The scourge of the monsters had roamed earth for eons, bringing nothing but pain and misery to the lives of men. The dawn of a new day is welcomed by the stench of new carcasses of unfortunate humans and farm animals by the stony sidewalks and roads of Euporieus. Their leader, King Hiris, a loathsome wealthy mogul with not an ounce of remorse, placed people in charge of the removal of corpses at night. You could hear the cries of the new widows, widowers and orphans at night when the cart of the dead is been pulled down the stony streets of Euporieus. The kingdom stood central amongst the four kingdoms. Her' riches been blessed bountifully with resources and fertile farmlands knew no bounds, but, the cruelty of King Hiris has hindered the blessings of the Gods. The lands have become barren and the creeks have turned dry. His warriors equipped with low standard weapons are ordered to the battlefield to be butchered.
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"We need to rise up. Brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. . .our cries mean nothing-when it ends here, in the dirt." Raio, the son of Stlran, the baker, voiced out to the little gathering. "We can no longer be pawns to an unjust ruler!"
"Stlran your boy's at it again." A passerby greeted as he walked past Stlran's shop.
"Oh no. Not again." Stlran hurried out. He had his hands dressed in flour and his moustache smeared with butter.
"We must stand together as one and end his tyranny once and for all!"
"Yes!" The villagers chorused. Their pale weakened faces brightened with hope, some bore farm tools on them. Their clothes were ragged and the ill patched garments and smudge of dirt was a fashion trend on it.
"No more unfair judgement!"
"Yes!"
"No more hunger and thirst shall we pledge to!"
"Yes!"
"And no more! Shall we, be kept at the front line of Euporieus to serve as a meatshield whose fate is to be met at the fattened bellies of the beasts!"
"Yes!!" Their cries grew louder than the previous.
"No-no-no!" Stlran interrupted, pushing through the crowd.
"Father, what are you doing?" Raio questioned, watching disappointedly as Stlran made his way for him.
Stlran gave no reply until he had himself upfront, before his son. "What in the name of the gods are you doing boy?! You trying to get yourself killed?!" He muttered fiercely to him. His short chubby stature stood at five-foot-one-inch besides his son.
"The people need to stand up one day." Raio leaned forward and replied back in low voice.
"Yes, I know that better than you, but not today and surely not one to be led by you! That would be suicide." Stlran muttered harshly at him with furrowed brows. "If your ideal is to birth a revolution against the monarch, then I think you're audibly stupid!"
Whispers and murmurs had begun to simmer amongst the gathered.
"You can hear them murmur. Can't you, father? That's all we do from dusk to dawn in fear of raising our voices only to have our heads lowered into a basket."
"And if the kings' guards show up, what do you intend to do? Fight them?!"
"When the blow horn of violence shall sound across our heads, judgement shall be given unto them." Raio stood up straight and held out his arms. "We are Euporieus. . .not this land-nor its' sturdy walls, but we, ourselves, are Euporieus. Flesh! Blood! And bones!"
"Yes!" The villagers responded.
Stlran stood disappointed before his son. His worrisome words meant nothing to him.
Then, the noisy stomping of the kings' guards broke into the chants of the villagers. Quickly, they all broke apart from the scene, Raio stood untouched by their cowardice.
"The people you stand for dare not do same when the guards' approach. That is a sign that some things are best left unspoken."
"It doesn't matter father. Fear has crept far up into their hearts and cowardice flows through their impoverished veins. What do you expect?"
"Shut your Euporieuan yap and get down!" Stlran snapped and pulled Raio by the waist.
Raio staggered downwards as he got off the little stump.
"If you have as much as a coin worth for your life and that of mine, you'd keep your tongue caged behind your teeth and live as a freeman," Stlran whispered.
The guards were close upon them. Their hands bore spears and their waist bound with sash, had swords tucked in their scabbards cling to them.
Desnix, the leader of the patrol unit turned to them and called out. "Hey, baker. News got to us that your son's causing a scene again."
"My son? That is false." Stlran replied with a sheepish smile.
"The king would not cower to have him put on a show with the executioner at the town square if you don't learn to teach him his choice of words." He tightened his grip around his sword handle. The symbol of Euporieus engraved on the silver pommel of the sword glittered mildly in the sun.
Raio rolled his eyes towards Desnix firm grip. He saw the threat at hand and clenched his jaws in detest.
"Thank you very much for your concern. Apologies for diverting your attention." Stlran said.
The knights turned and retraced back where they came from.
Raio stood mute until they had disappeared out of view.
"That is why the people have no muscles to persist against them when they approach."
Stlran gave no reply but started for his stall.
Raio turned to his left staring at the faces of the villagers who shamefully turned their heads away from him. He did the same to the right and got the same result. Disappointedly, he clenched his hands into fists and followed behind his father.
"I swear it won't be long before the sun rises on a new empire." He muttered bitterly to himself.
Stlran overheard his words but gave a deaf ear to it for he knew his son spoke of the truth.
GGRRROOOAAARRR!!!
The shrill growl echoed above, stopped them dead in their tracks as absolute silence fell upon the once busy street. Then, the shout of a female villager broke the silence.
"Run!!! The beasts are upon us!!!"
Immediately, the villagers all took to their heels in fright.
Raio rose his head to the overhead walls of Euporieus. His eyes widened with fear as he saw a boulder break through the walls. He froze at the sight of the shadow cast by the flying dragon.
Stlran turned his gaze up and saw large rubble of rocks come fast upon his son.
"Raio!!!" He yelled as he came rushing back. He jumped into the danger line and pushed Raio out in time, but he wasn't fortunate enough.
Raio's eyes were engrieved with shock as he looked before him. With his mouth agape, he let out a scream. "No!!!!"

Somewhere, a-day horse ride away from Euporieus. . .
General Gellius Hardy, chief-in-command of Euporieus regiment, sat in a pitched tent on a deserted land. Beside him, settled his top Generals before a small round table with a half straightened mapping of the vast land around them.
Neighs of a distressed horse, hooves fast digging into the dirt draw to a halt from outside, interrupted their discussion. The face of the horse rider was fear-stricken and he quivered atop the horse's back.