Blackbeard; The Legend

The Library

Akahana walked down the adorned hallways of the palace, her feet making almost zero noise as she continued down the scarlet carpet. Servants bowed their heads respectfully as she passed, and she dismissed them with a wave of her paw. Slowly, she was approaching her destination, the place filled with fond memories.

Pausing before two big doors, Akahana pushed them open, and entered the library. Massive racks of tomes and scrolls towered over her, and their golden covers glittered in the sunlight. She had read most of these books, some read alone, others read by her father or mother. But she was after one this time.

She walked up to a servant and motioned to him. "Ahem."

"Oh! Lady Akahana!" He bowed quickly. "What do you wish for me to do?"

"I'm looking for a book." She answered. "It's called, 'Collection of Svellish Tales'."

"Right this way." She followed after the servant as he lead her through twisting pathways of knowledge. Long ago, she would've known each road through the library, but with everything, time for reading was scarce. Finally, the servant stopped, and dug through the shelf, before pulling out a dusty manuscript. "Here, my lady."

"Thank you." She walked away and sat down in one of the chairs, situated in the middle of the labyrinth of texts. She rested the tome on the table, and blew off the dust, revealing the title; Collection of Svellish Tales. She flipped the book open and scrolled through the pages. Unlike the other scrolls or books in this library, which had recognizable symbols, this one had unfamiliar runic alphabet mixed with the usual English. "Those are runes." Her mother explained as she pointed to one. "They are what the people in the Svellands use to write down their stories." Akahana paused as she scanned one of the passages, which was an introduction to the Svellands.

The Svellands, located in the northern hemisphere and one of the closest nations that exist next to the Arctic, is the home of warriors forged from the bitter winds and cold harshness of the climate. The name was coined by King Barend, who unified the warring kingdoms and made peace. It consists of two words; Svell, which is "Ice" in Svellish, and land, which speaks for itself.

Perhaps the most well-known aspect of this frozen world are the people who live there. Despite the freezing temperatures, the inhabitants are jolly as ever, and the atmosphere is quite warm, even with the snow and cold. Yet there is one group of these people who are the most well-known in their country and practically in the entire world. The Vikings.

Once, they were barbarians who pillaged and destroyed. However, under King Barend's reign and age of harmony, they became warriors who fought for the defence of the Svellands. Honour-bound and heroic, they upheld the law, and continue to do so. This group has been the main origin of many heroes, all revered around the world. The only requirement to join is whether you have the prowess and skill of a warrior, and a heart of justice.

Akahana reread the last sentence over multiple times, the words almost reverberating inside of her mind. That was the one thing that she had repeated in her head, every time that she trained with Twig, every time she had met with her suitors, and every time she was heading off to sleep, she recounted that phrase. It gave her hope that one day, she would prove everyone wrong.

"Lady Akahana?" A voice cut through her concentration, and she looked up to see a servant looking at her. "Are you going to continue reading that?" She motioned to the book. It took a second for Akahana to respond.

"Oh, uh, yes." She fumbled for words. "I'm going to continue. Thanks for asking." She dismissed the servant, and shook her head, remembering what she was here for. Flipping through the tome, she stopped as she reached her destination. Her favorite tale among the others, and the one that her mother would read to her. Settling in, she began scanning the first page, excitement coursing through her blood.