Kai Vein
The bells rang from atop the castle, Kai heard them from his window across from the bell tower. As if to signal the sadness of the event, rain fell heavily, and one could see the droplets flinging off the grand bell. The great rusted bell only rang to signal the start of war, and the death of an emperor, now it rang for Kai’s father.
Kai had been eager for his father Titus’s death, for he was old enough to begin his reign. Kai Vein was fifteen years of age, the same as the great Warrior had been when he began his trek a thousand years ago. It could not have been written better in Kai’s opinion, today would begin the revival of his ancient family, as he, and his allies had planned for so long now.
Those regions that had once called themselves apart of the Gold Dragon Empire would now be reunited. The Vein’s shall rule once again, Kai was ready for the conquest, the glory.
“Today everything will change”, Kai thought to himself, as he stared in the mirror. Kai’s long blonde hair hung down to his shoulders, he had strong features, and deep golden eyes. With his red cloak which billowed behind him, no one could deny that the new emperor looked fit to rule.
Kai looked down as his relic, the symbol of his power, the power that would allow the empire to rise once again. The ring was golden with a large red ruby, with a black streak running down the center of the ruby, giving it the appearance of a blood red eye.
Kai belted on his sword, looking much like his ring there was a dragon head at the base of the sword, with a ruby identical to the one embedded into his ring in the mouth of the dragon. The entire hilt was gilded, and the blade itself was a solid gold color, though unlike gold the metal would never chip or rust.
With his sword, and relic Kai turned to leave the door, though curiously he stopped at the doorway. Kai knew once he stepped past this door he would not stop until he reached his councilors, where he would set in place plans to rule over the known world. Kai shivered once, looked back into his room, then with a hard heart stepped out into the hall of the castle.
Kai walked through the halls without a word, the occasional servant would spot him, and bow, but Kai did not waste his time to greet them. The ancient halls of Farlen castle were vast, but Kai had spent his life there, and found his way quite easily to the council room. Seated at the tables were his closest friends, who he had appointed to replace his father weak council, just days after his crowning.
The only member of the former Emperor’s council was John Far, who was the appointed leader of the Farlen region. The man was around forty years of age, and sat next to his son Reese Far, who had been Kai’s friend since early childhood. Both lords had long dark hair, with hard features, both were slight and small in stature, and their rings had dark purple gemstones. Kai had appointed both to the council, and made John Far his second in command, and the commander of his armies.
The members of the council rose as Kai entered the room, quickly finding his seat at the head of the table, “The Emperors Seat” as it was dubbed by the lords of old. The council followed their Emperor and sat down quickly after him. Most of them knew why they were here; they had decided what it was they had come to discuss far before the former Emperor Titus’s death.
Though not all had been privy to such matters, Kai’s own brother, and heir Jad Vein was present within the council. The boy was thirteen, and long after Kai’s own age, and already an accomplished warrior, though he cared more for honor than a true Emperor should, in Kai’s opinion.
The man looked identical to Kai, but had much more muscle, Kai had never once beaten the man in a fight, nor had he been able to best him in the skies. Kai would see his brother as a threat if not for his fierce loyalty towards him, something that their sister did not seem to have.
Silence filled the long hall, the walls of the castle were grey, and lit with torches, and they seemed to suck the noise out of the room. It was then that Kai spoke the words that would change the world, “I intend to restore our family’s glory” Kai said holding his hands out towards the map.
Much as he expected only his brother seemed to react in surprise, John Far only smiled, they had planned this since Kai himself was fifteen after all. “What do you mean brother” Jad asked his brow furrowing; it was John who answered. “The Gold Dragon Empire had once spanned the entire world, from the east to the west, all the way until the mountains, it is time we restored your family, and brought peace to all the warring kingdoms”, John said with a wide smile, his voice was loud, and the others on the council were smiling as well.
“What of the other kingdoms, I doubt they would be willing to follow us” Jad asked with a concerned voice. “Such a simple boy” Kai thought to himself before looking at his brother, “we will have to go to war with them to ensure peace” he said with a confident smile on his face. Jad reeled back, as if he had been smacked, “go to war for peace, are you mad?” Jad asked his brother.
Kai wanted to strangle the boy for disrespecting him like that, but John spoke up before he had the chance. “When the Emperors of old ruled the land, the world saw peace that hadn’t been seen for hundreds of years” John said with a smile. “Yes, we would make war, but in exchange we could save all the common people who are hurt by the crude, and ruthless kingdoms that have been allowed to rein over the last one hundred years” John added which brought cheers from around the table.
