The Fallen Citadel Pt. 2

My mind faded out for a couple hours and when I awoke Jonah and Minerva were standing over me. They had managed to survive the night just as I had and came to look for me. They questioned my men who told what I had done for them and thought me dead. It was going to take more than that to kill me, and my burning thirst for revenge was going to keep me going.

They offered me a hand to lift me up off the ground, and brought me into the inner walls. My body had exhausted all of its strength, and I had to take off my armor to walk. The Ogre had dented my shield and my arm was feeling the pain. With their help I entered into the gate.

We managed to protect our King Quentinius and the citizens who had the chance to flee inside. When I reached the gates my surviving soldiers rushed to me, escorting me inside and thanking me. Cheers arose from all around me and I could hear them chanting my name, the man who held off an army. To them I was a hero and their savior. Truth be told I was no hero, I only wanted to protect who I could and I wanted to kill. I wanted a worthy opponent, and I found them lacking in every way.

Having heard of my heroic stand outside the gate I was invited into the royal palace. This was the first time I had ever been inside under these circumstances. The mood was despair and the faces of those in the room carried a heavy burden. There was no ceremony, no medals to be won, there was only pain. The king that I knew looked like a ghost of himself. His golden armor did not shine, it was dull and I found it fitting for the times we found ourselves in. The queen Xena sat next to him, fear outlined her face and you could see it in her eyes. They were horrified something like this could happen to our great citadel.

The King commended me and thanked me for protecting his people. He promoted me to the rank of captain having lost so many men in the previous battles. In that throne room he swore vengeance against the dark king Julianus. He swore he would plunge his blade Galantine into that evil warlock's heart.

He needed time to rebuild his army, and his city but he wasn’t going to give up. I had the grand idea to ask the King this. “Let me go to Journagen and cause chaos to their countryside to buy us time”. He liked that idea and laughed “Captain Finnegan you do whatever you need to do to weaken their forces while we rebuild here”.

He then charged me with my first task, to lead a unit of soldiers to infiltrate Journagen and destroy them from within. I had to hide my excitement and control my aura of bloodlust before it seeped out into that room. I accepted the task graciously and asked who I would be leading. “Why none other than my personal guard of handpicked soldiers”, the king said with a laugh.

I asked the King if I could bring along my own soldiers as well and he agreed. “Take who you need to do the task at hand”, and with that I had Jonah and Minerva under my command once more. “Now go and rest, for tomorrow will be the day we plan our attack”, I bowed to my King and left the palace. I returned to my home in the courtyard but there was nothing left. Our barracks no longer stood tall, and I slept in the barn that had remain untouched.

The very next day I returned to the palace to gather my soldiers and prepare a plan. I called them to attention and had them toe the line. Among the soldiers were well known and very skilled warriors. Freya was a skilled marksman, and deadly with any ranged weapon.

She was from the kingdom of Delsia, a kingdom known for its Amazonian women. She was strong, but nimble and dexterous. She stood towering at almost 7 feet tall with a large burly build. Pure muscle and pure ferocity. Her brown hair was braided into one single ponytail behind her head. She had light-grey eyes that saw everything. She wore light leather armor and carried a bow with a pair of hand axes.

The power of her bow unmatched by any living man, and you felt the release of her arrow when you were nearby. She also knew her way around an axe, and in hand-to-hand combat was vicious. She didn’t believe in bathing as it hindered her ability to hunt her prey. She had the nickname of the Stinky Giant among her peers but she didn’t care.

She had grown up in one of the harshest environments that our world could offer. Her village of Etoria in Delsia was a large forested area surrounded by powerful monsters. The Amazonian women hunted and skinned these monsters to make their weapons. They were taught at an early age how to kill. Her bow was made from a monster-tree called a Prither, a large hulking blood-tree. Her axes forged from the teeth of a mammoth crocodile called Run-sia. She was the predator and the world her prey.

The next in line was Elindresh, half human, half elf, and a renowned sorcerer. He was a refugee who fled the kingdom of Journagen when the evil king chose to massacre the elves who lived there. He was just a boy when the war on the elves began, and his parents had the foresight to send him away with a family friend to our nation. His parents died in that war and he grew up with hatred in his heart.

He trained in the magic arts and in druidism. His control of the elemental spirits was unmatched by any human. He had saved the Kings life in a previous battle, and earned his place by the Kings side. He was a taller than me and carried himself with such pride. He had long blonde hair that was braided at the top and had a slim build. His eyes were purple and showed off his elven blood. Those with purple eyes were gifted with strong magical abilities. His desire for revenge was almost as strong as mine and I welcomed him gladly.

My personal favorite was Borgan, a goblin rogue, and one of the funniest people I've ever met. He could pick any lock, sneak past any guard, and there wasn’t a throat he couldn’t slit. Borgan had been captured trying to steal from the royal treasury and was sentenced to death.

However, he managed to weasel his way out of an execution into the employ of our King. He had green skin with beaty blue eyes and stood at a whopping 4 feet tall. His legs were small but silent, and he enjoyed pissing off Freya. He came from the region north of Journagen , the unnamed lands where creatures ruled not humans. He dreamed of a bigger life, a bigger prize to steal and came to our kingdom in search of that. He was so unsuspecting, but deadly; just the kind of soldier I wanted by my side.

Last but not least was Harold the master of all two-handed weapons. Champion of our Kingdom and the only man who could match me with a sword. He was a stout defender and righteous man. He did it for Kingdom and for Glory, and that’s all he ever needed unlike me. Harold was a muscular man in his early forties, and vastly experienced. He had tips of gray in his brown hair and beard. He wore heavy armor but moved with such speed. I would look to him for advice and use his wisdom to better myself. He was my height of 5 ft 10 and had light blue eyes.

With Jonah and Minerva, my most trusted lieutenants we had our unit complete. Our plan was to create total chaos in the outlying regions of Journagen and work our way into the capital. While our King rallied his allies and rebuilt our forces, we would be the distraction and a incite the fires of rebellion in Journagen. With Elindresh we could find what elves remained and attempt to draw them to our cause. We had a common enemy after all and who better suited to overthrow their murderous King, Julianus, the possessed.

When we had gathered our supplies for the journey we set out to the border of our kingdom. I hoped that I would find a worthy opponent in their kingdom. It was becoming more difficult to restrain my bloodthirst the closer we got to Journagen. My eyes were ablaze with rage, and I would have my revenge. It took us 3 weeks to reach the outskirts of Journagen and our first stop was the town of Jakardal.

We sent Borgan into the tavern to listen to the whispers and the gossip. Searching for any hint of where the remaining elves might be. The rest of us restocked on supplies and regrouped at the inn. Borgan had found a lead to an enclave of elves in the caves outside the town. We stayed the night and when dawn came, we went searching. This time Elindresh had his eyes ablaze with fury, passion and hope.

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-Much Love Mack