[POV: Narrator]
Silver woke up yawning deeply as the sun spread its shimmering rays. There was a window beside his bed, from which he could see the city beyond. There was a shop with a young and incredibly stunning lady selling fruit and vegetables to the people. Watching those crowd, he recalled his own home and his terrible destiny.
Sizen, his homeland, was a closed nation surrounded by the land of pólemos and was on the top of Elohim's plateau. The population of the nation was roughly 225,000. The country had a palace, one on each land.
Fire Village to the North, Wind Village to the East, Lightning Village to the West, Earth Village to the Southwest and Water Village to the Southeast, Capital to the Middle. Each village was about a hundred miles away from the capital and had a population of about 20,000-28,000. Whereas capital had a population of 100,000; (50,000 humans).
The land of Sizen was mostly occupied by Elementals like him.
The capital was enclosed by a large black wall. The walls housed five different gates that lead directly to five different castles. King of Sizen was chosen from one of the eldest princes of five lands.
The first prince was the King's son, while the other four were the sons of four councillors, each from separate villages serving alongside the King. The King and his four councillors are the rulers of their villages.
The king was Pawan Davis from the 'Wind Village'.
***
About a month ago.
In the water village, Country of Sizen.
Even though it was larger than most cities outside; they still called it a village, no one knows why.
Early in the morning, the golden sun emerged to turn the dark and rainy skies into a warm, sunny blue sky. Milky white clouds hovered across the vast horizon. Blue and blackbirds were singing and dancing in the sky.
There was a large farm next to the castle and a lake next to it. The black wall stood high southeast of the lake, which enclosed the whole water village. The remainder of the lake was surrounded by a small forest. There was a wide gate built within the wall on the northwest side of the village facing the capital of Sizen.
In the forest, the trees danced with a whistling, cold breeze that greeted the new dawn.
Men wearing dirty clothes and tattered garments were engaged in the field. Other men hacked the woods, and a few others raised the weight. The gate of the village was guarded by two men. Children played and bathed in the lake, women were washing clothes and dishes while watching children play.
"Hope we have a huge harvest this year, unlike last year."
"I hope so too." A farmer replied while yawning.
An old lady smacked both Farmers with a stick and said, "We will never have a good harvest if you guys keep talking all day long, will we now?"
"Sorry ma'am," the farmers responded with terror in their voices and began to work again.
On the other hand, women were crying to their children, "Don't go swimming too far away from us."
Their children answered, laughing and splashing water at each other, "Ok mom, don't worry about us." and they started to swim again.
It was a joyful, fun and lovely morning like any other morning. Before any storm, though, there was a brief silence. And the laughter of the children could not be heard and was more erratic than the storm itself.
Soon.
The army of 2000 arrived at the gate of the village. The groups in the front were hefting a red coffin.
***
[POV: Silver Davis]
Silver was in the prince's quarters with his mother, Kara Davis. The room was a little cramped. There was a wooden bed in front of the window. There was a table under the window, a closet by the table, and a little dressing area next to it. Silver was lying on the chair, and his mother was sitting next to him with a sheet of paper and a pen.
Silver was learning the art of healing, poisons, and medicines from his mother for, he was to become a future court physician or maybe even The King. Kara was asking Silver questions about poisons and remedies and he was answering her questions.
"Which is the most effective potion to stop heavy bleeding from wounds...?"
"Witch Hazel," Silver replied with a smile.
"Tell me about the blue rocket."
"It's a flowering plant with a flower of violet colour. Deadly poison can be extracted from its root. It is commonly used by assassins but it can also be used to neutralize another poison extracted from seaweed, sea devil."
"Good. What about 'Winter Blessings'?"
"It's a potion derived from the leaves and bark of the shrub by the same name. It can also stop the effect of most poisons. This potion is effective for about... "
As he explained about the 'Winter Blessings', he was interrupted by a messenger who hurriedly came in sweating all over his body.
