I'll be taking many pictures.
Hopefully I'll be able to pust again tonight when i get back but no promises.
As way of an apology, here is the next chapter of that Prince/Pauper post story thing I put up a couple of weeks ago. (I chose to add to this one and not others cos it has the highest number of views)
Enjoy;
---
Chapter 4
Alduain stood out in the cool
morning air. He hadn't mingled at the party for very long two nights earlier in
the equinox festival, instead choosing to retire as soon as all of the
formalities were over with.
As expected the people had been
dull. The entertainment crass. The food... surprisingly exquisite, but not
enough to save the night. The following
day had been equally tedious, having to listen to the governor and his wife
blustering and complaining about 'lazy lantines' taking the day off of their
sacred duty while their daughter- a horse faced young noblewoman with blue and
yellow eyes, black hair and very pale skin -fawned over Alduain, trying to
impress upon him her status as a well sought after bachelorette. A statement
that Alduain prayed for his race was a lie.
If he had had his way he would
have returned on the equinox, but there was nobody to lead his carriage, nobody
to take his bags in. Without the lantine slaves the Nobility really were
incapable of operating, yet the twice yearly reminder didn't remotely point out
the fact to the Noblemen Alduain had met.
The Prince looked up from his
musings and caught his reflection in the glass of the carriage. He wore a long
brown coat, buttoned up to the collar
obscuring the navy blue travel suit and autumn orange waistcoat, less formal
and more comfortable than his usual suits, but far more uncomfortable than the
scruffy trousers and shirts the Citizens and lantines were allowed to wear. He
could see the handle of his sword poking out the front and the tip at the base
of the coat.
His eyesight backed up to take in
the four person horse and exquisitely crafted black carriage with his seal on
it as Xelaria, still as confusingly beautiful as the first night he had seen
her, directed the Governors lantines to put Alduain's travel chest on the top
of the carriage.
Xelaria had proven herself to be
a highly competent servant, agreeing to work for him on equinox day when she
really didn't have to. Alduain had promised her a day off once they were back
in the Central Counties, but she had assured him that it wouldn't be necessary.
Of course he intended to give her the day anyway.
He looked back to the larger, but
significantly less ornate carriages lined behind Alduains, they would carry his
Inforcers once they returned. He hadn't seen them since he sent them to deal
with the Drell farm issue. The day before Alduain had assumed that they were
taking the day, as they always did, for themselves. The Nobility had no right
to expect anything from the lower classes on Equinox days, however while he
wasn't concerned before he was starting to worry now.
They were the finest warriors in
the kingdom however- except perhaps for the Kings personal guard -it was
unlikely that they had been killed by a small terrorist cell. Still... they had
standing orders to report in at seven in the morning every day and it was
almost nine.
“She is a remarkable specimen.”
the governor pointed out, coming up beside Alduain, nodding at Xelaria.
Alduain cursed internally. He had
hoped to leave before the governor awoke. He had been naïve. “A fine gift.”
Alduain acknowledge.
The Governor nodded in his pompous
way. “I'm sure a gift of that magnitude would earn your favour.” The governor
pointed out, not at all subtly. Alduain eyed him as he continued to nod. “Are
you sure you must leave so soon, your highness?” He asked, turning to Alduain.
“You and Merianda appeared to be getting along so well. She will be saddened
that you had to leave this morning.”
Alduain forced a smile and drew
on his tobastick. He blew it out a moment later, making sure not to blow it on
the Governor. “It is with deep regret, of course, that I must return to the
central counties my lord, but there are matters that require my urgent
attention.” he lied. It wasn't that he wasn't needed in the central counties-
he was sure that there was some terrorist group somewhere for him to round up
-but there was no regret. Had he been forced to sit with young Merianda any
longer he might have been forced to drown her in her own moisture.
“A shame, she will have to come
visit you in the central counties soon.” He offered.
Alduain was certain that the
horrified shock extended to his facial features but the governor didn't seem to
notice. “Of course.” Alduain forced. “However I am often elsewhere, I fear that
my attentions would be too widely dispersed to do Miss Merianda justice,
perhaps at the next court affair?” the next court affair would not be for at
least four months, and really if Alduain hadn't thought of a decent excuse by
that point he didn't deserve to get out of it.
The governor nodded. “Of course.
When do you leave?”
“As soon as my Inforcers
arrive.” Alduain responded as Xelaria returned to his side, her head bowed to
avoid the two lords attention.
“Ah, I've always wondered about
your men, are they Noblemen?” The governor asked.
