Noonday shone brilliantly through the large rectangular windows on the eastern tower of Castle Zion. There were only four of them, but with the sun and were it was, and also the incredibly beautiful skylight, more than enough light was given. Dust easily floated around the large and spacious spire room. An aged owl stood with his back against a wall; he was facing eight young creatures, all of whom where at or around the age of eighteen. First; there was Gerald, a medium sized squirrel with a rounded jaw that had his crossed arms on his desk, with his head laying on them. Behind him was Kain and Vanguard. Kain, was the only badger in the entire class. Tall, strong, sinewy, the complete physical description of a badger but, his mind was that of a cheerful dibbun. There he sat with an odd grin on his face and sat and watched the owl, seemingly swimming in joy. Beside him was Vanguard, a tall and medium built mouse who sat slightly hunched over his desk, looking up at the owl from time to time as he sketched out a drawing on a piece of parchment. Then behind those two were the only females of the class. Sypha and Teran. Teran was a beautiful mousemaid who sat, not necessarily at full-complete attention, but upright, giving the owl her attention, as well as the left-side window. Beside her, her best friend and confidant, Sypha the Squirrel. She held the fastest run time around the castle perimeter, and a luscious figure with curves many young creatures would die for.
The owl blinked his large yellow eyes in his sagging eye sockets and asked in a warm intelligent voice, "Good afternoon my dears, whom has completed their assignment for the morning?" All creatures raised their paws, except Vanguard who continued sketching. The owl smiled and lowered his head as he shook it slightly, then raised it and called out loudly, "MISTER VANGUARD."
Vanguard jolted in his seat, causing everyone to stifle a giggle, except for Gerald whom he had just awakened, then quickly shuffled his sketching under his other parchments and replied curtly and swiftly, "Yes headmaster Sirius?"
Leaning in with a pleading voice of question, "Mr. Vanguard, did you do the assignment I gave you this morning?"
"Um…" hummed out Vanguard as he thumbed through his parchments, then placed one on top, "Yes headmaster Sirius! I did." Replied Vanguard, smiling with his small over-bite and hazel eyes.
"Good," remarked Sirius, "now shut your mouth you little idiot." He finished with a smile as the other's laughed, not so much cruelly, but at the humor of the headmasters' response. Pacing back forth in front of a white slate board, made of a thin sheet of granite, Sirius brushed off his ashen feathers then picked up a piece of rod charcoal and asked, "Who, can tell me who died in the Martyrdom of the Early Morn?"
All of the youth's paws shot up, but no one but Vanguard and his eyes' held the knowledge closer and as true. "Yes Mister Vanguard, please tell us."
The young mouse's voice said clear and calm, but tempered, "Chief of the Guard Aegis and his wife, Sara."
"Correct, correct…" mused the headmaster as he paced the granite board, head bowed in respect, "Exactly, what why were they the only ones awake at the time of the attack, Ms. Teran?"
Clearing her throat, the lovely mousemaid then answered, her voice echoing through the lofty wooden spire, "All of the other wall guards had been killed where they stood, by The Traitor Malgen."
"Good, good…" nodded the wise owl, "Mister Gerald, please tell us who Malgen, The Traitor was?"
Gerald shook in his seat after being startled at hearing his name, scratching into his wooden seat even more with his spines, but woke quick enough to hear the question, "Malgen was a trusted guardsmen. He was a squirrel and keeper of the gate. Before-"
"Thank you, Mister Gerald, thank you…Ms. Sypha, please tell us hat Malgen did, to hamper the security of the castle before the attack?"
Placing a small clenched paw over her mouth, she let out a small and dainty cough and answered in a small and beautiful voice, "Before the attack, Malgen went from each wall guardsmen to the next, nicking them with a poison laced knife. The poison was potent enough to kill the men where they stood. After that, he lowered the drawbridge and was about to raise the portcullis when-"
"Excellent, Ms. Sypha, Kain, please bring us home."
Nodding solemnly, aware and knowing of the gravity of the topic being discussed better than everyone save Vanguard and Sirius, Kain spoke, "As Malgen went to raise the portcullis, Aegis had become aware of what had happened after he attempted to speak with a guardsmen on the wall. The guardsman was dead. He had been walking with his wife Sara through the gardens at this time. Thinking quickly, Aegis ran to the gatehouse, and killed Malgen where he stood. That is when he and his wife saw the large mass of vermin outside the portcullis, sent a young watchman who had been napping in the gatehouse and avoided death, and sent him to wake the troops and told him an account of what had happened."
