The Aftermath Chapter 1
Signs of Rebellion
By Cait
The sun rose, casting beautiful rays of brilliant light over the fields of grass. The rays brushed across fields, as if each wild flower and blade of grass was awaken out of the shadows of darkness. The rays quickly began to scale the walls of the Valiance Castle, the home of the Twilight Army. The sunlight poured into each window of the castle, arising each sleeping member from their night long slumber.
The brilliant rays cast themselves over Camus’ eyes, allowing the pair of light brown orbs to flicker open, and then quickly close in annoyance. Reluctantly, Camus opened his eyes, a little,wishing to welcome only a small bit of the oncoming light. “Ugh…” He groaned, while he allowed his hands to gather themselves at his eyes. He gently rubbed them, hoping to remove the remaining feeling of sleep.
“Camus!” The call, and a loud rapping from beyond his bedroom door startled him. “Are you awake!?”
“Yes… Yes, I am awake, Miklotov… What is it?” Camus gave his tired response to his friend and fellow knight. “What is so important that you must come knocking at my door to tell me at this unearthly hour?”
“I apologize for bothering you, my friend, but Lord Ethan has requested to speak with the both of us. He has news that he wishes to share so he would like us in the main hall as soon as possible.”
“I’ll be up in a moment… Go on without me if you must and if you do, please tell Lord Ethan that I shall be along soon. “ Camus stood upon hearing Miklotov disappear from the hallway. He quickly gathered his clothing from the back of his desk chair. Piece by piece, he donned himself in his uniform; a neatly made crimson shirt that buttoned up high to his collar bone, and a pair of pressed white pants. He slowly brought himself back to sit down onto his bed, his fingers dragging his pair of black boots with him. The boots were shined to sheer perfection, and as he slipped them on, they rode up to nearly meet his knees. Before he added his purple cape to his attire, he firmed the very few wrinkles that were found within the soft piece of fabric. Then he put on the purple silk, allowing it to drop to its full length; to his ankles. Finally, he finished his dressing by quickly clipping his belt around his waist. He laced it through the holes that lined the waistline of his flawless white trousers. He snatched his sheathed blade, and laced it to the left side of his white belt.
“Camus! Lord Ethan grows impatient!” Camus grimaced upon hearing the deep voice of a man, coming from within the hall. “I swear… you spend more time making yourself look pretty rather than practicing your sword skills. “
Camus smirked to himself while he peered into the mirror that rested on the wall above a chest of drawers. “How do you gain respect by looking like a ragged fool, Viktor?” He called through the large oak door while he fixed his chestnut locks with a thin comb.
“My strength makes up for my attire.” Camus heard Viktor’s response came with snicker. “I could look like some well brought up man with a sword in some handsome sheath, but that ain’t me. Now hurry up, pretty knight.”
Viktor completed his demand just as Camus twisted the finely made gold handle of his door. With a simple push, he opened the door, and stepped from his living quarters.
“And pretty boy shows his face to the public!” Viktor shouted, a spot of laughter hiding in his voice.
“Viktor, my dear friend, I’d prefer it if you would close your mouth.” Camus merely sent his eyes up into his head, and allowed them to fall back down in annoyance.
“I’ll have to tell Lord Ethan to never wake you up this early again. You sure are a grump when you are woken up at sun rise.”
Camus decided that it was best to change the subject. Another few moments dealing with Viktor’s sarcasm, and he would certainly get a well deserved yelling at. It would only prove embarrassing for Camus for he had always been taught that a knight who lost his temper in public was a dishonorable knight.
“Do you know why Lord Ethan wishes to see Miklotov and myself?”
“ I am not sure… but it’s got somethin’ to do with Rockaxe. That’s all I was told about. Apparently, Lord Ethan also has Shu involved, making plans’n’all, which makes me worry.”
“What is Shu involved with? What is he planning?” Camus asked, worry taking control of the tone in his voice, as he and Viktor began the short walk to the Valiance’s main hall. Camus had once been the leader of Rockaxe’s red knights until he resigned due to the dishonor of his own lord. Although he tried to avoid all common thought of the city and land that he once served for, he could not help but let it cross his mind every now and again.
“He’s preppin’ soldiers to go up to Rockaxe, or else he’s preppin’ a messenger to go to Lady Teresa with the news. That was all Filk could tell, and he was not even sure about it.”
“I wonder what is going on that would involve Lady Teresa.” Camus spoke more to himself, and found himself a bit startled when Viktor replied.
“I wouldn’t know, but I’ll put any money on a guess that it is something big, and Shu wants to get rid of it before it grows into a huge problem…”
“I feel as if you’re right…” Camus’s voice trailed off into nothingness, as he entered deep thought on the subject.
He was shaken from his thoughts when Viktor placed a hand onto his shoulder and spoke. “Well…Good luck. Be sure to fill me in on the details.” He felt Viktor’s hand leave his shoulder, as he trekked into the doorway that led into the main hall. As he began the slow walk, he heard Viktor quickly retreat down the hallway.
Camus released a gentle sigh as he slowly brought himself into the sights of a young man. The man (whom almost appeared to be a boy), stood calmly, and straight. A red tunic covered his chest, and flowed downward to his waist where it met a pair of black trousers. His sprawled brown locks where brushed away from his pair of mud colored eyes. “Sorry to have awakened you so early, Camus, however my news is quite important.”
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, my lord…” For a moment, he tuned his attention to Miklotov. “And you too, my friend.”
“It’s quite all right. I understand the course of waking up quite well… Jowy is the same way, each morning. We are not all morning people, sir knight. Now, allow us to get down to business?”
