Boundless: The Rising

By A. L. French

This is the story of two brothers, Blake, the eldest of the two, and Sebastian. The best of friends as they grow up, until one tragic day their world is torn apart. It’s a story of their struggle to find their own peace in the vast country of Glavia, condemned by power, magic, lust and blind hatred between three kingdoms. One of whom will stop at nothing to become the only ruler of all Glavia. The actions and bravery of these brothers will determine the course of their lives in their epic journey to bring lasting peace. They are forced to battle their own demons and fears, and attempt to overcome the rare, ancient and destructive ability Sebastian possesses which has only ever occurred once before him, six thousand years ago...

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. L. French
• Release date: Oct 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781739730611

Book preview

Prologue

I’ve written many scrolls in my time, some have even shaped the world as we know it today. I don’t perceive myself as perfect and nor do my brothers, otherwise we’d be gods in the eyes of mortal men and women over the vast number of years we’ve been around, watching over you all with keen eyes and magic spells. After all, we’ve only ever had your best interests at heart. I’ve written countless spells and unlocked new ways to see the world in all its beauty and wonder. This scroll, however, should be treated with absolute care as it contains valuable information should the need ever arise to use it. So, I suggest that those that have the ability to write, copy this down as many times as they can and ensure the world neve r forgets.

When I first met Sebastian a long time ago, If I knew now what I knew then, perhaps everything would have gone differently, or perhaps the fate of the world back then was already set and I was but a mere ripple in an ocean of madness. Either way, I suppose things don’t always work out for the best, after all it’s part of life to deal with unfortunate things that are thrust upon you, even when you don’t want them. I’m doing this to make people aware and never forget that danger is always lurking around the corner no matter what form it comes in.

With this, I hope to enlighten you all so that fact doesn’t become a legend, or worse… a myth. The power of Sebastian should never be forgotten, nor should the heroes of this story who risked everything so you could draw breath today and sit in your comfortable armchairs with a flagon of your favourite poison whilst your children play outside safely. My point is there is a price for everything, a sacrifice we must all make for the greater good and make you aware that there are many dangers in all Glavia, some of which are far worse than others. This is one of them, telling this story is just as important as anything else you do with your lives, whatever you decide who or what you want to be. So, I implore you to tell this story and never let yourself, your children and all future generations forget the name… Sebastian. I am Lore, the Wizard of Knowledge of the great tower of Vorhaven and these words must never be cast aside, for your futures could very well depend on it…

Book One

The Rising

Chapter 1

Early spring dawned as all the leaves on the trees in a beautiful meadow grew a pale green. Animals happily ran around without a care in the world, butterflies and bees were gently swept by a warm breeze. This all surrounded a small town called Springlake Pass which had a river running at its edge known as the Traveller’s River. It flowed and disappeared into the trees close by, and was known as the Traveller’s River because it ran from the South Sea all the way up to the North Sea for miles and miles, and travellers used the river as a guide. The town was not wealthy but the people who lived here did their part to make ends meet. The town blacksmith, known as Angus, was a big fellow standing over six and a half feet tall, bald, with a short thick beard, and had very broad shoulders and hands that looked like he could crush anything. Angus, although very rough-looking, had a certain kindness to him which made the townsfolk like him and he never overcharged for his work. Eerika was the girl who kept the town presentable to attract new custom; she tended to the flowers, small trees, kept the grass freshly cut, and also grew fruits and vegetables to sell in the market. Eerika was young but at the age of twenty-one she looked after her unwell mother Elvira, as well as all her other household duties. Some of the other townsfolk helped her out sometimes as they all knew how hard she worked. Then there was Felman, the town’s handyman and builder, with two sons and a daughter who he raised himself. Felman liked to keep busy to make the passing of each day more bearable without his late wife who passed away giving birth to his daughter Shia, six years ago. His two sons, Abel and Kirk, had ventured off together to see the world more than three seasons ago and he had no idea if or when they wou ld be back.

Eerika, having finished picking wild berries near the forest, walked by. Carrying a basket full of them she caught the eye of Angus as he saw her struggling to carry a heavy basket.

‘Eerika! You need a hand there?’ he shouted to her with a deep commanding voice.

‘Only if you’re not too busy, Angus, I wouldn’t want to delay your work.’ Eerika had a very gentle voice which made a lot of people have a soft spot for her.

‘It’s no problem, just stop right there. I’ll be right over.’

