by Asher, Yarid
The castle was packed with people which made Virgil change the location and he ordered it to occur in the open back yards of the castle.
The back yards were huge grasslands with water fountains and cobble stone pavements. The yard was in the farthest part of the castle and was surrounded by thick walls. The entire crowd was able to fit in and some of the watchers crushed the beautiful, silvery creamy flowers.
The Throne was brought out to the front of the crowd where everyone could see it and all waited for Leosher to come out. When he noticed that his people had arrived, he quickly got out of the pool and went back to his chamber where the elves had his clothes ready. His armor was silver with the emblem of Leosher, his own face. Leosher put the armor on and put the battle pants on. He then put the boots on too. They were made of the alligators the Empirion army had slain before. Their laces were thin strips of green vines. They were black in color, just like the pants, and pointy in the front. His coat was long and had golden epaulettes and matched the pants and the boots. Both, the coat and the pants were made of the alligator skin as well. The coat reached down to his knees and had a hood in the back and there were golden buttons on the coat with the same, Leosher emblem.
Leosher tied his hair back with a piece of string and the elves made two braids in the front. Both braids were thin and dangled in front of his face but they looked magnificent. They afterwards combed his beard too. He then took the sheaths that Usere had made for him and sheathed all of his weapons and put them around his back and sides. He put the gauntlet on his hand, and now he was ready to go.
He stepped out of the bed chamber and there he was, his brother, waiting for him,
“You look great” he said “But let us go now, for it is not good to keep the people waiting for so long.”
Leosher nodded and began swaggering towards the yards. His face lit up when he heard the drums and the trumpets welcoming him. He loved all the attention and his happiness grew even more when the people began cheering for him.
Just as he stepped out of the castle and into the yards, Usere, Urey, Azar, Neiham and Barian joined him too. They were dressed in the nicest clothes they had. Urey and Usere wore robes and used a rope to tie it on the waist and Neiham and Azar wore white tunics of the finest silk and Barian wore the cleanest clothes he had. He even took a bath, just for the coronation.
Virgil had on a tunic and was wrapped in a red cloak. He had his hair tied back and beard brushed, just like Leosher but he did not have braids and did not wear anything as lavish as him.
As they made their way towards the throne, the trumpets began to sound even louder and the chants and cheering and the drumming grew louder and louder. The huge crowd applauded for their new King and gave him praise.
Leosher walked on the strip of the cobble stones towards his throne and out of the crowd, came his mother and Meagon and Buntius.
Leosher looked at his mother and was amazed. She had her silvery white hair tied back like a crown and wore a Queen’s robe. It was purple in color with a lot of gems and precious stones on it. Leosher was left jaw dropped when he saw Adne like that. Normally, she would have dirty and burnt hands because of the bread and would wear dirty and smelly rags but today, she was clean and smelt like blue roses from the kingdom of Agnithius and she went through all of this, just to make Leosher happy.
Meagon wore a princess’s dress. It was a crystal blue ball gown with a dark blue eye shadow on her big blue eyes. She had rosy cheeks and she had a thick braid on the back. She also had jewelry on but not as much as Adne. She stayed simple and humble, yet she looked beautiful. Leosher hugged her too and made his way through the crowd and to the steps that led straight to the Golden Throne. He stood there and soon, just as the ceremony began, the trumpets and the drums stopped. There was pin drop silence and Buntius brought the blind man, Lamfari, up to the throne where Leosher stood.
Neiham had the crown of the king on a red, thick cloth on a silver tray. The crown had 7 points and hundreds of gems. It was made with the purest gold and was blessed by Lamfari himself. Urey, who stood on the other side of the throne, had the cloak of the King. This was a new cloak but just like the one Leosher received when he was crowned the king of The Empire, in the outskirts. He would have kept the old one but he ripped it and threw it away and now, he was getting a new one.
Lamfari slowly walked up there with the help of Buntius and finally approached Leosher. He was wearing a white linen tunic with a blue shawl to protect him from the cold. He smelled like the tulips of the North Mountains, the area that was too harsh for any creature to live in, and had his silvery white beard and long hair combed back. His white, wasted eyes were closed and the wrinkles on his face no longer had dirt stuck in them.
He stood in front of the crowd and began the crowning:
“My brothers and sisters, today, we stand before the soon-to-be king of Gelus. He started as the king of The Empire in the outskirts of Gelus, but now, he will be the king of Gelus. It is magnificent to see someone grow up before your eyes and become a king. Most of you now know what it feels like and for those who were not in the outskirts, trust me, it feels incredible—Tonight we shall see history being made, for this is the first time in two millennia, an official coronation of this magnitude is occurring. Now, without any further ado, we shall welcome our new king.”
He turned around and Buntius put his hand on the crown that Neiham was holding. He picked it up and almost dropped it but then titghtened his grip. Leosher knelt on his knee for him to put it on his head and as Lamfari put the crown on his head, he yelled out in his weak voice
“May I present to you, the new king of Gelus.”
There was a huge applause and all the people cheered in joy, for the troubling times of the kingdom of Gelus were finally over and a new reign of peace was upon them, atleast that is what they thought.
