I was turning eight in two months. Mother had hired a tutor for me and Father was teaching me leadership and governing. The lessons were boring as I had either read it in a book or had known it in my previous life. My tutor was getting irritated as I didn't bother to hide my boredom and disinterest. Eventually I just let loose and just told him I knew everything. Of course, he didn't believe me and started to quiz me about things he had yet to 'teach' me. I answered every question correctly and then started to quiz him.
He held out fairly well, but then I started to include questions about Calculus. He got so frustrated that he stormed out of the room. To his credit, he stopped by my Mother to tell her that he quit and that she should get an even better tutor for me. At first my Mother was a little more than upset, but calmed down and even excitedly hugged me when I explained what had happened.
My parents asked me how I knew so much and told them honestly about the books I read. The next week, there were hundreds of new books in the Library. I dived into the new knowledge. I would eat and sleep while reading a book. I didn't even stop reading as I relieved myself, taking the book with me. I only stopped once a day, which became difficult to discern, to train until Midday.
Justin came by a month early to visit. He said that he wanted to take a break from Adventuring. Amazingly, he had brought a new book, even though the Library had over a thousand books, many of which Justin had not known about. As always, he would sit and read under a tree while I trained. He would occasionally look up and correct a stance or posture, but would otherwise just silently read. He reminded me of one of my friends in High School. My friend was always reading, but always seemed to know when he was supposed to pay attention.
Adam came back a week later, which was weird considering he would always arrive the day before my birthday. The night of his arrival he dragged Mother, Father, and Justin into my Father's Office and soundproofed it. I tried to get in to hear what they were talking about, but I wasn't able to penetrate Adam's Magic with my own. Seeing that it was pointless to continue trying, I returned to my book. I could already read twice as fast as my Father, and had read the entire library by the time my Birthday came around.
I noticed that the Guards were more alert and out in more numbers. Normally I was allowed out into the city to explore and play as long as I had one of Father's direct aids come with me, but I wasn't allowed out. The servants were much more tense and a few were always stealing glances out windows towards the East. I grabbed the map and looked to the East. I had already seen it and memorized it, but if something had everyone so tense, better safe than sorry.
Towards the North East was the Capital, but they weren't looking there. The South East was the sea with the nearest land being too far for a threat. Due East was the Kingdom of Veodin. That didn't make any sense. Veodin was a Market Nation. Sure they had a military, but it was purely self defence. They were focused on trade. Their Pastries were delicious and their clothes comfortable. They wouldn't attack anyone, let alone one of their trade partners. I simply couldn't figure out what had everyone on edge.
I couldn't figure it out so I stopped trying to and instead focused on being ready for it. I woke up earlier and stayed up later. I practised until the sun went down, then I would focus on my Mana Core. I worked so hard that even Adam was starting to get concerned about me, and he didn't even know about my Mana Core.
My Birthday came and went. Justin gave me another book and Adam taught me a new technique. Father got me a pair of gloves with the Family Emblem. The Emblem was a Wolf head with the Arcane Symbol for Void in its open mouth. The Metal of the Emblem was cool to the touch, having been sewn through the glove. Mother gave me a Telin, an instrument resembling a guitar, but with a much greater range of sound. She said that I should do something other than train, explore my interests. So I did. I already knew the basics of how to play the Telin, so I just practiced what I knew.
I would train until the sun went down, then I would condense my Mana Core, allowing for more Mana, then I would practise until I fell asleep. This is how my eighth year went, and my ninth. I was skilled enough in combat that I sparred with the guards. I had a Core so Condensed that it had turned from a light blue gas to a black gas then to a light blue liquid to a black liquid that filled the entire core. As I condensed my Core, the harder it became to do so.
I had become so skilled with the Talin that I would stop everyone as they would listen. It become so bad that I eventually had to start sneaking out and go into the forest. I had found a tree stump in the middle of a clearing. Everytime I could, I would sneak out and just sit on the stump, playing. Playing the Talin relaxed me and I enjoyed it. I had never understood it in my previous life, but I perfectly understood it now. I taught myself how to sing and would sing as I played.
I would just sit there listening to the sounds of the forest. My eyelids would become heavy as I listened and I would just play. I didn't play a song from the city, I would just play along with the forest. Apparently the creatures of the forest liked my music, because I would finish playing and open my eyes to see predators and prey laying in the clearing. I didn't mind, they seemed content to just sit there and listen.
