No, this isn't exactly like 'The Dark Ages'(Or 'The Middle Ages'). It's somewhat based on the dark ages(or maybe I just pulled it out of my ass and made it into a story? XD), but seriously. If you came here expecting the whole entire story be the Dark Ages, well I'm sorry, but it's isn't going to like the dark ages. I basically made a fictional world that is sort of like the middle ages. If you see anything wrong with the terms, feel free to correct me.
Disclaimer: I'm a hobo.
Note: I'm not very good with Latin. Lol
The Cirulo Mortis - Circle of Death.
Amphitheater- Basically a colosseum.
Sarneanto- A knight who functioned as a leader of small squads of knights.
Kaijun- Translates into 'Strange beasts'
VICTORIA NOSTRA ERIT- Victory shall be ours!
There once was a powerful nation where beautiful castles and legendary monuments stood. That nation had many cities and towns, and many of the monuments in those cities and towns were indeed beauties, but they lacked in meaning. At the heart of the nation, the great HiMe City, stood one monument that did not lack meaning. The Cirulo Mortis.
There it stood, its once beautiful perfectly placed bricks that piled on top of each other to form the circular amphitheater, where the bricks would curve up to make a half oval, forming a pattern that would continue until it was a full circle. That beautiful work of art was now destroyed. It was destroyed by these men... no... these beasts, who dreamed of conquering this land and its people because of their greedy minds.
Why had this once powerful nation fallen against such beasts? It was when the nation was at its weakest state. The people were starving, many had grown ill, and their will to fight had fallen. Knowing this, the savages used dirty tactics. They would starve innocent people, cutting off their imports and supply lines and trapping them in their own cities!
The people were so desperate. During their traditional games they would have in their own amphitheater, the gladiators that have died in these games would have been sold for meat! Betting their pennies and coins for the meat of their own people.
Once the people were too weak to fight, the savages would enter the city and slaughter everyone in sight. Blood would flow like a river throughout the city. Their hunger for blood would not stop until they had taken all of this nation.
When they had taken down the capital, their thoughts of victory was quickly destroyed. The men who had attacked did not realize that there were other beasts who seek the same prize. They had the same determination, and the will to fight for the prize.
The men quickly stripped the Cirulo Mortis of the mineral that had built it,ignoring the beauty of this work of art. An amphitheater where many had lost their lives in. They used the bricks and stones to create defenses against beasts who had the same savagery. Hopefully, the Hime goddess shall make them face the wrath of their actions.
Of course, I have no worries against those savages. They don't usually attack towns with small treasures. We would sometimes hear their footsteps as they marched through the forest that surrounds our town, likely toward larger cities and towns. But that's the closest we've got to encountering them.
I closed my eyes as I leaned back into the tree, sighing loudly. I felt the soft breeze tickle my cheeks, and the natural fragrance of the earth filled in my nose, causing a relaxing sensation. I wish this moment could last , I think I could die here with a smile.
I opened my eyes again and took in the sight in front of me. I've lived here all my life, but the beauty of nature still takes my breath away. The waves crashing against the rocks, the way the ocean seemed never ending...it was always moving, and made me feel at ease, but most of all, the way the ocean seemed never to be tamed.
Inhaling the fragrance again, my eyes started to get heavy. When I couldn't resist any further, sleep overtook me, swallowing me into a pit of relaxing darkness.
(^_^) ^(^_^)^ (^_^) ^(^_^) (^_^) (^_^)^ (^_^) ^(^_^)^ (^_^)
I don't know how longed I slept there, nor did I care. But I did care about one thing, and it was this annoying thing. It kept trying to pull me out of the relaxing darkness. I didn't want to go yet.
"Natsuki!" A voice called. "Natsuki, wake up!"
"No…" I grumbled.
Suddenly I felt strong hands gripped onto my shoulders and started shaking me violently. My eyes flew opened to meet the intense dark orange eyes of my sister, Nina. Her body language and the intensity in her eyes told me something was serious.
"Natsuki…" she said, panting slightly.