Angus put down his hammer and set a large piece of metal into some cold water, then laid it to rest on a large table next to his anvil. He approached Eerika and picked up her basket and decided to walk her home which was not too far away.

‘How are you keeping these days? I have not tended to my stall for a while,’ Angus replied with genuine concern on his face.

‘Things are fine for me but I want to know how you’re holding up? How’s Elvira? She getting any better?’

‘Not really, she seems to have taken a turn for the worse. I’m afraid she may not last the spring if this fever doesn’t break.’

Angus quietly nodded his head, unsure of what to say in case he upset her. ‘Is there really nothing that can be done for her?’

Eerika looked down and shook her head. ‘All I can do is make her feel comfortable, there is just nothing that can be done for her. I have spoken with healers and herbalists and they just say the same. I just wish there was something more I can do, you know? To be honest, I really don’t wanna talk about it.’

As Eerika informed Angus of her news all he wanted to do was reassure her. ‘You know where to find me. If there is anything you need just come and get me anytime.’

‘Angus, tell me what’s been going on in town recently? I heard a stranger came into town a few days ago causing a ruckus.’

‘Yeah, I think he was a soldier of the Ropian kingdom. He came by here, had a few drinks and started shouting his mouth off. It was nothing to be concerned about, he was drunk after all.’

Eerika shrugged off the slight concern that was on her face and made a witty remark. ‘Can you imagine if Tarkin was there? Chances are he would have the whole town concerned about going to war.’

Angus just smiled at Eerika’s comment as they carried on walking. ‘Well, you know Tarkin, he knows how to make the smallest things into the biggest concerns. I can see him becoming a problem if he doesn’t stop, he’s going to cause an upset with someone sooner or later.’

As Angus and Eerika approached Eerika’s home they noticed smoke coming out of the chimney. The concern that was on Eerika’s face came straight back as she dashed off ahead of Angus. Angus picked up his pace, carrying the basket of wild berries which really wasn’t heavy for him. Eerika rushed into the house to find her mum, Elvira, out of bed and making food for lunch.

‘MOTHER! What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.’

Elvira looked at Eerika and replied with a sarcastic comment, ‘I have a fever, I am not on my deathbed, and besides, you have been working so hard recently it’s about time I did something for you for a change. You’re young, you should be enjoying life, not looking after me.’

Eerika took control of the food being cooked. ‘I know you only want to help more but your rest is more important, I don’t want you overdoing it, making your fever worse.’

As Angus approached the house, he placed the berries just outside and lightly knocked on the door that was already half-open.

‘Angus? Is that you? What a wonderful surprise, it’s been ages.’

Angus was pleased to see Elvira on her feet, at the same time noticing the lovely scent of food on the stove. Elvira had started to cook a chicken which was nearly done, fresh boiled vegetables and dumplings. Elvira was so happy to see her friend, she immediately took back over the cooking and asked them both to sit down as lunch was nearly ready. Eerika was clearly not going to win this one but she was very clear with her next statement.

‘OK Mother, we’ll have lunch with Angus then it’s back to bed for you.’ Elvira smiled and touched Eerika on the face and nodded. The table was set and Eerika served the freshly squeezed raspberry juice she had prepared. Elvira had already layered out the vegetables in the centre of the table and came over with a perfectly cooked chicken glazed with seasonings and honey. Angus had his eyes closed, taking in the sweet smell as his stomach started to rumble.

‘Elvira, you really have outdone yourself, this looks delicious.’

Elvira smiled and sat down next to Angus and replied in a very thankful voice, ‘Hard-working men like you Angus need a good meal, now please enjoy the food.’

As they all started helping themselves to food in the centre of the table, Angus started asking questions to see if they needed help with their daily routines to make things easier as his blacksmith business was not too busy currently. The offer of help was greatly appreciated and accepted after a long discussion over lunch. Elvira got up and started to take away the empty plates.

Eerika leaned over toward Angus. ‘Thank you so much, I have not seen mother so happy in a long time, maybe we could…’

As Eerika was talking, the ground started shaking, pots started falling off shelves, cups falling off the table and breaking as they hit the floor. Angus instantly knew what it was.

‘Cavalry!’

Eerika and Angus dashed outside to see what was going on. As they came outside, six hundred strong soldiers on horseback were riding past Eerika’s house and headed towards the town, looking like they were in a hurry.

‘Eerika, stay here with your mother, I’m going back to the town to find out what’s going on.’

Eerika, without hesitation, agreed and asked Angus to come back to keep her informed. Angus nodded and took Eerika’s horse from the stable and dashed off towards the town.