The forest creatures started to recognize me as I would walk through the forest and just follow me to the clearing. A few months passed and I started to notice that even Magic Beasts were starting to listen in the clearing. It was amazing. Predators and prey sitting peacefully together. Magic and Non-Magic creatures calmly listening. Of course, not everything was great. Everyone in the city was still stressed, but I couldn't figure out what about. Father would increase the Guards every few months until all the Guards were on a daily rotation, switching out only at night or day.
I didn't know what was coming, but I knew when it was nearby. The Animals started to fearfully glance around and run at the slightest noise. The Beasts started to become more agitated, but would also bolt at an unexpected sound. I started to train even harder, and trips to the healer become regular. I forced myself to spar against two or more of the guards. I would condense my Mana throughout the night. It was taking its toll, but I was improving my leaps and bounds.
Adam and Justin came to visit for my Birthday again, but this time they came a month early and Adam came with his army. Justin came with a group of Adventurers, and they didn't look like the collection types, they looked like they fought demons for a warmup. The most worrying thing wasn't that they had brought combat ready people, but that neither of them were smiling. My entire life, I had never seen either of them without a smile on their faces.
A week before my birthday, my Mana Core changed again. It was no longer liquid, but instead it was disappearing. I could feel the Blackened liquid mana seep into my body. I didn't feel any different, so I didn't worry about it. It had now became a trail everytime I worked on my Mana. I felt like my mind would explode with all the effort I had to exert to continue.
The night before my Tenth birthday, I was playing in the forest. The tension was slowly easing out of my body. The forest was peaceful. It was truly blissful, until it wasn't. The Animals jumped up, causing me to open my eyes. They ran off into the forest, all heading West. The Beasts all bolted up and growled towards the East. One of them ran up to me and laid down, barking at me. It was obvious he wanted me to got onto his back, so I did. My 'mount' stood back up and as one all the Beasts ran towards the threat, whatever it was. Wolf Beasts, Bear Beasts, Leopard Beasts, and even Ape Beast crashed through the forest as one massive force.
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The Beasts cleared the forest, but stopped at the treeline. I couldn't blame them, I couldn't move after I saw what was in front of the city. An Army that stretched for miles, behind it stood a Behemoth. I had only read about Behemoths. They were Beasts that stood hundreds of stories tall. They were slow moving, but were nearly indestructible and could use Magic. A Behemoth was already a multinational threat, but if a Nation had actually managed to tame one, it was a threat to the world. The world was so large that thousands of nations could fit on a single continent, and there were over eighty continents. No one had ever traveled around the world as it was so dangerous and large.
I could only think of one nation that could have the power to tame a Behemoth, the Empire. There was only one Empire, as it had destroyed any other nation that dared to take the name of Empire. They were only held in check by the Kingdom of Edingard. If the Empire had managed to send a force this large, though it would only be considered small by their standards, what had our Kingdom of Teldron done?
The Behemoth certainly explained why the Beasts were so aggravated. Beasts hated Behemoths by nature, like Cats and Dogs, if the Cat could flatten cities by stepping on them and Dogs were able to eat a man whole. My 'mount' laid back down and shook me off. I didn't hesitate to run as fast as I could towards the city. The West Gate was open and the Citizens were rushing to evacuate, but not everyone was going to make it. The Guards knew that and had already prepared to die letting as many escape as they could.
If that Behemoth attacked, it would be over in an instant, but the Empire had placed it in the back of their formation. They wanted the City intact. I saw the Empire start to wheel Trebuchets towards the front. They wanted the City mostly intact. I did some quick math, not even half the City would get out before they started their attack. I had to act fast. Breaking into a music shop, I grabbed an Amplifier and rushed up the wall. The Guards and Soldiers were so busy preparing that they didn't see me. Adam was there directing. Justin and his comrades had set up at the front gate, ready to take on any enemy that streamed through once the gate was broken.
I strapped the Amplifier to my Telin and swung it around my back so I could climb up the Gate House easily. The men there were as preoccupied as the ones down on the wall. I climbed up the center Battlement, set the Amplifier to its max setting, and prepared to play. I could see the Empire's commanders preparing to fire the Trebuchets. I started to play. The Amplifier, set to its max volume and aided by my Magic, blasted throughout the city, going over the horizon. Everyone stopped moving.
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The Empire's Artillery men stopped loading the Trebuchets. The Soldier's stopped shuffling about. The Citizens calmed, but kept evacuating, making it faster. All the sounds of War preparation had ceased, instead replaced by a calm melody that was soon joined by the most wonderful Lyrics and voice many had ever heard. Aaron played with everything he had. He put his heart and soul into his song. He silently prayed with any God listening to aid him. Robert Voidwolf listened to his Son play with tears in his eyes. Susan Voidwolf was proud and terrified for her son.
