KING

It was a modest village, scattered with small straw-made shelters. The middle of this small village was surrounded by an abundance of it's townspeople. Something had caught their attention and was responsible for such an unusually packed gathering of people. They all seemed eager as they circled around the magnet of the attention.

What was in the circle of the townspeople, was a fragile weak child who had chains wrapped around his wrist. He seemed to be a slave. Surrounding the child was a group of five warriors, each dressed in half burgundy and brown fur cloaks. Strangely enough, these five had all been beating this weak fragile child for the better half of an hour. They were boastful, they felt entitled to this child's body as if they owned him, it was like he was a toy.

They didn't have a thought of care for the child they were mercilessly beating. Neither did the townspeople who gathered to watch this wicked beatdown. The only thing the crowd felt, was a great sense of joy. This was merely just a form of entertainment to them.

"Yeah kill that slave!" "Don't let him get up!" The townspeople chanted, almost begging for more entertainment.

Despite the dehumanizing scenery. The village had somehow not cared for any of its disturbance at all.

Amongst the crowd of townspeople, there was Bjorn who was concealing himself in the dense atmosphere. He was wearing his brown hooded cape but was cloaked in a wide straw hat long enough to cover his face from the public eye. He too witnessed the brutality of this beating. He clenched his fist tight, rage surged within him as he observed this weak man's life being snuffed out. He blazed with fury and deep-rooted thoughts formed in his heart.

"Another one beaten... This world is disgusting." He looked to the sky aimlessly, like a cry for change.

1 month later

It was the crack of Dawn, with the sun shining upon a vast forest. Of course, trees were abundant. However, the palettes of all the tree's leaves appeared with strange colors, they all seemed to have strange shades of pink and purple much like a cherry blossom tree. But their stems and branches were more reminiscent of giant maple trees. The trees were tall, standing around 40 feet. And from a bird's eye view, you would think this vast forest was a nest for giants.

Amongst the endless giant trees of this fearsome forest, there seemed to be a small stone hut set out on a campsite. Though the small hut seemed to be made as a place of convenience for only a limited time, it was built with a sense of care. Like it was a place for a small village family, this small hut was made with rooms for each person who stayed within it. Giving each one a place they could rest their heads.

On top of the hut was a blue flag logoed with the sign of a brown bear. This flag marked the sign of the Ursus Tribe.

It had been around 2 months since they left the wretched Outlands. In that time they sailed the seas for about a month and ended up finding themselves on the shore of a foreign land. This land being the gigantic forest their small hut resided in.

Just outside their hut, some of the tribe members had gathered around a campfire, one of them being Bo. Of the members, 1 seemed to be telling a story of some sort.

The man telling the story looked to be in his mid to late 20s and stood around the height of 5 foot 9 inches, his hair was black, and had he a distinct style of 2 loose hair buns on the right and left side of his head with loose hairs falling down the side of them. He wore a ragged grey and brown vest, and what stood out most was on his back. On his back was A bow and quiver for him to place his arrows. His name was Nero.

He seemed to be telling a story of sorts, where he fought in a battle back when he and the Ursus Tribe were still in the Outlands.

He claimed as he told his tale, "It was a fierce battle against a formidable enemy warrior, who possessed a powerful axe known as a Mantle."

"Does anyone know what a Mantle is?" Nero inquired, He prompted the other members to answer.

Immediately Bo raised his hand and spoke passionately,

"Mantles are weapons that have their own unique supernatural abilities, they come mostly in standardized weaponry such as swords, axes, spears, Bow, Arrows, etc. But mantles can actually be anything that grants supernatural Powers."

Nero applauded Bo's response. "Correct Bo! And the guy I faced had a Mantle that could form an impenetrable body barrier. His strategy was to shield himself and launch attacks from within, thinking he was invincible. However, he overlooked a vulnerability on his backside."

Anticipation is reflected in the faces of Bo and the others at the campfire.

Nero proudly declares, "So it was up to me, Nero the Sniper of the Ursus Tribe, to save the day! I took my shot, drawing my arrows perfectly hitting the enemy in the blind spot on his back. Taking down the fearsome Mantle owner In one fell swoop."

