Chapter 1

A Chapter by Evann H.

Akias ran up to the castle gates. He was a messenger for the king, and had an urgent note now. Akias has been a messenger for nine years. It was in the family. His father had, his grandfather had, and his great-grandfather had even served for the great King Naven II. But the message would have to wait. There had been a new security line brought in by the head of defence, Capitan Bossok. He jogged over to the guards by the inner gate and the worn path that horses and people had gone over for many years.

"Who are you?" the first guard huffed.

"You know me," Akias replied. They did. He had done this countless times, as everyone had in the village of Evaconia.

"What is it?" the second guard said, who looked like he wanted to quit his job.

"Akias," he sighed. No one liked this new rule, and the new guards didn't like it either.

The gates opened. Akias bolted through them. He ran in, flew up the stairs, and into the throne room.

"King, your majesty! I have an important message!" Akias said, out of breath.

"What?!" the king yelled, slamming his fist on the long wooden table. King Benify was known to get rowdy when something was urgent.

"The Crafonites are rumored to attack tomorrow!"

"What?!" King Benify roared again.

Crafonan was Evaconia's primary enemy, and were always training their army to overcome the Evaconians. But they kept them in check, by always training and recruiting new troops.

"Tell the General!" the king bellowed, and Akias ran out of the room.His job was tiring, but it paid well; 12 khangs a day.

"I'll alert the troops!" the General replied.

"Okay, Squad A-E, you are staying here. A, at the walls. B, the archer posts. C, to the gates. D and E, cover the Town Hall. Catapults, at your stations. We're going to need everything we have. Squad X, come with me." commanded the General. A murmur filled the tent. Akias and three others exited the tent and followed him. The General turned around and spoke.

"I have a plan," he said,"While all the Crafonian soldiers are attacking Evaconia,there will be low security at Crafonan."

"So?" whispered Gladious, the deadly mace operator. The three others nodded in agreement.

"You guys go in there, and steal the lea gem," the General answered simply.

The lea gem was the most powerful magical device known to mankind at the time. It was a crystal that, if placed in the center of the village, would always repair it. All of the neighboring kingdoms were constantly at war with each other, trying to be the best one with an unstoppable force.

"With low security, it will be easy."

" I see." answered Sureshot, the swordsman.

"Okay." added Quickfire, who used a crossbow. Squad X was the most elite and stealthiest group in all of the Middle Worlds.

"Now get some sleep!" commanded the General. They left.

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There was a nervous air in the whole town the next day. The rumor had spread. Squad X was the opposite: confident.

About noon, the security guards at the gate sounded the battle cry. The battle had started. Crafinites seemed to fly through the forest and swarm through the gates.

"Do you think we can win it?" Akias muttered to Gladious. He shrugged.
"Let's go." Quickfire told them. They ran out the back entrance, walking out into the forest. The forest was bright and active for a while, probably about halfway to Crafonan. But then the trees grew thicker and the sun was harder to see.

It was as dark as night.

"What's that?" Sureshot asked, pointing at an orange glow a little ways in front of them. Akias peered past the trees blocking the strange, unnatural light. His eyes grew wide. He tried to turn around and tell them to leave, but it was too late.

"Who's there?"

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Squad X had no choice but to walk through the bushes and into a campfire area. The grass had been worn away and logs had been thrown down and used as benches.

"Who are ye?" the same voice as before asked.

"We ... we do not care to say." Quickfire was the first to speak. Trust in no one, especially if a war is being fought. Akias assumed these were Crafonans.

"Where are you from?" another one said.

"We're from the Green Forest." Akias lied.

"Hmph." someone else said. Quickfire did a quick scan across the ground. There were about eight troops gathered around the campfire. One of them nodded at the one next to him. An archer, most likely, judging by the fact that a bow and quiver rested beside him.

Quickfire observed their belongings to confirm if they were Crafonans. A bag, a piece of flint, probably used to light the fire, he thought. A sword, the bow from - the bow wasn't there. Along with the quiver. He did some quick thinking. "It's a-" when a searing pain into his back.

He fell to the ground. The others, realizing what was going on, turned around to see the attacker.

It was the man who had left with the bow and arrow. Sureshot ducked. Squad X, besides Quickfire, took up their weapons. The Crafonians rushed at them with swords. They clashed back. Akias quickly knelt down to help Quickfire.
“ I'm fine” he croaked. But Akias could tell that he was not. The remaining few guards looked at each other and ran for their lives, but not before running into a tree. Sureshot grinned.

“He's going to need some help!” Akias yelled.
“Can we take him back to Evaconia? Sureshot asked, turning around.
“I don't think so. The war, remember?” Akias pulled off his pack and set it on the ground. He pulled out a cloth to act as a bandage for Quickfire. He stood up and winced.

“Let's go, then.” he said. Akias looked through the trees at the darkening sky.

“Maybe we should camp here for the night,” he observed, “It's getting dark.”

“Good idea.” Sureshot agreed. They put down their belongings.

“We can use this fire to our advantage.” Quickfire said. Squad X, after putting out their tents, gathered around the fire to rest. The fire crackled as they discussed what to do next.

“I say we leave for Crafonan tomorrow morning.” Akias said.

“We’ll be rested and ready to go.” Quickfire added.

“This morning? Gladius questioned. “That seems early.”

“Well the guard number will be low in the morning, but the Crafonites might come back for reinforcements. We could be surrounded.”

“I think we should go in the morning.” Sureshot said.

“That's three against one.” Akias pointed out. “We're going in the morning.” They left after eating their apples, food that Quickfire had packed. Squad X was more than halfway to Crafonan. They walked for a while.

“How are you doing?” Sureshot asked Quickfire.

“Better.” He replied. Akias peered around a tree.

“We're here.”

They had reached Crafonan. As they sneaked to the edge of the forest, their eyes feasted on all of the stone buildings, walls, and wells. It was a well-developed village.
“They have a serious metal shortage.” Quickfire said. “If only they had done business with our traders instead of slaying them. The rest agreed. Where there was metal locks on the gate of Evaconia, they were carved wooden ones.

“This place could easily be burned down.” Akias observed.

“Guys I hear something.”

There was crunching behind them. Akias whirled around to find a Crafonan soldier sending a sword right at his direction.
“RUN!”

*As of 3/17*

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© 2016 Evann H.

Author's Note

Comments are appreciated!

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Featured Review

Barbara Tennyson

'... had an urgent one now...' The last noun is 'king'. If A doesn't actually carry an urgent king, what is he carrying?
And the same comment here: '...it would have to wait...' Unless specified otherwise, the _it_ here refers to the nearest noun, in this case King Naven II.