The atmosphere is heavy, the energy mounting. Armies gather before the citadel, their armor shining in bronze, gold, and silver, frankincense embodied by the warriors. Armies of young and old, experienced and naive, scarred and fresh, roar as they clash their spears against their shields in unison. The cloud grows darker, as if the gods orchestrated it. The wind is strong and wavy. The shouts seized as the brightest armor shines from the citadel.
"Behold Adostros the Great, the Lord Commander," said the herald.
The armies advance with a shout, banging their shields and stomping their feet, singing his name like a war cry. Suddenly, a white horse gallops out of the citadel, a gold helmet on its head, a gold saddle, and a rider glowing as the sun shines through his armor from behind. His horse flings its feet toward the sun and neighs loudly like a war cry, a red, thick chlamy spread on its back, riding the wind, a long, noble sword belted at his waist. He then raises his visor.
"Behold your king," said the Herald.
A sharp silence fell. It was so silent that even the bird chirps weren't heard.
"Today we ride at Howelbr to take possession. We go in peace, but must be ready to pieces. Today we conquer, and if we are resisted, we shall quench the thirst of our blade, for we are the terrors of the noon. We shine with the sun and burn with it. We die with the day and rise with it. We eat the darkness after letting it roam, reminding it of its owner. My soldiers of light, today we roar like a hungry lion, for we are strong not only by wisdom but by power, and we must drench ourselves in it, for it is our gift that our enemies know us not by strength. That is our advantage in any war, any battle, and I, your king, will stand with you in front of the battle, today, till I am no more, even when I'm passed by my son...." The king said, expecting his son to ride out as he had planned, but it didn't seem he was coming out.
The silence was loud, and her majesty, The Queen, watching from the corridor with her daughter, was quietly counting down the seconds.
"Five." Everything, everyone was still.
"Four." Still, total silence with high suspense.
"Three." Everyone slowly looks at the pathway
".....my son.." The king said slowly, still thinking he would come out
"Two...One"
Silence fell as the sound of horses' hooves hitting the floor echoed. Out of the pathway came Aeres, leaving everyone shocked and confused.
"Behold, your prince, the son of King Hector, I, of his name, the heir to the jeweled throne of brimstone… behold, the Silver of Greece." Aeres declared, amid loud screams from the soldiers, the crowd's applause, the stunned expressions of the king's men, and the king himself.
Eraga rode out with his favorite silver horse, wearing his shining silver cloak with blue stripes and carrying his silver sword, given to him by his late grand uncle, the greatest blacksmith in all of Greece, pinned to his back beneath his silver shield, which protected it. Everybody was surprised, but no more than his father, who had never seen his son in such a manner. Eraga jumped down from his horse and bowed to his father.
"My King," Eraga began, looking to the crowd of armies, and said, "I, the son of King Hector, shall ride with you at the front of the battle on my horseback, even after the King finishes his great work."
The armies stood silently but in agreement.
"Even though we know that's going to be a long time, he's a tough one, this one," he said with a silly facial expression, and the whole crowd laughed.
His dad smiled. Eraga has never agreed to be heir. This was all a surprise to him.
"I promise to carry on my father's legacy and glory and to take the great kingdom to impossible heights. My brother Aeres and I will fight until our bones crack. Even if our hands are cut off, we'll fight with our legs. If our legs are cut off, we'll fight with our heads. If our heads are cut off, we'll curse our enemies with our mouths, for we shall not go down without taking them with us. This I promise."
Shouting and praise rang out as they chanted his name, "Eraga the Silver of Greece."
"Today, either by peace or by pieces, we claim Howelbr!" Eraga shouted. He drew his sword from his back and raised it. The whole army raised their weapons with him.
"Well said, my son," said King Hector. "Today is the day. Many of you may be testing your strength in battle for the first time, including my son. But everything starts in a day. Follow orders and fight with all you have, with your strength and with your might. Earn your shield, make your kingdom proud. We shall move in divisions. The first batch will be the peace batch, led by the great Philemon."
To this, Philemon bowed in acceptance and reverence.
"The second batch will be the peace support badge, directly behind the peace batch, led by the great Aeres in his first leading role."
*Aeres, shocked and startled, bowed and looked at his dad with confusion because his dad would be in the batch too.* "The third batch will be the complete invasion if any resistance is met. That batch will be led by me, your King."
Eraga felt so relieved, and it was obvious that Aeres noticed. He bumped his shoulder into Eraga's to put him back in order.
"Now, assemble. It is time."
The soldiers assembled, and the journey began. Aeres was beside his father. He felt awkward and didn't know what to say.
"Your brother?" asked Adrastos
"Pardon?"
"He called you brother."
"Oh, uh, yeah, Eraga… he did."
"Get yourself together. It's your first roll as a commander. Don't mess it up, or I'll kill you. I didn't mess mine up, even though mine was earlier. You're not doing badly. Just have to be better."
"Yes, sir, Lord Commander."
"Commander? You're commanding this troop."
"Ohhh, yeah, right, sorry."
"Aeres, do not apologize. My time as a leader is coming to an end. My question for you is, are you ready? You lack enthusiasm. Do you want to know what I did? The lives I took to get up here? Just because you grew up in the citadel does not give you the right to be soft. I brought you up here myself with no real challenge. Don't make me think I made a mistake," he said as he turned away.
Aeres looked frustrated, but tried to calm himself.
