Peace: An Unachievable Dream

Tables Turn

The sun has set, the Sub-Commanders and the Generals of the Royal Barristan Army have been summoned inside a tent. Prince Godrik and Sir Royland are laying down the battle plans for tomorrow's attack on the Cartells' heart, Derin Keep, the Royal Castle and capital of Derington. This will be the final stroke, the one that will put an end to this bloodbath! The army is camping outside, sharing tales of their glory on the battlefield. Things were looking neat for them. One more day and this destructive mess will end.

A little boy is standing in the stables, located beside the gate, and admiring the horses. He looks at the walls and thinks to himself that maybe one-day he'll be out there, on a horse like this one, and fighting for the honour of Lyonden. The voice of a man yells out, "Open The Gates!". The voice seems to be coming from outside the castle walls. The sound of wood crashing on to steel silences everyone inside the castle grounds. Five battering rams start charging at the gates, a hoard of soldiers start yelling outside! The boy's eyes widen, jaw drops as he realizes what this means.

“We're under attack! We're under attack!” yells the boy. The horn of the Lion, the indication that danger is upon the castle, is blown! Prince Godrik steps out to see the gates of Lion's Den fall for the first time, as Cartell soldiers come barging in. In the midst of this chaos, Prince Godrik manages to spot King Rhyon Cartell, barking orders at his men.

“Get off your ass! This war ain't over yet!” shouts Sir Royland. Barristan soldiers are running around the grounds, some trying to fetch a sword, some looking for their armours. Prince Godrik tries to control the situation, but this is just too unexpected. Just today they fought a large group of their army at East Den, the eastern region of Lyonden. And Sir Royland also sent a spy out, who brought the news that Cartel was heading towards Krill, the region that connects Derington and Lyonden.

Moments before the attack--

“I hear the queen wants Princes Elena to marry Jonah Glover, the King of the kingdom of Morkland,” says a kitchen maid.

“And I hear the King wants her to marry Sandor Raymond, the young prince of the kingdom of Tegron. And that there's a conflict between the King and the queen, regarding this issue.” gossips another kitchen maid.

Odlena jumps into the conversation. “King Jonah? He's got a large ass nose! Prince Sandor? He's already losin' his hairline! He'll soon be bald!” And all of the kitchen people start to laugh.

“Women and their stupid conversations...ugggh…. Hey? What's the matter with you Dion? You've been awfully quiet since noon?”

“For the first time in yer life, ya might be right there Randy!” Odlena yet again inserts herself into the conversation. “ What's wrong Dion?”

“It's Mance, the pig farmer's boy, he didn't make it out of today’s battle,” answers Dion.

“Oh my Lord! Such a good lad, he was! mourns Odlena.

“He was a fool” claims Dion.

“Dion!” says Randal in shock.

“Dion Layne! Never speak ill of the dead!” scolds Odlena.

“What? He was a fool! He's a pig farmer's son! Not a soldier, and now he's dead. That's what happens to fools who chase stupid dreams that they can't fulfil.”

Randal takes a deep breath and lowers his gaze.

“Mance was a skilled fighter! Old man Royland said he was his best student!” argues Odlena.

“I'm sorry, Odd, but I agree with Dion, sometimes it doesn't matter if you are good, it doesn't matter how much you want something, how hard you work for it, sometimes, you're just not meant to be it!” says Randal.

“There is no such thing as 'meant to be’, high born, low born, it doesn't matter! Inside we're all just flesh and blood. Mance tried to break the boundaries, cross the limits and he did it. He was the son of a pig farmer, who died a brave death in the middle of a bloody battlefield! That's something special! Really special!”

Syllia walks into the room, with no idea what's going on inside. “ Oh God! What a hard day it was! I had to be on the run the entire day, I most definitely am the most hard-working person in the entire Kingdom!”

“Tough! Wanna know what's tough feedin' 25000- me-” Odlena tries to say.

“Oh shut up about it! How long are you gonna complain about that!” interrupts Randal.

There is a moment of silence before everyone starts laughing. Even Dion pulls out a smile.

The horn blows.

Men shouting, swords clinking, children crying. That was all they could hear. It seems as if everyone inside the kitchen is now frozen. Dion looks outside the window, as he watches Cartell men rampaging the lands inside the castle walls. Fire burning, blood spilling, the houses falling.

“We-w-we're under s-siege-” Randal manages to mutter.

“Everyone st-stay cal-calm...it-its gonna be al-right!” Odlena tries to keep calm.

Dion and Randal take everyone in the room on the northern corner of the castle. The farthest from the chaos...There's nowhere else they can go. So all they can do is wait and pray. After a solid 2 hours, Dion and Randal finally decide to sneak a peak and understand the situation they're in. They see only Cartell men lined up. Everyone is silent, all the noise and chaos has stopped. A few moments later the shouting began, but this time everyone is shouting out one sentence.

“Give us their heads! Give us their heads! Give us their heads!”

Dion manages to spot the King and Prince in chains on their knees. The castle has fallen. Lyonden...has fallen.

That's all they needed to see. Now, as per tradition, all the castle staff can do is bend the knee, or die.

Dion and Randal return to the rest and tell them what's happened.

“ So, all of you are gonna bend the knee?” asks Randal.

Before anyone can answer, a man knocks down the door.