"Now Kain, please tell me why those two went outside the portcullis, rather than waiting behind them for the vermin?"
"From the drawbridge to the parade ground of the castle, the inner walls of the main wall get wider going to the parade ground. If the two had allowed the vermin to take down the portcullis, and then charge them, they would have been easily surrounded as opposed to the bottle neck they caused on the drawbridge."
"And why wasn't the drawbridge risen?"
"Malgen had broken the chain to hold up the bridge."
Just as the opened his beak to speak again, a deep bass toll of the large Orion's Bell range out over the castle. Sirius closed his beak, then opened it again stating with a smile, "Good job class, you are all dismissed for lunch."

"Jeez Gerald didn't you get enough sleep in library while we were doing our assignment?" remarked Sypha with a smile as the quintet of comrades moved their way down the long lunch counter, which was adorned with many assorted breads, fruits, cheeses and beverage of all types.
"No, I only got a few hours then." Replied Gerald, smiling back as he reached out over the table and grabbed a sizeable piece of wheat bread.
It was now the late afternoon and the sun was still hanging high in the sky, casting light over the all parts of the castle's inner grounds. Being lunchtime, nearly all of the castle's creatures where assembled in a long line that stretched from the northwestern to the southwestern corners of the castle's lengthy and immense perimeter wall. Built with highly durable red-sandstone that had been white washed, the castle glimmered brightly in the sunlight. Running along the Western Wall was a long and skinny building of some sort, which was in fact, the kitchen. With it outside the main building, the cooks could simply prepare food with the facilities provided inside the kitchen, then place their dishes on the counter that faced into the castle. During mealtimes the creatures would start at the northwestern corner of the western wall and work their way down, taking the food they wanted and then veering off onto the soft green grass on the inner castle grounds to dine.
"What is it with you boys, you seemed to be just spacing actually." Commented Teran as she nudged Vanguard and winked.
"What?" grinned Vanguard as he poured himself a glass of wonderfully chilled mint tea, and another for Teran. "I was drawing a picture mind you."
"Oh really?" replied Teran with a nod as she took the glass Vanguard held out, "Of what may I ask?"
"Why of you of course." Beamed Vanguard as he continued moving down the dark oaken counter, then stopped and heard snoring from under the counter, he looked at where it was saw that the window slat was closed off for this part of the counter. Vanguard smiled and started banging on the slat, "Antoine! Ya nutty goose wake up before that bilge pirate Thann catches you!"
A snort shot up from under then the counter coupled with a shuffle of movement, then a-
BANG!!!
"OwWwWwwwWWww!" cried out a higher pitched squirrel voice. The slat flew back and there was a short slender squirrel, paws atop his chef's hat-covered head and eyes clenched close in pain.
The creatures in the immediate area all laughed aloud at the scene while Vanguard continued, his face full of mirth, "Antoine, you okay man?"
"Yeah I'm fine." Replied the squirrel, still rubbing his head and opening his blue eyes, "Oh wow this hurts."
"I'd imagine, it is solid oak." Added Kain with his deep baritone voice, grinning as he grabbed a whole apple pie.
"No, really?" snapped Antoine as he finally stopped rubbing his head and re-arranged his hat.
"Hey, where'd you go after we all went to the library?" asked Vanguard.
"Had a couple things to finish back here at the kitchen…" answered Antoine, as he shot under the counter and came back up with a light blue colored pitcher in the shape of a swan, and set it down on the counter.
"Ah! Your strange brew??" piped up Gerald, smiling as he eyed the pitcher.
"What of course." Antoine answered smiling back.
As Gerald poured himself a large glass of the green foamy liquid, the girls had lost interest in the male interaction and left, while Kain went to sit upon the dry summer grass and eat while playing with dibbuns, Vanguard grew a little more serious, but not by much, "So, are you going to be a cook your entire life or are you going to join up with the guard like me and practically the lot of us?"
"You know Van, I did take an apprenticeship on cooking, I think I'll stick with it, don't drag me into your little fetish with fighting." Answered Antoine, smiling and leaning on his paws, facing Vanguard.