“The captain is. Of a very low
house however.” Alduain answered.
“And the others are Citizen.” The
Governor concluded.
“No, actually. A few of them are Citizen,
but the majority are lantine.” Alduain corrected.
“Really?” the Governor asked,
surprised. “And they make you wait?”
Alduain frowned. “Never before.”
he admitted, thinking back. “They're good soldiers, disciplined, strong, the
strongest and most loyal I've known...”
“And yet- perhaps the freedom
that we suffered them yesterday grew too intoxicating for their feeble minds?”
The Governor offered, bristling at the idea of the lantines freedom.
“Perhaps...” Alduain admitted,
looking out at the city. He picked the pocket watch from his vest and popped it
open. Nine-thirty. “However I am growing worried that the terrorist cell we
found in your town proved too much for them.”
The governor frowned, looking
sidelong at Alduain. “I doubt any terrorist cell in my city would be large
enough or have enough momentum to kill all of your Inforcers. My Legionnaires
are not quite so incompetent.”
Alduain nodded. “Still... I would
know where I might find Drell farm.”
“Drell farm?” the Governor
repeated. “It's just outside the town, one of the smaller farms, grows
speciality items tobacco mostly. I can have a Legionnaire show you, if you'd
like.”
“Perhaps... I'd rather not risk
the life of another. If you could just point me in the right direction I'm sure
I'd find it.”
“I can show you, My Prince.”
Xelaria said, quietly behind him. “I know the farm a little.”
Alduain considered. He didn't
want to risk the lives of the Legionnaires, good hard working men, but a
lantine? Lantines were replaceable, even one so... confusing. He nodded and
crossed the driveway to his horse and carriage. He reached up into the bags
tied to the roof and drew a long belt with tubes of water from his clothes
chest. He inspected them quickly for cracks, but found none. Some of the tubes
had small objects in them others were just plain water.
He strapped it over his shoulder
and around his waist before climbing back up onto the carriage and rummaging
around. He jumped down with three bottles of water with, what looked like,
holsters and attached them to his belt. The first time he'd put the bottles on
he had thought he looked ridiculous, and he did, but he was happy to sacrifice
a little aesthetic beauty for the power that the bottles held for him.
“All right.” he said, walking
back to the governor and his lantine. “I would appreciate the use of a horse,
Governor Ferron.”
The Governor nodded and pointed
towards a nearby stable. “Just tell one of the lantines to saddle one for you.
I... I think I'll wait inside.” He dabbed his head. “Good luck to you, son, may
the fallen watch over you.”
Alduain nodded and turned to the
stable, striding quickly. Before long they were on their way, riding as quickly
as Alduain could while following the lantine girl's directions.
Soon Alduain came to a stop in
front of a small farm. The farm house was at the front of the property and the
barn at the back. Everything seemed fine at first but on closer inspection
Alduain noticed that the crops were dead. The earth was dry for anything to
grow. The rebels had chosen this place specifically because of him, or another
Soaker.
“Stay here.” The Soaker ordered,
climbing off the horse and un-holstering a bottle of water. He landed and the
dirt seemed to crumple beneath him, throwing up dust in every direction.
“What're you going to do, my Prince?”
the lantine asked, slipping off the horse beside him. “Do you require any
assistance?”
Alduain eyed the girl and
frowned. “I do not require your help. Wait here and only come if you need me.”
She looked up at him with
intelligent eyes and nodded, stepping back to the horse. Alduain checked his
sword, bottles and water tubes quickly before turning for the barn and
sprinting through the dead crops.
He looked back over his shoulder
to catch Xelaria pulling a sword free of the horses saddle to wait. A very
confusing lantine.
Alduain returned to the task at
hand, leaping over a fence and slowing down as he reached the land surrounding
the barn. The air was dry and he could smell burning. They had cleansed the
area of water. A soaker would be powerless in such conditions but Alduain would
not be deterred.
Another smell came to his nose
after a moment as he crept to the door; burnt flesh. He froze, frowning and
then there was a scream.
The Prince leapt at the barn door
and forced it open. Three men in lantine workers clothes turned to him, one
held a hot poker, standing in front of the bound body of Alduain's Noble
captain.
A quick look around the barn
found the bodies of Alduain's men piled up on one side of the room and a few of
the lantines laid out reverently on the other side.
“My- My Prince...” The captain
sighed, looking up.
Alduain's expression darkened as
the three men turned away from the captain, tied to a crucifix at the back of
the room. The one holding the poker threw it aside. It rolled into a bale of
hay and set it alight. The fire spread instantly around the room, blocking
Alduains retreat and burning away any moisture left in the air.
