《Rune》Prologue (Part 3)

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Floating high above the sky illuminated by the silver moonlight was King Vena. He wore his eerie helm as he started to emit a thick killing intent. The reason being the grizzly scene happening before him.

Mass hysteria ensued after the sonic boom he created resounded throughout the kingdom, though the faerie king's response was to put his plan into motion prematurely. His figure was engulfed in a dense black fog and in the next second, it acted as a wave fanning out among the stunned crowd. Countless cries of agony rang out below, the elegant spread of their transparent gray wings withered and their veins blackened showing through their pale skin.

But what enraged him, what made him sick to his stomach was the location's the corrupted armies poured out from. It was the houses of the citizens. What can only be said to be the faerie king's plan to corrupt the whole city in one fell swoop, began before the first battalions arrived in the dark forest. The stranglers that didn't go to the festival were the first to get corrupted; new mothers, infants not yet old enough to open their eye's were taken first.

As king Vena gazed down on the chaos below it took every fiber of his being not to rush down and wreak havoc on the enemy before him. He clenched his fist so hard blood was drawn, only then did he remember his mission. He descended back toward the west gate and as he found his fellow leaders, landed in front of them with no regard for his speed.

*Boom!*

The ground cracked and sunk half a meter under the force. Lord Magnus and Empress Vedasto both looked at each other as Quinn who accompanied her father shrank behind him.

"...Rahim, calm down, retract that sickening bloodlust and tell us the situation."

"Seriously, you're even scaring Quinn."

King Vena blinked in bewilderment as he regained his senses, finally retracting his bloodlust.

"...Sorry. Tabor, were making a change to the plan, Empress Vedasto and myself will be directly facing off with the faerie king. Lord Magnus, you and Quinn will keep the corrupted at bay long enough for us to evacuate as many citizens as we can. Tabor, you’re mission still stands."

Empress Vedasto stepped closer to King Vena, still wearing her white one piece.

"Rahim, what happened?"

He took off his helmet and turned his gaze to meet each person before him.

"We told our soldiers to prepare for the worst. Well this isn't far from it. Upon hearing the signal, mass confusion did occur within the enemy, however for just a fraction of the time that we expected. We overlooked one thing... and assumed we knew the position of the enemy army."

He took a pause drawing out the moment.

"The battle started before we even set foot in the dark forest. First it was the guards, hence why there was no resistance. Next was the citizens in the outer districts that didn't attend. The army keep creeping their way towards the festival square in the middle of the city. To sum it up, the casualties in this battle will very much be greater than we anticipated, and no doubt won’t exclude the helpless. The faerie king was very thorough in his planning." King Vena finished with a sigh.

The words king Vena said echoed in everyone's mind, resulting in somber faces, all except for empress Vedasto. The expression splayed across her beautiful face was that of her underlying rage.

She took another step forward towards the wall, completely side stepping King Vena as purple smoke trailed in her wake. It enveloped her alluring figure and as she made her way towards the towering obsidian walls it started to dissipate. The white one piece dress she once wore was replaced by dark violet and sky blue armor. Where a helm would normally reside was an opaque violet veil that hide her face. Thick plate armor covered her vitals while a more free moving violet material clung to her legs and waist. Sky blue patches of plate metal decorated her legs adding more protection. Her full battle gear stood as a reminder of how her carefree attitude influenced the armor, but mixed in one could feel a kind of lurking chaos. Never-ending blue swirls decorated the armor's surface and with her veil it produced a chilling presence as only her ocean blue eyes shone through. The tips of her gauntlets and boots radiated a bright blue that would be seen arcing from enemy to enemy as she fought.

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As she reached the wall she continued walking as if to hit it, only once she did, she vanished. A purple mist was left in her wake. One word echoed through the stunned surroundings permitting a chilling tone.

"Despicable!"

….

"You have your orders" King Vena paused looking around. "Let us save as many as we can." He then took to the sky after Empress Vedasto.

*

Fire raged through the once dark city as the orcs charged, adding their red figure's to the sea of fire. All of the wore similar brown armor as their various weapons were primed to go. Orcs near the front lines met the enemy with flaming red weapons, those in the middle manipulated flame itself while the few draconian soldiers at the rear fed the fire with wind. The result, a firestorm of death that rained down on the corrupted and held back the ensuing darkness.

In the west district the remaining citizens funneled themselves towards the gate. The plan to draw the enemy from the west had worked, giving them more time to evacuate safely.

Lord Magnus in his black armor and Quinn in her tan armor courted the fleeing citizens towards the west gate. The corrupted were seen mixing in with the citizens from a distance.

"Pa, they're here."

"Alright, stay by my side and don't leave my sight." Lord Magnus said, his husky voice resounding from within his helm.