***

The fox knelt beside the calm riverside, shaded by large and leaf-covered oaks, as he held a clenched paw to his mouth deep in thought. A black cape that draped the area around him due to its length covered his body. A twitch of the ear, he heard someone coming. The pawstep was heavy, clumsy, uncalculated. 'It must be Talus.' Thought the fox, unmoving, even his eyes, which stayed transfixed on the tame current.
"'Ello der Rubay! Watta ya lookin et??" called out an oafish weasel, large and fat. Short and stout also, he was dressed in a blue tunic that appeared to be busting at the seams. Waving and grinning with only a small percentage of his teeth left, the weasel bumbled forward.
The fox merely turned his head, eyes still uncaring and looking at nothing in particular as he spoke nonchalantly to the weasel, "I've told you time and again Talus, my name is Rubicant."
"Oh! Blimy me Ruby-can't! Beggin muh pardon sir, da troop iz getting ressless, they needs some action."
Reaching out and plucking up a small white pedaled wild flower, Rubicant continued speaking with care the last thing on his voice, "Tell them to spar with one another, I'm busy."
"Wit wot sir?"
"I'm having another vision, it would help if your stinking pile of weasel matter were not around to bother me." Rubicant then slowly crushed the flower inside his fist, then opened it dropping the petals on the dew-laden grass.
The weasel went pale under his blubber and started backing away, paws clasped together in front of what could be called his chest, "Ohhhhhhh lordy...I'm sorry sir, please forgive me, I din knew you was havin a vision…" With his last syllable, he turned around, then smartly and swiftly marched away.
A small and evil smile crossed the fox's lips, Talus was a good one too keep around, mostly for comic relief. Closing his eyes, Rubicant proceeded to enter the fullness of this new vision. He stood tall among a large pile of dead woodlanders inside the walls of Castle Zion. The air hung heavy with the scent of victory, the scent of death. Rubicant was standing on the bodies, his cape enclosing him as he looked up to the cloud blackened sky and wept tears of joy. The heat from a large fire behind him warmed his backside as bodies of the dead were being burned in bonfires. His minions all were on the inner grounds of the castle, being drunk and merry, singing slurred songs while leaning heavily upon each other, kicking at the dead bodies or spitting on them from time to time. Soon, the dark clouds overhead started to rumble, and a loud clap of thunder echoed through the land as a light drizzle of rain fell on the victors with large flashes of lightning in the distance.

***

King Ardor sat up abruptly in a cold sweat, panting heavily, his face engraven with horror. His quick sky-blue eyes looked to his side, to see his lovely wife Eva sleeping soundly beside him, he then looked out the large window to his other side. Dark clouds had rolled over the land, a light drizzle fell. Ardor's breathing slowed down, realizing he had been waken by a clap of thunder apparently. Still, the things he saw in his cruel dream could not be written off as easily. This, wasn't the first time he had had one of this nature either, and that disturbed him greatly. Placing his paws over his face, and running them down he felt wet, almost as if he had been in that rain. He was drenched with sweat. Carefully, for his wife, he slipped from his bed and crossed the room to the sink and twisted the stopper slightly so a small outage of water poured from it. He rinsed his paws and brought his head down and gave his face a good rub down with the cool rainwater. Standing up, he looked into the mirror at the dark figure that stared back from the mirror. Lightning flashed and the figure that was staring back at him was not him, but a robed fox, grinning sadistically with slitted red eyes. The lightning flash was over and King Ardor stood leaning against the sink with a paw over his heart, breathing rapidly. He was still staring into the now unidentifiable figure in the mirror, and when the lightning flashed again, it was merely him. A frightened mouse, haggard from another sleepless night and with eyes full of terror.

Gentle wind pushed the light rain off into a slanted angle outside the window. With his eyes looking out into the dim light of the late evening, Vanguard sat on his desk in the now dusk classroom which was illuminated only by four large lanterns that hung from the beams of wood overhead, watching the rain and wind outside the western window.
"What are you doing up so late Van?" asked Teran yawning, covering her mouth with a dainty paw. Her shoulder and head leaned against the frame of the door tiredly.
