A bright moon hung over the island in the lake. Its silver light illuminated the humble island, as well as the brothers. "I won't leave you behind…" Alex was using all of his strength to carry Lucas. His body had long gone cold, but Alex refused to let go. He wanted to cry, yet nothing would come out anymore.
As he walked unsteadily forward he eventually came upon a peculiar sight. There was a vast skeleton overhead. "I didn't even notice…" Alex had been looking at the ground the entire time, not taking notice of the huge ribs right above him. "Haha, look Lucas… it's like the monsters of myths!"
Of course Lucas did not respond, but Alex still smiled. "Let's go Lucas… I'm awfully tired." Every step was a struggle, and his legs had been buckling for a while. But even then, he stepped forward. If he couldn't even do this, how could he ever look his brother in the eye? The path he traced was the same as the spine of the large monster. He would soon be at the skull of the beast.
"Maybe the tale of Boreas was actually real?" The thing had bones in the shape of a wing off to the left and the right. The only thing that came to mind was a vast and powerful dragon. Soon however, sounds of shouts and yells made their way to Alex's ears. "They followed me?" Alex picked up his pace. "I won't let them even get close to you Lucas, don't worry!"
Alex soon arrived at where the skull was supposed to be. Instead, its head laid out on the ground. In fact the skull laid face away, towards the other end of the lake. The shouts were very close now, and Alex could even see their torches. "Come on, I can make it!" In one last desperate dash he made his way to the skull.
The skull was the size of a cottage back in the village. The bones were ivory, and glowed a brilliant silver hue in the moonlight. In the middle of the skull was a throne fashioned from various bones. Sitting on it was a man, or perhaps just a suit of armor. Varios runes were expertly etched onto his armor, clear marks of an exquisite craftsman. However, the armor looked tarnished, as if it had been left out in the sun for far too long. The dark and rusted armor exuded age.
The most striking thing however was the knight's sword. The sword was as tall as the knight as well as extremely thick. The edges were no longer very sharp but instead chipped and ragged. Along the blade once again were more runes. "Is this… Boreas?" Alex had really found an ancient legend, sitting upon his regal throne. Alex laid Lucas down near the throne, and closed his eyes. "Rest for a bit Lucas…"
Alex also sat down near the throne. With every passing second the men came closer to him. However, what could he do? There was nowhere to run, and as much as he dreamed to be a knight, he was merely a village boy. Alex put his hands in his hair and clenched. Why, why did this all have to happen? Why couldn't he and his brother just dream a bit more? Why did his innocent parents have to be killed so heartlessly? What harm did the village do?
As all of these questions ran through his head he finally raised his head. The sword which looked impossible to wield gleamed in the moonlight. Even though it had been left tarnished for eons, it still looked beautiful. Alex remembered his favorite moments in the fairytales he always read. Even if the hero's situation looked bleak, even if his odds of winning were next to nothing, they would always get up and do their best. No matter how many times they would get knocked down they would always get up and do what was right.
With a firm expression, Alex got up. "I'll protect you Lucas… no matter what." He walked over to the hero, Boreas. He reached out to the sword that rested on the hero's lap. "Grrr" He strained as he tried to drag the sword off. All of a sudden the runes on the sword lit up, as if reacting to its first interaction in ages.
The sword became lighter and Alex picked it up. He looked ridiculous with a sword that was almost twice the size of him, but he managed to pick it up nonetheless. Right around that time, the first soldiers saw him. "Found him, that should be the last villager!" The men were dressed in foot soldier gear. They were mostly equipped with spears and polearms, as well as chainmail and gambesons. On their gambeson, a familiar crest caught Alex's attention. A griffin on its hind legs let out a roar with a spear stuck in its side. It was the crest of the Blarian Kingdom.
"All right, let's kill him and get out of this place. Lord Rayner wanted us to kill any witnesses." Someone at the forefront of the group stood out, with a halberd and plate armor. He gave out the order to kill Alex nonchalantly and looked around the location. "Weird… I don't recall a skeleton or island ever being here…"
Alex stared down the soldiers. It was clear they had no qualms about killing him, and didn't treat him like a threat. This just all made Alex even angrier. These people had no remorse for who they had killed. It was as if the village was just an ant nest to them waiting to be stepped upon without a glance. "I hope you know… I won't go down easy! I have the legendary Boreas's weapon!"
The soldiers didn't even do anything villainous like laugh in his face or poke fun at him. Instead they just coldly ignored him and approached with their weapons. "Sorry kid, but this is how I feed my family…" Alex shook his head, as if that would give him any relief. Alex's eyes filled with rage as he lifted the giant sword. Memories of the village and family filled his head, as well as their unjust deaths. Righteous fury filled his entire being as his entire body began to warm up. His muscles felt like taut steel wires, ready to swing forth.
