Chereads / Xerxes by Micheal Achonye / Chapter 2 - Attack on Vlagsir

Chapter 2 - Attack on Vlagsir

I was nine when my parents got killed by the Drakas. I watched my mum get stabbed multiple times until she gave up while my dad got cut to pieces without mercy. Up until this day, no other memory seemed to overtake the merciless killings of my parents. When they grabbed me and I fought, I didn't know what I was fighting for, or why. It didn't seem right to budge or resist. After all, the only people I loved in this world were dead.

"Corporal!"

That must be Sergeant Fin. His story wasn't better off when compared to mine. He had watched his parents get crucified upside down as a five year old. It might have been the reason for his exceeding will to kill Drakas, be it man, woman or child.

What am I saying?

None of our stories were better. We were all orphans who joined the Dark force to become Mercenaries and kill the Kings army. Yes. They deserved it for what they had done to us. For what they would do if they weren't stopp...

"Corporal!"

"Yes Sergeant!"

He looked furious.

Good.

It meant that a Draka station was close by.

"Are you deaf, Corporal?"

"No Sergeant!"

"Then why do I have to call on you multiple times as a deer in heat calls upon her mate"

That didn't sound right. His voice was beginning to sound a bit off. Like he was itching to fight but wasn't getting a go ahead from the Magician

You see, unlike normal armies which had Kings or Princes lead them into battle, we had a Magician.

She was the direct descendant of the great Pontius, one of the greatest Sorcerer to have ever walked the earth.

He alone was enough to end this war, but sadly just like every other thing which were mortal in this world, he was no god. He grew old and upon his death bed passed his powers unto his daughter, Petra.

She took up the mantle and resumed the role of Xaj.

It was what we called leaders with exemplary magical powers.

"Do I seem like a fly to you?"

Huh

He's still here.

"No Sergeant!"

"Where are your teammates?"

My teammates. Consisting of two magicians, one special archer and two expert swordsmen.

Yeah, we were nothing special but we did have our way of doing things in battle.

"In the stables preparing for battle, Sir!"

He didn't look convinced

"And your squad leader? Has he gone gallivanting with the whores of Svilnea again?"

That I could not answer on the spot. Sergeant Roman had always been one to ease his pain with vanity. Wine, gambling, women, men, battle, rumbles, fights, spars, anything to get his mind off the crazy world he was in. He didn't like to focus on the situation at hand, instead he liked to have a good time and wait for the grim reaper to take his soul when his time was up. Very sad way to live, but it was not like he had a choice.

His wife and daughter had been burnt alive as he watched in agony and pain at their sheared skin turning black.

Cruel world

In vengeful spirit, he joined the Dark force to alleviate his suffering, but it was still not enough. He came alive whenever he had 'fun' or did something no nobleman would do. But who could blame him. He was trying to ease his pain in the best way he could, and as long as he was fighting in battle with no intentions of dying, he was free to gallivant all day if he wanted to.

"I see you know not where the Stray has gone. Go to the stables and prepare for battle with the rest"

Giving my best salute, I turned towards the stable but stopped in my tracks when a hand was put on my shoulder

"Soldier. This might not be your first battle, but when you're out here, do not drift off. Be on alert always and defend your stations with your life."

He had a murderous look which seemed to make him appear more vicious than he already was.

"Also, don't die out here. The Xaj said you were something special, but I can't see anything special about you. You're just a spearman. Keep your head in the game Xerxes, we'll need that big brain of yours when the time for reading maps and counting our horses has come."

With those words of typical Sergeant Fin encouragement, he walked off, leaving me in the middle of the busy field to ponder on my life and how this battle was going to be the one which would change my life.

For good.

***

"Where have you been?"

"Sorry, I was cleaning your swords"

That was Trina, one of the swordsmen in my squad. She was so good with her swords it was almost impossible to tell her apart from her blades in battle

"And it took you over an hour?"

Harry, the archer. His targets never left his sight when he got a whiff of them. He had a ninety four percent chance of accuracy in every battle. He was the best archer in the country, only rivaled by the Kings loyal archer, Durk.

"Y'all should let im be. Y'know he likes to think bout things that don't really matter"

The one with the funny accent in the group was Indigo. She was a magician. Not as powerful as a Xaj, but she could hold her own in battle

"For Gods sake silly, speak your language with great fervor. And you, boy, go fetch me my other sword in the east tent. If you see Queen there, tell her that she should be a darling and get her magical powers and abilities over here so we can go over the plan one more time"

Olly. He was the most ruthless warrior on the field, always devising new ways of killing Draka soldiers. He was lucky enough to not know who his parents were, but his rage was deeper than anything any of us could ever imagine. Nobody knew why he was in the Dark force, but it didn't matter. As long as he was on our side, victory was really sure that day.