All the members were struck with awe by Nero's heroic feat.

Regretfully, Nero adds, "It's unfortunate that I can't share more battle stories with you kids. Over the years our Numbers have trickled down steadily. And now we're down to just seven members in our Tribe. With such numbers, we can't take on any formidable foes. It's hard to believe that we were one of the strongest tribes in the world so long ago."

Everyone around the campfire's heads were tilted down facing the reality the state of the Ursus Tribe is in. However, Bo, ever so optimistic, became a beacon of light. He jumped up and exclaimed,

"Quit with the worrying, won't you! We're not done yet, we still have battles to fight! Because when I'm older, I Bo will revive the Ursus Tribe's name and become the King of the Conquerors!"

Both Nero and the kids looked at Bo with raised eyes. Nero seemed unenthused by his statements attempting to temper Bo's energetic manner, "Okay... Let's calm down now. Here you go spouting out your silly dreams once again. Bo, I think you fail to understand that to become the King of the Conquerors, you have to rise above all. Meaning You must be greater than every man, every warrior, and every King in this world!"

Undeterred, Bo confidently asserted, "If that's what it takes, then I will become the greatest King the world has ever seen. And rise above all!"

The two other members jump to their two feet standing alongside Bo. One was around 5'6, with short spiky black hair, and his eyes were lime green. He was shirtless and carried two swords on his hip. This child was Leif.

The other kid was much smaller than Bo and Leif standing at 5'2, with a dirty blonde and messy bowl cut, what stood out on him was his goggles. They looked more like glasses but were thick around the circles. This kid was Kirby.

Both the boys were about the same age as Bo being preteens.

Together tagging along with Bo's optimism, the two declared. "Yeah, Bo is right. We're gonna become great warriors too!"

Overhearing the conversation, a girl had been stepping closer and walked in on the three boys and Nero at the campfire. She seemed to be around the same age as the rest of the boys, she stood about 5'7 with long and brown messy hair, had awfully pale skin, and her eyes appeared dead. Along her waist was a strap of gildawn knives each one with completely different shapes and sizes. This girl's name was Eira.

Standing just next to the campfire she abruptly interrupts the boy's celebration and Nero's story accusing Nero of spinning a tall tale. "Nero, you really gonna tell these guys such a false story?"

"A respected warrior like me would never need to tell such a lie." He bluffed in response.

However, Eira rebutted, "Right... well, unlike the rest of you, I've been to the battlefields from a pretty young age, and I fought alongside Nero, and during that particular encounter, the man that stands in front you guys abandoned the battlefield fleeing like a coward with a ten-year-old me. Isn't that right Nero?"

The boy's jaws were on the floor. Leaving the room in a state of disbelief Eira walked off, stating, "You guys can keep listening to his lies if you like, but you should keep in mind that more than anytime ever, our tribe has to face the truth now.... There's food I left in the hut if you all would like, but only come if you plan on speaking the truth about our tribe."

Seeking confirmation, the 3 boys asked. "This isn't true, right Nero?" However, Nero seemingly couldn't muster up a sentence to deny Eira's claims.

Both Bo and Leif could only be left in disappointment leaving the campfire. "Really lame of you Nero." "I should have known it was a lie." The two boys shamed him on their way out as they smelt the tempting aroma of food inside the nearby hut. However Kirby still being supportive, told him, "Hey, I still think your stories are cool. Even if it may be a folks tale."

"You really think so?" Nero sniffled his nose and raised his head to Kirby. But as Kirby watched both Bo and Lief sprinting out of the campfire for food, he couldn't help but follow along in his curiosity. Leaving Nero alone with a campfire of his shame. As he sat alone at the campfire, he was left with those lingering words of Eira, "The truth huh... I guess she's right. It's time to face the truth about the state of the Ursus Tribe."

The four kids Bo, Kirby, Leif, and Eira sat around a table surrounded inside the hut. On the table was a display of desired meats and an abundance of vegetables too, the kids had already begun feasting on the plethora of food provided.

As they all ate there was a lingering awkward feeling in the room, it seemed as if something needed to be addressed amongst the four kids. Finally breaking the quietness Eira spoke her mind. "You know, despite his false tales, there is one true thing that Nero said back there... Now that we've fallen to only 7 members over the past year, the stories have run dry, we can't do anything with these numbers."