The meeting was short after that, with the council agreeing to meet once again to discuss the coming war. Jad left in a troubled state, but Kai knew that the boy would not betray him, all that stayed behind in the council were John, and his son, and kai of course.
“Have you found her” Kai asked once he was sure everyone had left, John looked at him solemnly “No your grace, the princess has evaded us” he said. “More than likely due to Sir Tristan, not many can claim to be as skilled as the old man” Reese added with a bitter tone.
Kai wasn’t very concerned, “let them run, soon there will be no where they will be safe” Kai said with a cruel smile. “Your grace” John said looking uncomfortable, “if she were to start telling people- “he began, “let her tell stories, no one would believe her, most think she is a runaway who was too scared to be married off”.
“That is true your grace, but what she may speak of could be harmful to your reign, though I have a suggestion” John said his own smile filling with cruelty. “Do tell”, Kai said raising an eyebrow, “once we unite the first few kingdoms, place a bounty on her head, the man who brings her back unharmed shall become a lord” John answered. “If she is brought back, she can be dealt with most efficiently” Reese Far finished for his father, and smile plastered on his face as well.
“Well then, we must prepare for the future, let my sister run with her tail tucked between her legs, for now we have a war to win” Kai said, staring down at the map.
Jasmine Vein
Jasmine could not stop shivering, as she looked out across the courtyard of the ancient snowy castle. Majority of the structure was covered in snow, leaving everything white, too white in her opinion. Jasmine did not know exactly how long she had been here, a month possibly, maybe two.
Fleeing her traitorous brother, she had fled north, to the only place in the world that her brother would not chase her. Already her life had been threatened, and if not for the old fox, so he was called, she would be dead, murdered by her brother, just like her father had been.
These northerners or mountain people some dubbed them, were harsh men, she had been greeted by the men wearing white furs, when they rose from the snow around her, scaring even her horse. The old fox hadn’t been frightened though, he was old, and had traveled the world several times in his youth. The man had greeted them, and asked for sanctuary, and the men in white had led them to their ancient castle.
Jasmine hated it here, twice she had tried to fly, twice she had failed because of the harsh temperature. She loved to fly, loved to invoke the power of their families’ ancient relics, and take her dragon form, her true form in her own opinion, and soar through the skies. That wasn’t possible this far north, maybe once she was used to the cold, but for now she would not be flying anytime soon.
Only one person was to blame for this, Kai her twin, had chased her away from the throne, knowing that she had just as much claim to it, if not more. The Vein queens had been famous, and it was said that some of the Vein queens ruled far better than the kings of their line.
News from the south was scarce, but it had reached them that the old empire was on the rise, and the army left for Brailent. Jynx was a burned city, drowned in the fire of two dragons, and raided by a small but efficient army. Willia had surrendered, adding to the new Imperial army, and while Brailent was known for their well-crafted weapons, their warriors were not as well known.
Once Brailent fell, and they would most likely fall, the south was all but conquered. Phelia would come after Brailent, with June following, after that all the cities would surrender to the control of her brother. The southerners were not fighters, they were merchants, and once they were united, Kai would move to the east.
Jasmine turned away from the window she had found herself staring at, the cold was blistering. She found a mirror, and after a moment’s consideration, put her long golden hair into a tie, after which she caught her own eye in the reflection. The gold stood out in the north, and she was receiving looks on the daily, people in the north didn’t like change. The northerners all had dark hair, and dark eyes, the northerners of old were said to have shining silver eyes, a contrast from the imperial family towards the south.
Jasmine decided to walk the halls, she left her room, and immediately felt the frigid cold in the halls. Jasmine focused on her relic, and felt heat blossom from her finger, moving into her body, she had a fur coat on, but it did little to stay the cold.
Jasmine felt herself looking at the murals of the walls, of men with silver eyes fighting grand battles against wolves, and savage looking men. On the finger of the men was a blue gemstone, their relic thought to be lost to the world.
“They say that the south killed them” a gruff voice sounded behind her. Jasmine jumped without meaning to, then she turned towards the voice. Triston Crane, the fox, or old fox depending on who you asked was bundled in furs, his white hair, and beard blended well with the environment.
Jasmine felt herself relax with her protector there, Triston nodded at her, and gestured back at the wall. “They say the last king rode south to meet the last emperor in the battle of Phelia, a hundred years ago”, he said with a sad look in his eyes. Many lords had lost their lives in that battle that had changed the face of the continent.
Jasmine continued walking, without saying anything, as she often did, the old fox knew that was her way, he would not be upset. Suddenly stopped walking, as something on the walls caught her attention, the ancient painted show a man in white holding his hand out his relic shining blue, all around him blue spike rose to meet the wolfs that had surrounded him.
