the other kingdom

Fjor (short part 1 ) - the mountain kingdom

Fjor was the son of the emperor of the mountain people, he was fierce and merciless. The mountain people were known for this. The harsh climate of the mountains meant that the weak got left behind. Though they did not fight for power like the humans in the east , they could be just as ruthless. The mountain people were known to be strong , swift and to end up on the wrong side of an axe or blade of theirs was a huge mistake. Fjor was raised in the mountains with his father and his father's friend Jacob. He had yet to be married off to a girl but he had turned seventeen months ago and he knew it was only a matter of time till proposals from other chiefs started flooding in. fjor saw fault in their way of life , his people boasted to be better than the land folk , but he knew their only difference was their ability to fight.

Fjor woke in his side of the keep and dragged on his warmest clothes. He picked a sturdy blade for his back and twin daggers at his waist. He was off to train with Jacob, as he did everyday. Though the people expected a peacemaking leader , he needed strength. To show them he was capable of leading them he had become the best fighter.

He walked into the ice courtyard and saw Jacob there waiting for him.

"Yaccooobbb", he drawled , pronouncing his name how his father did, "don't you know we sleep in on sundays".

Jacob turned and he clearly wasn't amused. He never was. Only his father pronounced Jacob's name with their northern drawl. Fjor wondered how him and his father ever became friends. While the emperor was good and strong and warm , jacob was cold and unyielding , but his ferocity was not taught in their army ; it belonged from within the fierce warrior.

With a grunt ,training began as always. Fjor parried and hit back harder every time. He was growing stronger. His father said Fjor was so strong because he had been blessed by the gods as a child. It was easy to believe if you could see him fight. His whole body enveloped into a weapon, turning into a foreign thing altogether as he weaved around Jacob.

Before fjor could finish his trainer as he had begun to with his growing strength , he heard a bell from behind him. The warriors both stopped immediately and turned to kneel before the emperor.

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After the day of council meeting had passed Fjor could have passed out with exhaustion. But he had to report to his father who had been with Jacob all day. Fjor put on his warmest clothes and strapped a sword to his back and all his other weapons. He wanted to prove to his father that he was meant to fight , not rule. He did this every time he could.

He headed across the courtyard into his father's main tent . The guards had all left because Jacob was there, fjor felt like he was in a ghost town. He felt that a lot on their desolate mountain.

When he stepped into the tent , the usual laughter of the two friends was scarce. Fjor looked around and saw Jacob in the corner sitting by the fire. A large form lay at his feet. Fjor expected they had been hunting again. The two friends always brought back a large kill. But when he approached closer, he saw the broken bloated mutilated body of his father. Fjor looked up to a smiling Jacob with a gasp. It took him a while to realise the truth. Jacob had betrayed them. Fjor stood for only a moment. Fjor had known there was opposition to his fathers rule , but he had not known it was in their very tribe.

He turned to run out the tent , to be greeted by fifteen guards , all with their weapons drawn. He was trapped.

That was when Fjor truly felt alone. He screamed then , releasing his weapon, and charging and slicing right through the tent. He cleaved the fabric in two , entering into the cold land that lay beyond. Released to the mountain , Fjor hurtled through the keep before his death was next. He had no chance to leave with a horse. People would ambush him if he went to his room. He ran through the main entryway, grabbed a random pack which was for emergency journeys, sliced the rope holding up the gate , and fled into the darkness and emptiness of the mountainside beyond. He did not stop , and he would not , for a long while. If he did he knew he would face certain death. He hoped that the gods would have mercy on him then.