《The Crestfallen Throne》 Spring Festival Rovelli, the year 961 of the 3rd Dawn Spring Festival Edmon Culva woke from his slumber as he always does right before his father would enter his room and gruffly say, ¡°wake up boy.¡± He always woke before anyone entered his room. He never read too much into it and just assumed it was a special skill he had. This morning the stone floor was cold in his room. He was far too tired to get up in the night and add logs into the fire and just pulled his blanket close and hoped the heat from the kitchen¡¯s fire would keep him warm, It did not. There was no use delaying the inevitable, he would have to get up eventually so he quickly stood and dressed and put his boots on. His father left the door open when he departed a few minutes earlier and the room was already soaking up the heat from the hall. He went to the wash basin and splashed the cold water onto his face and dried it quickly with a rough wool towel. Everything was made of wool here. His clothes, his bedding, and even the curtains and table cloth was. Edmon¡¯s father was a sheep farmer and they had their pick of the finest wool before it would be sold off at market. ¡°That wool will bring more money than all the rest combined,¡± his father would say when he asked to keep the prime wool for themselves. No instead he was stuck wearing the rough sometimes itchy left over wool that would hardly sell to respectable merchants. Still he never complained to anyone. Edmon was perfectly content in his role in life. He knew he would be a sheep farmer like his father and father before. He knew he would marry a local farmer''s daughter and she would bear him sons to keep the farm going. Many boys in the small town nearby dreamed of running off and joining the army or a mercenary legion and exploring new lands gaining fame, but not him he wanted his simple life to be the way it has been for the past 16 years. Edmon sat down to a breakfast of oats and eggs surrounded by his father, mother, 2 younger brothers and 1 younger sister. Edmon was the eldest born son and would inherit the farm from his father. His sister would be married and move away but the other two brothers were faced with a choice. When they turned eighteen they could either take their allotment which was valued at 10 percent of the estates worth, and they would lose all rights and forfeit all connections to the land. They could forgo the allotment in which case they were to be housed and fed and given treatment such as a father would for his children. They would stay and work the lands and be given an agreed upon wage. This was the law of Rovelli and many other kingdoms from low born peasants to lords and kings. Edmons brothers Art, who was 12 and Col who was 10 had a few years to decide still. Edmons sister Avan who was 14 was already dreaming of the prince she would marry and the life of luxury she would have. It was of course nonsense as the chance of a prince finding and marrying her were about as high as a snow storm in the middle of summer. Edmon just chalked it up to girls and their need for attention. Which is why Edmon had his heart set on a wheat farmer''s daughter, Aela Adtur. Aela wasn¡¯t like the other girls Edmon knew, she didn¡¯t gossip about boys or spend the morning making herself look just perfect for a day of working in the fields. In fact Edmon was convinced she did not own a comb. Yet her beauty could never be hidden behind the messy wavy red hair and fierce blue eyes that would cause a charging bear to rethink its attack. Ever since she saved him at last summer festival from being beaten by the Twindle brothers after he accidently splashed his grog onto the eldest brother. He was faster than them but turned down a blocked alley and the four of them were closing in when Aela stepped into the alley and with a switch ran all four off without a single one laying a finger on her. Edmon doesn''t know why she saved him from his beating but ever since that moment he had decided she would be his wife. All he needs to do is tell her that and tame her spirit. After the duel in the alley it awoke something in Aela and she spent every chance she got practicing fighting with wooden swords and more times than he could count she stole her fathers musket and has honed her skills and accuracy to the point he is beginning to be afraid of her. Edmon moved through his daily work tasks faster than usual today, it was the first night of the Spring festival and he thinks he finally has the courage to tell Aela how he truly feels. He¡¯s spent the last two weeks whittling a ring from the oak tree where Aela and he would meet up most evenings. After he finally got the last sheep into their corrals and spread the hay he rushed to the tub his mother had already started the fire under. Edmon had a special bond with his mother. Both his parents were kind gentle souls that only wanted the best for their children and would give the shirt off their back to help a stranger, however it was with his mother he felt he could tell her his dreams. In the last couple months he hasn''t stopped talking about his feelings for Aela and his plan to propose tonight. She even took his fathers wedding suit and fitted it for him. Edmon was already as tall as his father but hasn''t quite filled out yet. This year he hit a growth spurt and is becoming a man. His mother Thera, had the bath water hot and his clothes laid out ready for him. He bathed quickly and dressed himself in his father''s suit and went inside to say goodbye to his mother. His father was helping dress Col and stopped and stared when he walked in. After a moment he spoke, ¡°For a moment I thought I was looking at me standing there in the doorway. Aela is a lucky girl.¡¯ He said with a grin growing on his face. ¡°Lucky indeed," his mother said matter of factly. