The Trials Of The King

The king awoke, standing on a large battlefield. Dead soldiers by the thousands were scattered for miles. Their blood stained uniforms concealed them. Affording no way to discern which flag they once stood for as they were all brothers in death.

The king appeared to be the only one living in these lands. He stood there for a moment gathering his thoughts, the morbid stench of fallen kinsmen didn't bother him as he was far too used to it by now.

He looked onward past the battlefield to a large mountain range in the distance. The sky blanketed in billowing grey clouds made everything harder to see and the world that much sadder.

After focusing in on the distant range he noticed a large castle tucked into the cliffside. It seemed all too familiar to the king but not as if he had been there before but like it was from a memory, of a far distant time.

He took a few steps towards the mountains when a figure appeared before him. They were shrouded in cloaks of many colors, all dulled by the gloom of the blackening sky. Their hair had withered to tousled strands of grey, reflecting the ages of the world that had weighed so hard on this being.

“My King, you look rather lost." the figure spoke. The King met his gaze and put a hand to the hilt of his sword "I am lost, but before I allow you to speak you will tell me who you are.”

The figure chuckled slightly, "My king there is no need for that, I am a servant of the crown, I was once your court wizard but the world has long since changed and you are once again in need of my services." The King lessened the grip on his hilt and spoke with a softer tone "So these are my lands?”

"Yes all the lands are yours, you are the king” the wizard responded. The king stepped forward and walked past the wizard "And that castle, that is mine as well?" he looked onto the mountain range and pointed at the stronghold.

The wizard turned and stood alongside him "Yes my lord, that is your beacon of power and in it lies your way home." The king turns to the wizard confused "Home? Am I not home now?"

The wizard again let out a light chuckle "No my king this is not the realm you nor I are from, it is merely a mirror of what we both once lived in. To return to the other side of it you must sit atop your throne within the castle walls."

The king looked forward filled with a sense of purpose "So I must return to my throne to go home? Can you not simply use your power to send me there in the blink of an eye?"

The Wizard let out a large sigh "I'm afraid my powers are far weaker in this realm. I used what little I had left to give you this guidance and I warn you that the way to the throne will not be an easy one. It is paved with danger and mystery. Seek the path home at your own risk."

The king turned to the wizard to ask another question but he was gone without a trace. The king turned to the mountains and quickly drew his sword and fell to one knee. He rested his hands on the hilt of his sword and stabbed the blade in the ground in front of him.

"My forefathers who have found peace in history please guide me on my mission to reclaim my throne. I king..." he pauses for a moment and realizes he doesn't know his name or what house he rules "I the king of these lands will complete my mission in the name of the great Lords who have come before me.”

He gets to his feet and walks with sword in hand over the many bodies on his way to the mountains. He walked for some time before they thinned out and the dirt was no longer soaked in blood. Shortly after that, he came to a great river. The black water flowed slowly on, the king couldn’t tell if the darkened sky had made the water look this way or the vast death in these lands had burned the waters black.

He looked to his side and saw a cobblestone bridge a little ways down. He arrived at the foot of the bridge and stopped for a moment to look at the stone. It seems like the countless travelers that have walked on it had etched their souls into the very foundation. The bridge felt much older than the lands it emerged from.

While pondering this the bridge began to shake and rise! It stood up and turned to face the king. A large stone creature, rocky yet featureless save from a few glyphs and engravings that resembled a mouth and eyes then locked in a gaze with the king.

"So, another tyrant seeks to use me for passage to their ill-gotten kingdoms," the bridge said in a low gravely tone that was barely audible.

"Beast of stone, I am not of mal intent. I am the king of these lands and I demand passage so I may return to my throne once more!" The king thrust his sword towards the bridge.

"How do you think you have come to be the ruler of this land? By trade and good fortune, I have no nose yet I can smell the stench of the battlefield you have just walked through. You may see yourself as a noble king but you’re nothing but a conqueror of men”

The King points his sword at the bridge "I have no time for this you slink that brittle tongue back and speak no more I have a mission and you must let me cross or else I will slay you and use your corpse as my bridge!”

The bridge let out a long pained sigh "No sword can pierce my hide you fool but as is my nature I must let you pass but only if I deem you worthy!” The king puts his sword back into its sheath "And how must I prove myself worthy?”

The bridge took a deep breath "I desire to know more of your mind to see your true intentions I have some riddles for you, answer them all and we’ll see whether I let you pass on or not" The king stood tall, very sure of himself "Well go on great stone giant let's see if you can best me with words.” The bridge stopped for a moment and thought the stillness in the air gave both parties an odd feeling after a moment the bridge spoke "You can swallow me, but I can consume you too. What am I?" The king quickly jabbed back with a smirk on his face "The answer is pride. What’s next I don't have all day!”

