《Tales of Imperium》


 1st scene: The boy in the dark room

    1st scene: The boy in the dark room


    The man struggled to scream as blood spurted out of his leg, but only an agonizing moan passed through the wood gag.


    ¡°Boy, get me the potion¡± ¨C said a masked figure barely illuminated by the candle lights while tightening the ropes that tied the man to the table.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The boy, perhaps fourteen, trembled uncontrollably and almost let the flask fall. He had done it a couple of times, but it was impossible to get used to the feeling. He opened the flask and poured the light green liquid over a piece of cloth, careful not to breathe it.


    ¡°You always take too long¡±


    The masked master took the cloth from his hands and pressed it over the agonizing man¡äs face. It didn¡ät take long for the pained groan to become faint. A potion with the power to make men sleep or even see things. It was made from the green devil¡äs flower, his master had told him, and it could lessen the pain.


    ¡°Take a look at his wound, Athen¡±


    His master ordered in a cold tone. Athen approached, but still feared it. The red liquid poured out slowly in a dark colour since a tourniquet was made to stop the bleeding.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°It¡äs dark¡­ come closer and tell me what else you see¡±


    Even though he hated the smell of blood, he approached as he was told and looked with his face half turned away.


    ¡°So? What do you see?¡±


    His master pressured him, but he still didn¡ät know what he meant. He saw a wound, nothing more.


    ¡°It is¡­ deep¡±


    He raised his hand to cover his mouth trying not to vomit. The smell of blood is far from pleasant.


    ¡°And?¡±


    He couldn¡ät think of nothing else. However, that man wasn¡ät the first to come with such a thing is his leg, even if the first he was so close to.


    ¡°He can¡ät keep the leg¡­ we have to take it out quickly or else he is going to die¡­¡±


    The physician gave a nod, maybe pleased with the answer. Athen¡äs eyes got wide in terror when his master took a blade, a saw, and gave it to him.


    ¡°You are going to take his leg out. Don¡ät panic, I¡äm going to help you, but it is better if we do it while he is asleep¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡ät!¡±


    ¡°Lower your voice... You can and will do it. As I said, I¡äm going to assist you¡±


    Athen took the saw into his hands, but his mind resisted until his master pressed the handle over his hands. His grip tightened. It was going to take all his courage, even if to do it while in tears.


    The saw ripped the skin and got deeper, tearing all the flesh. The movement sent blood flying to his face and arms and he almost stopped, thinking the bone was too hard from him.


    ¡°We can¡ät stop in the middle...¡±


    His master was calm, way too calm for him to feel at ease. Still, the physician¡äs grip over his hand kept him going. It barely took a feel minutes and he knew that, but it felt like a small eternity.


    ¡°You can go¡­ rest and meet me tomorrow¡±


    Athen couldn¡ät take his eyes from the severed leg while taking a few steps away. He stumbled and almost fell, but the moment his mind recovered, he ran out of the room without looking back. He just wanted to go back home.

 2nd scene: The Imperial capital

    2nd scene: The Imperial capital


    It was nauseating. It had been many days on that dammed carriage, bumping into every little stone along the road. She was promised the journey would not take long. An absurd lie, but it wasn¡ät the way to the capital that bothered her. It was that she needed to use that long pompous dress through heat and cold.


    At least she was inside the carriage, though. The knights that came with her had to use their full armour the entire time, only taking the helmets out, and had to go on their own horses without any protection from the sun or rain.


    ¡°We should be able to see the city now¡±


    Roland, her uncle, said with a smile with his uncut beard covering his mouth.


    ¡°What is that!?¡±


    The middle-aged man almost laughed at his niece¡äs expression.


    ¡°The capital is quite a sight, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Walls the height of a hundred men could be seen in the horizon. Two great statues of humanoid beings, seemingly of sandstone, stood so tall she thought they could easily smash a person below their feet.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°What are those beings?? Are they alive!?¡±


    She almost fell out of the carriage, trying to see everything.