“What kind of relics did the northern lords have?” Jasmine asked curious as the painting. “Ice I believe, and they were never brought into the Empire, they were kings your grace” Triston said with an easy smile that so often seemed to grace the older mans face. Jasmine nodded and turned back to walk down the hall.
“These northerners have different ways” she said as they reached the stairs to go lower into the ancient castle. Jasmine had never gone all the way into the castle, it was built into one of the many mountains, and she disliked the cold too much to explore the massive structure.
“Aye that’s true enough” Triston replied, “they go out daily scouting their area, meanwhile I struggle to step outside for more than a few minutes” he added. “At least the men here respect you, meanwhile they gaze at me as if I’m some kind of beast” Jasmine said with a rueful smile.
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“They do not know you yet, and these snow men do not take to change well” Triston said. “I cannot wait until we head back down south” Jasmine said exasperated. “Aye, I would kill for wine over this cursed ale they serve up here” Triston replied.
They would return, but only once her brother proved himself to be a bad ruler, once he had conquered enough to sow the seeds of hatred into his people. Then, and only then would she come down from the north and tell the people of the New Empire of her brothers’ deceit. Once she did that, she would rally an army, and crush her brothers, she could almost taste the victory.
For now, she would wait, and she would survive, even in this damned cold. They walked in silence for a while, occasionally making small talk until they reached the courtyard, which had a healthy layer of frost. They heard the horn blast, and the creek of the gates opening, Jasmine saw the riders enter the courtyard.
Five men wearing white furs rode in on the backs of great large horses, with hair longer than any steed Jasmine had ever seen. Leading the men, was an older man, he slid off the horse easily, then with a few words to the man who rushed to greet him, and turned, and walked towards the castle.
“Commander Flint, I hope the trip went well” Triston said with a smile, the smile did not fool Jasmine. Triston was known as one of the greatest warriors of his age, with his magic armor, and his famous sword, few could best him in battle. According to Triston, Flint was one of the few, and that unsettled him.
“Fox” the man said with a curt nod, then he turned towards Jasmine, “my lady”, then he walked past them without another word. Some would consider him not referring to her as your grace disrespectful, but the mountain men did not conform to others.
Flint was the leader of the city of Relian, and while he wasn’t a king, he was revered as one. The man was a hard one, and he was known as one of the greatest fighters of all time, participating in the great tournament that occurred every twenty years. Flint had best Fox, earning the first-place reward, when he received the relic, he had given it to Fox, “I have no need of this trinket” he had said, according to legend, and fox himself.
The relic, which was a priceless gift was the very armor the Fox had worn when he fought the bandit lord, it was a famous relic. Fox said he owed the man much, yet Flint insisted that they were even, not many could hold his own against him like Fox had. There was another man, the third-place contestant, who had yielded before he faced the final two.
According to Triston, the man had decided the third-place gold was good enough for him and did not care to fight the final two contestants. Jasmine had asked Flint what he thought of the man, and all he had said was, “he was young, no one can blame him for choosing to yield”, he didn’t say anything about the man’s skill in combat.
Jasmine loved hearing the stories of the old fighters, though Flint didn’t speak much, Triston was always happy to talk about his old exploits. Something that Jasmine had learned to appreciate about the man, Triston had only trained two men before. John Far, and her own brother Jad, the Fox said that Jad had taken to sword fighting better than any man he had ever known.
Though the boy was young, he was better than almost any in the castle, growing faster than the other boys, he was already as tall as a grown man. Soon Jasmine would be at odds with him, and all the people she had grown up with. The thought saddened her, but her and Triston continued their walk through the snowy courtyard. Jasmine felt weight upon her shoulders, a weight that had been there since she left, would she really be able to oppose her brothers.
Once the walk was over, Jasmine returned to her own room, happy to have a reprieve from the cold. Once again, her relic stopped heating her body, and she could not stop shivering.
William
Will hated sweating, yet here he was drenched in sweat Tom always told him to be grateful he wasn’t freezing. That did not change the sweat that drenched down his back, Will was ready to get into the shade. Phelia was hot this time of year, and if rumors were to be believed soon fires would be started across the kingdom. “Dragons come, and with them comes death”, said the blind man who preached at the end of the street.
Will was walking with Tom down a main street in the outskirts of the city, where the buildings were less crowded. Yet even when there was not a large grouping of buildings there was a large grouping of people, people fleeing from those cities further south, in the way of the Dragon’s path.
Brailent was next, at least that’s what the refugees said, they also said that a huge army came along with them. The Southern Dragons had come to retake the south, and save them all some said, others said all men would be eaten by the dragons. Either way all men agreed that they did not want to be near the fighting, which is why the streets were so overcrowded.