The bridge paused again, each pause made the king more confident that this beast wouldn’t stump him, the bridge broke the silence in the air "I can be found in kitchens and on battlefields on beggars and kings and can be used for many many things, what am I?"

The king paused for a moment to think. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and then it hit him "A blade!" he said with his chest puffed and smile growing bigger!

The bridge took no pause and immediately offered the next riddle "I take all that I see but I am blind, I steal all I can reach but make other hands do it, I hear all the cries of the world and choose to ignore them, what am I?" The king had no answer. He stood for a few minutes trying to think, each second making him angrier that the last one didn't yield an answer. He began to pace in front of the bridge muttering under his breath. After a while, the bridge broke the silence with one word "A King" the king stops and turns to the creature "What?"

"The Answer you seek so desperately is you" the king snapped! “How dare you! all you say is lies! I am none of those things and never will be! I am-" before he can finish the bridge interrupts. "What are you? You have no memory of how you got your lands or who you were before coming to this realm, how are you so sure you're not exactly what I say you are?” The king gripped the hilt of his sword tightly "I wear this crown, I know only great men have ever worn it. I might not remember their names but I know of the greatness that followed them and I must return to my realm and see my kingdom in its full glory once more! Now, out of my way!"

The bridge sighed "Go on, I have had enough of people for a while, I will rest until I see fit. Go on lord of these lands, seek your throne. I hope it brings you all you desire so you may never have to cross my bridge again.” And with that, the creature laid back down and shortly appeared as a normal bridge once more. The king sheathed his sword and walked across.

As he walked closer and closer to his castle he looked at the lands around him. They seemed sickly and devoid of life but as if they once were not. Almost as if it was painted to be beautiful but had all the colors removed. It made the king sad but the wizard had said this was only a mirror of his home so he hoped once he sat on the throne he would see the land in all its majesty.

The king walked for many hours but no change of day or night happened just a constant aura of grey and a feeling of emptiness until he crested a large hill and saw a small town not too far in the distance. He ran towards the town feeling exhausted from his journey he looked to the houses for an inn, the houses were all in good condition but no light shined from behind the curtains there was no warmth of family and community amongst these homes. There was nothing, they felt void of purpose.

Then a voice called from a few houses down. The king turned to see an old woman standing on the porch of one of the homes "I smelled you walk into town, you can rest here if you like" the woman then turned back into her house. The king stopped for a moment. Hesitant to continue but a bed sounded good enough to ignore any feelings of dread and the king was confident if things turned hostile he could slay this stranger.

He followed the woman into her home through the door. It opened into a large room with a table for food and bread. A fireplace for the colder seasons and a staircase leading to the second floor.

The king sat down in one of the chairs by the table as the woman walked over to the unlit fireplace and stood there. "Thank you my citizen. A bed will help me greatly on my journey.” He got up to walk closer to her, without turning her head she spoke "Now you stay over there, the smell is strong enough with you at the table.”

The king sat back down "What smell?" The woman turned her head back to face him, her eyes were grey and focused on no particular thing "The bodies, you clearly have killed many people, or else I wouldn't have been able to smell you once you crossed the threshold of my town"

The king rather confused sank back into his chair and asked "Are you blind?" The woman let out a light chuckle "I see far more than you ever will King Ursan Ademarr" The king jolted up out of his chair "You know my name!”

The woman turned her head back to the fireplace "I know most things others do not in these lands." The king sat back down his gaze locked longingly on the one who might know of his past "How? Are you a witch?" The woman chuckled lightly under her breath "No I'm old, you come to learn a lot by my age and I know almost everything there is to know about house Ademarr and the conquests of the sands of Draiman and the taming of the great beast of the West" the king responded so quickly he clipped the last words she said, "Please tell me all of it!”

"No" The woman responds sharply "Why? Please I must know!" The woman’s gaze still locked on the unlit fireplace said In slow words each letter like a dagger in the king "If you deserved to know you would remember.” The king stood and drew his sword "I am the king of these lands and-" before he could finish the woman turned and in an instant flew across the room with a dagger in hand now held to the king's neck "Where are your armies? Where are your knights? Where are your wizards? Where are your sons? You have nothing here! There is no king of these lands!” A moment of silence filled the air the woman sighed and lifted the blade from his neck and dropped it on the table only to walk away, up the stairs without saying another word. The king stood there stunned that he was caught off guard. A short while later the woman walked back down the stairs with a bedroll, a blanket, and a pillow. She laid them on the ground by the fireplace and turned to walk back up the stairs "You can sleep there for a while and gain your strength back but I want you gone as soon as you wake." She made it halfway up the stairs before the king spoke.

"One more thing if you know all or most of these lands is it true that sitting atop my throne will take me home?" The woman paused for a moment and without saying another word walked back up the stairs.