Chapter 2

Early afternoon approached, the sun was shining down on Springlake Pass and the townsfolk were going about their day. Felman was buying his meat from the town butcher Godfrey when they heard the ground shaking and felt the tremors getting stronger. As they both went outside to see what it was, they saw a small army of cavalry coming into the town. The army’s leader called Bain was well known throughout Glavia for his brutality. He came from the North lands, from a kingdom called Ropia which was ruled by a tyrant bent on conquering everywhere and everyone. Bain was also the captain of the entire army of Ropia. As he got down off his horse, Felman and Godfrey appro ached him.

‘Good day to you sir, what brings you to our small humble village?’ Godfrey asked.

Bain was wearing a heavy and very shiny suit of armour which had a long cape attached to it with the Ropia crest on it. The crest was the shape of a shield with a two-headed dragon wrapped around it breathing fire from each head towards the bottom, making it look like the shield was on fire with a black background.

‘I am looking for traitors to my king who will be rewarded with death if any are found, do you know such people, butcher?’

Godfrey answered him knowing full well what would happen if the wrong answer came out. ‘We are a peaceful town sir, we only have a small community, we have no soldiers nor criminals or traitors, just farmers, builders and traders, that’s all. We have no quarrel with anyone.’

Bain sent a piercing stare through Godfrey and approached him and whispered in his ear, ‘If I find even one traitor here, this village and everyone in it will burn.’

Felman decided to step in, explaining to Bain that it was pointless looking for traitors here where there were none. Bain in disappointment commanded both Godfrey and Felman to feed his small army and the horses.

‘Sir, like I say we are only a small town, we have nowhere near that amount of food for your men. The horses we can tend to, yes, as we have plenty of hay and water, but our food we have only just started harvesting and we have nowhere near enough to feed hundreds of mouths.’

Bain got back on his horse and said one last thing before he left. ‘My men and I will set camp just outside of town less than a mile from here. I expect our food to be brought and prepared before sundown. If I were you, I would make sure it happens.’

Bain commanded his men to follow him towards the campsite and left. The townsfolk all gathered round Godfrey and Felman. ‘What are we going to do?’ cried one of the townspeople. Godfrey knew they didn’t have anywhere near that amount of food to feed six hundred mouths, let alone prepare it before sundown.

Angus rode into town at a fast pace on Eerika’s horse and stopped where the townsfolk were gathered. He jumped off the horse and approached the centre of the gathering, asking Godfrey what had happened.

‘That was Bain, he said he was looking for traitors to his king.’

Angus had heard only a few stories about Bain but the one thing he remembered was that Bain was not one to be trifled with. He had an evil head on his shoulders and always got his own way.

‘What does Bain want exactly?’ Godfrey looked at Angus, searching for ideas.

‘He wants us to prepare and bring his whole army food before sundown and didn’t give us any option. I tried explaining that we just don’t have that much food but he ignored me and told me to make sure it happens. I don’t want to consider the alternative.’

The whole town had eyes on Angus looking for an answer.

‘OK, it’s quite obvious that Bain is not going to get his whole army fed whichever way this plays out, so we need to come up with an idea that best suits both parties under the circumstances. I say we feed him and his command group and peacefully explain that this demand cannot be done with the supplies and time we had and hope he understands.’

Although this seemed to be the best course of action, Felman wasn’t so sure. ‘I see your point Angus, but this is Bain we’re talking about, not some average soldier with an ounce of leniency. If he doesn’t get what he wants, I fear for our town.’

Angus calmly tried to explain to Felman that this course of action was the best one based on the circumstances. ‘Question is, who will bring the food and tell him that his army won’t be getting the food?’

Godfrey’s voice rose as he said, ‘I’ll do it.’

‘OK Godfrey but you’re not going alone, I’ll go with you.’ Felman reluctantly suggested.

‘Then it’s settled, Godfrey and Felman will take the food to Bain and his command group. I will get a few people to help me tend the horses and, with any luck, they will be gone by morning. Let’s get to work.’

Angus immediately and swiftly took a fast pace to the town stables to speak with the stable keeper regarding getting enough hay and water for six hundred horses. Godfrey made his way to his stall along with Felman to prepare the meat and a few of the town’s girls gathered what vegetables they could for Godfrey and Felman to take to the soldiers.

As sundown approached, Angus was at the soldier’s camp tending the horses. Godfrey and Felman were finishing preparing the meat and loading it onto a small cart with the vegetables to take to the soldier’s camp. As they made their way, Felman was getting more and more nervous. They got closer to the camp wondering the outcome when Bain would find out his men won’t be getting fed.

