The Descended Shadow

by BC-Butch Cassidy-BC

24 years have passed since Hitomi returned to earth but Gaea is not the same place she left behind. War, oppression and death are all commonplace, and in this shadow a new visitor comes from the Mystic Moon... A new story is Dawning, the Descended Shadow!

14. He who is without sin

A VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE
The Descended Shadow
Chapter XIV
He who is without sin

Disclaimer – Escaflowne is not mine; the characters and story are the property of Bandai entertainment. The story and characters of 'The Descend Shadow' or 'Shadows of the Past' are the property of Butchs Fan Fiction Forum . Before use of these characters or elements of the story please get permission from Butch Cassidy at Visit the Home of 'The Descended Shadow' at Character reference at the end of the Fan Fic. If you forget a character, remember.

………

Fanel. The capitol city of the kingdom of Fanelia was blessed with a long, and for the most part, peaceful history. The city was founded nearly five hundred years ago on the ashes of Andreas Fanel, the kingdom' greatest warrior and founder. All those hundreds of years ago, the land, which would become known as Fanelia, was split into a dozen smaller Kingdoms whom were cursed with a continuing thirst for land and the blood of their enemies. It was in the smallest of these kingdoms, that the young Andreas was raised.

The largest kingdom, Volyn, was ruled by a man of the same name whom had an exceptional thirst for victory. When his armies marched on his neighbours the other Kingdoms formed alliances with Volyn in the hope they would be spared his rage… all but one kingdom. The village Andreas was born in went by the name of Suhl, though the Kingdoms modern inhabitants have all but forgot this. When armies marched on his home he rallied the villagers into a force which pushed Volyn' men back. At the time Andreas was hailed a hero and sent for men to aid their cause and inspired by the quickly spreading legend of Andreas exploits, they came in their thousands.

When the next, much larger army approached the village Andreas made the heartbreaking decision to abandon their homes and retreat to an ancient fortress in the mountains to the north. The fortress of Tann was built hundreds of years earlier, its maker long forgotten, is purpose pure speculation. What remained of Andreas' army fortified their position in the mountain fortress and fought off the enemies' advances time and time again.

No matter how long passed Andreas and his men refused to give in to Volyn or despair. Unfortunately after six months of siege his men were exhausted, their stores of grain and water all but gone, surrender seemed an option, death a release from the hell survival had become. It was at this time that Andreas stood upon the barricades and approached the armies that lay in front of them.

His words, which have long been forgotten were enough to incite Volyn' men to mutiny and likewise many of those whom wore the colours of other kingdoms. They overcame their enemies, freeing themselves from the prison Tann had become, but not before Andreas lay dead upon the battlefield. Inspired by their martyred leader Andreas' armies marched all the way to Volyn' throne room, unifying the Kingdoms as they passed. By the end of the war all of Fanelia' kingdoms were unified into a single nation. This sibling Kingdoms capitol was founded upon the very ground their first King had fallen; Fanel was born out of the hollowed remains of Tann.

Today that city stands on the brink as another army marches on Tann. Even so the city of Fanel offers defences unmatched by any other city in the alliance. The city was embraced on three sides by steep mountains, so steep no man, or army could climb them. Additionally the city was defended by three huge stonewalls based throughout the city. The first wall, and weakest protected for the large farming, and scarcely populated segment of the city. The story changed entirely as the second wall proved far stronger and defended the higher populated second segment of the city. The final defensive wall was a mammoth fortification, truly and defended the governmental, religious and residential centres of the city. All in all it is over two miles from the base of the first wall to the castle, which was built right into the mountain… the old fortress of Tann.

The customs, politics and the people of Fanel had, of course, changed, but the same spirit of those men whom followed Andreas was alive and well and in none less than his descendent Von Fanel or his highest ranking General, Onoír. It was deep in the streets of Fanel, bathed in the shadow of the second wall that Onoír now stood, his eyes on a soulful building. The three-story house was just like so many around it, build and designed to mirror each other. It looked like it was once a rich house, a house that would once have held a large family whom had the good fortune to be well off. Along many of the windows small balconies intruded out from the building, their railing built from metal, decorated with elaborate designs from years past. There was nothing special about this single house, this single building but Onoír still looked upon it and no other.

A sigh escaped his breath as he looked towards the door, a large wooden frame raised from the road. He stepped forward and slowly he ascended the half dozen steps that preluded his actions to open the sealed door. He forced the handle but it failed to move. He raised his foot and kicked it harshly about the lock. The old wood buckled and broke under the pressure the old soldier offered it.

A cloud of dust exited while the door itself crashed into the wall, opening the house for entry. He shook his head to clear the dust that had covered it and then stared in past the darkened doorway. Around his neck and to his side Onoír wore a knapsack, and placing his hands inside he removed an unlit torch. Kneeling he placed it between his legs and further removing a couple of pieces of flint he crashed them above the torch until it caught alight. Then raising to his full height he fearlessly entered the abandoned building.

Soon enough he had passed into what was once the buildings living, or family room. Several large, and seemingly comfortable seats sat around the now long extinct fire. He looked where once the windows, the conduits of light, were now boarded with wood, only the weakest cracks of sunlight managing to enter the barren shell of a room. He found as he walked he disturbed the dust that lay upon the wooden floorboards, but he did not care… he just didn't care.

The room may have been dark but that was not the reason he never saw what was right in front of him. Where there were dusty floorboards and boarded windows he saw a brilliantly lit, richly room. Where the half destroyed seats sat he saw them still in their former glory. That was not all, for in the room he saw people, people he once knew, and where now no more than a memory.

He remembered three souls being in that room, the first was a child, a young girl. She was small, young in years and bothering her brother whom seemed scarcely older than she was. Her brother however was not interested in his younger sibling and was in fact looking up at his mother. The young lady was seated upon one of the chairs, tears streaming from her eyes. The third occupant Onoír knew as himself. He was kneeling to her side, his arms around her. His eyes too were spoilt with tears. Onoír quickly left the room, and those memories behind.

He climbed the stairs, not a step free from the creaking of neglected wood. His torch was still in his hand but it was not leading the way. He was instead being lead by an intuitive knowledge of the house he had once called home. When he reached the second floor he stopped in the mouth of another room. This time it was a bedroom that welcomed him with the now familiar dusty finish. The bed, simple wooden furniture and several books strewn across the floor were all buried by the grey wastes of time. The sight seemed to bring him to a complete stop, his eyes weakened by the encounter. Soon enough another memory was offered by his minds eye, but this time there were two brothers. Both of them were in matching uniforms, that of the Fanelian guard. The younger of the two was Onoír, just like he was in the previous memory. The likeness of this brother was uncanny.

They were having some sort of argument but it was as if something had wiped the sound from the scene. There argument became ever more heated as the moments past until Onoír sweeped the books off his desk and onto the floor. His older brother just stood there until finally Onoír' younger self stormed from the room. Onoír entered the dust-aged bedroom and kneeled to lift one of the books, which still sat, in the same place he himself had thrown them to all those years ago. He took it in his hands and turned it around, imprinted golden letters masked the front of the book. They spelt out a name, that of his brother, Cóir.

He placed the book, and the others that lay around it into his bag and made for the exit. He swore that to the end of his days he would never return to that room. Never. He descended the stairs as carefully as he had ascended them, the items he had come for buried deep in the knapsack by his side. A final memory haunted him as he finally exited the broken home he had long since abandoned. All those years ago, the mother in his arms as he ran from the house as fast as he could, blood upon her face, blood upon his arms, blood upon her whole being. Her mouth offered words to Onoír's younger counterpart but he refused to remember them. As Onoír really did leave the condemned building he could still feel his tears in his eyes, her blood on his hands. He fell upon the base step, and raised a finger to his eyes as tears once again escaped. He batted them away angrily and looked to his feet,
"Why did I even come back here?"

"Do you really want an answer?" A voice returned. Onoír was clearly surprised as he looked up at her face with a quiet gasp. Lilly looked down upon him. The few tears he had shed had already cleared but he still shook his head to make sure before steadily getting back to his feet
"How long have you been here?" He asked. Onoír may not have meant this words to be as sharp but even so Lilly took no notice.
"Not that long" She answered but he got the impression she'd been there longer than she was letting on. Over the past few days he and Lilly had been almost inseparable, and this was the first time he had actually been able to slip off.