    ¡°They are called wardens, but as far as I know they are just statues¡­ Legend has it that they would come to life to defend the city. That¡äs just a story, though.¡±


    Roland used a small piece of cloth to clean the sweat out of his face. He too wasn¡ät used to the heat, but it made him happy to see her excited for the first time since their trip began.


    The imperial capital was known to be grandiose, the pride of all emperors that made it ever more impressive.


    ¡°Liria, my dear, sit steady or you are going to fall out of the carriage¡±


    She obeyed, gaining back her composure and looking slightly embarrassed for putting half of her body out through the window.


    ¡°Are there things like the wardens in the Academy?¡±


    ¡°Surely, there will be many great things to see there. I specially liked the Alchemy experiments in my time¡­ but things have progressed so much...¡±


    Roland almost lost himself in his memory, but she didn¡ät mind that. He did it quite often. Still, Liria had waited her entire life to get away from their secluded manor in the north and see the wonders of the imperial capital.


    ¡°After we reach my Home, we are going to bath and wear new clothes. We are not in our best right now so no exploring until you look like a proper Lady¡±


    She cringed. Her light brown hair was indeed a mess and her dress looked more like a dirty blanket, but her curiosity was growing exponentially. The merchant caravans could be seen in lines with the common folk to enter the gates. The largest waiting lines she had ever seen. Thankfully, she was a noble and had instant access through any city in the empire.

 3rd scene: The second son of the merchant

    3rd scene: The second son of the merchant


    A soup was served with crumbs of bread, but the main dish was the grilled hare meat that came on a plate with onions and a jug of wine. There was no fine cuisine. On the contrary, Donovan noticed the soldiers didn¡ät mind as they had as many servings as they could. He found it disgusting that they would let the wine fall from their mouths and noses when laughing.


    Still, it was a day to celebrate. Those soldiers had safely arrived at castle Froler, where they would stand for another four seasons with no prediction of when they could go home. He stood up, not forgetting his wine, and walked out of the noisy main hall. That place was disgusting with it¡äs old stone walls and dusty floor, not to mention the food and vomit.


    ¡°I knew you wouldn¡ät find it pleasant to stay here¡­¡±


    His father met him just when he was about to breath the fresh air.


    ¡°When are we going to resume our way?¡±


    Kol was tired of all that. He sighed and looked at his father with raised eyebrows lowered head. To him, they would have continued the trip, not stopped at the castle.


    ¡°You know that travelling with the army is much safer¡­ and we couldn¡ät have denied their hospitality when we arrived.¡±


    Brasi wore his white beard short and his hair, or what was left of it, consisted of thin threads. His son was already an adult and this trip was also meant to help him deal with his impatience.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°¡­If you are not too drunk by first light, we shall be on our way.¡±


    Kol whispered a few curses and Brasi heard it clear. His father looked right into his eyes, but said nothing, just shaking his head in disapproval before turning his back and walking away in silence. This caused him to look down and grit his teeth.


    The reason they had gone on that trip was not his idea, it was his father¡äs. Even so, he was forced to head all the way to the capital to live the rest of his life like those dirty soldiers. Kol had no hope to inherit his father business anyways. He was only the second son and his brother was already a fine merchant.


    He threw the jug of wine on floor in a moment of rage before calming himself. At least, nobody in the hall was going to hear with that much noise coming from their celebration. Maybe it was for the best that he was to become a soldier. They have food and a small payment guaranteed.


    Every time he thought about the idea and tried to accept it, he could only give up on it. He was just out of options. He couldn¡ät be a farmer with no land, neither be a merchant with no caravan.


    ¡°¡­Dammit!¡±


    They were barely one day away from the capital. He had but two remaining possibilities: to take the examination of the Imperial guard or to make the test of bureaucrats. Their payment was much higher than a common soldier¡äs and so was their prestige. But it was a task far from easy since only the best could pass through their criteria. Not only that, it was said that their examination method changed every year.


    It was impossible for him. He had some training in the sword, but his love was for cartography and history. The examination for bureaucrats involved much more than those two and he had no education like a noble would.


    Still, he had some time before the examination, somewhere around a moon cycle.