"If you want to stay by my side, you'll have to keep up old man."

They both unsheathed their weapons as flames grew onto them. Lord Magnus's weapon in a scorching blue flame and Quinn's in a bronze one.

The first corrupted lunged at Quinn, she side stepped to her right and slashed at the corrupted only to watch the blade flow through it's smokey silhouette.

*Boom!*

“Focus your flame Quinn"

Lord Magnus said as he lifted his giant flaming mace off the remains of the corrupted she was fighting. After which he exploded forward weaving through citizens and dispatching the corrupted with a swing of his mace.

She gritted her teeth, she had wanted to show him how much she'd' grown. She followed her father taking her frustration out on the enemies before her.

*

A dense black fog covered the ground, a lone figure stood in the middle of the square and at the epicenter of the darkness. He was the source of this calamity, the mastermind, he was Faerie King Mirza Cyrus. His face looked gentle with a hint of childishness, as he showcased his pale white skin smoother than jade itself. Black straight hair fell down past his shoulders. Protruding from his robe at his back were two black translucent wings. His most prominent feature on his feminine face were his eyes that were void of any color, the sign that he had fallen.

*Rip*

Suddenly a purple tear appeared in the air beside him, a blue light made a beeline for his throat.

*Shink!*

Empress Vedasto stood to the side of him, her blade blocked by one finger.

"Tsk, tsk. Liliana, I should have known you'd call for reinforcements after you rejected my gracious offer." He said in a calm voice.

"Had I known this is what you had planned I would have struck you down that day." A chilling voice said void of emotion.

"The sad thing is you might have been able to do so single-handedly at that time, oh the irony. Now let me return the favor for the many inconveniences you've given me."

As he held up the blade with his finger, black spikes began to materialize from the black fog underneath her, threatening to skewer her. Jumping but not quite clearing the spikes she prepared her magic, however before that happened a viscous gust of wind tore threw the square. This wind focused on Empress Vedasto pushing her away from the spikes.

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"When did you fall so low Mirza."

*Clap,clap...clap*

"Bravo on the dramatic entrance dragon King Vena" He said facetiously as he made a mocking bow.

"Have you no shame or remorse for what you've done!" Empress Vedasto said in a loud voice.

"What I've done huh ... what ... I've ... done." The faerie said tapping his thin finger against his lips in false contemplation.

"Ah!... would you happen to be talking about my amazing plan to give every last one of my citizens amazing power?" He voiced matter of factly.

"At the cost of their will and soul." King Vena rebuked.

"That's but a formality to transcend into greatness really."

"What is it you're after Mirza?"

"When did you become so untrusting Rahim, havn’t I just told you my plan? Don’t you believe me?"

"Cut the shit, Mirza!" King Vena boomed.

"Now, now no need to be antsy, and as for my plan... well I'll keep that as my little secret."

"ENOUGH!!" Screamed empress Vedasto as she charged the faerie King.

"Heh, once a hot head always one." The faerie said with a mischievous grin.

Following the empress’s lead king Vena also charged towards his enemy. In response to the charge coming from both directions the faerie king took to the sky, the darkness blanketing the ground followed. Empress Vedasto and King Vena continued to charge though. Just a few meters from each other, King Vena unsheathed his weapon as empress Vedasto jumped into the air and landed on the flat of the great-sword.

Pouring power into his arms King Vena hurled the empress into the air and soon followed as he exploded after her using the wind as his catalyst. Their destination was a smirking Faerie King hovering in the air.

"So very predictable, to think I was once this simple minded." The faerie king muttered seeming to talk to himself.

After saying thus he spread his arms wide embracing the darkness and the blades that followed.

*

Inside the royal palace, Tabor led Ria and her dozen 'sisters' throughout the palace. The palace itself seemed to be made of a glass like metal that was ash grey in the moonlight. It stood fiercely domineering over the city below.

As they silently dashed from room to room they occasionally found nobles in the middle of their vile acts, the cries of death soon followed. As result crimson blood coated their weapons as they went, dribbling blood on the ground.

As they went through the winding halls they came upon the Queen's chambers. No guards were posted outside and no noise was heard coming from within, rather peculiar if she as to be giving birth. Tabor pushed the big metal door open.

*Boom!*

A large quake caused the castle to rumble and shake violently. Perhaps the aftermath of the battle between the three lords outside. Shaking his head as to clear his mind of such distracting thoughts he continued to push open the door.