The room was still anxiously quiet as everyone halted from finishing their feast. What had previously felt like awkward silence had been proven just to be the reaction of a harsh reality. In the back of everyone's mind, this reality had already been thought upon far before Eira brought light to it.

Everyone's heads were staring directly at the floor, perhaps it was anger or disparity, regardless the room had now been shrouded in tension. Amongst the 4 kids, Bo had been clenching his fist tightly

" So what now, we just lay here in this hut until we die?" Bo muttered.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far... but maybe we moved too soon. That story Nero told wasn't too long ago, It was just a few years back in the Outlands, that was right before the king had decided we would make a push to leave the continent. Even back then we had a couple thousand survivors left. Now look at us. Perhaps the king had made the wrong decision."

Bo stood up wiping his arm across the dining table pushing aside all the food that laid in front of him. "Don't say that! My brother didn't make a mistake! For over 240 years, our tribe's numbers had been steadily dropping in that savage continent, even our ancestors couldn't stop that. If we stayed any longer, we would be dead by now!"

"And how much more does 7 mean to 0?" Eira rebutted, leaving the entire room stunned, Bo couldn't even muster up a word. Her tone was calm yet the urgency was evident in her words.

"In the past year alone, our tribe's numbers, have shrunk to a number border extinction, and all of us have felt the damage of that result. Right now what we need is consistency. If the king thought guiding us into a deep path of death for the last year was the right idea, fine then. But to lead us out of the continent and leave us here in the middle of this giant forest with no guide, no idea, no clue on what he has planned or what he's doing throws everything we've struggled for this last year away."

Bo was bewildered, from his view he couldn't comprehend the thought of his brother being wrong. "You're... You're wrong. He wouldn't leave us for dead. He's the King, HE'S MY BROTHER!" He slammed his hand on the table leaning his face closer to Eira, his confusion turned to an outburst of frustration.

"Oh right, then where is he? You would know, right Bo? Come on tell us Where is the king, Where is your brother... Where is Bjorn?" She rebutted

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He couldn't reply, nor could he come to terms with the harsh reality of Eira's words. He could only stand across the table from her frozen as if he were a statue.

Realizing the peak of the argument had ended, Kirby finally felt the need to step in cautiously. "Please I don't like seeing us argue like this, Eira, Bo." The two hardly even processed Kirby's words. Recognizing the lack of care for Kirby's words, Lief grabbed Bo and began marching with him on their way outside, "Come on Kirby let's get the hell out of this mess!" He yelled. Following the two Kirby trailed his way out of the room, leaving Eira to herself.

Nearby the camp just barely into the deep forest, the three boys Bo, Lief, and Kirby had decided to calm themselves down on the heated confrontation that had just taken place.

After marching into the forest, Lief tossed a wooden sword towards Bo. Both Bo and Kirby were left confused as to what Leif was implying. "Come on, spar with me! Let's forget about whatever just happened with you and Eira."

Bo dismissively responded, "Nah, I'm better off."

"Ah come on, one little argument and you can't fight no more huh!? I didn't know being a puss comes with the title 'brother of the King!'" Leif was reluctant despite Bo's unenthused attitude.

Being adamant Bo disregarded any and everything. "Try whatever you want. I'm not sparring today."

He took a seat on a nearby rock giving himself time to reflect. However, just before he could give himself any time to get comfortable, Leif picked up the same wooden sword that was tossed toward him earlier and used it to smack him across the face.

Collapsing Bo to the ground, Bo and Kirby were startled by the unhinged actions of Leif. "Why would you do that Leif!?" Kirby gasped.

Spitting blood while holding his right cheek, Bo looked up to Leif with spirited eyes, replying, "You just keep persisting, a fight is what you want? Fine then, keep the sword I won't need it."

"You cocky bastard." Leif grinned deviously.

For the next several hours, the two boys sparred till the sun blazed, with Kirby watching on the side. Ducking his head under Lief's incoming sword, Bo kicked him by the legs causing what looked like an already beaten-up Leif to collapse to the floor. Leif's body was completely swollen from his arms to his legs and face, yet his daring grin was still as evident as it had ever been.

