Into The Storm

32

Uliraf sat on the throne of Wolfholde's palace. The bishop stepped up to him, holding the dark crown in his hands. He lifted it above his head.

"By the power vested in me," He announced. "I now crown you King Uliraf I. Ruler and protector of Wolfholde." He placed the crown down onto Uliraf's head and stepped away from him, looking at the crowd. "Long live the king!"

"Long live the king!" The crowd echoed, repeating the chant several times. Uliraf smiled.

After the ceremony, Uliraf made his way to his first destination, accompanied by a group of knights. Each one of them carried a metal mallet and a chisel in their hands. He entered a coal mine and walked down the endless tunnels, observing the chained slaves that broke apart the rocks with hammers and chisels. "As your king, I command you all to stop!" He announced. Immediately, every single miner paused and turned to him. Uliraf gestured and the knights proceeded to break the miner's chains. They then blindfolded the miners and proceeded to lead them outside. Having been living underground for so long, their eyes were sensitive to sunlight, themselves turning into vampires. One by one, they were all released and led out.

Uliraf stood in front of a pit as the knights chucked the broken chains into it. When the last chain clanged down, they proceeded to pour concrete over them, sealing them under the rock forever.

Uliraf looked at one of the blindfolded miners and slowly took off his blindfold. The miner blinked a couple of times and looked around, allowing his eyes to adapt to the light. The rest of the miners were also given back their sight and they looked around, seeing the outside world for the first time in a couple of years. "You are free men." Uliraf told them. "You can leave and do whatever you like."

And so, with that said, the miners left, free from the tyranny at last.

The masters of the coal mines wandered around Wolfholde, there being nothing much for them to do. Their slaves were the ones that did all of the work for them. Suddenly, one master dropped to the ground as a rock flew into his skull. The slaves poured into the city, proceeding with killing their masters. One of them was forced to the ground. He pleaded for mercy, but it meant nothing to the freed slave as he proceeded to drive the chisel into his forehead. One master dropped to the ground, spilling his brains all over the pavement as one slave whacked his metal mallet into his skull, cracking it like an egg. Uliraf stood at the balcony of his palace, looking out at the rebellion and suddenly gave a small smile, chuckled.

Uliraf looked at the pile of corpses that were the masters and looked at the free men. "Chuck them out into the sea." He said. And with that single order, the masters' corpses were thrown out into the ocean and quickly washed away from Wolfholde.

A group of Wolfgrimm's agents crept through Wolfholde, ready to meet their contact. There was a job for them, and they were the only ones skilled enough to do it. Terrowin, the spymaster, led the group, gathering up intel for them to use. They went through a pair of wooden doors and stared in shock as Uliraf stood in front of them. Behind him was an execution site, already prepared with nooses. They turned to run but a group of knights grabbed a hold of their hands and bound them with rope. Uliraf gestured to the stage and they grimly walked up to it and up the steps. Terrowin roared in rage. "You goddamn traitor!" He yelled. Uliraf gave him a smirk for a single second before returning his lips to their original state. The executioner looped the nooses around their necks. Uliraf looked at the agents.

"If you have any last words, I suggest that you say them now." He told them. Seeing that the agents had nothing to say, he nodded and the executioner pulled the lever, releasing the trapdoors. The agents and Terrowin jerked and jarred violently, their legs dancing the hempen jig. Their faces began to turn purple, thick blue veins showing. Suddenly, blood began to leak from their eyes, the vessels behind them exploding. A couple of moments later, they stopped.

Uliraf stood in front of the population of Wolfholde. "You are now free." He told them. "You are free from Wolfgrimm's tyranny, you are free to do whatever you like, not one chain tethering you in place. Your time has come to live your life how you want and your actions shall not be questioned. Not by me, not by anyone. It is true, that the memories of your labour will stay with you forever, but just remember, you will never need to go back to them. You need to go forward and leave all of this pain and trauma behind. The memories are just in your head, nowhere else. Just keep walking forward and forget about them, push them aside. Live your life of freedom as you have earned it. Remember, your masters are dead and gone. Take hold of your liberation in your grasp and never let go of it. Go back to your families, go back to your children. With me on the throne, you and this kingdom are safe, I can guarantee that. You need not live in fear any longer."

Suddenly, the crowd cheered, their fists in the air.