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Edmon met Aela at the oak tree as they had planned before they were to go to the Spring festival. The Spring festival lasted for 6 days but only the first night was dedicated to dancing and merriment. The rest of the festival was significantly less festive and more all out bartering. The farmers, ranchers and tradesmen used the festival to find new workers for the work ahead, make deals or sell their goods. Many valuable workers were kept year round but many less skilled jobs that a mouse could do were given to seasonal workers that came from the cities to learn new skills. Edmon walked up to the oak tree and as he rounded the trunk he almost tripped and fell into the mud. Aela for the first time since he¡¯d known her, was wearing a dress, and a very well fitting black and blue dress at that, and had her hair neatly curled neatly falling around her shoulders. ¡°Best close your mouth Edmon or you catch a fly,¡± she teased him, giving him a smile. ¡°Well I uh,¡± he stammered before clearing his throat. ¡°You look lovely,¡± was all he managed to get out before she stepped close and gave him a quick peck on the lips. ¡°That is all you get tonight, do you know how long it took me to get this lipstick just right. And I won''t be letting you ruin it before I have a chance to find me some dancing partners,¡± she said. Edmon knew she was teasing about dancing with anyone else, she barely danced with him, but it put a fire under him and before he could stop himself he blurted out. ¡°WIll you marry me?¡± ¡°What?¡± Aela said, narrowing her eyes. ¡°Oh Edmon if this is to stop me from dancing with anyone else I.¡± He cut her off. ¡°Aela I mean it, I have loved you since you fended off the Twindle brothers 2 festivals ago and I.¡± Now it was her turn to cut him off. She pressed her body to his and planted a long passionate kiss on his lips. ¡°Of course I will," she whispered in his ear before returning for another kiss but he pulled his face back and said, ¡°Hey remember your lipstick, I will not be blamed for messing it up.¡± She leaned back and was about to say something when he grabbed her left hand and slid the ring he had whittled for her on her finger. Edmon¡¯s mom had found and told Aela¡¯s family what Edmon had planned for the night and they were gathered together to welcome the newly engaged. ¡®It¡¯s about time. The boy came and asked for my permission last year and I was beginning to think he would never get around to it.¡± Aela¡¯s father had said. When Edmon and Aela walked into the festival they were greeted by both their families and much merriment ensued. The rest of the night and the rest of the festival passed quickly and his father hired on five new workers to help with the summer months. The next two weeks went by slowly as all Edmon could think about was the next time he could see Aela. But the fences needed mending before the herds could be released from their winter corrals. They were almost done with the last pasture when a massive airship floated overhead and moved towards the farm. Breaking the Strings Breaking the strings The airship Edmon had seen belonged to Rul Rovelli, the future king of Rovelli, his future king. Edmon could not believe his eyes, true royalty was landing his ship near the house and actual lords and ladies were walking down the ramp. Why had they come here? Edmon thought to himself as he and his family and workers all gathered and dropped to one knee as the party approached. Proper etiquette was to greet the highest ranking party in the group and as a prince the etiquette for peasants outside the royal court was to fall to one knee and bow your head until they either passed or spoke to you at which time you could stand and answer. ¡°We shall need your farm house for the evening, we are weary of travel and wish to sleep on solid ground,¡± Rul said. The first thing Edmon thought when he spoke was the air of arrogance and entitlement in his voice. As they stood he looked up and saw his face. It was not a kind face. His jaw and nose were too pointy and reminded him of daggers. His well groomed very short beard did distort his features a little but it could not hide his eyes. They were brown like any other eyes but the slant and way he looked at you Edmon could sense hatred burning forth from them. ¡°Pardon my lord, but I''m afraid the comforts of your ship far outweigh the meagerness of our home, the town is but another five miles east, perhaps you would find more comfort at the inn?¡± Edmon''s father answered with his eyes still turned down. ¡°Nonsense, we will survive the night here, surely you have another dwelling you can sleep in out of sight and hearing of us. We surely can¡¯t have the commoners listening in on lords and ladies of the court now can we,¡± Rul said chuckling and gathering insulting laughter from his party. ¡°Of course my lord we would never dream of interrupting, may we have but a moment to gather a few things we will need for the night?¡± Edmon''s father asked. ¡°I think you have bothered us long enough peasant!¡± The voice that spoke this time was not Rul¡¯s but a harsh, demanding voice. Edmon found the owner of the voice and was both angry of the disdain at which he called them peasants and afraid of the way they would be treated if they did not run from them. ¡°I beg your pardon my lord please forgive us we shall camp near the forest and await your departure. With that Edmon¡¯s father turned and rushed the whole group off towards the forest edge to the west. No one spoke until they were at the forest sure to be out of earshot of the nobles. ¡°How dare they kick us from our home.¡± Thera said scornfully. ¡°There there now woman it is only for the night and we shall be back tomorrow.¡± Edmon''s father said, trying to calm her down. ¡°Edmon, Reese, Tol and I shall go to the Adtur¡¯s and gather some provisions and sleeping rolls for the night and all will be well.