[Forien's Point of View]
As I lay on my bed, gazing at the murals painted on my ceiling, which shows our family's history, its rise and downfall, I imagine what it feels like to be a part of something other than our wretched house. My name, is Forien Strix, the son of Duke Folius Strix, and the brother of the late Folias Strix, and now, the heir to the governor's throne.
I am a part of a once great house, now reduced to a mere minor family in the eyes of many. I belong to House Strix, a family, given the privilege to live on and to govern the eastern territories of another, much greater, family, House Ballister. My father always told me legends about our past, and our rise to power, and our dramatic fall to mere dukes and duchesses.
I kept them, all of them, the legends and myths that my parents told me, inside my book, which I keep hidden away at my closet. I stand from my green bed, and walk slowly towards it. I open the doors slowly, and I open a small wooden latch that reveals my personal belongings. I take my book of legends, and I sit down on my bed, ready to turn the pages.
The first thing I saw was a portrait of two men, swords at hand, and each shedding blood. This was our oldest ancestor, Fostain Strix, who, according to legend, was the first to rebel against the Ballisters. He was the first to revolt against the rule of Ororer Ballister, the first king. He and his family, were then exiled to the east, for them to remain there for 150 years.
During their exile, Fostain perished, leaving his son, Fodrick Strix, to rule the family. Fodrick is known to our family as The Founder, for he was the one to build one of the greatest structures in all of the Northern Island, The Spire, where our family was centered in.
When the exile was over, Fodrick had perished, and soon came his son, Fonrei Strix, who was known for his great leadership in The Great Rampage, where the whole of the kingdom rebelled against Oreon the Mad's son, Orelius Ballister. According to legend, Fonrei Strix rallied up all the townsfolk of the kingdom and led them to the walls in under a month. When they arrived, our great ancestor bashed the gates and burned a quarter of their high tower in flames.
They exiled the entirety of House Ballister, and executed the King and the Queen Consort. We then established our great house as the ruling family of the kingdom, with Fonrei becoming the first king of our house. All was going according to our ancestor's plan... or so they thought.
In the snowy nights of The Great Rampage, two Ballister brothers, sons of Orelius, escaped, they were Orevion, and Oranus. Legend has it, they were raised by a lonely merchant, and as they grew, they would become the very reason for the downfall of our great house. When they became older than 20, they raised an army against the new king, Forlan Strix, the son of Fonrei.
The two armies would meet atop the mountains of Nortenhein, which woud be known as The Battle Above the Clouds. Soon, both armies were decimated, leaving only three in the battlefield, Forlan, Orevion, and Oranus. It was said, that the duel of the three men shook the grounds, crumbling mountains and making them mere hills, and making debris fall from great heights unto the ground below.
Our ancestor, however, would be defeated, as Orevion Ballister, would cut off his head. Our house was humiliated, and the throne was retaken by Ballister blood. To further add insult, King Orevion Ballister would make our house governors of the east, and rulers of our original land, yet still under his command. Instead of death, they gave us humiliation and shame...
"Forien? Forien!" the voice yelled out.
I turn around to see my younger sister standing in the hallway. "Forea? What brings you here?"
"Father asked me to call you to dinner." she replied.
I close my book slowly and stand up from my bed. "Tell him I will be on my way..." I say as I re-open my closet, opening the small wooden latch, "...is it something important?" I ask, suspicion hanging in my tone.
"He said it was 'family matter that concerned the heir', whatever that means..." my sister answered, trying her best to imitate our father's deep and formal voice.
"I'll follow suit. You all may start without me." I insist.
"You talk like father too much..." my sister replies with a smile on her face, "...I'll tell them". She says and walks away.
My thoughts race back to the legends and myths of our family. I remember when I used to enjoy them at the beginning, when my father would only tell me stories for me to fall asleep to. However, when brother died due to an illness, my father was never the same. What was once just stories that I enjoyed became repeated by my father every single day. I do not know why he chose to do so, but maybe it's because I am the next heir, and my father would want to teach me a thing or two with our history, and how to rule.
My father would use the legends as examples to me. He would tell stories about the greatest rulers, like King Fonrei Strix, in teaching me how to rule. In contrast, he would tell me tales of evil kings, such as Oreon the Mad, and many more, in order for me to not make a mistake such as they did.
I have always been taught to hate other houses in the Northern Island, for my father says they all either attacked us, or betrayed us in one way or the other. I always believed him, even until now...
