Warning: Rant Ahead
The problem with the USB Flash Drive is now basically solved. Moral of the story: mounting storage devices via USB under Linux can potentially be a pain.
Now then, regarding making story updates consistent: at the moment, I'm aiming to move to weekly updates of this story, probably on a Thursday or Friday. This schedule will get a bit messed up here and there in December and January since I'm going to be moving to another state and taking some vacation time to see my family, but I'll make sure to take the time to update when I have internet access. Since my muse is rather chaotic and likes to swing back and forth between taking luxurious vacations and pushing me to work like a slave for hours on end, I'll also be taking the step of attempting to keep at least one extra completed chapter or side story in reserve to post in the event that I didn't get anything written that week. Currently, I've got two chapters in reserve, and I hope to add more to this collection as time permits.
Now, then. I'm taking a slight break from the main plot (as the chapter title may imply) to tell a short story about the attack on Damcyan. To be honest, this story was not planned in the original outline, the inspiration for it simply struck me one day, and it blends in quite nicely with where the events of chapter three end. While writing this, I decided to play around with telling a story from two different perspectives. I apologize in advance if this gets a bit confusing. Just keep in mind that the " " indicates a scene change and potentially a change in the point of view. Now then, enough of this ranting. On with the story!
As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcomed. Flames will be laughed at.
Side Story: Requiem
"What do you mean, 'I'm leaving'?"
"Dear," Anna replied to her lover, Edward, "You know I love you, but...I need my father's blessing before I marry. I'm sorry but, I need to go back to Kaipo now."
"But what about running off together and eloping?" Edward asked her, "I did everything I could to make sure that's what you wanted before we left Kaipo in the first place."
"Yes, well...I was still angry at my father that night for refusing to give me permission to marry. I wasn't exactly thinking clearly. I'm sorry," Anna said.
"So, that's it?" Edward asked angrily, "You just give up on us being together because that psychotic old man you call your father is too biased against me to allow us to marry?"
"Edward, it's not like that," Anna replied through fresh tears, "I just need more time to convince him. I just...need more time."
"Sir Golbez, we're thirty kilometers from Damcyan."
A rather tall man in a set of striking blue armor, a cruel-looking horned helmet that concealed his face and a long blue cape turned to the soldier who had addressed him and stared. He held up his hand, and a small burst of fire appeared in it, cracking and writhing in the all-encompassing wind.
"You interrupted my studies for that?" Golbez said in a cold voice.
"F...forgive me, Sir Golbez. I was told by the pilot that you wanted updates on our position every half hour," the Baronian soldier said with downcast eyes.
"I requested updates every hour, not half hour. Tell the pilot that if he does follow my instructions properly in the future he will find himself wishing he were one of the mages that were captured in Mysidia."
"Y...y...yes sir!" the soldier stuttered before scampering off.
"Soon. Soon, Master Zemus, we will possess another of the crystals. Your return is at hand," the blue armored man whispered to the sky.
"Soon."
"Is that all you're going to tell me?" prince of Damcyan whined to his beloved.
"I'm sorry, Edward," the young woman said, "But if I gave you a more specific answer, you'd do everything in your power to prevent me from leaving."
"Please, Anna, don't go."
"I'm sorry, but I must. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I married you without my father's blessing."
On one of the walls of Damcyan's castle, a lone soldier sat watching the shifting sands of the desert before him. He was on guard duty, the most dreaded of assignments due to the sheer boredom involved, and he briefly entertained the thought of taking a nap for an hour. After all, no one had attacked Damcyan in years. As he looked up into the sky to watch the clouds go by, the soldier began to doze off. A few moments later, three red dots appeared on the horizon. Three red harbingers of doom, forewarning the arrival of the blood-stained air force known as the Red Wings of Baron.
