Ok I’ll be quick here:
I do worldbuilding
Here is my writing
Enjoy it.
C1 - C3 here
Chapter 4: Eternity 26/02/1018 - 01/03/1018 (5001F)
Akos opened his eyes. The barrier of threads between his emotions and control wove into his heart, blocking off the voice, blocking off the feeling, creating a void at the expense of living.
The screams of chaos were muffled behind the delicate wall between himself and the God.
One of the first new ideas he came to terms with in this muffled existence was his eye. He faintly remembered having a pair of pale blue eyes, the colour of a morning mist obscured by icicles, but now, flickering in and out of existence, changing, turning, becoming, destroying, living and dying in the polished mirror he picked up - there was a single new eye, every colour and concept at once, not the eye of Akos Frost, but instead Randomness, that accursed puppeteer of a God.
By some miracle, he was back in the palace. People were by his side, concerned perhaps - taking, arguing, questioning, calling. Then they moved on, ignorant of Akos’s silence. They rushed about their usual business.
The Eternal Prince walked to where he always remembered standing, watching the morning light pass into the Northern Courtyard. The falcon flew up to him expectantly as Akos questioned himself for the name he must have forgotten.
“Tobias.” He muttered, writing a note on a piece of scrap paper he found on his desk.
Farewell Dulzura. Look after Tobias. I have questions that need answering.
With no more than a sigh, Akos placed the note in its tube, the address labelled as “Dulzura Winters, Judge, Grandia.”
With the falcon in the air, Akos took his sword and left the room.
Felix Mist breathed through the small slit in his mask. The hood obscured his hair, although if revealed, it would have been a similar black to his eyes, dull, dark and dead.
Little light reached the room, casting shadows over the large wooden table where another figure sat.
“And you told me that your assassins were the best in the world.” It said.
Felix took a moment to reply, his voice venomous “And they are, but it’s clear that the prince you want dead is stronger than we anticipated.”
“I’ll give you more funding, but if you make any more mockery of the grand nation of Stamstani, remember that I warned you”
“Stamstani is gone, but the contract you offer is good. Formal assassins will be too obvious for the trained eyes of the Royal Guard. I’ll find some desperate people and offer them money, you would be surprised at what some gold can do to morals.”
“Well, thank you Lord Mist, you can expect some more funds soon.” The figure said.
“It’s all in the contract Duke Elin. You know what we work for.” Lord Mist stood up and turned out of the room.
A passageway of rock led a short distance from the meeting hall until it opened out into a platform, a short way up a large cliff face, the mountain shielding them from northern winds. Below was a valley of trees, and a depression in the stone created a sheltered well with crude, wooden buildings in what could be mistaken for a small village at first glance, parts of the cliff were carved out into large staircases which rose in hastily carved blocks upwards to the platform, allowing the descension and ascension of materials and people from the canyon below. Tunnels were carved into the above cliff to create a network of halls and rooms for both practical and desirable purposes.
Felix walked over to a large circle of stone, a rare marble from a northern island which had been carved, polished and embedded within the platform, inscribed upon it was an emblem consisting of a compass covered by a hand, surrounding it were the words “Ordinis Umbrae, Ex voluntate familiarum nostrarum, populi nostri et Sicarius Domini,” their Chant, their motto, carved in the ancient language of timeless Gods.
“And the Assassin Lord…” Felix turned as another cloaked figure finished the motto in their own tongue.
“Ah, Master King, I hope you have received information about the whereabouts of our friend Frost?”
“I’m afraid not Grandlord Mist. Scouts in the Frostlands have received reports that the Prince is missing, even though the King attempted to cover the event up.” The other figure stuttered as if fearful of punishment for his words.
“That is a shame. Find him, find him now, before the Grand Court does, and tell Lord Vixen that our tea supplies are running low.” Lord Mist scowled at the compass and the dreaded anger of the Fallen Nation’s Duke.
“Failed. Once again on the practical tests. Full marks on the physical and theory sections though, but I’m sorry to say your application is denied, you can try again next month.
Takeshi took the papers back from the man behind the desk, and exited the embassy via the front doors, passing by the new Peacekeeper recruits from his hometown - Heung, a semi-large town in the northern part of the continent, famous for its popular inns and taverns all throughout the streets. He returned to his home, modest in terms of size, and cut another small notch in the leg of his desk.
“Twenty-one now is it? At least the Grand Courts have some sense of not sending my son to war. I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with joining the Peacekeepers when all they do is march around or risk their lives in overly dangerous stunts of battle.” A voice said from behind him. Takeshi turned around to see a woman with hair a similar shade of pale blue to his own, and crimson red eyes which shone like those of cats in the dim room.
