"All these tales, all these wars, all this chaos birthed for a purpose, a purpose bigger than all and significant than innocent existences lay in the path to achieving it, to achieve the reason that defies all the evil and merely casts an undying truth. Forcing all to a luminous path, where good and bad simply seem like a choice, like a coin with two heads and no tail. Warriors fought from the bottom of their stomachs as their palms were tainted by scarlet red spilt all across from their own comrades. Warriors wailed for the sake of it until no voice was left within their throats. Warriors knew the world was not a kind place, there is no such thing that can be attained without endeavour, without offerings, without legacy. It may sound like a harsh tale, but indeed it was all for achieving it. It was all for the sake of… well, it carries no name, after all, there could be no such name for the origin of misery and hope, yet It is merely S—"
....
Dark smirking sky conquered the air as heavy clouds have taken over that beautiful and glorious blue sky with a will to never abandon. Yes, the air was in the mood of rain… rather, a storm, yet, in the calm before that storm, he walked with unbalanced steps in a black cloak identical to Athena's. His gaze averted to that overwhelming sky and a smile curled deep in his own. "I see… haha!" Suddenly with that laugh, his step became, even more, unbalanced that he couldn't even stand up on his two feet. After all his wounds were no ordinary, no man could be stained by those and lift a finger, yet he walked, walked with agony, with sombre, with fury to destroy the one responsible for it. "My Lady… I will find you and shall judge you in the name of his. I will take my revenge." A worst vicious smile curled upon his face. "Athena! I shall take your life in the name of God of War!" After all…
"The bell of chaos has rung!!" His words wailed loud with an endless echo following a laugh.
***
"Now, there are quite a lot of clouds up there. Guess it will be a storm…" Zera spoke as her hair wiggled from the heavy winds. Their steps walk fast with Athena leading them. Zera has a grasp upon Hatim's robe while walking behind him a few steps. Though she wasn't feeling fear, no, not in the slightest, rather as when her eyes wandered across all over the place, she could simply feel one emotion, sympathy. "Don't look there too much," Hatim spoke. "Do not unnerve yourself." As well as along with Hatim, Athena too gave her the choice of words, and yet she couldn't bring herself to avert her gaze, after all, they are Artelian, same as her, they are humans, same as her own. After all, it was the Navy of Marina. Sparkless were their eyes as they couldn't even cast a single reflection of that deep grey sky. As if along with their armour and clothes as if their soul was tainted by blood too.
'Death can change a person till to the point of no return.'
Indeed it can as their souls were thrown into the chasm of death, like as they did not know which second their death knocks the door and take them along, and yet they were far from fear of death, no, it wasn't that which haunts them, it was the uncertainty of losing every single limb in their body and yet have to take another step tomorrow to fight, do protect their loved one, to fight for their loved one whom they might never see again and even if some miracle happens, should they remember them?
"Listen my soldiers!!!" A voice as of steel sounded so loud, it shoved against the mighty gales of wind, that their eyes once again tried to give rise to that long lost sparkle. "Indeed, we once again lost many of our brethren… and yet we have pushed the pirate ships to defeat, to the end of the Artelian sea once again…" And yet despite the victory they have earned in the name of Artelia, not a single one of them raised their heads from a deep sorrow, not a single one of them celebrated. The one who stood above and higher, the one who stood on a stage, the Stage of Demise was its name, after all, all one who stood at it could say was today casualties, over and over. "But still we know they'll come again." A sudden fear rose in their eyes. "But remember!!" Though this time, his voice wailed so loud that it throbs every single one's core. "We will fight to protect Marina! We will fight for what we believe in! We will fight for our loved ones! Remember that well my soldiers!!" Suddenly beads of tears appeared in a few of them as if they truly were tired as if they wanted to go home as if they didn't want to die. So then why, why should Zera avert her eyes from them, it sure was a question Hatim struck with but it was merely a question with no answer, to begin with, and yet, when two humans were questioned by their sanity, the lady from Olympus walked with a blank facade, 'what a disgusting person.' If one does not know her, then they surely believe that just as to why Hatim did not query her in the slightest, neither did he feel throb against his nature. He simply walked in her footsteps. Soon as the speech ended, the man who stood above the Stage of Demise stepped down from it and headed towards a camp not very far away but near to shore, and so that was the destination where her steps were headed. If one is not conscious of why Athena walked blankly yet so aggressively, Hatim could tell why. " 'The bell of chaos', eh?" His lips whispered so slightly that it didn't even reach Athena. As they walked, passing many camps and the vast smell of liquor.
