a tale for love | n. riki

one

Year 837

Dilapidated buildings, rubble, and ashes surrounded Xernia. The once beautiful kingdom of lush, green grass, flower meadows, and crystal, clear rivers had turned to skies of gray and black earth.

Captain Caspian Marina of the Odessia Royal Navy set off a rescue expedition to find survivors and bring them back as refugees to Odessia. As the Royal Navy progressed in their mission, less and less Xernians seemed to be of existence. The Zyrkonian empire had expanded and successfully occupied the capital of Xernia, Lune. The Xernian royal family had been assassinated during their failed escape while the Xernian people had been left to die. It seemed pointless to even try and look for survivors, but Caspian was determined as he and his best friend, King Orion, promised to do good for the world, especially during times of war and havoc.

Though Captain Caspian had been searching for survivors for days without rest, there were none. This was not the outcome he would think of, especially because of how big Xernia was, but it just seemed as everyone disappeared. On the 7th day, Caspian had stumbled across a tiny clan village called Sol. From a distance, the Royal Navy could see Sol had been engulfed in flames as there were few remnants of the village. The smell of ashes and rotting corpses overwhelmed the air, soldiers feeling sick to their stomachs and nauseous.

The navy entered the clan village through the broken gates, tinged with black from the ashes. The sight was disturbing as mounds of burned, dead, people laid were scattered on the hard ground. Caspian sighed as his eyes quickly averted upwards. Despite this scene being quite familiar, it was never easy to face.

"All right men," Caspian exclaimed, standing in the middle of the village, "Split up into your units and search your assigned areas. Unit one goes to the left wing, unit two to the right wing, and unit three to the front."

"Yes, sir," they responded in unison.

Minutes went by before a soldier from the second unit reported back to Caspian.

"Captain, you have to come and see this," there was a sense of urgency in the soldier's voice.

In accordance, Caspian followed the soldier to a battered house, the entrance blocked by rotting, burnt wood. But through the cracks, they saw two small children in the corner hidden away. Their faces unidentifiable from the soot and injuries covering them, but Caspian was willing to take the chance to save them if they even were alive.

Caspian ordered a group of soldiers to break through the entrance, finally walking through the house. Light shined brightly as the sight of four corpses greeted them. Their faces were burned off as the sickly red and black flesh remained and dried blood coated the wooden floors.

With prudence, Caspian walked slowly to the back of the house, where he previously caught sight of the children. The floor creaked with every step he took, hoping his gentle steps would prevent the burnt house from collapsing. Finally reaching the children, slumped against each other, he crouched down and observed their faces closely. The bigger one out of the two was a boy and the other one a small girl. Their eyes were shut, gaunt from malnourishment, but they were alive, barely, but alive.

"Hey, can you hear me?" he asked softly, tapping the boy and girl's shoulders.

There was no response from the boy, but Caspian saw the young girl's eyes flutter ever so slightly and then close again. He sighed with relief as he gently picked the two kids up. They were both so incredibly light, he felt concern, carrying them out of the house.

"I promise you two a new and better life. In Odessia, where you will be free from harm," he whispered to both.

After another week of searching, Captain Caspain and his navy found 200 Xernian survivors to bring back to Odessia. With a successful mission, Caspian had been promoted to Vice Admiral when he returned to Odessia, with a new life to await him.