Steel Haven part 3 - Alarming Discovery

King Alexander stood stone faced as he listened to the report regarding the mine. The mine would be unusable until an attacking force could be sent to clear the mine out of any creatures, then the mine would have to reinforced under the protection of soldiers and then the mining could only resume under the watchful guards. All of the miners survived because they stopped work and went home for the recent religious holiday. The one guard recovered and only two guards were missing. The only silver lining in the dark storm cloud of a situation is that almost no one died.

                        The King sent a group of soldiers, Joseph the engineer and Captain Brussles, to take back Steel Haven’s the iron mine. Captain Hurly Brussles was a decorated soldier who specialized in fighting in confined spaces, like a bustling city or a mine. Captain Brussles had black hair, olive skin, a short groomed beard and a long mustache that reached the edges of his face. Brussles carried a sturdy spear when he was on the battlefield and when in close quarters he carried two, single edged axes with him, with shortened handles. His body was mostly armored and had sharp hooked blades attached to the armor covering his forearms. These hooked blades could defend a sword strike, then hook around the blade and when pulled would disarm the opponent and break weaker swords. The hooked blades could also slash and cut anyone who tried to get the drop on Hurly.

            The group rode towards the mine, everyone stayed on high alert as Joseph watched for any signs of the Tirk creatures. The soldiers were all told of how the creatures fought and the magical gem that one of them had. Joseph had secured the fire gem from the previous battle and it was being stored somewhere safe within Steel Haven. It was Joseph’s job to look for more gems, advise the Captain on the Tirks and plan defenses once the mine was cleared.

            Captain Brussles dismounted at the mouth of the cave. He went in first and was followed by a group of his men. A second group was positioned outside the mine to guard the entrance. Joseph waited outside with the second group.

            Joseph was free to plan the defensive measures for the mine while his group of soldiers guarded the area. Joseph had to update his original plans for defense to guard against monkey goblins. The original defenses were planned with humans and humans on horseback in mind but Joseph was altering the plans to even include flying creatures just in case the world was even more dangerous than he originally thought.

            Captain Brussles moved swiftly through the mine with little trouble. As his group traveled deeper they were surprised by how empty the mine was. No trace of the missing guards, discarded weapons, signs of fighting or even Tirks alive or dead could be found.

            Time passed over the land and Joseph was making serious progress unhindered by attacks and Captain Brussles had been exploring the mine. A single man on horseback rode across the open field toward the iron mine. Joseph’s group all sprung into high alert but relaxed when they saw the Chalybs banner above his head. Some of the soldiers kept their weapons ready just in case it was a trick.

The rider and the horse looked exhausted. The rider wore light armor and the Kingdom’s colors. He carried a rolled up parchment in his hand and immediately handed the letter to Joseph. The message read, “Scouts from the Royal forest found small, shallow burrows dug in the forest. While the numbers of primitive dwellings were numerous the original inhabitants were not found. A scout found a lone Tirk creature living in a burrow and shouted ‘you wont take home’ before charging the scout and then was slain. After searching further we concluded that the Tirks used to live in the forest when it was still a Wildwood and before it was used for lumber. If the Tirks live in dark secluded areas then it is possible they moved to the area in or around the mine which is the closest location that is both secluded and dark”

            Joseph was startled at what he read. First that the creatures could talk and second that they weren’t invading the mine, they made it their home. Which meant there was a colony of Tirks somewhere very close.

            Meanwhile underground, Hurly Brussles and his soldiers found two large metal doors blocking their progress. The doors weren’t locked or sealed but Brussles hesitated to open them, as he knew that his kingdom didn’t build them. He slowly pushed open one of the large heavy doors. The mine rumbled as the door opened revealing a large room full of red fire crystals. Captain Brussles froze, he had been told what one crystal could do and was now standing in a stockpile of crystals. The crystals were growing from the walls, floor and ceiling, it wasn’t that the crystals were placed or stored here but that this was the source of the flame crystals. Anyone with knowledge on how to safely use these crystals would find such stockpile extremely helpful; the trick was to not die in a fiery explosion.

