of plains, King Argerth of Elisia looked across the battlefield, his eyes full of hate and anger. He surveyed the fields, watching as small skirmishes broke out in different sections of the battlefield.
“All this...this to-ing and fro-ing, it's becoming quite nauseating.” Argerth turned around to see that his second-in-command, Heath, had been watching the skirmishes as well. Turning back to watch the field, he gave a small and bitter chuckle.
“Just wait dear Heath,” Argerth said coolly, “we have enough supplies to survive for weeks. The Frides may have the entire western region of Karoma but they cannot stop Elisians from taking over...” All Heath did was nod and the two men stood there watching as the pre-battle continued...
About a mile from where the Elisian commanders stood there laid a great and vast mountain, whose beauty and majesty could be seen from miles away. The mountain was 5 kilometers high, and 2 kilometers wide. It was what the Frides called The God's Ascension. The Frides, being superstitious and fearful, made extra caution not to near the mountain of the Gods. In fact, there were divine beings resting atop the great mountain. They were said to be near human size but without all the flaws and weaknesses. They were the most majestic and beautiful humans ever seen, each with feathery wings, and had the power to level grounds with a single wave. It was said that the face of a god was enough to be feared, for any person who looks at a god cannot do anything but to submit.
Anger was all that could be seen in these faces right now. The 6 gods of the mountain looked far below in disdain, over the war against the Elisians and the Frides. Each of the gods were different; 4 men and 2 women. They had beauty to sway and the power to destroy, but each in a 'different' way. Kuroi took the liberty to break the silence of irritation that had overcome the entire group. He spoke in a tone of obvious annoyance, “of course it was obvious from the first moment we saw these damned beings...” He slammed his fist down on the pearl white marble table in front of him.
“The problem is not what we can do, it is what we will do.” Haruken spoke with a little too much excitement in his voice. He eyed the battlefield maliciously, his mind racing with ideas.
“Now now,” said a light, more airy, voice, “let's think a bit before we act shall we?” Kyria looked at Haruken, stressed. “These are humans. They are not as accepting or as simple as anything else here. Perhaps...if we can find a way to...unsettle them?”
Kuroi turned to Kyria, “well of course! We weren't planning on killing all of them...” He looked back down and watched as another skirmish unfurled, this time in favor of the Frides. “Just enough to get the point across...”
“And how much would be enough?” Anya said in a slightly annoyed voice, “I do agree that something should be done but knowing you the world would become nothing but an empty space in less then a few seconds...” She scoffed and turned away.
Eriol looked at the others with a glum expression. “Does there really need to be any more deaths?” he asked with eyes full of hope, “if one of them wins...then fewer deaths will probably be certain, at least compared to what would happen if we interfere...”
“No,” Haruken spoke defiantly, “these humans will never learn as long as they keep continuing like this... Yet...” He looked down as the Elisians retreated back to their shield line. “They do react to fear. Perhaps we can shake them up a bit?”
Kyria nodded in approval. “Yes, that would be best. We just need someone who can play with others emotions...” She turned to Ryu as she said her last statement, one eye raised. “You have been quiet this whole time. What are your thoughts?” Kyria crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
Ryu looked at Kyria and sighed. “Well... It's obvious that I am this said person to, ahem, 'play with emotions?'” Everyone's eyes were turned to Ryu now obviously hoping for a yes. “Did it ever occur to any of you that this is not my job?”
“Oh please Ryu,” Kuroi said with a slight chuckle, “if anyone enjoys controlling people more then you I will be sure to personally allow you to gut my insides and feed them to the fish.”
Kyria ignored Kuroi in disgust. “All you have to do is maybe kill a few people. Make yourself seen by all and make them fear you. You don't even have to make it that complicated.”
Ryu looked back down at the battlefield, where another skirmish had broken out. After a few minutes he sighed and turned to the other five gods. “Very well. Two hundred bodies and fear coming right up...”
Chapter 1: The King's Dilemma
Argerth was impatient. He had taken over the entire eastern Karoma yet they could not breach a single section of the west. He sat in his large pavilion, a war table in front of him with his elder war counselors and heroes surrounding. His tactical administrator, Victor, had been talking about an ambush raid near the northern side of the plains.
“I think we should set up an ambush here,” Victor said, pointing to a small forest group, “it would not need to be a sizeable amount but just enough to make the enemies paranoid.” Argerth angrily slammed his fist onto the war table in response. Everyone looked at their king in surprise.
“To hell with these plans! Our army outnumbers their 1:2! We should've been done with this battle by now!” He growled angrily, standing up and glaring at Victor. Victor kept a straight face and continued to stare at Argerth.
“Sir...” he said slowly, “although we do have a larger amount then their own, we can not trust that their cavalry units are not going to charge in whilst we are fighting. The Frides are known for their excellent cavalry techniques.” He shook his head. “In the event of a straight on charge we could win but we would not be able to even imagine what the amount of casualties would be. They could be very low or extremely high.”
Argerth knew this to be true and even before he had started to complain he had known why there was to be no head-on charging. Still, Argerth was sick of waiting and he needed something to be done. “I see, but we have no time to run entire circles around the enemy.” He looked at the map of the plains, and then back to his war counselors. “Is there any more fancy ambushes and such?”
Victor shook his head and, upon seeing his lord's patience running thin, spoke quickly, “we just need to place an air of uncertainty among the Frides. There is no true need for the ambush to strike them hard.” Argerth nodded and everyone else in the pavilion seemed to agree.
“Very well...” Argerth said quietly, “shall we then?”
As the men were preparing to leave a man walked into the pavilion. He was tall, strong, and extremely handsome. He had shining white armor on and wore a long billowing blue cape. His silver-white hair covered one eye and he had the look of wisdom in his eyes. “My lord,” he spoke, kneeling to the ground, his armor clinking as he moved, “I apologize for the interruption. There has been a massive outbreak... Sir, we do not know what to do.”
The men in the tent reacted instantly to the news and Argerth eyed the newcomer suspiciously, “What? What do you mean by that?” He frowned in deep thought. “An outbreak? You mean like a disease?”
The newcomer nodded his head gravely. “The medics have no idea what has happened. Our people are acting frighteningly odd.” He looked up at the leaders with a serious face. “They have started acting seemingly without control of their own bodies.”
Argerth could not believe what he was hearing. “Uncontrolled?” He paced a few steps back and forth, his hand stroking his chin as he thought for a few more moments. “Urgh, damn nuisances!” He slammed his fist on the table once more. The tent was silent. For several minutes nobody spoke. All the men watched the king, waiting for his choice of action. He took a deep breath and looked at the newcomer. “What is your name?”
“I am Ryu a knight of the sixth cavalry brigade.” Ryu spoke quickly, the sense of urge in his voice obvious, “my commander told me to inform you that this...this new disease has spread. This sickness has already affected over a hundred people in the matter of a couple hours. We fear that this may spread further and with the battle nearing we felt needed to inform you with haste.”
Argerth looked at the messenger, nodding his head in agreement. “Very well, let us see this 'disease' shall we?”
Ryu, Argerth, and his group of personal gaurds rode quickly to the northern side of the fields, where Ryu's brigade and the diseased were stationed. Field medics had taken the only precautions they could, giving the groups masks to cover their mouth and warning them not to stay too long. A few men were bedded down and some were even being restrained, although at the moment the restrained looked quite peaceful.
“The restrained ones are dangerous. Some of them have even been attempting to kill others.” A field medic looked sadly at one of the calm faces and pointed over to a burning pile of ashes. The whole group could already smell what they had been burning but that did not comfort them, as the smell was something that one would not want to smell: the smell of burning flesh. “We have had to burn 20 already and we fear we may have to kill more, seeing as we cannot find anyway to eliminate this... Luckily this disease has not been spreading too quickly. But if it spreads at all anymore we may have to start killing and burning live ones...”
Argerth looked solemn, he shook his head sadly as he stared at one of the persons, shaking violently in their bed. “This is no good, we cannot risk our entire army becoming like this!” He stood there, thinking even more. “Killing and burning these men may save the army, but I do not believe that it will help their morale... This battle has been exhausting enough. Anymore and they will not have the will to fight.”
As Argerth thought, he did not see as one of the diseased persons hopped out of their bed and, quick as a flash, ran up behind the king and wrapped his arms around the king's neck, pulling towards him and causing the Argerth to go blue with fear and anger.
Chapter 2: Changing
The God's Ascension was covered in dark clouds. According to the Friden farmers and storytellers, the clouds reflect the emotions of the gods that lived up in the mountains. If there were no clouds and the sky was sunny, that meant that the gods were content with the people. If there were few clouds, that meant that the gods did not care for what the people did at the moment. The dark and ominous clouds that dominated to sky currently seemed to stretch for miles, like a sea of dark blue.
Tension a top of the mountain was high as Kuroi stood at the ledge of the mountains with a cold stare. He cursed angrily under his breath, frustration and anger apparent in his face, and turned back to the white temple that was his home. “Ryu should be done by now...” he muttered to himself, “what's taking him so long?!”
Eriol sat in a vast white room. The only things in the room were pearl white chairs and a small lamp, which stood in the very middle of the room. The room had space for many things yet all that was present at the moment was the blue-haired angel reading a leather-bound book. He looked up curiously as Kuroi stormed in, looking for someone to rant to. Shaking his head, Eriol returned to his book ignoring Kuroi as he appeared in front of Eriol with a look of pure hate.
“So this is what you do with your time hmm?” Kuroi said quietly and annoyed. Eriol looked up at Kuroi with an expectant face. He knew that Kuroi was impatient and he knew why Kuroi was impatient.
Eriol sighed, “You know, these humans can come up with the most creative things. This story is very intriguing...” Eriol spoke calmly without looking away from his book. “Have you read this book before? It's about a knight who saves the kingdom from an evil dragon. A fantasy that every child would love to be a part of, right?” He closed the book and looked up to Kuroi with a playful smile.
Kuroi was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. He realized that nothing needed to be said and with one quick movement struck Eriol across the face. The book made a small noise as it hit the ground, then the room was silent. Eriol did not react. He simply looked back up to Kuroi with a calm face, “You know,” he started, and leaned over to pick up the book, “hitting me will not 'exterminate' the humans and sending Ryu down there will not either.” Eriol showed his first sign of anger glaring up at Kuroi with eyes of ice.
Kuroi stared at Eriol for a second before breaking the impasse and taking a few steps away. He scoffed and turned. “Who says I want to kill them all?” He walked away, anger boiling up inside of him. Had he been so easy to read? Eriol was able to figure him out just like that, but Eriol had always been excellent at comprehending the incomprehensible.
Eriol stood up as Kuroi was about to exit the room and yelled out, “he never wanted to become a God you know.” Kuroi stopped at these words and turned around, looking straight at Kuroi. Before he was able to say anything Haruken appeared behind Kuroi and both pairs of eyes turned to him. He looked at them with solemn eyes and turned to Eriol.
“None of us wanted to become what we are...did we?” He started and looked away, as if he was in some far-away land and not in front of two gods. “It was because we were the best of the best. That is why we were chosen by the Council. To watch Earth for the rest of eternity, never able to stop...” He turned back to the two, who were quiet and still. “Ryu was chosen to become the God of Fear, not because he enjoyed it but because he was the best at it. He knows how to get into people's minds, not only for fear, but for anything.."
“As are all of us...do we enjoy being gods? To watch over and regulate the world every day? No, yet we still do it because that is what our jobs are. We cannot stop who we are nor can we stop who we become. The only thing we can do is...adapt. Change our ways to adjust with the surroundings. Is that not what everyone does?”
