The Kingdom

Chapter One

 The vast lands of the Kingdom reach to the far lands of the continent, from the Deserts of Azdeluk to the Snowy Mountains of Tecruifa. In the middle of it all sits the capitol of the Kingdom, Katcui. It is the largest city, holding a population of over two and a half million.

There have been many great wars and historical events, including the Great War of the West, where the Kingdom and their enemy, Buchali, fought for over twenty years for control over the land. The Kingdom was victorious, and continued to expand, creating allies, enemies, gaining citizens, and creating a civilization where all could flourish.

There was peace in the Kingdom for centuries. Most citizens believed war for the Kingdom had ended. Some began to see differences in the Kingdom's choices. The king had recently become more and more bent on control of other kingdoms, and had sent out hundreds of soldiers at a time to destroy them and conquer them.

A handful of citizens from around the Kingdom beginning to move all to one place, the city of New Heaven. They had decided, along with the civilians there, that the king had become corrupted. He had to be taken down from his place as ruler. This was the beginning of the Royal vs. Rebel War of 1659. It began with a thought, and evolved over the course of decades, until these select few decided they had enough. The war would begin, and would last for hundreds of years.

Reilious Johnstone got ready for the day one Monday morning, whistling to himself as he made his coffee. He was tall for his age, or any age for that matter. Standing at a full seven feet and four inches, Reilious had trouble in most buildings due to his height. He had custom clothing made for him. Today's clothing included a dark gray shirt with a white trench coat over it. He also wore dark blue jeans, which covered some of his black sneakers. Looking at his face, one could see that he had the start of a brown beard growing, the same color as his hair, which was combed off to one side. He had sparkling blue eyes, and a nice smile as well when he was in a good mood.

Reilious picked up the day's newspaper, the New Heaven Gazette, sitting down with his coffee in his favorite chair. Before he could take a sip, however, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Getting up again, he walked over and opened it. 

"How may I help you, gentlemen?" he asked, looking at the group of four and memorizing their facial expressions.

He noticed two of them were older, with more stern expressions; they had experience. The other two were younger, around the age of twenty-five by guess. They did not look as confident as the older ones. Reilious took note of this.

"Mr. Johnstone, the leader would like to see you," one of the older soldiers replied.

"Yes, sir," Reilious nodded.

The soldiers turned and began to walk, Reilious following close behind. He followed them down the city blocks and toward a building in the center of the city: the Zykalo Residence. Reilious looked at the old building, focusing on the guards that surrounded it, its classic window design only historical buildings had anymore, and the plants growing on the brick walls.

One of the soldiers opened the front door, the other three leading Reilious to the main room. The group of five entered the lobby and walked up the stairs towards the leader's office. The four then stepped aside and let Reilious walk up to the desk of the leader, Fules Zykalo.

Fules was one of the oldest of the entire population, being one of the few remaining of the original Rebellion Family bloodline. He had messy dark brown hair, streaks of gray visible from age, as well as a uniform. It had different shades of red on the jacket, the original red of the jacket, then a darker red in blotches, from his many battles. He wore regular jeans, tattered on the knees and close to the ankles, and faded. His dress shirt was a red plaid, wrinkled in some spots.

Fules looked up, seeing Reilious walk in. "Good morning, Mr. Johnstone."

"Mornin'. What did you need me for?" Reilious greeted with a nod.

Fules waved the soldiers out of the room, who followed his command. "Take a seat. I have a bit of business for you."

Reilious sat down, and Fules started. "So, Mr. Johnstone, you know about how this city works as a whole, correct? Of course you do. You also know, being one of the many generations of people to be a part of this, you have been taught to understand our beliefs-"

"Not to be rude, but what are you getting at?" Reilious interrupted.

"Ah, yes. I'll get right to the point. I'm getting old, as you know, so I need somebody to take my spot. I have chosen you to lead this rebellion against the king's ways," Fules replied.

A muffled explosion was heard deep within the mansion, followed by yelling and gunfire. Reilious shot around to see the doors of the room burst open, the four soldiers guarding the door collapsing into the room as a man strode in.

Fules stood, only for the stranger to shoot him in the chest. Fules collapsed to the ground as Reilious ducked under the desk. The stranger had not seen him yet, somehow. Reilious crawled over towards Fules silently as the man began to search around the office, enemy soldiers pouring into the building as a war began outside. Reilious looked at Fules, who was barely breathing at this point, the bullet having gone through his heart.

"Reilious... I trust you..." Fules whispered. And with that, Fules closed his eyes, his last breath reaching his lips.

Reilious sat there in shock. The man had lead the city for decades, and was taken down by a single bullet. He looked around, finding a knife on a shelf. He picked it up and stood up.

"HEY!" Reilious yelled, and the stranger turned around, surprised by the younger man being in the room.

Reilious threw the knife. It stabbed right between the intruders' eyes, making him collapse to the ground. Reilious realized that this was the beginning of a new era of the rebellion, and he was going to lead it. He looked back at Fules, taking off his jacket.

"I will wear this in honor," he said, putting the war-torn jacket on.

He picked up a shotgun off the wall and looked out the window at the smoke rising from nearby buildings. The smoke was a thick black. A building fell from the damage, hitting the back of a helicopter, which in turn fell towards the window.

Reilious slid over the desk as the helicopter smashed through the window, ducking into a roll as it hit the desk behind him. He began to run with an impressive speed fueled by pure adrenaline as it hit the desk, smashing it into chunks of wood and metal. The helicopter then collided fully with the floor. Reilious ran out the door as the collision got to the fuel tank, and the helicopter exploded, engulfing the room he was previously in with bright orange and red flames.

Reilious continued his sprint down the hall, past soldiers from both sides fighting, jumping over fallen cabinets and tables, and out the front door.

Outside were the bodies of the fallen on both sides, and as Reilious looked around, he saw the city in a worse way than ever in his entire life. The city was on fire, screaming and explosions heard from almost every direction as jets and vehicles sped past. Pure war had been released in less than a minute as the King had finally discovered their city of operations.

Reilious now knew what he had been taught meant.