Running off to find the east tent was no easy feat. It was hard living in these times where war was inevitable. All around the field lay men with weapons getting ready to move out into battle.  Most of them would never come back home. Some would come back but would never remain the same. Running past the infirmary was what I hated the most. It had the biggest tent. Of course it should, you only got into the infirmary to get amputated or die. That was how I lost most of my friends. Being alone is easier than it seems, you just don't need to care, that's all. Mina, Hawk, Lan, Bridget, Gop, Ferdinand and Isabel. One by one, I came back with each one dying on my watch. I was the only rookie who survived in every mission miraculously, and now, I'm all alone. What use was it making friends and families when they would die and leave you behind without a goodbye. I had lost seven friends in less than four months, huh, I don't think I'll be able to make any new one soon. Maybe not ever.

The sky had turned grey. Petra. It was definitely her doing. She was turning the tides in our favour. We fought better in wet conditions, some may say it was our strength. A dragon flew overhead with it's rider struggling to keep it in check. The east tent loomed up in the distance.

What was that?!?

The bell

It had been rung

No

It can't be!

The last time it was rung was four months ago when I...

I lost everything that day

I wasn't going to do the same today

I have to meet up with Queen and regroup with the others

Increasing my pace, I arrived five minutes later. Would have been easier if I had a horse of my own.

She wasn't in the tent. Then where was she?

"Rexy?"

Woahhhhh

I turned around to see her at the door. That was quite scary but I had to retain my composure.

"Lady Queen, Sir Olly requests your presence at the stables."

She smiles as she walks into the room

"You don't need to call me 'Lady' Rexy, he's not here y'know "

I relaxed a bit.

"Did you hear the bell?"

"Yeah, I did, I'm guessing that's why you're here. To help me prepare for battle"

"I was already on my way before the bell..."

Her lips clashed with mine as her hands clasped my neck. I could not fight her off, I mean, why would I want to do that?

We've been in love with each other since day one, but because I was human and she was a descendant of the great magician clan it was forbidden. I put my hands on her waist drawing her close to me as we kissed viciously. I had missed her so badly. She was the only person I could not let go of either to death or to any other magician for any reason. I fought for her and she fought for me. Yes we kept it a secret, but it was better than being sent away from the northern camp to join another encampment.

We stayed still for a moment in each other's arms breathing hard. I had to make the first move, or we could be caught.

Call me a coward or whatever. If she was caught with me, she would get off with a warning, but I would either be hanged or mercilessly flogged by the stable boys.

"We have to go"

She looked up to me with those blue eyes which drove me wild each time.

"Let me get my things. I'm also guessing you're here for his sword?"

I nodded

"You'll find it outside, very close to the well"

Leaving her to get the sword, I found it exactly where she said it would be.

Why was it getting so hot?

The sword had engravings on it. Spells, curses, didn't matter. They were there to kill Draka soldiers.

A dragon flew lower than usual, but it didn't seem to be one of our native dragons

Oh No!

It was Draka!

They were here already

The dragon had circled around and started to spill flames from its mouth as it headed for the tent

Queen

She was still inside

I had to do something or it would be too late

"QUEEN! GET OUT OF THERE!"

She would not hear me because of the distance.

I need to get her out of that tent

Running towards the tent at full speed while a fire pouring dragon flew towards me was not on my list of ways to die. I always thought that maybe, just maybe, the King would call off the war and let the people of Vlagsir have their lands and independence in peace. But alas it would never be so.

It was getting hotter, but I did not care. She was all that mattered to me right now. The curtain opened up as I saw her smile and whisper an 'I love you' before she was completely engulfed in flames.

It was over. The last piece of my humanity and peace was gone. I was clearly alone. Queen was gone.

The dragon flew higher up into the sky as it's wings blew out the flames and left nothing but smoke in the area. Everything had been burnt to ashes.

No, no, no, no, no

How could I have let this happen. Maybe if I was born a god or a wizard or demon or even a human with some kind of power I could have done something. I could hear the hurried footsteps approaching, and I knew who it was

"Where is Queen?"

Hunter, Queens older brother. He wasn't in our crew but he had his own crew of elite magicians who used dark powers.

The look on his face was heartbreaking. I could feel the tears roll down my cheek but I could not stop them from flowing

"I'm sorry Hunter"

His eyes opened even wider, he didn't want to hear the rest of that statement.

But he had to.

"Queen is dead"