Alduain had no plans to retreat,
however. That was a Lord of Galledar- from a minor noble house, perhaps, but noble
none the less -the lantine mongrels were torturing. He would no more leave a
friend and ally to the mercy of a pack of ravenous dogs than he would leave him
to the lantines.
“Black Prince Alduain of
Galledar, we've been expecting you.” One of the men announced. He stepped away
from the torture victim and stood with his back straight and hands clasped
behind his back. He was a proud man, prouder than the Prince had ever seen a
lantine.
There was something wrong here,
it wasn't just a terrorist cell. At least not a normal one. His captain was
important, but what was happening might have been even more so.
Alduain took a breath, closing
his eyes, and vanished to be replaced by the Black Prince. “You've probably
noticed the lack of moisture here.” The proud man told him. “The men you sent
were certainly skilled, but they were no match for my people.”
The Inforcers were the finest
soldiers in the kingdom, if they lost here then there had to be some factor
that the Black Prince was not seeing. He uncorked one of his bottles and downed
it before any of the men could stop him. Instantly he felt the warm refreshing
sensation of having all of his magical reserves replenished. He could feel the
well of energy within him, he felt like a bubble about to burst under the
pressure as the the magic begged to be released. The man talking clicked his
fingers and six more men stepped into the room. “We know about your powers. You
work on moisture, you can sense it, you can control it... well we've removed
all the moisture from the area, you're powerless are you not?”
The Black Prince didn't converse
with lantines. He simply dealt with them. He moved quickly, pulling two of the
water tubes from their belt across his chest and threw them out in opposite
directions towards the two groups of men that had entered at the lead's
command.
They moved like arrows across the
room, swiftly traversing the barn and exploding into many pieces just before
reaching the targets. From the outside it would have looked like an incredible
throw, but it wasn't. The Black Prince could manipulate the water. So long as
he had a reserve of liquid energy inside him he could manipulate or create any
amount of water he wished.
The Prince forced the water to
carry the tubes across the room, applying pressure to the front to propel it
forward, only to press outwards at the last moment and smash the glass apart.
The Black Prince grabbed the glass with the water and rocketed the jagged
pieces into the enemies, cutting through cloth and flesh alike.
Two of the lantine fell, shards
of glass cutting their throats with a quick flick of the water, and the Prince
moved onto the next. The water, blood and glass melded into two shafts of
liquid, swimming through the air. They moved like vengeful snakes as they
chased their targets down for what the animals had done to their betters.
The red snakes of glass and water
shot at their next targets, covering the mouths and noses of a pair of lantine
as they attempted to attack. The lantine tried to breath but instead sucked the
snakes down their throats, drowning them and cutting them apart from the
inside.
The Black Prince pulled the water
back from the lungs of the two lantine, killing them as the others grabbed up
weapons and attacked in earnest.
The snakes had doubled in size,
drawing blood from the four lantines that they had killed. The two large red
and clear snakes swam around the Black Prince, circling him protectively as he
gathered his senses. Normally he'd not need to use his human senses, he'd be
able to sense everything from the moisture in the air, but without that he was
nearly blind. The water in people was still visible to him, however the weapons
and their surroundings... He shook his head and forced his eyes open,
moistening them against the dry heat with his power. He flexed the snakes and
took a quick moment, looking to the power inside himself. He found it had
diminished to around three quarters compared to what he had had.
Manipulating water didn't use the
power up as quickly as creating it, which is why Alduain carried his tubes. The
weapons cut down on power waste, but in extended fights he still had to
replenish his reserves, hence the holstered water bottles.
Of the five remaining lantines
two held sword and shields while the others held spears. The Black Prince
considered quickly how to deal with them, the shields would pose a problem if
they knew how to use them. The swords and spears less so.
The Black Prince imagined water
coating the swords, holding tight to them and hindering the blades movement and
the water complied. The two snakes split into four and two of them charged the
swordsmen. They raised their shields and the water crashed off of them. It took
effort to re-form the snakes, but the Black Prince commanded and the snakes
complied.
Two continued to circle the Prince
protectively creating a perimeter a meter around him but the other two slipped
onto the blades of the men and stuck tight. A more skilled or powerful soaker
would have been able to stop the molecules of the water, freezing the swords in
cases of blood and ice, but Alduain wasn't that powerful. A soaker that
powerful hadn't been seen in well over a century, except perhaps for the King,
but an element like the Princes father could do many things that others would
think impossible.
