Spirit of Hope

I’ve walked this path, so alone, searching for an angel to set me free from this life. To find this symbol of light to vanquish the dark of my dreams and lay me to rest with the sun’s caress. But does this light exist outside the ever present conflict inside me? Can someone truly forget the one they love dearest in this pathetic and mortal world? Does the power of love transcend the physical realm and exist on a plane beyond comprehension? To lose my love is to truly know solitude, only my mind for comfort in the Sadistic recollections it plagues me with. The beauty of her smile, the softness of her lips upon mine and the warmth of her love for me will forever be a memory, tormenting my very soul. Please god, whatever awaits me in the next, allow it to comfort me and ease my soul. The tears ached their way down his armour, glittering from the reflection of the horizon embracing the sea. The same sea on which he gazed upon every year. That peaceful serene, the only place that calmed his soul. Sword clutched in both hands, he shook from the fatigue of misery. In one deep breath it was over, the sword that made him was the one to break him, releasing his anger and torment and sending him towards the sand. As the waves washed over his still self his final breath escaped his lips. ”I’m nothing without you”.

The morning sun danced its way across the lifeless mass of pale stone which formed the Castle Alethus. The castle inhabitants seemed to gain their strength from the sun in that their faces, so focused and filled with the strain of the mornings chores, seemed to lighten as the sun kissed rays touched each of them. Many of the Castle’s windows had not been designed to take advantage of the summers light and so the first King, who was never known for his intelligence, ordered his court mages to design thousands of candles, controlled by simple incantations, to light each room. The side of the Castle had been undergoing repairs from a previous battle a little over two years ago but given the loss of an alliance and the death of many of the Settlement’s masonry workers, productivity of the repair had been almost non existent. The court advisers, giving in to desperation at the thought of another conflict sought out all workers that claimed any proficiency with tools and also their apprentices and sons.
In one room lay a little boy, hair as bright as the sun that now crept its way through the once magnificent room of the castle knights. The room, a dilapidated embarrassment of its former splendour now housed this little boy. The castle did not have the room for the younger ones and so their only option was to stay in the same rooms they worked on and to try and keep warm during the night while the wind whistled through. The boy stretched, rolled away from the wall he faced and straight off of his makeshift bed, a crudely modified chest of drawers, straight onto the floor landing perfectly on his face.
“Oh sweet Melnor!” came a voice from across the room. Another of the many boys that shared the room jumped to attention and scanned the room for the cause of the mighty thud.
“Dirin you arse! Don’t you have an ounce of grace in that clumsy body?”
“It appears not” Dirin replied as he picked himself up from the sunlit floor, shaking the dust from himself and letting his friend know he had lost yet another tooth by his goofy smile. The smile revealed signs that this was certainly not the first time it had happened and Jasly, Dirin’s friend, was sure it wouldn’t be the last. Dirin and Jasly always played the same silly game each morning. The boys had to be ready and out of the room by the time the sun hit the door, which led to freedom for what little time they had until their chores started.
Before the door had even closed the boys were racing down the war torn steps knowing exactly which ones would lead to a trip to the infirmary.
“I heard Friel snapped his ankle because he wasn’t looking where he was going yesterday” Jasly called back from the lead as he was always first out the door and first down the steps.
“Actually it was big Thay who pushed him down, the bone went right through. One day he’ll get what’s coming to him. Don’t you worry.” Dirin replied with that same goofy smile, looking for the blood stain left behind by the incident. The boys managed to run down the stairs, knock over a nun carrying the morning’s washcloths for the workers, insult a guard who they overheard was feeling down after lucking out with a girl at the tavern, steal a loaf of bread from one of the baker stalls and sneak out to the docks, all before their duty started. The boys would sit atop one of the high walls overlooking the docks each morning. Jasly who was from a distant land, given his dark complexion was always drawn to the sea and the ships that came in to dock. Boats were arriving, containing deliveries of varying magnitude and diversity. Magnificent tri-mast ships decorated in ornate golds and reds signified the distant royals from surrounding islands. With each member dressed in immaculate attire representing their home countries and the sheer magnitude of attention given by the dock hands the importance of these monstrous vessels was made obvious. The small single mast boats and coal fire tugs seemed embarrassed looming in the shadows of the ships that towered over them. The crew filthy from the smoke were unaccompanied and left to their own devices in unloading their cargo for sale. However different these ships were in size, importance and cargo, the docks were patrolled, maintained and controlled with the utmost efficiency, showing the skill and precision of the court advisors. What the King lacked in intelligence, wisdom and grace he more than made up for in courage, honour and determination, the advisors could see to the rest. Once the ships had delivered their intended cargo they set sail once again to journey the vast oceans spanning far beyond the eye could see. Dirin had something entirely different in mind, something so monumentally impossible that he could only achieve it in his dreams, princess Vayne. Every morning he would feign interest in Jasly’s stories of the sea performing excited gestures and lines that would convince even the best actors. He however, could only think of Vayne as she walked along the private dock, out to the edge and gazed into the horizon followed closely by her personal guard knight Tirnal.
Princess Vayne loved nothing more than to sit at the edge of the dock, remove her shoes, roll up the legs of her civilian clothing which she wore to keep staring and bowing to a minimum and lower her feet into the crystal clear waters of the dock. Even the difference of appearance could not fool some and this is why knight Tirnal escorted her. She would sit and dream for an entire watch, longer than Dirin could stay for but in those precious moments he did not take his eyes from her. Her hair as brown as chestnuts draping down her left shoulder was tied loosely half way down in keeping with many of the the other girls as she walked among the commoners. Her face was as pale and unblemished as the first snow of winter and her eyes were as blue as the sea she looked upon each morning.