The prince paced nervously in his room, waiting for a servant to arrive and inform him that Lady Anna had left. An hour ago, she had shut herself into the guest room that all her belongings were in. The reason given to everyone that she was packing in order to go home. This fact caused quite a stir in the royal court. After all, it's not every day that the prince brings his bride home only to have her leave again three days before the planned wedding. This entire incident had caused Prince Edward no end of shame, even his parents had dropped in on him to ask what he had done to offend the woman he intended to take as wife.
"Your majesty," a voice said from behind a wooden door, "May I enter?"
"Of course," came the prince's gruff reply.
The door opened, and a servant walked into the room. This particular servant was most likely one of his parents' personal aides, for the man wore fine clothes that were fitting for a councilor of the kingdom. The servant bore no letters or trays of food. Rather, he stood just inside the doorway with his arms at his side.
"What is it?" an annoyed Prince Edward asked.
"The Lady Anna bid me tell you that she desired to see you one last time before she left. She waits in the throne room," the servant said all too formally.
"Thank you, you may leave now."
"Release bombs!" the warlock known as Golbez cried out.
Ten crew members on the ship that Golbez personally commanded opened the hatches that they were responsible for, releasing a payload of explosives on the unwitting denizens of the castle below. Another crew member used a set of flags to communicate the orders to the other two ships that were taking part in this expedition. Down fell bomb after bomb on the Castle of Damcyan. Upon impact, the entire castle shook under the assault of the world's mightiest air force. From Golbez's perspective, the soldiers that rushed around on the ground below to defend their castle seemed to be nothing more than ants struggling to defend their hive from a human. They might be able to sting him a little, but never would they be able to cause serious injury.
"Archers at ready!" Golbez shouted to his men.
Again, the members of the airship's crew moved into position with military precision while the other ships were informed of the orders through signals. At least fifty bows on each ship were held at ready with arrows notched.
"Descend to firing distance!"
The pilots of the airships descended to a sufficient level for the archers on board the airships to properly aim at their opponents on the ground below. Tension filled the air as the archers awaited further orders.
"FIRE!!!"
The halls of the castle of the great kingdom of Damcyan had been transformed into a vision of the underworld. Flames burned everywhere, and the ground was covered with the rubble of collapsed roofs and walls. Members of the court lay on the ground, some shrieking in agony. Soldiers had overrun the hall by now, and a large contingent was assigned to protecting the royal family at all costs, including the bride-to-be of Prince Edward. The king stood in the midst of the chaos, giving orders and directing the soldiers in the defenses to prepare. As they moved into place, the king picked up his lute and began to demonstrate the true strength of the royal family of Damcyan. He played a song. The notes of the Anthem of Damcyan drifted through the halls, encouraging the spirits of soldiers, bringing to mind the purpose for which they would fight this day: the protection of their homeland and loved ones.
Then, all hell broke loose.
Uncountable numbers of troops wearing the traditional armor of Baron's standing army rushed into the room, weapons drawn. The sword-wielding soldiers advanced on their counterparts from Damcyan, almost causing the ones guarding the royal family to break ranks. The troops from the army of Damcyan engaged their opponents, and the notes of the king's lute were drowned in the clashing of steel and the cries of the dying.
A hand in a blue gauntlet rose above the heads of the Baronian troops, and then fell with incredible speed. At once, the air was filled with arrows. Darts of death flew every which way, piercing the bodies of the defenders of the king. For a moment, the air was still, but then a second volley of arrows filled the air.
Prince Edward looked on in horror as arrows pierced his guardians, causing them to fall to the ground and into the sleep of death. He staggered back, frantically searching for a place to hide from the archers. All that was around him, however, was the bodies of the slain. The pillars were too far away to hide behind. The prince braced himself for his imminent demise.
The next series of events happened too quickly for Edward to understand at the time. The archers drew their bows back a third time. A woman's voice screaming, "Edward!" was heard from somewhere to the right of him. The bowmen released their arrows once more. A volley of arrows flew through the air to rain down upon the helpless prince. The blurred form of a woman flew through the air toward the prince as well. Edward was pushed down and fell to the floor. Just before he collided with the stone surface below he heard the sickening thunks of several arrows piercing a person's flesh. Then his head cracked against the floor, and all went dark.
