Chapter one...
"We used to be feared... We had land, men, power, wealth, strength and everything that creates a name for a man..." Robin said as he stared into the eyes of his young sister named after their late mother, Silion.
War was ripening in the souls of their subjects. He could see men who looked at them in despise, doubt and envy. He was just turning 18 when a heavy burden of responsibility knocked on his shoulders.
Their parents had been slaughtered in their sleep at a wedding in the lands of the great Pines. His parents' death was valued as a bad omen by the people of their land and also meant their kingdom had weakend and the enemies to the throne had a chance to shoot their shots .
For many years the great kingdom of Bernbute was peaceful. Farms ripened with harvests, stores filled with food, there was plenty of water and ale to drink, businesses thrived, armies were well supplied with modern and adequate weapons and justice prevailed by all means.
Schools were developed as well as places of worship and health facilities. Traders loved it at the great city of Bernbute. It is said that once your goods were within the city walls, they were as good as sold.
Robin was raised to inherit the throne from his father. He attended law classes, army training and welfare camps. He was slowly rising to be a great warrior and the charming man for the throne.
By the age of 15 he was the one who discovered spies among the people of Bernbute. Usually, once a person was said to be involved in threatening the throne, a trial would be done and they would be executed when found guilty.
His father, King Edmond , was a very wise man. It is written that they feared he was wiser than the great King Solomon. He made critical decisions that furthered success for his kingdom and was grown to be loved by many.
Robin was not his father but he had his own attributes that made him famous across the land. Once he captured the spies he did not lead them to trial. Instead he promised them wealth, land and safety with a bargain of them to spy for him and the Kingdom as a whole.
He had inspired faith and loyalty across the land but as soon as the death of his father the king echoed through the land, the once charming and loyal men turned into agonized and doubtful men.
He knew he would not ascend the throne that easy but he did not know that it would be his men that would stop at nothing to make sure he was not King.
That night in the palace as the horns blew in honor of the king, he was at the hall dining with his siblings, Silion and Nira. Silion was about 14 and Nira was 11. Their brother Arvin, who was also Silion's twin, was in the company of their parents the night of the events that transpired.
The only fear was no word of him was known. Their parents slaughtered in their sleep but Arvin was not to be seen. He was neither in the wedding halls or in the palace of the great Pines. Some spoke of him as the killer while others defended him as lucky.
Unlike Robin, Arvin was a bitter Prince. He made irrational decisions and manipulated others using his power. He once had an old man flogged in the middle of the streets of the city for looking at him in the eye as his equal.
Just before the tragic events and before him and their parents travelled north for the ceremony, he had guards bring two innocent farmers in his room in the palace. Robin was quick to notice and he saved them from more damage by his ruthless brother.
"Have faith brother, our men...the true men will honor their late king and you will be crowned king, you earned it!" Silion said as she stared into the eyes of Robin.
"You are nothing like your twin!" Robin said smiling.
"We have to find him, who knows what he is up to!" Nira commented as she got up from her seat, "I am going to find out what happened to father and see to it that the responsible people punished in a manner too inhumane" she said as she headed for her room.
Nira was the most feared in their family. She was too silent and unpredictable. It was believed she had dark magic , something that built fear in the hearts of both her family and the people of Bernbute. At the age of four, she had captured twenty of the scariest of creatures in the cursed forest of Eidel.
She would sneak alone and would return with horrifying creatures she termed as her prize . The way she spoke and did things made her even more scary. Priests and bishops would advice the king to lock her in her room or church for time to time for prayers.
Her family got used to her and stopped treating her as an outcast or a curse. The late king himself spoke of her as a valuable treasure to the Kingdom, saying she might turn up to be a god-given power to protect the Kingdom from evil spirits.
She also had strange capabilities to predict the future. Before the death of her parents, she had walked into their room as the servants prepared them for the journey. She sat at the floor with her legs crossed, silently for almost half an hour then got up and told her parents that they should not even blink during the wedding and that the wedding was a funeral in disguise.