It was the biggest dark green camp as if made out of books from inside, lit with a lantern as it reflected orange-ish shade across what they call room, and that figure sat on a brilliant wooden table. His beard and hair were about the same length, blessed with blackish-brown and as his brown eyes glanced at the guest or rather an intruder, his brows twisted but as a child walked in along, he somewhat came to be confused. "I guess you are not from the Red District, huh?" It was quite similar to a disappointed tone but as the air became a little warm, Athena decided to remove her hood. Though it was a surprise she had gotten this far with that hood intact, yet what could some broken men do whose souls are tainted by blood, or there was something darker hidden that didn't meet Athena's eyes at the moment…? The instant her hood came down, his eyes were as if beheld nothing else to be more beautiful than the sight before, everything froze in that 'room' until Zera sneezed from the smell of sickening liquor, and so along with that, the halted moment continued. "I have come here from Marina, and I need a path to Helot." Straight and simple, after all, there was no alternative Athena thought of. "Hmm, take a seat, ma'am, and yes, you may call me Captain Alika." He offered the seat with a kind gesture while rising to his feet, however, before he could think of any other alternative, Hatim much arguing became hearable from the entrance behind. "Hey, why am I being stopped and she is just standing right there?!"
"Listen brat, you can't take that dagger in!"
"What's wrong with you!? She is wearing a cloak, moreover, a super black one, that's so mysterious that even an idiot could be afraid of it, and you have a problem with my dagger?!" A sigh of disappointment the guard let out. "Listen here you little sh—"
"Let him in." Before much commotion, Captain Alika's voice sounded not much loud, but enough, and so Hatim stepped in, and suddenly as if Alika felt an immense nostalgia as his deep brown gaze met Hatim's sunflower eyes. It was for a sudden, but surely, Alika lost his words. "So, are we done?" Hatim asked as felt that quiet air crammed in that one kind of room, though with that, Captain Alika blinks a few times and returned to the moment and along with a one of a kind smile curled upon his texture as if made of a mixture of anxiety and pleasure, yet even all warm that room was, it wasn't enough for him to sweat nervously. "Say, young man, have we ever met before?" His gaze hinted at Hatim. "No, never met a weirdo like you." It was something that made Hatim very annoyed about this guy and it was so clear that just meeting gaze with him could define it, so then, there wasn't anything 'good' Hatim felt and let out his tongue without much thought. "Haha! You're quite an amusing guy, now, now, take a seat." Captain Alika let out slim laughter with the same gestures, pointing to a seat next to Athena, though Hatim refused. As Alika smile curls again with distress, Zera made her grasp at Hatim robe corner, after all, the atmosphere was getting somewhat darker without anyone realizing, and maybe it was her child instinct to observe that made her so terrified, and at that moment only one thought crossed in the trio's mind. 'Is this the same person who just gave that speech now?'
"A true soldier fights not because of what he hates in front of him but because he loves what is behind him."
It was her lips that whispered those words borrowed from a book, though, it couldn't be heard at all, yet the dead calm brought it loudly as it's reached everyone eardrums, but once again her hand lapped over her mouth, after all, she didn't think through much, yet no one could disagree with her in the slightest. "We're leaving." Hatim spun and his steps surged towards the exit as Zera and Athena followed it. "Wait." It was simple, the fact those were mere steps that carried no interest for Captain Alika yet his voice wailed not broadly loud but rather instant. They all spun and Captain Alika pulled out a massive bottle of liquor. "Now, now, I can't let go, beautiful two girls empty-handed." He set two glasses, filled them fully and offered one to the next side, to Athena. "Ask me anything and I will answer."
"Damn it, not again!"
"Oh no…" Hatim and Zera both spoke in sync, after all, they have travelled enough with Athena to understand what's coming next. Athena gazes deep into Captain Alika's eyes, and so, she took the seat, set her hands on the table, and refused the liquor glass. "How does Artelia still abide? It is remarkably amusing this country has not perished yet, in this havoc of war and without any precise politics." She knew Captain Alika was just the person to be questioned. Though, a wry smile came into shape as a sip of liquor gulped down to his throat. "Now, now, this is going that far, huh? Aaah… where should I start from…" After a lanky silence, his words began. "Now, first, let's begin with Artelia itself… Artelia, in my viewpoint, is like an egg-shaped land, kind of… with the south having Melidiona, also the smallest city, while above connecting with Marina and Leos… Marina is at the west and holding against Artelian, Devian sea, a massive sea between Land Dev and Artelia. And lastly, the two legendaries, Leos, the largest city and Helot, the winter land, the east and the north. It's silly that both are the capital of Artelia now… Leos…" His gaze untied from the bottle of liquor and wandered the room. "Maybe everyone here knows what happened to Leos. The Eclipse Night?" It was a mere guess yet struck right at the mark "Indeed." She spoke as call and gentle as her voice was. "Well then, the last one, Helot…" A smile curled and his thoughts mystified with a deep stare into his liquor glass. "Artelia, despite being the smallest and weakest country in the Butterfly Realm, is gifted with many natural capabilities, gem mines, wool, unique woods… fields blessed with hundreds of kinds