When Prince Edward regained consciousness, he found himself pinned to the floor by a dead body. He began to push the body off of him in order to stand up, but then he heard voices nearby.
"Have all the guards been dealt with?" A muffled voice asked.
"Yes, Sir Golbez. The way to the Crystal of Fire is all clear," another voice answered.
"Very good," the muffled voice said, "Return to the ships and prepare for lift off upon my return."
"Yes, Sir!" the second voice said.
The sound of footsteps trailing into the distance was heard. Deafening silence filled the room, broken a few seconds later by a second set of footsteps. This time, the footsteps were headed in Edward's direction. The prince's breathing quickened and his mind was filled with fear. The footsteps continued to approach him, and the figure creating the sound stopped almost right in front of him.
"What a foolish girl," the muffled voice said quietly enough that Edward could barely hear it, "Sacrificing her own life for worthless royalty that died anyway."
The footsteps were again heard, this time moving away from Edward, but toward the chamber where the crystal was. Edward continued to wait in silence, knowing that if he got up now, he would most certainly be killed by these pillagers from Baron. Five minutes later, the hall was flooded with the chaotic sound of men running across the stone floor. A few moments later, a single set of footsteps was heard walking slowly down the stairs from the Crystal Chamber.
"Such beauty, such perfection," the muffled voice once again could be heard saying, "And it is mine. The Crystal of Fire is mine!"
The footsteps trailed off into the distance. Ten minutes later, the roaring of airships' propellers filled the air before diminishing and trailing off. Silence reigned for a few more minutes before Edward began to get up. He pushed off the body that was pinning him down and looked around the room. The bodies of the dead and dying lay everywhere. A few feet away from him lay the bodies of his parents, their faces frozen into masks of death.
"Mother...father..." Edward said softly.
Tears fell from his face. True horror of what had happened was only now washing over him. He looked down to see who had sacrificed his life for his, and drew in a startled gasp as he recognized the body that now lay at his feet. It was the body of his beloved, Anna.
"Anna! Anna!" the Prince cried out into the silent castle.
His tears became a flood that washed over his face and began to cleanse the bloodied floor beneath him. He continued to weep for all those who died as he knelt by the side of the woman he loved, both in life and in death. When his tears finally dried up, Edward did the only thing he knew to do in this situation. The prince walked over to the body of his father and picked up the lute that had played the Anthem of Damcyan earlier.
Edward leaned back against one of the walls, and began to play the melody that the events of the day caused to echo within his soul. The prince played a song, a requiem, for his loved ones who had died today. He played for the soldiers who had fallen while valiantly defending their homeland. He played for the women and children who were brutally slain when bloodlust had overtaken the minds of the soldiers from Baron.
He played a requiem for Damcyan.
Comments to Reviewers
First of all, thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far. All your feedback is appreciated, especially after the experience of having a longish story (35000 words or so) I posted on under a different pen name receive somewhere around ZERO reviews. I've been a tad behind on keeping up on reviews, so I apologize for not thanking you all earlier.
Reddo Meijisu: Thanks for the comments regarding my use of dialogue. I'm actually using this story as an experiment in writing dialogue decently and using it to propel the story, so your feedback is especially appreciated. Oh, and nice pen name. Elsewhere on the Net, I tend to go by the nickname RedMage myself, though that's because it's a nickname my college buddies bestowed upon me.
TobyKikami: Interesting that you saw the foreshadowing regarding Rosa. To be honest, though, it was added unintentionally/subconsciously.
The Chaotic Ones: I can see where your take on Rydia comes from. I was always of the opinion that she was always a tad extroverted, but her mother's death and annihilation of her village caused her to become introverted for a while. Baron's soldiers coming to kill her didn't help either.