            Back on the surface, Joseph and his group began climbing the rocks leading to the top of the mine. The mine was in an open field but the mine entrance was a cave mouth and the cave was part of a rocky hillside that went across the grassy field for almost a mile and rose twenty feet above the ground. The rocky hills were like a sturdy island in a flat grassy sea. Anyone on the top of the hill could see around for miles and would be well protected by the difficult climb to the top.

            Joseph and his group reached the top, out of breath and still clinging to the edges of the cliff. Joseph’s head was barely visible as he peered over the hill’s peek. He could see mounds like the scout described in the forest and saw some movement. The Tirks became more active as the night approached.

            Joseph scrambled down the cliffs with his soldiers in quick pursuit. Captain Brussles was emerging from the cave just as Joseph was climbing down the rocky hill. The two leaders told the stories of what they had seen, they grew more alarmed with each breath. With the top of the mine covered in Tirks and the underground filled with explosive crystals the two men would have to make a plan, fast.

Steel Haven part 1 - Origin of a Great City

The walls of Steel Haven rose high above the land. The humans had achieved great feats with their discovery of steel. The stone castles of kings and lords were impressive but most people could only rely on the protection of wooden homes. The lower class needed to be protected from the harsh world of deadly animals and roaming bandits, and so King Alexander Chalybs decided it was his burden to protect as many people as he could.

King Alexander had a grand vision for a new city surrounded by steel walls as tall as any castle and thicker than a stonewall. The city would be a welcoming place to those friendly to the King and his people but would be a threatening fortress to those who sought to do harm.

The city fortress of Steel Haven did not spring up overnight, it took years of dedication and vision. King Chalybs, who became known as the King of Steel, led his own Kingdom to this goal. Many villagers and lower class left their own kingdoms and traveled for months just for the chance to be allowed access into the city. People were arriving to Steel Haven even before the city was complete.

King Chalybs was inspired by the work and the devotion of the people. He saw the new arrivals as a testament that his vision was pure and good. Any family that wished to live in the city had to contribute in some way. Men and women could choose which profession was best suited for their talents and so, Steel Haven had an enormous labor force of workers, builders, black smiths, metal workers, cooks, hunters, cleaners and any other job that needed to be done.

A giant forge was built first before anything else. The forge was a large source of heat surrounded by every kind of metal working tool available in those times. Everything was housed in an open-air structure and the best metal workers worked tirelessly around this scorching hot forge. The great forge was put to use just as it was finished and from that moment it was considered the heart of Steel Haven. 

Not everything in Steel Haven was made of steel or metal, most of the homes and buildings were built with stone and wood with steel used to reinforce the structures. The great walls of Steel haven were made from steel, as was most of the Steel Haven Keep that the king lived in. The Great forge was almost completely sheltered in steel. 

As time passed and the city grew, the citizens were restricted from going to the forge unless authorized to do so. Six foot high walls were build around the forge and guards were placed at the small gate door in the front. This didn’t seem unreasonable to the citizens of Steel Haven, as they all knew how important the Forge was.

After only a year the city was completed. The wall had not been finished yet but every important building was built as was enough homes for every family who helped in some way. The King left his own castle and moved into Steel Haven Keep. The Kings old castle was converted into a military structure, which housed his best and most loyal soldiers and his top general.

Steel Haven finally had fully built walls by the second year, completely made from steel with battlements atop the walls, walkways, guard towers and every other security measure a castle wall could have. The large gates were well protected by a draw bridge that went over a deep moat, a solid steel gate and a second gate used to trap intruders. Steel forge keep also had a smaller but still formidable wall that separated it from the rest of the city.

