One

The sky glowed bright red despite it being the brink of dawn. Unidentifiable corpses lied around, their putrid stench lingering in the air. Several hundred warriors sat under the shelter of a massive tree trunk, eating what may be their last meal. Among all the warriors, one sat restless in his seat, sobs escaping his mouth.

“What’s the matter, lad? Why are you not eating?” asked a big, burly man.

“I’m very sorry, Sir Hydenston. It’s just that I miss my family so much. My wife and my daughter were both killed by the Dark Army. Oh, how I miss the days when I would pass the marketplace just to bring home a fine gift for them once I’ve been given my pay as a troubadour in a castle. In fact, I still have the last gift I bought for them here.” the warrior opened his hand to reveal three chains that each had a three-leaf clover charm on them. The thought of his gone family made the poor soldier burst into tears.

“There, there,” said Hydenston as he rubbed the warrior’s shoulder, “I know exactly how that feels. The Dark Lord himself killed my wife right before my very eyes.”

“Really, sire?” asked the warrior. “Yes, and I’m not letting him do as much as lay a finger on my son. He will have to face me before that happens. We are in this war for a reason. We are fighting for our loved ones. Even if some of them are gone, as long as you keep them in your heart and mind at all times, we gain the strength to do what we have to do. Death is inevitable anyways, so let’s make the most out of our last moments before we meet our loved ones.” Hydenston started laughing as he proceeded to eat with his other fellow knights. A smile formed on the previously sad soldier’s face. The soldier kept the chains back into his pocket before finishing his meal.

The aura in the big murky forest made it seem as if there was no war going on. Despite the food being ordinary, despite there no wine to be seen anywhere, or any actual festivity going on, everyone seemed too happy for a person who was about to bring themselves into a bloody war. The joyous moment was then interrupted by a loud cry that echoed out of nowhere.

“Bronx! I did not know what was making him cry, so I brought him here to you. Who else would be able to make him stop crying than his own father?” said a man. He was smaller compared to his best friend, not to mention slightly younger as well. In his arms rested a young little boy who cried loudly for no apparent reason.

The king paused for a moment, and then continued laughing while he pinched the cheeks of his dear son. Just as he was about to open his mouth to begin lecturing his old friend about taking care of children, the tree that served as roof for his army was suddenly split in half by a massive tail that crashed out of nowhere.

“No, not right now,” said Bronx. Everybody looked up to see a massive silhouette of a dragon in front of the crimson sky. Maniacal noises came from the Dark Army’s minions. Hydenston’s knights immediately prepared themselves for the greatest battle that would dictate the fate of Raven Rock. “Azealor!” he called out.

“Yes, Bronx?” said his friend. “I want you to take good care of my child, and make sure that if I don’t survive today, that he lives on to reclaim the land that is rightfully his.”

Azealor’s eyes lit up in disbelief, “But what about you? What are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry about me, just go!” Bronx glanced at his dear son and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, knowing that it could possibly be the last time that they would ever meet. Azealor hesitated to leave at first, but he knew that he would be doing the right thing if he fled immediately. He ran to the deepest depths of the forest to make sure that no one would be able to find them. Once Bronx felt assured that his son was in a safer place now, he unsheathed his blade. “For Raven Rock!” he shouted, and his army charged against the evil lord’s minions.

Bronx gave it his all to slay his opponents. One by one they went down, but just as he kills one, more of them appear. The creatures that Hydenston was fighting against didn’t look human. In fact, they weren’t human at all. They seemed to be dark entities formed from the spirits of the dead. He continued to fend off his enemies together with his allies. After a long struggle, most, if not all of his enemies were gone, and so was his army.

The dragon that attacked Hydenston and his army suddenly transformed into a human figure, turning out to be the evil overlord who has been trying to conquer Raven Rock.

“Oh, poor you,” laughed the Dark Lord, “You couldn’t save your wife, you couldn’t save your men, and you wouldn’t even be able to save your poor son after this.”

“Silence!” Hydenston scoffed, “I’m not giving up without a fight.”

“You haven’t changed a bit, Bronx. You’re still as dumb and pathetic as you were before.” the Dark Lord hissed.