Over the few days they had done almost everything together as a unit. Teaching the recruits, preparing the coming battle, preparing their weapons, food, water and a million other things. Even though they were together for so much of the time there was never the opportunity to speak to her independently of work, and so they still felt like strangers. Before she had returned with them to Fanel he had seen her, sure, but on those few occasions she never stood out. He never had the pleasure of meeting all of those who would become his subordinates, especially as she was to be captain of the guard in Urthas, which was hardly next-door.

He forced a stern look on her,
"I assume you had a reason for following me?" He asked angrily as she had so far failed to offer a single word of explanation for her actions. She sarcastically raised her hands in defence,
"Oh well. And here I was doing you a favour, personally delivering a message from your sweetheart and all" She told him before turning her back, "But if you would rather I will just go" Her sarcasm didn't help his mood but he swallowed it,
"What do you mean by Sweetheart?" He asked, but he had a fair idea, of whom she was referring to,
"That Jennifer girl of your. She said she would be waiting for you in the normal place" Lilly informed him and shrugged her shoulders, "Cute girl, but a little young for you don't you think?"
"She is not my sweetheart!" He told her unequivocal and she turned and replied sarcastically,
"Then what do you call it?" She asked, "Girlfriend? Lover? Soul mate?"
"She's nothing of the sort!" Onoír growled, "She is my Goddaughter!"

"Ok" She replied as they started towards to castle, "Whatever you say" It was a while before they exchanged words again, instead Onoír keeping his thoughts to himself. He looked over to Lilly a moment; she wasn't anywhere near as old as her brother, more likely in her mid forties. She was nothing like the lady he first meet at 'The gates to the forest', so much more cheerful and lively. Even as she walked along side him she whistled happily. 'Its to be expected' he thought, her brother had been taken, she had been tortured, they were in the middle of a battle. Even so, she never would have acted this openly in front of the men.
"The suns great isn't it?" She asked with a beaming smile, Onoír looked up and as if it was the first time he had noticed he acknowledged it to be the truth,
"Yeah, I suppose. The weathers been warm for a while now"

"So" She started, "What were you doing down here?" Onoír was deadly silent. She obviously had no idea of how 'sensitive' a subject she had stumbled upon. He thought through a couple of plans to deflect the question but turning up nothing he decided to tackle it head on.
"I used to live here" He answered, "Needed to pick something up from the house" He hoped she would pick up on the 'lets leave it' tone in his voice, but evidently not,
"Really?" She asked again, "It looks like the places has been abandoned for quite a while now… your family not here anymore?" Onoír turned to her his eyes ablaze.
"Leave it!" He yelled, and she stopped right in her stride. Her eyes suggested that he had caught her completely off guard. Eventually she managed to squeeze out an apology before he rushed on ahead of her without even a passing glance. It wasn't long before he regretted his actions but what was done was done, and that was the last subject he wanted to discuss with anyone.

As he made his way past the cities third gatehouse his skin began to crawl. Everywhere he looked he saw empty houses, and not a soul in sight. It was just haunting. He knew there was barely a handful of 'non-combatants' left in the city but it just made him feel uncomfortable so few people in such a large city. Even as he passed through the usually crowded 'Courtyard of the Kings' the only people he could see were soldiers on their way down to the cities first wall. They were carrying what looked like large wooden poles; so long it took many men to carry. To a casual observer this would look just that, plain wood, but he knew better,
"Trebuchets" He commented under his breath before continuing up towards the castle.

He ascended the stairs into the castles grounds slowly before taking a seat next to the fountain. That fountain had stood as the centrepiece to the gardens, which surrounded it, and ever since Jennifer was a child he would bring her here to play. He smiled as he remembered her splashing in the water, and soaking him more than once.

He was still a young man when she was born… it took him back to happier times. Before long he remembered the book in his bag. He blew the dust from the diary before slowly brushing his hand over the cover. He hesitated and then opened it.

He read the book quietly, and remembered back to the days in which it was written. It was some time before his attention was dragged from his brother's words. He had been so engrossed that he failed to see Jennifer' shadow as it covered the pages,
"Erráre?" She commented, "Wasn't there a big war there?" Onoír slammed the book closed to the great surprise of Jennifer. When he looked up and saw her surprise he apologised,
"Sorry" He said, "You just caught me off guard there" She accepted his apology and sat herself down next to him, keeping her arms close protectively. Onoír slipped the book back into his bag casually and turned his attention to the young girl.
"What's wrong?" He asked but she didn't offer him an answer, instead keeping her eyes on her shoes.
"Jennifer?"

She looked up,
"Has there been any news?" She asked, her eyes far from hopeful. He thought a moment. Since Alexander's arrival he had spoken to him and since learned of his meeting with Sadako but he made clear that Nimura was not present,
"Perhaps" He commented, Jennifer' eyes lit up,
"What is it?" She asked, "Where is he?"
"Sadako was sighted in Cesario a couple of weeks ago," He told her,
"And Nimura?" She asked but he shook his head,
"She was alone at the time" Jennifer sighed, and he continued "But that doesn't mean anything's wrong, he could just have been elsewhere"

She nodded, but he knew it didn't cheer her up any,
"What are they doing?" She asked anxiously, "Why did they go?" Onoír thought for a moment. When they left neither of them offered an explanation or even a purpose behind their disappearance. Even so, since then he had surmised the reason,
"I believe they are trying to rally some support for us here" He told her, "Travelling across the Alliance in a hope that they may still find someone who hasn't yet misplaced their loyalty"
"But why them?" She asked angrily, "Why Nimura?"
"We all walk our own path, regardless of reason. They left because they had too and there was nothing we could do about that" She sighed,
"But why such a dangerous path…" She started but then over wrote her own question, "Is there any chance they will find someone to help us?" Onoír waited a moment as if he was deciding whether to be honest or not but then shook his head,
"I doubt it, but there is always hope"

Jennifer closed her hand into a fist, which started to shake angrily,
"This is so unfair!" She decreed and before he could stop himself Onoír added forcefully,
"Life isn't fair. The sooner you learn that the better life will be" She didn't react at all, instead opting to remain silent. Onoír bit his lip angrily,
"Jen, I didn't mean…"

He sighed and decided to turn his words to more pleasant matters,
"How are things going at home with Luke?" He asked, "I'm sure your glad he's back" The transformation was incredible, just with the mentioning of her brothers name she offered a smile and lit up entirely. He already knew the answer now,
"Things are great!" She told him, "He' all settled in and even dad seems to be happy to have him home. Thank you by the way"
"Thank you for what?" He asked but she just offered a sly look,
"I'm not that naive. When Luke walked through that door dad walked right out. He then comes back a couple of hours later and alls forgiven? I know how stubborn my father is, and it would seem someone knocked some sense into him" She smiled, "And that someone could only have been you?"
"Really and whys that?"

"Because you're the only one he will listen too these days, he doesn't even listen to mum when his minds made up" She enlightened him,
"So he's doing fine at home?" Onoír asked hoping to steer the conversation back,
"Yeah. He's even got a couple of days off his guard stuff to help us get out of the bar" Onoír nodded,
"You guys are coming up to the castle aren't you?" She returned the gesture,
"That we are. With all the soldiers building weapons and stuff they apparently want us out of their hair… how arrogant is that?" She said, "I don't want to leave my home!"
"Sorry" He apologised for the third time in their short conversation,
"What for?"
"I'm the one who ordered all remaining civilians into the castle" He mentioned, "I was the 'arrogant' one" Jennifer tried to backtrack to pull herself out of the awkward situation but he stopped her,
"I know you would rather stay at home, but try to remember it is for your own good" He told her, "The fighting will start any day now" She nodded,
"I know you are. I just don't want to go" She added and it looked like Onoír was going to jump in when she continued, "But still, I will on one condition, you come down to help us move"

"I don't know" He teased, "Oh, Ok" She practically strangled him with the hug she wrapped around his neck. He petted her hair and dropped his forehead onto hers. They were silent a moment when Jennifer asked,
"Are they really that close?"
"Yes"
"I know I said I was prepared for this but… I'm scared"
"It doesn't matter if your prepared or not, anyone would be scared" She broke away from him and looked him in the eye,
"Are you scared?"
"Yes" Was his simple answer and then, "We are all scared, but that doesn't mean we don't have faith that we will come out of this" She nodded and he mussed her hair,
"Alright I'll see you later. I'm a busy man you know" She smiled,
"I'll see you in the bar later then"
"Sure"

………

It was cold. Really cold. Nimura rubbed his hands together for some heat but the little that was made soon evaporated. It had been three days since these people claiming to be Entóntria had captured them. Much of the initial fear he had felt had long since gone to the wind, his heart calming as Sadako finally awoke. He looked over to her, sleeping in the corner of the cage they were imprisoned within. She was wrapped in his jacket but he knew it would make no real difference in this cold.

