Day 24, Winter 502 AV
EveningThe mood in the dining room looks very lively, people eating, merrily talking to one another, sharing a toast, talking about their stories.
The fiddelist is playing happily while walking around the room. Everything is in a joyfull mood, servants lineup to bring the foods to the table.
The joyous mood is not only in the dinind room, but also in the courtyard. The servants were dancing, laughing, and just do anything fun.
This is the occasion in every dinner time in the Hearthglen House.
Somewhere in the city's outskirtA caravan was making it way to the city, from a distance it looked like a goverment official caravan.
The carriage is drawn by six horses. There were a company of guards with the caravan.
As the caravan draw near to the forest near outskirt of the city, they were ambushed, arrows flies from every direction, several of the guards were struck down. there were around forty guards left. Then the bandits attack, they fought fiercely, but there were so many of the bandits that the caravan's guard seem outnumbered.
"Soldier! ride as quickly as you can to the city, find my friend Leonhearth, he will be able to help us"the man in the carriage said.
The soldiers ride on to the city as fast as he can. While he was getting away, an arrow struck him in the back, he felt the pain, then several more arrows. But he thought to himself that he have to make it to the city. And so he kept on riding until he reach the door of the Hearthglen House.
As he reach the door the guards saw him, and quickly help him. The injured soldier just keep on saying
"Help,Help, i'm a soldier of Duke Harmon,we have been ambushed."The soldier quickly ran to the dining room, he said to Leonhearth
"Sire, Duke Harmon has been ambushed."Leonhearth hearing his friend's name quickly stood up, and ordered the soldiers to prepare.
"Monique, stay here with the boys, tell the servants to clean the table, and prepare the infirmary.". Then he called the servants
"Prepare the horses."Leonhearth's have a company of knights. After the knights have gathered in front of the house, Leonhearth said to Duke
"Duke, i will go first, you, gather the second company and come after me.", Duke nodded and ran of into the night.
Leonhearth's company quickly ride out from the city. As they neared the place they could see that there are only several guards left, and the guards are protecting the carriage.
Leonhearth quickly sounded the horn that he have brought along with him.
The knights charged in, the bandits look bewildered. Fifty knights in gold plated armor, charging full speed at them.
The bandits sounded their call for reinforcement, and out of the forest came more bandits, the knights fight on hard, but that's the difference between the one who fight just and the one who fight unjust, for the bandits are master of trickery and deception. They use all kinds of dirty trick. The small battle was fought very hard.
As the clouds of battle lift up from the place the image was one horrible image. There were numerous bodies on the ground, all covered in blood, the company of Harmon was done for. Leonhearth is leaning at the door of the carriage, while holding his blade. Beside him is Harmon, also holding his sword.
There were around twenty knights left. The rest of Leonhearth's company is injured. The bandits sounded another horn and then out of the forest comes another company of bandits. Now its twenty two against sixty seven.
The man who seem in charge of the ambushed called out to Leonhearth and Harmon
"Is this all that you rich noble family have? Knights... Hmph, they are not as strong as i heard they are."Leonhearth sheated his sword, and stood straight up while walking toward the bandits. He stopped several meters away from the bandits. He replied
"Oh is that so? well you certainly have not seen the horrors of war, the scared feeling that you have as you stood up there in the battlefield, thinking 'Will i be able to see another day?'." , the leader of the bandits just keep silent, then he replied
"Fear? Fear? FEAR YOU SAID?!, i will teach you a thing or two about fear" He said that while unsheating his sword and pointing it at Leonhearth.
Leonhearth dosen't move or budge an inch. Leonhearth smirked, he said
"You will teach me about fear? How will you teach me about fear, if i am the man who beated fear. What more is there for me to learn?" Leonheart sharp ears pickuped the sound of the approaching company.
Suddenly that feeling came back to him. The feeling of an approaching aura, an aura that dosen't know fear, and aura that dosen't know death, and aura that he felt long ago in that dreaded battlefield.
