The Fallen Citadel Pt 1

A massive and impenetrable wall guarded towered in the distance. It watched over the majestic citadel of Toko, and I was a soldier in the swords guard. Our citadel was the crown jewel of our kingdom Visario and it was home to many humans and creatures alike. We had paved roads that connected the many winding streets and alleys of our grand city.

My home was the barracks in the inner wall’s courtyard and I was proud to serve this nation. The houses clumped together and were home to many. The market-place was always bustling with merchants selling their hand-crafted wares. You could smell the fresh loaves of bread as you walked the streets, and feel the love people had for one another. Most of our citizens were refugees at one point or another and knew what it meant to live, and to lose loved ones. We were a proud and resilient nation whose spirit could never bow to our oppressors.

Every day I walked along that wall guarding my post, and took to the city in another patrol. I had served in a great war over the years with the city of magic Journagen. A veteran in my own right and a skilled swordsman. My name is Finnegan and this is my story.

I grew up in the countryside of Toko and as a child I was in awe of those walls. They withstood 100 years of attacks and invaders and protected the people. Those walls stood for so much more than I ever knew growing up. They were a bastion of hope for the refugees who fled from the wars with Journagen and surrounding nations. My parents came from those refugees and grew up knowing peace in Visario. When they had me, they swore to they would never let me know the horrors of war in my lifetime.

My father had served as a mercenary for Visario and was able to retire with enough gold to buy his own farm. My mother was an herbalist and medicine woman. She always providing support for those who were sick and dying. They met when my father walked into her shop after having injured himself during training. He found a reason to keep visiting her after that and worked up the courage to ask her out. They married in the spring and a year later I was born of their beautiful marriage.

My father taught me to fight from an early age while my mother taught me medicine. I never learned much from medicine except how to further injure an opponent. Combined with my father's teaching I learned deadly combinations of attacks that targeted weak spots in my opponents. One day he told me “Son, I've taught you everything I can about swordsmanship and fighting, don’t tell your mother but I'm proud you picked the sword and not her herbs”. I was about to thank him, but his face had gone as pale as a ghost. My mother screamed “I heard that you know”, “crap, I forgot she could hear a mouse creak”, he said and then laughed.

My mother walked outside with her basket ready to grab her herbs in the forest, and came right up to me. “I will always be proud of you Finnegan no matter what path you chose and I knew early on that you were your father's son after all”. “Just don’t forget my teachings, and remember what could save your life or another's”. I turned to them both and said “I love you both more than anything and I am proud to be your son, but I have dreams to join the swords guard”. “I want to make a name for myself in the capital and I'm going to talk to a recruiter today”.

They both smiled and said “we will support any decision you choose to make son; you can always come home whenever you want”. I entered the Capital and the recruiter introduced me to who would be my superior officer.

I wanted to protect when I grew older and I enlisted in the swords guard when I turned of age. I became a squire to a soldier named Korvius. Under his guidance I continued to grow as a swordsman and learned how to be a soldier. We trained for months honing and sharpening our sword techniques. I won tournaments with my unique skill I called Viper. I let my opponent get in close and bared my fangs for the kill. In an instant my sword was at their throats and I was victorious. I focused organs, major tendons and other weak spots that I could exploit. I was going to win at any cost.

Once again, I had learned all I could from another master, and Korvius told me “You need to enter the King’s tournament if you want to make a name for yourself”. “Prestige is everything and I believe you have the skill to win”. In those days I was such a cocky kid who believed I couldn’t be defeated by anyone. I was ready to win the tournament and get the King’s recognition.

I entered into a major tournament at the behest of my now leader Korvius. I quickly overwhelmed my opponents and rose to the top. I found my final opponent lacking and unworthy, but I showed him respect after my victory. “Another weakling, another disappointment” I thought to myself. When would I face a worthy opponent?

