by Lance Wilson
“Ronin has fallen, my men has infiltrated every inch of this castle with the help of the other clans. Now, I know that this woman is the queen mother, if you do not want her dead then I ask politely that you lower your weapons” the elf says in a smooth calm voice
Mellyruna only looks around, so much death; they were taken without warning and brought to their knees in a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath he drops his blade do the ground, the guards and his siblings do the same knowing as well as him that they had lost before it even started.
“Thank you, I do hate unnecessary bloodshed. Mellyruna Savgtlin, Byrdi Shasos, and Maeraer Shyrys, will you please accompany my men to the courtyard, I must fetch your other sibling, Attonnan” he says and with that walks out of the room, the guards at all of this but Mellyruna only looks down at the ground, at his feet lays one of their soldiers. Taking a deep breath he nods and the three of them begin to follow the white and blue guards, before he gets too far it is Vulge who stops him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I will not let it end here my king” Vulge says in a whisper. They have failed and the Unagi has fallen. But as long as he takes a breath he will fight Mecmed with all he has in him.
“Thank you Vulge, look over our people” he says and with that follows his younger siblings out of the door and into the cool crisp night air.
Once into the courtyard the men in white and blue with the faceless hoods vanish into the night and they are given to another set of warriors, these men are dressed in white and gold cloth with shimmering armor. Once with these men Rin is released from the knife and she pulls all of her children together. She knows what is about to happen, she has heard the story all to often about families of nobility once they are captured, they will be executed and what is left will be put on display. Trembling she holds all of her children staring out into the darkness. In the distance they see a small group of men begin to walk to them, in the lead is the man that talked to them in the feasting hall behind him are men dressed in blacks with hints of red, Mellyruna knows those to be the colors of the Hojo clan, and in the middle he can see his brother Attonnan, behind him is a man who he can only guess is the lord of the Hojo, the demon lord Fuma. The mans skin as blue as a corpse, red markings on his arms chest and face, he wears black leather pants and scale mail over his left shoulder and upper arm, black gauntlets that are a mix of leather and steel. His hair is bright red braid each tied at the end with black cloth and his eyes; his eyes were the color of fresh blood. Soon with the Hojo clan walks three others, from the left is a man and a woman, Mellyruna knows them as well Lord and lady Oda, Lady Oda is dressed in a long purple gown with a high collar and some kind of embroidery in a lighter blue all along the side, he thinks it is of vines and flowers, but the Oda clan is skilled in the mystic arts so he dare not make assumptions. She has raven black hair; her completion is pale, almost cream color. As she gets closer to them Mellyruna can see that she has the most beautiful purple eyes, and her smiles is sweet, he also notices that her fingernails, her two index fingernails on both hands, they are long, longer then normal and sharpened like a claw. Lord Oda wears a deep purple shirt with a high collar, rich black pants that are slightly baggy on him then black boots and bracers, slightly over his left shoulder is his cape, a deep purple color with embroidery on the back of the Oda coat of arms. His skin is as pale as his wife’s and his raven black hair is pulled into a bun on the top of his head tied off with a purple silk sash and then tossed into a tail, his face bares a square mustache and beard and his thin eyebrows only extenuate his cold and calculating eyes, eyes that are a golden color and can’t help but remind Mellyruna of a snake. Only a single man walks to them from the right, his head hung low as if despising what he has just done. He knows that this must be Musashi Hanzo of the Hitori clan. He is wearing his typical red armor and under that is gray clothing; to them the color of clothing means nothing in comparison to the armor. Strapped to his side as well as an elven blade and an elven spear to his back. Mellyruna memorizes them all in his mind, the corpse blue skin of Fuma, the cold air of the Oda’s, and the blood red armor of Musashi, they have betrayed his clan, fallen to the Kainith elves for what ever reason. If he lives through this, and when he gets free, he shall exact his revenge on all of them.
“Attonnan, come here please” Rin says her eyes brimming with tears.
Attonnan walks over to her calmly and is quickly pulled into a hug.
“Oh god Attonnan, they were here during the feast, we never saw them, are you hurt did they hurt you” Rin says pulling him over and her eyes flash as Attonnan winces a bit as she brushes his ribs.
“As you can see Rin, I am in full charge of this kingdom now. The Unagi clan has fallen. I even have your husband and lord at my whim” the man says smiling to see the family all huddled together in fear and panic
“What do you want” Rin says almost afraid of the answer.
“I am a good man, a generous man. But you see, I am also a man who covets things. And the thing I covet the most, is you” he says and gently reaches out for her.
Like a flash Attonnan has his dagger out and is growling at the man. Quickly the man withdrawals his hand and smiles
“If I agree, I have things I need done, as a show of good faith” Rin says her mind no longer on herself.
She knows what must be done; she will give herself to this man, this Mecmed. In turn she will see to it that all of her children are taken care of. She watches as the children all glare at her, she can understand. It may seem like surrender and she is sure that it is but she has to think of them.