When he spoke those last words he took one more look at Kuroi, then walked away, leaving both the gods stunned and speechless. Kuroi stood with his eyes looking down on the ground, his fists clenched and shaking. Then, without a word, quickly walked away from the room. Eriol looked at Kuroi's retreating figure, not speaking or taking his eyes off that direction, even when Kuroi disappeared. He looked at his book and then at the doorway. “Yet...even when others adapt...” Eriol spoke, quietly and softly, “there are some who refuse and those are the ones who save the world...or ruin it...”
Chapter 3: The War Begins
The battlefield which the Elisians and Frides fought was a vast plain, promptly called the Plains of the Giant. The plains had many hills, basins, and cliffs, making it perfect for striking enemies off-guard. The sun was rising as a small cavalry group charged to intercept another group of skirmishers. A quick fight ensued and then the two groups broke off to retreat quickly back to their lines. High up on a small cliff that overlooked the Plains behind the Elisian lines, King Argerth stood with his group of gaurds watching.
“Who the hell is he?” he said, watching the small cavalry army retreat. Even from afar, he could see the shining white armor amidst the Elisian armies blue. “He sprung up from no where, tells us of this ominous news, then just acts as if he is an Elisian, yet no one knows who he is!” He turned to Victor, who was always standing behind him to the right and looked expectantly as if Victor knew exactly who he was. All Victor could do was shrug, for he had asked many people, but nobody knew who he was. “If he's a spy...” King Argerth said with a look of discontent, “we will have to kill him. He knows too much...”
Victor looked at the King hesitantly, his thoughts full of superstition and fear. He did not know if it was rational, yet he felt he still had to ask. “Do...do you think that maybe he brought this...this plague?” Argerth looked back at the field and paused for a few seconds. He was a fair and just king, and he knew when chances needed to be taken.
“Let him be for now. Remember...he saved my life.” He said, and the whole group went silent. They did not trust the man who had changed the tides of the battle so quickly, even though he had been able to pull the diseased man off of the King's back. The plague was spreading quickly. Nearly 500 people had now been afflicted by the disease and all in the northern flank. The King had to move much of his forces to the north, farther away from the main group, to cover up the receding and thinning line. “As of now...we cannot retreat. Let us...let us attack. This is now or never. We cannot wait for this disease to eat us alive.”
The group stared at him, and did not know how to react. On one hand, they were sure they could have won a day before, but now, they were unsure. Victor was the one who broke the silence, “give the orders sir?”
King Argerth looked at his army, a vast number, with a small broken line to the north. “Yes... Tell everyone, we charge...”
--
Ryu could feel the charge about to be ordered before he heard the horn blow. The warriors were getting restless, a days wait, and the new disease made all the people uneasy. The King had to either retreat or attack, and he chose the latter, sealing his fate. As the horn sounded, and everyone yelled their battle cries, Ryu muttered under his breath, “fool...”
Being in the cavalry brigade, Ryu's group was one of the first to charge the line. Cavalry's best advantage was the first few minutes that they attacked. The army charged together, only the sick were left behind, yet that was a very large amount, and it was quite noticeable. The Frides held their ground, waiting for contact, bloodthirsty and itching to be able to kill the invaders of their land. 'Oh... What they don't know...'
As a new fight broke out, horses and men began to fall everywhere. Ryu took that moment to hold his position and look over to see how it was going. Blood was spilt everywhere and more cries were heard as horses came crashing down, taking a more men along with it. He nodded and was about to rise when, suddenly, something caught his eye. He charged into the thick of the battle drilling his iron lance into anyone foolish enough to fight against a battlehorse. A small opening was surrounded with fallen bodies of Elisians all laid down in a circle, as if they all died when they tried to charge the man in the center of the opening.
He stood there with bright flaming red hair, and shining red armor. He held out a sword which was shining red and seemed to be glowing. The eyes were filled with joy, the joy of blood, and his mouth was curved in a large grin, as if this was the happiest moment of his life. He stared at Ryu, and Ryu glared back, not knowing what to say. Quick as a flash, the man rushed head-on towards Ryu, ramming straight into the horse and sending Ryu flying a few feet back. The man looked stood over Ryu with his sword dangerously close to Ryu's head and for that moment, Kuroi grinned at Ryu.
“What are you doing here?” Ryu whispered angrily. He could still hear clashes of other swords around him and cries but it seemed as if only they two were there on the battlefields. His lance was already discarded and his favored weapon was still on his back. Kuroi got closer to Ryu and his sword barely touched Ryu's neck.
“Fighting for my land, what do you think?” In that instant, Ryu pulled up one leg and kicked Kuroi square in the chest, sending him stumbling back. Ryu then hopped up quickly and pulled out his weapon. He held the weapon lightly, as it began to glow. It was a swallow-blade, beautifully crafted, and it had glowing white blades protruding from both sides of the handle. Ryu spun his blade around and charged at Kuroi, making a quick sweep to the head, but Kuroi parried the strike almost lazily, and the screech of steel on steel made them both wince. As the swords clashed, Kuroi looked at Ryu with a smile. “This is taking you too long! If you don't finish this quickly... I will!” Kuroi used that instant to push the blade away and counter with his own thrust.
Ryu side-stepped away, and spun the blade around as he jumped up and swung at Kuroi in a murderous overhand cut. Again, Kuroi parried by holding the blade out, used his hand to support the other side of the blade. “Impatient...aren't you?” Ryu said dully and pulled his blade away. They stood staring at each other for a minute, they were not on the Fields of the Giant anymore.
The chairs and lamp sat in the middle of the vast white room and Ryu walked towards Kuroi. “If you force me to kill these men...” He said, placing his swallow-blade back onto the straps which secured it on his back, “then you should not complain...”
Kuroi sheathed his sword, and looked at Ryu. “I thought you were an expert at this... I thought you would be finished by now! I am impatient! Those... those humans come traipsing about and all you do is rush the war!” He turned away in disgust. “Weren't you suppose to be teaching them a lesson?! This is the same thing that happens! Over and over!”
Ryu looked down. “It will take time. I cannot do this without time.” Ryu walked away. “I am going now...if you want me to do as you tell me, you need to stop being so...immature...” At that, Ryu disappeared, returning to the battlefield. He heard footsteps come up behind him and quickly turned around to meet Kuroi with his blade but instead, cut off the head of one of the Frides, a young boy, barely 16 by the looks of it, the look of fright still etched on his face as it fell to the ground.
Chapter 4: Azaezer
The warriors were tired. All of them sat slumped on the ground, many of them were tending to their wounds, yet one man sat on the ground and did nothing. Ryu looked lazily at everyone else, and watched a man wince as someone else helped wrap a bandage around his arm. 'A few scratches... And this is what they become?' He thought of what Kuroi had said to him, yet he could not agree with what Kuroi said. They may be ignorant at times, but looking at these faces, they are not faces of happy people.
“It's a depressing sight ain't it?” Ryu heard a voice from behind, and he turned around to see a young man, probably in his 20s, watching the people that Ryu had been watching. As he noticed Ryu had turned to him, he smiled and reached out a friendly hand, “names Azaezer,” he said in a casual tone.
Ryu looked at him for a second, then shook his hand and mumbled, “Ryu...”
Azayzer sat down next to Ryu and pulled out a loaf of bread he had hidden in his satchel; he munched on the bread happily and offered a piece to Ryu, who turned the loaf down without a word. Azaezer shrugged and looked at the others, “Not a pretty sight eh?” He said with a frown. “Wasn't always like this... No siree. Before, when King Phylliad was a great and just king. Kind he was, never hurt a soul if he couldn't...” He said the last words and then finished his bread. He took a sip from his water sack and turned to Ryu, “your not an Elisian are you?” Ryu looked at Azaezer and shook his head silently.
“Figures,” he said without a second thought, “you didn't look like any Elisian I know. Don't worry mate, I'm not from those parts either, although I have lived in Elisia for most of my life...” He looked up thoughtfully, and Ryu remained silent, not looking at Azaezer but at the ground as if he were almost about to sleep. “So what about you?” Azaezer said suddenly, turning to Ryu. Ryu looked up at Azaezer with a start.
“Huh?” He said blankly.
“If your not an Elisian, why you here?” Azaezer said curiously, looking at Ryu.
“I'm a mercenary....” Ryu said quietly, with a tone meaning to end the conversation there. Azaezer either did not catch the tone or did not care, he decided to talk on.
“Yeah, I've been seeing a lot of fresh faces recently.” He said, seemingly talking to the sky, “King Argerth is completely different from our late and great Phylliad... The moment Phylliad fell ill, Argerth took his place and commanded the army to strike our neighbor countries...” Azaezer said this with a bit of sadness. Ryu remained quiet, not knowing what to say.
'Why is this kid talking to me?' Ryu thought quietly, but didn't say anything. He stared at the night sky, and then shifted his sitting. Azaezer looked at Ryu, and then suddenly, a huge explosion shook the ground. Both of them turned to see the south flank ablaze, a huge flaming rock lying on the ground, with several people lying around it ominously still.
One man stood there, his eyes in shock as he saw one of his friend's body, lying black and burnt in front of him. He looked at the body for a second, then screamed. A scream of rage. Picking up his sword, he ran through the lines, seemingly a one-man army charging to attack the Frides. Many people attempted to hold him back and talk some sense into him, but the man was berserk, and he pushed the others away. Out in the open fields, he charged, screaming with fury. Ten seconds later, he died, his rage gone, four arrows pierced into his body. Ryu and Azaezer watched the man charge to his death, and for once, Ryu was the one who broke the silence.
“Azaezer...” He said, and turned to Ryu with a glance. Ryu still looked at the spot where the rock had struck, “why do these men fight?”
Azaezer shrugged, “them? Who knows... Family, friends... Maybe glory.” He shook his head, “everyone has their reasons... Me? I fight for my family.”
“Family?” Ryu looked at Azaezer oddly.
“My family is a poor family.” Azaezer said quietly, “they have had to do things I am not proud of. They did it for a good cause though. If it meant the survival of my little sister, they would do anything to protect her... Sadly... They were caught thieving a large amount of supplies from the local market... I plead for the magistrate to let them out, and he saw that I was fit, and said, 'if you can help our family, I can help your family.' Of course, I didn't know what he meant then, but even if I knew I would still have signed up.” Ryu stared at Azaezer, and then turned away. Silence overcame the area, they had nothing more to say. “Well...” Azaezer started, standing up, “it's getting late, I'm going to go catch a few hours before we start again in the morning.” With that, Azaezer disappeared, leaving Ryu to think alone.
'Humans.... Their minds are awfully confusing...' Ryu stood up and closed his eyes. 'About one thousand people are infected here... Seven hundred where the Frides are...' He opened his eyes and solemnly looked at the forces of Frides that at the top of a hill. 'I think it's nearly time...'
Chapter 5: Silence
Footsteps were heard around Ryu, a group of 100, jogging quickly and quietly. Ryu itched to turn around and return to the Fields of the Giants, but doing that would give him away. 'Oh, if only we were like their fantasies...' Ryu thought regretfully.
The gods that the humans of the earth thought of was far obscure; all-powerful beings that are the reason that anything happens. Complete lies, gods are just beings that are superior to humans. Ryu shook his head, then looked ahead at where they were.
A small quiet town just a mile northeast of the plains, in newly claimed Elisian territory. A small quiet farm town, Ryu's group was sent to obtain extra supplies for the army. What he did not know was the time that the journey would take. He thought only a few hours, but apparently, requesting for supplies takes a lot more time then transporting it.
Ryu tapped his foot impatiently as their captain “sweet talked” the chief of the town. ' Ugh... At this rate we will never be back at the fields...' The captain was clearly not elected for his brains, or charisma. Ryu yawned, and walked away, Azaezer turned back to see Ryu sitting on the grass, and walked up to him.
“A war is on our foots and you have the guts to lie in the grass smelling roses?” Azaezer said with a grin. Ryu stared at Azaezer, then rolled his eyes.