The three spear men darted
forward and the Black Prince drew his rapier. The two snakes that protected him
concentrated into orbs and blocked the spear tips of the two to the sides. The
spears penetrated the orbs- they were just water after all -but were stopped
soon after by the opposing force of the water. The Prince couldn't grab the
long, hard heavy spears with the water like he had with the glass, he knew
that, but trying to thrust a spear through water wasn't an easy thing to do.
The third spearman thrust toward the Prince, but he dodged to the side, batting
the weapon aside with a flick of his sword.
The spearman swung it low to trip
the Prince, stepping forward to hook his legs, but the Princes training was
broader than swordsmanship and his powers. He threw his sword into the air and
flipped backwards, over the spear. A small portion of each water snake shot
from the larger snakes, darting to the sword and catching it. The Black Prince
landed on his feet and extended his hand as the fifth snake slipped the sword
back into his hand.
The snake splashed to the floor,
wetting the dirt to mud. While Alduain was incredibly skilled a fifth snake was
just a little too much. He had to focus on each one, a snake on each side
blocking the spearmen's attacks, a snake on each swordsman's weapon to keep
them from engaging, and another to carry his weapons? It was just too much.
Most people couldn’t have handled more than one or two constructs and yet the Prince
held four comfortably and a fifth with strain.
When he'd started learning he
would focus on one and spit it in two, then focus too much on the second and
allow the first to wilt, splashing to the floor. Now though he was far more
controlled.
The Prince shot forward before
the spearman could recover and slashed across his chest, cutting through his
simple shirt and knocking him backwards before finishing him off with a thrust
of his own, skewering the man's heart on the tip of his sword.
The spearman dropped before him,
only to be replaced by one of the swordsmen. He'd dropped his water-clogged
weapon and charged the Prince shield first. He leapt over the body of his
comrade and swung with the shield. It hit the unsuspecting Prince across the
jaw and he was knocked to the side.
All of the water splashed down
into the dirt as he lost concentration. The men moved to attack him while he
was down but he reacted quickly, rolling backwards to his feet and grabbing the
second bottle of water.
His magical reserves were low,
he'd not noticed at first but the constant fighting in the heat of the fire
around the room had drained him more quickly. He downed the water before anyone
could stop him and analysed the situation.
The Prince was surrounded by four
men, two with spears and two with sword and shield. The room was walled with
fire, drying him out quicker than normal and his captain was dying on a
crucifix.
He was down two glass shots and
two bottles, but he had everything else still attached. The proud man who had
spoken was the only one who hadn't yet attacked. There was something strange
about him. An air of confidence. His men had been dropped one by one and yet he
was still confident. There was something here he didn't understand.
The Black Prince was confident in
his ability to defeat these men, but there was a small matter of how. Within
the tubes of water he had placed a variety of different things. A couple had
metal darts, others had poison capsules, most were just water with glass tubes,
they were simple but very dangerous, however there were two, the first looked
just like the regular water ones, but it had a secret, prepared just incase he
had to fight another soaker and the other one… it had a black, air tight, metal
tube that could only be opened from the inside by a push of a soaker. He had
only been forced to replace the contents once, and never wanted to have to
again.
The Prince waited as the men
stepped closer and then moved his hands away from the tubes. The muddied water
leapt from the floor behind his attackers and launched at the men. The swordman
that had hit him and the two spearmen didn't know what hit them. Bubbles of
water grabbed hold of their heads and refused to let go. The Black Prince
watched as they fell to their knees, scratching through the water at their own
faces until they lay still in the muddy floor; drowned.
The last man, however, remained
unaffected. The water that attacked him vanished within a few inches of his
face. That's what the Prince had missed. This man, whoever he was, was an
Elemental.
The Black Prince breathed deeply
as his reserves went down to half of what they had started at.
“Fool.” the man sighed. “The only
reason you are not yet dead is because I did not wish to harm my people, and I
had hoped to speak with you.” He sighed.
“What are you?” The Black Prince
asked, ignoring the man's statement.
“I am you.” the man stated. “Or
at least, the you that should have been. I am Harrison Charles.”
“How did you evade my attack?”
the Prince continued. He had to be a burner, or an incredibly powerful soaker,
able to vibrate the molecules so quickly that they evaporated.
Chargers, Augmenters, Breezers
and their amalgamations wouldn't have been able to do it. Avoid it, perhaps,
but not make the water vanish entirely.
