The Rise of the Fallen: Prologue

The Rise of The Fallen

Prologue

It was dark day for all of them. Each and every victim of the plague had families, families that had loved and cared for them every day of their long or short life. You see, this disease killed woman, men, children and livestock. It left nothing untouched. There had already been an unaccountable amount of deaths among the townspeople, mostly the peasants and poor farmers that couldn’t afford the cure. There was a cure and yet the man who owned it sold it to the highest bidder. The price always ranged more than the common folk and a few of the lesser lords could afford. Countless lives had been lost that could have been saved with the mixture of expensive herbs left to sit in a dusty safe hold. The man who possessed the cure was none other than King Tergin, the direct descendant of the Good King Duncan. It was a thought to ponder. How could King Duncan, a courageous and caring king have raise up such a son?

In all the years that many had known King Duncan he had been patiently instructing the rules of charity and wisdom to his children. There was scarcely a time that he had acted in pride rather than chivalry. Unfortunately, the young prince fell in with a group of evil, rebellious men. He was soon sucked into their manipulation. Some would stand in his defense and shrug it off as a small fault expected from young noblemen. Others know better. Driven from jealousy of the ranger, Emereck, Prince Tergin had purposely sought out the band of evil conspirators. Although there was no proof found, it was as definite as the wind and the stars that he had paid them to assassinate his father. He was then left with and open throne.

The first order that Prince Tergin had enforced was the death of Emereck and the banishment of his own sister, Princess Amelia. If she returned to ---------- she would be killed on sight. Emereck had been one of King Duncan’s most trusted friends; therefore, he had gained many allies in every rank. He was alerted of his king’s death and the plans of the jealous heir to kill him. He took with him, Princess Amelia and a few other close friends and fled the country. Jealousy had long passed to hatred and the prince, who was now king, killed every ranger he knew of. He then issued the strict order of banishment of all rangers.

The remaining rangers united and called themselves---------. They avenged their fallen brothers but the cost was great. A war had emerged and this war is now called The Forsaken Fallen. The few remaining rangers went into hiding, Emereck and his brother included. For years King Tergin searched every nook and cranny for their secret hiding place but he soon gave up in despair. Now, several years later, the very existence of rangers has escaped the minds of many, especially the young.

Chapter One

Tauriel ran as fast as she could, trying to make it to the tavern before it was too late. The rumours that were flying around couldn’t be true but deep down she knew they were. She caught glimpses of woman scurrying away with their little ones. The horror on some of the younger children’s faces was all she needed to know to confirm her own nightmares. She doubled her pace with a new surge of speed. Her stomach twisted into a knot of worry. Out of all the times she had been frightened in the past it didn’t quite hurt as much as it did then. She prayed silently that it wasn’t her brother being imprisoned, that it was some stranger she didn’t know. Her prayers gave her little comfort though; she knew why he was being taken by the king’s men. So did everyone else. Her mother’s miraculous recovery from the plague wasn’t just a streak of luck. No, her brother had snuck into the castle without permission and he had stolen the cure that was worth more than many lives. Tauriel remembered begging him to forget the foolish idea. She had pleaded in vain. Now, he was being taken for his crime and she knew she could do nothing about it. He would die, that was the sacrifice for her mother’s life.

She opened the tavern door with shaky hands. The scene before her made the blood drain from her face; the knots in her stomach grew. There stood Mark being bound hand and foot in shackles by a royal bounty hunter. His face was bloody and bruised. A few of the guards turned their heads at her entrance. One of them whispered something to the bounty hunter, causing him to look behind him, directly at Tauriel.

A shiver went down her spine, “What right do you have to arrest him?” she demanded barely above a whisper. She tried to make her voice sound confident but her attempt had failed hopelessly.

The bounty hunter ignored her question, instead, he asked her a question of his own, “Are you the one he used the cure on?”

He had a much stronger build, far stronger than she. He could overpower her within seconds. He was dressed in black leather pants and shirt with studded leather boots. He wore a black cloak with the emblem representing a royal bounty hunter, working for the king or some other minion that could pay a high price. Its hood was drawn over his head, but, it did not stop her from noticing his penetrating black eyes that bore into her own. He was a sight to give even the fearless of people the edge of caution.

Her gaze wandered to Mark, he was frightened for her, more frightened for her life than his own. He shook his head so lightly that only she could have noticed it. He was warning her, telling her to choose her next words wisely, “No.”

The bounty hunter grunted before turning back to Mark, “Is she telling the truth?”

“Yes,” Mark replied forcing himself to meet the man’s eyes.

The man’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “So you admit that you stole the cure?”

