Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Melody

 Melody led Belle through the dark passages of the Ivory Tower until they reached the bottom, when they opened a stone door in the side of the wall. They were in the sanctuary at the base of the Ivory Tower, with statues of the gods on the edge of the large garden.

"Where are the docks again?" Belle asked.

"This way," said Melody, and she led her sister across the garden, to a street that led to the docks. They both wore cloaks that hid their faces as they approached the boardwalk, but when they began to look for a ship with the name Northern Warmonger, they saw that the docks were crawling with soldiers and Knights of House Lysander. No doubt, they were looking for Belle and Melody.

"Hey, you two!" one of the Knights shouted, pointing to them. He approached them with a squad of soldiers in dark outfits. "Show me your faces, now." Melody quickly took her lightsword and stabbed it through the Knight's chest, then rushed through the soldiers, spinning around with her glowing blade, and they all dropped. When a dozen soldiers began to rush their way, past the ships, they had no other choice but to go back into the city. They wouldn't get far without getting noticed. As soon as they left the docks, a white armored car with a machine gun turret stopped in front of them. The gun pointed right at them as a squad of soldiers rushed out of it, all armed with assault rifles.

"Put your hands in the air!" the gunner shouted. Melody grabbed Belle by the arm and warped to the other side of the truck, and they rushed down the street. The turret on the truck turned around and began to fire red plasma bolts.

"Belle, run!" Melody screamed, as she ignited her lightsword and began swinging it to deflect the bolts from the machine gun. Belle ran into an alley between two large buildings as two Elites came from the armored truck, and the machine gun stopped firing.

"You and your sister both have one more chance to come with us, girl," one of the Elites warned, as both of them drew their flame enchanted swords. "King Vorian will show you mercy if you come peacefully."

"I doubt that," Melody denied. "Stay away from my sister." One of the Knights took a swing at her, and she blocked his attack, parried, then stabbed him through the chest. The other Elite lunged. Melody dodged to the side and took his head off. The gun on the armored car began to fire again as Melody ran into the alley with her sister.

"We have to hurry," she said, then grabbed Belle's arm again, and warped them both to the roof of one of the buildings. They looked down and saw that the armored car and the squad of soldiers were looking down the alley, searching for them, and were relieved that they weren't down there anymore. They ran across the roof and jumped onto a shorter house. They stopped after they jumped across three more.

"I think we lost them," Belle hoped. "How will we get out of the city?" Melody had to think about that. The Lysanders probably had every gate to Mistral closed, and every ship in the harbor seized. If they were going to escape the city, they needed to either go underground or wait until night to scale the walls. Before they could put any more thought into it, the bells on the walls of the Ivory Tower suddenly rang. They rang in a specific rhythm that everyone in Mistral recognized, though. They were summoning bells.

"Summoning bells?" Belle asked.

"Oh, no," said Melody, and she rushed to the Ivory Tower, with Belle trying to keep up with her. They ran across the buildings, to the Kingsway, where a crowd of hundreds was gathered in front of a set of gallows. King Vorian stood beside Queen Alicent, and beside her were both Prince Roderick and Princess Andrella. Below the gallows were Ser Lloyd and the rest of the Dragon Guard, along with a dozen Lysander Elite Knights. Commander Vestarr was brought out from the Kingsway with his hands bound behind him, by two soldiers in black, and walked to the noose of the gallows. He looked at the rope in dread as King Vorian stepped forward.

"This man is Garrett Vestarr," he announced. "He is Aetherian's Guardian Commander, and recently, the Head Counselor to my father, King Robar Busch. I charge him with disloyalty and treason. Commander, how do you answer to these charges? Do you deny them, or admit to them?"

"I deny them," Garrett snapped. "I took an oath to serve this country's people, not its King."

"I serve Aetherian," Vorian corrected. "I don't need people who call themselves Knights working against me. Haven't the Guardians been known to overthrow the leaders of countries if they don't like them? Confess your crime to me, the gods, and these good people, and I will show you mercy."

"There was no crime!" Commander Vestarr denied.

"Very well, then," said the King. "You had your chance." He nodded to the executioner, and he wrapped the noose around Garrett's neck. Melody tried to run forward to save him, but Belle grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Look," she whispered, as a familiar green portal appeared over the gallows. Neither of them could believe who dropped from it.

"Trevor?" Melody gasped. Trevor Karvine quickly stabbed the executioner through the chest with his blue lightsword, then cut the noose around Vestarr's neck.

"Back, Vorian," said Prince Roderick, as he stepped onto the platform with his glass halberd. King Vorian stood back as Roderick and the Dragon Guard ran onto the gallows.

"Roderick, don't do this," Trevor begged.

"I have to," said Roderick, then he turned to Ser Lloyd and ordered "Stand back, Ser. I'll handle this." Roderick quickly thrust his halberd forward, pushing Trevor back when he parried his attack with his lightsword and knocking Commander Vestarr to the ground. Trevor then ducked under a swing from Roderick's halberd and made a swing with his glowing blade. Roderick blocked his attack with the shaft of his halberd and threw Trevor backward. He landed with his back against the post of the noose. When Roderick charged with the spike of his halberd, Trevor quickly warped behind him, and Roderick's halberd became stuck in the wood. Trevor then raised his blade and swung at Roderick, but his blade bounced off his armor.

"What!?" he shouted, then Roderick pulled his halberd free and struck Trevor's head with the glass ax. Belle and Melody both screamed as Trevor fell to the wood of the platform, and his lifeless body fell to the ground. Commander Vestarr was taken back to the platform by two Elites, and a new rope was thrown over the gallows. Belle clutched her sister in her arms, and they both ducked behind the short wall that kept them falling from the building they hid on. There was nothing they could do to save their father. Tears ran from their eyes as ravens suddenly lifted themselves into the air.