"That's your 42nd loss in a row now. I think that's enough sparring for the day." Bo stated looking down at Lief's swollen body.

"Bo's right the sun's about to fall anytime now." Kirby included.

Being reluctant Lief implored one more time, "Ah come on one more fight won't ya!? It might not look like it, but I still got some fight in me!"

Bo and Kirby glanced at one another startled and in confusion, both simultaneously thinking, "Is he serious?"

Putting an end to the antics Bo replied, "Listen, I thank you for helping me get my mind away from me and Eira's argument earlier, but at this point sparring any longer would just be a waste of time. I'm going..."

He began walking off back to the Camp. However, just before Bo was too far away, Leif mustered up his last strands of energy rising to his feet, Coming to help hold him up Kirby gave him a shoulder to lay on. Leif was panting and spoke with a sense of urgency, "You're finally realizing now huh!? All these spars we have, just one big waste of time! Ya know Bo, you might not want to hear it, but what Eira said was right!"

Bo's footsteps came to a halt, intrigued as to what Leif was trying to say. Along with Bo's halt, Kirby's eyes had opened up in worry for the words Leif was about to utter.

"It's time we start accepting the reality of our Tribe, and stop waiting for your stupid brother to control our every move! You see Bo, you're not the only one with big dreams of becoming something, I do too and I'm sure Kirby does as well, and maybe even that grumpy bastard Eira too." Staring into his sword he spoke with conviction, " And I know one thing that's for sure, Waiting here in these good-for-nothing woods won't do anything about it. Sooner than you think Bo, these dreams that we want to live, we're going to have to go out there and achieve them you hear me! We don't have our entire life to waste here anymore!"

Absorbing every word Leif had let off, Bo picked his footsteps back up and began marching even quicker to the camp.

Returning to the camp it had finally hit sundown, and in the peak of night, the Ursus Tribe had all fallen asleep, with Bo being the exception.

After the confrontations and constant back-and-forths with Leif and Eira throughout the day, his mind couldn't let him rest, even in the comfort of his bed. He could only keep remembering the words both Eira and Leif left him with, "Where is Bjorn?" "Sooner than you think Bo, these dreams that we want to live, we're going to have to go out there and achieve them"

He was conflicted, though he was unwilling to accept those harsh words at the moment, deep down he knew they spoke the truth. He reflected, "Bjorn has no choice but to come back, so he will. But if he doesn't..." His eyes widened, "Am I worthy enough... to become a king?" He began to crawl himself into a ball on his bed and constantly repeated, "He'll come back, he'll come back, he'll come back..."

The Next Morning

Bo had still been stuck to his bed, however eventually over that dreadful night, he was finally knocked out and had fallen deep into sleep. With footsteps rushing quickly into his room, Kirby tugged onto Bo's shirt rocking him back and forth, he began urging him to wake up, "Hurry Bo! Come on!" He kept bugging.

Forcing Bo to wake out of his sleep, he slowly opened his eyes and saw the joyful urgency in Kirby's eyes. So he asked, "What's the rush?"

"YOU WERE RIGHT BO! YOUR BROTHER! THE KING... HE'S BACK!"

"....What??" With squinted eyes Bo replied.

The news was an immediate shock, struggling to process what he had been told Bo rubbed the morning crust off his eyes and got off his bed. Dragging him along Kirby rushed Bo outside the hut busting them through the front door.

Just outside of the hut was a brightening gaze of the morning sun, the harmonic rhythms of the chirping birds, and Bjorn in his brown hood with his long luscious straight brown hair flowing in the wind, Cloaked in his wide strawed hat this time tilting it to the sky so everyone could see his face. Piggybacking him was the same fragile slave boy who was being beaten by those five guards.

Lifting his head, showing his ocean blue eyes, the brown hooded man observed the 4 kids in front of him.

"BJORN!" Bo, Kirby, Leif, and Eira exclaimed exuberantly. The kids rushed him, all of them leaping in for a hug.