¡± And so the four men left departing for Aela¡¯s house while the others began gathering wood and getting a fire going in preparations for dinner. They arrived at the Adtur¡¯s farmhouse and Edmon quickly sought out Aela and found her in the garden in the back of the main house. Edmon told her all that had happened and she wouldn¡¯t have believed him had she not heard her father calling for workers to gather cooking pots, food, water and sleeping rolls. Hardly had Edmon finished his story when his father called for him to help get the gear back to the group. It was over 3 miles back to the forest edge and Aela¡¯s father had sent a couple of his workers to help haul the gear back. Edmon quickly kissed Aela as she moved her body close to his before he turned and ran to help. When they arrived they quickly set up the sleeping mats and began to prepare the evening meal. They finished their meal without much talking and everyone settled into their sleeping rolls and one by one dozed off. It was still early spring and while it would be a cold night nobody was in danger of freezing to death, still Edmon''s father and a few of his workers set a watch to keep the fire going to provide warmth and fend off any wolves or other predators that may have wandered too far from the deep forest. Rul had gathered his most trusted friend and cousin Tar, as well as a few of the lesser nobles and their wives and arrived at the farm just as the days work was beginning the nobles of the kingdoms of Thaifor would often show up at farms and demand the commoners wait in the fields while they played farmers. They would wear their clothes, sleep in their beds and do the chores. They never did them correctly and more often than not they would wreak havoc on the animals and fields and they were not tending to correctly. The commoners had to remain out of sight else suffer the wrath of an entitled noble or their even worse wives. Rul never cared about or partook in the play farm. He looked forward to his own demented game of human hunts. Rul never had to fight in a battle but was more than capable of carrying his own when it came to swordplay, and peasants didn''t offer much resistance. The third day they were there, two days longer than they said they would be, Edmon, his father and two of the veteran workers worked silently through the night feeding and watering the animals so they didn''t die of deprivation. They knew they would be severely beaten if they were to be caught, but Edmon¡¯s father said ¡°We won¡¯t survive the tax man and winter if we lose the herd. Just as light was starting to shine in the sky they all retreated to the edge of the forest where they had made their camp. All except Edmon, that is, he couldn''t take it anymore and decided he needed to have a closer look at what the nobles were doing and to see if there were any signs they would be leaving soon. Edmon knew he would be beaten if he were to be caught eavesdropping, but he needed answers. He had been there for almost 2 hours, peeking through the window into the main room when all the nobles had finally arisen and were laughing and eating breakfast without a care in the world. He was lost fantasizing about being a prince and all the glories he would achieve that he hadn''t noticed the party had changed back into their armor and dresses and the men were dawning their swords, muskets and spears. As they left the house he thought they must be going hunting. He quickly ducked into the weeds as the men came outside and saddled and mounted their horses and began a trot towards his family and the rest of the workers at the edge of the forest. He darted across the clearing into the nearest grain field and began an all out sprint to try and beat them to the encampment his family had been at the past week. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. He reached the top of the last hill breathing hard and panting his thoughts of why they were going to their temporary encampment were broken by the sound of first one pistol then two more. Surely the knights weren¡¯t hunting this close to their encampment. He mustered his strength and charged the last few strides to the top of the hill, the image he saw was burned into his brain and set in motion every action he took from this moment forward. Three of the workers were laying on the ground face down motionless, lifeless. He saw his mother, father and rest of the workers scattering in every direction. The knights were chasing after them, running them down, hacking them with swords, impaling them with spears and shooting them with muskets. He watches his fathers workers get stabbed, slashed or shot one by one as if everything moved in slow motion. His mother, father and siblings were almost to the tree line and he hoped that if they just made it to the trees they could stand a chance and be safe. The shot that rang out sounded as loud as a thousand bells in his ears as he saw his mother jerk, stumble and fall. His father turned back and tried to pick her up into his arms as the knight he recognized as Prince Rul rode to a stop just feet away from them. He was too far away to hear what he was saying but he knew his father was begging for mercy. He watched Rul raise his pistol, point it at his father and pull the trigger. To Edmon''s surprise his father remained standing still holding the body of his mother. He missed, Edmon thought, why else would his father still be standing. But he did not run; he just stood there watching and not moving. Edmon wanted him to move he tried to yell for him to run but no noise came out of his mouth.He wanted to run to him and pull him and his mother and his siblings to safety but his legs would not respond and he stood there motionless staring as his Rul lowered his pistol and fired again. He blinked and as he opened his eyes he saw his brothers and sister huddled just feet away from his father. ¡°Why won¡¯t you move,¡± Edmon yelled at himself. ¡°Save them,¡± he screamed in his head but he could not move. As his fathers body finally started to crumble towards the ground he saw Rul had dismounted his horse and with sword drawn he was raising his hand to strike. Art had mustered the courage and was standing in front of his brother and sister with a stick he must have picked up to defend them. ¡°Noooo,¡± Edmon screamed, breaking his silence, drawing the attention of every Knight and temporarily saving his siblings. Sir Tar, the harsh man who treated them so rudely days before was the closest to him and even though the boy knew he should turn and run and never stop he stood there still as a scarecrow in shock of what he had witnessed. His trance was broken by the boom of a rifle, followed by excruciating pain to the left side of his head. He fell to the ground and the last thing he remembered before he was overtaken by blackness was watching Rul¡¯s sword rise and fall. ¡°Why did you not save them?¡± An unknown voice asked. ¡°You stood there like a cowardly little lamb before the slaughter. You may as well have pulled the trigger yourself you know. Your family would still be alive if you were not a scared little boy.¡± Edmon snapped his eyes open but could not see anything, his world was completely black. ¡°Am I blind?