‘Felman, stop worrying so much, you sound like Tarkin! I’m sure Bain will understand once he realises how small our town is.’

‘I’m just concerned about what Bain’s intentions are. After all, he must know we can’t supply six hundred men with food but demanded it anyway!’

As Godfrey listened to Felman’s comment, he was already aware of this and tried to reassure him so they could both approach Bain with some confidence in the hope Bain will leave their town peacefully. With the camp now in sight, Godfrey asked Felman to stay silent when they meet Bain as nerves may only get the better of him. Felman agreed wholeheartedly with him.

‘I’ll try not to show that I’m nervous too if I can help it. Why don’t you wait outside whilst I go in and do the talking. You can just prepare the food for the command group so they can start eating straight away, that way you can keep your mind on one task at a time. Stop worrying! Everything will be fine.’ Felman just nodded in agreement but felt a bit better knowing what his role was.

They rolled the cart through really thick mud where the horses had galloped and came to the edge of the campsite where four sentries had been posted, each carrying spears and swords which were sheathed. A soldier called Brash approached the two, pointing his spear directly at Godfrey.

‘Whatdya want, filth!’ Brash approached the cart and started rummaging round the food ruining the preparation. ‘Where’s ‘d’ rest of it?’

Godfrey spoke with a stern voice. ‘This cart of food is for your command tent. I wonder what your captain is going to say when he finds out you have been rummaging through his food?’

Brash instantly stopped rummaging, attempting to straighten out the food without losing his credibility. ‘Well, where’s ‘d’ rest of it then, filth!’

Godfrey could see that Brash was getting irate due to hunger but couldn’t think of anything to try to calm him down. Just as he was about to speak, Felman with a commanding voice spoke to him. ‘Listen here you, we are a very small town with very few people trying to prepare to feed six hundred men and horses. We’ve been working all day since you lot showed up so cut us some slack and let us feed your command tent first then we will get the other carts and bring them to you.’

Brash just frowned at Felman, waving his spear to move forward towards the command tent. Both Godfrey and Felman got behind the cart and started pushing, their feet slipping on the muddy ground as they tried to get a grip and give the cart some momentum.

As they cleared the four guards, Godfrey whispered, ‘Why did you tell that guard that more carts are on the way? He’s gonna be quite angry when he finds out he’s not getting fed.’

‘Now who’s worrying? That guard won’t go against Bain’s orders, all we needed to do was get past him without angering him and giving him the excuse he needed to start a fight.’

Godfrey just looked at him thankfully for getting him out of that guard’s way. ‘Maybe you should come in with me and we can do this together, I’m not much of a quick thinker like you just did back there, but together I’m sure we can convince Bain to leave us alone in peace.’

Felman smiled and agreed, having gained some confidence in the process. As the sun set in the distance, Felman and Godfrey approached the command tent, hearts beating at a faster pace, wondering what the outcome would be. As they arrived at the command tent, they rested the cart on the ground, caught their breath and approached the two sentries posted outside.

Chapter 3

The night sky was completely clear, with not a cloud in sight; the starlight shone down bouncing off everything, giving the town plenty of light. A cool breeze was gently passing through the town in steady intervals. Angus and a few others were drinking water after tending the horses, appreciating the breeze hitting their faces. Tarkin could be seen running up from the edge of town toward Angus. One of the townsfolk called Clara asked Angus if he had heard anything from Godfrey a nd Felman.

‘Unfortunately, no but if they are not back soon I’m going to go and find out what’s keeping them.’

Clara was the town’s healer and owned a stall which was directly opposite Angus’s blacksmith stall. Clara was a master of alchemy and her stall had many different ingredients, including some very rare that couldn’t even be bought in many major cities, making her a valuable asset to the town. Some of the other townsfolk heard whispers that she was a witch posing as an alchemist, making a living selling her goods away from major cities where she won’t be noticed.

‘Angus look! I think Tarkin wants to speak with you quite urgently, he seems to be in quite a rush.’

Angus turned toward the direction of Tarkin, holding his cup of water. As Tarkin arrived completely out of breath and barely able to speak, Angus put his hand on his shoulder.

‘Catch your breath my friend, here take a sip of this.’ Angus offered Tarkin his water and he took it gladly, gulping it in the middle of trying to catch his breath.

‘Angus we gotta problem… a major problem!’