With a mere snap of his fingers, his minions suddenly vanished into thin air. He raised his arms and the spirits of Hydenston’s army came out of their corpses. The Dark Lord gathered them all and formed them into a sword. He pointed the blade just below Hydenston’s chin. “I thought conquering Raven Rock would be much more difficult than this, Bronx. Now, don’t make this too easy for me. I want to see you beg for your dear life. I’m very sure that you don’t want to die yet, do you?” said the Dark Lord, “You could beg me to spare your life, under the condition that you will become one of my men and that you will help me take over the world, or you could perish under the blade formed from the spirits of your fallen brethren. So, what will you choose?” the Dark Lord inched closer to Hydenston’s face with a smug grin sprawled over his face.

“I would rather die knowing that I fought for my land rather than work or even kneel for someone as vile and wicked as you!” Hydenston gave the Dark Lord a disdainful stare and spat at his face. The Dark Lord flinched.

“You never fail to amuse me, Bronx.” the Dark Lord wiped the spit off his face. He placed a hand on Hydenston’s shoulder then grinned as he smashed his knee onto the warrior’s stomach, causing him to groan in pain. He placed his head near Hydenston’s ear, and whispered menacingly, “I’m going to ask you one last time. Will you join me and become my right hand as we rule the world together? Or do you still wish to die—fooled by the illusion that even if you fail, that you have ‘saved’ Raven Rock somehow? Think about it, you would have everything that you wanted in life. You can have all the money you want. You can rule over any kingdom in this world. I could even revive your wife for you! All you have to do is kneel and beg.”

Hydenston’s eyes widened upon hearing about his wife. He had always wanted to have his wife back with him. Nothing made him happier than the thought of his family complete again. Still, his courage remained strong. “There would be no point in having my wife back if Raven Rock wasn’t the way it was before. Besides, even if I died today, I know that someday, someone would stop you and your plans to rule the world!”Hydenston growled.

The Dark Lord walked several paces behind Hydenston. “Oh, how brave of you.” he cackled, “But sadly, bravery won’t get you anywhere, you ignorant fool. Alright then, I shall do as you wish.” agonizing screams echoed and a dark aura emanated from the demonic blade that he had created earlier. “Farewell, Hydenston.” in the blink of an eye, the sword flew straight through the valiant king’s armor and through his heart. Blood started to come out of his wound and from his mouth as his frail body fell to the ground.

“I have no more reason to stay here. Let us go.” the Dark Lord raised his arms and a flock of crows swept him off the ground. They headed north, towards Raven Rock Castle.

Despite Bronx telling him to flee to safety, Azealor disobeyed his orders and hid inside a small cave within to forest to see if Bronx was alright. After the screams and the clanging of steel had faded away, Azealor stepped out the cave and ran back to where he last met his friend.

He was dumbfounded to see the chaos before his eyes. The forest that used to be home to many lively animals and flourishing plants and trees was now nothing but a wasteland filled with the remains of the vicious war that happened there. The trees were decayed and the lakes that used to be a deep blue were now red with the blood of the brave warriors who fought there.

Azealor saw his fallen friend and immediately ran towards him. He checked his pulse, but it was beating no more. He couldn’t help but start crying, knowing that his best friend was already gone. Not only that, but Bronx’ son would grow up without any parents. Azealor wiped the tears on his eyes and just as he was about to leave again, he noticed the sword in Bronx’ hands. He placed the baby he was carrying on Bronx’ chest and took the sword from his grasp. The sword was a family treasure, and he thought that he should hand the blade to the child—a rightful heir of the Hydenston family.

Azealor sheathed the blade and latched it onto his belt. “Goodbye Bronx. I promise to avenge you.” he said as he carried the child away and ran back into the forest.

The dark-haired man kept running until he found the cave where they hid before. He sat down and looked at the child cradled in his arms, “Peter Lewis,” says Azealor, “That name doesn’t quite fit you, young lad.” he ponders for a moment, “I know! I shall call you Kaiser, for you are the rightful king of Raven Rock.” and with that he settled down, closing his eyes as he fell asleep.