"The all-serious Aeres, ever strong and mighty, looks sad?"
"Mind your business, Eraga."
"Hey, isn't this what you always wanted?"
"Taking my father's position ?, No."
"Come on, it's just this one time. They're testing your potential. That's why you have to buckle up and show them. I wonder who's the hair between a woman's legs now?"
"Shut up, Eraga, I'll have your tongue."
"Oh, sorry, Lord Commander," Eraga said sarcastically.
"Don't call me... just leave. Are you even in this batch?"
"No, I'm with the peace badge. I'm just passing by."
" Then move"
" Aye, commander," Eraga rides further
"Hey, why did you call me your brother?"
"Why not?" Eraga said with a wink as he rode away. Aeres tried to hide his smile.
The Queen would rule in the King's absence. Kleon walked the corridors with unsettled, dark eyes, furious at not being chosen for the fight. He felt his brother had always looked down on him. He also wanted to be King, but Hector was chosen, even though they were born in the same moment to two different mothers. He had accepted his fate not to become King, but his brother's neglect tore his heart.
As the Queen prayed in a temple with the priestess Freya, they heard a distant creak in a large, empty, dark hall where only a few candles were lit. They ignored it at first, until they heard footsteps. Freya stepped in front of the Queen to protect her.
"Who is there? Show yourself," Freya said. All they could hear was a laugh in the dark. Fear started roaming through their hearts. Freya grabbed a firebrand and pointed it into the darkness, flinging it around.
"You dare walk into the temple even as the queen is praying?"
"Hahaha, the queen? She is no queen; she is mine." As a strange face appeared near the light, knocked the firebrand away from the priestess, which landed on a curtain, igniting a fire. This time, the whole hall was bright, and they could both see his face.
"Aslron?" the queen asked in fear and shock.
"Yes, my queen," with an evil, dark clown smile on his face. He reached for the Queen, but was held back by Freya.
"Get off me, you witch," Aslron snapped. Freya's eyes started glowing as if she were about to do sorcery until Aslron pricked his small knife into her eye, stabbing both eyes continuously. Freya screamed until her death as the fire in the hall was increasing, with both her eyes wide open in shock and trauma, almost too stunned to speak. The queen dreadfully asked
"Why, why are you here? How did you, how did you escape? What, what are you doing here?" she started screaming in stuttered words.
"No one is going to save you. I killed every guard around this hall. " It's just you and me now, just like old times," he said with a smile and an evil laugh.
"Why are you doing this? Aslron, WHYYY!"
"Ohhh, shut up. Is that how you greet an old friend? You've changed. You're all flashy and fancy now, but your beauty never gets old." He licks the blood off the knife, slowly sneering.
"I wonder how yours would taste," he said as he drew closer to her, grabbed her by the neck, and rubbed the knife along her face
"Look at you, aren't you the most beautiful woman? As beautiful as ever." She was scared, almost having a panic attack. She tried to calm herself, then she suddenly kicked him in the balls. He let go of her, took a step back, bent in pain, and became more furious.
"You whore," he said as he grabbed her neck with both hands this time, choking her, close to death. A strong hand pulled him away, and all he saw was darkness. It was Kleon, who had seen smoke from a distance.
"Are you okay, your Majesty?"
"Ye...ye...yes, we need to run. He's crazy. He'll kill us," she replied. Kleon was confused but knew there was no time for confusion or hesitation. He looked to his side and saw the priestess with bloodshot eyes. He tried to overcome his fear; he had seen worse. It had been a while since he had fought, but he believed he still had it. He knew he had no chance against this psychopath, so he tried to figure out a way to save the queen.
"Ohhh, nice punch. Didn't see that coming."
"I'll make sure you can't see at all with the next one," Kleon replied.
Aslron laughed, but it turned into a frown in less than a second. He drew his battle axe. Kleon knew he was going to be defeated, so he told the Queen to run as he tried to hold Aslron back. Aslron charged at him. Kleon drew his knife and threw it at Aslron. Aslron smiled as he easily dodged it. He swung his axe, aiming for Kleon's head. Kleon dropped to his knee level, dodging the axe as he charged at Aslron. He dove at Aslron. They both fell, hitting the sturdy wooden chairs in the temple and breaking them. They struggled to stand, but Kleon couldn't because Aslron's axe was already in his back. He was bleeding badly, even from his mouth. Aslron smiled as he got up and attempted to leave the hall before the whole place collapse. He couldn't move. He tried again and again. He couldn't move until he noticed a metal-like rope tied around his waist to Kleon. His smirk suddenly disappeared. He tried to loosen and cut it, but he couldn't. With a smile on the nearly dead Kleon's face, he murmured
"Good luck getting out of here carrying this big old man with you."
"Shut up, you dirt bag," Aslron replied as he struggled with the rope.
" See you in hell, you devil," Kleon quickly added
"Aren't we in hell already? There's fire all around us right now," aslron said with a laugh as kleon's eyes closed.
Aslron dragged Kleon, aiming for the door. He realized it was so heavy because Kleon tied himself to Freya, kleon wasn't as sharp as his brother, true but he was very smart, he figured out everything, before attacking aslron, he tied himself to freya , and when he dove aslron, he tied him to himself
"Argghhhhhhhhh, I can't die here, no. When did he… no, I can't die, I can't die."
He dragged with all his might as he said, "I…*drag*... must…*drag*... Get my revenge!" Then the hall collapsed.