He rubbed his hands up and down his exposed arms, and continued to pace from one side of the cell to the other. He knew if he didn't pace he would probably go stiff from cold. It seemed like a lifetime ago when they were thrown into this God forsaken cell and he didn't really relish the memory. When Sadako lay there, lifeless, unmoving in his arms he felt a pain like nothing he could ever have imagined. It seemed like something was tearing him up inside and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He winched in pain as he turned his body. He had long since removed his bandages, his wounds mostly healed but not all of them had yet had the opportunity to completely close. He cursed aloud. The continuing frustration was finally getting to him. He couldn't take the waiting any longer, the continual waste of time just sitting in this cold, dark, cramped, hellhole.

Sadako stirred in her sleep, taking his attention for a moment but then he returned to his pacing. Why did Entóntria take them anyway? He knew that they were at war but to find a group of them right bang in the middle of Alliance territory? What were they doing there? He turned and began a new path.

So that was what the Entóntrian's looked like… and they too have beast people. Mya? Who was she? There never seemed to be the time to learn about Entóntria when he was at Fanel so all he really did know was what his adoptive father and mentor, Letús had told him about the Alliances new enemy. He actually spoke of the country like he had been there, seen the places he described. It was a vast Alliance of nation states, old countries that had stood for hundreds of years and long since lost interest of any peoples beyond their borders. Those few whom did cross their borders were treated as outsiders and shunned. They were extremely xenophobic and inward looking.

This is where he had trouble understanding why they would have started a war with the Alliance in the first place. If they truly didn't care about the other countries and alliances of Gaea why did they invade? He sighed and slid his back down against the bars to the side of their cell. Sadako stirred although this time she opened her eyes,
"How long have I been asleep?" She asked too which Nimura answered,
"Not long. Just go back to sleep" She shook her head,
"I think I have slept enough these past few days" He nodded,
"I suppose"

She was about to rub her own arms when she realised the jacket around her, and took if off,
"Why did you..?" She started before finishing, "You must be freezing" Nimura lied with a shake of his head,
"Na, I'm fine" She threw the jacket to him,
"No your not. We're both freezing down here" She reminded him, "And do you really think I would prefer to be warm while you freeze?" He laughed,
"I suppose not"
"Thanks by the way" She added and almost as if she was hoping he didn't hear she went straight on, "Has anyone come?" He shook his head,
"No one"

In the three days since they had been thrown into the cell they had only seen a handful of others. Once to give them some food, the previous day and then when Mya made herself known to them. Since, nothing. She sighed,
"You don't suppose they've forgotten about us?" She asked and he joked,
"Well I won't be recommending Entóntrian hospitality to my friends" She looked around her and frowned,
"Any idea of how we can get ourselves out of this?" He shook his head,
"There is no way we are getting past those bars, and the floor is solid oak, there is no way we could break it no matter how hard we tried"
"In other words we're stuck" She commented and he nodded,
"Afraid so"
"Great"

"Where do you suppose they're taking us?" Sadako asked, trying her best to ignore the icicles her arms seemed to becoming, Nimura shrugged his shoulders,
"I suppose they are taking us back to Entóntria, or maybe to pick up some more prisoners? Who knows they may even be planning an invasion"
"I doubt they are planning to invade… to sneak this far into the alliance they cant have that big a force here. Perhaps they are picking up anyone they can to question…" She thought aloud before Nimura cut her off,
"Or to execute. Please the crowds, boost public morale" Sadako offered a blank expression,
"You really think they would go to the trouble of grabbing people just to execute them?" Nimura shrugged,
"Not just execute. They will probable bleed us dry of all we know first, then kill us"
"Just what I need to hear! She commented with a morbid tone, "But why go to all the trouble. I'm sure they could have gotten prisoners from the skirmishes and border villages if they wanted"
"How much can you get from a soldier on the border? Not a lot" He said before he had even thought his argument through and then added, "Sure they would get something but remember the Alliance isn't ruled by a single country. If they wanted information on us they would need to take people from the different nations so they have a clearer view of where the power lies and how best to crush us" Sadako gulped,
"So they must have thought we were from Basram or Cesario" She added, "But wouldn't that mean there would be other Alliance soldiers onboard? Maybe we could escape together?"

Nimura shook his head,
"Even if that were the case, and we have far from established that, we will need to get out of here first, not to mention finding them" He told her, "A guard is hardly going to open the door and take us to them!" She was about to agree with him when footsteps creaked down the stairs towards them. They turned to catch sight of a collection of guards, half a dozen or so. The first opened the door while his colleges covered him.
"Come with us" He demanded as the door swung open then Nimura refused,
"I'm not going anywhere with you" The guard stepped into the cell with two of his friends and punched Nimura in the gut.
"What kind of position do you think you're in?" He yelled, "You are in no position to demand anything. Say please and maybe I'll consider telling you were your going" Sadako looked like she was going to attack the guard when Nimura silently asked her not to with his hand. He got to his feet his eyes ablaze with hate,
"PLEASE tell us where you're going to take us," He asked and it seemed it took all of his strength just to be civil. The guard smiled,
"See how hard is it to show some manners? I'm going to take you to your fellow prisoners" He answered, "Maybe even you Alliance scum can make a few new friends as you stay with us"

Nimura continued to stay his tongue, as they were lead from their cell and up the stairs. Three of the guards lead the way, and three more flanked them. Nimura guessed they were being sure that they didn't try anything funny, especially since they were not in chains. At the top of the stairwell they joined a long corridor, dozens of other joining unto it likewise. As they passed each Nimura stole a glace, only to see more and more cells like their own.

They continued down this corridor before coming out into a large room. This room appeared to be an epicentre, corridors like their own heading out in the four points of the compass. Even though a door sealed each. If he had to guess he would recon that each of those other corridors mirrored their own to form an expansive brig system. The room was in the shape of a square, a dozen or so long rectangular tables criss-crossing the floor. Above them, there was a balcony a story up, the roof being two, maybe three levels above them.

The balcony too was layered with seats, almost as if they were standing in some form of giant arena. One of the guards behind them pushed him into the room, causing Nimura to lose his balance and fall. Sadako came to his aid as the guards quickly departed via the door they had entered from and closed it. There was a metallic clang that suggested the door had been locked.
"You okay?" Sadako asked offering him her hand. He took it and got to his feet,
"Sure. Just wish I could show them what I think of their little jokes"
"Just try to forget it, we have some new friends to get to know"

Nimura looked up and she wasn't kidding. The room may have been practically empty but there were still another dozen or so guys about. Nimura recognised the uniforms from all over the Alliance. Basram, Fanel, Fraid, Asturia, Deadalus. There were also a couple in civilian clothing and one wearing…
"Oh my God" Nimura exclaimed and Sadako looked over,
"What is it?" She asked
"Him" He said point out to the man, "He' Zaibach. He used to be in our rebel cell"
"Are you sure?" She clarified and he nodded,
"Positive"

"Well then talk to him" She suggested, "And I'll try to get something from some of the others around here" He nodded,
"Alright" Nimura gave her a final glance and then he was off. He was most certainly noticed as he approached the group, which included the rebel as they stopped speaking and watched his approach. There were three men, a large man in the armour of Fraid, another wearing the colours of Asturia and then the rebel whom was still wrapped in his cloak of a sandy brown colour. The man next to the rebel, a large man laughed,
"Well, well, well if it isn't fresh meat for the grinder" He joked, "Not too lucky are we, to be caught by such a 'weak' enemy"
"I don't think unlucky would be strong enough?" Nimura answered, "To be taken nowhere near the border"
"Get used to it. Entóntria are not as weak as they have made it seem" He answered, "They've been playing with us! We haven't been fending them off, they have been studying us. Like a quack scientist with a rat, they have been watching and waiting for the best time to take us out" Nimura offered a cynical look,
"Why you telling me?"