This newly finished city of Steel Haven would force to reckon with and the news of its creation spread throughout the land. The more the news spread, the more people wanted to move there. The more people that moved into the city the larger the city grew. After several years the city was twice the size of the original Steel Haven with Steel Haven Keep and the first part of the city known as the “Steel Core” and every new structure and home was built outside of the Core’s walls. Only the citizens and their families that helped with the original construction were allowed to live in the Core of the city behind its sturdy walls. 

Eventually the outer city grew so much that new walls were made to protect that section as well. Any attacker who wished to assault the Steel Keep would have to make their way through the Steel Haven outer wall, through New Steel city, then passed the Core’s giant walls, through Steel Core city, then breach the Steel Keep’s walls and then breach the keep itself. No one ever invaded Steel Haven.

The forested area around Steel Haven was maintained by the city but was greatly thinned. The forest was once dense and filled with wild animals. Wood was needed for the city and much of the woods were clear cut, when the King saw his people clearing the local forest his ordered them to only thin it out but to leave the forest standing as a whole. 

Twenty miles north of Steel haven was the coast, where the King’s men would barter with sea fairing merchants for goods. To the south of Steel Haven was an enormous iron mine, this mine was one of many sources of steel for the Kingdom and each mine was well guarded.

The Kingdom of Chalybs and the fortress city of Steel Haven were the envy of the surrounding Kingdoms and while many of the neighboring lands wanted peace and friendship with King Chalybs, there were those who only wanted Steel Haven for themselves.

Forest Island Eye of the Storm

The fifth night had arrived, thick fog hung in the air as the rain beat harder against the land. Bear Lord Nathaniel marched up to the portal with his soldiers. It was strangely familiar and the routine was comforting. Nathaniel and his group had fought against the shadowmen every night for almost a week and fighting became part of his routine. The soldiers stayed in high moral despite the rain, fog and constant threat of attack. The shadowmen never killed anyone but their numbers and size grew with each passing night, which made Nathaniel worry that the shadows would eventually try to escalate the attack beyond what the Bear forces could handle.

            The portal opened and shadowmen began to trickle out. The smallest wave since that one shadowman attacked by itself. The soldiers lazily killed the few shadows that charged forward. Nathaniel was feeling more cautious though as he remembered what happened last time.

            The small batch of shadowmen were killed and then only silence followed. Only the breathing of the soldiers, the trickle of a light rain and the gentle wind could be heard. This was unusual and outside of the routine that Nathaniel was used to.

 The portal began to shake and flicker, breaking the quiet and replacing it with the crackling and loud whip like noise that was made as the air around the portal bent and shook. Nathaniel and his soldiers stepped backward. No one knew what would happen next, so they watched the portal helplessly.

            The portal blinked out, disappearing from the air. Before the soldiers could cheer a larger portal opened as if the air was being torn open by a mysterious force. The air was torn apart leaving a giant twenty-foot tall portal. Nathaniel’s blood went cold. This portal was just like the one in his dream and that dream didn’t end happily.

            A large hand emerged from the portal, then feet and a body. It was a large fifteen-foot tall and ten foot wide shadow monster, featureless and made of the same black ooze as the others. This creature had a large mouth where its face should have been. The mouth was full of teeth and a giant, almost human like tongue. Regular sized shadowmen emerged from the portal behind the shadow Behemoth. The normal shadowmen were carrying swords and axes this. This raid of shadows didn’t look like they wanted to steal anything, but instead wanted to kill the soldiers who had been standing in their way for almost a week.

            “Concentrate all fire on the big one, don’t get close. Prepare yourselves, they mean to kill us this time!” Nathaniel shouted. The twenty soldiers prepared themselves for a bloody battle. The Knights charged in with their shields, blocking the swinging axes and swords of the newly equipped shadowmen. The Bear lord’s rear guards lunged forward with their spears impaling the first row of shadows that clashed against the knights’ shields. The knights then bashed with their shields and slashed with their swords. The fighting of the Bear forces was synchronized just like a machine built to kill.