Afterwards, Buntius helped Lamfari grab the cloak from Urey. It had hooks on the end that were to latch onto the epaulettes on the shoulders of the coat of Leosher. Leosher got up and stepped forward to make room for Lamfari, so he could give it to him and Buntius guided Lamfari behind Leosher and he clipped the cloak on his shoulders and said
“This cloak represents the power and highness above all of us and all shall respect this cloak.”
When he was done talking about what the cloak represented, he announced “The coronation has ended. You may celebrate under new rule.”
Buntius walked him down the steps and back into the crowd and Leosher began his address
“My people, today, we stand here at this historical moment. Today, we shall witness the transformation of Gelus and from this day forward, Gelus should be called, The Western Empire and as we conquer the other kingdoms, they shall merge into one as well. Tonight, we shall have a new set of laws to live under as well….”
Just as he was talking, something caught his eye. He quickly moved his hand from under his cloak, and caught something. The movement was so fast that all of the people saw his cloak flutter but none see his hand move. All of the people were shocked to see what he had caught, for Leosher had caught a harpoon like arrow and had just saved his own life. It was aimed for his heart but luckily, he had caught it.
The crowd was scared but Leosher knew what was coming. He examined the long, spear-like arrow and found out that it was from Strinthius. It was silver tipped, black arrow made for the highest grade archers and assassins with the emblem of Strinthius, a high heap of gold. It was about a foot and a half long and quiet thick was made of black steel, one of the strongest working metals out in the market.
Just as he was looking at the arrow, another was shot to claim his life but his brother, Virgil created a shield around him with the “Auxilius Armus” spell. Now they knew that they were under attack and the warriors quickly ran to the battle stations to fight. Azar and Virgil ran towards the gates and decided to attack head on. Usere and Barian who were standing in the back of the crowd, ran to where the soldiers stood and led them
outside, right behind Virgil and Azar, to fight. Urey led the archers to the top of the walls, to their battle stations where they kept the huge cross bows.
It was only a matter of time until the crowd panicked but Leosher shouted at them with an evil grin “The only thing you have to fear is fear itself, and of course the wrath of your king and now you all shall see what happens when you go against me.”
Somehow, this sentence calmed the huge crowd. The thousands of people in the yards calmed down and Neiham led them inside the castle and luckily, the castle was big enough to fit them but all of them had to stand side to side. Leosher put his gauntlet on his right hand and held the scythe in the same hand.
He looked intimidating for he was wearing a blood red cloak with all black garments and gold weapons with his mustache curled up which was a universal sign of pride and brutality. There was a thirst of his enermy’s blood in his eyes and the power to perish them with a single blow, in his hands.
Soon, there was a loud clanking sound which meant the gates were opening and whoever heard it quickly became silent. There was pin drop silence all over the place and just as the huge gates came down to the ground with a thrashing sound, the battle cries roared. The battle began and Leosher joined his brother in the first line of offense. Though they were supposed to be defensive and defend the castle, they instead chose to be offensive.
Leosher ran faster than the entire Empirion army and left all of them behind him. These hundreds of Empirion soldiers were against thousands of Strinthiun soldiers but The Empire had one thing in their favor, Leosher. He was with them. He who was the strongest warrior on Thraenus and was most probably the strongest god in Aseroth as well, for he was a god, made especially to battle. His skill was unmatchable, for he caught an arrow that had already left the bow.
He charged in the battle with his coat and cloak fluttering behind him and his braids dangled and fluttered as well. His roar was louder than all of men and could be heard distinctively inside the castle.
The Strinthiun army was mainly made up of Dwarves and Elves with wolves as their companions. All were under a spell, a mind contolling spell that Geluna also had used too. This was made clear that they were under a spell because Dwarves and Elves did not get along well and this spell bonded them together as brothers. Both races were all about pride and would not serve a cruel king but Colossus had them under a spell.
They all wore a silver knight’s armor. They were covered in armor from head to toe with minimal exposed targets. Their armor was stamped with the Strinthiun emblem with dark colors. The armor seemed impenetrable but this was Strinthiun technology which meant it was to look beautiful and extravagant but was not going to stand even one heavy blow.
Leosher jumped and came down upon the ground like a meteor among the enemy forces. He hit the ground with his gauntlet and many men around him fell. He quickly got up and started swinging his scythe. There was bloodshed all over the green grass they were fighting on and soon, the Empirion army finally caught on and joined Leosher in the massacre. The odds were becoming even, for Leosher was slaying the Strinthiuns brutally but one almost caught him off guard. As Leosher had his back towards a Strinthiun dwarf, he swung its axe and aimed to cut off young Leosher’s head but just as he did, an arrow pierced through its head and killed him.
Urey went out of his way and looked out for him and after he had saved his king’s life, he got back to looking out for his own brother who had no armor and no other means of protection, just one sword. Most of the Empirion army was unprotected, for they were in the grounds, attending the coronation and suddenly, they were at war. Most of them did not even know why they were in a battle but they still fought and stayed loyal to their king.