“I'm guessing this will take a while...” Ryu said with a slight tone of annoyance, “might as well relax until then, right?” He crossed both arms behind his head and laid down onto the grass. Ryu closed his eyes, feeling the wind go through his hair, rustling the trees around the area. The warm sunlight gave Ryu a feeling he had not felt in a long time. Tranquility. He heard Azaezer sit down next to him, yet Ryu made no movement or reactions of any sort.
For the first time, Ryu did not want to leave. He felt none of the pressures of another god looking over him. Confused. In a middle of a war, a war which he should not be in, he still enjoys the Earth's green grass and blue skies as if he were... He were... What? Not a human, he did not have those feelings. Not a god, a god could care less about the Earth, as long as it was not destroyed. Being a god, a god of fear, something he did not even want. He caused emotions to run deep within human veins, many times he had done this, yet why was this any different?
He opened his eyes to see not Azaezer, but a pair of shining green eyes staring back down at him. Eyes of a female, she had long blond hair, but was tied in a ponytail, she looked at him for a few more seconds, then closed one eye in a wink.
“Why hello there sleepy head.” She said in a light and playful tone. She smiled and Ryu noticed how similar that smile was to Anya's smile. Azaezer stood a few feet behind the blonde girl with arms crossed and a look full of thought. She looked curiously at Ryu, “I'm Cecil... Your... Ryu, right?”
Ryu looked at the girl and noddds once. At this point, Cecil is kneeling right next to Ryu, her head only a few inches from Ryu. As Ryu starts to rise, Cecil steps up and backs a few steps to give Ryu room. Azaezer smiles while shaking his head.
“You've been asleep for well over an hour.” Azaezer said looking at Cecil. “She came about half an hour ago, I caught her watching us behind a bush.” He said the last words with a hint of resignation.
Cecil grinned and gave a small chuckle, “Hehee... I was just curious to how two trained soldiers could be dozing off during a mission!” She looked at Ryu with a mock glare.
Ryu shook his head and stood up, he sighed as he saw the men were all relaxing now, sitting in the supply wagons or around it, talking or sleeping. “Are we leaving soon?” He said to Azaezer with a bored tone. Cecil looked slightly hurt that Ryu had completely ignored her, and Azaezer could see the look in her face. Azaezer felt pity for her, but he had hung around Ryu to know that he did not care for talk unless he asked.
“The captain said in about half an hour...” Azaezer said, then turned to Cecil, “well... I think we are a bit hungy, did you not tell me of your mother's delicious cookings?” Cecil looked up at Azaezer and could tell what Azaezer was trying to do.
She nodded with a smile. “If you two would like... You could come to our home... Only for for a few minutes that is...” She said shyly, looking at Ryu, who was looking back.
Ryu smiled, 'hmm... Even her manner is strikingly similar to Anya...' He noticed both of them were looking at him, and he nodded once, “alright... But just for a few...” They were beginning to walk when suddenly, the everything slowed.
Ryu stopped, and looked up, everything seemed like a blur, nothing moved, as if they were stopped in time. He turned to see Kyria standing on the steps of a house. She wore a black cloak that covered herself, and she looked solemn. He watched Kyria as she stood up and walked over to Ryu. She looked at him for a few moments, then reached her hand slowly to Ryu. Before she was able to touch him, she suddenly started to look warped. Everything seemed to be pulled away from Ryu, as if the dimensions decided Ryu must be alone. Flickering darkness, a deformed human appeared in front of Ryu.
Its eyes were pure white, it's mouth was open, drool slipping out of itself. The limbs seemed to be bent in ways not possible without excessive pain. The person seemed to be straining just to stand. With one word, Ryu suddenly realized what was happened. It uttered quietly, hissing out the word.
”Hate....”
BOOM! An explosion made Ryu, Azaezer and Cecil fly off their feets and land a few feets on the ground sprawled. Ryu recovered quickly and stood back up, looking as the wagons were ablaze with fire. Azaezer helped Cecil get back up, and they watched as men screamed and turned to run, as the Angel of Hate stepped off the remainings of the wagon.
Chapter 6: Returning to the Front
Flames crackled, Kyria stood there with eyes staring directly at Ryu. Ryu closed his hand into a fist, and then opened it again. With a flash of light, his swallow blade appeared in his hands. Kyria took note of that and shook her head.
“You will not be needing that... I have not come here to fight...” Kyria said, and looked at Azaezer and Cecil, “I have come to ask... What in the hell you are doing?” Ryu turned to see Azaezer and Cecil frozen in place. The fire from the wagon still burned, but everything else remained stock still. “I do not believe your orders were to befriend humans...” She said in a cold and quiet voice.
Ryu shook his head, “They are not my friends...” He looked at them both, the look of shock frozen into their faces. “It was not my choice that they decided to interfere...”
Kyria's lips curved into a thin smile, yet her eyes were still staring a hole into Ryu. “I am glad to hear that, my friend... For we are getting impatient... Too impatient perhaps...” She walked around, and looked up at the skies. “Humans are fragile creatures... Are they not?” She said, with the same thin smile. Ryu looked at her with a straight face, he could not tell what the goddess was thinking. “They will die, all of them, eventually... Yet we live on, to watch more and more die...” She spoke softly, melodically, as if she was singing a song.
“You have been taking too long.” Her words struck him like a dagger, changing suddenly from musical, to pure anger. Her face went dark, then suddenly was back to a smile, which was all too easy to see through. “So... We have decide, if you shall not act... We will!” Kyria gazed at the wagon, “it seems an explosion had occurred... A bomb from the supplies exploded... But who lighted this bomb? Perhaps someone who... Could not control themselves? Act fast Ryu, we have started it, now you must finish what you should have started...” With those last words, darkness surrounded the earth beneath Kyria, claws came out from the blackened ground, and Kyria was pulled down. All traces of the Goddess of Hate left, only the fire remaining.
A small slip of paper was left on the ground, and Ryu was quick to pick it up, and read the four words.
It begins at sundown.
Noises were heard, everyone began to move again, Ryu stood up from where he was at and looked at the fire. Soldiers were quickly running around to find some way to douse the fire. The captain saw the Azaezer ran to Ryu with Cecil trailing behind.
“What the hell happened?” Azaezer yelled over the screams of other people. Ryu realized that there was no time to waste, he spoke quickly.
“I don't know, but... But we have to help them! Cecil...” He turned to Cecil, who looked with a worried face. “We are definitely going to leave soon. You should... You should go.” Another explosion was heard. They turned to see that the entire bombs storage had blown up, and now what was left was a huge wall of fire.
Cecil hesitated, then shook her head and took a defiant stand. “No.” Ryu and Azaezer looked at her questioningly, this was not the happy and whimsical girl who they saw just a few minutes ago. Azaezer tried to reason with her.
“It's too dangerous here. We don't know what just happened, it could be an attack or anything!” Ryu saw that the fire was spreading, despite the groups efforts. While Azaezer tried to reason with Cecil, who seemed to still refuse to move, Ryu ran over to the captain, who was shouting orders to people and trying to keep control.
“Captain!” Ryu said, halting into a salute. “Forgive me for interrupting, but this fire can't be stopped in time!” The captain looked distractedly at Ryu, trying to order others while he listened.
“Don't you think I noticed?!” He yelled, and then yelled at a few more soldiers, who were throwing buckets of water into the fire. The fire was getting larger by the second, already, fire was creeping up to one of the closer houses.
“Captain! I think it's time to evacuate the civilians and save as much as we can!” Ryu said, hoping the captain would not be too prideful to listen. The captain thought for a second, then nodded.
“Hey you lazy good-for-nothings!” He said yelling at the men who were throwing water into the fire. They jumped when the Captain called them, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HORSING AROUND? TELL EVERYONE TO EVACUATE! WE HAVE TO GET OUT BEFORE THE FIRE TAKES US ALL!”
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King Argerth was tired. His eyebrows contracted in thought as one of his senior captains informed him of the outcomes of the last attack. After their last major conflict, the Frides had launched a counter force at the last minute, striking the Elisians from behind.
“20 men dead, a further 15 are dead. It seems the Frides are getting deperate, the forces caught us by surprise, but we were able to trap and capture the ones we didn't kill.” The man said with a bragging tone. King Argerth looked surprise at this news, and the captain read the expression on the Kings face and continued, “they are tied up at the moment. We were not sure what you wanted, so we have left them there.” King Argerth nodded and walked to the exit of the pavilion, without even dismissing his captain.
Only moments later, before the King had taken a few steps away from the pavilion, another captain rode by on his horse. Spotting the kind, he quickly turned and halted in front of the king. “My lord!” He said, with a look of urge, “The brigade that escorted the supply caravans have returned.”
Argerth looked at the man, and shook his head. He could tell something had gone wrong. “But?”
The man on the horse shook his head sadly, “something, we don't know how, happened... A bomb exploded before we could leave. Well... A chain reaction happened, and the entire village... Burned down.” He shook his head gravely. “We had to evacuate all the villagers, although we were able to get four supply caravans out, I am afraid we were too late to recover the other ones...”
Argerth cursed aloud, then whistled to a horse-keeper, who quickly brought the king's horse over to Argerth. Swinging up to the horse in one fluid motion, Argerth called out to his other guards, then said to the messenger, “where are the villagers now?”
“Well...” The messenger looked down, “Well... As you know sir, the village that was burned down was... Well, let's just say they are still not too fond of us. We did not know what else to do...” Argerth eyed him, then shook his head.
“Very well...” Argerth muttered frustratingly, “Set up tents for them, far back behind the lines.” He watched the sun. Afternoon. Argerth turned to his guards and they turned to him, waiting for commands on the horses they had mounted. “Come, let us interrogate these prisoners...”
Chapter 7: Prisoners of War
Ryu stood high in his horses stirrups. The sun still had a few hours before it set, he thought slowly of what he would do. Was this not his plan in the beginning? He was beginning to doubt himself. Why had he forestalled for so long anyways?
“Something on your mind?” Unbeknownst to Ryu, Cecil had rode up next to Ryu on another horse. Ryu looked up as Cecil walked by, a look of curiosity on her face. Even with a curious look, Ryu could see that the corners of her mouth was still slightly lifted, in a small sort of smile.
Ryu turned away, “nothing...” He said quietly, then he moved his horse ahead and slouched down. Cecil smiled and moved her horse ahead. When the horse was moving parallel, Cecil said nothing, just sat quietly smiling. Azaezer was quiet, his horse trotting further ahead Ryu and Cecil, Ryu noticed his head was down and he called out, “something wrong?”
Azaezer turned his head back with an absent-minded face. “Hmm?” He said before processing what Ryu had called out. “Oh, nothing... Just this... All these things that have been happening are quite...” His brows contracted as he thought of a word, “troublesome... With all that's been going on, the disease in the middle of the war, the Elisians will be hard pressed without the extra needed supplies as well...”
Ryu shook his head. Little did Azaezer know that the Frides were having just as harsh of a time. He didn't know why he cared about what Azaezer spoke of. Was he not the one that unleashed this horror onto the people? He shook his head again and continued on. Silence fell over the small party and only the hooves of their horses made sound.
When they neared the camp, they could tell it was not the same as before. More silent, everyone seemed to move around with their heads down, walking slowly away. Ryu could tell the effects of days of war and the disease were catching up to them. Soon the King would realize how terrible of a mistake he made. Perhaps if Kyria did not interfere, sooner or later the war would end before more bloodshed was made. Then he heard the horn of an oncoming attack, and shook his head.
