Lia Casten, West of Phelia
Lia was small, but fast, she was also one of the best with a dagger in her group of men. Not many of the men knew how to fight, but they had joined her, nevertheless. The south resented the Casten’s, claimed they won their seat through treachery. Yet they won their seat by being loved by the people, which is why when she fled to the village, tears in her eyes, the village men declared her their queen.
Lia’s whole family was dead, including her younger brother, she had seen the bodies when she fled Phelia. She was twenty, and old enough to advise her father the former king, she urged him to retreat, to run, he hadn’t listened.
Lia shuddered at the memory, she had cut her long dark brown hair, so she looked less like a noble lady. Here crouched in the bush, covered in dirt, none would mistake her for one, some considered her attractive, but not like a princess in a tale. Lia was fine with that, she preferred the knight in the tale, rather than the damsel.
Lia imagined herself the knight as she stared at the men who had made camp in the abandoned village bellow. Men were posted as guard, but they were tired, they hadn’t expected to need to stay awake all night, so they rode all day, that would be their downfall.
Kane Joyce, her former guard, and now her best fighter was crouched next to her, he wore no armor, only a tunic, like Lia herself. Armor clanked, and that would not be due for what they had planned, behind them were twenty other men, some from Phelia, others from the village. All dressed in black tunics, or in white tunics stained to blend into the dark, and they all waited for the same thing.
Kane led the group, he was the only trained soldier, and the only one who had seen combat, he wasn’t an amazing combatant. Yet he was a great strategist, and he had come up with this plan much earlier, they had mixed sleep root into the water barrels, and a lot of it. The root would not be tasted over the wooden taste of the hot barrels, and soon all the men would fall asleep standing up.
These so-called Golden soldiers had never been to war, they did not know of the dangers that came with invading enemy territory. So, when Kane signaled them forward, and they left the fields of tall grass, and unkempt bushes they had been hiding, without any alarm being raised Lia could not help but smile.
Lia knew the men would not wake, not even if you slapped them, and if their plan went well, they would never wake again. The village men killed the guards that stood around the outside of the camp, they had lied down against the wooden buildings to rest their eyes. They would never open them again, next Kane went into the houses the men had chosen to camp in, five village men followed him.
Lia chose the largest house, the only house in the village with brick foundations, and moved six men followed her, each found a sleeping man, and opened their throat. Lia for her part moved to the oldest man in the room, the leader, he wore a fine tunic, and had a brand marking him as a captain.
Lia raised her dagger, and hesitated, this would be the first man she killed, and the start of her own personal rebellion against the Gold Dragons. Then she looked back, the men had move on their third kills before she made one, she turned back, and breathed a deep quiet breath.
Then Lia stabbed the old man in the throat, then turned, and moved to another man, and then another.
Jad Vein
As Jad flew down towards the charred village, the smell hit him first, rotting flesh, and feces. Not burning flesh to his confusion, the confusion dissipated quickly when he saw the bodies. Fifty men had been dispatched, not incredible fighters, just men to accept surrender from a couple of not militant villages.
Those same men were spread around, making a circle of bodies around a flag, the flag was grey with a white goat in the middle of the plain flag. The Casten’s sign, the sign of a house without a relic, a house that was supposed to be spared.
Jad had pitied the Casten’s they surrendered, and his own brother’s madness, and promises had killed them, even now they hung from the tallest building in Phelia for all the civilians to see. Now Jad felt anger, he looked at the bodies, swollen their time outside, it had been a few days since he had arrived in Phelia.
When he heard about the abandoned village he feared bandits, or slavers, he hadn’t expected rebellion form those his brother called, “fake nobles”. Jad did not land, incase men were still in the charred ruin, lying in wait, he scanned area surrounding, it was fields of tall grass, in the distance were heavily forested areas.
The perfect place to hide, these men had barely been armed, and now all their horses were gone, and there was not a single track he could see as he circled the village from the air. When he turned back towards Phelia, he felt anger greater than he had ever felt before.
The flight didn’t take him long, but it was a blur in his mind, when he landed, he walked straight to the war council. Lord Varan Bale stood there talking about something moving his arms over the map on the table. They all turned towards him, Lord Bale giving him a smile, unbothered by the interruption, though the smile faded when he saw the glowing gold eyes.
“Fifty men dead” Jad said almost shouting, the men around the table looked at him confused. “Their throats cut, and they were left in display for all to see outside” Jad said pointing at the village on the great large map on the table
“There should be no army that way, its all fields” Lord Bale’s son Jeremiah said standing up now as well. “Most likely killed in their sleep, the villagers rising up maybe, the bodies were strewn out around a white goat flag” Jad said.
Lord Varan Bale’s eyes shown in anger, their contempt for the Casten’s was known after they stole Phelia from the Bale family. Kai looked at his brother with disinterest, which made Jad even more angry, “our soldiers, sent on a mission for peace killed in their sleep” he said staring at his brother.
It was Regis Far that spoke up, “yes this is troubling, to think a family of fake nobles would inspire such foolishness” he said rubbing his beard. “My prince you should lead men there, put down the rebels, we cannot send our whole army there” he said with a serious look.