¡± he thought as he blinked his eyes hoping to see something, anything. As he tried to stand, shooting pain pulsed through his whole body radiating from his head. ¡°Push Through it!¡± a voice in his head demanded, and he put forth his full might to get to his knees. He quickly realized that the reason he could not see was that he was laying face down in the weeds. As he got to his feet everything came flooding back about what had happened. The grief overwhelmed him and he fell back to his knees and sobbed. ¡°Stand up and move¡± The voice in his head told him, prompting him to rise to his feet a second time. He wiped the tears from his face and saw that the sun had set not long before as it was no longer in the sky, but there was still enough light by which to see the death down the small hill he was still on. He knew he needed to get to his parents and siblings and see if anyone else had survived when he noticed movement among the bodies. Before he could stop himself he shouted, ¡°I¡¯m here, hello.¡± No one answered. Then he saw why. The movement he saw was not from humans but wolves, and a large pack at that. He scanned the scene and counted 15 wolves feeding on the bodies of his fallen family and workers. When he realized this he began to shout and half run half stumble towards them. ¡°Hey, get out of here. Go on get,¡± he shouted as he began to near the first corpse. The wolf stopped his feeding and snarled, baring his teeth at Edmon and lowered his body ready to attack. Edmon fell back, got to his feet and back up a few paces, the wolf went back to his meal. Every time Edmon tried to chase away a wolf they would threaten him back and he could not get close enough to pull the corpses away. He fell to the fetal position and began to sob. ¡°Why won''t you please leave, let me see my family.¡± And as Edmon sobbed he slowly slipped into unconsciousness once again. When Edmon awoke again the sun had just risen and he looked about and noticed the wolves had gone. They found the corpses filling enough and had no need to kill and eat Edmon as well. He got to his feet slowly and began walking towards where his parents had been slain. Everybody he passed had been mostly eaten with very little flesh left on any bones. The bodies had been ripped apart and he could not make out whose bones belonged to whom. He made it to the spot where his parents had fallen and the scene was no different. There just wasn¡¯t anything left beside a few scattered meaty bones. As Edmon stood there wondering what to do he heard the voice in his head again. ¡°You know what you must do, don''t you?¡± ¡°I. No I don¡¯t,¡± Edmon said out loud. ¡°I think you do. You must avenge your mother, your father, your sister and you two little brothers. You must kill Rul.¡± The voice added maliciousness to the end. ¡°How will I do that?¡± Edmon said shakily. ¡°We will do it, I will help you.¡± The voice now sounded reassuring and Edmon believed he could do it. ¡°Take one last look at what is left of your family,¡± the voice demanded. Edmon couldn''t stop his head from taking in the bones one last time. ¡°We will take everything from Rul, and then we will kill him,¡± the voice said as Edmon began slowly walking back towards the farm house. Preparation Edmon was in the house gathering supplies. He had his pack with extra clothes, cookware, salted and dried foods, and he gathered the money father had hidden around the farmhouse. Edmon''s father had shown him where it was in an event of an emergency with the farm funds being safely secured in the bankers guilds vaults. He wasn¡¯t sure why he was packing when he kept telling himself he would never be able to kill a man, let alone the future king of Rovelli. But his body almost seemed to be moving on its own accord and he was just along for the ride. He finished tying his pack and went to his room where he kept his musket. His father gave it to him on his 16th birthday, but he only used it a handful of times. He took his powder horn, placed the strap over his neck and oiled leather pouch holding the musket balls and tied them to his belt. He left the farm house and moved to the barn where their horse was stabled. The horse was young, only 3 years old, his father had bought it last year when their old horse caught an illness and died mid winter. The horse was mainly used to pull the wagon, but it was saddle broke as well and he saddled it and readied to depart. Just as he thought he needed to tell Aela he needed to do this task to avenge his family, he heard the voice again. ¡°There is no time to see her, besides she will talk you out of avenging your family. You don''t have the will to resist her and they will get away with murdering your family.¡± Just as he was about to rebuke the voice that he had too see her, she was his betrothed, he heard a concerned voice behind him. ¡°Edmon, where is everyone, why do you have that pack, where are you going?¡± Aela asked, her voice cracking slightly. Edmon saw her standing there and tears began to well in his eyes. ¡°They killed them,¡± He finally said and began to softly sob. ¡°Who killed who?¡± she asked, taking a step through the open door. ¡°The prince.¡± He said. ¡°The prince? Edmon, what are you talking about?¡± she asked concern growing on her face as she took another step closer. Suddenly he was seeing out his eyes with fuzzy vision, like he was looking through warped glass. ¡°My family!¡± Edmon screamed spittle and snot flying from his mouth and nose. ¡°He butchered them, everyone!¡± He yelled as he began closing the last of the distance between them. ¡°I, don¡¯t,¡± Aela stammered trying to find words. Edmon grabbed Aela by the shoulders, startling her. As he squeezed he could see the pain in her face and wanted to let go but he could not make his hands release her.¡¯ ¡°Ouch! Edmon you''re hurting me let go,¡± she shouted trying to pull from his grasp. ¡°You will not stop us, you stupid foolish girl!¡± Edmon screamed in rage just inches from her face. He threw her hard to the side and she hit the wall of the tack room and fell motionless to the floor. He wanted to rush to her to make sure she was okay. He could see red pooling under her head, but he could not make his legs move to her. It was just over an hour later when Edmon¡¯s vision finally cleared and he felt like himself once again. He was on his horse, Rose, and was on the road headed north towards Sunderfel. ¡°Aela no!