He returned it with a snide look,
"Because we're all in this together. We have to stick together and guess what…" He told Nimura; "…we are not dealing with a ragtag enemy here" He leaned in closely,
"They are organised and brutal" Nimura took this in, but not without question,
"How did they capture you?" He asked, while eyeing the rebel. He was quite surprised that he hadn't recognised him. The man took a grim look,
"My unit and I, eight men in total were abandoned by our retreating superiors on the border. We were left for dead, nobody was coming to get us so we tried to make our way back ourselves" He explained, "We didn't make it two miles before they bore down on us from all sides. They killed all of the members of my unit and kept me alive, throwing me into this hole to rot. It's been months and all they seem to do is bring in more prisoners every once in a while"
"Haven't you tried to escape? Fight back at least?" Nimura demanded, but he just shook his head,
"Are stupid as well as young?" He asked, "Have you looked around? We're outnumbered ten to one on his bucket of bolts. There is no way we could escape"

"So you haven't even tried?" He reaffirmed,
"Some did. Just before I arrived, and guess what? They were all killed all but one, the man who told me and he died soon afterwards"
"You should listen to him" The Asturian interjected, "They are just looking for an excuse to kill us. If we don't cause them the trouble they may let us live" Nimura looked at him like he was something he had scraped off his boot,
"Where' your Asturian honour? Where your loyalty to the crown?"

The man narrowed his eyes angrily,
"My honour died with my family" He said, "Yes, my wife and children were killed when those Bastards attacked the ship we were travelling with. I wish for nothing more than to kill every last one of them but I will not do it for something as vain and unattainable as escape. If I'm going to die, I want to see the light go out of one of their eyes first"

Nimura was silent; he had not seen such hatred for a long time, not since his own unfounded hatred for Von. The rebel, was about to speak when a disturbance at the other side of the room took their attention. There was a loud thud closely followed by a cry of pain and shouting.
"Bitch!"

Nimura turned to find Sadako backing off, six men closing in on her, and another was nursing his side.
"What the hells your problem?" One of the men yelled, "Cant you take a complement!" Nimura bolted across the room, he could see the hate in her eyes and he needed to stop this before it got ugly, even if he didn't know quite what happened.
"I wonder if you compliment your friends like that?" She asked snidely, and a twitch of his eye later the man yelled again,
"What the hell do you know?" As if it was an inaudible order, a couple of the guys attacked her. The first tried to land an amateur punch from right in front of her. She ducked it and raised her knee painfully into his groin. His scream was even louder than its predecessor, and cupping himself he fell to the ground in agony.
"Complement that"

Sadako was already in place to tackle her second attacker when Nimura jumped in and tripped him with a slide before the man even noticed him approaching. Sadako turned to him with a smile,
"Took you long enough" Nimura took the opportunity to smirk at the men,
"What? It takes all seven of you to take on my girl?" Unknown to him Sadako took on a hint of scarlet,
"To hell with it, take them both out"

Any thoughts that Sadako was harbouring were lost in the fight that ensued. The man Nimura had taken down was back on their feet and joined the fight. The remaining men split themselves evenly, half approaching Sadako and the other half Nimura. He sighed,
"So much for us all being on the same side," The first man charged at Nimura, but with a gentle step to the left flummoxed him, and he charged on past Nimura. He gritted his teeth before returning for another attack about the same time as one of his friends came at Nimura. The second man tried to land a punch on Nimura without avail leaving himself open. Nimura grabbed his outstretched arm, and twisting it, and the mans body he held it from behind, using his enemy as a shield. There was a crack, and he let out a howl of pain as Nimura broke his arm. Then with a push threw his newly found shield at his first attacker, who couldn't help but stop to deflect him. Before he could Nimura' fist impacted with his face throwing him to the ground.

Before Nimura knew what was happening he himself was on the ground, another of the men kicking his feet out from under him. He hit his head pretty hard, but he pushed the pain to the back of his mind and with an athletic twist he got back to his feet and grabbed the man around the middle trapping his hands. Then lifting the man off the ground with all his strength Nimura half pushed, half threw him into one of the men Sadako was still fighting.

Sadako had already taken one of her attackers down, and with the second now trapped under his friend she was free to deal with the man at the head of the group, the very man who had 'complemented' her. She nimbly danced around his attacks sure that if even one of them had landed she would be in trouble. She had never seen the uniform the man wore before but she had a bad feeling that it was Basram. Basram with their cast system, including its warrior cast seemed to fit this mans bill.

As she dodged another fist her foot slipped on the wooden floor causing her to lose her balance. The man took advantage of this; grabbing her shoulder and shoving her to the ground, head first. She instinctively grabbed it protectively and groaned behind gritted teeth. Before he could continue his work Nimura joined in on the attack and for the first time put the man on the defensive.

Before long neither one of them were laying punches but were in fact circling each other, their eyes unmoving, waiting for an opening. By this point Nimura was already tired, but when he saw his opening he took it. Without realising it the man had backed himself into the wall, and in the moment of surprise Nimura ran at him. To his frustration the man stopped his fist in midair, and closing his palm crushed his fist. Nimura was about to use his other hand when he man grabbed him around the neck and batted him into the wall. His feet off the ground, a hand around his neck Nimura was helpless. There was a loud thud and the man let Nimura go as a precursor to falling to the ground. The clearing of the mans bulk revealed Sadako standing behind him, the remains of a wooden chair in her hands. She dropped it,
"Thanks" Nimura thanked her, his voice almost strangled out of him. There was no time for her to reply as several of the others were back on their feet and advancing. They prepared themselves to fight again when a booming voice stopped everything,
"STOP" The feminine voice, ordered, "I will kill the next person to lay a punch personally"

It was Mya. She stood with several guards to her side on the upper level of the room looking directly at them. It looked like the others were not going to heed their warning until a dozen or more guards joined them. Completely ignoring Mya, the rebel who had kept his distance from the fight grabbed Nimura by the shoulder,
"I know you!" He demanded, "Nimura! Letús' favourite!" Nimura didn't have the opportunity to answer as Mya' voice amplified around the room again,
"Silence!"

She had it, and only then did she address them again,
"So this is how you thank us?" She asked, "We are kind enough to let you mingle with your own kind and what do you do? You act like the barbarians you are and fight" She nodded angrily,
"So you like to fight, we will let you fight"

Her eyes passed over the crowd as if looking for someone to make an example of. Then she gave her orders,
"Basram! Deadalus! Step forward!" She called their nations like names, shouted like it was a challenge. At first only the large man Sadako and Nimura had fought stood forward and was directed by one of the guards whom accompanied him. He stood and waited but Deadalus' representative had yet to show his face,
"This is the courage of the vast and powerful nation of Deadalus?" Mya mocked, "Perhaps when we take your cities your fellow soldiers will remain just as silent"

Another man stepped forward, his face unable to decide if it was angry or scared. Nimura remembered, and now regretted breaking his mans arm. Sadako leaned over and whispered in his ear,
"What is she going to do?" Nimura shook his head,
"I don't know but I doubt we're going to like it"

He took his place next to his friend, a look of defiance taking him.
"It is easy to challenge a mans courage from so far away. Perhaps your view is askew from such a distance? I doubt you would attack a mans courage from our level" He called up to her, she smiled snidely.
"Is that a challenge?" She asked and he shook his head,
"Not at all, just an observation" She cut the verbal sparring match short with a step onto the small ledge that separated her level from that below. Then with a leap she jumped and landed on all fours. Looking up she scowled,
"Funny. I still see cowards from here"

The man raised his fist and was about to approach her when the other larger man stopped him with his arm,
"It's a waste of time" He fumed for a moment then dropped his fist and took up his place again. She smiled and approached, watching several of her guard's position themselves in a wide square around the men.

"Forgive him mistress" Basram said gritting his teeth angrily, " He is young and foolhardy" He was a big man, and obviously one of pride but he swallowed it even if it went down like a pill and tasted twice as bad.
"That's alright, he'll be sure to learn but we still have the other incident to deal with" She reassured him before thinking for a moment,
"I will wave any form of punishment for the rest of them but you two, I want you to show me how strong you are" She added, "Kill him"

"What?" He asked, dropping any polite pretence, and she pointed to him and then to his friend,
"I want you to kill him, or for him to kill you" She shook her head, "Is there anything complicated about that?"
"What do you think we are, animals? He demanded and she sighed,
"Is that to mean you wont fight?" She asked and Basram nodded,
"Damned right we wont fight" Her eyes shifted a moment from him and before it had even registered there was the cold sound of blade on flesh and his friend fell to his knees. Basram turned to see the guard withdraw his sword before he went to his friend. A few words passed between them before he turned with rage to Mya.
"HOW DARE YOU!" She approached him without fear, as foolhardy or brave as that may have been and then he felt a blade sitting prepped behind his heart. She was not a short lady, quite tall in fact enough to hold her own to him. She grabbed his shirt,
"Now you listen to me. I am in charge, not the guards, not the Alliance and defiantly not you. You will find I am a decent person, if you are not stupid enough to get out of place, a mistake I hope you will think twice about before making it again. Your little friend will die here, cold and alone, because of you. Remember that"

He wanted to break her neck at that moment but he knew that if he moved a muscle that sword would make short work of him, so he just looked into her eyes with all the hate they had to offer and then some more. She turned and walked off, the rest of the prisoners still in denial of what had transpired, but then turned, off hand, as if she had just remembered something of minimal importance,
"By the way, Zaibach step forward"

Nimura looked behind him to see the rebel step out of the crowd with his head held high. She looked at him for a moment before motioning to one of her guards, whom approached him,
"Your free to go" She warned him, "The leader of your rebellion have signed an alliance agreement with Entóntria. All that was once Zaibach is now Entóntrian including yourself. Upon our arrival you are free to travel back to your newly freed home if that is what you wish"

At first there was a stunned silence the Nimura asked aloud,
"What? The rebels have sighed up with Entóntria?"