Luckily for William, and Thomas, two small, ragged street kids went easily unnoticed, even better they were able to sneak some coin out of the pockets of the fleeing people. They knew it was wrong to steal but going hungry felt a lot worse than the guilt.
Will went unnoticed, his dark hair blending into the crowds, his silver eyes not as much, but his face was ragged from years of malnourishment. A common occurrence for beggars, Tom however stood out quite a bit more.
Thomas was tall for his age, and his hair was bright red, and curly, they had been told that he looked to be of eastern descent. Tom claimed his ancestors were bastards from the eastern soldiers that had been here over a hundred years before. Most likely it was from an eastern merchant, who had come down to get exotic goods to sell back in his kingdom.
Will never said that though, he didn’t need to, Thomas was far smarter than him. If Tom wanted to claim to be from soldiers from an ancient, and famous battle who was Will to stop him. His brother had always been one to make up stories, it was how they had befriended each other long ago.
Will had been in an orphanage until he was around twelve years of age, where he, and Thomas had met, they befriended each other quickly, and sworn one another as brothers. When one of the kids within the orphanage told them brothers needed to share a last name, they made one. William, and Thomas Grey, after an old king in a book they had once read.
The two brothers still claimed the name, and though they were not born of the same parents, they were as close as any two siblings could be. Together they were adept at surviving together, Tom was smart, and would scheme ways for them to make coin. Will however was more physically gift than his brother and was quick with his hands making him an adept pickpocket.
Will was also a decent fighter, while Tom had a silver tongue, and could convince someone the sky was purple. Though they were close, they had quarreled recently, Tom insisted that the two needed to leave the city, “dragons come, and small folk will be the first to die” he had said.
Will did not believe dragons were coming to burn the city to the ground, but he knew there was an army. Both boys knew they had to leave, how was the matter of argument. Will wanted to try something riskier, mercenaries always carried a lot of coin, their weapons allowing them to forgo the fear of robbery. Tom insisted that if they were to rob anyone it should be the refugees, and while Will would rob the refugees if they needed food, he would rather leave them be.
They had agreed on a middle ground, they would scout out the mercenaries that were staying within the city. The men had set up a camp in the far end of the market, and they would not allow anyone to come near. They had come like vultures, seeking the rewards of battle, they had been hired by the nobles of Phelia, who were not known to be warriors.
Now they approached the camp, the flag of the mercenary group waved about the white tents. The flag showed a bat with red eyes, the symbol for the black swords. One man was at guard at the front of the camp, the men and women of the city walked around him. The man wore black armor, which was accompanied with a black cloak, he had a sword, and a dagger at his waist, and he looked bored.
Within the camp there was three men sitting around a fireplace that had been built, there were three wagons, and next to the camp was a large stable. Will, and Tom tried to look natural across the street as they gazed on the camp. “We could sneak in around the stables at night whilst they sleep” Will said with an excited hushed tone.
“They obviously will expect that, besides the alley behind the stables is too close the inner-city wall you’ll never fit through”, Tom said annoyed. Will was stubborn though, “If I climb atop the stables I could hop down onto the wagon, take some gold, and we would be out of there before anyone was the wiser” Will said with a satisfied smile.
Tom didn’t seem convinced, “you aren’t that good, and those are all trained men, besides the other kids say that they have a sorcerer with them” he said in a conspiratorial tone. Will rolled his eyes, “They also say the King of Phelia has three head, and a forked tongue” he said dismissively. Tom was smart, and very superstitious, Will knew this was their only chance, and he needed Tom to be aboard.
“Tom armies come, if we don’t take chances we could die” Will said, “they say that Jynx was burned, women, and children as well as the men”. Tom looked like he wanted to argue, then he sighed, “Your right, but we need a better plan than just sneaking on top of the building, the drop down would be too loud” he said with a resigned tone. Will smiled in triumph, there was no way that his plan was going to work, but if Tom made a plan, then they actually had a shot at succeeding.
The boys were so caught up in their planning that they failed to see the man slip through the alley away from them.
Later that night, Thomas Grey
Will nodded at him from atop the stables, the building was old yet sturdy. Tom would have preferred Will to have stayed on the ground. Their plan was a simple one, Tom would cause a loud enough distraction to cover Will’s drop into the wagon under the stables, the men were all asleep in camp, with two guards posted. Will was an adept climber and would climb back onto the roof of the stables after grabbing whatever had value within the wagon.