She stared at me with such intensity in her eyes that it could burn a hole through your head, but something else was in those eyes. There was fear.
"What's wrong, Nina?" I asked. Something important must have happened. She knew better than anyone that waking me up during my sleep is like asking for a black eye.
"The Hime Knights!" Nina exclaimed. "They just arrived in our town!"
"What! Why would they visit such a town like ours?" I was shocked. Our town was small and poor. We were a simple farming town that could barely afford to pay our taxes. Everyone had to pitch in or else starve.
"I think they might have been injured. All of their armor was covered in blood and I think one of the knights lost his hand." Nina said. "Father told me to get you and hurry back as soon as possible."
I nodded and quickly stood up. Something felt off about this, and I knew Nina felt it, too. My sister and I always had a strong connection. We didn't need words to communicate with each other; all we had to do was look in each others eyes.
Without a word, I quickly dashed toward the path leading back into our town. It was hard to run at full force because of the thick trees that cover the land. If you were not careful, you might slam into a tree and break your nose. I learned it the hard way when I was a child. Nina would still tease me about it years after it had happened.
When we were a stone throw away from the town, I spotted a few dozen people standing around, forming a large circle. I knew I needed to go find father, but my curiosity took over and I told Nina I would meet up with her later.
I reached the crowd and tried my best to get through without getting shoved. Luckily, our town did not have many people so I got through the crowd with only a few shoves. I was about to move past a tall man with extreme muscles, who I recognized was Alard, but stopped when he suddenly turned towards me.
"Natsuki!" He cheered and ran over to give me a bear hug. The air was knocked out of my lungs.
"Hey, Alard." I gasped and smiled. Besides his giant height and his large muscles, Alard was actually a very friendly and silly person. He would laugh, sing, dance, and act like a child. But aside from being silly, he had a side to him that spoke authority. He would use it whenever the town's people were in danger or they had gotten into a fight. He kept order and peace. Some would say he was the town's protector, and I had to agree.
"I guess you are curious about the knights too, huh?" He laughed and put me down. "They sure have shiny armor!"
"Yeah." I laughed.
I made my way to the front of the crowd with the help of Alard. It was actually quite easy to make it through giant crowds when a 6 foot- almost 7 foot tall man who could crush people like an ant was standing next to you.
When we were at the front of the crowd, my mouth dropped instantly. The knights' armor was black, but was filled with golden patterns that made the armor shine brightly in the light. The gauntlet was filled with precisely detailed, different types of symbols, and the arming point had five golden spiked like points that lay on top of an axe, and shaped black metal plates as if they were wings that curved inward. The breastplate was covered in gold designs showing 13 warriors, each with a sort of weapon in their hands. There was also another symbol on the breastplate; it was the symbol of our Hime nation.
"How I wish to be in one of those!" Alard laughed. "But I'm afraid I'm too big."
I laughed with him. "Me too, Alard…"
I did wish to be in one of their armor. They were beautiful as well as an honor to wear such rarity. But I knew I would never get my hands on it. I was just the daughter of peasants, not of noble blood, and I never had the training of a knight. However, do not be mistaken… I am a fighter.
I can fight. I can protect those of importance to me. I can fight against bandits who threaten to rob my town of what riches we have. I was also quite skilled with the long sword, though I've had only used the wooden long sword that Alard made. I was rather sure a real long sword wouldn't be much different.
I didn't realize I was staring at the knights the whole time until a pair of lime-green eyes caught my own emerald eyes. The knight smirked when she saw me jump a little in surprise. I felt the blood rush to my face.
She was wearing the same kind of armor as every knight in her group was, except her right gauntlet had claws…really long claws. Even her hair color stood out. Not many had dark ruby hair like hers. I felt more blood rush into to my face when she winked at me.
The knight and me kept eye contact for a while. Even Alard started to noticed and raised his eyebrows in a questioning matter.
"Do you know that knight?" He asked.
"No." I answered nervously.
"Are you sure? You seem to be staring at her a lot…"
"I-Its just her gauntlet." I stuttered, obviously lying.
"Oh, yes. I have never seen a gauntlet like hers before." Alard smiled.