Suddenly a shilloute of a man jumped and landed between Leonhearth and the bandits. Clad in gold trim armor, with a red velvet cape, and a greataxe in one hand.
Leonhearth smiled and said
"Today i will teach you the meaning of fear. The true fear of the battlefield."From behind Leonhearth a company of knights draws near. But their armor is different from Leonhearth's first company. The second company of knights that came their armor was pitch black, they have the symbol of the tree in their chestplate, which is in gold. They halt several meters away from the carriage.
Leonhearth smiled and said
"Hey!, i hoped you have more reinforcement. Because once he is going all out, you need half a regiment to stop him."Duke stood up, with that piercing look in his eye, with that aura of his. He stood up, hold his greataxe in his right arm while resting his great axe in his shoulder. He walk, he just walk toward the bandits.
He stop in front of them, and he said
"I am Duke, remember that. Remember that name as the one who sent you to the grave."The bandit leader laughed out loud.
"I am Durom, and i will paint the way from here to the city with the blood of all of you."Durom turn his head to the back, toward his men, and he just smirked and said
"He thinks he can fight us all by himself", His men laugh, just as Durom turn his head forward toward Duke, he was met with a large axe swinging his way, and the moment he realized it, he saw a headless body standing in front of his men. His face showed fear.
His men, bewildred with the incident that just happened, they were like people who have been turn into stone.They stood still, all sixty six of them, stood still.
Duke turn and said to them
"This is what you will always saw in the battlefield, in war, never turn your eyes away from your opponent."Raising his greataxe to the sky and crashing it down at the nearest bandit. Another one fell.
Then from the back of the bandits there came a shout
"HEYY, don't just stand there and let him cut you like vegetables. Fight back"As if awaken from their paralyzed body, the bandits attacked, the second company charge.
Duke said to himself
"A little bit of the memory of 'that' battlefield"Then he proceed to fight them. The fight was a tough one, neither group is showing mercy. At the end of the fight, when the dust has settled. There stood five bandits left, thirty five knights of the second company and in the middle of the battleground is Duke. The knights was about to charge in but Duke hold up his greataxe to the side, and the knights stop.
He said
"You, who is your name? You are the one who shouted and give the men spirit to fight.""Why should i tell you?"The bandit replied.
"You are just as scared as every one else, yet you still manage to give them hope to fight. Just like him, when his soldiers don't have anymore will to fight, i will never forget that moment. On that battlefield, he stood up, we surely know that we will lose the battle, but he stood up, raise his sword into the sky, while holding the banner, he shouted 'Give me the strength to fight on, and as along as i have strength to raise my sword, and air in my lungs, i will fight on' and with that he charge into the battlefield. All alone by himself, he charge to the battlefield, thrust the banner into the ground and shouted 'Until the last drop of blood from my body drip to the ground, i will fight', and you know the rest of the story. I stood there and fight with him, i was very young, arrows struck him, and before he breath his last breath he said 'Duke, if you ever meet my son, tell him, that your father is not a coward, that he died gloriously in the battlefield, that he died with great honor,and..., that he died protecting your future'."The young man stood still, he shed a tear or two. Yet he just sood still.
"Son of Sir Nobin,the hero that save us all. Here is what he give me to give to you"Tossing a necklace to the young man.
The young man didn't catch the necklace, it just fell on the ground infront of him, the necklace opened up, and there he saw the picture of his father and mother, and also him. The boy stood still. He bend down to get the necklace. And there is a note in the picture, the note reads "My son, I am proud of you"
The boy cried. Then he looked up to Duke and said
"I am Nathan, the son of...", Nathan paused. Then he continued
"The son of the greatest father and hero, Sir Nodin" Duke smiled at him, then began to walk away.
Nathan call out after him and said
"Duke,can i go along with the one who have fight with my father?"Duke stop, and replied
"The Hearthglen family opens its door to everyone."Nathan and his four men followed Duke. And the company returned back to the city.
....................