A gentle breeze brushed against his face bringing with it a sweet fragrance that perforated through his nose. It smelt of chrysanthemum’s damp from the morning dew, a calming smell that eased the mind. At the far end of the room on a window bench overlooking the city below sat the faerie Queen Banu Cyrus. She had the same pearl white skin that her people were known for, however what could best describe her was absolute flawlessness. The rays of the moonlight hit her skin reflecting it's smoother than jade appearance. Her rare platinum hair hung incredibly low to the floor and from her back came the same black wings the faerie king was known for. She was a petite women, shown as a white night gown caressed her figure. A nose as petite as herself stood perkily, below it were thin pale lips. However taking away from her beauty were those same black eye's that plagued her as a fallen, but something was off. Those eye's didn't show a mocking synergy or anything like her husband's.

Tears were flowing from her eye's, in her hands a baby bundled up as to keep her isolated from the horrific sights below. And as what seemed to be timed with the noise that rustled the palace earlier, a black ring on her finger seemed to disintegrate. She abruptly turned her head to face the shadows at the, to her terror they were coming closer, blades running red with blood and blank white masks sprayed with it.

She hurriedly clutched a purple gem on a necklace around her neck, it started to glow brightly with a violet hue. Ria, knew what this gem was, to catch her before she vanished she leaned forward building energy into her legs as she exploded toward her. To many questions went unanswered and the nobles proved a dull source of information. To her surprise though Tabor was already in front of her going at a viscous speed. Soon the queen's figure vanished, leaving a purple tear in the air where she once was. Knowing she wouldn't make it in time she came to an abrupt halt, she would let Tabor handle this, it was about time he showed his resolve.

*

Sitting still on a bed with her back supported against the wall, was a rather haggard looking young women who seemed to be in her early twenties. Sweat coated her cloths as it clung to her skin. Her complexion was as pale as her lips were drained of color. The irises in her eye’s were void of light as she stared straight in front of her, not looking at anything in particular. The white sheets that covered the bed lay stained with blood, though she didn’t seem to take notice. She sat there clutching her daughter in her hands. She was beautiful and was even born with a full head of golden hair that matched hers. She had the most stunning green eyes she’d ever seen, no doubt taking after her father. Her cute face was full of the cutest little features a baby could ever hope to have.

However there was something wrong. Her daughter in her hands was ice cold. She sat there clutching her lifeless daughter, her stillborn daughter.

This was going to be her baby. She would raise her to be a kind and gentle women, teaching her the most important values she’d learnt as a kid. She’d tell her to go out and make friends that would last a lifetime. Then when she met the person she loved more then anything in the whole world tell her that she should cherish them with all her heart. Much like she herself had. But that sweet dream was floating away just like the life in her eyes. Again they had been robbed of a child, of someone that would bring so much happiness to their lives that anything in the world would pale in comparison. What could she do but give up, there was no doubt in her mind that her husband blamed her. After-all she couldn’t do the one thing all women all on this planet could, bare a child. Her future was gone, there was nothing left but the darkness in her heart, and she welcomed it.

Her husband sat at her side trying to show the most resolute face he could in the situation. Even though he was on the verge of tears himself. He needed to be there for her, she needed him now more than ever, but what could he do? Tell her everything's going to be alright? Say they can try again in the future? All of those are just empty words and he knew it, this was their last chance. Destiny had decided against them having their own child, something no couple can possibly bear, truly cruel . But not as cruel as fate, which would not let them even adopt as to not go against destiny. The two go hand and hand, and the scriptures speak that if one can not conceive their own child, they are destined to not be a parent. This world is cruel and unforgiving.

He watched his darling wife, the most beautiful women he’d met in his life as her eyes seemed to dim. His heart nearly shattered right then and there as his body seemed to move on it’s own. The next thing he knew he was on the bed embracing both his wife and his stillborn baby girl. That’s right he didn’t need to think at a time like this, all he needed to do was be there for his wife and tell her it’s ok.

“Em, it’s going to be ok. I know you think it’s you’re fault but it’s not, destiny lent us a bad card that’s all. We can get through this I know we can.” The man said as he rubbed the woman's back in an attempt to sooth her.

Her whole body, starting to shake as she silently whimpered into the man’s nape. The light in her eyes got ever so slightly brighter at his words. Together, for what seemed like hours, they wept in each other's embrace.

*Rip!*

As they embraced a purple tare appeared at the foot of the bed and what followed was something that utterly shocked them. Coming out from the tear came a literal faerie of stunning beauty that released a calming aura, in her arms was what can only be assumed as a tightly bundled up baby. Though for some reason this faerie was crying.

*

The tear stayed there for twenty odd minutes, well after the faerie had left. Yet another person appeared through the tare. This time it was a man scantily dressed in a black robe and a matching blank mask. But rather unsettling was the blood smeared on the mask, along with some that dripped from his unsheathed weapon. This man was of course Tabor and do to the teleportation of the void not being instant, it especially showed over long distances.

Though for an odd reason he didn’t seem intimidating to the man in front of him. He expected the man to exude a fearful aura, but what he was met with a calming one.