‘Whoa, slow down Tarkin and tell me exactly what you’ve seen and where you have been.’

‘Well after that captain and his men came, he said he had stationed his camp close by so I sneaked off to take a closer look. I climbed a tree not far from the camp’s edge and decided to stay there in case I heard or saw anything. I overheard some of the soldiers saying they are going to burn our town to the ground.’

‘Tarkin, we all know you have the tendency to over-exaggerate things, are you sure you heard this as a threat or just soldiers talk?’

‘I thought you might say that but then I saw Godfrey and Felman getting dragged out the biggest tent at knife point. It looked like they had taken a good beating by the time I saw them. What are we going to do?’

Angus knew this time that Tarkin may have something to worry about. He dashed off over to his stall to pick up a few weapons for the townsfolk to defend themselves just in case. He also picked up his own weapons which were wrapped in a large old dusty cloth and hidden under his floorboard. Wrapped in the cloth were three weapons, all with his own blacksmith mark. The first was a very fine sharp knife sheathed in a leather strap which went round his shoulder; the strap also holstered seven throwing blades. The second weapon was a short sword which was also sharp and made with excellent steel for strength. The sword was also sheathed in its own belt which wrapped around his waist. The third weapon was Angus’s best work and weapon of choice which was a crafted double-bladed battleaxe, made with perfect balance and precision and much sharper than his other weapons and also very heavy – only a few people could even lift it, let alone fight with it. Angus strapped the weapon to his back and gathered the other weapons for the townsfolk and made his way back to Tarkin across the way.

‘Here, take a weapon each and prepare for the worst.’ Angus dropped a number of blades, maces and swords on the ground and a number of townsfolk grabbed a weapon each unsure of how to even use them. Tarkin, with a concerned voice, told Angus he had never used a weapon before.

‘Let’s hope it won’t come to that. Everyone stay together, find a safe place to hide and only use the weapons to defend yourselves and your children as a last resort. Tarkin, I’m counting on you to look after these people and make sure they are not harmed. I’m going to get our friends.’

Clara moved to the front of everyone, armed with a bow and quiver full of arrows and a belt around her waist carrying small pouches.

‘What are you doing Clara? Go with the others.’

Clara answered Angus with a certain sarcasm, ‘I’m sorry Angus, I never realised I had to answer to you! You forget they’re my friends too, I’m going with you and that’s that!’

Angus looked at Clara with a smile of approval and was glad that someone stepped up to back him up if needed. The two dashed off toward the camp of soldiers to recover their friends, hoping they could reason with Bain before any action was taken.

Well into the late evening, Angus and Clara arrived at the camp to find only a few soldiers on patrol.

‘Clara, ready your bow and keep your distance but stay in range to watch my back and please be careful.’

‘Go get our friends Angus, I got you covered.’

With a fast and angry walking pace, Angus approached two soldiers on watch.

Instantly, the two soldiers readied their spears, pointing them directly at him.

‘HALT! Who goes there?’

Angus, not stopping, got nose to nose with one of the guards with a fearless attitude. ‘I’m going to ask you just once! There will be no second chance! Where are my friends, the ones who brought a cart of food for your commander earlier?’

‘Haha, I wouldn’t worry about them two, they are being taken care of. Now if I were you I would…’

Before the soldier got to finish his sentence, Angus gave the soldier an upward thrust with his elbow which caught the guard on his jaw sending him flat on his back. The other guard raised his spear but before he could strike, an arrow landed in his neck, killing him. Angus readied his axe to the soldier on the floor.

‘Last chance, where are my friends?’

‘He forced them! I had nothing to do with it.’

Angus, getting frustrated with the soldier, asked one more time. ‘WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS?’

The soldier answered him very quickly in fear of his life. ‘Bain took them, forced them to tell him where they lived but they wouldn’t talk until he brought a little girl in and threatened her life.’

‘Little girl? What little girl?’

The soldier hesitated to tell him anymore until Angus raised his axe. ‘Yes, a little girl! A little girl no older than five or six years wearing all white. He forced the one called Felman to tell him where the butcher lived and now they have all been taken there.’

Clara looked at Angus. ‘Oh no, they have Shia and they are using her to get Felman to talk, that poor girl.’

Angus directed his attention back to the soldier. ‘How many guards went with them? TALK!’

‘Err ten, maybe twelve I think.’