“I’ll get it next time, I promise you, Mother,” Takeshi replied.
“You are still unaware of the extent of evil in this world, go and bring glory to the family of Light in some other form, keep yourself safe.”
He did not answer, instead looking at the papers still in his hand.
“For as the Rifts exist, flaws shall plague the world, as that is the way of Energy. When finally Death carries me to my resting place, these flaws shall be gone with the weakness of Mortality and all I shall be left with is regret.
Anima morte ferri, Improbitas, Inconsiderantia, Imperitia, Cupiditas, Simplicitas, Negligere, Obsessi, Sit vitia deficiant.
If your soul is doomed, then let my prayer take you to Rift Beta calmly, as you deserve to rest in peace Akos.” A single tear rolled down Dulzura’s face in memory of his friend, staining the note carried by the bird of prey.
“Rune, head to the Heung district. If Akos isn’t there, send a falcon.”
Standing behind him was a young-looking woman with long brown hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, she was wearing a set of worn, brown clothing, and carried a long flintlock rifle on her back.
She stood up and stretched her arms. “I’ll find him, I know how devastated you’ll be if he doesn’t turn up, but I’ve never failed at locating a criminal and I doubt that your friend is going to be any harder.” Rune touched her hand on Dulzura’s shoulder in what was intended as an affectionate and comforting action, but the movement was lost on the Judge, whose eyes were lost in the dim clouds outside.
She then left the room silently, leaving Dulzura alone.
“Hopeless,” he said to himself, as the dawn birds began to mourn the night and welcome the day. Already feeling empty from Rune’s recent departure, he picked up his halberd with a heavy sigh and inspected the polearm for defects. He looked at the neat stack of letters he had received from Akos over the years, many of them now faded, written from before the war.
Some of them were serious, stories from the siege of Frigus Ferrum, and reports of the war, others were lighter-hearted, which included anecdotes about a rumoured beaver colony on an isolated frost-ridden island, and other similar themes which the Judge couldn’t help but smile at.
Rune Phoenix was trained Bounty Hunter - one of the best the Grand Courts had, yet she listened to authority rarely and usually worked at her own pace, yet with Dulzura it was different - they had known each other since childhood and were always in the same classes at their old schools, and although she had never personally met this mysterious Akos Frost, she was sure that Dulzura would be absolutely broken if his friend wasn’t found, and Rune herself didn’t know if she could manage with that circumstance.
With only the thought of the Judge in her mind, she began her journey across the continent, passing through the dangerous northern forests in hopes of locating the elusive Prince.
Chapter 5 - Cut Strings 11/03/1018 - 26/03/10018 (5001F)
The roadside tavern was packed with people of all types, from young to old, rich to poor, perfect for someone to hide in. Rune walked up to a small table in the corner, where only a figure sat in dark clothing, shielding their face from the movements around them. “May I take a seat?” She queried, “There’s hardly another place to sit here.”
The figure only shook its head slightly, making no noise, Rune sitting beside them even with the clear denial.
“I’ll be straight with you, I’m a bounty hunter for the Grand Courts.” She said as the figure flinched with her sudden movement.
“Who sent you? Ledus? How did you find me?” Akos Frost replied in a harsh tone.
“Dulzura was worried about you, he got your message and sent his best bounty hunters after you. We both know the Judge, you knew that your sudden disappearance would destroy him. Never treat him like that ever again, you hear me, Frost?”
Taken aback by the sudden anger, Akos listened to his muffled thoughts, letting them scream and rip his soul apart from behind the barrier. A thread snapped.
“Tell him I’m sorry.” The Prince stood up and made for the door, but Rune quickly caught up.
“You’re going nowhere, the bounty on your head is not one I’m letting go easily.”
The embassy was no palace, yet Akos felt comfortable sitting next to the warm flames, as they jumped between the logs, smothering them with smoke as the blazing heat, cracking and spitting, consuming like a ravenous greed.
The Peacekeepers posted at the doorway were seemingly always watching, emotionless like statues. Rune was asleep, lying over an armchair in the corner of the room, her face In her arms.
They had taken the Prince’s Sword as he arrived, and lead him to this room where the bounty hunter girl had talked about her life in the Grand Court Lands. Akos listened to tales of Dulzura blankly, the words never truly heard by the Prince in his muffled state. But whilst he was momentarily at peace, the air was growing cold, and a falcon dived through the wind, quickly heading towards the home of Dulzura Winters.