I let out a sigh of relief when Alard did not continue questioning me. He instead turned his attention to the knights. I tilted my head downward to let my hair cover my burning red cheeks. People have told me it was a blessing to be able to have the ability to turn from pale white into bright red instantly. I call it a curse.
A sudden noise brought me back to reality. I snapped my head back up to find the noise coming from a knight in front of me. I watched in horror as the town's physician tried to remove an arrow from one of the knight's shoulders. I winced as I heard the painful wailing scream coming from the knight. Tears were streaming down the knight's face, he was yelling at the top of his lungs for the physician to stop.
The red knight just shook her head and motioned for the physician to continue. Her expression was of pure boredom, not even a hint of sympathy. I suddenly felt angry. Her comrade was injured, probably because he was protecting her pathetic ass with his own life. And the red head just stood there, acting as if the knight was nothing but a burden.
My hands were curling into fists and uncurling as my breathing went ragged. I think Alard felt the anger that surrounded me, because he quickly tensed up, ready to stop me from lunging myself at the red head.
"Natsuki…" He whispered into my ear. His hand on my left shoulder. "Relax…you're not going to help with anything by killing yourself in a fight."
His words did not help my anger. How would he know I would lose? Was he saying I was weak? Even if I could win against the knight, I knew better. Attacking a Hime Knight will not only get me beheaded, but my family to. I can not bring harm upon my family, especially because of my own stupidity. I forced myself to relax.
"Yes I know, Alard." I said.
He gave a smile, but his body was still tense. I guess he figured it was better safe than sorry.
The physician was finally able to remove the arrow. He started stitching the wound, the knight was finally able to calm down. His breath was now steady and calm. I felt happy for him, but that happiness disappeared instantly. Something wasn't right. Why were the Hime Knights here?
"Alard, why are the Hime Knights here?" I spat out. I doubt he knew either, but I just had to ask someone. "Aren't they supposed to be out there fighting the Kaijuns and end this bloody war?"
"The sargento told me they needed a place to rest before they marched off to kill those…'bastards'." He answered, coughing slightly at the last word. He pointed toward the red knight, indicating she was the sargento. "That's all I know."
"Alard, I'm worried…I know the Hime Knights are suppose to be the best, but what if a legion of Kaijuns followed them here?" I asked. This had crossed my mind many times. The Kaijuns could easily have sent a spy and followed them here. And what then? There were about two-hundred knights here at the most. There's no way they could defend our town against a legion.
"I do not know, Natsuki." Alard said. His expression was grim. "All I can say is pray that is not the case."
I squeezed my eyes shut. I should have never asked. His words only made me more nervous. The thought of losing my family was just too much to bare. I decided to go find Nina and father before they started worrying about me. I told Alard good bye and fought my way through the crowd again.
When I reached our small family cottage, I was assaulted with hugs and smiles. I laughed as our dog, Duran, jumped up and licked my face. Many families didn't have dogs. They were too costly to keep alive, but luckily, I was able to teach him how to hunt on his own. In return, he would share some of his meat with us, so it was a win win partnership.
"Natsuki!" My mother exclaimed. She ran over to hug me. "I was so worried…"
"I'm fine, mom." I smiled. I honestly didn't get why they were so worried. They knew I always went to the cliffs.
"When we saw the Hime Knights and you didn't return…I thought something had happened to you." Father said. His tone was full of concern. I suddenly felt bad for making them worry.
"I'm sorry to have worried you, father." I said.
"We are just glad you are safe, Natsuki." Mother smiled.
"Of course she would be safe, mom. She would have slept through a war." Nina laughed.
I smirked, flashing her a goofy grin and giving her a playful shove. "Same can go for you.
You are even harder to wake up!"
She laughed. I wished for this moment to last forever…the never ending happiness…but my dream would be crushed. Right then…right there…a scream from the townspeople would crush that dream.
They screamed one word and one word only.
Kaijun.