¡± Edmon screamed, jerking his horse to a stop the realization of what he did sinking in. Only was it him? He knew the memories of it were his, yet, he still felt like someone or something else was guiding his body. ¡°You were weak!¡± the voice growled in his head. ¡°She would have stopped us from seeking our vengeance and so I had you do what you should have done. We killed her and now you have nothing left in this world but us.¡± Edmon knew what the voice said was true. He saw her head smack the wall, and the blood. He hung his head and tears filled guys eyes, dripping onto the saddle. ¡°What are you?¡± Edmon asked, afraid of what the answer would be. Yet there was no reply. ¡°Answer me what are you? Why have you done this?¡± Silence. Edmon didn¡¯t know why he continued down the road towards Sunderfel, it was as if he told himself to keep going even though everything in him wanted to stop and turn around. He wanted desperately to turn back and find Aela well, and fall into her arms more than anything. However he also knew that that path was forever blocked to him and the only way to find his peace was to watch the life drain from Rul¡¯s eyes. After the day of riding he had gone farther than he had ever been from home and was not familiar with where the inns and towns were down this road. There was just enough light left from the fading sun and he decided it would be best to pitch camp for the night. He moved off into the tall grass away from the road, so if anyone were to pass they would be unable to see him from the road. He ate from his dried meat, not wanting to start a fire as it would give his position away, and he tucked into his sleeping roll and gently sobbed himself to sleep. When he awoke the sun was just beginning to rise above the far off mountains. He stayed laying in his sleeping roll not being able to bring himself to get out and start the day. As he lay there he heard a faint whisper, ¡°Get up¡± It startled him so much he lunged from bed and grabbed the rifle laying next to him. He thanked himself for having enough common sense to keep it close. He scanned the tall grass looking for the owner of the voice but he could not see anything. His horse ate lazily not at all alerted to the presence of someone nearby. After a few minutes he decided he must have imagined the voice and saddled his horse and packed up camp keeping his rifle close. He continued on like this for 5 days, riding as far as he could go with the light and camping off the road in the tall grass. Thus far he had only passed farmers and merchants on the road, but he passed the village of Oakwood, the tall grass had been replaced by massive oak and cotton trees. They quickly condensed into a forest that Edmon couldn''t see any farther than he could throw a stone. The tree''s massive overhanging branches blocked out the sun, and set him into strange darkness even though the sun was directly overhead. Only in a very few spots did the sun find a hole in the canopy and hit the ground. The road through the forest was well traveled and wide enough for wagons and carriages to pass each other without having to pull off to the side. The road Edmon was on took him through the southern part of the Mirewood Forest and would take the better part of three days to reach the other side. The Mire Road as it is called leads from the northern Bleaklands to the capital, Sunderfel cutting through Edmon''s village. The road follows the only path through the Mire Swamps that stretch from the outskirts of Sunderfel, to the forest lake of Black Water, named for the color of the water. The Black Water is fed by underground streams that overflow and soak the ground for hundreds of miles. The swamp does provide Sunderfel with a great strategic advantage as it is all but impossible to launch an attack from the north. Three days later Edmon made it through the thick of the forest and started into the mire swamp. The road was on the path through the Mire swamp but there were numerous paths along the road that lead to dead ends. These dry oases were mostly ladened with more of the massive oak trees. Edmon was going to be on this road for the next three weeks riding on horse. Each evening he would look out for a dry oasis to camp the night off the road out of sight of travelers. The fourth night he found the oasis earlier than he would have liked to stop, but didn¡¯t want to keep going and be looking in the dark like he did last night. He decided to ride a little deeper into the island than he normally did to set up camp for the night. He rode into the oasis for what he guessed was about a mile. The trees grew thicker here and as he was about to stop in a cluster of trees for the night he heard a voice. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I smell horse!¡± Came a nasally, nasty voice on the other side of the cluster or trees. Edmon pulled the reins slowly bringing the horse to a stop and said a silent prayer it wouldn''t make any noise. ¡°Trust his nose boss, he can tell you what you ate by takin a sniff of your shit,¡± a deep slow voice said. ¡°I told you to stop saying I smell shit, shithead. People are gonna start believing it,¡± the first man hissed. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Right, enough you two, if Ripper says he smells horse he smells it. He should know, he came outta one when he was born. How close RIpper?¡± answered a woman which Edmon could only assume was the ¡°Boss¡±. Edmon¡¯s heart began to pound in his ears. He wanted to turn and go back the other way but that would make too much noise and they would hear him. However, if he stayed they would surely find him anyway since Ripper was apparently half horse. Edmon¡¯s face hurt. He felt the pain on his left side then he heard it. Boom! A gunshot had hit the tree inches from his head, and splinters splattered the left side of his face. He yanked the reins right, and kicked his horse as hard as he could. Another shot, this time it flew over his head. Edmon thought, two shots so that meant only one left before they would have to reload their guns. A boom and a puff of dirt to the right of him let him know the third had shot and missed. Flying through the air Edmon had just enough time to realize he only counted each shooter having one firearm. ¡°Pistols!