Akos watched the flames continuously, eventually closing his eyes, the gentle crackle still ever present.
The next morning however, the Prince awoke more suddenly than he had fallen asleep.
“Good morning Prince Frost.” The bounty hunter girl was already awake, standing over Akos in a partially threatening manner.
“Do you not have a sense of privacy?”
“You’re our prisoner, you wake up when the courts say you wake up.” Rune said, laughing at the Prince’s anger.
Another thread was cut, one in a million, and Akos laughed with the young woman, forgetting the previous annoyance at her.
“Well, is there anything pressing we must do today?” He finally asked, and the woman smiled.
“No, but there are places to see in Heung, and days to spend before you go back to your little palace!” She exclaimed.
The Heung district was the richest district of an Empire Akos knew little about other than the obvious political instability, with regions scattered over the northern half of the continent, and the capital city kilometres away on a remote island.
The actual city of Heung was organised like a grid, with streets crossing over perpendicularly, allowing easy transport from the central fortress outwards, the Grand Court embassy was situated in a walled off courtyard where many of the area’s rich spent their time. Part of the city was also raised above the rest, and surrounded by a square canal, allowing the Prince to see over the lower houses and towards the outskirts laden with restaurants and taverns from where he stood next to Rune, who had found a large brown hat along with a bright purple dress somewhere in the embassy, and although the wind was strong, Akos could not help feeling that the exotic summer clothing was fitting for the unique person that Rune was. Somehow it was difficult to believe that Dulzura, analytical genius and Judge of the Grand Courts, was friends with the unpredictable, reckless figure that was the bounty hunter. The Prince envied her freedom however.
She seemed too joyful for the day. Dull grey clouds covered the sky, threatening rain, perhaps thunder.
For a bounty hunter who lived halfway across the world, Rune Phoenix was familiar with the city and enjoyed showing Akos all of her favourite locations in the town, whilst also once again talking about Dulzura, and Akos was aware of the trust and friendship between the two. “I’m sure it’s nothing like Frigus Ferrum, but there is still much to do, they have some memorials from the most recent Crusade we could visit, or many grand displays and galleries in the western upper city.
So it was in this way that the next week passed for the Prince and the Bounty Hunter, time passed slowly in the peace, yet eventually the pair travelled to a fortress on the coast, owned by a large militia group which had assisted the Impexis Regnum during the Stamstani war. Akos watched as the large steel boat came into the small harbour at the fortress, watching in fear as a group of Royal Guards disembarked onto a small jetty. Rune returned his sword to him after its brief confiscation by the Grand Courts.
With his heart dropping at the thought of returning to his homeland, further than ever from the answers he needed, his mood was raised slightly with the lack of the General waiting for him, instead he was met with the face of a friend. “Greetings Prince Frost, Zion managed to convince the King to let me collect you instead of sending Damascus.” Said a young woman, not much older than Akos or Rune.
“Commander Blossom, it’s nice to see you again” said the Prince.
She frowned “The King thought you were dead. You’ll need to explain many things to him later.”
Akos shivered in the sun, thoughts of the King’s deepest regrets, anger and worries swarming his mind.
He embarked the ship as it slowly began moving, the steel hulk slowly with its steam-engine rumbling, distant smoke rising over the horizon from what could have been Heung, he watched the reckless girl he had come to respect turn away on the land where she still stood, beginning her journey back to Dulzura Winters and the Grand Courts.
The King watched his son carefully, Akos didn’t move, didn’t speak, hardly even reacted to his presence. Only watched somewhere beyond with the eye.
“You seem troubled, as if your own body was protecting itself from a force stronger than you or I could comprehend. Just a thought, a theory you could say.” Ledus Frost continued to watch the young Prince “And I fear you are treading on cut strings, all protection of your own self lost.”
Akos continued to stay silent until this last word, where he stuttered a single name.
“R… Rift… Alpha,” before once again falling silent.
“You were heading there I suppose, no matter how much of a death sentence it was, going alone. You may go to the Grand Court Lands with sixty of your Guard, along with Commander Blossom, Zion and General Damascus.” The King was slow and thoughtful
“Not with Damascus” the Prince retorted.
“The General will travel with you, I can arrange a ship to Rirrossia, and you can head to the base of the Caverns although you may not enter under any circumstances”
With the decisions made, Akos turned and left, as the King’s voice lamented for his losses, reciting a famous war poem.