Two

The sound of wood sticks clashing against each other resonated in the forest. Azealor was sparring against a young lad who looked very similar to his friend, Bronx. The boy had short, dark brown hair that stood up, and his body was thin but lean. Azealor couldn’t believe that 18 long years had already passed since the Dark Army had taken over Raven Rock, and that it has been that long since he had lost his friend in the Great War. His hair and beard has already grown so long and has become silvery in color. His skin has wrinkled, and he wasn’t as strong as he used to be before. Not to mention, Bronx’ son was all grown up, too. While he was lost in his train of thought, the staff he was holding got knocked out of his hands.

“Got you now, old man!” said the lad as he pointed his staff at his foe. He was about to swing the staff, but Azealor managed to block his attack.

“That was close, Kaiser. You caught me off guard,” said Azealor, “But haven’t I told you before not to announce that you are about to attack? Your opponent would be able to defend himself then.” he took Kaiser’s staff and reversed his attack, making the teenager fall to his feet. He threw the staff away, leaving both of them without a weapon.

Kaiser’s jaw dropped, “So this is going to be a fistfight then? Alright, Pops, let’s do this.” Kaiser stood up and hurled his arms in desperate attempts to punch Azealor, but he managed to dodge every single blow. Kaiser grunted in frustration and continued attacking furiously. Just when he managed to get his fist close to Azealor, the older man caught it with his hand. He twisted Kaiser’s arm and pulled him closer. He kicked the rear of Kaiser’s calf, making him fall yet again.

“Never be too angry when attacking, it makes your attacks too predictable.” said Azealor.

“Whatever you say, old man. You just got lucky this time.” Kaiser grunted again as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

Azealor was helping Kaiser to get up, when another man much older than Kaiser arrived with a huge knapsack on his back. The man had long black hair that was tied up, and he was much bigger compared to Kaiser. His features were very similar to that of Azealor’s, too. His clothes and hands were stained with blood, although there wasn’t much, which meant that he didn’t kill a massive beast.

“Father,” said the man, “I wasn’t able to find any deer, but I was able to capture these.” he opened his bag, revealing several live rabbits that had wounds on their sides.

“It’s fine, Lark,” Azealor replied to his son, “At least you were able to find food for us. Now go ahead and cook that before we starve to death.” he joked. Lark just nodded and then walked past the two other men by him and started setting up a campfire.

“What took you so long, Lark? Did you travel all the way to Raven Rock Castle to bargain with the Dark Lord just to find those rabbits?” Kaiser said in a joking manner. Lark suddenly stood up, anger evident in his face. He ran behind Kaiser, pulling him down in a chokehold position.

“What the heck? What are you doing?” said Kaiser.

“I want you to take back what you said!” replied Lark. Kaiser clutched the ground beneath him as Lark tightened his grip.

“That was just a joke, Lark. Don’t take it seriously,” said Kaiser in a panicky manner, “Now please, let me go. I can’t breathe.” Kaiser said between heavy breathing. His face slowly turned into a deep shade of purple and his eyes seemed as if they were going to pop out of their socket. Lark released him and helped him get up.

“I’m sorry, Kaiser. I’ve just had a very bad day today.” said Lark. Kaiser took a big gasp once he was finally able to get on his feet. He gave Lark a cold hard stare and walked away from their camp in anger. Lark felt guilty for what he had done, but he immediately shrugged it off and went on with what he was doing a while back.

* * * * * * * * * *

The men enjoyed the meal that they had, although there was still tension between Kaiser and Lark. Azealor couldn’t help but shake his head in disappointment. Despite the young adults knowing each other since they were young, they still had times when they would quarrel or even brawl with each other whenever they had even the slightest misunderstanding. Azealor sighed and went into his tent to take a nap.

Azealor trudged a path that was unfamiliar to him. The road that he walked on seemed barren. He saw nothing and no one in the place that he was in. All of a sudden, a bright light shone in front of him. A silhouette of a man then formed in front of the light.

“Azealor,”

“Bronx? Is that you?” said Azealor. The light faded out revealing his best friend in front of him.

“Yes, it is,” said Bronx, “I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything for you, my friend.” replied Azealor.