My heart aches at the very sight of you. You enchant both my dreams and my mind when i wake. How can one person hold such power over me and yet not even know i exist? Is it to be like this forever? Please notice me.
As Dirin’s last thoughts left his mind Princess Vayne must have realised someone was looking at her and turned round, her eyes locking with Dirins. Dirin froze in what seemed like a body paralysis spell or something, at least that’s what it felt like. He turned to run but caught Jasly’s leg and fell on top of him.
“What the hell are you doing? Get off me you idiot! honestly do you even have a brain in that thick skull?”
Dirin turned round to see Princess Vayne again who was in fits of laughter at seeing this random boy fall over his friend. She waved and Dirin’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He just had enough power to muster a single wave of his hand. He struggled to get to his feet showing his gap-toothed smile while rubbing the back of his head where Jasly gave him a knock for being so stupid. With all the commotion knight Tirnal realised the two boys and pointed, shouting something which they could not make out as they were already sprinting as far away as possible to avoid a beating from the knight.
The time for working was almost upon them and so the boys assembled in the courtyard with the others to be issued their area of work and quota for the day. The system put in place by the king was one of devotion and love for his people. Since they could not provide them with adequate living quarters the volunteers were given a quota of work for that day and once finished could tend to their families and other tasks if needed. If the volunteers continued past their quota they would be paid a sum and would receive added benefits once the castle was back to its former glory and all debts had been paid. This was the promise made by the king and he strove to keep his word. The boys had been given the very seldom luxury of repairing the knights training grounds. Dirin and Jasly could watch the knights spar, learn new techniques and practice their code of honour. This resulted in very little work being done throughout the day and the boys having to play catch up at night to fill their quota for the day. They had a very good method of rebuilding the surrounding walls. Dirin was of better than average build and could haul rocks quite easily. Jasly was very agile and good with his hands enabling him to pre mortar the area which enabled Dirin to keep a consistent rhythm. After knight Tolius lost for the third time in the day the boys realised they had finished and immediately skipped to the food hall to have dinner.
The hall was one of extravagant size, even for such a large castle as Alethus. Rows and rows of tables stretched off into the distance as men, women and children of all shapes and sizes, all walks of life sat sharing a banter filled conversation or entertaining the surrounding table. The candelabras adorning the tables were beautifully inscribed and moulded into varying shapes and forms. Some took the form of a beautiful maidens with  multiple arms each holding a candle to guide others through the darkness. Some took the form of trees with each branch twisted into holders. The pictures on the wall were all chronological depictions of previous battles and heroic deeds performed by past kings and famous knights. The one Dirin loved most was of Knight Taljin of the Dragonsguard. The Dragonsguard were established in the great Draconian war, when the terrifying beasts still dominated much of the landscape and were awoken by a most power hungry and corrupt whisperer. The man thought his power great enough to control the dragons but was slain shortly after and war was declared on the human race. It was soon discovered that the dragons were of a formidable intellect and could actually converse with humans and each other through the power of telepathy. This power was unheard of before the war and caused many nations to flee in terror as they terrified themselves dreaming of what other hidden powers the dragons had yet to unleash upon the world. What the remaining nations were about to see was that there were many things the world was not ready for and all hope quickly faded from the world. Knight Tajin, at the time was a young knight with something to prove and possessed an unrivaled amount of bravery and equal love for his people. This saw knight Tajin being quickly promoted through the ranks as lesser men had deserted higher posts in order to save their own skin. The nations being overwhelmed with fire and fear were not interested in launching a counter attack and so Castle Alethus, the first built upon Neiral took it upon itself to save the country and its people from annihilation. Tajin along with the best minds of the tacticians guild helped devise a plan to capture a dragon and learn the race’s secrets. The dragon was caught from a perfectly formulated plan and the execution from Tajin and his few men who were brave enough and reckless enough to ensure the restraints were fastened and locked. The dragon was of mountainous size and was very difficult to interrogate. After months and months of torture and captivity the dragon did not utter a word. The saving grace of the nation happened purely by chance and led to the dragons demise. One torturer had almost given up after performing every torture, ritual and punishment he could recall. Dropping to his knees, with exasperation oozing from every pore in his body he just screamed “Burn it alive! Just burn it! I have had enough!”
The tortures, second to the torturer proceeded to ignite the dragon, pour molten liquid over its body anything that burned was thrown at the dragon but no pain or damage visible physically or mentally. The dragon seemed immune to heat and fire and that is when it struck him. Dragons would have to be immune to their own death granting breath. The fire proof exterior was to protect them from receiving a blast from another while in combat. As the dragon no longer proved useful it was slain, with great effort. The scales on its body were carved and collected and here lay the key to the victory. The scales were crafted into Armour and weapons for what would soon be Tajin’s Dragonsguard. The fights that ensued were tactical and cautious. Alethus slowly picked off dragon after dragon, extracting the scales and forging more arms for their force which as a result of the dragons being killed had vastly grown in number.  The war ended some 5 years after and so did the dragon population. The loss was great of both people and the knowledge that could have been gained from these great beings however whatever the man had done or shown these dragons deemed the human race fit for extinction.