Chapter 1: Flames from the south

Innocent blood of those who did nothing wrong. The king has become someone else, changed completely from the kind man he was to a merciless mass murderer.

‘’ The king has gone mad ‘’ said Lord Egmerys Egregon looking back at the kingdom they left behind, Notus. Its own king - King Martelly decided to burn to the ground an entire village, leaving the ashes and corpses of those murdered laying down there. Children and women, killed mercilessly just because the king could not hold in his thirst for blood and revenge. ‘’ He did indeed " has gone mad ‘’ Agreed Ser Rolland, Egmerys’s squire who stood beside him on his pale white horse, looking back to the black clouds the smoke was leaving in the sky.

          Lord Egmerys shook his head, feeling grief for those he left behind and could not help. He tried to return the senses into the king, but it was impossible. The King’s ears now were deaf when listening to everyone, and to his own people who just wished some misericord, and also deaf was his rotten heart, which turns colder as the years pass by.

          ‘’ I should’ve stopped him ‘’ whispered Egmerys to himself, loud enough for Ser Rolland to hear it from where he stood.

 ‘’ You could not have prevented this, my lord ‘’ said Ser Rolland ‘’ the king had right to do this. You know what happened, one of those savages killed his daughter and now he’s getting his revenge- Those filthy beasts deserve that and more ‘’ Egmerys was surprised by the words coming out of Rolland’s mouth; however, his tone suggested that he agreed with King Martelly’s action, which was oddly surprising.

          ‘’ Revenge or not, you and I know well Martelly is not the same man we used to know. He’s colder and merciless than before, he’s not the same wise man we grew up and looked up to as kids ‘’ Lord Egmerys stopped his horse, turning to his good friend Rolland and gave him a brief smile. ‘’ He must be stopped… even if it means he must be killed in the process ‘’

          ‘’ My lord " ‘’ Rolland tried to argue, however Lord Egmerys ignored him and continued his way, walking across the gray hills the king painted with red innocent blood. Ser Rolland knew this boy he has served for years really well, but this was the first time he ever saw that expression of fury and anger on his face. He did not want to lose his lord’s trust, but he neither wanted to fight against the man who he learned everything from. Known before as prince Martelly, he was a kind man who always felt sympathetic of those who were poor and had less than him. He was the best warrior the kingdom ever had in its era. Once he became king, the years of peace and prosperity began in the kingdom. The conflicts between kingdoms result of his father’s actions were resolved once Martelly became king. However, once the queen died he had nothing but shadows growing inside his heart. He loved that woman more than the kingdom itself and all he had left was his daughter, which he deeply loved and protected with his life. Now, she was gone too.

He understood and agreed with the actions taken by the conflicted king, however he knew Lord Egmerys was right. King Martelly has not been the same since then.  Last time they stood in front of him, his eyes felt emptier than before and the kindness he gave to the people that surrounded him disappeared, even the kindness he once received from the king disappeared as if suddenly vanished into dust.  Rolland turned his head around to look at the horizon and silhouette of the kingdom of Notus, with its monstrous red flames surrounding it.

The world is changing.

Author's Note

Hey!
Thank you for reading!
I just started writing not long ago and I just to tell you to please leave feedback on how can I improve and become a better writer, and what do you think about the story.
Thank you!