The king lurched over to his bed and collapsed into it. He was very tired from his journey thus far and quickly fell into rest. While he slept he had dreams. Dreams of green lands and great cities dreams of fair women and more gold than anyone can ask for but they felt more like memories than dreams. Eventually, he awoke and they all faded away, back into the deep recesses of his mind.

He left the woman's house quickly as she had asked and continued his way towards the mountains and out of town. The world still looked the same. A low grey hue enveloped all the surroundings and nothing felt like it had any life, it was all empty. The king walked for some time. The mountains were still far in the distance when he saw something ahead. It was a steed. He ran up to it and when it came into view he recognized him "Boros, great horse! Whom I've ridden on into many battles! Oh, how could I forget you!” The king walked up to the side of his horse and pressed his body into him "It’s so nice to see an old friend.”

The king looked up to the horse "You do not feel of this world. Are you from home? Did my ancestors send you upon me to show they believe my quest to be righteous? No matter why you are here or how you will take me to my great bastion in the peaks and I will sit atop my throne!” He quickly mounted the horse and landed squarely on the saddle. "Now Boros ride, ride like you never have before!" Boros took off with immense speed. The king himself surprised at this creature's ferocity he almost lost his grip on each gallop but knew his mission to be true so he held on, determined to make it to his throne.

The world was different now. The king atop his steed felt like the closer he got to his throne the more life flowed into the world. The sky was still grey but not a mournful sad grey but one that held mystery. One that through the clouds let what little sun could shine, peer through the gaps. He made it to the foot of the mountain and up a winding road to the base of his castle. He dismounted his great steed and turned to say goodbye to his old friend "Thank you Boros, I hope to see you on the other side when all is said and done.” Boros bowed his head to his king and turned to ride off back into the rolling fields.

The king fell to one knee again and rested his head on the hilt of his blade "I King Ursan of the house Ademarr ask that my ancestors look upon me this day and grant me their power in whatever challenges I have yet to face on my ascent to the throne.” He pulled his sword from the ground and walked onward. Up the stone steps of the stronghold and through the grand gates he walked. Every brick awakening memories deep within himself, through halls that once sang a distant song, and into the throne room he went. It was a large open room with small windows at the peaks, letting in only enough light to see. And standing in front of the throne he sought, was a knight. The knight stood tall with both hands wrapped around the hilt of his blade which emerged from the stone by his feet, an emblem of a house once marked his chest but had since been marred and faded.

The knight spoke, "King Ursan you have disgraced your forefathers and yourself by what you have done to these lands and I cannot let you return.” The king held his blade high "You have no power over me knight and your lies won't stop me from my throne". The knight pulled his sword from its stone grip and yelled to the king "You are the liar and a betrayer, the tyrant whose greed led to the fall of his kingdom" The king moved closer, pointing his sword at the knight "I am KING!" A silence overtook the room "And only the king may pass judgment on his land!”

"There are no kings here!" The knight said right before he lunged toward Ursan, his blade nearly missing each time he swung at the king who raised his blade to meet the knight "I have dedicated my life to two things: my lands and the art of the blade, you are no match for me!” The king exploded in a fury of slashes breaking the knight's block but fell back and regrouped as a killing blow almost hit him. The knight held his sword to the king "I will die before I let you sit on that throne!” “That you shall" retorted the king as he darted forward, sword pointed dead at the knight. He deflected it to the side, then the king pulled a dagger from his belt and plunged it between the armor where his chest and neck met.

The knight stumbled backward and fell to the foot of the throne. “You were always better at fighting than me father." The king stopped for a moment "What did you say?" The knight took off his helmet to reveal his face the king recognizes him instantly "Percy!" the king said as all the memories of his son hit him like a sword to the heart, tears raced down his cheeks. He rushed over and fell to the ground hugging his son "I'm sorry I didn't know it was you" he pulled away to look at his son his tears falling on the cold metal armor that once protected him. "It's fine father, take your throne that is all you have ever wanted. You never wanted me or Markus or a Queen, you just wanted a crown.” The king buried his face next to his son’s "No! you’re wrong, I do want you, I'm sorry Percy.”

Percy locked eyes with his father and spoke softly "Funny, You didn't cry this much the first time.” The king saw his son’s soul leave his eyes as his head fell lifeless to the side "NO! I’m sorry please come back I’m sorry I’m sorry" the king said through sobs.

He laid with his son for some time before he said his final words to him. "I am so sorry my son, may you rest in the halls of my forefathers, and may I meet you there someday so we may have food and drink and take our eternal rest together" the king stood and wiped the tears from his face. The king's gaze locked onto the throne, he stepped over Percy’s lifeless body and stopped at the foot of his quest. His way home, was it worth it, did he even want to go home? Now wasn't the time to think of these things, the king sheathed his sword and turned to face the great hall of his stronghold, and sat down.

The king awoke, standing on a large battlefield. Dead soldiers of the thousands were scattered for miles, he looked ahead and saw a large mountain range in the distance... THE END