《Overturning of Empires》 Chapter 1 Blackness swept over Arwyn''s vision and unconsciousness enveloped his mind. As an unknow amount of time went by he began to see flickering images that came in and out of his vision as soon as he had time to register that they were there. As more time passed the images sped up and started to create a single scene that replayed itself over and over again. In this scene Arwyn observed three women kneeling and weeping with their heads in their hands at the base of an ancient looking well. Looking up he finds the most gnarled tree that he had ever seen sway to some unheard song and as it jerked to a stop two raven land upon its branches and took flight ripping the tree out from the ground almost destroying the well. The weeping women''s wailing reached a point that the very light flickered with violence under their wails. Kneeling with his hands over his ears hopping that the wailing would stop Arwyn looked up as mist enveloped the three women. As the mist completely wrapped around the women their wailing came to a complete and sudden stop leaving the unnatural space eerily silent.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. A silhouette of a person began to form above the well and seemed to be pointing to Arwyn, but at the moment the figures face started to form Arwyn was thrown back into unconsciousness and into the embrace of darkness. As Arwyn came back to consciousness he could only see blackness and felt his entire body restrained. Trying to move his fingers he felt the rough surface of stone and a sudden flash back to when he was on the battle field watching his men being slaughtered by the dozen by horrifying creatures that cared nothing for suffering. He had watched as men lay strewn about the hills with parts missing and their guts hanging out and in that moment of distraction he was hit with a ball of liquid stone that encased him. Shaking himself from the memories he began to think a way out of his stony prison. Chapter 2 Grabbing his gear Mark, he looked around his small room that was had only a small cot and a closet for his belongings. Finally Mark thought as he exited his room that had housed him through his training in the Frostvar family. The Frostvar family is famous for their warriors that had trained to create an almost impenetrable defense causing even the most determined attacker to bash their heads against the ground in frustration but the Frostvar family being famous for their defense usually sent their warriors to lead the vanguard forces of any expedition to the danger zones. Danger zones were sites where there is a concentration of some kind of energy that had yet to be discovered cause the production of creatures that roamed the areas but were unable to leave due to their need of this energy to continue to exist. Many noble families sent groups to explore these areas in the hope that they might come across an ancient document detailing a technological advancement, but also it was to gain weapons that had been sitting in these zones that had over time absorbed this strange energy that could give birth to life. These weapons were the basis that noble families built their power and influence which meant that the more weapons that a single family had the more power or influence that their family could exert on others. Mark was the latest addition to the famous team of explorers called ''Star''s Descent'' because they had lost their vanguard in an exploration into the danger zone dubbed the ''Jungle Law''. Walking in a brisk fashion Mark entered the main hall of the Royal Explorers Guild to join up his team. The main hall was a huge long hall that extended one hundred feet and had the width to hold fifty men abreast. Crude wood tables and benches matched the spartan decor of the hall and also matched the men and women walking the hall dressed in leather or iron armor with weapons sheathed around themselves. The aura created by the hall would be oppressive to an average person but to the average adventurer this could be a walk in the park compared to what they might have to face in the danger zones. Spotting his team on the second floor Mark approached them with a skip in his step for this would be his first official dive in to a danger zone and he was excited to be starting his career off with an excellent note by diving into one of the most dangerous danger zones called ''Emperor''s Wrath'' due to the atmosphere and the creatures patrolling around as if they were guarding something. Meeting the team he looked at each one with excitement but also apprehension. Setting off on their journey Mark fell into the rhythm of travel and the monotonous clop of hoofs of the horses as the trotted along the beaten path that wound around hills and valleys. The days pass and the scenery slowly changed from lush plains into cracked dry ground and oddly shaped rocks started appearing and some even look human. Pushing these thoughts out of his mind Mark focused as they approached the boarder of the danger zone. The entire atmosphere changed