Within the Liontari Kingdom, on the edge of where the plains meet the strange Forest of Secrets, there nestles a town hidden in the rolling hills. While it was quite the sprawl, large walls completely engulf it, skewing it from view. The dark forest looms ominously nearby, like a monster ready to fall upon them. Outside, farmlands decorate its exterior, where workers labor to gather the harvest before the coming winter, while men watched their efforts, as well as the hills beyond. Women and men alike bustled the tired streets in their day-to-day tasks, easy-going as it can be for this lax time of year. Children played after their school hours, acting as knights, damsels, lions, and dragons of legend. Such knights patrolled the streets as they chatted and monitored their homes. All things were peaceful, and no alarm had yet penetrated the gates of BrokenArrow. The town of peace and natural life.Beyond the borders, the hills and forest meet in a small concave dome. Here, two people spe
Lyse, looking down the path, could see the clearing of light that signaled the end of the forests of silence, and the valley just before the mountain range north of Liontari. As they emerged, the image they received in return was breathtaking. They were met, immediately, with a giant wall of white limestone over fifty meters high. The walls wrapped around the city Silondras, the capital of Liontari. Several towers, buttresses, were evenly spaced among the walls, and along with it Lyse saw many ballistae and cannons aimed down the valley. The main entrance, a two gated path heavily guarded with a few coming in and out, stopped and questioned, and then allowed through. Two twin lion statues, made of gold and silver, flanked the entranced and looked down menacingly at those who entered, the golden sun reflecting off their metal hides. And beyond the wall, behind the amalgamation of buildings from grand to mundane, is grandest of all structures laid nestled near the mountain bed. The beac
By morning, they were off. Lyse and Edlund said goodbye to all their friends, the few that lived in the village proper. Those who lived on their estate were nowhere to be seen that morning. Hardly anyone took the time to greet them. Men and women sifted through some of the burnt houses for any property, a body covered in blood and ash. They were claimed by the masked doctor, who loaded them all on carts. They wished to Visit Lidia's noble family on the hill, but the doors didn't seem open for any visitors, as guards were patrolled even more tightly. Lyse knew that it was partly in response to Lidia's late arrival home and the attack on his home. He said goodbye to his fellow squires, most of which were other sons and daughters of farmers, merchants, and blacksmiths who yearned to be in their shoes. Even Edlund, as proud as he was, seemed a little ashamed that he was sitting on his horse above the rest of them. Makyra waited impatiently, constantly asking them how long these departures
Lyse sat on the dirt road that led to what used to be his home. Now, it was a hollow shell of Ash and cinders slowly sputtering under the cold night. His lungs still heaved as if still filled with smoke, but he did not care enough to notice. His hands were still caked in his father's blood, and he stared into the burnt house where his body still lay. He did not look at his mother, her unconscious body still lying limp a few meters away. He was still trying to comprehend the past few hours. Was it even real? Of course, it is, he convinced himself. Not even in his wildest dreams could he conjure such things. The only question left for him to ask was why. Why did this happen?He was so engrossed with his thoughts that he did not notice the call of his own name. Then, slowly, as if pulled from the abyss, he came to realize the wolf sage shouted his name, holding onto a wound on the side of his mother's gut with a determined look in her eyes."Pay attention," she told him. Then, she grabbe
Brokenarrow had become alive once again. As the day slowly rolled into the evening, and the people came out in droves to prepare for the coming banquet, and festivals, Anyone could feel the palpable energy flowing in the air. Why would there not be? It is such a rare occasion that a knight is chosen within the plains, it is practically a requirement that celebrations must be had. Lyse has experienced many birthdays and other events where he was at the center of it all. But those were always focused just on his family and himself, with some blessings given by the other townsfolk. But tomorrow was different. It was just too surreal, to think so much could be done for just one person. As he saw tables being dragged into the central courtyard, tents being raised just for games, and musicians tuning their instruments to prepare their fanfare. Lyse even noticed some of his favorite tunes being practiced, no doubt commissioned by his parents. Lyse was just left standing near the fountain
It has been a long time since he has seen the light now. He spent so much time within the earth, trapped in his own prison, of his own making and design. Tunnels and twisting corridors that snaked and melded together. Within lied thousands of chambers for various persons, he somehow found the use of each. Even those with little will carried out his piece of the puzzle. Till he figured that the puzzle could not be any more perfect. He even designed this throne room. A dark hollow chamber, large columns lining its sides, draperies of red and black, and the blazing insignia of Talin that decorated each one. The main floor empty, enough to fit a thousand people abreast, laid bare with only a few servants walking aimlessly around, their hands seemingly uncomfortable without holding or fixing anything. Their white, almost mist-like dress making them appear as ghosts, a partial truth in honesty. They were indeed far from human. His dark eyes drifted to the door, large iron sets that would
Within the Liontari Kingdom, on the edge of where the plains meet the strange Forest of Secrets, there nestles a town hidden in the rolling hills. While it was quite the sprawl, large walls completely engulf it, skewing it from view. The dark forest looms ominously nearby, like a monster ready to fall upon them. Outside, farmlands decorate its exterior, where workers labor to gather the harvest before the coming winter, while men watched their efforts, as well as the hills beyond. Women and men alike bustled the tired streets in their day-to-day tasks, easy-going as it can be for this lax time of year. Children played after their school hours, acting as knights, damsels, lions, and dragons of legend. Such knights patrolled the streets as they chatted and monitored their homes. All things were peaceful, and no alarm had yet penetrated the gates of BrokenArrow. The town of peace and natural life.Beyond the borders, the hills and forest meet in a small concave dome. Here, two people spe