Clara whispered to Angus, ‘If we leave this guard alive, we are going to have a small army on our tail very quickly. We need to quietly get rid of these two without waking the others, get to Godfrey’s house, rescue them then get back to town to the rest and make a break for the forest, it’s our only chance! We’re not equipped to deal with six hundred men.’

Angus agreed with Clara and used the hilt of his axe to knock the guard out cold. ‘Let’s move these two over to that bush, they won’t be found until morning which should give us a head start.’

After moving the two guards into the bush they made for Godfrey’s house a few miles through the glen, hoping nothing had happened to them by the time they arrived.

As the evening moved on, the night’s chill started getting colder. Godfrey and Felman were on their knees in front of Godfrey’s house with their hands bound and their mouths gagged. Bain and ten of his best troops were laughing amongst themselves. Bain approached Godfrey and Felman and removed their gags.

‘Where is your family? Are they hiding?’

Godfrey replied in disgust, ‘My wife died a long time ago and I have no sons or daughters, all you will find here is wood and my home can be rebuilt regardless of what you do to it!’

‘Haha, LIAAAAAARRRRRR, I KNOW you have two sons, it’s amazing what a little girl will tell you when you’re nice to her. So where is… Sebastian and your eldest Blake?’

‘Far from here and not within your reach. Even if they were close by, I wouldn’t tell you.’

In a rage, Bain grabbed a torch off one of his men, marched over to Godfrey’s house, kicked the door in and threw the torch inside. Very quickly the house caught fire. He ordered five of his men to surround the house to ensure no one escaped if they were inside. Before long, the house was a towering inferno with flames as high as the tallest tree, but no one came out. With a look of disappointment on Bain’s face, he knew he wouldn’t get to his sons on this night. He took hold of Shia’s arm and flung her toward Felman. Shia, whilst crying, quickly got up and rushed to her father and wrapped her arms round him very tightly.

Bain unsheathed his sword. ‘Any last requests? Maybe some of the food you refused my men, haha.’

Only Godfrey answered with courage. ‘You’re a monster and one day you will get what’s coming to you and I hope it’s painful and I hope you suffer like you do to others .’

‘Even with your last words, butcher, you still offend me. If you offend me, you offend my king. Offend my king and it’s treason which has only one punishment… DEATH!’ Bain thrust half the length of his sword through Godfrey’s shoulder. Godfrey, still with his hands bound and unable to retaliate, barely made a sound, but slumped slightly onto the sword. Bain pulled out the sword slowly with an evil sense of satisfaction. Godfrey had no strength to keep himself up and hit the ground. Bain, now with a look of satisfaction, ordered his men to throw Godfrey into the blaze.

Felman started to plead for his friend’s life. ‘Please don’t do this, just leave us be. Give us until tomorrow and we will somehow feed your army, but please don’t kill us.’

‘Too late for that now, I’m sure the next town will be more… cooperative, haha!’

Two of his men grabbed Godfrey and started dragging him toward the house with his feet dragging on the floor, and without hesitation or remorse, Godfrey was thrown into the fire. Felman and Shia were powerless to help and all they could hear were the dying screams of their friend. Bain then turned his attention back to Felman and Shia.

‘Seeing as I am a gentleman, I will give you the choice. Your daughter first or you, which is…’

Suddenly he noticed a figure behind Felman. As the figure got closer, he was able to see more and more. The figure came out of the faded background, he was very large, wielding a battleaxe like it was a feather, and he came toward him at a fast pace. His face infuriated with anger, Angus charged at him. Bain quickly ordered his men to intercept and kill him. All ten guards came to his aid instantly before Angus got to Bain. The first soldier caught the worst blow off Angus as he raised his axe high and thrust it down into his shoulder. The axe had so much weight and momentum that the blade cut right through the soldier’s armour and halfway into his chest. Angus used his foot to pry the soldier off his axe, another soldier before he freed his axe took a swing but Angus was able to draw his short sword and parry the swing and thrust the sword into the guard’s neck, killing him instantly and leaving the sword in his neck as the soldier went down. The following soldier was taken out by an arrow straight between his eyes which gave Angus time to free his axe. Two more guards came hurling at him but Angus was far too skilled for them and cut them down with ease, not even getting a scratch.