as soon as they had stepped over the border causing the tension to skyrocket as they approached the first group of patrolling creatures. Unsheathing their weapons the team advanced with Mark at the front as he had developed an obscene defense. When they reached within 100 feet of the group of creatures they were immediately noticed but as soon as the creatures turned to face them a shower of arrows peppered them and three fell with arrows sticking out of either their head or heart. With the arrows fired Mark raced forward to engage the creatures and he was reinforced by his teammates that had engaged the flanks of the creatures aiming to cut the flanks away from the main group that was face with a wall called Mark. The creatures sensing that fighting Mark was a hopeless venture split off to attack the rangers and archers behind Mark but the explorers were prepared for this move by hiding some of their close combat members within the group of archers to directly combat any force that would seek to destroy their ranged attacks. The flanks finally collapsed from the pressure of the swordsmen which caused the creatures to flee but the swordsmen were ruthless and cut down all of the fleeing creatures brutally. The creatures that had tried to kill the archers were brutally hacked apart be the longswords and axes that the warriors, hidden within the archer group, held. Using the same strategy their team decimated many groups of creatures as they advance and they eventually came across a small hall that had gray stone doors that had terrifying beasts carved into the stone.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. A gust of chilling air rushed out from within the stone doors. Taking a deep breath to steel himself for the unknown Mark advance as his imagination went wild with images of fiery beasts and flying dragons raining death on his team. The sound of rocks being ground under Marks armored feet echoed throughout the small has that was barely big enough to contain four wagons, but it contained an oddly smooth stone mound that strangely had what seemed to be hands poking out from the main structure. Quickly survey the area and determining that the surroundings were safe the entire team gathered at the foot of the statue to build their campsite. Mark situated his tent towards the door so that he would be the first one to combat any potential enemies. Cleaning and sharpening their armor and weapons the team gathered around in a circle to discuss their further actions. "Well done everyone, we have cleared further than any other team,"? began the team leader. "As most of you know, I am Karden Sildrien the heir of the Sildrien family and also the youngest Day Seeker and the captain of this team,".? "We all come from either the four arch houses or the shadow clans," Continued Karden. As his short introduction finished the team that were intently listening nodded their heads in affirmation. Mark knew what it meant to be from either the Arch Houses or the Shadow Clans because he had suffered directly or indirectly from both of these groups. When he was tested and found to have the talent for both the role of Vanguard and Shadow Walker, his parents were approached by people from the Shadow Clans that wanted to recruit Mark for their special programs that used children of common descent as their spies. When Mark''s parents refused the offer the representatives left and as their figures were reduced to black silhouettes a group of men appeared in a circle around Mark and his parents. What came next permanently scared Mark. The men drew daggers and taught Mark the true meaning of the Shadow Clans and as the pools of blood dried and the screams became silent Mark blacked out and when he regained consciousness he was broken into the program. "Now, get some rest, we have more challenges ahead of us," concluded Karden. Everyone then retreated to their respective tents and concluded their first day on their exploration of "Emperors Wrath"?. As they slept unknown to all they were being watched from the most unlikely of places. Arwyn listened with glee, how naive these so called explorers are, they will play their part of getting me out of here. Chapter 3 Waking from his deep sleep, Mark rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood up to get his blood flowing, stepping out from his tent and observing the team doing their daily rituals. The team broke down their camp under the orders of Karden who seemed to be accustomed to commanding people, but mist started to flow into the small hall creating an impenetrable layer of fog that hugged the ground making it impossible to see the floor or your feet. Immediately the team went onto high alert and grabbed their armor that could be seen just above the fog. Equipped, Karden ordered them to form a spear head formation to effectively deal with any opposition that would come through the doors. Walking through the doors were hulking brutes that were decked out in full plate armor that clanked as they slowly walked. Seeing the slow movements on of the