I shake the thoughts from my head and close the closet. I fix myself up, getting rid of any dust on my clothing, and I head down to the dining hall. As I walk through the hallway, my emotions inside begin to stir. After brother's death, I have always been pressured by my father, since I am his last male heir.
I suppose, ever since my brother's demise, he would try to protect me at all costs. This "family matter" as my sister puts it may not be a family matter at all; it might just be another conversation between my father and I, about his prejudice against the Ballisters and his plan to enact revenge for our house, and that I should help him. Of course, I always thought he was insane.
I arrive at the dining hall, the chandelier hanging above, and the long table at beneath it. My father sat at one end, while my mother, at the other. I had a reserved seat near to my father, and in front of me, was my sister. Right beside me was an empty chair... a remembrance to my brother.
"Forien, join us as we feast, my son." my father requests with a smile.
I know that smile, it's when he has something up his sleeve. Most of the time this is just his way of buttering me up, delighting me so that I would agree to his request... whatever that may be. I simply nod and sit down.
My father eats like a wolf, unlike my mother and sister who dine with class. He wipes his mouth with a white napkin, lays it on the table, and looks me in the eye. "So, I suppose your sister told you the discussion we'll have?"
"Is it really a family matter or is it another one of our private talks with me?" I ask, making sure. I adjust the napkins, forks, and spoons on my side of the table while my father ponders on what to answer.
"This concerns the entire family, son. Isn't that enough for you to consider this a family matter?" my father asks, his smile wiped clean off of his face. His hands seem to grip his utensils harder.
"Please tell me this isn't one of your 'revenge plots' again..." I reply, pointing my fork at him, "...you always say the same thing, but we all know it's never going to happen. Just accept our current situation, we are not as great as we used to be—"
"Exactly!" my father retorted, slamming his hands on the table. My sister and mother exchange looks of anxiety, but they decide to stay silent; father opens his mouth agian to speak, "To be great again, we must act—"
"But you never do." I interrupt, looking at him with a smirk on my face, my hands, also holding on to my utensils, now with an iron grip. "You never do. All you are is say and never do." I explain with frustration in my voice, setting my fork and knife on the plate gently.
"Look here, young man..." he says using voice, so calm yet impactful, " ...I will not let you become another mere governor of the Spire..." he explained, his voice louder and intimidating, "...you will become a king, one of Strix blood. You will wipe out the Ballisters, just as what our great ancestor failed to do!" he exclaimed, engulfed by a madness I have seen before.
"Why do you despise the Ballisters so much? What have they done to us but show mercy?" I ask, picking up my fork and knife, going back to eating dinner. "You should thank them—"
"Thank THEM?" my father yelled, standing up from his chair, his eyes, turning yellow and red, "Are you as mad as The Mad King, Oreon Ballister?" he asks with disbelief, pausing for a while, and sitting back down. He speaks again, now in a much calmer voice, "We Strix are natural enemies of their house; we are simply enslaved, humiliated and embarrassed by those... those thieves who stole the throne!" he exclaimed.
"Tell me, father..." I begin, "...what is this matter you wish to discuss?" I ask, pretending to have a face filled with vulnerability. I just wanted to get out of there, to escape my father's grasp.
"Those plans I told you..." he began, "...they are real. I have an army that will arrive in two weeks, give or take one. They will arrive in at Iron Port at dawn..." he explains, his face showing no emotion, yet his tone is filled with joy he struggles to control. "...there will be 50,000 men arriving at that time, and there will be more coming."
My eyes grow wider as I take it all in. A rebellion? Against the Ballisters? Is father mad? I open my mouth to speak, "A rebellion? Are you crazy?" I retorted, "Do you plan to have independence from them this way?" I ask.
"Independence? No..." my father explains. He settles his utensils down on the table carefully and slowly tilts his head to me and speaks again, "...we will destroy Ballister blood all together. Conquest is my aim, not independence. We will rise again, and we shall never fall..." my father explains.
I am left in shock and disbelief. Did I hear that right? Is my father really going to try and do all of this on his own? No... surely, he's not thinking about bringing me into this mess... is he?
"And you will be leading them with me."
And there is my worst fear coming to life. I can't lead an army, not against the Ballisters. If anything, I should be thankful to our rivals, but my father does not think the same. My lips tremble, my eyes begin to twitch, my body begins to sweat, and my mind starts to go blank. I can't think of anything... this is all too much.
I need to escape.
I nod to my father's plan, but deep inside, I despise it all too much. We spend the rest of dinner quietly finishing our meals. I finish first, and I leave immediately, making sure to greet them all as I make the escape to my quarters.