The Shadowbind

[lordvetinari]

In a shadow by a fire sat a young boy. You could hardly see his face, for it was in the flickering shadows cast by the fire."Father, why are you so afraid?" he asked. A middle-aged man who was sitting nearby said,"He is always watching. Whenever I sleep I can hear his voice in my head. I do not understand what he says. He twists all of his at a whim. A being so powerful should never have been." Then the man grabbed the boy and whispered,"Swear! Swear by the old gods and the new that you will not cease to fight this being. Swear by the Shadowgod." The boy was frightened since the Shadowgod was the most fearsome, or so people said (no one had ever met him)."I... I will Father. Just.... who is he?" questioned the boy. "He has many names. He is Lightbringer, Wise one, or the Shadowslayer." replied his father. "He does not sound so bad," thought the boy. But suddenly his thoughts were interrupted. A bugle sounded and suddenly the ares around the boy and his father was alive with activity. " To the North! To the North! The orcs have taken Avieth!" shouted a man. "Quickly son! Alert your older brothers now! I must go organize my army." shouted the father. The boy ran to the tent nearby which housed his brothers. He awakened them and yelled,"Avieth has been captured! Father is organizing the armies of the North! Come quickly!" His brothers put on their platemail hurriedly and mounted their horses. Then they rode out to their the father. "Father! Have you awakened the troops yet?" they called. "Yes, yes," replied their father. "Bran, go gather the Avion's Hammers and get ready for the attack. Areth go get the men of Hayen Hill ready. " Both of them bowed to him and left. Then the youngest came to his father's side and pleaded, "Father, you said I could fight since it is my sixteenth year. Please?" His father weighed the options for the moment and then said wearily,"I guess it is time for you. I never new the years would go by like this. You may take the men or rather the strange monk knights from Crusaed's Cross." The boy than ran away to his new command, ready to have his pretend games of war come to life.

[lordvetinari]

It had been two days since he had gotten his command. The ground was wet with blood and the tears of the dead. "M,lord. We must be moving on, we haven't captured Avieth yet," said a knight of Crusaed's cross. "I know, I know. I thought my first battle was going to be glorious, but the only thing I'm getting is pain. We won and routed the enemy, but why, why do we have to fight?" said the young commander. He was tall with dark hair streaked with white. "Because we must my lord. We fight to protect our families. Now, we must be moving off," said the knight."Yes, yes. Gather the troops. We ride for Avieth in the hour,"said the young lord. "Yes m'lord," said the knight. He rode off, and in twenty minutes all the monk knights were assembled, all 3000 of them. They cut a dashing picture: clad in shining armor with a white tabard on top. The only emblem they had was a red cross on their tabard and their shields, and their horse were dressed as they. But for all their dashingness, the young commander knew their worth in battle. They were death on horses and foot, and they were a terror to all they faced. The young commander had liked them so much, he had adopted their raiment. Anyways, "We ride for Avieth to help the siege break down the orcs. After that, we ride into the North to fight the Giants under the command of High King Paetor. He has come from the south."shouted the young commander so that all could hear him."Ride! Ride now!To the North!" shouted the young lord.The cry was taken up by the monk knights, and six hours later they came upon Avieth. The once glorious town was overrun, its walls crumbling and buildings torched.