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Water splashed onto the Friden, and the man shook his head and jumped in the chair he was tied to. Two men stood over him, dark figures in the flickering candle light, they watched the Friden calmly as he struggled to get out of the bonds he was in. Cursing and swearing, he yelled out at the men, and was quickly silenced by the back of the hand of one. The other grabbed the man by his collars and pulled him closer, speaking quietly with an evil grin, “What're you doin'? Tryin' to escape are we?” He pulled out a knife and put it under the prisoner's neck. “I ought t' kill you... You and all the others, you murdered my friend!”
“Enough!” A voice cut through the dark tent and everyone turned their eyes to the new person who entered the room. The two who were standing immediately knelt and the prisoner in the chair glared at the person. King Argerth stepped into the room accompanied by Victor. The tent was small and now slightly crowded with one man tied in a chair and at least half a dozen more on the ground. Argerth looked at the man in the chair, his eyes filled with hate, yet he could tell that the man was tired. He nodded and Victor signaled the other two who were watching over the prisoners to leave.
Argerth examined the man closely. He wore the traditional Friden Men-At-Arm's uniform, orange half-armor with a conical helmet. The Friden King, Felthorn's, emblem, a black hawk, was painted on to the back and it marked the warrior as one who served the Friden army. The noticeable stench of alcohol and the unkempt hair showed a man who was reckless and uncaring. The two stared at each other for a minute, then Argerth pulled his hand back, and slapped him.
The man did not try to avoid the blow, and when he was struck, he said nothing. He just returned to glaring at the King. Argerth nodded, and then asked, “What's your name?” The man gave him a look of suspicion. The strike, he was prepared for, but he had expected to be tortured. The King's tone was too calm.
“Toldor...” He said, still eyeing the King suspiciously.
“What do you know of us?” Argerth said, staring a hole straight into Toldor. Again, the man was caught off-gaurd by the randomness of the questions.
“As much as you know about us.” He said with a smirk. That ought to put the man in his place. Argerth nodded, he should have expected the man to answer as such. He stood tall and shook his head solemnly.
“Look,” he said, quiet and low, “I would rather prefer to cut off your head right now. But I have a hunch that there's something going on with the Frides that we need to know. Tell me boy...” His face was full of rage, waiting to burst out. “What do you know of a disease that controls the body?”
The man went pale when he heard what the King was saying, opening his mouth, yet nothing would come out. The King didn't need to hear anymore. He left without a word, leaving the captive tied to the chair with a shocked face.
Victor ran up besides the King, “What is it my lord?” The king clenched his fist angrily as he watched an oncoming Friden force attack. The bloodshed shone even from here, the sun rays of the setting sun reflecting from everywhere.
“Now I see...” He muttered, looking at the attack force. “Look Victor. Look at the way they move. At first I thought it was just fatigue, but it's something else. Fear... Even if they were to survive the battle, there is something else that they fear. Something they do not want to return to...”
Before Victor could respond, he realized the King was right. He further realized that even though the King saw that this was how the Fridens were acting, the Elisians were acting just the same. Something connected these feelings that kept these men from retreating; something that made them want to stop. Victor opened his mouth to respond, but just then, a scream, a bloodcurling scream pierced the sky.
Chapter 8: Charge of the Goblins
The battle between the Elisians and the Frides quickly dissolved as a new enemy approached. From the woods of the north came a group of about a hundred men, green to the skin and dressed in several different apparels. From a distance, they could not tell who the people were, but everyone stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the scream that seemed to go through everyone's ears.
A pause. Everyone froze, silence was the only thing that filled in the air. At once, the Frides dropped their weapons and started to run, and the Elisians did not stop them. Even from where King Argerth stood, he could feel the air of uncertainty that came from this army of green men. They had not moved from their spot, doing nothing but shuffling their feet, yet all attention was on them.
With blinding speed, they all charged the Elisian warriors. The Elisians quickly got into a defensive position, but this force seemed to be charging up to the people quick. Only the years of training kept the warriors in line from these men, drooling and snarling. As they came closer, everyone could see the black eyes, no hair, with clothes ripped in several places. Suddenly one man jumped through the border, and screamed at one of the charging men. The story was told without no words, they were twins. Quickly the man was swallowed up by the crowd of monsters, and the last image Argerth saw was the man being torn apart by the hands of his twin brother, green and growling.
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Azaezer drove his lance into the heart of the green human, yet he still stood, flailing his arms violently, not caring that a lance had pierced straight through him. Azaezer swore, using all his force to pull out the lance. His horse pulled quickly away and he turned around in time to see the monsters head sliced off by an axeman, who quickly fell to the countless others. He shivered and turned away, guiding his horse to the back lines where men were holding a position and picking off any of the humanoids who strayed away from the slaughter.
“They won't die from lances!” He yelled at a nearby man. The man looked at him, then turned back to the battle. “What the hell are they?!” The man shook his head furiously, his hands noticeably trembling with the sword he held.
“Demons... Monsters... Creations of Black Magic...” He spoke almost mechanically, his voice quiet and quivering. One of the monsters jumps out from the crowd and charges the line at blinding speed. Before Azaezer knew it, the man he had been talking to was pinned to the ground, crying for help as the green human continued to tear away at his arms which were covering his face. The claws dug into the skin like a shovel into dirt. A man ran up and started to slice the monster in its sides, but the thing merely ignored the cuts and continued ripping the mans flesh apart. Azaezer quickly grabs the pinned man's sword which he had dropped in the confusion and cuts the monster's head off with a single swipe.
The man's arms were ripped off, he was screaming in pain, but then he looks at his arms and faints. Azaezer looks at the man sadly, and then looks at the man who came to aid. “Take this man to the infirmary... I'll take his position.” He grabs the blood soaked sword and kite shield, and readies himself for the monsters that have just finished the slaughter, and were about to charge the defense line.
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Men rushed past Ryu, either charging in to aid their allies or turning away and running as far as they could. Everyone could tell that this force was unstoppable, already taking down nearly a hundred men, yet they were only able to kill a dozen at the most. He stood tall in his horse, not moving at all. He gripped the ash pole of his lance and was about to charge into the fight, but something stopped him. The tents that stood to his right were far away, yet he could see the emptiness of the place. They were all hiding in their tents; the innocent ones who were forced to come to the battlefield. He shrugged and turned back to the battle, about half of the monsters were dead, but already the warriors knew the cost for ending the battle was too much. Many dropped their weapons where they were and ran away.
It was a tireless battle. He saw, as the last few warriors fell and the Disease Goblins, (he had decided to name them,) were charging away from the bloodshed, finished with the defensive line, and moving onto the dugout the Elisians had made to keep the Frides from charging straight, where Ryu and a few hundred other warriors stood. He knew that they would be finished off from the large defensive group that stood around Ryu, but there was already more then enough deaths. In his mind, he commanded the Disease Goblins to turn away, and so they did. They had come from a running, to a dead stop, looking up at the sky for a few minutes, then turning away all in a group.
The footsteps of the approximate fifty Disease Goblins charging away was heard everywhere, nobody dared speak a word, all they could do was drop their weapons and sit down, trembling from exhaustion. He peered into the bloodshed and his heart stopped. He guided his horse through the thick of people, and once he was clear, he galloped quickly into the bloodshed. He had expected to find corpses among the pool of bodies, but looking around he could see that Azaezer's could not be found anywhere.
Chapter 9: Fear
The column traveled closer to the Friden wall. The fresh army of ten thousand that the Elisians had started with had withered down to half the size. The men marched, but they had a tired and scared look on their face. Half-expecting the Frides to rain down missiles and boiling oil onto the Elisians, warriors would be looking up more times then they looked forward. When the column halted, King Argerth rode his horse to the front, standing between the entire Elisian army, and a moat which protected the Friden capitol called Thania.
The White flag he held out was clearly visible, and even from afar, King Argerth could see the faces of the guards as they looked over the wall to obtain a better view of the army and its flag. A few moments passed without incident, then the massive drawbridge was slowly lowered to the ground. Three men walked across the bridge, stopping midway, ushering for the King to come forth. Argerth, Victor, and Argerth's second-in-command, Heath, walked quickly and quietly to meet with these people.
“Felthorn.” King Argerth spoke informally. The two men who stood behind Felthorn looked darkly at Argerth, thinking that he should not speak in such a matter. One of them stepped up and was about to speak but King Felthorn raised his arm to hold him back.
“Hold, Strider...” He spoke quietly and with an almost bored expression. Then he turned to Argerth and glared. “What do you want Argerth?!” He spat out angrily.
Argerth knew where this anger was coming from, and was completely aware of the thin line that separated the Elisians from getting rained on by projectiles. “I know what is happening to your people. You have seen us experience the destruction.” He spoke loud but calmly. Trying to ease out the anger that filled Felthorn.
“Well I do not care what you know!” He yelled out, stomping his a right foot as he did so. Victor studied him quietly. This was their second meeting, the first one being a compromise that failed, and Felthorn had not changed; stubborn and childish, it was a surprise he had not run the Frides into the ground. “You invade our lands...” He started, stepping forward as he did, “You kill our people, you brought this... This monstrous disease with you!”
“Fool!” Argerth yelled out at Felthorn's last comment. “You should know better then anyone that we did not bring any such disease!” He pointed at the Elisian army, “Do these look like men who want to be here?! They are just as afraid as your people!” Felthorn retreated a few steps, still with a look of disgust on his face. Argerth was intent on berating Felthorn with more words, but the man who was not Strider stepped in between them swiftly, acting as a wall between the two kings.
“This is no time to be arguing.” He spoke quietly, yet everyone could hear him. He was right, this was no time to fighting. “This deathly disease has caused men to turn into Goblins. They easily wiped out much of the Elisian army. The men are tired, and in need of shelter.”
Argerth nodded and looked back at Felthorn, who seemed to at least consider what the man spoke of. Felthorn thought for a minute, deep in concentration. “Well...” He finally spoke. “I may not know what brought this disease. Perhaps you did... But you have shown the flag of surrender. I cannot turn you away.” He nodded. “Very good. Eriol shall guide you through the citadel. We have enough space for about one hundred in the castle, but we have battlegrounds in which your men can camp out. Eriol?”
The man who stood between Felthorn and Argerth nodded silently, and with that Felthorn turned and briskly walked away with Strider. Eriol turned to Argerth and gestured urgently at the column. “You may want to signal them forth. The guardsmen were instructed not to attack unless attacked, so there is no need to worry as long as your men can keep control of themselves.”
Argerth told Victor to send the message and while watching him turn and run back to the column, he muttered under his breath, “with what has happened recently, they wouldn't dare.”
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Ryu rode with the entire column, forwards, quiet and dead-like. Deep in thought, he looked at the sky, still dark and ominous. Cecil rode beside him with a worried look. For a few minutes, this was how they were until finally Cecil broke the silence.
“Maybe he escaped.” She said, and she felt as if she had spoken too loudly, or perhaps that was just because nobody else was speaking. “I mean... Several others ran away right?”
Ryu turned to her coolly and shook his head. “I was watching the entire time. I would have noticed.” After the massacre, (there was no other word for it,) they had taken in body count and as Ryu had found before, Azaezer was not marked. The question was, how could a person disappear without anyone noticing it?
Cecil had not seen the bloodshed, having been told to hide in the tent until the battle was over. While she had not seen it, she had heard it and seen the effects that the massacre had on the other men. She shivered at what the Disease Goblins must have done, to change fully grown men from brave to scared in a few minutes.
Ryu reasoned that he was worrying so much about Azaezer was that he felt someone was toying with him. Whenever he felt that, it was usually true, and he knew exactly who it could be that was playing with his mind.
The piercing howl the all the men were now familiar with was heard again. This time, even Ryu was surprised.
Characters
The Gods
Models were obtained on the RO Database.
