Behind the walls

Lukas beat his wings rapidly to gain height and disappear from the spot of his would be execution before the smoke below dissipated and gave the rebel archers a clear shot. The life energy stolen from the veteran was only enough to partially heal his wounds from the battle and would only keep him going for a short while before he would have to stop somewhere to heal up, before continuing towards the capitol to report in.

Once he was out of sight, the rebels would have no chance of catching up with him, giving him enough time to find a good place to land and take care of his injuries before moving on. He had pulled out the arrow from his shoulder just before changing forms and taking to air, but there had not been enough life force in the human commander to heal that completely like the one his thigh. Now every stroke of his wings made his shoulder burn dangerously and made flying a much more challenging task than it usually was.

Lukas had always enjoyed his bird form. Ever since the king started controlling his life, flying was the only time when he could feel just the slightest resemblance of freedom. There were hours of the time where he was more or less free from all duties. He did not have to discuss tactics with the other commanders or ensure that the soldiers were battle ready.

This time however, he could feel the insistent tug of his master's will, as if an icy hand wrapped around his heart and pulling in direction of the capitol where the king was surely awaiting a report. The king always seemed to have a way of knowing when something noteworthy had happened out in the field and used the bond of the spell to demand his presence.

The landscape below changed the further southeast he came. Many of the first small outskirt villages were already left in ruins and raided, but closer to the capitol there was less damage caused. The soldiers acting as tax collectors had taken more than their supposed share of the year's harvest, but at least the houses were still standing.

Lukas landed in the high loft on a barn just outside a small village and shifted back into human form. Then as the sun sunk lower in the horizon, he watched as the people settled down for the night.

Small towns like this were usually teeming with life, laughter and other noise when autumn and market time came around, but now it was eerily quiet. The people were alive, but not truly living. The marked square was almost empty except from a few people just walking through on their way home. Nobody had any wares to sell or the money to buy anything. People were hoarding what little they had left in hopes that is was enough to see them through winter.

The soft red glow of the setting sun rapidly turned to darkness and Lukas heaved a sigh and then sank down on the floor below the window to catch some rest.


Lukas reached the capitol a few days later after almost constant flight, only taking short for a bite to eat and a couple hours of sleep in between the takes. The massive walls of the city was the first thing to appear on the horizon in an otherwise open landscape with massive fields that provided food for the time. The lack of trees also served the purpose of making it easy to spot approaching forces.

There were several walls built to protect the city and the castle was located in the very middle, atop a tall hill like pride jewel on display for everyone to see. The innermost wall was by far the tallest and thickest and built in large blocks of massive granite and made to be impenetrable and a very last line of defense. According to stories hidden in the castle library, it took a massive slave force, several renowned stonemasons well over 100 years to plan and finish it when it was first build.

The walls further out were not as high and thick as the inner one was and built later to protect the steadily growing city. The outermost wall was recent, but already people had started to settle down outside them and eventually another wall would be necessary to satisfy the people's demand for protection.

The rings of walls served not only as protection, but also as a way to separate the social classes from each other. King and nobility in the inner circle, soldiers in the second. The capitol, Alverton had always had an extensive army thanks to the numerous wars with the neighboring kingdom. The king, always wary of new attacks obsessed constantly over the subject, getting more paranoid by the day kept on spending as much resources on preparing the city for war.

Lukas flew to one of the highest towers where his room was located; a small window was always open enough to allow his bird form in whenever he wanted and without the hassle of having to make it through the number of guard posts all others had to make it through to gain access to the castle.

The room was exactly as he had left it. No maids came in here when he was gone. The latest tactical maps were pinned to the large desks took up most of space in the room, complete with tiny figurines to represent the troop movements and the last official positions of the rebels. There were bookcases on every wall filled with tomes and several stacks of books that grew steadily higher as time passed almost hid the cot that he usually slept on. Lukas looked at the tactical map and quickly flicked over the figurine that represented what had used to be his squadron in the north before he headed downstairs


One of the servants gasped in surprise and knocked over a bucket when he came down the tower stairs and out in one of the main hallways leading to the throne room. She immediately fell to her knees, head down with eyes firmly turned on the floor, the image of subservience as she stuttered out a rushed "I'm sorry milord. None of us had expected your return quite so soon, you startled me."

"It's alright girl" Lukas spoke calmly and barely offered the girl a glace as he stepped around the puddle on the floor. She looked up at him through long lashes, nervousness practically radiating off her as she was expecting punishment for making a mess of things. The look on relief on her face when she realized a blow would never come made Lukas' heart clench uncomfortably in his chest. It made him sick to know that the servants had to live in fear of their masters just for making small mistakes. However, it was not in his place to cast judgement upon the king's methods of rule. He lowered his voice a bi further, "just make sure this is cleared up before one of the other guards makes his rounds in this direction."

She nodded eagerly and quickly reached for a rag to mop up the water. "Thank you my lord, I will not forget this kindness." She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she nervously licked her lips, preparing to speak. "Are you sure you want to meet the king in your current state. I mean… It looks like your journey here was rough; it will only take me a moment to fetch some hot water and some fresh clothes." The nervousness was back in her face and her fingers were fiddling with a loose thread on her apron.