more arrogant member strode up to the brutes thinking that he was fast enough to dodge any strike that they would seek to land upon him. To his utter shock and horror the brute in front of him moved so fast that I was a blur as it swung a single handed mace that was hidden behind his thigh. The effect was obvious as the metal mace met with soft flesh and the mace pulverized the mans head and blew his entire body to the side. The mans body slid down the wall leaving a red trail as a sign of his arrogance and stupidity. Karden keeping cool ordered for the team to keep in formation and advance. Taking the side of caution he ordered the formation to advance slowly , but that flew out the window as the brutes flew into the formation with the force of a hurricane and completely destroyed their formation creating a maelstrom of chaos. Blades and armor flashed in the early morning sunlight creating a beautiful but brutal scene. Mark, taking the full blow of one of the brutes great sword, was pushed back three steps and his arm was numbed. He shook his arm to get feeling back into his arm and he took a look at his tower shield and what he saw terrified him. His shield was completely split and the bones in his arm were shattered and some of the shards were sticking out the split in the shield. Retreating before the brute who had injured him, Mark backed up to the statue, when his back hit the base of the statue he was forced the fight this brute who would kill him in a single swing of the jagged great sword. Watching the sword ascend and begin descending Mark threw himself to the side to avoid the blow which then landed on the statue. The blow sent cracks speeding all over the statue.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. To the utter horror of the explorers, the cracked statue then began to emit a low crack which was then followed by a huge explosion of stone and dust creating a smoke bomb with deadly shards. The brutes and explorers that were within a five meter radius were shredded by the flying shards of stones. Clouds of blood and bones were sent into the air contaminating the very air with the metallic scent of blood. "At last,"? boomed out a tired sounding voice. As the dust settled both the brutes and explorers who were locked in vicious combat and had been blown off their feet look for the source of the voice. The dust revealed a mountain of a man that was clothed only from his waist down in a shabby but wealthy looking cloth and his feet were clad in armor. Looking at the upper body of the man everyone in the hall was astounded by how many muscles that they could see and the colour of his skin was the most peculiar because of the obsidian shade creating the effect of a statue of polished, but dusty, the man was looking around and seemed to be disoriented. Arwyn look around at the remaining pieces of his prison and looked at the people and creatures surrounding him. When the brutes completely saw him they let loose soul shaking roars and charged forward toward Arwyn, but Arwyn was not a general from nothing, lowering his body he calmly waited for the brutes to reach him. As the first brute reached him and swung his mace Arwyn dipped to the side and grabbed the wrist that held the mace and twisted it behind the brute creating a sickening crunch as the brutes arm was completely torn from its body. Picking up the dropped mace he swung downward obliterating the brutes head. Moving like a specter Arwyn dance between weapons and tore limbs free from their bodies and obliterated the brutes in mere seconds. Dumb struck the explorers stood there with jaws slacked and their brains not comprehending what had just happened . Arwyn stood on top of the pile of brutes like a victorious hunter gloating over his prize. His gaze then turned to the explorers and he lifted his reclaimed mace and took a step forward. Chapter 4 All the remaining explorers were awestruck by the actions of the obsidian giant and shivered as blood and pieces of flesh dripped off the studs of the mace head. Overwhelmed with fear and dread, as the obsidian giant stepped forward with his mace raised, many of the explorers defecated themselves. They had almost no time to think as the giant swept into their shambled ranks and decimated them just as he had destroyed the brutes. Screams of terror or pain once again echoed throughout the hall and blood sprayed from torn limbs and gapping holes in bodies. With no mercy Arwyn swept through the undisciplined ranks of the stunned explorers with almost surreal ease. Thinking how much the soldiers of the era had deteriorated, Arwyn cleaned the battlefield of the injured by putting them out of their misery, he thought that the soldiers would have put up more of a fight than they did and it left Arwyn almost sad because he was a legendary general. He was promoted up the ranks not from political maneuvering but by the piles of enemies he had slaughtered and the oceans of riches he brought to the Valorian Emperor. Flicking his acquired mace to rid it of the clinging blood and flesh