Bound to the North {Complete!}

01| Mission:Failed

Finn POV

A rush of giddy exhilaration surged through my body as I drew my bow. The enemy had me surrounded on every side. I was as good as dead. But when did that stop me?

My bow still drawn, I grabbed the Elvish whistle hanging around my neck. I blew into it with one breath, releasing a shrill sound that my companions were sure to hear. I just had to hold off the dwarves until then.

I gave the reigns a snap and my horse bounded forward. I fired arrow after arrow at the enemy, but they were only arrows. It was a single arrow at a time against an entire army of armed munchkins. And trust me, these were some angry munchkins.

I was doing pretty good staying alive, but then an arrow pierced the leg of my horse. It cried out in pain and stumbled, throwing me off. I landed in the dirt and knew this was it. This was the end for me.

But alas, my fellow elves finally came to my rescue. A volley of arrows flew at the dwarves, taking out line after line. The elves strutted in atop their fancy white horses, and dwarf after dwarf fell until the general called a retreat.

There was no point in me helping; the battle was won before it even started. It was almost funny to watch from where I sat on the ground. The tall, clean elves on their shiny steeds chasing away the stout, mangy dwarf creatures. Amara, my sister, galloped by on her horse, grabbed my hand, and swept me gracefully onto the back of her steed. With a whoop of glory, we charged back to the royal city where my certain doom awaited me.

                                                                             ***
"Finn!" a harsh whisper beside me snapped. I groggily raised my head and blinked. My twin sister Amara had said my name.

"We have a test tomorrow; you need to pay attention," she said.

"It's history," I said lazily, leaning back in my chair. "I have a mission tonight. Lord Samden'll let me take it later."

Amara snorted. "As of now, you don't have a mission."

"What?" I hissed.

"Yesterday was such a fail for you, Lord Pelos gave the mission to Ozio."

Oh God, yesterday. I completely failed. I was supposed to loot a dwarven town. Instead, I somehow attracted an army to my location and gave a huge part of our plan away. So now, instead of being on the front lines, I was listening to Lord Samden's monotonous lecture on the history of our country.

I'll leave out the boring details. So basically, the country of Ozymandia was founded by four different races that were, at the beginning, at peace with one another.

The humans were tall and lean, using common sense and close combat weapons to survive. As the easiest race to predict, the humans were the least of our concerns at the moment.

The elves utilized magical incantations, as well as healing spells and other forms of ancient magic. We were also pretty good with bows. In the current war, the elves were the strongest race.

The dwarves...well...I didn't know exactly what they did. I knew the basics: blacksmiths and hunters, but they had no specific combat skills. Dwarves were always armed with assortments of different weapons, from spears to swords and bows.

Almost nothing was known of the fairies. They were quiet, and were scarcely involved in the war. The only moves they'd made were the occasional raid of a human village. The only thing anyone really knew was that the fairies were highly advanced in magic.

I kept to myself the rest of class, venting to myself about my cancelled mission. Near the end of class, my day got a whole lot worse. Lord Pelos, the leader of the elves himself, burst into the classroom. "Finn!" he yelled, his booming, furious voice shaking the desks.

Thirty heads unanimously swiveled my way. Thirty sets of eyes stared into my soul as I took the long, slow walk to the front of the room. Lord Pelos opened the door and we went outside. I followed him down the hallway into his study. He gestured curtly for me to sit in a plain wooden chair, and he took the lush velvet seat behind his gold-trimmed desk.

I swallowed nervously, awaiting the angry yelling that was to come. Lord Pelos rarely got mad, but when he did, it was like a volcano of hellfire erupting in every direction. He just stared at me, saying nothing. His piercing green eyes seemed to penetrate my soul. Finally, after several awkward moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"You are to clear the North Woods of Beasts tonight," he said, leaning on his desk and folding his hands.

What?! "Cleaning duty?" I moaned. "That's for amateurs!"

"I know," Pelos said. "You're the best Knight, and I need you on front lines. You're father, however, has other ideas. He seemed to be very... upset about your little stumble yesterday."

"W-wait, so you're not mad at me then?" I inquired confusedly.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Finn," Pelos sighed. "What matters is what we learn from them. Unfortunately, I can't go against the word of Lord Felix, your father. He's a well liked elf, and it would cause uproar among the Council if the two of us had a dispute. You will go Beast hunting tonight, and I would advise you not to argue with your father on the matter."