"I have orders to report in with his grace immediately upon return, I have already delayed too long. You should focus on your tasks." He was always careful to keep his face blank and tone even when speaking with the people working in the castle, not really wanting to connect with anyone of them. The slight smile the girl offered him before returning to her task and the slight flush in her cheeks was a great reminder of why he did that. Right now, all she knew of him was that he was willing to forgive her slight mistake where other highborn in the castle would have most likely had her punished. She did not know what he was capable of doing on the king's command. It was just easier to let everyone think he was a cold-blooded killer not capable of kindness at all.

He continued down the hallways leading deeper into the heart of the castle.

The guards outside the throne room were quick to open the doors and let him past once they realized who it was and bowed deeply as he strode past them. The king and some of his counsellors was in the middle of a meeting, but promptly shut up when Lukas stepped up before their table and did a customary bow before the king.

King Arthur 2. The last surviving son in what was a long and proud line of rulers was staring coldly at the new arrival. His green eyes narrowed and gleamed with suppressed rage once he seemed to realize what must have happened to his commander. "I had not expected your return quite this soon," he hissed, barely loud enough for Lukas to catch. "And especially not like this." He waved his hand indicating Lukas' disheveled appearance and torn, bloodstained clothing.

The king did not look very intimidating where he sat at the head of his table, dressed in fine silks and looking a lot younger and less muscular than many of the nobles beside him. However, everyone in the castle knew of and feared the king's temper and the councilors and nobles squirmed uncomfortably in their seats, most likely wishing to be anywhere but in the room. "Tell me what happened" the king demanded angrily, his hands clenched into fists on the table, knuckles turning white from the force of it.

Lukas felt the mark on his chest burn as the king had put magic behind his command and activated the spell. The feeling had become common over the hundred years he had gotten used to it, but the burn was still painful as his body yearned to fulfill the king's command. "The rebels have defeated your armies north of Aeston" His voice was flat and emotionless as the words left his mouth beyond his control in a precise recount of what had taken place. "I escaped as the rebels intended on having me executed and returned here."

"And just how did the rebels defeat my army?" the king asked through clenched teeth."

"They managed to surprise us" he bit out, "they sent in someone to release the horses and create a distraction just as their main forces attacked. Half of our men are trained to fight from horseback and not from the ground." Lukas struggled to control the words that left him and still answer the king's question without indicating that he had played any other role than a commander.

He avoided mentioning that he already knew an attack was impending. After all, the only order the king had given him before he had headed out with the regiment was to gather every available resource they could get their hands on and strike down those who refused to comply and should they find the rebel force they were to deal with them. Technically Lukas had done all that. He just had not 'dealt with' the rebels in a way that would have been most logical for a military commander, but the king did not have know that.

"I believed you were capable of setting up camp in a way to avoid being taken by surprise," the king snarled. "You are supposed to be the best tactical mind in the entire kingdom and a group of untrained farmers managed to take you by surprise and take out an entire regiment. You and your men who are supposed to be the best-trained soldiers in the region. Our kingdom is on the brink of war and you manage to fail me this horribly in such a simple task as to gather the supplies we need to survive if we end up with a castle under siege.

Lukas refrained from mentioning that there would not be much of a kingdom left if the king' continued this same path. Half of the villages in the Northern Province were burning already; the others left slowly to die from starvation come winter and the only evidence they even had of an approaching war was a few reports of increased military activity along their western borders, but there had yet to be any direct assaults on their people. The rebellion had started to the west in Griven, but was quickly spreading and growing rapidly. If the reports were right then the eastern Province was on the brink of civil war where villages and towns had started turning on their neighbors in a fight for the meager supplies that remained after the soldiers had visited.

Trouble was heading towards the capitol from almost every direction. It was only a matter of time before the turmoil would reach the cities close to the capitol and it would be impossible for the king to ignore that the internal conflicts were greater than the external threat.

The king stared at Lukas in silence for several moments, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly as if trying to remain in control of his emotions. "I wish to have a few words with my commander, alone." He spoke slowly but his tone was icy. Almost immediately a dozen chairs screeched against the floors as the councilors rushed to get out of the room.

Lukas stood absolutely still in his spot, watching as the king slowly rose from his seat, but not turning his head to watch him walk around the table and come up behind him and finally stand directly in front of him. "I have to say I am really disappointed right now," the king said venomously and if Lukas had not been used to that tone of voice it would have sent a shiver down his spine. "Now what do I have to do to may sure something like this will not happen again?"

Lukas remained just as unmoving as ever when the king pushed aside the fabric of his' shirt with one hand to bare the magical on his chest to the air while a faint green misted glowed around the fingers of his other hand.

"Perhaps this will teach you a lesson you will not soon forget" the king whispered darkly, eyes gleaming cruelly.

At the words, Lukas mentally prepared himself for the anguish to come when the king would manipulate the brand on his skin to weave in whatever new demands he came up with as a punishment for his failure.