of growths." A sudden pause occurred in his words as ice in the glass melted with a click echo and along his smile faded. "However, to run all that in a system was, simply, impossible, given, it needs thousands of men to run that labour every single day and hiring that many men with that kind of work would simply cost… unthinkable." Athena knew what precisely Captain Alika words implied. "Slavery." She let out her choice of words, and once again brought a smile to Captain Alika's texture. "Now, now, you're a smart girl. Yes, slavery. The system was corrupted till to its very core. Hundreds die each day due to overwork and yet, unacknowledged. To hide that savagery they were stated as 'Soldiers' and crammed into Helot with very little supplement while everyone else closed their eyes to them. Given, the country needed that work to be alive or so they told everyone…" Again after again his pause halted the moment, none knew how to proceed, none knew how to pay that debt on Artelia, from whom they never met. "Now, don't look all sad little missy." His words pointed at Zera, though, though her grasp tightened at the Hatim robe corner and in that exact instant Hatim gave away a sneering glare at Captain Alika. "H—hehe, sorry…" After that, he refills his glass and adds another cube of ice and makes a clasp around it. "Yes, for sure, everyone who could change that cruelty shut their eyes… except for one… Prince Leocus didn't. Everyone defied him, his good ideal. Tagged him as an unworthy traitor, and yet he stood up to that corrupted system, to revolt against the whole Kingdom, to revolt against the King. Hence began The Battle of Masters, Prince against King, Son against Father…" A sudden pause occurred in his words, as his eyes freed from liquor glass once again and locked into Hatim sunflower eyes. "Though he may have fought for slavery, there was much going on that didn't meet the eyes, neither did it written down in history…" He blinked with a lengthy halt and swirls her gaze to liquor again. "Now let's just not go from the original talk, Prince Leocus was the true mastermind, he foresaw every single outcome and brought peace even in his death. Before his death, he established an unthinkable alliance with Hella, the rival country, and oh heavens, which was quite an uproar and yet it served as the main reason why they didn't ambush Artelia at its weakest time despite being the neighbour, moreover, after all that bloodshed history we have. While something happened with the neighbour of Hella, Land of Ryu, just a few months later after The Eclipse Night, their Emperor died mysteriously and his young son had to take the throne, though that selection was against the ideology of Emperor's brother and so brought a civil war within, it too was a gigantic uproar, enough to reach other countries' ears. And all that was left was the Land of Dev. Well, those filthy rich bastards weren't as interested in Holy-Land from the beginning as the other three, yet they still stick to some dirty tactics to make a grasp on Marina." He took a slight pause to take another sip of liquor. "However, the significant reason why Artelia still stands was the Truce Agreement, and yes as you've already guessed, it was Prince Leocus idea. 'No war shall happen until the next generation decides it…' At first, none agreed upon it, given, it was as if giving up on Holy-Land but then after the situation arose so complicated for Hella and Land Ryu, they brought the idea again and The Butterfly Realm signed it, though Land Dev didn't have any solid reason to follow that agreement, yet what a lone wolf could do when its hunger is not enough… It was purely incredible, Prince Leocus thought of every single outcome as if he knew exactly what was coming, it was as if he foresaw the actual time, it was the work of a pure mastermind…" It was then when a genuine halt occurred at the moment and the moment where finally there was no liquor left in his bottle, the moment was so silent that Zera breaths faintly echo in Hatim ears, or maybe her breaths were a little too loud, upon hearing the words a child should never know, and Hatim knows that the best, the words a child should never know. He lapped a hand over her head, patted her nicely and yet lost in the moment her, didn't even notice it. He smiled. "It's just funny how much Prince Leocus did for Artelia just as the prince, I wonder what he could have accomplished if he had become a King." A sudden wry smile. "Now, that would be a sight to see…" His smile dissolved suddenly. "If only Eclipse Night never existed in the pages of history. Along with him, the city of the nobility perished…" Just who knew a simple night can be an end of a legendary figure, it could be an end of a legacy. However, even after that enormous knowledge, one last question remains perplexed in Athena beliefs. "How many died?" It got Hatim and Zera off guard, simply not just Captain Alika. "W—what? wait, who?"
'Why?'
Athena grasped her hood over her head as that green glow faded from the mist deep within her emerald eyes. Hatim meets eyes with her before that hood covers her texture all, and for some reason, his eyebrows twist upon that with a throb in his heart. A thunderstruck with a powerful echo, leaving at its end as Zera grasps at Hatim robe corner tightens, and yet their step left to the exit behind. "Now, now, don't leave, there is a storm coming." Captain Alika, however, halts their steps by his words and Athena whirls upon it. "We have some shelters, you can rest there for a while." Though Hatim's expressions twist harshly and send beads of tension on Captain Alika facade. "Don't worry, I don't have any ulterior motives." Though his beads didn't vanish even after the fading echo of his words, after all, he didn't want to make someone like Hatim his enemy. "Very well, we shall rest for some hours and will walk again once the storm calms." Athena words sounded clear and loud...
. . .