The Humans
Special Thanks to my sister for correcting grammatical mistakes
Prologue
The night sky was dark. Ominous clouds conquered most of the sky; a gloomy and depressing example of the war that had rose in the midst of the land. A massive burning rock flung through the sky, arcing swiftly in the air, and landing directly into an army of ten thousand men. Screams were heard, cries were made, but the war against the Elisians and the Frides continued. High up on a small cliff of plains, King Argerth of Elisia looked across the battlefield, his eyes full of hate and anger. He surveyed the fields, watching as small skirmishes broke out in different sections of the battlefield.
“All this...this to-ing and fro-ing, it's becoming quite nauseating.” Argerth turned around to see that his second-in-command, Heath, had been watching the skirmishes as well. Turning back to watch the field, he gave a small and bitter chuckle.
“Just wait dear Heath,” Argerth said coolly, “we have enough supplies to survive for weeks. The Frides may have the entire western region of Karoma but they cannot stop Elisians from taking over...” All Heath did was nod and the two men stood there watching as the pre-battle continued...
About a mile from where the Elisian commanders stood there laid a great and vast mountain, whose beauty and majesty could be seen from miles away. The mountain was 5 kilometers high, and 2 kilometers wide. It was what the Frides called The God's Ascension. The Frides, being superstitious and fearful, made extra caution not to near the mountain of the Gods. In fact, there were divine beings resting atop the great mountain. They were said to be near human size but without all the flaws and weaknesses. They were the most majestic and beautiful humans ever seen, each with feathery wings, and had the power to level grounds with a single wave. It was said that the face of a god was enough to be feared, for any person who looks at a god cannot do anything but to submit.
Anger was all that could be seen in these faces right now. The 6 gods of the mountain looked far below in disdain, over the war against the Elisians and the Frides. Each of the gods were different; 4 men and 2 women. They had beauty to sway and the power to destroy, but each in a 'different' way. Kuroi took the liberty to break the silence of irritation that had overcome the entire group. He spoke in a tone of obvious annoyance, “of course it was obvious from the first moment we saw these damned beings...” He slammed his fist down on the pearl white marble table in front of him.
“The problem is not what we can do, it is what we will do.” Haruken spoke with a little too much excitement in his voice. He eyed the battlefield maliciously, his mind racing with ideas.
“Now now,” said a light, more airy, voice, “let's think a bit before we act shall we?” Kyria looked at Haruken, stressed. “These are humans. They are not as accepting or as simple as anything else here. Perhaps...if we can find a way to...unsettle them?”
Kuroi turned to Kyria, “well of course! We weren't planning on killing all of them...” He looked back down and watched as another skirmish unfurled, this time in favor of the Frides. “Just enough to get the point across...”
“And how much would be enough?” Anya said in a slightly annoyed voice, “I do agree that something should be done but knowing you the world would become nothing but an empty space in less then a few seconds...” She scoffed and turned away.
Eriol looked at the others with a glum expression. “Does there really need to be any more deaths?” he asked with eyes full of hope, “if one of them wins...then fewer deaths will probably be certain, at least compared to what would happen if we interfere...”
“No,” Haruken spoke defiantly, “these humans will never learn as long as they keep continuing like this... Yet...” He looked down as the Elisians retreated back to their shield line. “They do react to fear. Perhaps we can shake them up a bit?”
Kyria nodded in approval. “Yes, that would be best. We just need someone who can play with others emotions...” She turned to Ryu as she said her last statement, one eye raised. “You have been quiet this whole time. What are your thoughts?” Kyria crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
Ryu looked at Kyria and sighed. “Well... It's obvious that I am this said person to, ahem, 'play with emotions?'” Everyone's eyes were turned to Ryu now obviously hoping for a yes. “Did it ever occur to any of you that this is not my job?”
“Oh please Ryu,” Kuroi said with a slight chuckle, “if anyone enjoys controlling people more then you I will be sure to personally allow you to gut my insides and feed them to the fish.”
Kyria ignored Kuroi in disgust. “All you have to do is maybe kill a few people. Make yourself seen by all and make them fear you. You don't even have to make it that complicated.”
Ryu looked back down at the battlefield, where another skirmish had broken out. After a few minutes he sighed and turned to the other five gods. “Very well. Two hundred bodies and fear coming right up...”
Chapter 1: The King's Dilemma
Argerth was impatient. He had taken over the entire eastern Karoma yet they could not breach a single section of the west. He sat in his large pavilion, a war table in front of him with his elder war counselors and heroes surrounding. His tactical administrator, Victor, had been talking about an ambush raid near the northern side of the plains.
“I think we should set up an ambush here,” Victor said, pointing to a small forest group, “it would not need to be a sizeable amount but just enough to make the enemies paranoid.” Argerth angrily slammed his fist onto the war table in response. Everyone looked at their king in surprise.
“To hell with these plans! Our army outnumbers their 1:2! We should've been done with this battle by now!” He growled angrily, standing up and glaring at Victor. Victor kept a straight face and continued to stare at Argerth.
“Sir...” he said slowly, “although we do have a larger amount then their own, we can not trust that their cavalry units are not going to charge in whilst we are fighting. The Frides are known for their excellent cavalry techniques.” He shook his head. “In the event of a straight on charge we could win but we would not be able to even imagine what the amount of casualties would be. They could be very low or extremely high.”
Argerth knew this to be true and even before he had started to complain he had known why there was to be no head-on charging. Still, Argerth was sick of waiting and he needed something to be done. “I see, but we have no time to run entire circles around the enemy.” He looked at the map of the plains, and then back to his war counselors. “Is there any more fancy ambushes and such?”
Victor shook his head and, upon seeing his lord's patience running thin, spoke quickly, “we just need to place an air of uncertainty among the Frides. There is no true need for the ambush to strike them hard.” Argerth nodded and everyone else in the pavilion seemed to agree.
“Very well...” Argerth said quietly, “shall we then?”
As the men were preparing to leave a man walked into the pavilion. He was tall, strong, and extremely handsome. He had shining white armor on and wore a long billowing blue cape. His silver-white hair covered one eye and he had the look of wisdom in his eyes. “My lord,” he spoke, kneeling to the ground, his armor clinking as he moved, “I apologize for the interruption. There has been a massive outbreak... Sir, we do not know what to do.”
The men in the tent reacted instantly to the news and Argerth eyed the newcomer suspiciously, “What? What do you mean by that?” He frowned in deep thought. “An outbreak? You mean like a disease?”
The newcomer nodded his head gravely. “The medics have no idea what has happened. Our people are acting frighteningly odd.” He looked up at the leaders with a serious face. “They have started acting seemingly without control of their own bodies.”
Argerth could not believe what he was hearing. “Uncontrolled?” He paced a few steps back and forth, his hand stroking his chin as he thought for a few more moments. “Urgh, damn nuisances!” He slammed his fist on the table once more. The tent was silent. For several minutes nobody spoke. All the men watched the king, waiting for his choice of action. He took a deep breath and looked at the newcomer. “What is your name?”
“I am Ryu a knight of the sixth cavalry brigade.” Ryu spoke quickly, the sense of urge in his voice obvious, “my commander told me to inform you that this...this new disease has spread. This sickness has already affected over a hundred people in the matter of a couple hours. We fear that this may spread further and with the battle nearing we felt needed to inform you with haste.”
Argerth looked at the messenger, nodding his head in agreement. “Very well, let us see this 'disease' shall we?”
Ryu, Argerth, and his group of personal gaurds rode quickly to the northern side of the fields, where Ryu's brigade and the diseased were stationed. Field medics had taken the only precautions they could, giving the groups masks to cover their mouth and warning them not to stay too long. A few men were bedded down and some were even being restrained, although at the moment the restrained looked quite peaceful.
“The restrained ones are dangerous. Some of them have even been attempting to kill others.” A field medic looked sadly at one of the calm faces and pointed over to a burning pile of ashes. The whole group could already smell what they had been burning but that did not comfort them, as the smell was something that one would not want to smell: the smell of burning flesh. “We have had to burn 20 already and we fear we may have to kill more, seeing as we cannot find anyway to eliminate this... Luckily this disease has not been spreading too quickly. But if it spreads at all anymore we may have to start killing and burning live ones...”
Argerth looked solemn, he shook his head sadly as he stared at one of the persons, shaking violently in their bed. “This is no good, we cannot risk our entire army becoming like this!” He stood there, thinking even more. “Killing and burning these men may save the army, but I do not believe that it will help their morale... This battle has been exhausting enough. Anymore and they will not have the will to fight.”
As Argerth thought, he did not see as one of the diseased persons hopped out of their bed and, quick as a flash, ran up behind the king and wrapped his arms around the king's neck, pulling towards him and causing the Argerth to go blue with fear and anger.
Chapter 2: Changing
The God's Ascension was covered in dark clouds. According to the Friden farmers and storytellers, the clouds reflect the emotions of the gods that lived up in the mountains. If there were no clouds and the sky was sunny, that meant that the gods were content with the people. If there were few clouds, that meant that the gods did not care for what the people did at the moment. The dark and ominous clouds that dominated to sky currently seemed to stretch for miles, like a sea of dark blue.
Tension a top of the mountain was high as Kuroi stood at the ledge of the mountains with a cold stare. He cursed angrily under his breath, frustration and anger apparent in his face, and turned back to the white temple that was his home. “Ryu should be done by now...” he muttered to himself, “what's taking him so long?!”
Eriol sat in a vast white room. The only things in the room were pearl white chairs and a small lamp, which stood in the very middle of the room. The room had space for many things yet all that was present at the moment was the blue-haired angel reading a leather-bound book. He looked up curiously as Kuroi stormed in, looking for someone to rant to. Shaking his head, Eriol returned to his book ignoring Kuroi as he appeared in front of Eriol with a look of pure hate.
“So this is what you do with your time hmm?” Kuroi said quietly and annoyed. Eriol looked up at Kuroi with an expectant face. He knew that Kuroi was impatient and he knew why Kuroi was impatient.
Eriol sighed, “You know, these humans can come up with the most creative things. This story is very intriguing...” Eriol spoke calmly without looking away from his book. “Have you read this book before? It's about a knight who saves the kingdom from an evil dragon. A fantasy that every child would love to be a part of, right?” He closed the book and looked up to Kuroi with a playful smile.
Kuroi was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. He realized that nothing needed to be said and with one quick movement struck Eriol across the face. The book made a small noise as it hit the ground, then the room was silent. Eriol did not react. He simply looked back up to Kuroi with a calm face, “You know,” he started, and leaned over to pick up the book, “hitting me will not 'exterminate' the humans and sending Ryu down there will not either.” Eriol showed his first sign of anger glaring up at Kuroi with eyes of ice.
Kuroi stared at Eriol for a second before breaking the impasse and taking a few steps away. He scoffed and turned. “Who says I want to kill them all?” He walked away, anger boiling up inside of him. Had he been so easy to read? Eriol was able to figure him out just like that, but Eriol had always been excellent at comprehending the incomprehensible.
Eriol stood up as Kuroi was about to exit the room and yelled out, “he never wanted to become a God you know.” Kuroi stopped at these words and turned around, looking straight at Kuroi. Before he was able to say anything Haruken appeared behind Kuroi and both pairs of eyes turned to him. He looked at them with solemn eyes and turned to Eriol.
“None of us wanted to become what we are...did we?” He started and looked away, as if he was in some far-away land and not in front of two gods. “It was because we were the best of the best. That is why we were chosen by the Council. To watch Earth for the rest of eternity, never able to stop...” He turned back to the two, who were quiet and still. “Ryu was chosen to become the God of Fear, not because he enjoyed it but because he was the best at it. He knows how to get into people's minds, not only for fear, but for anything.."
“As are all of us...do we enjoy being gods? To watch over and regulate the world every day? No, yet we still do it because that is what our jobs are. We cannot stop who we are nor can we stop who we become. The only thing we can do is...adapt. Change our ways to adjust with the surroundings. Is that not what everyone does?”