he sat down to process his current situation, but one thing he knew was that he had to change his location as well as scavenge the remains for any information of his whereabouts as well as equipment. Gathering the bodies in a pile Arwyn then bowed with his mace pointed downward as a sign of respect for the battle that they fought. Finishing the gathering, he moved out of the hall and inspected the surroundings and as far as the eye could see there was a plain devoid of plant life which was occasionally interrupted by the lonely skeletons of long dead trees. Turning around Arwyn found a forest of skeleton trees but surprisingly there were trees that stubbornly held onto their leaves. Deciding to take cover, under the sparse canopy, in the forest the trees twisted outwards as if they were trying to escape from some evil. Thinking of what his next move would be, Arwyn moved deeper into the forest hoping to discover some clue of which way he should go, but nothing of the sort happened but he was set upon by a pack of strange looking wolves that had spikes jutting out of their spines and their napes which look oddly similar the trees that made up this forest. Stretching his long powerful legs Arwyn bounded away from the wolves as they chased after him. Foam dripping from their maws and clouds of fog bellowing out their nostrils, they appeared to be rabid except for the glint of intelligence that sparkled in their green eyes.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Damn Wolves,"? muttered Arwyn under his breath as he ran from the wolves. Looking back as he and the wolves raced across the open plains. Arwyn noticed that the wolves were slowing down as he approached a low stone wall that was at knee height. Jumping the wall in one bound he looked at the wolves as they stopped at the wall. Arwyn stopped and turned to observe the wolves as they paced the small section of the wall and snarled revealing their wickedly sharp fangs, he knew that they could jump the wall but why didn''t they, wondering about the wolves strange behavior he put it out of his mind as he noticed colour bleed into the scenery the further he moved from the stone wall. Moving at a consistent pace Arwyn was able to keep a good speed as well as careful observe the surroundings from potential danger. This was a skill he had developed as a private in the Royal Valorian Army which had been his home from most of his career in the army until he transferred. Putting his training to good use he moved rapidly across the increasingly lush land. Spending days of continuous travel across the mostly unchanging scenery would quickly become an eyesore for the majority of travelers, but that excluded Arwyn as he delight fully took in the majestic surroundings of lush bushes and towering trees that were accompanied with small animals and insects as well as the sounds of nature. Reveling in the scenery Arwyn remembered the land during the last few weeks of the Valorian Empire. The land was set upon by fire and pestilence leaving the ground and vegetation grey and cracked, nothing that was remotely healthy and dotting the land were bodies of men, women, and children, the majority had great open wounds on their back as they were cut down from behind and the few that had turned to face their deaths were violently cut down with many being decapitated. Those images filled Arwyn''s memory of the suffering his land and people went through. Moving through a small grove of trees Arwyn was faced with the distant image of reinforced walls. The sudden appearance of the walls was a sight for sight for sore eyes. Arwyn now had a goal, making it into the town and learn as much as he could about where he was and what had happened during his absence from the world. Chapter 5 Approaching the gate house via a seemingly unworn path except for the fact that there were deep tracks that showed that many wagons and carts passed through this gate often. Arwyn took note of the stonework and the design of the gate house . The stones were poorly hewn and the gate design was a bland generic box which lacked imagination or ingenuity. Gerald was in the middle of thinking what he should get for his wife for their second year of being married when an extremely dirty fellow walked up to the guard post. ¡°Oye, whachya need pal, come from round here.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m in need of entry into this town¡± rumbled Arwyn in his stony voice. ¡°Nice voice mate, do you have any identification or documentation that can prove who you are?¡± recited Gerald. ¡°No, I¡¯ve lost all my belongings, when I was set upon by deserting soldiers who robbed me and set me loose into the wilderness to wander until I died.¡± ¡°Luckily I was able to come upon this town which was a sight for sore eyes.¡± ¡°No, problem siry, you just need to pay a fee of 50 silver to enter the town but you have 3 days to visit the town hall to get your ID again.¡± ¡°As you have been robbed. I can let yous in the town, but you will have to stay in the town to do jobs until you have repaid the 50 silver you needed to get in.