In answer to the Black Princes
question the fire around the room flared, circling him. The man was a burner,
which implied noble birth. Charles was not a well-known house, however the Black
Prince was unaware of many lesser house names
The fire attacked, coming from
all sides towards the Prince. Thinking quickly he forced all the water back at
him, soaking him through. He dived through the fire and rolled close to
Charles, drawing his sword.
His quarry drew his own sword
simultaneously and their blades clashed. Fire spilled towards him from behind,
causing him to dodge aside. The fire swam into Charles, but he absorbed it,
spitting it back out his free hand towards the Black Prince.
He cursed, pulled the water and
moisture up from the quickly drying bodies around the room and slammed it into
the fire. The water barrier evaporated into steam, forcing the Prince back a
step as he searched for more water to block with.
The Black Prince didn’t have it.
Even if he did there was too much fire. He had to end it quickly if he was
going to live through the day.
He pulled a glass tube from his
bandoleer and threw it threw the deteriorating water barrier. It splashed
through the centre and then soared through the flames. The Black Prince could
feel the water boiling, bubbling against the glass as it weakened. The glass
exploded at high speed and the water evaporated. The Black Prince watched as
the water barrier vanished and the fire spilt free and leapt at the Prince.
Inches from his face the fire
dissipated and a scream sounded from Charles. The fire all around the room
simmered down to a low burn and, across from the Black Prince, Harrison Charles
fell to the floor.
The Black Prince stumbled to his
feet and walked over to the fallen enemy. He coughed against the smoke and
grabbed the man by the back of his clothes. A quick look up at the captain of
his Inforcers told him that the man was already dead. Burned to a crisp by the
Burner in the Princes grip.
He weighed up the pros and cons
of saving his captains body, but the building was already falling apart and he
was certain that the minor lord would have preferred that he do his job and
find the terrorists.
The Prince dragged him back to
the side door and kicked it through, dragging him out into the open as the barn
crumbled.
The Black Prince looked up at the
crumpled building and sighed. He was alone. He had no Inforcers and he hadn’t
even fully destroyed the terrorist cell. He cursed, took his last flask of
water from its holster and downed it. “You’ve killed them all.” The Black
Prince sighed, turning back to Harrison Charles. He was awake and, though he
was dying; he looked calm. The Black Prince had seen that look before. He knew
he was going to die, so he had no reason to give up anything he didn’t want to.
The Black Prince could torture the information out of him… but there was always
a risk that he’d die before giving anything up. The Black Prince was no longer
able to help here.
He took a breath and Alduain
returned to the forefront. “Are you happy?” He asked. “You’ve killed good,
honourable men… hard working men… You’re a Nobleman, correct?”
“No.” He coughed, blood spilling
down his front. “I’m Citizen.”
“But with your powers…” Alduain
argued, looking down at him.
He shook his head. “Nobody knew.”
Charles said. “We made sure of that.”
“We?” Alduain asked, turning away
from the body to look back over the quickly deteriorating barn.
“The resistance-”
“You mean terrorists.” Alduain
corrected, cutting him off and turning his head to the man.
He chuckled and raised an
eyebrow, wincing slightly at the pain. “You really believe that don’t you?” he
asked. Alduain’s eyebrows narrowed and he nodded his head. “Then the damage is
already done. You’re father would be disappointed.”
“You do not get to speak about my
father!” Alduain growled, a flash of anger passing through his eyes. He
crouched down in front of the older man and grabbed him by the front of his
shirt. “He unified this nation and brought peace to the warring lands. He is
your savour and-” the man’s head lolled back. Dead.
Alduain threw him to the floor
and rifled through his pockets before standing up. He brushed himself off and
stared down at the body. He frowned, scrunching his face up before spitting on
the body and turning back to the horse and his servant.
The two animals were where he had
left them, but not as he left them. The girl sat cowering against the side of
the barns surrounding fence. She held the sword she had taken from the horse
bloodied in her hands. A rebel man laid in front of her, dead, though the fear
on her face and the way she held the sword towards him suggested that she
believed otherwise.
Alduain passed the man and
crouched down beside her. Her eyes never left the body, but when he drew near
she dropped the weapon, allowing herself to cry. He’d seen similar actions
before from people who had killed for the first time. It wasn’t uncommon, but
he found it increasingly more difficult to think of lantines as mere animals
when they mimicked Human emotion so flawlessly.
He lifted the girl in his arms
and placed her up on the saddle. He climbed on behind her and turned them
around. He had had his doubts about keeping her, but now… she had killed a
terrorist. She had earned her place in his staff.
- James
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