Tabor was in a small simple bedroom and stood at the foot of a bed. In front of him were a couple looking rather bedraggled and worn, in the woman’s hands was a baby tightly wrapped in a blanket. What caught this his attention was that the cloth the baby was wrapped in matched what the faerie queen wrapped her’s in.

“Where is she?” He asked in stern but gentle tone.

“She… she left some time ago.” Said the man who sat next to the women.

“... Do you know who it is your wife holds in her hands?”

“We do… however we beg you… ‘she’ would beg you to let this child go. She is but a blank slate that should not be tainted by the guilt and sorrow of her parents.”

“...”

The man stood up, walked towards Tabor and reached out his hand toward him, handing him a letter.

“The lady from before wanted the one who passed through that tear to have this. She didn’t tell us much about herself, only that she was royalty and her husband was dethroned for some vile acts he committed.”

Tabor sheathed his weapon, took the letter from the man and started to read through it.

It read:

Dear Tabor, I had a feeling you would be the one to follow me here. We have a long history my friend, even before all this started, so I beg of you to honor that friendship and leave this child be. This family needs this child, I’ve been watching over them from the shadow’s over the years knowing this day would come. I am not worthy of the child that I bore, of those innocent eyes that look at me from below, however these people are. I wasn’t able to stop Mirza from falling, and I have even fallen myself. I don’t know what this will mean for the child, so I ask one last thing of you, watch over this family and keep them safe.

-Your dear friend Banu

As he read that letter he felt conflicted in his very soul. His friend from over the years had still remained unperturbed by her husband's acts and even retained her sanity when she had fallen, but where had she gone?

“Still as strong and stubborn as ever…” He mumbled under his breath.

The man before him looked at him with curiosity, he expected anger and perhaps even violence, especially due to the blood on his attire, but was surprised by an even calmer aura that surrounded him.

Tabor, after reading the letter from Banu, proceeded to take off his cowl and mask revealing a calming smile on his face. He then took a deep bow before the man in front of him.

“My name is Tabor Sentius, chief of war to the Great Dragon Emperor Rahim de Salicosa Vena. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

The man seemed to be taken aback by his sudden show of grandeur.

“Please such formalities don’t suit us and it is rather unbecoming of a graceful draconian such as yourself to lower your head to the likes of us humans.” He said rather flustered.

“My name is Jorgen and this is my wife Emily, we hail from the house of Thrane.”

*

As the mourning sun peaked through the cloudy sky over the city of Mutus, a battle seemed to have ended some time ago. Smoke rose from the debris of the once beautiful city as charred remains lay waste in the street. King Vena and Ria stood in solitude in the festival square where it all began.

“Ria, what’s the damage report?”

“Well my lord, a little more than half of the population was wiped out because of the corrupted. Once the faerie king made his escape the control of the corrupted fell and lessened to the severity of the enemy to that of a mass riot. A fifth of our force died in battle, most of which consisted of Lord Magnus’s soldiers.”

“And what of Tabor?”

“Tabor chased after the faerie queen narrowly making it into the void portal she escaped through. If he’s not back by the day’s end we can assume he failed to apprehend her. It may be more than a month before we see Tabor again my lord as he doesn’t have his own void crystal and considering where the portal opened.”

“I see… and what information did we get from the nobles involved?” King Vena said with a troubled face.

“ … we’ve gotten very little my lord. Even given the methods of ‘persuasion’ we have, all we could find out was that they knew very little of their king’s plan’s.”

“...”

“This won’t do…” He mumbled under his breath.

“Sir?”

“How many nobles do with detained at the moment?”

“A little over a dozen households.”

“Good. Let the citizens have a target for their pent of anger and sorrow, start the public executions as soon as the relief camp is set up.”

“Yes, my lord.” Ria bowed as she took her leave.

King Vena stood in the square completely alone now, as lord Magnus and empress Vedasto were helping with the injured citizens and soldiers. Kicking off the ground he slowly rose into the air as he overlooked the city below. Something troubled him, the faerie king and his plan, the coincidental birth of his heir on the same day and another thing. Was there a third party involved? If not how did both the king and queen of an entire race fall. Someone or something was operating in the shadows, something sinister. He clenched his fist tightly as he gazed at the sunrise. He would find them and repay what they've done, this he vowed.

Prologue End~

.........................................................................................................................................................................................

Alright so that concludes the prologue of the story. Thanks to those who were patient enough to read this far, if you have any feedback to give please comment down below. That being said starting in the next chapter I'll be writing different points of view in first person. We'll also be shifting focus of the story on the faerie queens baby and her new family so look forward to that. As always if you find any grammatical errors feel free to point them out, I'll take a look with fresh eyes and see if i catch any mistakes after I get some sleep.

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