The sky was on fire. That was the first thing he noticed. It glowed a smokey orange, but it was no sunset. He couldn't even say where the sun was exactly.
The second, was the warm feeling running past his hands. Crimson dripped to the muddy ground and shattered like rubies onto the dirt.
He blanched at the scene before him, fully coming to his senses. Funny, he could not quite recall how he had gotten here. Only that it was important.
Something roared overhead. A sound of great anguish. He looked about himself.
The field was vast- a valley most likely- and just beyond the descent of the hill he stood on, were bodies. Piles, and piles of dead soldiers. The smell was so strong it stung his eyes.
He glanced about the corpses of men and horses. They had just died possibly a few hours ago. This battle must have been so great, neither prophet nor druid could have seen this coming. A future shrouded in thick mist.
He spyed a muddy bit of cloth, a few yards away. It bore the shape of a golden dragon. The crest of Camelot.
But what was the other flag? He scanned his eyes from the top of the hill. Two serpants spitting venom, wrapped their smooth scaled bodies around each other. This was an enemies shield.
But what kingdom? He did not recognise the mark.
"Emrys."
It was the quietest whisper, but loud enough to divert his attention from the carnage before him.
He turned --and there-- just a few paces in front, feet and cloak stuck in mud and tangled in weeds, stood a hooded figure. It's face he couldn't see, but in one of its skeletal hands it held a simple rotting rose.
And in the other, a sword.
YOU ARE READING
The King Of Spades
FantasyWhat if Merlin's destiny was to protect Morgana instead of arthur? From the legends you know, comes a darker retelling following Merlin and Morgana Le Fay as they embark on a journey through exile towards taking over the very kingdom they were banis...