“The crack of a rifle, the burst of death,
Falling onto cut strings
With the walls of death crying
Out for mercy,
Living my life so slow,
Watching cut strings
Waiting for my losses,
Alone.
For it was the rule of that nation,
For all our pain and turmoil,
When it started anew
On to cut strings.”
Chapter 6 - Blades and Winds 27/03/1018 - 30/03/1018
The roadside tavern was once again full of people, and Icarus was one of them, he searched around, and finding no practical place to sit, walked over to a corner table with one man sitting at it, in the same place that a Prince was sitting only a few weeks earlier. The man looked up at Icarus, and smiled in a welcoming manner. “Do yah need ‘nything young sir?”
Icarus only smiled and said “Nine hundred and eighty seven” in a plain manner.
The man looked at him in confusion, but before he could ask any questions, Icarus had turned and was slowly walking out of the building, as confusion, chaos and panic suddenly erupted around him. The man’s body fell to the floor in a quickly growing pool of blood.
Fallenfire took in the night air, wiping the dagger on his sleeve, although the blade was already forged the colour of blood.
Akiro dropped the newspaper, headlined “Fallenfire Strikes Again”
He ran his hand through his hair, which was an unnatural looking deep purple, which formed itself into spikes, creating a threatening sense of horns crowning his head.
“Aki?” Called a voice, “are you alright?”
Akiro turned around and smiled at his younger sister, with similar lavender eyes that they had inherited from their father, although Akiro had his mothers hair, whilst Lumi had a mess of what could be blond, but was too filthy with grime to be distinguished from the rest of her. She was a tiny figure, wearing a dirty dress, with an innocent look in her eyes.
“I’m alright, go and look after mother, I’ll be off to get some money, if I can.”
Another outstanding feature of the pair were their feathered wings, a symbol of the Alatus vivus people who resided in the western savanna, and although their house was littered with debris, Akiro found the doorway and stepped out, unfurling his wings, which appeared shrunken and skeletal in the brighter light. Up in the air he could allow himself to think, to worry about the state of his family. If only that forsaken criminal didn’t kill his father, take his warm hold away, leaving nothing but the winds from the north and the dust from the south to his name.
Desperation clung to him as he landed, this was the place they agreed to meet, correct?
Luckily, he found who he was looking for. “I heard you had a job for me, I’ll do anything, please.” Akiro said.
“Well then, you can call me King, I work for an organisation which can pay you… let’s see - 50 bits, one easy job.”
Akiro laughed at the absurd reward “You gotta be kidding mate, nobody gives 50 for any sort of menial job”
“I said, you can call me King. The place I work for is wealthy, we have plenty of funding and we’re reaching out to… freelancers for some tasks, simple really, you only need to know two things for this one, firstly, if you tell anyone about me or this job, your head will be up for grabs, secondly, we want a certain Prince dead, and then the 50’ll be yours to do with.”
Akiro hesitated, but the thought of all that money grew in his mind, and he nodded, the figure smiled.
“You know what to do then, details will be delivered to you shortly”
And then King disappeared into the shadows, leaving Akiro with an empty and ravenous pit in his stomach, he walked slowly in the direction of where he could get some food, but not until a group of thugs saw him as an easy target.
“Oi, yuh get ‘ver ‘ere right now mister, or you’ll face be in a state.”
Attacks such of these were unfortunately common in the poorer parts of Delpheleu, where Akiro wasn’t the only person going desperate measures for money,
“Visus Calenus, bless my soul, Father, bring the will of the Tempestas Gladius to my heart.” Akiro drew a short, curved sword with a crude hilt from under his coat, causing the would be thieves to flinch, although they were yet to back off, the sword flicked through the air at inhuman speeds, but the blade did not even scrape skin, instead a boom rang out, and one of the desperate thieves flew backwards in a blast of wind, which cut like a jagged dagger through the shirt they were wearing, drawing blood from underneath the skin. In another split second, Akiro had neutralised the other criminals, either by blade, wind or fist. He was aware that their scuffle had been noticed, but the chances of any police arriving were slim, and even Peacekeepers had no authority here, so the boy just went home as if nothing happened.
“Zion, how far from the border?” The Prince stood near his trusted Commanders, out of sight of the General.
“A distance yet, we will stay in this city for a day or two to rest, then head up to Grandia to meet Dulzura.”
“A shame it’s so flat here in Delpheleu, I was hoping to see some of those floating Islands.”
Commander Blossom laughed, “You’ll be impressed by Grandia, the whole city is structured similar to a mountain, yet there is little land below all their halls and courts, closer to the Rifts, the skylands really do live up to their name.”
