Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Arthur

 Arthur explained to King Ethrion what he had seen a day ago in the desert, the vision that the Fae Queen Elathae showed him, but the Epsilon King didn't seem to believe what he was saying. He must have been under the impression that there weren't any Fae left, and that Arthur was lying to him.

"I do remember Queen Elathae," the King admitted. "I also remember hearing that she was burned by black flames during the Dragon War."

"I'm telling you that she's not dead, Your Grace," said Arthur. "I spoke to her myself, and she gave me that vision."

"Are you sure it wasn't a fever dream?" asked Prince Nyatar. "Considering how hot this region is?"

"It was pretty vivid," said Arthur. "I'm fairly certain it was real."

"A bear, a saber-cat, a dragon, and a centaur," said Naevys, the Captain of the Guard and Princess. "Sounds oddly familiar, father."

"A war between these lords and ladies is no concern of ours, Naevys," King Ethrion reminded.

"Well, it should be," Arthur corrected. "You are a part of this country, are you not?"

"You asked me how long it has been since we've fought in a war, Ser," said Ethrion. "The last one I fought in was ten thousand years ago."

"The Dragon War?" asked Arthur. "There have been countless other conflicts in Aetherian's history, and you've only helped in one?"

"The survival of my people is my biggest concern, Ser!" shouted King Ethrion. "I will not risk their lives for a human cause. I will not risk open war."

"If what the Knight says is true, father, then open war may be upon us, whether we would risk it or not," said Nyatar.

"What would you have me do, my son?" asked the King. "When humans tear each other to pieces, there is nothing that can be done to stop it."

"That doesn't mean you have to hide in your walls," Arthur reminded.

"Do you call me a coward, Ser?" Ethrion snapped.

"No, Your Grace," said Arthur. "I'm calling you ignorant. The last family that ruled Aetherian left you alone, allowing yourself to be called an Epsilon King, but the new one probably has no idea that you even exist."

"And you call us ignorant," Nyatar mocked.

"What I'm saying is that if King Robar finds out that there's an entire kingdom with its own King that hasn't sworn his loyalty to him, how do you think he will react?" said Arthur. "I'm trying to help you, Your Grace."

"And I thank you, Ser Arthur," King Ethrion assured. "But I must remind you that the survival of my people is my priority, not this war that may or may not even happen."

"Right," Arthur admitted.

"Even so, I thank you for your insight," said the King, then he waved Naevys away, and she seized Arthur by the arms, tying his hands behind his back. She then spoke an order to the other guards in Fae, and they took him to the dungeons. Before they entered the hold, Arthur noticed a familiar orange glow in a silver chest just before the cellblock. It was Burn. Their weapons must have been in that chest. Taking his chance, Arthur stomped on the foot of one of the Epsilon soldiers, then raised his foot and kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The other one drew his curved sword and made a slash at Arthur. Arthur quickly raised his bound hands, and the Epsilon's blade grazed the ropes that tied them together, enough for Arthur to rip his hands free. The first Epsilon made a grab for him, and he quickly jabbed his elbow backward, hitting him in the face, and knocking him out, and then kicked the other one unconscious after he ducked under a swing from his sword.

"Sorry," Arthur admitted. He collected Burn from the silver chest, as well as Trevor and Julien's lightswords, and Illyria's odachi and bag of throwing stars. When he made it to the cells holding them, they couldn't have been more relieved to see him. Arthur slashed the locks on Illyria's cell, then threw her blade and stars to her.

"Comfy, guys?" Arthur teased, slashing the locks to Trevor and Julien's cell.

"Oh, you know," said Trevor, as him and Julien caught their lightswords.

"How did you get away from them?" Illyria asked, drawing her silver blade.

"Not subtlety," Arthur answered. "Come on." They ran from the fortress and hid in the jungle brush along the city's silver walls. They needed to find a way to escape the city before they got caught by the Jungle Epsilon.

"The river outside the gates might be our best bet," Illyria suggested.

"Won't our armor sink us?" asked Julien.

"No, it's light enough for us to swim in, but it's too far away," said Trevor. "We'll have to find a quicker route." The hope for a quicker escape route would be based on how quickly they found another, less obvious gate.

"The river enters the city, doesn't it?" asked Trevor.

"It does," said Illyria. "And it flows west."

"Perfect," said Arthur. The entire center of the city was a port that stretched along the banks of the wide river with a large gate at its border. Big vessels with pointed, silver bows regularly left through the mouth of the river to the other Epsilon kingdoms and human cities throughout Aetherian. Arthur, Trevor, Julien, and Illyria managed to climb the hull of one of the trading vessels and stow themselves away in a large crate.

"Are we clear?" asked Trevor. Arthur barely lifted opened the lid of the crate to see that they were only just passing through the gates to the river.

"Not yet," he said. "I'd give it ten more minutes."

"Are you sure?" asked Illyria.

"Maybe five," Arthur corrected, then he lowered the lid when he saw an Epsilon soldier draw near them.

"One, two, three..." Julien started.

"What are you doing?" asked Trevor.

"Counting," said Julien. When he reached the number six hundred, they threw the lid of their crate open and looked over the side of the ship. They were still in the jungle, and the riverbank was about thirty feet from the ship.

"Come on," Arthur led, and they climbed into a lifeboat hanging off the side of the deck, and dropped it into the water. They quickly sped to the bank of the river before the crew could notice something was wrong, and they climbed into the jungle. They went deep into the brush before stopping. Trevor, Julien, and Arthur found themselves exhausted from running through the thick undergrowth. They rested under a palm tree for a moment.

"I think we've lost them," Trevor panted. "Maybe we can slow down."

"Just rest for a few more minutes," said Illyria. "It won't take them long to track us." Suddenly, something struck the tree they were sitting under. It wasn't an Epsilon steel arrow, though, but a silver throwing star.