Bronx unbuckled the sword that was latched on his belt and then handed it to Azealor, “I need you to hand this to Kaiser, It’s about time that he saved Raven Rock from evil.”

“But what about you?” Azealor asked. Bronx did nothing but give a small smile as he slowly vanished into thin air. Bright light filled the place once again. Azealor suddenly opened his eyes only to find out that he had been dreaming all along.

He sat up, scratching his head in bewilderment. He remembered that he had always kept the sword in a chest hidden behind all their other things, but that chest was mysteriously in front of him. He then summoned Kaiser from outside.

“What do you need, Pops?” said Kaiser.

“Just come here immediately. I need to give you something.” Kaiser stepped into Azealor’s tent and sat down on a stool.

Azealor slowly opened the chest, revealing the sheathed sword wrapped in velvety cloth. “Here, Kaiser, take this. Your father wanted me to give this to you,” he handed the sword to Kaiser.

“What is this, Pops?” Kaiser replied.

“This is an ancient ancestral sword that originated from your great ancestors. It has been passed on from generation to generation, and it has been known that the wielder of the sword can harness great power.”

The young fighter’s eyes lit up upon hearing his stepfather, “That’s awesome! I finally have a weapon! And I can shoot fire out of it too, can I?” Kaiser asked expectantly.

Azealor let out a slight chuckle, “That wasn’t what I meant by great power, Kaiser.” he said.

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Kaiser replied with a sigh, “May I see the sword?”

“Go ahead.”

Kaiser pulled the cloth from the sword. The sword’s sheath looked good as new as if someone had been taking care of it through all those years. The wood was smooth and glossy as if the weapon had never been used in war before.

Kaiser placed his hand on the sword’s hilt which had black rubber wrapped around it. Not a single dent was on the hilt, which amazed him seeing as the sword has been passed on to many different people. He took a deep before he pulled the hilt. He felt a click, meaning that the sword was already loose. He pulled further, expecting to see the blade in its full glory. He was open-mouthed at the sight of the sword itself.

“What the bloody hell is this?” he said in disbelief, “Why does this sword look like this? I thought that I would finally have a weapon that I could use against anyone who try and cross me, but instead I have this thin and rusty piece of metal!” and he was right, the sword did look old and tattered.

“But Kaiser, you haven’t—” Azealor wasn’t able to finish his sentence as Kaiser suddenly stormed out of the tent in frustration. He threw the sheath and blade to the ground and spat. “Are you trying to mess with me, Pops?”

“Will you calm down, Kaiser? I’m not fooling you. You just haven’t unleashed its full potential yet.” Azealor replied.

“What would I even be able to unleash from a flimsy piece of metal? Perhaps I could land a bruise or two on my opponent?” Kaiser replied sarcastically. He was about to leave yet again when they heard the rustling of the bushes around them.

A loud howl came from where the sound came from. They knew exactly what was trying to attack their camp.

“Lycanthropes,” Lark muttered under his breath, “Prepare to fight!” just as he said that, three wolf-like beasts suddenly jumped out of the bushes. They were huge, and they had extremely sharp teeth. Their mouths were watering, eager for an afternoon snack.

Lark was devising a plan to attack the wolves. He knew that a direct frontal attack wouldn’t work on them since they had very keen senses. Just as he was about to command Kaiser on what to do, he had already charged towards one of the lycanthropes.

“Kaiser, don’t do that! Your attacks won’t work if you—” the bulky teenager was unable to finish his sentence as he saw Kaiser sent to the air by the beast with a single blow.

“Kaiser, sneak up from behind them. I’ll cover you.” said Lark.

“Don’t tell me what to do, bastard!” Kaiser attacked once again only to be thrown against a pile of firewood. His vision went black, and he fell to a state of unconsciousness.

Lark threw a smoke bomb to the ground, causing the beasts to start coughing. He snuck up behind one of them and stabbed them in the neck with a dagger.

“One down,” he said, “Two to go.” he ran towards Kaiser and dragged him away from the smoke. Unfortunately, as the smoke cleared out, the wolves were able to find them. Lark threw stones at them but they were able to dodge every single one. He was left without a weapon and Kaiser was not capable of fighting at his state. The wolves had them trapped in a corner, helpless. “What do I do now?”