Mark hesitated, he knew that he had been seen and recognized by a servant as he left the king’s safe hold. He knew he had been identified, there was no use trying to conceal the truth. He had been waiting for this day for weeks now. Besides, Ma was safe and healthy that’s all he asked for. That’s all he cared about. “Yes.”

“Excellent. You are a wise young man. No use causing yourself any more trouble than what is necessary. It is a shame, of course, that you chose this path. You would have made good material for the king’s army.”

He pushed Mark forward none too kindly, causing him to nearly collide into Tauriel. He was then dragged out of the tavern by two guards. By the looks on their faces Mark was no light load. He was not over weight but he did have a solid build that would cause a few aching shoulders. If they would have just let them walk they would have saved themselves much trouble but they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make an example of him.

Tauriel watched helplessly as he was being physically beaten by the men. She was just about to scream at them to stop when a hand touched her shoulder with a firm grip. She spun around trying to cage her fury; even this didn’t stop the hatred that was noticeable in her eyes.She was face to face with the man who was responsible for this nightmare.

He stared at her through scrutinizing eyes, “If I’m followed, I will have no qualms about killing you. Do I make myself clear?”

She nodded her head slowly, “What will happen to him?”

The remaining guards began to chuckle but the bounty hunter gave no sign of amusement. His face held a grave motionless expression, “That is up to the king to decide but I will tell you one thing. Death would be a reward, after he is done with him he will be wishing he was never born.”

Her body began to tremble. He was so sure, so positive. She felt as if her world was just beginning to be built and now someone was tearing it apart with no mercy. She blinked back the tears that stung her eyes; she wouldn’t let them see her cry. She refused to give them the pleasure to see her more helpless. The man lowered his gaze and brushed past her. He issued a few orders to the guards who were still drinking their fill of mead. They quickly gulped down the remaining alcohol and rushed outside, only a few spared her a glance of pity.

They hauled her brother to a wagon and shoved him in there, securing his shackles to an iron chain. The wagon looked as if it were meant for caging the most ferocious animal known out there. To the king, it was only imprisoning another pesky peasant who held less respect than a flea. She could no longer hold her tears; they flowed down her cheek like a current. She met her brother’s gaze, his eyes were proud. He wasn’t ashamed of his crime. He was glad to have done what he did. If given the chance he would have done it again.

He was standing and blood was running down through his hair. His hands were gripping the cage for support and his brown eyes were memorizing the town he had practically grown up in. He knew he wasn’t coming back.

As the wagon drove away he gazed at her without one tear on his face. He was brave, much braver than she. “Take care of Ma for me, would you?”

She wanted to run to him, to help him escape. She knew it was of no use, they would just throw her in there like a caged animal. What’s the matter with slaughtering a few peasants; after all, there were millions more out there. No, she had to return home and tell Ma and Pa what had happened. She had to inform them that they would no longer have a son.

She stared after them even after they had disappeared from view. He was gone, that was all she could think about. Her brother was gone. Finally, when the sky began to darken, a hand touched her shoulder lightly. It was only then that she realized the townspeople were watching her. Some watched with pity evident on their face and others looked at her with suspicion. The crowd was made up of mostly men, a few women who didn’t have children to take care of and the odd pesky child who escaped from his mother’s protective arms.

Darius, the smith of---------, stood behind her. For as long as she remembered he had always been a good family friend. He was something close to an uncle to her. He had been there from the beginning. There was more than one time that he offered a hand with the many chores of running a farm, while only taking a fair portion of the crop. He even took Mark on as an apprentice for a few years to instruct him in the many arts of blacksmithing. There was never a time that Tessella didn’t feel as if she could trust him with her secrets. Only now did she realize there was nothing that even he could do to help her brother. Mark’s life depended upon a higher authority, an authority that demanded his death.

He was of average height but he was as thick and muscled as most smiths. He had hair that came to his shoulders and a scruffy beard. He certainly did not favor the good looks but he made up for it by his charisma. He was looking down at her with pity, “Come along now child, there is nothing more you can do. Your folks couldn’t have heard the news, not where they live.”

He was right as always, there was nothing she could do, “I know,” she said softly.

Darius sighed, “He chose, Tauriel, he chose to sacrifice his life for your mother’s. Who knows perhaps King Tergin will find mercy somewhere in his heart.”

Tauriel looked up and said bitterly, “The king doesn’t have a heart.”

The crowd began to disperse. It was getting late and the excitement was over. A few people came to give her their sympathies.She tried to keep a straight face for them but the tears were pressing down on her like currents.

A silence grew between them before Darius began to depart saying, “The soldiers took your horses for the men to ride. Apparently, they were attacked by bandits and two of their horses were killed. Go now and borrow the chestnut in the far stall.”

“Thank-you,” she whispered. Another tear slid down her face.