Mercenary

Mercenary: Chapter 7 - Dreams and Realizations

To jjackieeex, for her twenty points.

(As mentioned at the end, this is a loooong author's note. Feel free to skim it. Or not read it if you really don't care. I'll have no way of knowing. You'll just have to live with your guilt. Oh, and I'm watching you from now on. Don't think I'm not. That's right, you've raised my suspicions.)

A/N: I'm baaack! Hey everyone! I am back from vacation! And it was awesome. But you don't want to hear about that. (*cough cough* I went camping, and then I went to Australia and New Zealand. It was amazing and fantastic despite the fact that it was winter there. Actually it was even better because I love rain. *cough cough*)

Anywho, here's the next chapter of Mercenary. I know I've been gone for a month, so I have a ton to make up for. But there are extras I made on the trip:

1) A map concerning Castania (where the story takes place) and all surrounding areas. I'm going to be using place names a lot more now, so I figured I should upload a map to avoid any unneccessary confusion. I "shaded" (kinda) all areas/countries pertinent to the story, and you can see where Brierwood is etc etc. I'll upload it as a photo sometime tomorrow, and if there's any questions, just comment on the chapter or send me a message or whatever.

2) I have the entire plot planned out! No, this does not mean it's all written, but I do know where it's going. Not really exciting for you guys, but it made me happy to know that for once I have a basic idea of where my story's ending up.

Okay, so on with the story! I guess. Wow, this was a long author's note.

Cynric growled in distaste.

Things were not going according to plan.

His men were complete imbeciles. That was the only possible explanation. How was it that he, Lord Cynric of Kantonava, could have such ultimate strategic genius, and yet each of his plans could still fail so miserably?

Cynric screamed to the heavens in infuriation and punched the desk before him in frustration. The young adolescent boy in the corner shivered in fear. As Cynric’s ward, he was not unaccustomed to this sort of behavior, but that did not make it any less terrifying. It was rumored that Cynric had murdered the last ward that had displeased him, and this ward was terrified of meeting a similar fate.

Cynric growled and paced back and forth, his hands clenched into fists. No, no it wasn’t his plans that were at fault. It was the soldiers. These incompetent, ignorant, idiotic soldiers! There had been a time when he’d been an exalted war general in Kantonava, a time when he’d controlled as many as two thousand soldiers at a time. Now look at him! Was he so degraded, so fallen from his previous place of high stature, that his fate was to attack the borders of Castania, clawing for land like some sort of barbarian, controlling nothing but irked farmhands and runaway servants?!

In a fit of rage, Cynric screamed once more and punched the stone wall beside him with all his might. The stood there for a moment, glaring at the wall as if it was the cause of his problems, unfazed even as blood began to trickle down his fingers. The ward scurried forward from his darkened corner, intending to bandage Cynric’s hand, but Cynric growled at him like a territorial wolf, and so the boy shuddered in fright and returned to his corner, leaving Cynric’s hand to bleed freely.

Cynric resumed pacing, glaring at the room as he did. He seemed to believe it was indeed not him that caused his problems. Nay, it was the world that caused his problems. It was not his fault that he’d been banished from Kantonava, the same way it was not his fault that the coup he’d formed to kill the king of Kantonava had failed. It was the doing of others, not of his. After all, it was only through his own cunning that the king of Kantonava had released him, in the name of childhood friendships.