Three

Lark felt very helpless. He thought that he and his friend were facing their last moments on this earth. He closed his eyes and braced for impact, when the wolves suddenly whimpered in pain.

The wolves turned around to see Azealor behind the campfire, writing runes in the air. They were agitated by the attack, and so they charged towards Azealor.

“Father, get out of the way!” Lark screamed. Azealor didn’t move a single step, but instead started mumbling foreign incantations. The runes then formed a circle around the campfire, making the fireballs magically fly towards the wolves, burning them to death.

Lark got on his feet, relieved that the lycanthropes were already dead. “Thank goodness you’re alright, Father.” he walked towards Azealor when they heard a click like that from a crossbow being aimed.

“Don’t move, or the old man gets it.” said a deep, husky voice. Lark and Azealor both froze. “It seems like you’ve just killed our meal for today, mate. I guess you’ll just have to hand over your food, or we’ll have to kill you instead.”

Kaiser scratched his head in confusion as he finally rose from unconsciousness. His eyesight was still blurry and he felt as if there were little dwarves pounding the inner walls of his head with a hammer. He rubbed his eyes, and finally got a clearer look of what all the commotion was about.

“All you had to do was politely ask for food and we would have gladly given some to you.” said Azealor.

“I’m sorry, grandpa. Bandits like us don’t play nice.” said the outlaw.

“Fools!” Lark scoffed.

“Hah! We’ll be seeing who the fool is after we burn your camp to the ground!” the moment Kaiser heard those words out of the bandit’s mouth, a jolt of anger rushed through his veins. He immediately got up and charged towards one of them.

“Over my dead body, you bloody bastards!” he yelled.

“Kaiser don’t—” Lark tried to warn Kaiser against the armed bandits, but he was unable to as the bandits shot their crossbows without hesitation the moment they saw someone attacking.

Lark managed to dodge the arrows, but Kaiser was about to get hit. Fortunately, Azealor still had reflexes that were fast enough despite his age. He pushed Kaiser out of the way making both of them fall to the ground.

“Are you alright, Pops?” Kaiser asked.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.” replied Azealor. Kaiser was surprised to feel blood fall on his cheek. Azealor got hit by an arrow on the shoulder. He collapsed to the ground in pain.

“Father!” Lark shouted. He had no weapon on hand. Instead, he threw another smoke bomb towards the bandits, causing a distraction.

“Grandpa, don’t die! Not now!” pleaded Kaiser.

“It’s alright, Kaiser. It’s just an arrow.” said Azealor.

“It’s not just an arrow, Pops! You’re hurt!” Kaiser said with a slight hint of anguish in his tone.

“We have to bring you to safety, Father. Let us hurry before the bandits get to us.” Lark insisted.

The two helped Azealor stand up and slung his right arm on Kaiser’s shoulder to support him.

“Don’t let anyone leave this camp alive!” the chief bandit said between coughs.

They tried to flee as fast as they could, but as the smoke cleared out, the bandits managed to catch up to them. The bandits pointed their crossbows, making them freeze in their tracks. But, Azealor’s courage was unfaltering. He placed his arm off of Kaiser’s shoulder and started weaving runes in the air once again.

“Well look here, the old man really is trying to get himself killed.” said one of the brigands.

“Shut up, you crook!” yelled Kaiser.

“What are you drawing in the air? Your grave?” laughed another one of them.

Azealor remained silent. The runes suddenly turned bright green, and the trees around them moved, bending themselves around the bandits.

“Argh,” groaned the chief bandit, “What sorcery is this?”

“This is real sorcery.” Azealor made it so that the trees further tightened. The bandits struggled to escape, but to no avail.

Azealor and the others were about to flee, when he collapsed to the ground.

“Father, what’s wrong?” asked Lark.

Unbeknownst to them, the arrow actually had poison embedded in it. Azealor was not only poisoned, he was also slowly losing large amounts of blood.