………

The blazing sun beat down. Burning. The city was quiet, its peoples all but gone, and even so the soldiers that did remain also failed to walk its streets, instead they packed the walls. Von looked up from what he was doing and wiped his brow of the sweat that had gathered there. Securing his hands around its base he brought the mallet down on the wooden post for the last time before leaving it down.

He looked up above him to the huge structure that was forming before his very eyes. It was a trebuchet, and he had just knocked one of its many supports into the ground.
"That's another one" He called out, causing Onoír to lose his aim. He nearly smashed himself in the foot.
"Don't do that!" He called back, "Or is it your intension to put me out of action again?" Von smiled,
"I just thought you could do with a little rest"

A young man, who was working next to Von reiterated,
"You really don't have to be down here sire," It was Luke, "But it is well appreciated" Von smiled,
"Of course I should be down here! I cant expect these things to be up in time if I leave you slow pokes to it" Luke laughed in return and before going back to his own post, "How are things going young man? Things good at home?" Luke smiled but Von was sure he was at least a little embarrassed that the King knew about his family problems,
"It's been alright. Settling in fine, just not relishing the idea of fighting my old friends" Von nodded,
"Don't worry. You wouldn't be human if you were" He tried to cheer the lad up, "Its good I'm here, I'm sure you'd all be skiving off if I wasn't!"

"I'm sure we would" Luke added. It was good that they were still able to use humour, even when they were in such a desperate situation. He wasn't in two minds of it; the enemy was all but on their doorsteps. His men were as ready as they were going to be, but he was sure they were going to make him proud. They may not have been trained for long, but some of the best Gaea had to offer had had a hand in it.

His eyes passed over the veritable sea of unfamiliar faces. Those that had, until only a few short weeks beforehand, belonged to carpenters and blacksmiths, shop owners and bakers, fathers and brothers. He wished he didn't have to put any of them through this… but what choice was there?

"Von?" He was jolted from his guilty thoughts by Onoír,
"Yes?" He replied in a failed attempt to hide his distraction, "What is it?" Onoír looked back,
"That's the last one in place" Von looked around himself wide eyed. Onoír was right of course; all of the massive wooden weapons were in place, half a dozen in total. He had no doubt that if he were to cut one of there ropes it would fire its cargo hundreds of feet into the air and onto the unsuspecting heads of the as of yet un-arrived enemy. He smiled,
"In place and impressive" He looked back to the men whom had stopped working,
"Great work men" He complemented them, "Now take a break and then get back to it"

His words were greeted with a rapturous,
"Yes Sir" Von returned to Onoír,
"I guess next we have the stone ammo to get down from the quarry" Onoír shook his head,
"Sure, but we can leave that for them to handle" It was Vons turn to shake his head,
"No, we should be here to help them" Onoír lowered his voice,
"Listen Von, what their doing is important, but if we don't have a plan in place all the weapons in the world wont help us" His voice was agitated, he had been dealing with Von' trips down to help the men for days now, and still they had to discuss how on earth they planned to defend the city. Von nodded reluctantly,
"I suppose. I just feel like I'm doing something that actually matters down here. Talking doesn't carry much weight does it?"
"No but its what matters in the end"

Von turned back to the men,
"I leave this in your hands men. Make sure these machines are ready for action as soon as possible" This time it was their squad leader that replied,
"We will sire"

Onoír and Von made there way back up towards the castle post haste. Von was in a hurry to get back as quickly as he could, as he, like Onoír felt uncomfortable in their newly abandoned cityscape. He looked upon the city he built as a ghost town and it seemed to pull at him. The only thing he could take from it was that his people were safe, which was more than he could say for themselves.

Upon entering the castle they made their way up to Von' office. They were hit by a wall of heat as they passed the threshold and out of the draftee corridor. He smiled, returning to the familiar environment.
"Well I guess we should discuss strategies" Onoír offered a questioning look,
"Shouldn't we all be here?" He asked, "This new war council of yours?" Von shook his head,
"What? Don't you think I should discuss the defence of Fanelia with my Military advisor?"
"Well I thought…" Von shook his head again,
"This is our place, and then when we have a plan, as basic as it may be then we can take it to the others. You have never let me down Onoír, and nobody knows this city better than you" Von told him and then smiled and added, "Except perhaps me"

Von took the seat behind his desk and offered its counterpart to Onoír. He took it,
"Considering the size of the enemy forces this is not going to be an easy fight. If it were just Asturia or Fraid on their own we would have no problems but we never designed the defences to take on such a tremendously large force of soldiers and Melef's" Von nodded, this had also been going through his mind. Since it was he who originally designed the defences he knew their limitations very well. He wanted walls greater than those the original city offered but he had never foreseen the need for anything greater than they had built. In his defence he never expected an army to reach Fanel without first breaking through other alliance borders.

"Its safe to say that the two armies will come at us at once" Von agreed with a frown, "Which will, as you say, make this harder for us" Onoír nodded,
"From our previous encounters in Urthas and the Gates we can deduce that they will come at us with a first wave of men before backing them up with their Melef units"
"Any siege weapons?" Von asked,
"They haven't shown any yet but that proves nothing" Onoír added, "Only an idiot would come at Fanel without a means of bringing our walls down… they have probably been holding them back to avoid them getting damaged"

"It'll take them time to get them in place and ready" Von mentioned in a matter of fact way, "That's time we can use" Onoír smiled,
"Good to see we're on the same wave length" Von offered a menacing eye,
"You have a plan?"

Onoír got out of his chair and headed to the bookcase, which covered most of the room's left hand wall. He pulled several scrolls from the mass of files and books before bringing them down on the table. Once he had opened the first he pointed to the large map of Fanel.
"Here…" He pointed to the large de-forested area in front of cities first wall, "… is were they will start to set up their siege weapons" Von nodded in agreement,
"Considering they have no choice, that's safe to assume"
"Of course, what they won't expect us to do is attack them right away"

"What do you mean by 'attack them', you do remember that they outnumber us five maybe seven to one?" Von reminded him but he knew Onoír would never have mentioned it unless he had something up his sleeve,
"Of course they wont be expecting us to for the exact same reason" Onoír continued, "They'll be sure that we will wait for them to attack so we can make full use of the fortifications we have" Von raised an eye brow,
"Of course, I'm still wondering why we wont" Onoír smiled,
"They wont attack until their weapons are ready to go, unless of course we provoke them into an attack" Onoír continued, "And that's just what were gonna do. Once they bring their siege weapons forward we'll begin bombarding them with our own siege weapons. Trebuchet', Catapults, and Ballista' the whole works"

"They will attack" Von reminded him and he nodded,
"Sure but a disorganised, unprepared attack will be pushed back easily" Onoír finished, "But in the panic they will pull their siege weapons further back, to protect them from our missiles and that is when we will strike" Von looked doubtful,
"We will have people in wait?" Von clarified and he nodded,
"Yeah, and before they know what hit them they're siege weapons will be taken out of action, permanently"

"Whoever is sent will be completely cut off from the city, and will almost certainly be killed" Von told him angrily, "I do not send my people on suicide missions no matter how useful they may be" Onoír ignored the statement and what it implied,
"Not unless the men are used to this sort of mission," He said,
"Sanjiyan's men?" But Onoír shook his head,
"I'm sure neither of us want to trust them with something this important" Von nodded,
"That's defiantly one point we agree on. Then who do you have in mind?"