¡± He thought as he hit the ground, crumpled into a ball and rolled ten feet before sprawling out in the dirt. Luckily for him the oasis in the Mirewood was soft and he landed with relatively little damage. ¡°Got ''em I did. DId you see that shot I made, and with my pistol no less.¡± The nasally man shouted. Edmon hated when he was right, especially after he was proven wrong. ¡°Pistols¡± he mumbled to himself. He knew he didn¡¯t make it far, maybe only a few hundred feet before¡­ ¡°¡±What had actually happened I don¡¯t seem to have been shot,¡± he wondered, getting to his feet. Then he knew, or rather heard it. The sound an animal makes when it knows death is on the way, but they are not ready to die yet. The horse was screaming and kicking its legs trying to regain its feet. Edmon looked back and saw the two men running at him, the woman was still back by the cluster of trees reloading her rifle. They were closing the distance. 300 feet..250 feet. He looked past them and saw the woman stowing her ramrod back under the barrel and he knew he was out of time. He ran. He was only 15 feet from his horse and his belongings. He needed his pack, it had his money, his food, water and everything he had thought to bring. He tried to pull it free, but it was half under the horse and he could not get the leverage to pry it free. 200 feet.. 150 feet. Time was up he needed to leave. He turned, and ran. ¡°Stop him,¡± the nasally man shouted. Crack! A round smacked into the fallen tree Edmon had just jumped over. Off to his left he saw the trees grew extra thick close to the marsh and spread back towards the road for at least 1000 feet. He veered towards them, and just as he was almost into the first group he felt a sharp pain in his right side. The woman had fired her rifle again and took out a quarter inch of flesh off his right ribs. The pain made him stumble and fell into the marsh. He came up from under the black water and gasped for air. ¡°You got ''em,¡± the second man shouted and Edmon could tell they were close, less than 50 feet. He took a breath of air and let himself sink under the water. Edmon wasn''t sure how deep the black water was but he stayed still hoping it wasn¡¯t going to swallow him and never let go again. After a few seconds he stopped sinking. His feet were on mostly solid ground again. His lungs were starting to burn, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay under for much longer but he had no idea if they were still there. When he could not take it any longer he pushed off with his feet towards the surface. However, instead of shooting up his feet sunk into the mud and became stuck. Now true panic set in, he began to flail and kick harder, but his boots were suctioned into the mires mud now. ¡°Calm down, you''ll get us killed.¡± The voice said as Edmon''s vision blurred and he was pushed to the back of his mind again. Edmon felt relieved the voice had taken over, he felt a sense of calm. He watched as he undid the buckles on his boots and slid his feet free shooting to the surface. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that,¡± Edmon thought. ¡°Because you are idiotic, incompetent and incomprehensibly stupid.¡± the voice said back not malicious but almost sad. His head poked above the water and Edmon wanted to gasp for as much air as he could, but he wasn¡¯t in control anymore and the voice slowly allowed air into his lungs to make as little noise as possible. ¡°He¡¯s the swamps now, let''s see what he had on his horse.¡± The woman said cheerfully as they were walking away from the edge of the black water. The voice waited in the water for a few minutes and then slowly drug himself onto the shore. Edmon wanted to run as fast as he could back to the road and ask for help from other travelers but his body refused to move. ¡°Not so fast.¡± The voice said. ¡°But we need to get away from here and find someone to help us to get to Sunderfel.¡± Edmon pleaded. ¡°No. We are not running any more. You tried that and got our horse killed and nearly us. We are getting back our stuff and we are gonna make them pay for what they did.¡± The Voice said calm but very serious. ¡°There are three of them and they have guns, please let''s just go,¡± Edmon knew the answer but he needed to try anyway. ¡°Ha guns, watch and learn what pure rage can accomplish Ed, they will need an army to stop me.¡± He started to roll in the leaves and grass. Edmon looked down and through his hazy vision saw that he looked like a bleedin bush. ¡°Now Ed, now the fun begins.¡± He moved forward through the trees back towards where he was shot from his horse. Night had set on them, but the voice could see the light flickering from there torches. He stopped at the tree line and instead of going to the bandits he moved right following the tree line till he made a quarter circle around them. He picked up a stone the size of his hand and tossed it 20 feet back the way he had come. It made a loud crack as it hit a tree and fell to the ground in the silent night. The Marsh was home to few animals and those that did live there were not active at night. ¡°Did you ear that?¡± asked the nasally man spinning to look at where the sound came from. ¡°Do you spose that boy is still alive?¡± the second man said, standing and taking a step towards the sound. ¡°¡±No, we looked and we did¡¯n see him anywheres.¡± he replied through his nose. ¡°Well, find out!