Slightly distanced away from Bjorn and the kids. Was Nero walking towards a man with a cart full of food who looked strikingly similar to himself. The two stood around at the same height, both with the same fair skin, the same jet-black hair, and similar facial features. However, he styled his hair in a man bun and was shirtless with scars across his body and a sword to his hip. Lastly, the man's eyes were like a predator, they were sharp and piercing. This was Nero's twin brother Namon

"The king isn't the only one who came back today. Looks like your hunt went well?" Nero asked as he and his brother stood in the distance conversing while watching the kid rekindle with the king.

Namon vaguely acknowledged his brother's question glancing at him briefly before looking back to the kids and the King.

"While I was out hunting in the giant forest, I ran into him, Bjorn that is." He stated.

"What was he doing?" Nero asked.

"I don't know. He was just sitting there, next to the big trees, with that same fragile boy he's carrying. The only thing I knew when I looked into his eyes was that he was tired... extremely tired." Namon answered.

A moment of silence went by.

Nero added, "I assume it won't be long before we find out why. A meeting between the three adults has been well overdue."

The kids kept clinging onto Bjorn, squeezing him tight, despite the doubt everyone once had, the reassurance of their King had washed any of it away.

"I told you guys! Bjorn would never leave us for dead!" Bo shouted with excitement, after hearing those words, Bjorn lifted his head and took one step back from the kids, all of them looking up into his eyes. As he glanced upon the 4 kids once more, he spoke softly as he stated one of each kid's name, "Eira, Kirby, Leif, and my little brother Bo. I've missed you all so much." He couldn't help but smile. However, right afterward he tilted his head down blankly staring at the grass, his face turned expressionless, and he kept walking towards the front door of the hut. Just before he could enter he called out the twins.

"Namon, Nero. We need to talk."

"Right!" The two marched over to the hut trailing Bjorn.

The youthful excitement of this reunion was cut short. As Bjorn walked in through the door, the kids finally realized the child that was piggybacking Bjorn leaving them puzzled, "Who is he?" They wondered in unison.

With a tone of authority, Nero directed Bo and the other kids, "You guys go play a game of tag won't ya, this is a matter for adults." Disappointment clouded the children's faces as Nero securely closed the door of the hut, relegating them outside the meeting space.

"What's up with those guys?" Lief questioned.

"I'm not sure. But I'm just glad my brother is finally back, and now that our king is here we can move forward with our plans." Bo replied.

In the hut, as the door closed on the kids, Bjorn rushed to one of the rooms, stating, "The kid needs to rest his head." As he laid the slave boy's head down on one of the beds.

Nero quickly scratched his intrigue on the boy, "About the child, who is he?"

Taking a second to reply Bjorn gathered his thoughts, and replied, "He's a slave. I found him a small village not too far from here. As for why he's here, I asked him if he wanted to escape. and he told me "More than anything in this world."" The twins struggled to respond.

"Now then, shall we talk?" Bjorn asked.

The three sat themselves down around the long table of the hut. Nero opened the conversation, "It's been some time since we've gotten together like this hasn't it? Well, I think it's only right to ask first, Bjorn how was your trip, find any place to get some nice jewelry, maybe even some lovely woman?" Nero leaned his shoulder in while raising an eyebrow.

Cutting Nero off Namon firmly asked, "Enough with the small talk. Let's get straight to it. Before you left to go on this "trip," you told us it would decide the future of our Tribe. So now that you're here, what is it? What did you see? What is the future of our Tribe Bjorn?"

The room atmosphere suddenly fell, Bjorn's head tilted down and his tone carried disappointment as he expressed, "It's all the same, both the Outlands and the outside world. It's all repulsive." The room was silent until Bjorn added, "It seems my apprehensions have proven true. I fear..."

"They say over 240 years ago back in the Outlands, the world had faced a war that was greater than any war in history, until our Tribe... No, our King Boad stepped in and ended it all.

They called that war the Battle of Kalen Dale, which was the name of the Outlands at the time. A war that saw millions of lives lost, and at the peak of it all, our tribe had fallen victim to countless casualties as well, leading to our eventual fall from the top. However, despite the Tribe's situation our King Boad, had risen above the controversy of the war, and in a dying sacrifice, he ended it all.