Along with the prize money came prestige and I rose through the ranks to that of a Seargent. I was tasked with the charge of maintaining a platoon and training them. “I have to train them?”, I asked as Korvius introduced me to my new platoon. He laughed and said “Good luck, that’s part of the prestige; more responsibility”.

In my platoon was a bunch of rascals and younger soldiers like myself. I had trouble rearing them in, but I earned their respect over time. I bonded with two soldiers in particular Jonah and Minerva, and they would become my right- and left-hand soldiers. I could count of them to keep the discipline and to watch my back.

Jonah was a brown-haired man standing at 6 feet tall with hazel eyes, and he had a contagious laugh. Minerva was a woman in the swords guard, a rare feat for someone her age. She had dark black hair, with green eyes that pierced right through you. She stood at 5-foot 7 and carried herself like she was 6 feet tall. We spent months training day after day and soon we were looking like one cohesive unit. Yet, life had other plans for us and we were given the order to mobilize.

I would constantly hear snickering when I called them to attention and all I could think was “you idiots why won't you listen to me”. Eventually I stopped trying to be a hard-ass it wasn’t working. I treated them sternly, but with compassion instead. “Look I don’t know what I'm doing any more than you most of the time”, “I can’t pretend to know more than you and I'm hardly older than any of you”. “Just bear with me and work with me”, I gave them that speech and the problems started to fade soon after that. I had to humble myself for them to see me as a human and not their enemy.

When the news of war spread the first time, we were unprepared. Journagen had led a surprise attack on an envoy of emissaries. They were heading to an ally’s kingdom; the kingdom of Delsia. We would not let them get away with the attack. Our king Quentinius, first of his name, called us to war. We marched out to fight them on the battlefield and it was a massacre on both sides.

Journagen had been led by their villainous king Julianus, a dark warlock possessed by demons. He spread his dark seed of corruption all over his kingdom when he took the throne many years ago. He had grown bolder in his attacks and set his eyes on our beautiful kingdom. The main forces clashed with such brute force and we fought them tooth and nail. Their platoon of warlocks however had been summoning demonic beasts in an attempt to catch our rearguard in a pincer attack. I was ordered to defend the rearguard, our mages and archers.

I led my platoon the best I could and they fight and died with bravery. We were routed by their demonic beasts and held a shield wall formation as long as we could until reinforcements arrived. They overwhelmed us and we were woefully underprepared to face the beasts. We never lost hope that help was coming and we never stopped believing we would live. ‘Hold the line” I screamed. “Maintain the shield wall and protect the soldier next to you”, I was barking orders, but their training had kicked in and they knew what to do.

One by one I watched my soldiers fall and all I could do was continue to stay alive and give commands to stand our ground. “Jonah, Minerva, Report, what is going on your flank”. They responded “Still alive over here sergeant”. I felt a moment of relief that I had not lost my best friends yet. “Regroup on me, keep our formation tight and listen for the rally trumpet”, I yelled over the snarling of the demon beasts. We fought back-to-back, until we had killed every last demon beast.

Three of us survived out of a platoon of 45, fighting to the last soldier, with our dead brothers at our feet. When we heard the trumpet signaling victory we cried, and fell to our knees exhausted, and bloodied. We sat down back-to-back of on another supporting one another up with our own bodies. “Is there anyone else who made it”, I asked? Jonah replied with a painful lump in his throat “I don’t think so, I think we are all that’s left”. I thought back to how cocky I was just a few months ago and laughed at what a fool I was. All I could think was I trained them the best I could.

When reinforcements arrived to assist, they must have seen an awful sight. They saw 3 of us bloodied, exhausted and crying surrounded by dozens of dead bodies. They brought us back to the Capital to recover. I entered that battlefield a cocky sergeant, but I left a veteran who had to carry the burden of command.

We lived to see another day and I was grateful that Jonah and Minerva survived, but I felt the burden of leadership that day. My unit received accolades and honor for our battle from the king himself. We had fought the worst enemy possible and lived to tell the tale. No one expected us to survive the onslaught of the beasts but we did. I received another promotion to master-at-arms along with a medal of bravery. Jonah and Minerva received promotions to sergeant and were now leaders of their own swords guard platoons.