When he spoke those last words he took one more look at Kuroi, then walked away, leaving both the gods stunned and speechless. Kuroi stood with his eyes looking down on the ground, his fists clenched and shaking. Then, without a word, quickly walked away from the room. Eriol looked at Kuroi's retreating figure, not speaking or taking his eyes off that direction, even when Kuroi disappeared. He looked at his book and then at the doorway. “Yet...even when others adapt...” Eriol spoke, quietly and softly, “there are some who refuse and those are the ones who save the world...or ruin it...”
Chapter 3: The War Begins
The battlefield which the Elisians and Frides fought was a vast plain, promptly called the Plains of the Giant. The plains had many hills, basins, and cliffs, making it perfect for striking enemies off-guard. The sun was rising as a small cavalry group charged to intercept another group of skirmishers. A quick fight ensued and then the two groups broke off to retreat quickly back to their lines. High up on a small cliff that overlooked the Plains behind the Elisian lines, King Argerth stood with his group of gaurds watching.
“Who the hell is he?” he said, watching the small cavalry army retreat. Even from afar, he could see the shining white armor amidst the Elisian armies blue. “He sprung up from no where, tells us of this ominous news, then just acts as if he is an Elisian, yet no one knows who he is!” He turned to Victor, who was always standing behind him to the right and looked expectantly as if Victor knew exactly who he was. All Victor could do was shrug, for he had asked many people, but nobody knew who he was. “If he's a spy...” King Argerth said with a look of discontent, “we will have to kill him. He knows too much...”
Victor looked at the King hesitantly, his thoughts full of superstition and fear. He did not know if it was rational, yet he felt he still had to ask. “Do...do you think that maybe he brought this...this plague?” Argerth looked back at the field and paused for a few seconds. He was a fair and just king, and he knew when chances needed to be taken.
“Let him be for now. Remember...he saved my life.” He said, and the whole group went silent. They did not trust the man who had changed the tides of the battle so quickly, even though he had been able to pull the diseased man off of the King's back. The plague was spreading quickly. Nearly 500 people had now been afflicted by the disease and all in the northern flank. The King had to move much of his forces to the north, farther away from the main group, to cover up the receding and thinning line. “As of now...we cannot retreat. Let us...let us attack. This is now or never. We cannot wait for this disease to eat us alive.”
The group stared at him, and did not know how to react. On one hand, they were sure they could have won a day before, but now, they were unsure. Victor was the one who broke the silence, “give the orders sir?”
King Argerth looked at his army, a vast number, with a small broken line to the north. “Yes... Tell everyone, we charge...”
--
Ryu could feel the charge about to be ordered before he heard the horn blow. The warriors were getting restless, a days wait, and the new disease made all the people uneasy. The King had to either retreat or attack, and he chose the latter, sealing his fate. As the horn sounded, and everyone yelled their battle cries, Ryu muttered under his breath, “fool...”
Being in the cavalry brigade, Ryu's group was one of the first to charge the line. Cavalry's best advantage was the first few minutes that they attacked. The army charged together, only the sick were left behind, yet that was a very large amount, and it was quite noticeable. The Frides held their ground, waiting for contact, bloodthirsty and itching to be able to kill the invaders of their land. 'Oh... What they don't know...'
As a new fight broke out, horses and men began to fall everywhere. Ryu took that moment to hold his position and look over to see how it was going. Blood was spilt everywhere and more cries were heard as horses came crashing down, taking a more men along with it. He nodded and was about to rise when, suddenly, something caught his eye. He charged into the thick of the battle drilling his iron lance into anyone foolish enough to fight against a battlehorse. A small opening was surrounded with fallen bodies of Elisians all laid down in a circle, as if they all died when they tried to charge the man in the center of the opening.
He stood there with bright flaming red hair, and shining red armor. He held out a sword which was shining red and seemed to be glowing. The eyes were filled with joy, the joy of blood, and his mouth was curved in a large grin, as if this was the happiest moment of his life. He stared at Ryu, and Ryu glared back, not knowing what to say. Quick as a flash, the man rushed head-on towards Ryu, ramming straight into the horse and sending Ryu flying a few feet back. The man looked stood over Ryu with his sword dangerously close to Ryu's head and for that moment, Kuroi grinned at Ryu.
“What are you doing here?” Ryu whispered angrily. He could still hear clashes of other swords around him and cries but it seemed as if only they two were there on the battlefields. His lance was already discarded and his favored weapon was still on his back. Kuroi got closer to Ryu and his sword barely touched Ryu's neck.
“Fighting for my land, what do you think?” In that instant, Ryu pulled up one leg and kicked Kuroi square in the chest, sending him stumbling back. Ryu then hopped up quickly and pulled out his weapon. He held the weapon lightly, as it began to glow. It was a swallow-blade, beautifully crafted, and it had glowing white blades protruding from both sides of the handle. Ryu spun his blade around and charged at Kuroi, making a quick sweep to the head, but Kuroi parried the strike almost lazily, and the screech of steel on steel made them both wince. As the swords clashed, Kuroi looked at Ryu with a smile. “This is taking you too long! If you don't finish this quickly... I will!” Kuroi used that instant to push the blade away and counter with his own thrust.
Ryu side-stepped away, and spun the blade around as he jumped up and swung at Kuroi in a murderous overhand cut. Again, Kuroi parried by holding the blade out, used his hand to support the other side of the blade. “Impatient...aren't you?” Ryu said dully and pulled his blade away. They stood staring at each other for a minute, they were not on the Fields of the Giant anymore.
The chairs and lamp sat in the middle of the vast white room and Ryu walked towards Kuroi. “If you force me to kill these men...” He said, placing his swallow-blade back onto the straps which secured it on his back, “then you should not complain...”
Kuroi sheathed his sword, and looked at Ryu. “I thought you were an expert at this... I thought you would be finished by now! I am impatient! Those... those humans come traipsing about and all you do is rush the war!” He turned away in disgust. “Weren't you suppose to be teaching them a lesson?! This is the same thing that happens! Over and over!”
Ryu looked down. “It will take time. I cannot do this without time.” Ryu walked away. “I am going now...if you want me to do as you tell me, you need to stop being so...immature...” At that, Ryu disappeared, returning to the battlefield. He heard footsteps come up behind him and quickly turned around to meet Kuroi with his blade but instead, cut off the head of one of the Frides, a young boy, barely 16 by the looks of it, the look of fright still etched on his face as it fell to the ground.
Chapter 4: Azaezer
The warriors were tired. All of them sat slumped on the ground, many of them were tending to their wounds, yet one man sat on the ground and did nothing. Ryu looked lazily at everyone else, and watched a man wince as someone else helped wrap a bandage around his arm. 'A few scratches... And this is what they become?' He thought of what Kuroi had said to him, yet he could not agree with what Kuroi said. They may be ignorant at times, but looking at these faces, they are not faces of happy people.
“It's a depressing sight ain't it?” Ryu heard a voice from behind, and he turned around to see a young man, probably in his 20s, watching the people that Ryu had been watching. As he noticed Ryu had turned to him, he smiled and reached out a friendly hand, “names Azaezer,” he said in a casual tone.
Ryu looked at him for a second, then shook his hand and mumbled, “Ryu...”
Azayzer sat down next to Ryu and pulled out a loaf of bread he had hidden in his satchel; he munched on the bread happily and offered a piece to Ryu, who turned the loaf down without a word. Azaezer shrugged and looked at the others, “Not a pretty sight eh?” He said with a frown. “Wasn't always like this... No siree. Before, when King Phylliad was a great and just king. Kind he was, never hurt a soul if he couldn't...” He said the last words and then finished his bread. He took a sip from his water sack and turned to Ryu, “your not an Elisian are you?” Ryu looked at Azaezer and shook his head silently.
“Figures,” he said without a second thought, “you didn't look like any Elisian I know. Don't worry mate, I'm not from those parts either, although I have lived in Elisia for most of my life...” He looked up thoughtfully, and Ryu remained silent, not looking at Azaezer but at the ground as if he were almost about to sleep. “So what about you?” Azaezer said suddenly, turning to Ryu. Ryu looked up at Azaezer with a start.
“Huh?” He said blankly.
“If your not an Elisian, why you here?” Azaezer said curiously, looking at Ryu.
“I'm a mercenary....” Ryu said quietly, with a tone meaning to end the conversation there. Azaezer either did not catch the tone or did not care, he decided to talk on.
“Yeah, I've been seeing a lot of fresh faces recently.” He said, seemingly talking to the sky, “King Argerth is completely different from our late and great Phylliad... The moment Phylliad fell ill, Argerth took his place and commanded the army to strike our neighbor countries...” Azaezer said this with a bit of sadness. Ryu remained quiet, not knowing what to say.
'Why is this kid talking to me?' Ryu thought quietly, but didn't say anything. He stared at the night sky, and then shifted his sitting. Azaezer looked at Ryu, and then suddenly, a huge explosion shook the ground. Both of them turned to see the south flank ablaze, a huge flaming rock lying on the ground, with several people lying around it ominously still.
One man stood there, his eyes in shock as he saw one of his friend's body, lying black and burnt in front of him. He looked at the body for a second, then screamed. A scream of rage. Picking up his sword, he ran through the lines, seemingly a one-man army charging to attack the Frides. Many people attempted to hold him back and talk some sense into him, but the man was berserk, and he pushed the others away. Out in the open fields, he charged, screaming with fury. Ten seconds later, he died, his rage gone, four arrows pierced into his body. Ryu and Azaezer watched the man charge to his death, and for once, Ryu was the one who broke the silence.
“Azaezer...” He said, and turned to Ryu with a glance. Ryu still looked at the spot where the rock had struck, “why do these men fight?”
Azaezer shrugged, “them? Who knows... Family, friends... Maybe glory.” He shook his head, “everyone has their reasons... Me? I fight for my family.”
“Family?” Ryu looked at Azaezer oddly.
“My family is a poor family.” Azaezer said quietly, “they have had to do things I am not proud of. They did it for a good cause though. If it meant the survival of my little sister, they would do anything to protect her... Sadly... They were caught thieving a large amount of supplies from the local market... I plead for the magistrate to let them out, and he saw that I was fit, and said, 'if you can help our family, I can help your family.' Of course, I didn't know what he meant then, but even if I knew I would still have signed up.” Ryu stared at Azaezer, and then turned away. Silence overcame the area, they had nothing more to say. “Well...” Azaezer started, standing up, “it's getting late, I'm going to go catch a few hours before we start again in the morning.” With that, Azaezer disappeared, leaving Ryu to think alone.
'Humans.... Their minds are awfully confusing...' Ryu stood up and closed his eyes. 'About one thousand people are infected here... Seven hundred where the Frides are...' He opened his eyes and solemnly looked at the forces of Frides that at the top of a hill. 'I think it's nearly time...'
Chapter 5: Silence
Footsteps were heard around Ryu, a group of 100, jogging quickly and quietly. Ryu itched to turn around and return to the Fields of the Giants, but doing that would give him away. 'Oh, if only we were like their fantasies...' Ryu thought regretfully.
The gods that the humans of the earth thought of was far obscure; all-powerful beings that are the reason that anything happens. Complete lies, gods are just beings that are superior to humans. Ryu shook his head, then looked ahead at where they were.
A small quiet town just a mile northeast of the plains, in newly claimed Elisian territory. A small quiet farm town, Ryu's group was sent to obtain extra supplies for the army. What he did not know was the time that the journey would take. He thought only a few hours, but apparently, requesting for supplies takes a lot more time then transporting it.
Ryu tapped his foot impatiently as their captain “sweet talked” the chief of the town. ' Ugh... At this rate we will never be back at the fields...' The captain was clearly not elected for his brains, or charisma. Ryu yawned, and walked away, Azaezer turned back to see Ryu sitting on the grass, and walked up to him.