"Forgive me my lady, but... Umm... Can we speak in private...? It is a... Umm... Matter of utmost urgency." The man looked terrified to his bones and was trembling visibly. Cold sweat was brewing all over his body.
What could have made him so frightened?
Kara looked at Silver and handed him a piece of paper she was carrying. "Go to the forest and collect all the herbs listed in this paper."
"Fine!" Silver answered with a loud and deliberate snort, took the basket on the table, glared at the messenger with angry eyes, and left the room slamming the door behind him.
I am supposed to be a prince. Not a servant. I should I collect the bloody herds.
In the clearing of the forest beyond the lake, Silver inspected a herb. Few herbs lived here. Hmm... It has a single red heart-shaped berry and brownish and hairy steam. It has to be Redheart. No, wait, that’s wrong. The hue was different. The berry wasn't just a shade of red. It looked as if the berry was on fire. It’s Fireheart. Very rare herb indeed. It fused with natural Grace it was very effective for severe burns. Argh! Why do I have to do all the chores? I mean, I’m the prince, ain’t I? I should be living in comfort with few servants at my command.
It’s going to take forever to collect all these herbs on the list. Argh! I can’t locate any of them. I may not be able to gather them by today. No, I’ve got to complete the job today. It was a challenge for me from my mum, and I have to prove to her I can do it. His eyes glowed with resolve; he didn’t know he had.
I’m going to avoid doing it, talking to myself. And I’m still talking to myself to state that. Whatever the hell is wrong with me? And I’m still doing it. Stop it! He smacked his head with his fist.
Then Silver began walking around the forest, searching for various herbs and picking up a couple of them. He enjoyed the birds singing, whistling leaves and the animals jumping between the underbrushes.
[POV: Kara Davis] “What is it? Is something wrong?” She asked the messenger with a concerned look. “Well, Um... Ahh... the... Umm...” Kara Frowned. The messenger was staring at the table and kept shifting his legs. But most of all he was trembling visibly. What could have made the other man so terrified? This can’t be good news. “Well? Spit it out already.” Guard stepped back, nearly jumping on his tiptoes. He shifted his eyes to his feet. “Forgive me, my lady, to be the bearer of such sad news, but his imperial majesty is dead and your husband along with him. I was told that both of them were poisoned to death.” His mouth worked and quivered as he passed the horrid news. For a second, her mind went blank. What was the messenger saying? He must have mistaken. Yes, he was probably too nervous and said the wrong words. But one look at the messenger and realisation hit he
******* Disclaimer ********** This is a fictional work. Any names, places, events, organisations, characters, religious beliefs, cultures, and philosophy are either made up by the author or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events or people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.This work contains mature themes such as violence, torture, and abuse. The author does not promote or condoneany of the actions depicted in the work. Please read at your own risk! *************************** Abbreviations: MIDD: Magic Items Development Department WARG: World Allied Ria's Government. Members of WARG: 1. Republic of Fortuna 2. Speir - 3. Pretas - 4. Fallen Lake - 5. The Sky Kingdom - 6. Naraka - 7. Tiryak - Other Kingdoms: Sizen Everlasting Kingdom Andruss
“Sir Jones, Sir Vlad. Please, sir, we welcome you to our village.” Sir Thomas urged them through the village gate. Vlad, being Vlad, walked into the village as if he owned the place. “You invitation warms my heart, Sir Thomas.” Kara had a hard time stifling her scoff. “It is but my pleasure,” Thomas said. Why were these two acting so formally? Something is going on here. Or am I just reading too much into things? “Where are the councillors? Are they really not here?” Kara inspected the mass of the army in front of the village. There were no luxurious wagons or palanquins that indicated the presence of the councillors. “They are on their way. We just left early to help prepare,” Sir Jones Said. Kara nodded. After walking through the street paved with cobblestones, they finally reached the magnificent castle of the water village. They entered the castle through th
[POV: Kara Davis] Echoing screams still hung in the air. Why did at times like this, everything seem to slow down? It made everything that was happening even worse. Two hulks of the man climbed up to Kara and grabbed her from either side, forcing her on her knees. Her hands pulled behind her back. Kara felt the weight of a leg pushing on her back. She tried to struggle, of course, but these men were bloody strong. Her body didn’t even twitch. Ria’s forsaken bastards. The vampires pulled their head back, mouth open wide, their fangs sleek with drooping poison. The ever-present screams in the air increased. Some wailed, some collapsed, children clinging to their parents, eyes clamped shut. “No, not them. They have done nothing wrong. Just kill me and be done with it. But please, have mercy on them. Kill me instead. Please, I’m begging you... NO... Please, don’t hurt them. NO.” Despite her wails for mercy, nobody heard, even she barely heard it.
