The Tale of Nero Chapter 1: The Fallen King
“Nero,” yelled a voice not too far away. “The Rex Regum was attacked!” It took me a second to process the words before I began to run. My heart raced as I dashed towards the palace, the Arx of Rubica.
As I climbed the marble stairs, I saw General Olviar and General Zaix coming out, their faces grim. They were carrying a body on a wooden board. My blood ran cold. I instantly knew it was my father—the Rex Regum, lord of Rubica.
Suddenly, I heard a booming explosion. Olviar grabbed me by the arm and pulled me towards the city square. The faint whisper of my father’s voice reached my ears: “Boy, you—”
Boom. A flash of fire lit the sky. In that instant, the Arx crumbled, and the force of the explosion engulfed us. I watched helplessly as the mighty fortress fell, taking my father with it.
“Are you awake?” whispered a familiar voice, pulling me back.
I opened my eyes. It wasn’t my father or my mother. Instead, it was General Olivar and his wife, Lady Statilla, the mayor of Rasna, a neighboring town near Rubica.
“The protectorate of Rubica is crumbling,” said Statilla with a pained expression. “And soon, it will collapse entirely.”
“The Rex Regum is dead,” Olivar said sorrowfully. His words hit me like a physical blow. I hadn’t fully realized it until that moment. A tear slipped from my left eye.
Statilla continued, “The Prodótis Kingdom of the Aegean Sea has retreated from the Gelid Sea. They have no hope in Rubica anymore. Rubica is alone.”
My mind raced. The Prodótis Kingdom, our last hope for aid and alliances, had abandoned us. Rasna and Rubica were on the brink of collapse. My heart sank at realizing we were vulnerable, and the future seemed bleak.
I turned my gaze out the window. Below, a vast jungle stretched into the horizon, teeming with life. Tents had been set up outside, marking the location of our camp.
“Where are we?” I asked, looking to Olivar for answers.
“The Tiberians bombarded our city,” he explained. “They destroyed the Arx. The generals decided that Rubica was no longer safe for the militia. We brought you here to a large jungle we’ve been investigating for some months. We’ve called our camp ‘Gladius’ in honor of the late Rex Regum.”
I stood there, silently taking in the enormity of the situation. My father was gone, and Rubica—once the shining beacon of power in the land—was in ruins. Now, all that remained was survival in the shadow of a crumbling empire.
The Tale of Nero Chapter 2: Ruins of Rubica
The sky grew darker, and the smoke thickened as we neared the ruins of my once-great city. A sudden crack echoed through the air. One of the towers that had once defended Rubica crumbled, toppling into the desolate harbor.
I coughed, the acrid stench of ash burning my lungs. I wanted to see my home—what was left of it. I wanted revenge on the cruel kingdom of Winterveil. And most of all, I wanted to find my father’s broken body. So I begged Olivar to take me back to Rubica.
“We’ve arrived,” Olivar said, his voice rough as he coughed against the smoke.
We stepped onto the harbor, and the horrors unfolded before my eyes.
Corpses littered the ground—crushed, broken, and bloody. The streets smoldered with piles of rubble, and the eerie silence was broken only by the occasional sound of collapsing buildings. The roads, once lined with banners and laughter, were now choked with ash and ruin.
The closer we drew to the city square, the more unbearable the scene became. The Arx, the heart of Rubica, was gone. All that remained was a dusty crater surrounded by mountains of debris.
Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled forward. That’s when I saw it—a crooked figure sprawled among the rubble. Something about the body struck me as painfully familiar. I fell to my knees, my heart pounding.
It was him.
The Rex Regum. My father.
I reached out, my trembling fingers brushing against his remains. The moment my hand touched his skin, it crumbled into dust, carried away by the bitter wind.
A choked cry escaped me as I collapsed beside him. The grief was unbearable, but something glinted beneath his hand, catching my eye.
It was an heirloom—one my family had sworn never to touch. The great sword of Ravenna. A relic said to hail from the time when the islands were one, thousands of years ago.
My father’s lifeless fingers still gripped it, but he was gone. The Rex Regum was no more. And so, I reached out and took the sword.
The hilt was cold in my hands, and I felt its weight settle over me like the burden of the entire kingdom. Only the Rex Regum was allowed to wield it. But Rubica’s king was dead. And I—broken, grieving, and furious—was the one who remained.
As I rose, something grabbed my ankle. I froze.
A survivor. Barely alive, their voice was little more than a rasp.
"They’re coming back,” they whispered before the life faded from their eyes.
The fight wasn’t over. It was only beginning.