The only disturbance was the Behemoth that had started to move towards the source of the song. It didn't even notice the men it crushed underneath it. The men on the wall were so entranced by the song, they couldn't even move to attack the Behemoth. Once it reached the wall, it gently laid down, not making a single noise. Even laying down, its eyes were level with the Boy playing the music. Aaron didn't even notice the Mountainess creature that laid but feet before him. He was so captive by his own song.
Aaron played for hours, never stopping as he feared that he wouldn't be able to halt the battle again. As the time stretched on, the Behemoth slowly closed its eyes, its breathing evening out as it fell into a deep sleep. The Songs played brought memories with them. The City had emptied out after the second hour, the citizens now headed towards the Capital. The City Soldiers and Guards had completely prepared and now just stood listening.
After the fourth hour, Aaron's Voice had died and his fingers cramped. He was forced to stop playing. It took only a minute for everyone to break out of their dreams and memories. A single howl sounded out from the Forest, quickly followed by hundreds more howls, roars, and screams. The Beasts of the Forest rushed out and charged towards the Empire's Army. The Trebuchets released, many breaking from having been under pressure for so long. Archers released their hail of arrows. Warriors charged as they roared.
The Empire's men clashed with the Beasts. Each Beast was easily taking dozens if not hundreds with them as they fell, but the Empire had men to spare. Beasts unleashed their Magic, forming mountains of Earth, forests of Ice, and Hells of Fire. The Guards and Soldiers from the City avoided releasing their arrows into a Beast, instead aiming for a Soldier. The Beasts fought to the last creature, not a single one turning to run or showing hesitance. The Empire's men charged towards the walls, practically unimpaired by the rain of arrows.
The men on top of the Gate House had to pull Aaron off the Battlements and quickly carried him over to a healer, who saw to his throat and fingers. The hour was nearing Midnight. Adam was right there with his men, firing arrows and pushing ladders off. Normal men wouldn't have enough strength to manage such a feat, but Adam was doing it repeatedly. When the ladders become too numerous for him to push off, he drew his sword and fought.
The Empire quickly wheeled a battering ram forward. They had to wheel it around Behemoth's sleeping form. They broke through the Gate in only ten strikes. Men streamed through, only to be halted by Justin and his comrades. They numbered only nine, but they held back thousands at the gate.
As valiantly as they Defended the city, numbers overwhelmed them. The first to fall was the wall, Adam falling with it. With the wall taken, the Empire flanked behind the Adventurers and slowly drowned them in corpses. Robert and Susan mourned their fallen friends, but knew they died with smiles on their faces. The last line of defence, the Voidwolf Manor, held only a hundred defenders. Aaron still lay unconscious.
As the Empire's men quickly made their way to the Manor, Robert and Susan promised themselves and each other that if anyone was to survive, it had to be Aaron. The last of the Defenders heard them, and promised themselves the same. They easily broke through the front gate. The Defenders met them head on in the courtyard. Robert and Susan launched their Magic. Robert's Void Magic made large chunks of ground and Empire Soldiers disappear. Susan's Fire Magic engulfed dozens, while her Healing Magic healed the Defenders. The Defenders knowing they were going to die, broke their Limits, temporarily granting them Magic, despite being of common birth, but also sealing their deaths.
The bodies piled up. Each Defender that fell was surrounded with piles of their dead foes. The last twenty Defenders retreated back. Robert held them back as Susan quickly carried Aaron to their emergency escape route, which would automatically carry Aaron down an underground river to a hidden shelter ten miles from the City. Susan laid him down and lovingly stared at his face. She wished she had more time to see him grow into the wonderful man he could become, but she had to settle with parting from him with a kiss.
Susan set the raft speeding away and sealed the entrance. She wiped away her tears and smiled. She broke her Core, granting her ten times the Magical Power, but sealing her death just as it had done her last Defenders. She walked out of the shed and unleashed her Magic. Robert did the same, breaking his Core. Susan's Flames engulfed entire blocks of the City. Robert's Voids swallowed legions of men. They died, not from blades, but their timers had run out. Robert and Susan collapsed to their knees and held each other as they watched the sun rise.
"Happy Birthday Aaron." Muttered Susan
"Live a good life, for us if not for yourself." Breathed Robert
They expired with smiles on their faces and perfectly at peace. Their bodies were swarmed in seconds. The City had fallen, but at great cost to the Empire. The Behemoth had been put to sleep, which it wouldn't awaken from for a century at least. While this Army had been decimated by these valiant defenders, the Empire had Millions more extra that it could send if it wanted. In the greater scheme of things, they hadn't affected the Empire in anyway.