Soon, Virgil made way to his brother and began protecting him just like Urey was looking out for his brother. The battle continued for about half an hour until Leosher made the odds completely even and when that happened, he suddenly became aggressive, even more than he was before. His senses sharpened and his strength doubled, for now he was angry. A soldier had made a cut on his hand and his blood spilt. He began taking out multiple soldiers in a single blow and sometimes, he even took out Empirion soldiers, for he was blinded with rage.
When they saw that Leosher was angry, the Strinthiun soldiers tried to retreat but Leosher turned into a cyclone. He spun and spun with his scythe at the edge, cutting everyone within range. There was blood everywhere and was coming down like rain and mist. The limbs of the Strinthiun soldiers were flying all over the place and puddles of blood were left everywhere Leosher moved to. It all continued until the Strinthiuns were reduced to less than half the number of men they had started with. They realized that all their tries were to be idiotic therefore they finally surrendered.
They all dropped their weapons and took their weak yet precious armors off and knelt on the ground, for they saw nothing but death in the shape of Leosher. When he finally stopped, he was drenched in blood. His clothes were ruined and there were blood clots in his hair. Virgil found Leosher and began talking to him.
“Brother, go back to the castle and change,” Virgil patted his bloodied brother on the back and calmed him down “I will take care of them.”
Leosher looked around and saw that Usere was slightly injured. There was a big gash on his fore arm from a sword from an elf. His own kind had injured him but he knew that most of his kind was under the spell called “Imperium Animus”. This spell was used by Colossus, Geluna and Katos to control their armies and prevent the uprisings against them. This spell was forbidden to use but these few used them anyways and this spell had no opponent. None could go against it and resist its control.
Virgil yelled out “Bring me a horse!”
A white horse was brought to him and Leosher sat on him. He looked at Usere who was being helped back up to his feet by Barian, and called upon him,
“Bring him to me,” Leosher yelled “He shall go back to the castle and be looked after.”
Barian quickly picked him up in his arms and put him on the white, furry horse and Leosher rode towards the castle. They were now very far from the castle, for they had pushed the enemy away from the castle to prevent damage but still, Strinthiuns did damage. They had broken some walls of the castle and had left the entire South wing of the castle, destroyed. South wing of the castle was where the coronation had been held.
Leosher rode back to the castle and soon, when he was out of sight, Azar found Virgil and came to his apprentice
“What should we do with the men?”
Virgil looked around to make a decision but all he saw was punishment. The men had suffered enough. They were bruised and battered and terrified with the sight of the carcasses of their fallen.
“They have suffered enough,” said Virgil “We should let them go.”
Barian was a little shocked, for he knew Leosher would not like it “What would we tell Leosher?”
“We will tell him that we let them go so they could tell the tale of his brutality, to inflict your terror in the hearts of Strinthiun citizens.”
“Do you think he would believe it?” Azar laughed and leaned on his staff.
“Of course he will, first of all, he will believe his own brother, Virgil, and second is that all he wants is power. When we tell him that, he will not even think about it.” Then Barian turned to Virgil “You are the second in command and he did not give any directions about what to do, therefore, you have the right to let them go. You do not have to lie to him.”
Virgil smiled with happiness and shouted out “Let them go!”
As the Empirion soldiers removed their weapons and got off guard, the Strinthiun army retreated like the hyenas, scared and terrified. They did not wait and stay to thank Virgil who generously, even after getting attacked by them, was letting them go.
“Now let us go back to the castle,” said Virgil and all the rest agreed. They picked their injured and fallen and began their journey back.
Leosher was now entering
the gates of the castle. He entered the gates and made his way to the inner parts of the castle, where he found out that the people had seen the genocide of the enemy. Though they had sent their children to the ends of the castle where they could not see the gore and violence, they had seen what Leosher could do. Some felt safe but some felt threatened, for they thought Leosher was too young to possess that kind of power but though he was 18 years old, he was mature enough to know the difference between good and evil and whenever he needed guidance his brother, who was a grown man now, guided him.
“What happened?” Urey cried out from the top of the wall “Is he hurt badly?” He ran down and came to his brother.
“It is alright,” Usere tried to grin “I am fine brother, it is just a gash. I will be fine.”
When Neiham heard Urey’s cry, she came out from the back of the court hall and looked at Usere’s injury. She gave him some of the Lava flower elixir and healed him.
“You were brutal out there,” Neiham looked at Leosher. She did not show humor nor did she show anger. She said with a straight face “You should get changed now, for you look filthy.”
He nodded and began walking towards his chamber and when he entered the court hall, there was a cheer. All the fear of the people was gone and joy had entered their hearts and mind and they felt safe in the presence of Leosher because knew that he was capable of defending them. All those who opposed his power also came to their senses and believed in him now because they followed the crowd. The number of the believers was higher than the non-believers; therefore they had to follow the crowd. “Long Live King Leosher! Long Live King Leosher! Long Live King Leosher!”
All cheered for him and he liked it and wanted more of it, therefore he changed his course and began walking towards where his throne used to be and on the way, his dressers approached him
“Master, you do not have to worry about the blood for it was fall off after a dive in water. We thought this might happen that is why we designed it to withstand brutality and ruthlessness.”