Onoír smiled the largest smile Von has seen on the old mans face for a long time,
"Who said we were going to use our own people? We have a veritable army of soldiers in the forests with all the experience we need" Vons face dropped,
"Bandits?" He confirmed, hardly believing his ears, "You want to use bandits?" Onoír nodded,
"Why shouldn't we use them?" He mentioned, "I doubt very much they want to see Fanel destroyed"
"You don't need a reason to sit back and watch the fireworks" Von commented, "Not to mention you want to ask them to risk their lives and probably die in the process" Onoír didn't share Von' pessimistic view,
"Von, let me try at the very least" He pleaded, "I'm sure I can convince them to come on in our favour" Von' face remained as stony as ever before he added,
"You know you are quite insane for even suggesting such a thing," Onoír agreed,
"Defiantly, but if we don't use everything we can to our advantage we will lose this battle and you know what that means for us, and for Fanel"

"So what's your plan?" Von asked, "How will you approach them?" Onoír smiled and leaned back sure this meant that Von had decided in his favour,
"I will approach them myself" Onoír enlightened, "One on one" Von shook his head,
"And what if you are captured? Or killed?"
"I am willing to take that risk!" Onoír told him but Von shook his head again,
"But I'm not. We cannot risk you like that" Onoír leaned forward ready to fight when he added, "Take Lilly with you. She's experienced enough to handle herself and you will need someone to watch your back"
"There's no need for that!" Onoír protested but it fell on deaf ears,
"Onoír, I will go along with this but there is no way in hell I'm sending you in there alone. Go with her, or not at all" Onoír knew when he was defeated and leaned back angrily,
"As you wish"

Von removed himself from his chair and stoked the fire, the sparks flying as he moved the burning log before adding a new piece to the flames.
"What's been bothering you?" Von asked, his eyes still on the fire,
"What do you mean?" Onoír asked but Von just turned angrily,
"I'm not blind or a fool. I have known you long enough to see when something is on your mind" Von told him, Onoír was about to open his mouth when Von cut him off,
"And don't you dare tell me it's the coming battle. We've been in enough scarps together for us both to know that you aren't afraid of such things" Onoír closed it again and thought it over in his head before deciding to answer truthfully,
"Yesterday would have been their 20th anniversary" Von straightened, realising he should never have brought the subject up,
"That's something I haven't thought about for a long time" Von commented, realising that he now had no choice but to see this to its end, "Aya and Cóir"

"Has it really been that long since Cóir died?" Von asked turning back to his friend. Onoír nodded slowly,
"It has been 14 years. 14 years since he and Dawn went missing" Von took a deep breath and returned to his seat though he stayed on his feet,
"In all the commotion I forgot completely about Chid' first victims" Onoír got out of his seat,
"Well we will soon have a chance to avenge him, and the others he killed" Onoír's words were cold, not like he normally would talk but that was to be expected, "I will leave tomorrow"
"Onoír, you sure you don't want to talk about this?" Von offered but he shook his head,
"There is nothing to discuss"

Von dismissed him and was left standing over his untidy desk alone once more. Papers were strewn across the large wooden table as well as several tall piles of books. He took his seat and looked at the mountain he had built himself and took the first group of papers that came to hand, and yawned almost as soon as his eyes had read the title, 'Agricultural advancement in the Northern Fanelian territories'. He let his eyes longingly wander to the window and sighed. Since he had returned from Zaibach so many months ago he hadn't had two seconds to get any of the 'boring' matters of state out of the way. He now had months of accumulated rubbish to get through. He had just started to read the report when a knock on the door took his mind from it. He gladly threw the papers to his desk and offered entry,

It was Sanjiyan whom entered the room and without greeting the king or even waiting for permission took the seat ahead of the desk. Von sighed quietly. He didn't normally follow protocol with the people who were close to him but he was still far from convinced of Sanjiyan' motives for helping them were truly selfless.

When Sanjiyan failed to speak Von did,
"Yes?"
"Listen here Von. We have been here for weeks, worked with you, fought with you, trained with you" He reminded him, "Many of my people have been involved in fighting and some have even given their lives to protect this city of yours" Von nodded,
"And we appreciate it"
"Well then why the hell don't you trust us yet?" Von was taken back by the sheer bluntness of the question and looked blankly for a moment before he regained his composure.
"We trust you" He corrected him knowing full well that he was lying. He didn't trust him as far as he could throw him.
"Bullshit" Sanjiyan answered, just as blunt as ever, "Endless training, no real information, areas of the city we're not allowed into. You don't trust us and I want to know why!" This time it was Von' turn to be blunt and straight to the point,
"You want to know why I don't trust you?" Von asked angrily, "You really want to know?" He nodded leading Von to continue with a shallow breath,
"Because ever since you came here you have been keeping things from me. Lies, inconvenient facts, I don't know but I know you haven't been honest with us. So how the hell I'm I to trust you when you don't even trust us? Answer me that"

Sanjiyan frowned,
"So that's it. You wont trust us because I failed to offer you my life' story?" Sanjiyan asked angrily but continued before waiting for an answer, "You wanna know what I think? I think you haven't gotten over the fact I was able to sneak into this 'almighty' castle of your and take Nimura from right under your nose!"
"Is that it is it?" Von asked sarcastically, "Well I guess it has nothing to do with you not telling me about how Letús miraculously rose from the dead? How he was able to sneak a group of known criminals into the nation under-siege! How you all just happened to turn up at a time you felt we would be desperate for help and why the hell you really came here!"

"So Master Fanel has become cynical in his early middle age?" He asked angrily, "Well then if this is what it takes to secure your trust, I will answer any question you want. We wouldn't want your paranoia to get in the way of protecting your people now would we?" Vons eyes were already cold, but they reached a whole new level of chill,
"Alright then, what the hell happened to Letús, or Uri or whatever his name was? Why the did you lie about his death, and what the hell was so important that he couldn't even tell the kid he viewed as his own son about?" Sanjiyan leaned back in his chair,
"That's quite a mouthful and a long story"
"Well, we're in no rush"

"Alright then" Sanjiyan agreed before thinking for a moment and launching into the story, "I guess the best place to start would be with our own little joint problem. Chid" Von, offered no reaction and he continued,
"Well after you overthrew Dunkirk, an action many of us in Zaibach supported we hoped that we would finally be free to run our own affairs and free of the 'horrors' that the old man forced upon us. However, once you lot had won your little war you pulled back and left us in the hands of the young Duke of Fraid. It wasn't too long before we knew the score of this new 'overlord'"
"I'm already well aware of the situation in Zaibach" Von commented but Sanjiyan shook his head,
"You only had a flavour of what we have had to go through. Within a couple of year Chid had institutionalised work and homeless camps. These camps were to clear the streets of the rabble and discontent left over from the last war. It was not unusual for men, women or even children to be admitted to these camps which you were lucky to ever leave" Sanjiyan took a deep breath and continued, "As the discontent grow so did a revolutionary feeling in the capitol and outer cities. There was a particularly large uprising in which they freed some areas of the cities and brought them under their own control. They became 'no go' areas for the Alliance soldiers or the puppet governments police"

"It wasn't too long before Chid brought down the complete might of his men on these areas and in his words 'pacified them'. However it was just another word for genocide. He wiped them right off the map. Rebel or not, old and young, even those who surrendered were killed" Sanjiyan could feel his fist shake but he continued catching the thinly veiled look of disgust on Von' face, "Letús was a university professor at the time, and I was one of his students. He decided that he couldn't stand by and watch this happen so he formed a new branch of the rebels, and at first we were a completely un-violent group. Within a few years when we gathered our resources we had no choice but to become active, at least to defend ourselves and those Chid' troops were brutalizing"

"That's when Talus really came into his own. He was in charge of the military aspects of the resistance while Letús kept trying to find a way to free Zaibach without another bloody and costly upraising" He stopped a moment as if for dramatic effect before continuing, "By this point you guys had him marked as the rebel leader and so if his plan was to be a success he had to 'disappear'"
"Plan?" Von asked, it seemed like it had been ages since he had opened his mouth
"Letús had made contact with a possible ally and he needed to finalise arrangements with them. However with you guys after him he knew there was a huge risk of him being taken before finished the agreements, and then the deal would be dead in the water" Sanjiyan continued, "So he faked his death and none of us were told until much later. He did have a little trouble when one of the four, Calár tracked him down, but you put an end to that, didn't you?" Von remembered helping the man he would later was called Uri from Calár when he was in Zaibach but he had no idea that he would turn out to be the rebel's leader!