Bain jumped on his horse and ordered the last of his men to attack, and fled the scene toward his camp with no chance of being caught. Clara came out of nowhere with an arrow notched to her bow and used Felman’s shoulder to jump off. She flew off his shoulder, applying hardly any pressure to Felman and got so much height it looked almost impossible and let loose an arrow which hit a guard under the arm. As she landed, she unsheathed a blade, dodging a blow from the next soldier by crouching to the ground. She raised up and stabbed the guard in the head and quickly spun around, sliced the injured guard she shot with an arrow in the neck. Clara did all this in one motion and made it look easy. Angus was taking on the last three guards, parrying their strikes waiting for his opportunity to gain the advantage. One soldier took the handle of his axe on his nose which gave Angus the angle he needed for another soldier who had his leg cut clean off with the power of his swing in an upward motion. The last soldier could blatantly see he was never going to win and took a few paces back. Angus never even took his eyes off the last guard as he thrust his axe into the guard’s chest, killing the guard who was hit on the nose. The last guard fled in the opposite direction. Angus turned to Clara and nodded approvingly to take the shot with an arrow which met the guard’s end. Angus recovered his short sword and finished off the guard who was cradling his leg. The two rushed over to Felman and Shia and unbound them.

‘Where’s Godfrey?’ Angus said with concern.

Felman just looked at the blaze, pointed, and shed a tear for their friend.

The evening was getting colder as Blake and Sebastian were on their way home from hunting with their prize, a stag secured on the back of a donkey, and a few rabbits strung up to the saddle. They were very close brothers, always laughing without a care in the world. Blake, the eldest of the two at twenty-six and the strongest, wore a navy-coloured tunic and pants that matched and was quite handy with a bow and arrow for hunting. Sebastian at twenty-one wore a green tunic and brown pants and was very good with knives, as he helped his father in his stall preparing meat. Sebastian also helped Angus with blacksmith duties, learning the trade, and since he was fifteen, Angus had been teaching him to fight with a sword. Blake had no interest in learning to fight with weapons, even though he knew it may be necessary someday. Sebastian had learned to defend himself, and Godfrey had already taught Blake everything. He knew how to wield a sword. Even though they both had completely different interests they both loved their father and loved their way of life.

‘We’ve been walking for hours, shall we have a rest?’ Sebastian was feeling weary.

Blake looked at Sebastian and replied, needing a rest himself, ‘Look, those two big rocks over there, let’s take a few minutes and have some bread, then we’ll pick up the pace. We’ll be home in an hour or so.’

Sebastian’s stomach started to rumble at the thought of food. ‘Let’s make some soup too.’

‘Tell you what, let’s have some bread now, get home as quick as we can and the second we arrive I will make you some soup with one of these rabbits. I will even fetch you some of that elderberry cordial you like so much, OK?’

‘OK it’s a deal. How do you do this all the time? Hunting I mean, it’s so tiring being away for days on end.’

Blake just kept looking at him and smiling. ‘Come on, let’s have a rest.’

They put down their backpacks and Sebastian sat on the smaller rock while Blake tied up the donkey to a nearby tree. Blake sat on the other rock and broke out some bread, giving the bigger half to Sebastian. A few minutes went by whilst they ate and Sebastian leant back on his arms looking up at the stars.

‘How far away do you think that star is?’

Blake put a big grin on his face and replied sarcastically, ‘Wow, you really need a woman in your bed if you’re thinking stuff like that, haha.’

The two fell about laughing as Sebastian tried to defend himself. ‘Hey, you ain’t Mr Perfect y’know, when was the last time you had a woman in your bed, IF EVER?’

‘Wouldn’t you like to know? You and father think I ALWAYS go hunting, haha.’

‘REALLY! Who is she? Do I know her?’

Blake just continued to laugh, keeping his love life secret.

‘C’mon tell me who is she?’

‘A gentleman never tells, little brother, you have a lot to learn!’

‘I wonder what father would say if he knew, haha!’

‘I’m hoping she will be up to revealing herself to father soon and I would rather tell him myself.’

‘Oh, so it’s serious then? Wish I could meet a nice girl.’

Blake just carried on laughing. ‘Sebastian, you already have but you’re just too pig-headed to see that she really likes you, haha!’

‘Who! Tell me who!’

‘Sorry, but that’s one you’re gonna have to figure out yourself. C’mon let’s get home, it’s getting very late!’

‘Spoilsport.’

As the two carried on walking through the forest and getting ever closer to home, Blake noticed a scent on the wind. ‘Can you smell that?’

‘Yeah, smells like burning? We’re close to home now. It’s probably father with his campfire outside again, you know how he likes to reminisce sometimes.’

‘Sebastian, we are nearly a mile away from home, that’s a bloody big campfire!’