The runes along the sword grew brighter, releasing a red glow. It was as if they were responding to Alex's desires to cut down anything in front of him. 'I know I made fun of you… but I believe in your dreams… I really do…' Lucas's last words filled every fiber of Alex's being. Tears were strewn about his face, but there was also a small smile. 'This is for you Lucas…' Then he swung downwards.
The nearest soldier had his shield up, ready to receive the blow of the sword. The soldier was surprised that the kid could lift the sword, but expected to easily parry the blow. However, his expectations were soon shattered.
"What the hell!" The knight in the group was stunned as the soldier's top half disappeared. Blood sprayed the men behind the soldier, before a fierce tempest struck them. Each soldier desperately clawed the ground so as to not be blown away. Alex was stunned as he witnessed the destruction of his own blow, however it seemed like he used whatever power he had in that one strike and fell to the ground.
"Ack, my face!" The wind literally cut the face of the men as they tried to approach Alex. The wind still persisted despite him dropping the sword. It was only the knight who was able to slowly make his way past the wind. He pushed past the wind with gritted teeth, and even fell sometimes along the way.
Alex panted as he stared up at the sky. The wind was deafening but all he could hear was his own breathing. "I-I did it… haha…" In his last desperate moments he managed to at least somewhat avenge the village. "Did you see it Lucas? I was like a hero…" Alex let out a few dry laughs as the knight made his way over to the hysterical boy.
"You miserable child… I don't know what you just did, but I'll be putting an end to it now!" The knight was now over Alex, with scratches all over his once pristine armor. Alex didn't even see the knight. Instead he looked at the beautiful night sky and the moon. 'Thanks for the help Boreas… I was finally able to be a hero…' It was right after that thought that he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Looking down he saw the halberd piercing straight into his abdomen. "AGHHH!"
Alex grit his teeth in pain as the halberd withdrew, leaving behind a hole in his stomach. Blood began to pool beneath him, and he felt extremely light headed. The knight looked away and walked towards the sword Alex had dropped. "Don't you dare touch that!" Even as he felt heat leaving his body Alex still shouted out in anger. The knight clicked his tongue in response and picked it up anyway.
As Alex lay slowly bleeding out, memories flashed through his mind one last time. All of the happy times of exploring, eating, and reading. Every reprimand and scolding from his parents. The first time he ever caught something. The trips his dad would take him around the valley. The fights he would have with Lucas, as well as the adventures they would have. Alex could only laugh at himself. To think the dreams of everyone around him were crushed in a single night, without a care in the world. His anger only ignited, but he could no longer do anything.
"You'll get what you deserve… one way or another justice will find you…" That was all Alex could muster up in his last moments. It wasn't long till his once bright eyes became empty, and devoid of feeling. At that moment the once bright life of Alex of Rhoadvale, came to a close.
…
Sir Robert stared at the body of the boy. "Tch, you really caused us some issues, you little shit…" He could hardly believe that kid had brought forth such a strong attack. "It has to be something with this sword…" The runes had lost all of their luster, and he could hardly lift the thing off the ground.
"Whatever, with that the operation is done. Hopefully Lord Rayner will make me a proper vassal now that I've done his dirty work…" While Sir Robert admired the blade a faint rumbling echoed across the island. The surviving soldiers clamored together as the rumbling grew louder. "W-what is that?" Everyone looked side to side in fear. Soon the creaking of metal and scraping of bone rang out underneath the titanic skeleton.
Soon a giant of a man got up from the throne of bones. Everyone gulped as a murderous aura filled the air. The deathly knight walked over to the corpse of Alex. No one moved a muscle as the glowing red eyes of Boreas looked down at the boy. After a while his eyes shifted to Robert. More specifically the sword in his hands. Robert quickly tossed the sword aside, hoping to not anger Boreas.
Boreas simply walked to his sword and extended his hand above it. The runes glowed before the sword mysteriously flew into his hands. He gazed upon the many soldiers, and no one could read what thoughts laid behind the crazy red glow in his visor. Robert nervously asked "Please let us live. We have not meant to cause you any harm…" Boreas just looked down at the corpse of the boy. "Hahhh" A stream of steam emitted from his visor as he raised his sword.
…
Boreas looked around him. All that was left of the soldiers was blood and a fine red mist. He had long lost the ability to talk, and had no clue how long had passed since he had last awoke. All that reminded him of time was the countless marks he left behind on the bones around him.
He gazed down at the limp body of the boy, and his crazed eyes shook. Later in the evening a mound of dirt was erected near the shore of the island. There, Alex and Lucas would sleep for eternity. As Boreas looked out upon the lake, memories of what happened to his city filled what was left of his mind. The last image of the dead boys made the runes on his sword flare up in response.
Full of anger, he once again lifted his sword and swung.