¡± snapped the boss. The two men moved forward, the bigger man coming straight at the noise and the nasally man moving to the left to trap him in. Unfortunately he went the wrong way. The voice waited until the big man was near the tree where the stone hit, and laying flat on his back blending in with the ground he grabbed a stick from the ground and snapped it half, letting the crack ring in the night. The big man turned and ran towards the sound. He came stomping past Edmon a few feet and stopped peering into the darkness. The voice knew he only had half a minute before the nasally man showed up as well and he needed the big guy dead before he did. The voice Slowly got to his knees, and he was barely over an arms length away. Edmon wanted to scream, to run. But the voice was only in his head, and he had no control over his body, the voice did. The voices hand shot forward and snatched the knife tucked in the man''s waist. In a fluid Motion he pulled the knife from the man''s pants, waited a heartbeat till he turned, and slit his throat. Blood shot through the air covering Edmon face and chest. The big man dropped his pistol he had in his right hand and both his hands shot to his neck. The voice wondered why people always tried to stop the blood, it was no use, the tendons and muscle retracted opening the artery and there was no stopping the blood from draining. A few heartbeats later the big man collapsed to the ground gurgling and choking on his own blood. Edmon''s body was already moving, he had picked up the pistol from the ground and moved back into a tree and waited. The voice heard the crunch of boots and the nasally man calling for his friend. ¡°Eh Trog, where are you? Trog, did you find em?¡± the voice could see him slowly moving forward his feet barely making a sound on the soft ground, he was walking directly toward the tree the voice was pressed against. ¡°We have the pistol shoot him before he sees us,¡± Edmon said to the voice. ¡°No, we wait till he¡¯s past us so he doesn''t see us and get off a lucky shot. I swear it''s like you are trying to get us killed before we kill that noble shit that murdered our family.¡± Our family, the voice said. Why would he say our family? Edmon¡¯s thought was interrupted by his body lunging forward wrapping an arm around the man''s neck and his other hand pressing the pistol to the side of his head. ¡°Drop the pistol,¡± the voice said for the first time out loud. At least Edmon guessed it was out loud because the man did as he was told. ¡°There are three of us and one of you boy, and I knows you have been shot already once,¡± he blurted out through his nose. ¡°Oh you mean the big fellow? I wouldn¡¯t worry about him, he is walking the Tribulation Plains about now, and if you don¡¯t want to join him you''re gonna walk back to your boss tell her i''ve gutted one and have two pistols aimed at your heads. And you are gonna leave and ill leave and we can all live to be miserable another day.¡± The voice whispered in the man''s ear. ¡°If you let me go, we¡¯ll kill you for what you did to Trog.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m counting on your boss having more sense than you, you may get me but not before I put a hole in one of you. Now go!¡± the voice shoved the man away from him towards the woman and his dead horse and quickly bent to pick up the pistol the man dropped. The man walked out of the trees, and the woman stood up and shouted, ¡°Did you bleedin find the boy and kill him?¡± ¡°He killed trog, he¡¯s got my,¡± the man stopped talking as the bullet the voice had fired went through his back, exploded his heart and went out through his chest. ¡°Why would you do that? You said you were gonna let them leave!¡± Edmon shouted to the voice. But his body was already moving, he had fired, rolled and stopped on his knees a few feet from where he had taken the shot. The voice knew that the woman out there saw the flash from his pistol shot and hoped she would shoot where he had been giving away her position. She did not. ¡°Now,¡± the voice said chuckling, ¡°the hunt begins.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only got one shot, she¡¯s got three rifles and her pistol and who knows what else.¡± Edmon protested though he was starting to know it would make no difference. He tried to force his way back in control of his body but as hard as he tried it felt like he was trying to push a building. ¡°It¡¯s no use Ed. It doesn¡¯t work that way. Now just sit back and enjoy the game.¡± Nineteen Fen Dak always had a pep in his step when a new batch of boys arrived at the temple. Today was no exception. He walked the halls with his robes trailing behind him as he made his way to the courtyard where the wagons had just arrived with ninety nine new prospects. Ten wagons with ten boys each, at least there had been ten in each. He received a raven three days ago that one of the boys had an accident and unfortunately perished. Ninety nine was still a good number. Of the last three groups of boys none had passed the final test to become acolytes of the temple. The order was very selective in who passed the test, but he had a very good feeling about this group. He pushed open the temple door and light streamed in momentarily blinding him. ¡°I need to get out of the temple more¡± he thought as he blinked a few times, restoring his vision. The boys were all gathered in the courtyard, in a single file line. As he descended the steps all their eyes were watching him. He stopped at the bottom step and slowly scanned them all. After a few minutes he finally spoke. ¡°Welcome my children, the temple opens its arms to you. Over the next few months you will be rigorously tested to see if you have what it takes to become acolytes at this temple. Most if not all of you will not pass the tests to be accepted into the brotherhood. Only the very best will be accepted to become the assassins of the gods. I will either turn you into an obedient machine of death, or you will die here and wander the Tribulation Planes for eternity knowing you failed the gods. Guards take them to their cells and prepare them for my disciples.¡± Fen Dak had yelled the last of his speech since most of the young boys had started to cry begging to be taken home or a quick death. He had noticed however that one boy stood completely still with his eyes locked on his. He didn''t bother with names since so many boys came here and failed that he started a number system, and nineteen was worth watching, closely. The boys taken to the Temple of the Ashes were gathered from all over the continent of Ahden. While slave trade was banned in all the kingdoms, the noble and law looked the other way if the more unsavory members of society were taken from the streets and put to good use else where. The slavers did not allow the boys to talk to each other in the wagons so nineteen had no idea of anyone''s name or where they were from. He had tried whispering to one of the other boys once, but the guard caught him and beat him severely. While he was being beaten by the guard who caught him talking, the other boy made a run for it and was shot dead and left by the wagon train. After