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[Guerra]

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The noise of rolling thunder broke the silence of the quiet evening on the island of Serpants Hold. Small droplets of rain slowly began to splash the roof of the building; they rapidly gained speed turning the sprinkle into a downpour. The wooden shutters on the window shook violent to the wind and silhouettes of the torches light danced back and forth on the wall.

A large man paced back and forth across the room. His ring mail armor clanked with each step, and his cloak created a swooshing sound after each spin on his heel. Every so often his gaze turned towards a curtain draped from the ceiling. He flinched at the sounds of a woman’s screams. Scampering steps came from behind, and a man in a robe that seemed to long for him rushed by and stepped behind the curtain.

“Just a bit harder, I can see the head!” called a voice. The woman’s scream grew louder.

“One more!” hollered the same voice as before. The loud screams suddenly quieted, and a high-pitched cry echoed off the walls.

The pacing man stopped abruptly and turned to stare at the curtain. He held his hands together, squeezing now and again to keep his emotions in tact. The curtain was pulled over a bit, and a baldhead popped out.

“Captain Kard Valgorn, come see your boy.” The baldheaded man said with a small grin on his face.

Kard made his way past the curtain, his eyes immediately finding his wife’s. She smiled brightly, cradling a small child back and forth in her arms.

“He has your eyes.” She said quietly. Kard nodded slightly, he slowly walked over and knelt down beside the bed. The baby reached out and grasped his ring-clad finger.

“Guerra” he said.

“Guerra Kard Valgorn” his wife corrected. The two smiled while beaming at their newborn child.


* * *

Nearly ten years had passed since Guerra was born. His father Kard was promoted from Captain to Commander of the Serpent army, and his mother was a hired wedding decorator. Kard was one of the higher powers of the island of fighters, those who served under him, served with their lives.

Guerra wandered around the island, he was careful to not go out of the most secured areas. It was like a jungle beyond the walls; giant serpents, alligators and other creatures lurked around. He dragged a stick behind him and kicked every few stones that crossed his path.

“Guerra!” a voice called. He turned and looked across the town square. He squinted his eyes with attempt to block the beaming sunlight; he could see his father in the distance waving at him. Guerra dropped his stick and jogged over to his father.

“C’mon son, I want to show you something.” Kard said, putting his arm around Guerra.

The two made their way towards the meeting room for the captains and commanders of the Serpents Hold force. They climbed a ladder and walked around to the front. The two stood, peering out over the island of Serpents Hold.

“You might be to young to understand this son, but one day this could be all yours.” Kard spoke, continuing to look forward. “If the warriors council agrees with my claim, the entire power could be ours, and that son, would be handed down to you some day.”

Guerra glanced up at his father, holding his hand above his eyes to block the sun and he nodded slightly.

“You may not be a great swordsman yet, but there are many years to come. With those years will come lessons, and those lessons will turn into a way of life for you.” He placed a firm grip on his sons shoulder and turned to him. He knelt down and looked Guerra eye-to-eye and said in a blunt voice. “There’s no greater achievement, then that of power.”

The night of the warriors council meeting came with great anticipation. Commander Kard had a proposition to make towards the other commanders and captains. No one had no clue of what the idea was, but they were sure it was to be a good one.

* * *

Guerra and his mother stayed at home, Shelby -Guerra’s mother- worked on preparations for an upcoming wedding. Guerra read about stories about the faction wars around Britannia; he couldn’t seem to get enough of them.

* * *

Kard stood firmly in front of his seat. He nodded slightly, addressing the rest of the council with respect.

“My friends, I come to you this night with a question. What do you seek?” He tilted back on his heels, holding his hands together in front of him. “I seek power, I seek the utmost power for Serpents Hold. My years serving this army are memorable ones, but I seek more than just Serpents Hold. Tonight I address the rest of you to vote. Vote on whether Serpents Hold should spread its wings and our influence to the other islands. With our well-trained forces we can easily seize Nujelm, Buccaneers Den, Magincia, and Moonglow. We would be the force from the East, the force of the water.”

Kard’s speech continued for a short time after those initial words. The council was in an uproar, those who didn’t agree with him had thought he’d lost his mind and gone mad. Those who did agree with him were accused of treason, and blamed for being greedy, and seeking only power. The meeting was abruptly adjourned and all of the officers were sent home. The vote wasn’t made, so there was no decision on whether or not Serpents Hold would erect from their small island, or stay safely secured there.

Weeks passed, and quarrels erupted between all kinds of families and troops. War soon broke out, Kard and his “Dark Force” fought vigilantly against all those who opposed them. He wasn’t the man he use to be, his greed for power had become his way of life.

Guerra and his mother, Shelby, were soon asked to leave the island by the “The Resistance”. Anywhere but Serpents Hold would be a safer place. The two were rushed to the docks, and put on a boat. From the ocean, the last vision Guerra had of his father, was of him fighting atop the walls of Serpents Hold, the walls in which were suppose to keep the people safe.

(To Be Continued)
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Darkness came before light.