“A war is on our foots and you have the guts to lie in the grass smelling roses?” Azaezer said with a grin. Ryu stared at Azaezer, then rolled his eyes.
“I'm guessing this will take a while...” Ryu said with a slight tone of annoyance, “might as well relax until then, right?” He crossed both arms behind his head and laid down onto the grass. Ryu closed his eyes, feeling the wind go through his hair, rustling the trees around the area. The warm sunlight gave Ryu a feeling he had not felt in a long time. Tranquility. He heard Azaezer sit down next to him, yet Ryu made no movement or reactions of any sort.
For the first time, Ryu did not want to leave. He felt none of the pressures of another god looking over him. Confused. In a middle of a war, a war which he should not be in, he still enjoys the Earth's green grass and blue skies as if he were... He were... What? Not a human, he did not have those feelings. Not a god, a god could care less about the Earth, as long as it was not destroyed. Being a god, a god of fear, something he did not even want. He caused emotions to run deep within human veins, many times he had done this, yet why was this any different?
He opened his eyes to see not Azaezer, but a pair of shining green eyes staring back down at him. Eyes of a female, she had long blond hair, but was tied in a ponytail, she looked at him for a few more seconds, then closed one eye in a wink.
“Why hello there sleepy head.” She said in a light and playful tone. She smiled and Ryu noticed how similar that smile was to Anya's smile. Azaezer stood a few feet behind the blonde girl with arms crossed and a look full of thought. She looked curiously at Ryu, “I'm Cecil... Your... Ryu, right?”
Ryu looked at the girl and noddds once. At this point, Cecil is kneeling right next to Ryu, her head only a few inches from Ryu. As Ryu starts to rise, Cecil steps up and backs a few steps to give Ryu room. Azaezer smiles while shaking his head.
“You've been asleep for well over an hour.” Azaezer said looking at Cecil. “She came about half an hour ago, I caught her watching us behind a bush.” He said the last words with a hint of resignation.
Cecil grinned and gave a small chuckle, “Hehee... I was just curious to how two trained soldiers could be dozing off during a mission!” She looked at Ryu with a mock glare.
Ryu shook his head and stood up, he sighed as he saw the men were all relaxing now, sitting in the supply wagons or around it, talking or sleeping. “Are we leaving soon?” He said to Azaezer with a bored tone. Cecil looked slightly hurt that Ryu had completely ignored her, and Azaezer could see the look in her face. Azaezer felt pity for her, but he had hung around Ryu to know that he did not care for talk unless he asked.
“The captain said in about half an hour...” Azaezer said, then turned to Cecil, “well... I think we are a bit hungy, did you not tell me of your mother's delicious cookings?” Cecil looked up at Azaezer and could tell what Azaezer was trying to do.
She nodded with a smile. “If you two would like... You could come to our home... Only for for a few minutes that is...” She said shyly, looking at Ryu, who was looking back.
Ryu smiled, 'hmm... Even her manner is strikingly similar to Anya...' He noticed both of them were looking at him, and he nodded once, “alright... But just for a few...” They were beginning to walk when suddenly, the everything slowed.
Ryu stopped, and looked up, everything seemed like a blur, nothing moved, as if they were stopped in time. He turned to see Kyria standing on the steps of a house. She wore a black cloak that covered herself, and she looked solemn. He watched Kyria as she stood up and walked over to Ryu. She looked at him for a few moments, then reached her hand slowly to Ryu. Before she was able to touch him, she suddenly started to look warped. Everything seemed to be pulled away from Ryu, as if the dimensions decided Ryu must be alone. Flickering darkness, a deformed human appeared in front of Ryu.
Its eyes were pure white, it's mouth was open, drool slipping out of itself. The limbs seemed to be bent in ways not possible without excessive pain. The person seemed to be straining just to stand. With one word, Ryu suddenly realized what was happened. It uttered quietly, hissing out the word.
”Hate....”
BOOM! An explosion made Ryu, Azaezer and Cecil fly off their feets and land a few feets on the ground sprawled. Ryu recovered quickly and stood back up, looking as the wagons were ablaze with fire. Azaezer helped Cecil get back up, and they watched as men screamed and turned to run, as the Angel of Hate stepped off the remainings of the wagon.
Chapter 6: Returning to the Front
Flames crackled, Kyria stood there with eyes staring directly at Ryu. Ryu closed his hand into a fist, and then opened it again. With a flash of light, his swallow blade appeared in his hands. Kyria took note of that and shook her head.
“You will not be needing that... I have not come here to fight...” Kyria said, and looked at Azaezer and Cecil, “I have come to ask... What in the hell you are doing?” Ryu turned to see Azaezer and Cecil frozen in place. The fire from the wagon still burned, but everything else remained stock still. “I do not believe your orders were to befriend humans...” She said in a cold and quiet voice.
Ryu shook his head, “They are not my friends...” He looked at them both, the look of shock frozen into their faces. “It was not my choice that they decided to interfere...”
Kyria's lips curved into a thin smile, yet her eyes were still staring a hole into Ryu. “I am glad to hear that, my friend... For we are getting impatient... Too impatient perhaps...” She walked around, and looked up at the skies. “Humans are fragile creatures... Are they not?” She said, with the same thin smile. Ryu looked at her with a straight face, he could not tell what the goddess was thinking. “They will die, all of them, eventually... Yet we live on, to watch more and more die...” She spoke softly, melodically, as if she was singing a song.
“You have been taking too long.” Her words struck him like a dagger, changing suddenly from musical, to pure anger. Her face went dark, then suddenly was back to a smile, which was all too easy to see through. “So... We have decide, if you shall not act... We will!” Kyria gazed at the wagon, “it seems an explosion had occurred... A bomb from the supplies exploded... But who lighted this bomb? Perhaps someone who... Could not control themselves? Act fast Ryu, we have started it, now you must finish what you should have started...” With those last words, darkness surrounded the earth beneath Kyria, claws came out from the blackened ground, and Kyria was pulled down. All traces of the Goddess of Hate left, only the fire remaining.
A small slip of paper was left on the ground, and Ryu was quick to pick it up, and read the four words.
It begins at sundown.
Noises were heard, everyone began to move again, Ryu stood up from where he was at and looked at the fire. Soldiers were quickly running around to find some way to douse the fire. The captain saw the Azaezer ran to Ryu with Cecil trailing behind.
“What the hell happened?” Azaezer yelled over the screams of other people. Ryu realized that there was no time to waste, he spoke quickly.
“I don't know, but... But we have to help them! Cecil...” He turned to Cecil, who looked with a worried face. “We are definitely going to leave soon. You should... You should go.” Another explosion was heard. They turned to see that the entire bombs storage had blown up, and now what was left was a huge wall of fire.
Cecil hesitated, then shook her head and took a defiant stand. “No.” Ryu and Azaezer looked at her questioningly, this was not the happy and whimsical girl who they saw just a few minutes ago. Azaezer tried to reason with her.
“It's too dangerous here. We don't know what just happened, it could be an attack or anything!” Ryu saw that the fire was spreading, despite the groups efforts. While Azaezer tried to reason with Cecil, who seemed to still refuse to move, Ryu ran over to the captain, who was shouting orders to people and trying to keep control.
“Captain!” Ryu said, halting into a salute. “Forgive me for interrupting, but this fire can't be stopped in time!” The captain looked distractedly at Ryu, trying to order others while he listened.
“Don't you think I noticed?!” He yelled, and then yelled at a few more soldiers, who were throwing buckets of water into the fire. The fire was getting larger by the second, already, fire was creeping up to one of the closer houses.
“Captain! I think it's time to evacuate the civilians and save as much as we can!” Ryu said, hoping the captain would not be too prideful to listen. The captain thought for a second, then nodded.
“Hey you lazy good-for-nothings!” He said yelling at the men who were throwing water into the fire. They jumped when the Captain called them, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HORSING AROUND? TELL EVERYONE TO EVACUATE! WE HAVE TO GET OUT BEFORE THE FIRE TAKES US ALL!”
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King Argerth was tired. His eyebrows contracted in thought as one of his senior captains informed him of the outcomes of the last attack. After their last major conflict, the Frides had launched a counter force at the last minute, striking the Elisians from behind.
“20 men dead, a further 15 are dead. It seems the Frides are getting deperate, the forces caught us by surprise, but we were able to trap and capture the ones we didn't kill.” The man said with a bragging tone. King Argerth looked surprise at this news, and the captain read the expression on the Kings face and continued, “they are tied up at the moment. We were not sure what you wanted, so we have left them there.” King Argerth nodded and walked to the exit of the pavilion, without even dismissing his captain.
Only moments later, before the King had taken a few steps away from the pavilion, another captain rode by on his horse. Spotting the kind, he quickly turned and halted in front of the king. “My lord!” He said, with a look of urge, “The brigade that escorted the supply caravans have returned.”
Argerth looked at the man, and shook his head. He could tell something had gone wrong. “But?”
The man on the horse shook his head sadly, “something, we don't know how, happened... A bomb exploded before we could leave. Well... A chain reaction happened, and the entire village... Burned down.” He shook his head gravely. “We had to evacuate all the villagers, although we were able to get four supply caravans out, I am afraid we were too late to recover the other ones...”
Argerth cursed aloud, then whistled to a horse-keeper, who quickly brought the king's horse over to Argerth. Swinging up to the horse in one fluid motion, Argerth called out to his other guards, then said to the messenger, “where are the villagers now?”
“Well...” The messenger looked down, “Well... As you know sir, the village that was burned down was... Well, let's just say they are still not too fond of us. We did not know what else to do...” Argerth eyed him, then shook his head.
“Very well...” Argerth muttered frustratingly, “Set up tents for them, far back behind the lines.” He watched the sun. Afternoon. Argerth turned to his guards and they turned to him, waiting for commands on the horses they had mounted. “Come, let us interrogate these prisoners...”
Chapter 7: Prisoners of War
Ryu stood high in his horses stirrups. The sun still had a few hours before it set, he thought slowly of what he would do. Was this not his plan in the beginning? He was beginning to doubt himself. Why had he forestalled for so long anyways?
“Something on your mind?” Unbeknownst to Ryu, Cecil had rode up next to Ryu on another horse. Ryu looked up as Cecil walked by, a look of curiosity on her face. Even with a curious look, Ryu could see that the corners of her mouth was still slightly lifted, in a small sort of smile.
Ryu turned away, “nothing...” He said quietly, then he moved his horse ahead and slouched down. Cecil smiled and moved her horse ahead. When the horse was moving parallel, Cecil said nothing, just sat quietly smiling. Azaezer was quiet, his horse trotting further ahead Ryu and Cecil, Ryu noticed his head was down and he called out, “something wrong?”
Azaezer turned his head back with an absent-minded face. “Hmm?” He said before processing what Ryu had called out. “Oh, nothing... Just this... All these things that have been happening are quite...” His brows contracted as he thought of a word, “troublesome... With all that's been going on, the disease in the middle of the war, the Elisians will be hard pressed without the extra needed supplies as well...”
Ryu shook his head. Little did Azaezer know that the Frides were having just as harsh of a time. He didn't know why he cared about what Azaezer spoke of. Was he not the one that unleashed this horror onto the people? He shook his head again and continued on. Silence fell over the small party and only the hooves of their horses made sound.
When they neared the camp, they could tell it was not the same as before. More silent, everyone seemed to move around with their heads down, walking slowly away. Ryu could tell the effects of days of war and the disease were catching up to them. Soon the King would realize how terrible of a mistake he made. Perhaps if Kyria did not interfere, sooner or later the war would end before more bloodshed was made. Then he heard the horn of an oncoming attack, and shook his head.
