Uncannily inspired by Crimsonpants, Vinland Saga, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and one movie named Unbroken.
In Valhalla, the warriors wait. There, we will speak of tales of gore, drinking fine wine, eating good beef. So fight, my friends! May the bravest warrior win!
…
In the east side of Ravenna, unluckily placed in between the Tiberian and Rasna regions, there is a small farm, and on that farm, there is an old warrior.
If you speak to him, he will tell you a story of legend, but not a story of his own.
He says, a true warrior does not need a sword.
So, what are you doing? You still wield it, for what?
Place your blade down.
…
Atticus was a troublesome boy. If you were to ask the citizens of Rasna about him, they would say he is a thief, a cheat, and a liar. He would always find sneaky ways to cause trouble, and would frequently start fights with other children of Rasna.
However, if you were to take the trip to Tiberia, and ask those citizens about Atticus, some may say he is a hero waiting to become a legend(most likely because he tends to give away free food that he stole from unknowing Rasna merchants), others say he will bring trouble to the town because of his outgoing and hotheadedness.
But if you were to ask Atticus himself, he would say…
“I want to be a warrior!”
…
"A warrior? How dare you!", said Atticus’ mother, striking him across the face.
“I forbid you. Because of your foolishness, I don’t want to see you playing War with the other children for a year.”
Tears welling up in his eyes, Atticus asked, “Why? What’s so bad about me wanting to chase the world of honor and adventure?”, rubbing his face(where his mother had hit him).
“Don’t you know how rich the warriors of the Ravenna Army are? Even the ensigns get special treatment, and can be stationed in Rubica!”, Atticus said, darting his eyes around for something cold.
“Raise your voice at me again, and I’ll extend your punishment to 2 years. You don’t know anything… you don’t know anything, boy!”, his mother yelled, raising her hand to strike Atticus again, but stopping.
“…Your father left us for the war.”
Atticus instantly started listening. After all, it wasn’t everyday that his mother would talk about his father.
“He didn’t choose it, he was drafted. I was pregnant at the time, and he told me that he would come back alive to see the face of his child.”
“But instead, he died in battle. I begged the Ravenna Army to let me have his body so I can give it a proper burial, however, they claimed that the body was lost on the field.”
“I don’t want the same thing to happen to you, no matter what.”
Atticus gave his mother a confused look.
“I won’t die, mother, I promise! I’ll become a legendary warrior!”
His mother gave him 21 slaps on the wrist, then sent him out to Rasna to buy some tomatoes.
…
“Curse this, mother,”, Atticus muttered, spitting on the ground, “I’m gonna become a warrior no matter what.”
On the path to Rasna, a stranger in a wagon overheard him.
“Hey, boy. I heard you saying something about being a warrior.”
“Huh?”, said Atticus, startled, and trying to see the strangers face.
“If you give me half of the Galleons in your pocket, I’ll tell you who can teach you the way of the warrior.”, said the stranger, stretching his hand out.
Listen closely, reader. If a random stranger in a wagon asks you to give them something, or come closer, don’t fall for it. After all, you don’t know who they are, it’s a stranger.
“I’m not falling for your scams!”, Atticus shouted, clutching his money.
“I swear on the King’s name, I won’t scam you. Plus, a small child like you wouldn’t have much money anyway, so if I was a scammer, why would I choose to scam you, of all people?”, answered the stranger. waving his hand from the wagon.
Atticus thought about it, and remembered his mothers angry face.
Then, he gave the man half of the Galleons in his pocket, which was meant to be enough money to buy 12 tomatoes.
“Hmph, it’s not much, but oh well. Listen closely, boy.”, said the stranger, sifting the money from one of hand to the other.
“In the far east side of Ravenna, unluckily placed in between the Tiberian and Rasna regions, there is a warrior. An old one, but don’t be deceived by his looks. He is a formidable man. If you speak to him, he will tell you a story of legend, however, not his own. Perhaps you’ll learn something, after his tale is over. In fact, it should be a couple miles ahead of this old wagon, somewhere on a mountain.”
Atticus’ eyes widened, and he quickly made his way to the place the stranger spoke of.
“Maybe he’ll teach me how to wield a sword! Or tell me about the Ravennian Legions navy!”, he said, running.
And eventually, he found it.
…
It was a run down looking farm.
Surprisingly, there was a place for crop, and a house for sheep. It was the kind of farm you could live in, but couldn’t really live. A comfortable place, but in between safety and poverty.
Atticus, out of breath, invited himself into the farmhouse.
“Ugh, there’s nobody here? I came all this way for nothing… oh, but there’s a lot of wheat waiting to be harvested in the crop gates!”, Atticus said to himself.
Suddenly, the sound of a sword being unsheathed resonated behind Atticus.
“A thief? How pathetic.”, said a loud, commanding voice from behind the boy.
Atticus quickly swerved around, startled.
He took a look at the person in front of him, a large, but fit, wrinkly old man. He had a long grey beard, but an uncannily shiny forehead, in contrast to the rest of the old man’s wrinkly muscles.
“…For a thief, you’re quite small.”, said the old man, pointing his sword at Atticus’ back.
“I-I’m no thief! I came here to listen to your tales!”, said Atticus, eyeing the sword, which looked like it was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces.
“That sword doesn’t look like it’ll last long, either! Do you really want to waste it on a small child, like me?”
The old man wrinkled his face even more, with a glaring scowl.
“Hmph. I suppose you’re correct. I heard you talk about wanting to take me wheat, but since I see you in front of me, I’ll speak of the tales you wanted to hear.”
Atticus released his tension, and took a deep sigh, grateful that he didn’t see his own body on the ground.
“So you want to be a warrior… do you?”
…
70 years ago, we went to war with a faction called Winterveil. I was a young warrior, stronger than 200 men.
In fact, I dare say I was even stronger. There was a veteran I had met, his name was Argos. Now, he is a general, but he was the only one that was physically stronger than me in our Legion. I found this out when we got into a disagreement while drinking over which type of woman is better, and thinking about it now, I still don’t regret my opinions.
…However, that’s a tale for another day. It was a lengthy argument-turned battle, and will only sidetrack us.
I remember my men had just finished destroying our enemies on a sea battle, when we stopped by a Winterveil village to pillage and plunder.
It was there, that I met a man, no, a true man that made me question my abilities.
He made me question if I truly wanted to be a warrior, if I really was a warrior.
He was one of a kind, that one. A real one.
Prelude. This is a tale of an old warrior, and how he decided that he will place down his sword.
As you can see, it is HEAVILY inspired by Vinland Saga… but please don’t let that stop you from reading my stories. It’s going to have a few differences on the way, I assure you.
Prelude/The Old Man