Jad was no fool, he knew that they wanted him to go west so that they could do as they wished with their council without his voice arguing with his brothers. Yet Jad was so angered by the deaths he did not care, though he was surprised when Jeremiah Bale spoke up.
“Allow me to accompany you, we will leave tomorrow with a host of two hundred men, one hundred from Farlen, and a hundred from Brailent. “I believe this to be a wise course of action” Lord Varan Bale said, pride for his son shining in his eyes.
Kai looked to be in thought, Jad bit down his own ego, “with your leave brother” he said with a bow of his head. Kai smiled his cruel smile, “go on the morrow, and bring justice to these rebels” he said waving the two boys away to begin their planning.
Jad did not miss the cruel smile that spread on to Regis Far, and his son Craig Far, they had wanted him gone, and he was happy to gift them with his absence.
Jasmine Vein
Jasmine landed on the edge of the mountain; she was not a large dragon when she transformed but she was majestic. Yet recently she noticed her golden scales take on a silvery sheen to it, much like her hari had done, it did not change her appearance to much, and the Old Fox even said she looked better this way.
However, despite her hair, and scales changing her eyes stayed bright golden, and glowed as her emotions changed. Which brought her comfort, she had finally been able to transform, and hold her transformation, and she wasn’t as bothered by the cold now.
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Now Jasmine even got along with the girls, and women around the ancient castle, and she had even been invited to play with them. Jasmine was busy these days studying the history of the north, something she doubted anyone in her family had done. She also practiced flying, she was a great flier better even than Jad her brother, though no where near as large.
News rarely made it up from the south, and last she heard Phelia had surrendered to the Gold Dragon Army. That hadn’t surprised her, but nor did it worry her as much as she would have been when she first arrived in this snowy haven
The mountain people did not react to anything, except for when a couple weeks back a blue stone had lit up, on the empty blue throne that resided in the mountain castle. Then men had cheered, women had cried, and even Commander Flint had smiled, their king had come. When she had asked if they meant her brother, the man had shot her a disgusted look, though he relieved her by telling her they would never bend to a dragon.
Some would have taken that as insult, she did not, it made her feel a lot better. Jasmine enjoyed the festive mood of the northerners, and when she asked an old serving woman what they were excited about, she said “one comes”.
After that she had drank, and laughed, until the mood died down, and the melancholy came back, she continued her studying, and her flight practice. Tristan and Flint practiced blades against each other often, often drawing a crowd to cheer them on, for the first time since jasmine had met the man she saw the Old Fox lose.
More than all of that though, she was happy, and that meant a lot to her, now she flew out to the outlying villages near the ancient city. The villages had no names, and the people were hard, but she helped them with chores, and they enjoyed seeing the dragon now, where they had once been fearful.
When she landed at her favorite village, kids in furs ran up to her excitedly jumping on her dragon form bravely, until she transformed into a human again, and the kids fell laughing into a heap. Jasmine made her way through the old village into the Wehit cabin, what they called the head of the village, where the village Wehit, or leader resided.
The old woman who leads the village had become a friend to her, and she often regaled her with tales, today she had promised to tell Jasmine her fortune. The ancient woman sat in front of the fireplace, with her thick fur coat on she looked to be more fur than woman.
Jasmine came, and sat next to the woman, her legs crossed then she waited. This was polite in northern culture, to wait for the elder to speak, Tristan told her that even the kings used to follow that rule. She was not waiting long, the elderly woman took a deep breath, the furs moved up and down, making the breath seem larger than it was.
“Ah yes young dragon you are arrived” the woman said, in her strange northern accent. Jasmine bowed her head, “I’ve come for your prophecy” she said with a smile on her face. The ancient woman smiled back, “Make us some tea, and I may give It to you”, and so Jasmine made her tea.
They made no small talk, they never did, not until warm tea was presented to the woman, even then she would not speak until she deemed the time right. When Jasmine first met her, she had been annoyed, but it had been a few months no, and she welcomed the older woman’s company.
“A love, a hatred, and loyalty” the old woman said after a long drink of her tea. Jasmine looked up with a raised eyebrow, “I’m sorry” she said to the old woman. “Without any reason to be” the old woman replied, Jasmine saw the humor in her eyes. “You will have love for a man, a great warrior of the mountains, you will have hatred for those that love him, and he will have a great loyalty for you” the old woman said in one long breath.
“Right” Jasmine said slightly more mocking than she had intended it to be, the old woman scowled at her. “You call this tea child, make it stronger next time” she said with a great snort which looked funny with the fur, Jasmine gave a chuckle.
Jasmine occupied the rest of the time asking about the old stories she had read within her books; the old woman was happy to answer. The princess and the elder discussion into the night, pausing only for tea, and once to deal with the kids running around the village causing trouble.
When Jasmine was flying back to the castle, she could not help but remember the brief prophecy the woman had given her. Had Jasmine been in human form she would have snorted; these mountain men were much too rough for her taste. Still, it made her wonder what kind of man she would marry when the time came.
