Short Story: Sherwood; Dark Ages

[Lord_Scorch]

Hello;

CHAPTER 1

The land of Sherwood was once a beautiful, serene, placid valley under the hazy sun. The vast sea held many different kinds of fishes; from carp to bass, it held it all. Sherwood Castle was long ago a daunting power, holding the top officials in the land within its walls. A high reaching tower, if close to it, blocked out the suns gaze and provided shade to the immediate surrounding areas. Then one day.. barbarians arrived.. Once powerful War Lords of exiled clans roamed the lands; recruiting people for their cause, assenting vengeance on those who cast them out a time ago..

"We must cast these prisoners into exile, Your Majesty", High-General Swot said.

"Indeed we shall, in due time though; we must first take care of more important business", King Edrody replied.

"Such as what my Lord?", General Swot asked.

"An army marches on Sherwood Castle. We must not let them take it." King Edrody said.

General Swot scoffed at this notion, no army had ever taken Sherwood before!

King Edrody eyed his commander closely, attempting to read his expressionless face. He found no sign of disobedience in the mans eyes; nor did he find any sign of acceptance of this important task.

"Prepare the ballistas General; this army is moving on dragonback," the king said.

General Swot's eyes widened in disbelief. They had never fought dragons before. He had not even seen a battle since the Warlords of Sherwood had combined forces to take Sherwood Castle 20 years before. Could they be returning for a second fight? General Swot didn't think so; these men were as old as he was.

General Swot walked out of Castle Sherwood shaking his head. He was in good health, had a full head of hair, and still had his sword arm strong. General Swot still had the face of a young man as well, even if he was 49 years old. His hair was a slick black with streaks of gray from age and stress, his crystal green eyes were always intent and focused, and his lips always looked as though he had a smile on his face. He rubbed his clean shaven face and thought about what the king said..

The General left Castle Sherwood and arrived in his small cabin outside the walls. The cabin was completely wood with a glossy coating on the outside. He walked into his home and surveyed the surroundings. There was a simple table and chair, on the far left wall, with a fireplace adjacent to it. The room perpendicular to the front door was the shabby kitchen. It held a few iron wears that usually were used for stew and water, but nothing extravagant like King Edrodys.

He set a fire going to boil a pot of water for his stew, and sat down to relax after this long, long, day.

--
CHAPTER 2

General Swot woke with a start. He heard the castle sirens wailing and he walked groggily to his door and flung it open. He stumbled to his horse and mounted so he could ride to the castle to see what the problem was. While riding to the castle General Swot became aware of the smell of smoke in the air. It hung heavy, threatening to choke all who inhaled it. He set his horse to a run and arrived at the gate of the keep some minutes later. The bridge was up; a very odd occurrence. This only happened when the keep was under siege. As far as the General could tell, no army was invading.

General Swot called to the guard usually stationed within the castle walls, the one who operated the bridge. There was no answer. General Swot went around the side of the castle where the moat was low and wadded through the water until he reached the castle walls. He felt along the wall until he felt a soft stone; he pushed on it gently and walked through a hidden door that was now opened, leaving his horse behind.
--

"Overlord McAster! Corporal reporting for duty sir!" the young knight said.

Overlord McAster eyed the young knight in front of him. He looked good enough for the task about to be signed for him but McAster had to make sure of his loyalty.

"Come here, child," the Overlord replied.

The young knight timidly walked up to the overbearing overlord. The man was well muscled and had scars all over his body. The lords hair was a thick brown and his eyes were a placid blue. It looked as though he could scan the very depths of your mind and soul with one stare.

"Kneel" McAster commanded.

"Now, do you see that young dragon over there?" he asked. He pointed to the far wall of his throne room.

"Y-y-ess-s.. my lord" the young man stuttered.

The overlord pulled out a whistle and let out a long blow into it. The dragon immediately perked up and meandered over. It stretched its wings as it went, and the overlord saw the young knight cringe in fear.

"You will put your hand in the dragon's mouth; he will find you loyal or wanting." he said. "Dragons have the ability to test the loyalty to their masters. It's an ancient type of arcane magic that hasn't been seen since the first Clan Wars. If you fail this test, you knight, you will die. If not, you will live yet your hand will be disfigured. Do you accept your mission and the price it costs?

The young knight hesitated. He wanted honor, royalties, money and power. This could mission could give him that, He looked over at the dragon staring at him and could see a bright intelligence in the beast's eyes. He shivered; awed at the immense beauty such a creature could have.

"Yes," the knight said as he put out his hand for the dragon.

The dragon's tongue flicked in and out a few times and the massive teeth came down on the hand & arm. The knight screamed in agony and dropped to his knees. The dragon, after seeing the individual fall, removed his mouth from the young knights arm. The knight cradled his arm to his chest, and stood up. All the while, the overlord was watching with grim satisfaction. He nodded to himself and walked over to help the young man.

"You've proven yourself worthy, or the dragon says as much," the lord said.

The knight could now hear another voice in the chamber beside his lords. It sounded deep and powerful, one of an ancient being. The knight looked at the dragon and saw that the creature was the one talking.

"You can now hear the thoughts of a dragon because of your bite. The dragon has instilled you with an ancient magic that makes you more powerful than you originally were. You will be able to fly the dragon with no fear now; and work with them without a sense of doubt."

The knight nodded and nursed his now just-sore arm. It seemed to be healing at a rapid pace, though it still hurt. He saw his hand as a crippled machine; of no more use to him.

"Kneel knight," the lord said softly with a piercing glare at the knight.

The knight complied and downed on one knee; his eyes on the floor. The lord unsheathed his sword and set it on the knights soldier and said:

"I will give you a name knight. You have earned your place in this brotherhood, you will no longer be a common knight soldier with the rank of corporal or any of the like. You will be a dragon-knight, a top warrior in this clan. So you will be named as such. So, in the very power I have within me, I name thee: Sir Exile!"

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Thank you.