A few of the strings snapped again, making a noise like a badly tuned instrument in the back of the Prince’s mind. He let himself smile at the young woman, as she continued to speak, “I’ve not been there since I was only about thirteen myself, due to the war. I sometimes wish I didn’t spend as much of my childhood obsessed with joining the military, although, at least it gave me the title of youngest Commander of the Royal Guard.” She finished with a flourish of her hands.
“No need to brag Blossom,” replied Zion, “it’s not like you ever stop speaking about it.”
Akos looked at his friends, memories filtering in from behind the barricade, of the war.
Memoria Frost
The Great Stamstani War
1015
“Prince Frost, the cannon fire has started. Follow me.”
Akos stumbled out of his room in the early morning, standard procedure, as shrapnel rained down. Following Zion down the corridor, towards safety.
A pane of glass shattered, small splinters embedding into his side.
He held back the tears, couldn’t be weak in front of the Commander, could he?
“Captain Blossom, perfect timing young lady, take the Prince and hide in the safe room, I feel as if something is wrong, the palace itself is being attacked instead of the city in general.”
Akos blinked as Zion ran down a nearby hallway, he followed the girl, into a room, a semi-dark room - which she locked.
“Are you alright, your majesty?” She asked with a little bow. “I’m Captain Blossom, youngest Captain of the Royal Guard.”
The girl smiled through her silver hair, “You might have seen me around, I’m assigned to your division of course,”
Akos winced as blood began to flow down his hand. The Captain had a look of concern flash over her eyes, but she gently set to work, removing splinters of glass from the young Prince’s hand with extreme precision, wrapping it up tightly in what seemed to be a scrap of fabric from an unknown source. Akos breathed steadily, as the young girl sat next to him.
“Do you ever wonder if our teenage years are going to be spent hiding from guns, instead of out, being free, learning about ourselves?” She sighed, “perhaps it is our destiny to live in this fear.”
Akos paused and waited, but hearing no response, answered. “You can’t be that young if you’re a Royal Guard Captain.” With which the girl answered, “Well I’m only fifteen, that’s not even a year older than you. I spent all my childhood dreaming of being a soldier, and now I’m trapped in this eternal cycle of war.”
Akos once again didn’t answer, letting the Captain speak. “I’ve never spent my time with friends, but I suppose, would it be appropriate to call you Akos?”
He only nodded, and Blossom smiled again.
“In that case, call me Iri. I hope you like my name, it’s the only one I’ve got.”
The pair laughed together, the noises of destruction never ending around them.
Present Day
Akos sat down on a wooden bench, looking over the delicate garden. The shadows from the trees grew longer, dancing with the wind.
“Iri… Commander Blossom, somethings wrong, as if the wind is blowing just slightly off.”
The Commander nodded in a similar sense, and the guards around him shifted uneasily on their feet.
With a thud, a clump of the shadow fell from the trees.
It stood slowly, wings folding and unfolding nervously.
“Who are you, stranger?” Akos questioned, letting it speak before his authority.
“So you are the little Prince they’re telling me about? Kinda underwhelming if you ask me. Just so you know, I’m here to kill you.”
Akiro laughed.
“Hold fire guards,” Akos looked at the skeletal state of the boy, and thought about his people during the war, slowly starving, only with meagre rations smuggled in. He remembered his own hunger at the time, as better off as he was than the city dwellers, there were still many struggles.
He drew his sword.
“If you’re adamant about killing me, I’ll teach you a lesson instead”
“Tempestas Gladius! Visus Calenus, bless me!”
Akos dashed forwards, but felt a surge of air which sliced through his coat, leaving a small cut on his shoulder. Launching spikes of ice upwards through the ground towards Akiro, he dodged any subsequent blasts of wind from what was clearly a specialised sword technique. The spikes only grazed Akiro a few times, before he dispatched the frozen stalagmites with a few slashes of his sword, A dagger came flying through the air at Akos.
Did he overestimate the malnourished boy ahead of him? Was this sword technique a match for his magic? Was he going to die here and now, the duel for nothing but loss?
The energy behind his eyes surged.
Of course not.
The tip of Akos’ blade hit the dagger whilst it was flying through the air, and it shattered.
Akos returned the sword to his sheath, and waved his hand, as Akiro Zephyr was frozen to the ground, both in shock at what he witnessed, and by Akos’ cold ice which physically fused him to the floor.
“Leave him guards, the ice will melt eventually and then he would have learnt his lesson”
Akos turned, and walked away from the scene.