"And who' this ally?" Von asked,
"Entóntria" was his response. Von nearly choked,
"Entóntria?" He blurted out, "What the… we're at war with them!"
"I know not that that's their fault" Sanjiyan mentioned and Von challenged it,
"Of course it is!" He reminded him, "They attacked us months back without warning, without provocation" Sanjiyan looked saddened,
"I thought by now you would be questioning these things you were being told"
"What's that suppose to mean? Fraid were involved?"

Sanjiyan continued,
"Fraid were more than involved! They have been feeding you and the rest of your precious Alliance false information for years! Twenty years ago Chid had his eye on a peaceful little country to their western border, Erráre. He wanted it, and knew the alliance wouldn't let him just walk in there and take it so he created some cock and bull story about an attack on their border and a planned invasion. And like the fools you were you lapped it all up. You even did his dirty work for him!" Von was gob smacked. He remembered the time very well, the battle they waged on the Errárian' and their eventual surrender in the city that would become Chid' new capitol. At the time he never questioned the attack, which just made him feel the more stupid.

"What's that got to do with Entóntria?" Von asked trying to deflect the conversation but Sanjiyan just offered a menacing smile,
"Erráre was part of Entóntria" It was as if Von' heart has stopped for a moment, 'Erráre was part of Entóntria?" It was as if all of the pieces had fallen into place in his mind. The sudden attacks for no reason, the ferocity of their men. He had thought their attacks were meaningless but now it made perfect sense. Revenge.

"They waited a long time. They contacted the Alliance in the hope of finding the reason for the attack but their messengers have been, time and time again forced back until they had no choice but to avenge their ally" Von gulped quietly,
"And how do you know all this?" He asked and Sanjiyan smiled,
"Because Letús told me. When you get the news from both sides its easy to deduce the truth"

"So that still leaves the question. Why are you here to help us?" Sanjiyan sighed,
"Is that not obvious yet?" He didn't wait for Von to answer before racing ahead,
"If we approached anyone in the Alliance with this information we would be laughed out of the place. There is no way they would believe us. None"
"But they would believe one of their own" Von commented, "And you would like to avoid a full scale war between us and your new buddies which could cost Zaibach greatly"

"Perfect. And a gold star for the king" Sanjiyan laughed,
"So it was self interest that motivated you from the start?" Von commented and Sanjiyan nodded. Von thought for a moment,
"Alright. It may be self-interest but it's my kind of self-interest. We both want the same thing, and this is how we get it"

"So anymore questions?" Sanjiyan asked but Von shook his head,
"Not for the moment" He smiled, "Consider yourselves trusted" Sanjiyan joined him in the smiled, before getting out of his chair and heading for the door. As he left he turned to Von,
"And so you know by now there shouldn't be a single Alliance soldier left in Zaibach" Von looked at him as if he had grown horns,
"What?"
"By now Zaibach should be a fully fledged member of the Entóntrian alliance with all that in tales, including their protection. Our new leader should be in place too. You know him, Letús. Zaibach is now free, and all we have to do is free the Alliance from Chid"

Sanjiyan left the room and Von fell back into his chair, what a lot to take in. Even though he felt like a fool he felt a weight off his chest. Now at the very least he was sure that he could trust Sanjiyan and that made his job easier. He and the rest of the alliance had been had, tricked. The question was how many of the others were in on it? If Chid hadn't acted alone from the start he knew things could really get mucky, even if they won this coming battle. He sighed, finally realising what Dryden was doing from the start. He must have stumbled upon some of this long before he did, and from there he had to make the choice to stand up to or join Chid. He made the wrong choice, but at least Von understood it now, and didn't blame him either. To stand-alone is a scary thing.

He returned his mind to the documents in front of him, and as the sun had long since set he lit his candle. He didn't manage to read too much of it before his eyes drooped and he entered into sleep right there on his desk.

When Von opened his eyes he found himself standing in the middle of a huge garden. There were rows and rows of flowers crisscrossing the area with thin patches of grass between each of them. He felt disorientated for a moment, wondering where he was but then something clicked and it all felt natural. He was reliving a memory.

The strips of grass were so thin that he was standing with his feet on different strips, the flowers passing under him. A couple of dozen feet away stood Chid, a young man of no more than ten. Von smiled at the lad, since his father's death he had ruled his country without intervention by an advisor or steward but had jumped right into the challenge. He could only imagine the strain that would put on someone so young. Since that day Von had watched the child's father die he had vowed to look after him and he had done, in his own way at least. He and Alan were training the boy in the ways of the sword, and of course in the ways of ruling a nation. It was not unusual for him to come to Fraid, or for Chid to come to Fanel to learn from his master.

"Sempai, what are we doing today?" His voice was confident, even cocky. Von would soon put an end to that, even if the trait were good in small doses. Von motioned his arm around the flower garden,
"What do you see?" Von asked and Chid look around him trying to see something that he had missed over the many times he had visited the garden.
"Flowers. A garden?" Chid asked unsure of himself and he was right to be as Von disagreed,
"Wrong" He proclaimed as if there wasn't a flower for miles, "Its an obstacle course"

Chid' mouth opened a little,
"It's a what?" Von shook his head,
"When you are in battle there is more to victory than the strength of your sword or the experience of your guard! You must be prepared to move as swiftly as the wind and twice as fast if you are to avoid the assassins knife, or the enemies blade" Chid looked around him again,
"And what's that go to do with my garden?" Von felt like pulling his hair out,
"We are going to test your skills" Von un-sheaved his sword and aimed it at Chid who removed his own and beamed,
"Excellent!" He cheered, "I've been itching for some action all morning"

Von smiled himself; he was going to take tremendous pleasure in this,
"During the fight if you damage a single flower you will be disqualified" Chid's face dropped,
"You have got to be kidding me!" He protested, "How am I to fight you if I have to keep my eyes on my feet!" Von shrugged his shoulders,
"That's for you to learn"

Then without warning Von charged at him, jumping from grass patch to grass patch not a single flower even rustling. Chid tried to counter Von' attack but looked at his feet to avoid standing on flowers and then unceremoniously fell on his backside just as Von landed, his sword ready to strike. Von looked at him and laughed,
"We won't have much of a garden left if you keep this up" He commented, and Chid snorted,
"You cheated. How was I to know you were going to do that?" And Von laughed,
"Don't worry, we'll have you ready in no time"

Von opened his eyes again to find he was in the darkness of his office. The fire was the only light that was still burning though it was very close to burning itself out. Pulling himself from his chair he threw a log onto the fire. As he stoked it he felt a warm pair of arms wrap themselves around his neck, and her breath on the back of his neck. He smiled,
"Merle, can you ever knock?" Removing her hands he turned to face her. He gasped and took a step back,
"What's wrong?" Hitomi's voice asked, "You not happy to see me?" Von' eyes were shaking, his hands no better. It was his beloved, and she looked not a day older than the day she left him. He kept staring but he couldn't believe he was really seeing what they were showing him. Eventually he gave them the benefit of he doubt and step towards her,
"Hitomi?" He asked, his voice no more than a whisper, "Is that really you?" She crossed her arms behind her back and smiled,
"Who else would I be?" She laughed, "Of course I am me" Von at first reached out his hand to touch her couscously, letting it slowly pass over her cheek. It was so smooth and warm, just like hers was all those years ago. As if he lost control he took her in his arms, wrapping her in his warmth.
"I've missed you so much…" He said, "…So, so much" She closed her arms around him and placing her head on his chest she comforted him,
"I will never leave you. Never again" Her words gave him a feeling of peace he hadn't felt in years. Anything else he had ever thought about, anything he had ever thought was important was lost to the very thought of her. She became his world once again. Before he realised it he felt the moisture, and tasted the salt of his tears.

Finally he broke away from her, and took in every feature of her beautiful face once more, as if trying to burn the very image into his mind so he would never forget it. Never. Suddenly the questions came,
"What are you doing here? How did you get…" He started but she placed her finger to his lips to silence him and shook her head,
"That's not important" She reassured him, "All that's important is that we are together again. As it should be, as it should always have been"

Von had to fight to not take her in his arms again. He was sure if he did he would never be able to let her go. The questions were long gone, replaced only by the intoxicated feelings that came with being with the women that he loved and no other.

She took his hand in hers and looked deep into his eyes, it seemed to Von that she could have peered right into his very soul. If he had looked as deeply into hers at that moment he wouldn't have missed that which he had, that her soul was empty. She tightened her grip,
"Von, we have to hurry" Her composure and whole face had changed. It was concern.
"What is it?" He asked, "What must we hurry for?"
"Our daughter" They were only two words but they were enough to tear at him inside,
"What?"
"Dolár. He knows!" She demanded, "You must find out what he knows!"
"He knows something about her?" He asked and she nodded,
"We have to hurry"

Without a second thought Von was out the door with Hitomi at his side. He ran with all the strength he could, as fast as he could. Even with his beloved beside him his heart was breaking. What did he know? Any of the possibilities that came to him were too horrible to contemplate.