The two looked at each other and started running toward home. As they ran, the scent started to get much stronger and they saw the bright orange light through the trees. As they came to the clearing where their house was set, they saw their home up in flames with Angus, Felman, Clara and Shia a fair bit back from the fire. Blake noticed dead guards on the floor. Angus turned his head and saw the brothers running toward him. Sebastian reached Angus first.

‘What happened? Why are there dead guards everywhere?’

Angus looked at Sebastian in a way he’d never been looked at by him before, Sebastian knew he was about to get bad news.

‘Where’s my father?’

Angus put his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, said no words and just slowly shook his head and looked at their home.

‘No no no no no no no no no this is not happening!’

Sebastian and Blake both burst into tears at the loss of their father. Sebastian walked a little closer to the fire past the dead guards and fell to his knees. Blake turned to Angus asking what had happened which was briefly explained to him.

‘Blake, your brother is going to need you now more than ever. It’s hard to lose a parent, especially at his age.’

All Blake wanted to do is comfort his brother but as he approached him, Sebastian turned his sadness into a rage.

‘NO, I WON’T ACCEPT THIS, HE’S NOT DEAD, HE’S NOT DEAD!’

Sebastian ran toward the fire without any hesitation in his pace.

‘NO, SEBASTIAN STOP!’

Sebastian hurled himself into the fire looking for his father. Blake attempted to run after him but he was just too far behind to catch him. He got as close as he could without feeling the intense heat of the fire. Angus, completely shocked at what had just happened, ran to Blake in case he decided to do the same and pulled him back to the others. The house started to crumble and the roof caved in and the small group could see no movement. Blake, on his knees, just had the realisation his entire family was dead. No one had any words of comfort and the only sound was the crackling of the wood of the house in the fire. Blake just wanted to stay where he was in complete silence. Clara, gazing at the fire saw movement near the front entrance. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

‘Look!’

As they all turned their heads to the house, Sebastian came walking out of the inferno holding the burnt body of his father whilst they were completely on fire. Without hesitating, Angus started to run over, shouting, ‘Quick get blankets and any water you can find! SEBASTIAN get on the floor and roll around!’

Sebastian just turned his head up. ‘I feel no pain, none at all… It’s so strange!’

He placed his father’s body on the floor as Clara and Felman attempted to put out the flames on him with cloaks and blankets. Blake ran over from the direction of the well with a full bucket of water and threw it over Sebastian. Felman covered him with a blanket and Angus forced him to the floor and rolled out the flames. Clara removed the blanket to try to assess any injuries and to her complete shock there were no burns of any kind.

‘I told you I’m fine.’

‘Sebastian, what is this? Magic? I’ve never seen anything like it!’

Still angry, he replied, ‘I don’t know, I just felt the need to go and get father in case he was still alive in there.’

Angus looked at him completely confused. ‘Look, we need to find out what just happened here because what just happened ain’t normal.’

Clara gained Angus’s attention and quietly informed him that fire is the most destructive magic and cannot be controlled in this fashion.

Calmly she said, ‘We should bury our friend properly but quickly and head back toward town in case Bain decides to pay the town a visit. I know I sound harsh but there will be time for grieving later and there are more people in danger… so, let’s get to it.’

Angus agreed wholeheartedly and informed everyone. The party hesitantly got to its feet, they buried the body of Godfrey and made way for the town, knowing Bain had a strong head start.

Chapter 4

Although winter had passed, the nights were still quite cold. The simple townsfolk of Springlake Pass were gathered together at Angus’s stall, worried about what could have happened to Godfrey, Felman and now Angus and Clara. Tarkin was keeping watch from the roof in case trouble was on its way. Sophia, who ran the town’s clothing and textiles stall, had made a large pot of soup to take the night’s chill off everyone, and brought a cup to the roof f or Tarkin.

‘How is everyone down there?’ he asked.

Sophia just replied in a very casual voice, ‘They’re fine, I think they’re just worried about the others and whether or not Bain will return.’

Tarkin took a big gulp of his soup and burnt his tongue.

‘Careful Tarkin, it may be cold out here but that soup has only just come off the stove.’

Tarkin just smiled at Sophia, glad to have a cup at all.

‘You’re very quiet tonight which is not like you. You’re normally the loudest! Are you OK?’

Tarkin took another look around to see if he could see anything. ‘I just want to make sure everyone is safe. Angus said it was up to me to keep you all safe so that’s what I’m gonna do.’

Sophia, amazed at Tarkin’s dedication to what Angus had asked of him, understood his reasoning straight away. She had always seen Tarkin’s need