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sir,¡± Arwyn bowed his head slightly and entered through the rough wooden gates. Walking into the town Arwyn swung his head back and forth as he observed all around at the buildings and stalls that lined the main way. First order of business was to find the town hall so that he could start earning some money to get a place to stay in the town. Entering through a stone arch which stood in front of the town hall Arwyn approached front desk. Seated at the desk was a heavy set woman who looked like she enjoyed her food and ale a bit too much, but it was off set by the brilliant smile that was permanently stuck on her face. ¡°Ah, Hello, I¡¯m here to get my ID because I have lost mine.¡± ¡°I will need your name, hometown, and occupation,¡± spoke the portly woman. ¡°My name is Arwyn Eterna Krieger, I would like to keep my hometown a secret, and I¡¯m a blacksmith.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry your lordship, I meant no disrespect by my questions¡± quaked the woman.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She then shakily held out a piece of yellowish paper that had writing on it that listed all the information that he had given her. ¡°What jobs are available so that I can pay off my debt.¡± ¡°Umm, there is are jobs available on the wall construction team, in the quarry, and there is also an opening at the smithy, milord.¡± After selecting the job on the wall construction team Arwyn walked out of the mostly empty hall and walked directly to the construction area to begin work. He knew that he would have to spend at least a couple of months in this town to pay off his debt and to gain enough capital to move around and search for information. The construction site was filled with moving bodies and the thundering shouts of the foremen and the responses of the worker crews. Walking to the temporary building an checking in for work he joined one of the many crews on the wall placing interconnecting planks and covering them with a tar like substance that was called ¡°weathers cloak¡± for its properties of protecting any material from the weather. Hours passed by as Arwyn labored away at the wall that towered 70 feet above his head and was 20 feet thick and held a black hew due to the coating of weathers cloak. Receiving his pay of one silver for the days work Arwyn was informed of the currency values. Gold was the largest amount of money normal people used and for every gold it was worth 100 silver and each silver was worth 100 copper which was the smallest unit of money. An average sized family could survive on one gold a year if they lived comfortably. He left the construction site at dusk as the sun¡¯s final light dwindled. Walking down the lonely streets that were devoid of the earlier bustle. Looking for an Inn to lodge at while he was in the town of Edgeton which he learnt from his fellow crew members. Arriving at a drab looking two story building. Looking up at a faded sign of a woman leaning on a table with a mug of some liquid. Walking into the building Arwyn was greeted by a wave of loud laughter and the smell of cheap liquor. Approaching the bar which seated two people and asked the barman. ¡°Is this an Inn?¡± ¡°Yes, sir, for one night it will be 15 copper with breakfast and supper included.¡± ¡°I would like a room for 4 nights.¡± ¡°That will be 60 copper, sir.¡± Handing his silver coin over he waited for the barman to exchange his silver for copper and then give him back his change. ¡°Your room number is 7 and will be upstairs and to the right.¡± ¡°Would you like your dinner now?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Sitting down at a round wooden table that was located in the far back corner which made Arwyn seem to disappear into the darkness. While waiting for his food to arrive he surveyed the room and watched the drunken revelry of the drinkers and the ¡®respectable¡¯ women that accompanied them. Noticing the hilts sticking out their waist belts, he realized that everyone was carrying some type of blade, even the women carried blades either on their thighs or in their hair disguised as hair pins. Sighing at the discovery of one more item that he will need to get to keep appearances up. Minuets passed as Arwyn waited silently observing the bustling Inn and the flow of people going in and out. After eating he left the Inn to wander the streets to find the library to gather information on the when and where he is. As he is walking he observed the side streets and alleys which held the denizens of the street. Making his way into the heart of town he was approached by a trio of heavily armed guards. ¡°You cannot pass through here,¡± The leader of the trio said in a self-important voice. ¡°Why not?¡± said Arwyn. ¡°This is the housing of the Governor.¡± Backing away from the trio Arwyn walked in the opposite direction and continued to wander around searching for a library. Having no luck in his search he returned to the Inn and went straight to bed.