“Of course, Lord Ethan.”Camus noticed Miklotov’s impatient tone. He grimaced at the thought of keeping the two of them waiting. Perhaps Viktor was right. He made sure to banish all thoughts from his head, allowing his attention to return to Ethan.
“If you have heard the stories that have been flying about the castle, yes, this is about Rockaxe, and the area. It seems that a fair number of attacks have been made on people from the city. Messages tell us that these attacks are quite brutal and some of these people have died. The attacks are made on anyone; men, women, and children. Shu suggested that I send Clive out to see what he can gather, and I have done such. However, if this is some type of revolt of the people or some new formed enemy, would the two of you be willing to send up a group of men in order to rid the Rockaxe area of these problems? I do know that you are both former-knights of Gorudo, and Rockaxe, but Gorudo no longer is in charge of the country, so I am sure you will not have a problem escorting a few men through Greenhill and to Rockaxe?”
“How many men would we be given, Lord?” Miklotov spoke before Camus could. He merely canted his head, in agreement to Miklotov’s question.
“It depends.” Ethan spoke, and continued. “Clive is not only investigating the truth of the attacks, but he is also counting the number of men, that is… if the attacks are true. Shu seems to believe that the attacks are merely a test… a test to see whether we will protect the city in their time of need.”
“I must agree…” Camus finally spoke up, his voice baring a pondering tone. “That is a reason that does seem believable. However, I say that we do not take any chances. If this is true, then these men could eventually murder each member of Rockaxe, while we sit by and do nothing. They could easily take control of the Highway Village, and move east, and south to Muse and Greenhill, providing that they have enough men.”
“So, you will go Camus?” Ethan questioned him.
“Yes… I shall, sir.”
“I shall go as well, providing that Clive brings back information that proves the rumors to be correct.” Miklotov spoke up.
“We shall know in a few days… Let us hope that, if there is anything truly going on, it will not grow in a matter of days…”
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Clive’s perch within the trees shielded him from the sight of all people that happened to wander through the forests that stood west of Rockaxe town, that day. His dark attire helped to hide him, as did the shade of the trees. His stern pair of dark eyes watched for any signs of activity by a human being. His finger rested near the trigger of his revolver; he sat ready for just about any situation that would happen to come up.
The day passed slowly, and Clive found himself struggling to stay awake, even when the sun was high in the sky. Although he would have hated to admit it, he was indeed bored. His day-long watch had turned out to be a simple waste of time, and he made a vow to himself that he would be sure to make whomever started the rumors of the attacks, sorry that he ever thought of starting the rumors.
Darkness soon fell, and Clive was only relieved that his watch would soon end; Ethan had only told him to stay for a short few days, unless something came up. He hoped to be back at the Valiance by tomorrow’s evening.
The gun slinger was only awoken when he heard murmuring voices, and the sound of crunching leaves and sticks. He had not known how long he had been asleep, and he made sure to erase all thoughts of the length of his slumber from his mind, as he listened closely to the voices.
“The attacks are going along fine… I believe the Valiance will be sending up someone to take care of them in a few days… and if they do not, the people will rebel…”
“So… Either way… they’ll be led into an attack?”
“Exactly… The remainder of Rockaxe’s army has all ready been manipulated into believing that Lord Ethan murdered Lord Gorudo, despite what Freed says and those foolish knights will do anything for honor. They’ll fight for the honor of their dead lord…”
“Let us hope they send Miklotov and Camus… That will really bring out the fire in those knights… They’ll kill more.”
Clive was in disbelief. He could not understand what he was hearing, and the voices were unfamiliar to him. “So… the rumors were true…” Clive whispered to himself, pondering over whether he should confront the men or not. He decided against it, since he was out numbered, and he did not wish to risk himself.
“Yes… And Lord Ethan will be brought right into the middle of it all… He’s far too caring, for my taste. When the knights revolt, he’ll only wish to save the people… However… they’re against him as well…” A laugh came from the manly voice. “Little will he know that…”
The voices slowly faded, the rest of their conversation almost worthless, to Clive’s ears. When he was positive that the two men were gone, he quickly jumped from his treetop hiding place. Without a moment to spare, he hastily brought his pace to a run.
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“Lord Ethan!” Shu stormed through the halls at an erratic pace, in search of the boy. “Lord Ethan! I have received news from Clive!”
It was since after Shu had sent Clive north to Rockaxe, and after not hearing from him for days, the strategist had become quite worried. However, upon reading of Clive’s news, Shu wished he would have not heard from him.
“Yes, Shu!?” He snapped his head to the side upon hearing an answer to his calls. “I’m in my chambers!”
Without a single notice of entrance, Shu burst into Ethan’s living quarters. “Lord Ethan! I finally recieved news from Clive! He is fine, and in Greenhill with Lady Teresa. “
“What news does he have?” Ethan questioned Shu. Instead of receiving an answer, Shu merely thrusted a letter into his arms. As Ethan’s eyes perused the sheet before him, he simply blinked, and for a moment showed no other reaction. “What should we do?”
“I think…” The strategist pondered for a moment before going on. “… we should send both Camus and Miklotov up… And we should also send Flik and his platoon as back-up. He will go to The Highway Village, and deploy from there. He will lead his group around to attack the group from the side, if there is really anything there. We should be rid of the problem quite easily.
“Lord Ethan, I would also suggest that you send a letter to Lord Jowy. We must tell him of this possible rebellion, and we need to know if anything like this is going on in Highland.”
“I shall do that… Perhaps it is time that we meet again… Shu, tell Flik, Camus and Miklotov of our plan, and deploy within a few days. I want rid of this problem as soon as possible… We just ended a war, and we do not need another one to start.”
“I agree with you fully, Lord Ethan.” And with that said, Shu quickly retreated from Ethan’s living quarters.