The chaos had come in an instant. Everyone was running in confusion, screaming at the top of their lungs. The knights were grabbing their weapons and preparing for battle. It was suicide. Our land covered at least a few leagues before the thick forest completely surrounded us with mountains on each side, making us an easy target for ambushes. My heart skipped a few beats when the Kaijun army emerges from the trees. You could see soldiers for miles…they were cheering a war cry that made my knees buckle.
"KAIJUN! KAIJUN! KAIJUN! VICTORIA NOSTRA ERIT!" They chanted as they raised their flags after each cheer.
When they were closer, I saw that their foot soldiers were in the front and their horsemen were in the back, arrows all lined up and ready to fire.
"NINA! EVERYONE! IN THE COTTAGE NOW!" I screamed. Nina had already caught on and grabbed mother while I grabbed father, pushing them both into the cottage. Nina and I didn't have time to make it into the cottage when someone yelled one command I feared the most.
"FIRE!"
I lunged at Nina and tackled her to the ground, pinning us behind a neighbor's cottage. I knew what was coming. I tried to block it out, but their screams were just too much. I heard arrows connecting with flesh, soon followed by the cries of people who had been hit and the cries of people who watched their loved ones die, and they couldn't do anything about it. I felt Nina bury her head into my side, trying her best to block it all out as well. She started to cry.
I desperately wanted to cry like her, but I couldn't. I needed to be strong… for her…for everyone. I inhaled sharply; already smelling the scent of blood. I bit back my tongue, trying hard not to scream. My tongue started bleeding, but I didn't care. This blood couldn't even compare with the amount of blood shed today.
When the cries stopped, I took a peek and instantly regretted it. My eyes widened when I saw the orange glow on top of their arrows. They were going to set this town on fire, killing everyone in it.
"Nina!" I yelled. The tears were still streaming down her face, but she looked up at me. The intensity back in her eyes. "We have to go…NOW!"
The only way to escape was the beach. There, we could swim past the mountains that blocked us from another town, and once we get there, I knew a place in the caves we could hide.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and snapped them open again. I felt that time was slowing down as I dashed for my cottage, grabbing my parents by the shirt and yelling at them to follow me. I understood how the red knight felt now. There was no time for sympathy…this is war.
My mother and father used to be great runners, but time had worked against them. Their old bones could not keep up with the speed and they tripped and stumbled. I had no choice but to drag them to the beach. Running even faster, I heard my mom scream out in pain as my grip tightened.
"N-Natsuki!" She cried. "Slow down!"
I didn't care. There was no time for apologies. I felt so numb. My heart was pumping so hard I thought it was about to burst through my ribcage. How can people stand war? How could they start a war for such a pathetic reason like greed? Lives were worth more than a couple of gold coins.
"FIRE!" They cheered.
I quickly glanced over my shoulder. The arrows were already in the sky, some were on fire, some weren't, but it didn't matter either way. Getting hit wasn't an option.
My lungs were on fire, but I quickly picked up the pace, pulling my parents with all my might. Panting even harder, I heard another wave of screams from the townspeople from those who were unlucky enough to be hit. I tried my best to hold back my tears, but I felt a single drop of wetness roll down my cheek. Blocking all those agonizing screams was just impossible.
"Natsuki! Leave us! You must go!" My mom cried out. How could she say that? I love her, and she loves me. I refuse to leave her for my own sake!
"No!" I shouted as I tightened my grip around her hand.
Suddenly something hit my ankle, immediately sending a wave of pain through me. I stumbled, landing face first into the ground. The pain was agonizing but I couldn't stop. I tried standing up, but a jolt of pain made me scream and fall onto my knees. Nina rushed to my side, along with father.
"GO!" I screamed at them, but they wouldn't budge.
I screamed louder for them to go when I saw the horsemen loading another wave of arrows. Why were they just sitting there? Were they seriously thinking of dying with me? Tears started streaming down my face as I kept screaming.
My eyes widened and my screams stopped when my parents did something unexpected. When the horsemen fired another wave of arrows, my parents pulled me and Nina into a hug. I was shocked, but I also felt happy…we would die together.
No, we wouldn't die together. When the realization hit me, it was too late. Arrows pierced into their bodies. They were protecting us.