Anger flashes in Mellyruna’s mind, how could she do this, how could she just give herself to this man, he should be dead. His eyes look around for something, Attonnan still has his dagger, he could strike out with that, then his eyes catch sight of his two younger siblings, they are terrified, holding each other tears streaming down there eyes, both were brave enough in the feasting hall but now the moment has caught up with them. No, he couldn’t strike, not now. If he did, what would happen to them, he does however smile at Attonnan, his eyes focused and calm, if only father could see him now, he would see the warrior inside him. He wonders how many Hojo he fought and killed before the caught him.
“Understandable, what is it you think you need” the man says and smiles at her.
“My children must be taken care of, no harm must come to them.” She says her eyes now blazing with a mother’s fury
“Yes, I can see that. But I cannot have them together either. Perhaps we can make an agreement, one child for each of the elven clans, of course none of them will stay here” the man says and watches as Attonnan closes in closer to his family, his dagger still out. He also notices the cold calculating eyes of Mellyruna, he may not have the fury of his brother but he is thinking, yes, definitely thinking and that in itself is dangerous.
“I… . yes I guess that will have to work” she says and looks now at the other elven leaders gathered around. Musashi Hitori, lord Oda, Fuma Hojo
The other lords smile looking at the children. Each making some comments to themselves.
“I shall divide the children. Mellyruna shall of course stay with myself. Byrdi I think you would do well with the Hitori clan. Maeraer you shall be with the Oda clan and Attonnan, of course I believe Fuma would like some more time with you” Mecmed says calmly and watches as each has there own expressions.
Each child gets a kind of hopelessness in there eyes, not only have they just lost there home in one fail swoop, they are now being separated from there mother and siblings.
“May I have a moment with my children. Before you tear them from me” Rin says calmly taking several deep breaths trying to keep her composure.
“Of course, but please make it quick, my friends would like to get back to there own lands.” Mecmed says with a soft and polite bow.
“Listen, I know this
seems like the end, but it’s not, it’s really only the beginning. Ronin has fallen, now it’s time to find your own paths in this world, just, just don’t look back please” Rin says tears now rimming her eyes. With that all the kids bow one last time to there mother and then stand by the leaders that are now there new masters. Mellyruna watches as Byrdi tries to keep a strong face not wanting the others to see his fear and heartache of loosing them but tears run down his face. Maeraer breaks down and sobs, but she is taken by lady Noen. He then watches as Attonnan glares at Mecmed with all the fury of hell, he is not sure what the Hojo have in store for him but he is sure they are not ready for what he has in store for them.
“Come Attonnan, I have many things to show you” Fuma says a sick smile on his face.
Mellyruna watches as Attonnan only lets out a sigh and turns to his new master then with that they all walk away, Mellyruna watches them trying to burn there faces into his memory, he must remember his siblings, remember them for as long as he is alive, though his face is that of pride and strength he can feel a few tears begin to slip down his cheek.
“Come on my son, we have a new master, and a new home to go to” he hears Rin say, but it is not with happiness or pride, there is a hopelessness in her voice she knows as well as he does that this is slavery, that they have failed. Now the question lies, what shall he do next? His mother told him to find his own path and that is what he shall do, but how, especially under the watchful eye of Mecmed.
Mecmed waits calmly as Rin and Mellyruna walk away but once they are out of sight and ear shot one of his guards, the blue and white with the faceless hoods come up and drops to one knee keeping his head low
“Your orders my lord” He says never lifting his head
“Destroy Ronin, kill everything that breathes, and when you are done, impale them and put them on the borders of this land. Let all who wander by this land see what happens when you question my divine rule, nothing must live here, not man, woman, child or beast, do you hear me” he says grabbing the chin of his guard firmly and forcing his head up.
“Of course my lord, myself, and all of your followers shall get to the task right away” He says and begins to stand
“No, not right away, wait tell I am away, the mother and child must not see this. I feel the child may be of use to me” Mecmed says and with that walks away. Yes, this is how he shall deal with these impotent whelps that question him, and his divinity. He was born a god and made a king, how dare they question that. Feff thought he had the upper hand, but he proved only one thing, when you rebel against him, you fall. Now he shall take his son and make it his own. He shall bring Mellyruna into his arms and show him what it means to be a king, yes, as for the others, well, they are only minor clans, when all is established they will hold there own place in the council, the other children, what does it matter, they are only children and of no threat to him. Except Attonnan, his eyes, his quick reaction with the knife, a dangerous one. But no matter, he has given him to Fuma, he will be dead by the end of the week. Mecmed then slowly makes his way to the two carriages that he brought with him. He knew that he was going to be taking at least the mother with him and that of course she would not be willing to ride with him right away, he must court her first. Of course there is also the matter of her son, but that is not a real problem either, he will let the son ride with the mother tonight, but when they first rest he will switch so that the son will ride with him, and then, yes, then he will sway the son over to him. He is sure that he can do it and he knows how. But for now he will allow the mother to comfort her son.