We buried our dead with honor and I felt the responsibility of their deaths upon my shoulders. We returned home hardened veterans and were praised as heroes by the people. My skill with the sword continued to receive praise and commendations as I trained.

In those days I patrolled the city and passed by the same bakery every day that smelled sweeter than heaven. I finally decided to stop in and buy myself a loaf. I turned to buy my bread but became frozen. Looking at me was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life, she had golden curly locks, and a smile that could make my heart stop.

I fumbled over the words to say “I would like to buy 1 loaf please”, and she smiled at me responding “that will be 2 silver pieces”. I reached into my coin pouch and handed her exact change and received my bread. I mustered up the courage to ask her for her name, she giggled and said “Daisy, my name is Daisy”. “That’s a pretty name” I said, “my names Finnegan, thank you for the bread, Daisy”.

I left the store and continued my patrols. I went there week after week picking up bread I didn’t need as an excuse to just see her. One day I would ask her to dinner, but for now I focused on my duties at hand.

However, it didn’t matter because I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. We thought we had won and seen the last of Journagen, but they conjured up dark magics in revenge. When nightfall came the city was on fire, and in chaos. I had just ended my patrol for the day and in an instant hellfire rained down upon us.

The ground shook with such power and ferocity and I watched in horror as our mighty wall fell to the ground. Fiery boulders catapulted into buildings around me, leaving a pile of burning dead in their wake. I remember smelling the burnt flesh, hearing the screams on the wounded and my ears rang from the explosions. We were under attack; how could our wall have fallen so easily. The enemy had planted explosive demons under the wall and destroyed it from below.

Ogres, goblins and demons descended into the city killing anyone in sight. I managed to mobilize my platoon, but it didn’t matter. Firebolts were being cast into the city, razing everything around us to the ground. We fought back-to-back making our way through the city streets hoping to make it to the inner walls. Our boots stomping over the dead littering the street, and covered in guts, blood and God knows what else.

The enemy came out of nowhere, they were like shadows in the streets and one by one my men died. When I could see the walls ahead, I told those still alive to run. I would hold the line, until they got the civilians to safety. They hesitated for a moment but honored my command and helped the civilians into the inner city. I was lucky enough to have seen Daisy safely enter the inner walls and my heart was relieved for a moment. I was determined to protect them at any costs.

I cut down any foe that dared approach me, my blade sharp and quick. My speed was unmatched and I began to enjoy myself. I felt an aura of bloodlust come over me, whether it was the endorphins rushing through me or the hatred I don’t know. Then I heard it, the footsteps of an ogre and he was enormous. I could feel his bloodlust staring at me, and I thought to myself what a wonderful opponent. He carried a large two-hand sword with him and I thought to myself this will be fun. My eyes were ablaze with fire and bloodthirsty.

Sparks flew from our swords as we clashed, my parry's dancing along the edge of his blade then finding their mark. A pierce to the lungs first, followed by a slash to his Achilles tendons till he fell to the ground. With a finishing blow of the Viper, blood spattered the ground when I pulled out my blade from his throat. An unworthy opponent after all, and my bloodlust only grew darker.

I held my ground until dawn when I heard the trumpets of our allies. We had managed to hold the city, but the damage to the citadel was overwhelming. Houses were burned to the ground; the wounded lay helpless in the streets and our great wall was broken. I could smell the burning flesh all around me, the poor souls who were caught in the wake of destruction and I wept. That wall was our pride, but it didn’t break my spirit. I found a nearby house that was in ruins and I laid against the wall. I was covered in blood and unrecognizable. I was exhausted, but I felt one emotion, lust for revenge. I was going to bring Journagen to their knees.

Link to part 2 of my series! https://vocal.media/fiction/the-fallen-citadel-pt-2