Thronefall by Taiyo
30 DECEMBER 2024
This was mine choice to make, not yours, Arkhi, however you had to intervene, you wouldn’t be yourself, would you? I must say, I’m very disappointed in you. I won’t protect a traitor like yourself. Therefore the Royal Court appointed a reward for you, my dearest friend. I doubt we will see each other again, at least, not while we’re both alive.
I will see you in hell,
And that was the last time I heard from my dearest friend Polet, but should it surprise me? After all, I was being hunted in the entire Midland. So while I’m fighting for my life every day, he is living his best life in the capital. Not only, he stole my desired position in the Court, but he’s acting like he wouldn’t know that would happen. Why did I trust him in the first place? How foolish of me, trusting the murderer of my very own brother, how foolish. So here I am, 2 days march of the farthest east frontier, place many call the end of the world, where Hyn, one of the oldest Ancients, fell after his duel with Uji, the goddess of mischief and his own daughter. Sentients say that from Hyn’s rotting corpse our land was created and his blood created the sea that surrounds the land today, land on which our homeland is located. I couldn’t explain world creation better than them. Some say, Sentients are completely deranged, others believe them and obey every word they mumble. Me? I’m convinced that ability to communicate with Ancients must have a high price. We should listen what Sentients have to say, but we shouldn’t follow their word vacantly. As I already said, our land, called Lantar is surrounded by seemingly endless sea, no one was able to confirm that theory as no ship ever returned from such voyage. Now, you might’ve come to reason that Midland is the only nation, if you indeed did, you’re greatly mistaken. While Midland is undoubtedly (unless you will ask any other nation) the greatest nation that exists, there are plenty more, so let me give you a quick introduction on the major ones. Kingdom of Midland, place where I was born, You will find mostly humans here, along with some elves, I’m certain any other races appear only as merchants. Next we have Kir’tan, land of the elves, while you will find many elves in different nations, you won’t find much if any non-elvish races in Kir’tan, they are more xenophobic than any human could ever be. Last, there is Farenheim, to be honest, it's more like a piece of land than a nation itself, it doesn’t have a government, but is divided into many unstable city-states ruled by irresponsible warlords, the reason why they still exist is really simple, to this day, no one was able to conquer and hold that wild territory, not only it’s residents are so brutal that even the bravest of men fear them but the land themselves are hostile. Sharp rocks, steep edges, snow and deadly cold even in summers, on top of it, wildlife that is beyond comprehension of the smartest of druids. Now, you’re probably wondering how I know so much of this world, so let me enlighten you. I, Arkhi am alone responsible for the 7 year war that caused half of the population to perish, this war ended multiple weeks ago, with me along with Polet killing the old king, his three sons and wife. After that Polet declared himself king, and appointed his Royal Court, while I was appointed as main general. You may be asking yourself, what bad must’ve happened regarding my person that forced me to flee, that made Polet declare me a traitor. So hear a tale about Arkhi, a man that was blessed, cursed and has more innocent blood on his hands than one would ever think.
‘You got rations?’ – I asked the shopkeeper
‘Depends, you got coins?’ – He looked at me scowling – ‘One packet has four rations and costs 9 silver’
‘Why so much?’ – I asked. I didn’t look like someone with a copper coin, let alone nine silver.
‘If you don’t like my prices, there is a town 4 days north’
‘That’s everything I have.’ – I placed eight silver coins on the counter – ‘Not even a copper more’
‘Then..’ – he took the coins, then reached for a ration package. He untied the string and took out a single ration, then handed it to me – ‘Now leave, I don’t run a charity.’
I looked at him – ‘Then you’re no better than a thief-‘
‘Did I not tell you to leave my store?’ – he interrupted
I hid the ration in my pocket and left the store. Curses, I thought but there was nothing I could do, in my current state even breathing was exhausting. I walked along the road looking for a place to stay for the night, it was getting dark and I would rather not spend the night on the street – even forests were a better place. I was searching for an “Adventurer Guild”, I didn’t have any coins left so any inn was out of the question, the guild on the other hand? Nobody is interested by folks like me, the benches may be unpleasant for rest, but are still better than mud. After half an hour of searching I noticed a slightly damaged signboard – “All adventurers are welcome at Adventurer Guild”.
The door screeched as I walked inside. It was dark, and not even one candle was lit. I took a sweeping look around the room I found myself in. Despite being human, I have always been able to see a lot of details in the darkness, a trait common among elves, which is one of the reasons I sometimes doubt if I am, in fact, a Pure Being[1]. The room was quite large, with four tables – each about six meters long and one meter wide, just enough for plates and mugs. Every table could fit about eleven people on each side, making this guild able to host up to ninety people at once. On the right side of the entrance – place where I was standing – I noticed a wooden, “L” shaped counter, a place where adventurers and their businesses were taken care of by the caretakers – that’s what we call workers in guilds, why? Because they take care of every adventurer that enters the establishments. Behind the counter was a door with a small, round window. I walked as quietly as I could to the table in the corner of the guild and decided to lie down. After a brief moment, I was fast asleep.
‘Hey, beggar!’ – a loud, rough voice woke me up in the morning – ‘Leave before I make you.’
I looked at the man that was standing above me. He was of exceptional height.
Pure Being – someone whose lineage has consisted solely of a single race – human, elf, or otherwise, for at least five generations. ↑