Thomas had the harder job in his opinion, he wasn’t as able at Will, but he was wittier. Tom intended an easy distraction, he was able to climb onto a ledge near the fire, yet far enough away that he would not be seen by the men. This was a dangerous task, and for all he knew, their so-called sorcerer already knew they were there.
William claimed to not fear sorcery, but he had means of defending himself, no other kid in Phelia could claim to be as adept with a knife as William. The boy had never killed anyone luckily, nor did he wish to, but that did not stop him from cutting any kid or cutthroat who tried their luck. Tom was skinny, and often targeted, had Will not been around he would more than likely be dead or worse by now.
Will was insistent, and stubborn though, as this situation showed, the boy was now signaling that he was ready. Tom took the barrel of lamp oil he had swiped from a merchant, Will hated stealing from the poor, but wealthy merchants were far from it. Tom lit the string he had stuck into the oil drum and threw it into the empty street in front of the camp.
Will had spread the word to avoid this area, under the guise that the men would be committing sacrifices to their sorcerer this night. People had cleared the area quickly, now the street was empty, their plan was perfect, all thanks to Tom’s careful planning.
The small explosion rippled throughout the street, the men jerked awake, and rushed out from their sleeping places. Tom saw the lookouts rush out as well, and he signaled to Will, who jumped down grabbed what looked to be two different bags, and then scamper back up the building.
Will did not immediately flee the scene though he waited for the men to go further down the opposite end of the street in search for the culprit. Before the men turned around the search the other way, William climbed onto another building, and then was off running on the top of the buildings until Tom could no longer see him. For his part Tom waited for the men to search where will had once been, before he made his own escape.
Thomas could hardly believe what had happened, they had done it, somehow someway Will had succeeded in getting the goods. Tom could not see what exactly Will had grabbed but he could not help but hope it was something that would allow them to leave Phelia, and to escape the dragon heading their way.
William
Once will had made it back to his hideout he found Tom waiting for him, Will had to circle back, and head back towards Tom to get back to their small hideout. The hideout itself was a dry sewage area that had dried out long ago, now after hundreds of years of not being used, it was free of any waste that might have once been.
William met Tom with a satisfied smile, “we did it, Tom” he said with excitement, Tom smiled, and reached out his hand. “Well don’t keep me waiting what is it” he said eagerly, curious himself, Will opened the two small sacks first. The first sack was one that contained a black ring with a bat with red eyes on the gemstone.
Whilst the second sack contained a blue ring, Will was enamored with. William could not take his eyes off the ring. Will scarcely heard Tom say, “these look good quality, we will get a fortune for them” he said practically shaking with excitement.
Will nodded almost in a daze, “we should try them on” he said suddenly, Tom nodded in agreement, seemingly not noticing his friend’s gaze. Tom picked up the blue ring, and put it on his finger, that felt wrong to Will, as if the sight of his brother wearing the ring pained him.
“Doesn’t fit” taking off the ring, and handing it to Will, who studied it in his hand for a few moments. Tom tried on the other one, and then said “weird I can’t get this off” he said concern creeping into his voice. Ignoring him Will slipped the blue ring onto his hand, and immediately the ring tightened on his finger, not too tight to pain him, but Will knew he would not get the ring off his hand.
It was only then that Will realized Tom was freaking out, “this is witchcraft I can’t get the ring off” he said the concern evident within his voice. Will tried to pull his own ring off, and it would not budge, the ring caused no pain, but it was as if the ring has been mended with his finger.
“If we can’t sell the rings, how do we leave?” Tom asked once he had calmed down a bit. Will shook his head, all of this was concerning, Will noticed he did not feel as hot as he had before, “maybe the rings doing?” he thought to himself.
“We need to ask someone about this, lets head to the pawn shop” Tom said, with more certainty than Will knew he felt. They climbed out of the drain, it was night, but the old pawn owner was often open this late, where he would buy stolen items.
It was only then that they realized the trouble they were in, when they came up, they immediately noticed the black armored men surrounding them. None of them had their weapons sheathed, but Will doubted they would survive if the men decided to fight them.
Tentatively, Will put his hands up, Tom followed suit, when the men saw their hands, they gasped. An older man in a black cloak stepped forward, his dark green eyes stood out even in the darkness, he had long grey hair, and an angular face.
The man studied the boys, his eyes resting on William, more importantly his hands. “Take that ring off boy” he called out to William, “I can’t” William replied, fearful of the man’s reaction to what he had just said.
Another gasp resounded around the men; mumbling was sounding out from the men. It all came to a stop when the older man held up his hand, “I see” he said, then he barked out an order to his men in another language.
“You will just have to come with us then” the man said, Will thought he saw a sparkle in the old man’s eye, he gulped in fear.