that moment NIneteen decided he would plot his revenge in silence. After the fat man in the gray robes ordered them to be taken to their cells the same guard that beat him rushed forward grabbing him by his hair and forcing him into the temple. Nineteen bit his tongue to keep from crying out at the pain on the back of his head. Don''t show them your pain, they will use it against you. He thought as they made their way through the temple doors. As soon as they were inside the light vanished and he was plunged into neat black. Total darkness was held at bay by the faint light cast from torches far overhead. Down too many flights of stairs to count he was finally tossed into a cell where no light entered. The door slammed shut and he could hear the guards footsteps receding into nothingness. NIneteen didn¡¯t know if a few minutes or hours passed as he sat in darkness and silence. He felt all around the little room but the only thing he found was a pile of straw on the floor. AN empty basin and a water basin built into the wall with an opening leading into the wall above it which he guessed meant they filled the water from an upper floor so no one had to come into the room to give them food and water. The rest of the walls were smooth and bare. The door was built of solid wood with no handle on the inside and not even a crack big enough for light to squeeze through. As he lay down on the makeshift bed he was suddenly startled by a voice in the room with him. He had not heard the door being unlocked or opened, but he was also certain that there had been no one else in the room when he did his search. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Do you wish for death?¡± The voice spoke barely above a whisper but the words rang clear in nineteen''s ears. Nineteen was silent, he still was not certain if the voice was real or his imagination. ¡°Do you wish for death?¡± The voice spoke again louder this time. It was not the voice of the guard who beat him but it had a hint of familiarity to it. ¡°No, I wish to be¡­¡± before nineteen could respond the door to his cell opened and there was a figure standing there barely visible in the dim light. He turned and left the room one man charged in after him. It was the guard who beat him and left him in this cell. Without a word the man stopped in front of him and then the blows started to land. Even as nineteen fell to the ground the man followed him and continued to punch and kick him till he faded into unconsciousness. When he awoke hours later he felt like he had been run over by a herd of horses. Every part of his body hurt and he was certain he had at least a few broken ribs. Luckily he had fallen next to the water basin so reaching it while painful, was at least easy. After a long sip he felt in the empty basin and was surprised to find food had been put in it. Without caring what it was he ate. Bread and a thick slice of meat, enough to fill him. He drank again and slumped onto the pile of straw and fell into sleep once again. He wasn''t sure how many days had passed but he had guessed at three since his body while still sore was mostly better. He had just finished eating his meal when he heard the same voice again. And again he had no idea how he got into the room. ¡°So you wish for death?¡± The same familiar voice asked again barely above a whisper. Nineteen didn''t give him the chance to ask again. He lunged at where he heard the voice, he was certain he would get ahold of the man but all he felt was pain explode through him as he ran face first into the wall. He rolled over at the sound of the for opening and saw the robed man step out and his guard enter with first balled and waited for the blows. Just as last time the beatings continued until he slipped into unconsciousness, at least that''s as long as he knew they went on. As before when he awoke he found fresh food in his basin and ate. Nineteen lost count of how many times this happened. He had tried to scratch into the wall but he did not have anything sharp enough to leave a dent. He had started putting a piece of straw in one corner to count the beatings, he was up to eleven when he had tried attacking the robed man again and the guard had repeated thrown him into the wall and his pile was kicked in the torture session. He had given up counting after that. Everytime he would try to answer the question he would be beaten. He had racked his brain over the right answer since all he wanted was for the beatings to stop. Many weeks later he could finally take it no more and waited for the man to enter silently and ask his question. Nineteen had stayed awake all night in anticipation for it. Just when he thought he had miss counted the meals the voice finally spoke from the darkness. ¡°Do you wish for death?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± nineteen said, not moving from his spot on his straw pile head down waiting for the blow to come. ¡°Then you are ready to start your trials.¡± Light burst into the room and even with his head down and eyes closed Nineteen had to use his hand to block out the light. When he was finally able to open them he saw the robed man standing in the cell with him, the door closed behind him and two torches lit on the wall on either side of the door. Nineteen had not even felt the mounts when he did his search of the cell weeks ago. He shifted his gaze to the robed man and realized he was the one who had spoken to them all when they were first brought here. Fen Dak stood there looking back at him with a soft smile on his face as a father would have comforting their child after an injury. ¡°Come my child, now that you are at peace with death we must break your spirit even farther to break your mind so I can rebuild it with one purpose in mind.¡± Fen Dak said soft and welcoming. ¡°What if I don''t go with you?¡± Nineteen asked ¡°Then we will continue the beatings till you are truly ready to accept death.¡± Fen Dak snapped with anger rising in his voice. Nineteen did not want to be plunged back into the dark and beat senseless every few days so he stood and followed Fen Dak through the door. ¡°Whatever is next can not be worse than this¡± he thought as he followed him going lower into the temple. If he had known what was to come he would have gladly awaited his next beating from the guard.