William Grey
William disarmed the older boy with a downward slash of the dulled tourney sword, after that he kicked the large boy onto the ground. Lain barked out a laugh, and John called an end to the fight, Will helped the boy Lant Rell to his feet. The boy gave a sheepish smile, he was a year older than will, and looked exactly like his father Lain. Long black hair hung into a braid behind his back, not quite as long at his fathers, and he had black stubble already growing on his face.
Lant picked up his dulled axe, with a smile present on his face, and turned to face Will, the smile never leaving. John called a start to the fight again, and the bigger boy charged in, Will spun to the side, dodge the bigger boy. Then Will swung his sword low, knocking the other boy on his back, then he pointed the blunted tip of the sword at the boy’s neck.
“I yield” came the rumbling surrender of the big boy, though the boy smiled again as he said it, in the weeks that Will had known him he had never seen the boy displeased. “He fights like you” Lain said to John who sat watching the exchange in passively, “no, I would never overextend my foot like that” John said simply.
It was Will’s turn to flush with embarrassment, and Lant gave a lighthearted laugh at the younger boy. “Go on practice is over” Lain said with a smile, the man had warmed a lot since the boys had made it to the village.
The village was made of stone, and wood, and William, Tom, and Elaine had all been staying in the largest house which belonged to John. While the past few weeks had seen Will become an adept swordsman, Tom still struggled with the bow. Elaine, and Laura however were more gifted with the bow, they quickly started competing harshly with each other.
Whilst they weren’t competing doing chores, or practicing with their bow, they were always getting into mischief of some kind. Tom spent most of his free time with Black, his Forrest hound, the dog was smart, and already better trained than any dog Will had seen.
However, the dog hated everyone except Tom, and Elaine, he didn’t mind Will as much, but would never listen to him. Will, and John had gotten closer, Will looking to please the man like a son would please a father. In exchange the man taught will the sword, the axe, how to track, and ride, and Will learned eagerly, proud of himself despite the older man’s constant berating.
The war in the south didn’t affect the two boys anymore, and they were happy, they shared a room, and would often tease each other about he girls within the small village. Will had gone hunting twice with John, and both times had been successful, though Will wasn’t all that skilled with a bow, they had used spears to hunt boar.
The second hunt Will had injured the boar, and while the moment had left him terrified, he smiled every time he thought back on the memory. Lain would head deeper into the village sometimes, to break up fights, or bust a man head when he harmed his wife.
Tom, and the giant seemed to have a special relationship, and he would often accompany the man, and Lant. Their life was good, and that was when they felt fear when John called the two boys into his room in the great big wooden house.
“What if the man wants us to leave”, Will thought to himself in fear, as they entered the room, based on Tom’s shaky demeaner he feared the same thing. Never had they had friends, something to be grateful for besides each other, a reason to be truly happy, and now they feared losing that.
The older man sat there with a chest in front of him, “I had these made for you” he said simply opening the chest. Sighing in relief at the realization that they were not going to be thrown out he investigated the chest. John pulled out a black bundle, a black cloak, an arrow holder, and a black bow, he handed it to Tom who took it in a stunned silence.
Then John pulled out a grey fur cloak, it was thick in fur, and more than likely too thick to wear in a fight. When John handed it to Will he noticed it was cold, not freezing, but as if a bit of winter was trapped within the fur. It felt good to will who slipped it on over his tunic, it was too large, and it had to be clipped up at the bottom, so it did not drag.
“This is of the north as are you, it’s too cold for me anyways” John said, bringing tears to Will’s eyes. Then the boys said Oath’s that should not be repeated, and then they put on their cloaks, and their weapons, a longsword for Will, and Short sword for Tom. Both swords the red eyed bat of the lost on their pommels, both were fresh forged.
Then the boys went outside, where a crowd cheered for them, and then followed them all the way to the skin marking location in the village.
There the boys got their black bats, with red eyes inked into their skin forever, and then they were Lost.
Lia Casten, to the west of Phelia
Lia’s feet hurt, once they saw the dragon, they knew it was over, and so they began marching. The village men told them of a dock to take them to the western continent. A savage place with pirates, and bandits, no laws lasted for long in the western confident. Not since the old Gold Dragon Empire, but she knew they had not choice.
The dragon was unexpected, she never deemed the emperor himself to come investigate the deaths. After circling the village, he flew off, that night two of the men killed themselves, the rest ran. They knew that an army followed the dragon as they always did in the stories.
Only Kane had kept his head, him and two other men from Phelia, and now they marched to the trading port to the west of the western Phelia villages. They planned to board a ship, her father had contacts in the west, and they had gold. Even if she had to marry the king of pirates himself, she would comeback with an army, and she would settle the score for her family.
“I’ll be back” she thought to herself, as she continued marching in the dark shadow of the trees.
Jad Vein
They had arrived two weeks before, and since they had they had found twenty village men, they put them to the sword. One of the men had confessed that the Phelian rebel queen marched west to flee across the ocean. Jad killed that one in anger, bye this time they would already be gone.