Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Arthur

 The Drumwinds of Belhall are one of the most powerful families in the Sandlands. As vassals of House Morvain, they are the ones that are depended on for troop reinforcements, Knights, and military technology. Some of the greatest Knights in the Sandlands, and even Aetherian have come from Belhall. Such Knights included Ser Etgar Drumwind, who was killed by a stab to the back after single-handedly bringing down an entire Guardian squad. One of the Knights that is still alive is Ser Arthur Drumwind, Ser Etgar's younger son. He only wore a leather jacket embroidered with the scorpion of House Morvain for armor, but he was still thought of as the greatest Knight in Aetherian after his father was killed, even at fifteen, thought to surpass the Guardians when it came to his speed and skill with a blade. There was trouble just south of Belhall, though. Lord Morvain has sent him several miles south to keep an eye on the ancient city of Dragonbarrow, a settlement built by Draconians, and a fortress they used during the Dragon War. Arthur had taken a dozen Drumwind soldiers with him, all silver-armored and crested with the silver bell sigil. From behind a tall sand dune, they could make out the crumbling stone towers, and between the stone mounds were things out of their worst nightmares.

"Draconians," one of his soldiers said, looking through a pair of electronic binoculars.

"What?" asked Arthur.

"Look, Ser," said the Drumwind soldier, and he handed him the binoculars. Arthur looked through them and saw several figures that stood at twice the size of people, with the head of dragons with golden scales, wearing armor that was crimson in color. There was one among them that stood at nearly a foot taller than the rest, with his armor crested with the golden dragon of the fallen House Karvine, with a crimson cape that had the sigil embroidered in it.

"Hey, isn't that Theon Bloodbane?" asked Arthur. Theon turned around but stopped when he was looking straight at Arthur, then he waved to five of the other Draconians, and drew a sword with a blade as big as him, made of the teal glass malakyte.

"He's coming this way," said Arthur, then he rushed down the sand dune to his other soldiers. "Barriers, now!" The Drumwind soldiers rushed to prepare small barriers of plasma projected from stakes in the ground, and when they were up and running, they bent down behind them with assault rifles. Ser Arthur preferred a curved saber made from glass with a crystal of flame malakyte fixed on its hilt called Burn, one of House Drumwind's ancestral weapons forged during the Dragon War. Hopefully, it would cut through the Draconian armor and scales. Theon Bloodbane came over the sand dune with three more Draconians at either side of him. The six other ones were all holding long barreled light machine guns, which might have been assault rifles to the Draconians. Arthur's soldiers outnumbered Theon's by half, but the Draconians were twice their size, with heavier armor, and more powerful weapons.

"Stand firm, men." Arthur encouraged, drawing Burn. He covered his ears when Theon unleashed a sky-shattering roar from between his jaws, and the Draconians charged down the sand dune. The Drumwind soldiers began to endlessly fire red plasma bolts from their assault rifles, but they couldn't penetrate the Draconians' armor. The Draconians' machine guns, however, made short work of the plasma barriers that kept the soldiers protected. To Arthur, it seemed as if he blinked his eyes, then opened them again to see his men dead in the sand. Dread rushed through Arthur as Theon Bloodbane charged straight for him, roaring with his greatsword. The Draconian brought his greatsword down, and Arthur turned to the side, parrying the blade with Burn. Theon then raised his blade and swiped it to the side, and Arthur ducked under it. Theon then turned around and made another swing. Arthur began to step backward as the attacks kept coming, until one more, when he rushed at Theon before he could raise his greatsword again. Arthur jumped to Theon's chest and kicked him down as he pushed himself into the air, and landed back on his feet in the sand. He heard Theon give an angry mutter in a strange language as he stood back on his feet. The Draconian General made a low growl as he raised his greatsword again.

"Come on, big guy," Arthur whispered. "Come at me." He was calmer now, knowing that Theon wasn't as invincible as he looked. When Theon charged at him, he charged back, ducking under a swing from his greatsword, and running between his legs, and he slashed one of Theon's legs with Burn, cutting straight through his armor. Theon Bloodbane roared as he fell to his knees, the cut in his leg bleeding from the slash from Burn. Right as Ser Arthur was about to land a finishing blow, his vision suddenly went black. The next thing he knew, he was sitting between walls of stone, with a cage door, and Burn was still in his hand. All he could think was that he was in Dragonbarrow, probably at the mercy of Theon Bloodbane. The one who was standing outside the cell, though, made him wonder otherwise. A dark-haired woman wearing armor similar to what the Draconians wore, but fit for a human, was standing outside Arthur's cell. He almost instantly recognized her face.

"You're Kara Karvine," said Arthur. "The last Queen."

"The current Queen, Ser Arthur." Kara corrected.

"You know me?" asked Arthur.

"I don't think anyone wouldn't recognize the face of Ser Arthur Drumwind, the greatest Knight in Aetherian," said Kara. "I have a feeling everyone knows your face."

"Well, with all due respect, my lady, why am I in a dungeon?" asked Arthur. "With my sword?"

"Other than attacking my most trusted General?" said Kara.

"Who attacked me, my camp, butchered my men?" Arthur reminded. "Also, you are not my Queen."

"Careful," Kara warned. "I wonder if you have any idea how much Theon wants to tear you apart."

"Well, I'd be disappointed if he didn't," Arthur mocked. "I would have killed him if that jerk hadn't knocked me out."

"You mean me?" asked Kara.

"Well, now that you mention it..."

"You should watch your mouth, Ser," Kara advised.

"And you should watch your back," Arthur threatened. "How do you think King Robar will react when he finds out that his worst enemy is alive?"

"He has to be told about me, first," said Kara. "And you won't be getting out of here anytime soon."

"You threw me in a cell with a weapon that has a crystal of burning malakyte." Arthur reminded. "I don't think you realize how badly you've screwed up." He drew Burn before Kara and took a swing at the bars of the dungeon, but the blade bounced off. When he looked closer at the bars, he saw that they were also made of glass malakyte. Arthur wouldn't escape Dragonbarrow so easily.

"Like I said, you'll be here a while," said Kara.

"Right," Arthur admitted. "And what do you think Lord Morvain will do when he realizes one of his Knights hasn't come back from a mission?"

"If he tries to storm Dragonbarrow, he won't be going back to Sandstorm," Kara said. "And neither will that brother of yours. Hope you enjoy your stay, and take the time to learn to watch what you say around a Queen."

"I would," Arthur mocked. "If you were a Queen." Kara chuckled as she left him in the dungeon cell. Why did she let him keep Burn? It didn't matter. The only thing that can melt glass malakyte is the fire from dragons, and the dragons were dead. When Arthur looked around his dungeon cell, he noticed that the bars that went into the wall were loose. The stone walls of Dragonbarrow were crumbling and decrepit. If he could just loosen them even more, then maybe he could rip them from the wall, entirely. When he shook one of the bars a little, he noticed dust falling from the ceiling. Kara Karvine was arrogant to think that she could hold him in a crumbling cell, but Arthur would have to wait until nightfall to try and break out. Of course, he was underground, with a torch on the wall across from his cell as his only source of light. It would be impossible to tell when the sun set, but all he could do was take the chance that it was still midday, and it wouldn't be out for much longer.