Simply smiling and hopping off the desk, he stood closer to the thick window, paws behind his back, "What are YOU doing up so late Teran? Your practically sleep walking."
"I was going to the bathroom and on my way back to my bed, I didn't see you in yours." A small smile now caressed her petite lips, her eyes closed.
"Oh really now? C'mon sis, I gotta get you to bed." Still smiling he wrapped his arms around Teran's waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.
"No Van, I'm not tired." She continued, still smiling, voice growing weaker, eyes still closed.
"Gosh, it's just like when we were kids eh sis?" Musing memories in his mind, Vanguard replied.
"Mmm, hmm..." she was now asleep.
Chuckling lightly, Vanguard slowly and carefully started descending the wide and winding staircase from the tower to the upper compartments. After he had been orphaned by his parents' sacrifice, Vanguard was taken in by the kindly Chancellor Ardor and his wife, Eva. They had no children of their own, and the youthful Ardor was a dear close friend with Vanguard's father, Aegis. The two warriors had served in the guard together, climbing in rank. After Ardor felt he had climbed high enough, he stopped and turned to the virtues of being a scholar, and the talents of the fine arts, while Aegis continued to climb, all the way to Chief of the Guard. Aegis was a stalwart of the monarchy, true in honor and valor, which was shown in countless battles and deeds. King Tryce wished to reward Aegis by giving him a special set of swords, the only two swords of their kind. The set was called a daisho, and consisted of a long blade and a shorter blade. Both were slightly curved and pounded a hundred times sharp by the skilled blacksmith's and metal workers of the Castle Zion. The rarest and best metals were used on the daisho. When asked to name the fine blades, Aegis christened the long blade Katana, and the short blade Wakizashi. Despite the fact of the incredible power housed within the blades, Aegis only used them for ceremonial purposes, and instead kept his broadsword closer at paw. After Tryce's mysterious death, the people of the castle elected that Chancellor Ardor be ordained as the new King. It was during, after, and before these times that Vanguard received his schooling, and was taught to use the daisho by the only one in the castle that could wield them with true skill. Kain's father, Hiroshi-Kama-Tzu, or Hiro as he was more often called. Hiro was the one who suggested, and directed the blacksmiths and metal workers in the creation of the daisho. He was a warrior and combatant in the truest sense. Teaching Vanguard and Kain in tandem was a hard, but fulfilling task. Vanguard was eager to learn, while Kain could care less for war or combat. It was this, and Hiro's spite for Kain's pacifism, that nearly drove a wedge between the twos' friendship. However, when the two friends both turned the age of thirteen, Kain's father left west on a quest, and never returned.
But, what of Teran, how does she fit into the picture? A year after the death of Vanguard's parents, Teran was born to an ecstatic Chancellor Ardor and Tribune Eva. Not only did they have their own child of the flesh, but it was a beautiful girl, and wonderful complimentary sister for Vanguard. Younger only by a year, the two were like unto peaches and cream, a perfect pair. They played, laughed, and learned together until Vanguard began getting older, and the age gap turned into a chasm. Then they became bitter, yelling, shouting, and screaming insured until, the chasm filled with age and kindness and maturity. Then they were the best of friends yet again, but the memories of Vanguard early adolescence and the effects of it on their relationship were still being felt.
Bare pawsteps slapped lightly against the stone steps of the stairwell as they finally came to the end and Vanguard looked upon Teran in the soft light that radiated from evenly spaced wall torches. She was a beautiful creature, proportioned body, shy face, and thin lips. Taking a deep breath, he turned right and went down the southern corridor of the northwestern junction. Finally he stopped and faced a door that beheld a small plaque of stone with, 'Princess Teran' engraved upon it. Reaching out with care, he grasped the handle and opened the door. Stepping into the young mousemaids' chambers, Vanguard walked to the maids' bedroom and gently laid her down upon the bed. Smiling, he rubbed her head and bent down, kissing her cheek. He stood, feeling a little silly for still treating her like such a young creature, but couldn't help but feel justified considering how much he cared for her. Swiftly he exited and quietly closed the door, and went back up the hallway a mere ten doors and entered his. The door was open, as he always left it. Walking straight in, he was soon standing in front of his bed. Taking a deep breath he turned around, fell onto the bed on his back, closed his eyes and tried to sleep.