“My dear lady Rin and young lord Mellyruna, I was lucky enough to have the foresight to bring you an extra carriage of your own” Mellyruna says and politely gestures to the extra carriage. Mellyruna watches him carefully, he cannot trust this man, he just destroyed there home, separated their family, and no one knows why, and why is the army staying behind. They should be traveling with them shouldn’t they? Rin however lays her hand on Mellyruna’s shoulder. They have lost and he must realize this before it is too late. As much as she would like him to be able to do something about all this she knows that it is out of their hands. With a polite bow she leads her son into the carriage into the seat across from her. Mecmed calmly shuts the door and walks to his own carriage and shuts the door. Once everyone is set the carriages begin to move. Once they are moving Rin lowers her head, it is time to speak her mind to her son about what is going to happen, and how they must survive, also what they might have do to survive.
“Mellyruna, I want to talk to you, while we have some privacy, I’m not sure we’ll have much for vary long. I’m sure he’ll want to keep an eye on us” she says and watches her son look up at her, his eyes are brimmed with tears, she just wonders if they are tears of hate or lose.
“We lost everything.” He says, more to himself then to her. Saying the words out loud help it all sink in. Ronin is gone, his father, gone, his siblings, gone. And now he is a slave and his mother a prize won.
“Yes we have lost everything, and that is the problem. Mecmed is powerful, and he could be useful to you. If you do as you are told and do it well you might find yourself in his favor, and that in itself could help you rebuild your life. If you play your role right then you might even gain some power, you are a clever elf and a natural leader, play your cards right and doors will open up for you” Rin says and smiles at him. She can see that a lot of it hasn’t really registered with him, but it will.
“What about the others, I can’t just forget about my brothers and sister” Mellyruna says growling at her.
“You have to, we are in trouble Mellyruna. We are about to enter the realm of the Kainith elves; Mecmed believes that he is a god made into a king. Make no mistake we are entering the mouth of the dragon and there is no time to think about others, not yet. Your brothers are clever and you sister has her own charm. I’m sure they will manage. But we can’t think of them, not right now, if we think of them then we may make our own mistakes and then we will be no help to them” she says this time her face is serious, he has to understand that right now it is everyone for themselves.
The rest of the carriage ride is silent, Rin is sure that by some way he is angry at her, angry for telling him not to think of his siblings, angry for her giving into Mecmed so easily. Sure he is angry, but in time he is sure that he will understand. She doesn’t like the situation any more then he does but she has to do what is best for her and him. She wishes she could be there for all of her children but they were taken from her and now, now she can only consol and guide Mellyruna. She knows that her son Byrdi will be cunning and think his way though the Hitori clan, and she can only hope that Maeraer will keep her head low, and stay out of sight of the Oda leaders. As for Attonnan, for Attonnan she fears the worst, the Hojo are a secretive group, but one thing is known about them, there ways are ones of pain, and bloodshed. She hopes that if nothing else his end is quick, that is, if it must come. As all these thoughts are running through her head Mellyruna is having thoughts of his own. He is deep in thought over what his mother had told him about gaining Mecmed’s favor and how to use his whit and charm to gain his favor and his eye. Running though his mind as well was the prophecy given to him by the witch of the mountain. That he shall be a king of two kingdoms, maybe this is what she was talking about, maybe somehow by gaining the favor of Mecmed he is bound to rule the country of Bushi, and take the thrown of Ronin, but how and why, Mecmed is his enemy. Finally giving into the weariness and time he falls deep into a slumber. Rin just smiles watching him sleep across from her, it has been a trying day for him and she knows there are many more to come.
As the ride is going on the men of Mecmed’s are quickly doing their duty. Deep in the heart of Ronin Mecmed’s personal guard are moving through the streets like ravenous wolves at the scent of blood. Moving through buildings like a plague killing all that dwell within them. Restaurants, churches,
temples, everyone dies, as they eat, sleep, pray, all die. Men are cut down as they do battle with the men, some women are killed doing the same, others killed protecting their young, children killed as they hold the bodies of there parents, crying for them to wake, killed as they hold one another in the cold night praying for mercy to a god who does not hear them. The faceless hoods moving in, listening to the screams. Feeling the blood move over their hands, watching it as it coats the floors. After each of the killings and each house have been cleared, they are set to fire. His lord’s orders were that all die, all die and the city burn. The bodies dragged out into the streets where the king’s soldiers take them to the edge of the city. There at the edge of the city the bodies are put onto pikes that are cut fresh though the hours, the bodies’ impaled and then raised the pikes sunk deep into the ground. Those that pass by this place will know that his lordship was here and that Ronin had earned his wrath. When the job is done Ronin can be seen for miles, the whole of the city in flames, glowing, lighting the sky like a false dawn, the silhouettes of the impaled showing contrast. The faceless figures and the guard of Mecmed now riding to the northwest, to their homes, back to Bushi to await their lord’s wishes.