Chapter 01

In a frozen chamber under a great castle is a piece of art or a statue, but it is unique. It is a majestic man standing frozen in ice, wielding a mighty sword in two hands. There are fires lit all around but the ice sculpture is frozen solid. The chamber is covered in ice aswell. A long thin man begins speaking to the frozen man, "you thought you could reign uncontested dear brother? This kingdom needed a ruler though, not some kind servant. Those ideals you spat out, honor, serving the meek and lowly... It's the powerful that should be served. Seeing you frozen there only shows how weak you were. Though I guess you would never have known that I was the one behind this coup. I always played the loyal brother, your best friend. Hahahah how could you have guessed? And the look on your face when you finally realized what was happening! It was priceless. What I wouldn't give to relive that moment! A perfect plan executed flawlessly! Well brother... It seems your flame has chosen a champion. Not that it matters... I'll just snuff it out again! I guess I might just get to see that expression again after all!" The brother turns away. Drip A single drop of water falls from the ice sculpture of a king frozen in ice.
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I woke up with a gasp. A strange dream had plagued my nights. In the dream a cold winter wind blows, I have no warm clothes and I'm alone. I'm walking towards a warm orange flame and then when I reach it, I wake up.

"it's happening more and more now..."

The dream started happening about 10 years ago when I was 6, and ever since then they have become more and more frequent.

"Torin!"

My father was calling for me. A tall burly man, a farmer. He found me in my room and gave a gentle smile. "Hurry or you'll be late!"

That's right, today was the marching of the knights. Once a year the knights would patrol the entire kingdom, we would hear stories or news of other happenings in the land. The knights were generally kind folk, they were considered to be the most respectable and kind force in the kingdom

That is until 10 years ago...

The knights slowly changed year after year until they became what they are today- A vile pack of ravenous dogs. Every year they steal our valuables, food, then they trash the place.

Though my father smiled, it wasn't because he was happy, I could tell he was putting on a brave face. This was the worst night of the year. Our little village would leave a table of offerings out in the open in hopes they would take it and leave. But it seemed like every year the knights needed to relieve some pent up aggression or something. They burn down sheds, houses, and slaughter any livestock they see.

The entire village hides in an underground bunker hidden from the knights. They still haven't found us these past years. At this point we aren't even sure what the knights look like anymore. All we know is that when we come back out tomorrow, everything will be destroyed.

I got dressed thinking about the work I was going to have to do tomorrow. "Why can't they just leave us alone..." I mumbled to myself. Because of this new reign of terror we can barely stay afloat year after year. But our town has grown closer too. We all chip in to help each other. It's become more like a family.

I walked outside, my eyes winced at the bright sun. My mother was pulling the clothes off the line, my younger sister was herding the few sheep we had into the bunker. She turned and waved at me, "hey big bro! Why do you always sleep in!?" She was very bright and enthusiastic. Her energy was truly inspiring. She wore a pink dress she had gotten for her birthday this year. Her brown boots were muddy from chasing the sheep down. Her blonde hair was in a long beautiful braid.

"I just can't seem to sleep lately... I guess you'll have to catch me some extra worms since you're so early!" I gave a loud laugh.

Crickets. My sister, terra, had a confused look on her face. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

I clenched my heart out of emotional pain, "the early bird gets the worm...." I cried out.

Her eyes widened and she laughed finally. I did a fist pump in victory.

*torin, help your father with the offering would you?" My mother called to me. "We're going into the bunker right now. The knights could be here at any moment." She hurried along. I turned and wandered over to my father.

He slammed a cleaver through the neck of an animal. He was cleaning it and making fresh meat for the knights.

"ugh dad, why do you go through so much effort to make a special offering for the knights when they're just going to trash our village anyway?"

He wiped his hands with a rag but didn't look at me. "Hand me that platter" he pointed to a beautifully carved wooden platter. I had seen him make this platter too. My father was truly a craftsman. It had beautiful wrapping designs along the edge, on either end of the platter was an insignia of a flame.

He held the platter gently with care and started to put food on the platter, I helped. "Torin, with you, Terra, and your mother around, I have so much to lose... In the past when I made the platter, before the knights started to turn into thieves, I never got the platter back." I looked at him confused, "you mean that even when the knights were good they still took the platter?" He nodded with a smile. "Someone takes them... Which makes me happy, I know that it isn't being destroyed and someone is taking great care of my work." He closed his eyes in thought.

Honestly that seemed a little farfetched to me, "couldn't they just be selling it for profit?" My dad put his hand on my shoulder, "we can't control who benefits from our work. All we can do is provide the most outstanding work we've ever done. If you don't always do your best then youre not getting any stronger"

Well that kind of seems like a waste to me still, but I guess Dad's not wrong.

We carried the food to the offering table and the other villagers started heading towards the bunker. We followed closely behind. My dad was the last one in the bunker. We still had some time left before they usually came. He covered the entrance of the bunker with leaves and foliage before stepping on himself, "have we forgotten anything?"

At first there wasnt any confirmation but then mom gasped, "where is terra?"

What?

"she was right behind me..." I said, but quickly realized I wasn't watching her. I bolted past Dad and ran out into the open. "No torin, wait!" My dad called after me. The sun was still high in the sky, but in the distance I could see it. A procession of knights rising over the hill. They were wearing black armor and their horses were all black as well.

The knights were here.