"Mother! Father!" Nina cried out.
I was too shocked to do anything. I just stood there, wide eyed as tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt a hand on my left cheek wiping away the tears. When my eyes focused, I saw it was my mother. She had a smile on her face; her left hand was reaching for something under her tunics. She pulled out a necklace that I had never noticed before.
The necklace was a large red diamond, the largest I've ever seen. In fact, it was larger than a penny. There were small black diamonds placed perfectly on the gem to form the Hime symbol. It was odd for a peasant to own such a thing. Even if peasants were able to get their hands on such a necklace, they would have sold it for a large sum, but my mother kept it. It must have been important to her.
"Natsuki…I beg you, take it." My mother gasped. "Keep it safe. Do not show it to anyone. Do not let it fall onto the wrong hands."
She placed the necklace into my hands and squeezed them shut. Those were the last words my mother uttered to me before she died an honorable death. She protected those of importance to her, where I had failed.
I started bawling, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I buried my face into her chest. I screamed her name over and over as if to wake her up from a long nap. I wanted to stay there…I didn't want to move. I didn't care if the Kaijuns found me. I just didn't care anymore.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, suddenly pulling me away. I thrashed to get out of the tight grip.
"Nina, let go of me now!" I yelled.
"No!" Nina hissed, her voice harsh and strong. I've always thought I was the strong one in the family, but I guess when the push came to shove, I wasn't all that strong. "How are you going to fulfill mother's wishes if you are dead?"
I wanted to argue, but I knew she was telling the truth.
The arrow was still in my ankle, but we had no time to stop and take it out. My right arm was over Nina's shoulders as she carried me closer to the beach. Each step- or hop in my case, sent a jolt of pain through my body. I was panting heavily when we were only a stone throw away from the sand and far away from the town.
Nina suddenly stopped and placed me next to a tree so that I could lean onto.
"Nina, let's keep going. We have to get as far away as possible." I gasped.
"But we will have to swim and I don't think you can swim in your condition!" Nina said.
"We will have to make due." I said. My voice was cold and commanding.
"Fine, but you will have to hold on to me. I don't want you to drown for being so arrogant." Nina grinned.
I grinned back, but a sudden whimper caught my attention. I snapped my head to the direction of the sound. Something was brushing against a thick bush. We held our breaths as we waited for an enemy to emerge from the bush.
It wasn't the enemy at all. It was the furry head of Duran. He was whimpering softly. I motioned for Duran to come towards me so I could check if he had been injured.
When he was close enough, I quickly picked him up and check for wounds. I didn't find any wounds, but he was still whimpering. I heard Nina snickering loudly. I raised an eyebrow and she pointed toward his tail. I almost burst out laughing too when I saw a tiny burnt mark at the tip of his tail.
"Oh, Duran." I smiled. I patted his head a few times. "Nina, I think we should go now."
She nodded and helped me toward the ocean water. Duran followed quietly. I winced when we reached the ocean water. Note to self: Don't go swimming in the ocean with an open wound. I bit my bottom lip and forced myself to deal with the pain.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Nina asked. I guess she saw the pained expression on my face.
"Yes." I lied.
I took one last breath as we plunged into the water. I tried my best to help her, but I failed miserably. The waves were strong as they knocked against us. I could see Nina having trouble keeping our heads up. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see Duran swimming toward us and I sighed. My Duran was an idiot.
Wave after wave hit us, we coughed violently, trying to get the water out of our lungs. Nina was exhausted and I felt blood draining from my head. It was as if the gods were tormenting us.
As if it was the gods themselves confirming my thought, a giant wave crashed into us, making us smash into the mountain wall. The last thing I saw was Nina slipping from my grasp before I blacked out.
Thanks to my beta reader, Piper5481. You have been a LOT of help whenever I have my brain farts and idiotic moments.
Also if you see any words just smashed into other words, well it's not my fault. When i typed this story, it had paragraphs, but when i uploaded it. ALL the paragraphs were smashed together into one giant wall of text. I tried my best to fix it, but if i miss any, i'm sorry.