From those final moments, Boad became recognized as the second-ever King of the Conquerors, a god amongst men, and the one who brought peace to a world of war. In his final words before passing, he declared, "To rise above all."

That is what it takes to attain the power of King Conquerors. One man must rise above all of humanity. Ever since those words echoed across the land, the world plunged into a frenzy of power-seeking, territorial conquest, and chaos for this vague meaning he's given. 'Chaos' is the only term that fits the state of this world."

Namon interjected sarcastically, "Thanks for the history lesson, but that's not what we asked for. What does all this history talk of our tribe determine, what are you aiming to convey?" he inquired.

Bjorn answered, "In the last month, during my journey in this foreign land, I now understand the chaos that has ensued since Boad's death. The reaction to the death of a god, It's chaos is all the same, just like the chaos that plagues the Outlands. My explorations unveiled a world just as grim as the one we escaped."

Namon's and Nero's eyes had widened.

Bjorn continued, "Women and children alike enslaved and abused by warriors like the child I brought back, rampant land raiding, death from starvation, hopeless families in a desperate search for a home, the list can go on and on. The world is simply just a mirror to that of the Outlands. The Turmoil persists

The battle may be over for this tribe now, however my battles have just begun. This Ursus Tribe holds no more purpose for me and my goals. I must forge my own path."

Namon's seemed unphased. "It was only a matter of time, so ... you're leaving aren't you?" he calmly acknowledged.

Meanwhile, Nero grieved tears streaming down his face. Though visibly infuriated, Namon tried to steady his emotions, muttering, "Come on... toughen up. We should have known this bastard would leave us."

Standing near the door, Bo managed to catch snippets of the conversation inside the hut. Leif advised, "Bo, come on let's go. What's going on in there is none of our business."

He waved off Leif's words, As he kept his ears peeled and lingered against the door.

"This can't be true... right?"

In the hut, Namon asked, "And what's your purpose for leaving us?

Bjorn stood to his feet and began explaining, "Every King and Warrior bears a purpose for their fight. I, too, have one. I only yearn for a world where peace reigns. The unending war I've witnessed throughout my life has consumed me. What is peace? That's what I aim to uncover, regardless of the cost. And if this world cannot provide that peace I search for, then I will create it myself!"

Namon clenched his fist tight, " Then let us help you! We made it out of the outlands together, I'm sure we can fight any battles the Outside world has to offer." he suggested, "No you guys have already fought enough. And for the kids, over the past year, they've watched their tribe fall from a mere 1000 members to an even worse 7. They may be great at hiding it, but that type of loss takes a toll no child should bear."

Bjorn's expression turned resolute. "I'll forge this path on my own."

Nero began sobbing, tears and snot running down his face, he questioned Bjorn, "Isn't our Tribe good enough, Bjorn? We've always followed your lead, every command."

Namon, his gaze icy, added, "This stupid dream you chase. It could even make you leave the only thing you have left. You and your little brother are the same, a pair of two dream-chasing idiots."

Amidst the turmoil, Bjorn chuckled, acknowledging Namon's insight. " You always knew me best Namon."

Fed up with Bjorn's decision, Namon got up, stating, "Alright. I've had enough of your bullshit I'm getting out of here. Come on Nero let's leave" However, just before they could exit the room. kicking the front door of the hut wide open Bo stomped into the room.

He was flustered, fists clenched and veins bulging as he shouted at his brother. "YOU'RE LEAVING?!!!" His emotions were raw. Eira, Leif, and Kirby turned their heads to the door, with their mouths dropped to the floor.

Bo stormed into the room, intensely staring into the ocean blue eyes of Bjorn. "What are you talking about leaving Bjorn?!" he demanded.

Despite Bo's visible frustration, Bjorn remained calm insisting on his decisions. "I've pondered this already deeply, the path I have ahead of me strays from that of the Tribes. So I'm giving up my position and Bo... I want you to claim the role of the new King of the Ursus Tribe."

"BO????!!"

The declaration elicited cries of disbelief, from all the other 6 members inside and outside the hut was raised eyes and jaws dropped.

And in the mind of the joyful child, who only believes in the one-sided ideas of his world, Bo the brother's king could only utter one word.

"Me?"