Silver woke up to a throbbing pain in his forehead. Why was everything so dark? Silver groaned. Ria Above! The pain was killing him. He tried to rub his throbbing forehead, but he immediately pulled his hands back, wincing at the pain, motes of dried blood sticking to his fingertips. What the hell happened to me. Where am I? Silver pulled on his grace and held and held that torrent of power within him; the power that allowed him to create and manipulate water constructs. Of course, the fact that he could pull on his grace surprised him. It could only mean that the summer solstice was over. With the power of grace within him,, he could finally see his surroundings. When one pulled on grace, they would be surrounded by blue ethereal light that could illuminate the surroundings to some extent. He was greeted by walls of earth surrounding him. All the herbs he had picked were scattered around him. There was a stone with dry b
[POV: Silver Davis] The vampire hesitated for a second but quickly spoke. “You have to understand. I had no choice. We are by the order of…” The vampire made a choking noise as if he was trying to form a word, but it was stuck in his throat. Silver thought it was just an act to distract him, but then he felt something brewing in the other man’s neck. Something that chilled his spine. His primal instinct took over and Silver jumped back, pulling on as much as Grace as could. Silver was not sure what was going on, but the energy was building up in the vampire’s throat. Is this some kind of attack the vampires have? The vampire’s neck exploded in the torrent of red energy, his head spinning high-high into the air. Silver put up a wall of water in front of him in the nick of time. The force of the explosion was strong. His wall of water barely protected him. Just as the wall of water dropped, something round crashed into th
[POV: Vlad Davis] “Give me the report,” Jones Davis said. Vlad Davis inspected the parchment in his hand for a few moments. “The total death count is 26,324. We have raided 5,000 gold beads worth of accessories and other utensils from the houses. We have yet to raid the castle treasury. This will be a huge boost to our funds.” Vlad said those last words proudly as if he was the one who was spewing all that money. Jones nodded absently as if all that money meant nothing to him.“ Did you find anyone else around the houses?” “Yes 400 or so peasants.” Jones arched an eyebrow at the comment. “And were there any children?” “Children? Yes, most of them were children. Some of them grandpas and grandmas too old to get out of bed. Few adults.” “And where are they?” “The vampires sucked them dry.” Vlad puffed up his chest proud to have taken care of the nuisances. He waited for the complement he deserved. Jones backh
[POV: Colin Smith] Colin sprinted forward weaving around the trees, instinctively avoiding the undergrowth and bumps. After four long years, he was used to running around in the forest. The blasted animal was faster than he had thought. He had been following a thunder-rabbit for a few minutes now. They were a magical beast that looked similar to rabbits, only as big as a dog and their furs stood on ends with shades of purple. It was one of the few D tier beasts that also had a blood sack. Not only were their meat a delicacy, but a blood sack from a D tier beast could also be sold for three silver coins. Which was a lot of money for someone like Colin. The name may be a silver coin but it was just a copper coin with a silver coating. It was the same for the gold coin. A silver coin was worth 5 copper, and a gold coin was worth 5 silver. Gold beads had the highest value which was worth 10 gold coins. Colin had seen a gold bead