The thieves laughed at the sight of their meal’s killer dying. Kaiser couldn’t understand what he was feeling. He felt a lot of pain, confusion, and mostly, anger. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He felt his body becoming hotter, and a blue aura inexplicably surrounded his body.

“Kaiser,” Lark stuttered, “You’re glowing!” the sword that Kaiser had thrown away glowed blue as well and mysteriously transported itself to his hand.

Kaiser felt much more powerful than he was before. He drew his sword and was surprised to see that it was no longer thin and rusty, but instead it was a long, shining broadsword.

The bandits were surprised with the abrupt change in Kaiser. Kaiser ran towards them, faster than he used to run before. He slashed his sword on the tree, freeing the bandits from captivity. The bandits took this as an opportunity to attack him, but he was able to evade their attacks. One of them charged at him, but he swung his sword and managed to land a fatal wound on the bandit’s side.

The other bandits’ stopped for a moment once they saw Kaiser’s full potential. They didn’t give up, however, and continued attacking.

Kaiser kept on dodging their attacks, but they were relentless. Another managed to come close to Kaiser, but he received the same treatment when Kaiser slashed his sword, leaving a huge gash on his stomach.

Kaiser pointed his sword at their leader, who was the last one left among all of them.

“Please, spare my life! I have a family to feed!” he pleaded. Kaiser was about to slay the man, but stopped halfway.

“I’m not like you,” said Kaiser, “Now run before I change my mind.”

The chief bandit hurriedly ran away, not even bothering to check on his injured comrades.

The cyan glow around Kaiser faded away with his rush of power as he sheathed his sword. He remembered that Azealor was still injured, and he immediately ran towards him.

Azealor couldn’t help but hiss in pain as Lark slowly pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. Gangrene was already forming around his wound, and he has gone extremely pale.

“Grandpa,” said Kaiser. He couldn’t help the tears from welling in his eyes. “Please don’t leave us, Pops. Not now.”

Azealor smiled as memories flashed in his mind. He tried to say something, but the pain was too unbearable for him to be able to talk.

“No, Father, try to stay still. We can still get you cured.” Lark said. Lark was about to lift Azealor up when he shook his head in refusal.

“Don’t,” Azealor struggled as he spoke, “Just leave me here. Embark on a journey to Raven Rock Castle to the west and save everyone from the Dark Lord, Kaiser.”

“But, but why?” Kaiser’s voice was shaking as he said that, “We can’t just leave you here!”

“You have to because you are the rightful heir of Raven Rock. Take your sword and save the world from evil.” he coughed and spat out blood. He took deep breaths, but eventually stopped breathing completely. Lark ran his hand over Azealor’s eyes and closed them, putting his suffering to an end.

Kaiser burst into tears. The man that had trained and raised him since he was a young child was gone. Azealor was dead.

He was surprised to see Lark unfazed. He was the son of Azealor, but he did’nt seem to be troubled by his death. Kaiser chose to say nothing about it, and just latched his new sword on his belt.

* * * * * * * * * *

They stood atop a hill far away from their camp. They already had all the resources they needed in their journey, and they had already buried Azealor. Kaiser still couldn’t stop himself from sobbing uncontrollably, while Lark remained eerily silent.

“How are you not sad that Grandpa is gone? He is your father after all.” Kaiser asked Lark.

Lark didn’t reply, and instead walked away. “Let’s just go. He told us to go and save everyone, didn’t he? We won’t be able to do that if we continue dawdling here.” he said. Kaiser nodded his head and picked up his things in silent agreement. They then went down the hill and headed west towards the castle.

Kaiser was still amazed by his newfound powers. He never knew that such amazing abilities were possible, even more so that he would be able to harness such strength.

“So about my new abilities,” Kaiser said in a low voice.

“What about them?” replied Lark.

Kaiser looked at Lark and paused for a moment, “Are you jealous of them?”

“Pardon?” Lark asked in confusion.

“I said, are you jealous of my new powers?” Kaiser repeated with a smug grin on his face.

“And why exactly should I be jealous?” Lark asked, laughing.

“Aha! I finally made you laugh!” Kaiser rejoiced. Lark gave Kaiser a slight chuckle and continued on their journey. Something big was coming along their way.