The dungeons that accompanied the castle weren't as unpleasant as many other nations, but they were still dungeons none the less. A necessary evil in Vons mind, something he would much have preferred not to have at all. Even so, that sense of distaste towards them wouldn't be of much help to Dolár with what was going through Von' mind.

Von entered the cell like a wild animal, smashing the door open and approaching its occupant. Dolár smiled as he watched the king come to him,
"So the landlord finally comes to see his tenant?" He mocked in his typically silky voice, just before Von punched him across the jaw. The blow came as quite a shock to Dolár, as since his arrival they hadn't employed much in the way of physical 'persuasion'. His hands were tied behind his back so he was unable to nurse his burning face.

"Finally taking the gloves off are we?" He asked snidely, "So much for your high and mighty sense of…" Dolár' sentence died when he saw the look of cold dead hate in Von' eyes. He hadn't seen this before, or expected it.
"What do you know about my daughter?" He asked, his voice as cold as his glare and Dolár stared blankly at him.
"You have a daughter?" He asked, genuinely surprised. Von took the opportunity to hit him again,
"I want answers. Not questions!" He yelled but Dolár was no more forthcoming,
"So the grand Lord Fanel has a daughter!" He called out for the entire world to hear, "Wait till everyone hears! Imagine the shook! Your not a newt!" Von' fist came down harder this time, so heard that he could hear the sickening crack of Dolár' nose breaking.
"Hitomi, you should leave. This could get messy"

"Don't worry about me" She replied, "I should be here. She' my daughter as well" Dolár looked up despite the pain to see who Von was talking too,
"Who are you talking to?" He asked but Von' answer came in the form of another punch, this time to his gut. It winded Dolár causing him to lose the strength in his legs but the chains held him in a standing position.

"Now lets get back to the original question shall we?" He asked and Dolár spat on his shoes,
"You'll have to do a lot more than that if you want answers," Dolár told him in no uncertain terms, "Maybe if you free me I can show you a thing or two about the trade. I know Neigh and that bitch of a sister of his enjoyed every moment of it" Von frowned, and pulled a knife from under his coat. Before he had even seen what was in Von' hand he had ploughed it into his right shoulder blade. Dolár groaned in pain and then screamed as Von twisted it,
"Feel like speaking yet" Dolár looked up at Von with more hate than he had ever seen in a pair of eyes. The blinding white-hot pain was pulsing through Dolár' body but still he did not answer. When no answer came Von removed the blade and bending down lifted some of the dirt that covered the floor. He forced it into the fresh wound and prepared his knife again. His hand was covered in his warm crimson blood but Von was far from caring.
"I will ask again, what do you know about Sadako?"

"Wait!" It was with this word that he stayed Von' hand,
"What do you know?" Von asked softer now.
"Tons of stuff but I swear I don't know anything about your daughter" He screamed as the knife once again entered his body.
"There's a traitor!" His voice was hoarse and weak but it was as if he put the last of his energy into getting the words past his lips in the hope that Von would remove the blade. He did not remove it but he stopped twisting it,
"What about a traitor?" He asked casually, Dolár took the opportunity to gasp for breath and only spoke when it looked like Von was about to start again.
"He' somewhere close to you. That's all I know" Von took this in and then asked,
"Who told you this?" He asked,
"The 2nd. Fanelian Bastard wouldn't even trust me with the traitors name" Von removed the blade and Dolár relaxed his shoulder. He had tightened it in reflex when the knife passed into it.
"One of the four?" Von asked to confirm, "Is Fanelian born?" Dolár nodded, and he lifted the knife again.
"Interesting but not what I asked. What have you done to my daughter" Von was about to stab Dolár again when the cells doors were burst open. He turned to be faced with Merle, Onoír and Alexander.

Onoír and Merle ran to him, Onoír grabbing him from behind.
"Von what are you doing?" He yelled not expecting an answer. Von fought him but dropped the knife when he couldn't hold onto it any longer.
"He knows something!" Von yelled at them, "I must find out what it is!" Merle turned to Dolár and then to Onoír,
"We have to get him some help" Onoír pulled Von away, as Alexander joined Merle.
"You might as well surrender now! I can smell the stench of death on you all" Dolár yelled, "This castle will turn and anything inside will burn with it" As Von was pulled from the room the words cracked in the air, a prophecy of what was to come.

End of Chapter Fourteen
………
Butch Cassidy
30.03.06 (Euro-Date system DD.MM.YY)
………

Author Message:
Well that's another one but I have to admit something to you all. This isn't really the chapter 14 you should have been getting. I have been working on the chapter for a while now and I realised something with a blow to the head. I was a third the way through and if things kept going the way they were I would end up with an 80 page chapter which was just not doable. So what did I do? I have split the chapter into this and our new chapter 15. That means that there will be a full 20 chapters in the series, so I guess this means that we are just short of three quarters through the series. Not long now, a year, maybe 18 months… of course that's not including the appendixes chapters. J

I'm sure your all wondering about Onoír' brother and what really happened to him and family but of course I'm not going to tell you here! Were would the fun be in that? You'll all find out in chapter 15 which should be due out in early May, early June.

We're starting to get into some of the darker, bloodier parts of the series so I'm afraid you should expect more. Remember the greatest darkness always comes before the dawn and that is what awaits our friends. As usual I am always happy to receive feedback and questions via review section or in the forum I have set up for DS on Don't be a stranger, post and make sure to check back, I posted a preview of 14 in there and nobody posted back :..(

In chapter 13 you will remember that I asked you a question, a challenge for you to fulfil. I can announce that Avelyn was our winner and her prize? The chance to ask me any one question about DS and I have to give a complete, and true answer.

Unfortunately she has yet to give me her question. Sorry but I wont be posting the answer up here! For those of you who didn't spot the error in my description here it is. "In the distance just beside and behind the Honden, or temple building stood the Pagoda and holy font as always protected by the drum tower" The holy Font and the Drum Tower are kept specially apart in a Shinto Shrine as it is considered bad luck for them to be together. A bit abstract but there's your answer.

Alright, I will be getting back to the next chapter ASAP and hopefully it wont be too long or too long a chapter when its finished, maybe 50 pages. See ya then.
Butch Cassidy

Cast #Ref Chapter XIV (Alphabetical) –

OC – Original Character
NC – New this chapter
(VI) – Chapter first appeared in

Alexander – Current head of the Knights of Celia. (X)
Aya (NC) – Wife of Coir and sister in law of Onoír. Dead. (00)
Chid (OC) – Duke de Fraid. It appears he is the root of the problems (III)
Coír (NC) – Brother of Onoír, died with Dawn 14 years ago. (00)
Dawn – Close friend to Von, Nimura' father. Is believed dead. (00)
Dolár – A Fraid General. A mean nasty piece of work. (III)
Dryden (OC) – King of Asturia and would appear to be working with Chid (V)
Gaddes (OC) – Alan's old commander. Friend to Onoír. Married to Sarah. (IV)
Hitomi (OC) – Sadako' mother and lover of Von (II)
Jennifer – Daughter of Gaddes and Sarah. Has a thing for Nimura (IV)
Letús – Leader of the Zaibach rebels and raised Nimura after his kidnapping (00)
Lilly – Lilly Pashihuxika, Urthas' army chief, brother of Neigh, its Governor (VIII)
Luke - Son of Gaddes and Sarah. Went to live at Alan' fort in Asturia (VI)
Merle (OC) – Childhood friend, and still close to Von. Figurehead Queen. (III)
Mya – Captain of the Entóntrian prison ship Nimura and Sadako are held on (XIII)
Neigh – Ex-Governor of Urthas. Whereabouts unknown (VIII)
Nimura – Old Zaibach rebel, entangled in the alliance' problem, close to Sadako. (II)
Onoír – Head of Fanelia' armies. Von' military advisor. (II)
Sadako – Epicentre. Von and Hitomi' daughter. How could you forget her? (II)
Sanjiyan – Zaibach rebel, Ex-friend of Nimura, working on defence of Fanel (II)
Sarah – Wife of Gaddes. Local barwomen. (IV)
Talús – Original second in Nimura's rebel cell. Died Chap.2 (II)
Von (OC) – King of Fanelia, father of Sadako. (III)