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Water splashed onto the Friden, and the man shook his head and jumped in the chair he was tied to. Two men stood over him, dark figures in the flickering candle light, they watched the Friden calmly as he struggled to get out of the bonds he was in. Cursing and swearing, he yelled out at the men, and was quickly silenced by the back of the hand of one. The other grabbed the man by his collars and pulled him closer, speaking quietly with an evil grin, “What're you doin'? Tryin' to escape are we?” He pulled out a knife and put it under the prisoner's neck. “I ought t' kill you... You and all the others, you murdered my friend!”
“Enough!” A voice cut through the dark tent and everyone turned their eyes to the new person who entered the room. The two who were standing immediately knelt and the prisoner in the chair glared at the person. King Argerth stepped into the room accompanied by Victor. The tent was small and now slightly crowded with one man tied in a chair and at least half a dozen more on the ground. Argerth looked at the man in the chair, his eyes filled with hate, yet he could tell that the man was tired. He nodded and Victor signaled the other two who were watching over the prisoners to leave.
Argerth examined the man closely. He wore the traditional Friden Men-At-Arm's uniform, orange half-armor with a conical helmet. The Friden King, Felthorn's, emblem, a black hawk, was painted on to the back and it marked the warrior as one who served the Friden army. The noticeable stench of alcohol and the unkempt hair showed a man who was reckless and uncaring. The two stared at each other for a minute, then Argerth pulled his hand back, and slapped him.
The man did not try to avoid the blow, and when he was struck, he said nothing. He just returned to glaring at the King. Argerth nodded, and then asked, “What's your name?” The man gave him a look of suspicion. The strike, he was prepared for, but he had expected to be tortured. The King's tone was too calm.
“Toldor...” He said, still eyeing the King suspiciously.
“What do you know of us?” Argerth said, staring a hole straight into Toldor. Again, the man was caught off-gaurd by the randomness of the questions.
“As much as you know about us.” He said with a smirk. That ought to put the man in his place. Argerth nodded, he should have expected the man to answer as such. He stood tall and shook his head solemnly.
“Look,” he said, quiet and low, “I would rather prefer to cut off your head right now. But I have a hunch that there's something going on with the Frides that we need to know. Tell me boy...” His face was full of rage, waiting to burst out. “What do you know of a disease that controls the body?”
The man went pale when he heard what the King was saying, opening his mouth, yet nothing would come out. The King didn't need to hear anymore. He left without a word, leaving the captive tied to the chair with a shocked face.
Victor ran up besides the King, “What is it my lord?” The king clenched his fist angrily as he watched an oncoming Friden force attack. The bloodshed shone even from here, the sun rays of the setting sun reflecting from everywhere.
“Now I see...” He muttered, looking at the attack force. “Look Victor. Look at the way they move. At first I thought it was just fatigue, but it's something else. Fear... Even if they were to survive the battle, there is something else that they fear. Something they do not want to return to...”
Before Victor could respond, he realized the King was right. He further realized that even though the King saw that this was how the Fridens were acting, the Elisians were acting just the same. Something connected these feelings that kept these men from retreating; something that made them want to stop. Victor opened his mouth to respond, but just then, a scream, a bloodcurling scream pierced the sky.
Chapter 8: Charge of the Goblins
The battle between the Elisians and the Frides quickly dissolved as a new enemy approached. From the woods of the north came a group of about a hundred men, green to the skin and dressed in several different apparels. From a distance, they could not tell who the people were, but everyone stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the scream that seemed to go through everyone's ears.
A pause. Everyone froze, silence was the only thing that filled in the air. At once, the Frides dropped their weapons and started to run, and the Elisians did not stop them. Even from where King Argerth stood, he could feel the air of uncertainty that came from this army of green men. They had not moved from their spot, doing nothing but shuffling their feet, yet all attention was on them.
With blinding speed, they all charged the Elisian warriors. The Elisians quickly got into a defensive position, but this force seemed to be charging up to the people quick. Only the years of training kept the warriors in line from these men, drooling and snarling. As they came closer, everyone could see the black eyes, no hair, with clothes ripped in several places. Suddenly one man jumped through the border, and screamed at one of the charging men. The story was told without no words, they were twins. Quickly the man was swallowed up by the crowd of monsters, and the last image Argerth saw was the man being torn apart by the hands of his twin brother, green and growling.
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Azaezer drove his lance into the heart of the green human, yet he still stood, flailing his arms violently, not caring that a lance had pierced straight through him. Azaezer swore, using all his force to pull out the lance. His horse pulled quickly away and he turned around in time to see the monsters head sliced off by an axeman, who quickly fell to the countless others. He shivered and turned away, guiding his horse to the back lines where men were holding a position and picking off any of the humanoids who strayed away from the slaughter.
“They won't die from lances!” He yelled at a nearby man. The man looked at him, then turned back to the battle. “What the hell are they?!” The man shook his head furiously, his hands noticeably trembling with the sword he held.
“Demons... Monsters... Creations of Black Magic...” He spoke almost mechanically, his voice quiet and quivering. One of the monsters jumps out from the crowd and charges the line at blinding speed. Before Azaezer knew it, the man he had been talking to was pinned to the ground, crying for help as the green human continued to tear away at his arms which were covering his face. The claws dug into the skin like a shovel into dirt. A man ran up and started to slice the monster in its sides, but the thing merely ignored the cuts and continued ripping the mans flesh apart. Azaezer quickly grabs the pinned man's sword which he had dropped in the confusion and cuts the monster's head off with a single swipe.
The man's arms were ripped off, he was screaming in pain, but then he looks at his arms and faints. Azaezer looks at the man sadly, and then looks at the man who came to aid. “Take this man to the infirmary... I'll take his position.” He grabs the blood soaked sword and kite shield, and readies himself for the monsters that have just finished the slaughter, and were about to charge the defense line.
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Men rushed past Ryu, either charging in to aid their allies or turning away and running as far as they could. Everyone could tell that this force was unstoppable, already taking down nearly a hundred men, yet they were only able to kill a dozen at the most. He stood tall in his horse, not moving at all. He gripped the ash pole of his lance and was about to charge into the fight, but something stopped him. The tents that stood to his right were far away, yet he could see the emptiness of the place. They were all hiding in their tents; the innocent ones who were forced to come to the battlefield. He shrugged and turned back to the battle, about half of the monsters were dead, but already the warriors knew the cost for ending the battle was too much. Many dropped their weapons where they were and ran away.
It was a tireless battle. He saw, as the last few warriors fell and the Disease Goblins, (he had decided to name them,) were charging away from the bloodshed, finished with the defensive line, and moving onto the dugout the Elisians had made to keep the Frides from charging straight, where Ryu and a few hundred other warriors stood. He knew that they would be finished off from the large defensive group that stood around Ryu, but there was already more then enough deaths. In his mind, he commanded the Disease Goblins to turn away, and so they did. They had come from a running, to a dead stop, looking up at the sky for a few minutes, then turning away all in a group.
The footsteps of the approximate fifty Disease Goblins charging away was heard everywhere, nobody dared speak a word, all they could do was drop their weapons and sit down, trembling from exhaustion. He peered into the bloodshed and his heart stopped. He guided his horse through the thick of people, and once he was clear, he galloped quickly into the bloodshed. He had expected to find corpses among the pool of bodies, but looking around he could see that Azaezer's could not be found anywhere.
Chapter 9: Fear
The column traveled closer to the Friden wall. The fresh army of ten thousand that the Elisians had started with had withered down to half the size. The men marched, but they had a tired and scared look on their face. Half-expecting the Frides to rain down missiles and boiling oil onto the Elisians, warriors would be looking up more times then they looked forward. When the column halted, King Argerth rode his horse to the front, standing between the entire Elisian army, and a moat which protected the Friden capitol called Thania.
The White flag he held out was clearly visible, and even from afar, King Argerth could see the faces of the guards as they looked over the wall to obtain a better view of the army and its flag. A few moments passed without incident, then the massive drawbridge was slowly lowered to the ground. Three men walked across the bridge, stopping midway, ushering for the King to come forth. Argerth, Victor, and Argerth's second-in-command, Heath, walked quickly and quietly to meet with these people.
“Felthorn.” King Argerth spoke informally. The two men who stood behind Felthorn looked darkly at Argerth, thinking that he should not speak in such a matter. One of them stepped up and was about to speak but King Felthorn raised his arm to hold him back.
“Hold, Strider...” He spoke quietly and with an almost bored expression. Then he turned to Argerth and glared. “What do you want Argerth?!” He spat out angrily.
Argerth knew where this anger was coming from, and was completely aware of the thin line that separated the Elisians from getting rained on by projectiles. “I know what is happening to your people. You have seen us experience the destruction.” He spoke loud but calmly. Trying to ease out the anger that filled Felthorn.
“Well I do not care what you know!” He yelled out, stomping his a right foot as he did so. Victor studied him quietly. This was their second meeting, the first one being a compromise that failed, and Felthorn had not changed; stubborn and childish, it was a surprise he had not run the Frides into the ground. “You invade our lands...” He started, stepping forward as he did, “You kill our people, you brought this... This monstrous disease with you!”
“Fool!” Argerth yelled out at Felthorn's last comment. “You should know better then anyone that we did not bring any such disease!” He pointed at the Elisian army, “Do these look like men who want to be here?! They are just as afraid as your people!” Felthorn retreated a few steps, still with a look of disgust on his face. Argerth was intent on berating Felthorn with more words, but the man who was not Strider stepped in between them swiftly, acting as a wall between the two kings.
“This is no time to be arguing.” He spoke quietly, yet everyone could hear him. He was right, this was no time to fighting. “This deathly disease has caused men to turn into Goblins. They easily wiped out much of the Elisian army. The men are tired, and in need of shelter.”
Argerth nodded and looked back at Felthorn, who seemed to at least consider what the man spoke of. Felthorn thought for a minute, deep in concentration. “Well...” He finally spoke. “I may not know what brought this disease. Perhaps you did... But you have shown the flag of surrender. I cannot turn you away.” He nodded. “Very good. Eriol shall guide you through the citadel. We have enough space for about one hundred in the castle, but we have battlegrounds in which your men can camp out. Eriol?”
The man who stood between Felthorn and Argerth nodded silently, and with that Felthorn turned and briskly walked away with Strider. Eriol turned to Argerth and gestured urgently at the column. “You may want to signal them forth. The guardsmen were instructed not to attack unless attacked, so there is no need to worry as long as your men can keep control of themselves.”
Argerth told Victor to send the message and while watching him turn and run back to the column, he muttered under his breath, “with what has happened recently, they wouldn't dare.”
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Ryu rode with the entire column, forwards, quiet and dead-like. Deep in thought, he looked at the sky, still dark and ominous. Cecil rode beside him with a worried look. For a few minutes, this was how they were until finally Cecil broke the silence.
“Maybe he escaped.” She said, and she felt as if she had spoken too loudly, or perhaps that was just because nobody else was speaking. “I mean... Several others ran away right?”
Ryu turned to her coolly and shook his head. “I was watching the entire time. I would have noticed.” After the massacre, (there was no other word for it,) they had taken in body count and as Ryu had found before, Azaezer was not marked. The question was, how could a person disappear without anyone noticing it?
Cecil had not seen the bloodshed, having been told to hide in the tent until the battle was over. While she had not seen it, she had heard it and seen the effects that the massacre had on the other men. She shivered at what the Disease Goblins must have done, to change fully grown men from brave to scared in a few minutes.
Ryu reasoned that he was worrying so much about Azaezer was that he felt someone was toying with him. Whenever he felt that, it was usually true, and he knew exactly who it could be that was playing with his mind.
The piercing howl the all the men were now familiar with was heard again. This time, even Ryu was surprised.
This is going to be a pretty long story... I'm guessing around 10-20 chapters? But I'll work hard on it and try to write a new one every now and then.