            Arrows flew over the Knights’ heads and pelted the lumbering Behemoth as he slowly drew closer to the group of soldiers. Pubbles the bear guarded Nathaniel and used his massive claws to swat away any approaching shadowmen. Nathaniel fired arrow after arrow into the large nightmare creature, trying to find a weakness of some kind. Visions of his dream kept snaking their way into his mind, disrupting his focus. Nathaniel shook the thoughts from his head, it wasn’t the time to be distracted and one false step could lead to a very bitter end.

            Shadowmen fell and evaporated into the air as the Bear forces fought hard with everything they had. The front line shadows were slowly losing their numbers but the Behemoth continued to march forward with small deliberate strikes. The arrows wounded the beast, slowing its movements further and making black bile flow from its wounds. Each arrow that struck the Behemoth would leave a wound, become coated in bile, fall off and hit the ground, then the black arrow would morph into an unarmed, newly made shadowman.

            In five days the shadows had increased their power, numbers and forces quicker than any human army could. The shadows had only been stealing from a small village and it only took a single arrow to make a basic shadowman. Nathaniel didn’t want to think what would happen if the shadows had opened a portal in the center of the castle armory, or if they had been left alone for weeks picking off villages. This portal could potentially be a threat to the entire island and possibly the entire would.

            Nathaniel patted his bear Pubbles, and then jumped up on his back. The Behemoth and its forces were almost overwhelming the Bear Forces. Action had to be taken immediately. Nathaniel knew that even if he defeated the behemoth that night, there would be an even bigger army the next night, an army that even the Forest King reinforcements might not be able to handle.

            Nathaniel rode out into the army of swarming shadowmen. Pubbles trampled and crushed all the shadows in his wake. Nathaniel kept his arrows ready, shooting any shadowmen that posed a threat to his bear friend as they rode through the crowd of shadows.

            Nathaniel went straight to the front line with his Knights and shouted to his troops. “We must Assault the portal. Any who wish to risk their lives to save the island should follow me into the depths. All who wish to stay behind may do so and continue to guard the village” Nathaniel shouted.

            The soldiers all cheered back in agreement. All of the soldiers wanted to follow their king through the portal but five of them stayed behind to protect the village.

While one knight, three archers and a spearman formed a defensive line between the portal and the village, the Bear lord and his fifteen soldiers charged forward.

            Pubbles cleared a path with his mighty claws, Nathaniel fired quickly and accurately at the shadows surrounding them. The knights charged forward like tanks with their shield s out, knocking enemies to either side. Spearmen and archers kept the rest covered. The two Mace wielders in the group went to opposite sides and smashed through multiple shadows with each swings. The Bear forces were the strongest on the island and these twenty soldiers were only a small part of the large Bear army.

            Lightning cracked the sky and the rain poured down. Shadows were vanquished as quickly as they could pour out through the portal. The bear forces cut a swath through the sea of pulsating shadow. As they rode closer to the portal they approached the Behemoth who was standing between them and the portal.

            Nathaniel knew that his forces were quick enough to run passed the creature, but he only left five soldiers behind to protect the village. He needed to try and weaken or kill the beast before entering the portal. The Behemoth outstretched its arm to grab Nathaniel. Instead of panicking, the Bear Lord jumped from his stead and landed on the creatures wrist. The oozing flesh of the shadow held the weight of the man, but moved and squirmed under his feet. Nathaniel ran up the beasts arm, firing arrows into its mouth and at its body. When he reached the top of the head he pulled a dagger from his boot and began slashing at the top of the head with all of his might. The beast roared and tried to grab Nathaniel again, but the King was too fast and jumped off of the monster, landing back onto his bear, who was now behind the Behemoth.

            While the King was attacking the Behemoth, his soldiers were also slashing, stabbing and shooting at the beast as they ran by. Their attention had to stay on the mob though so as to not lose a shield or sword in the assault.

            “Onward to the portal! We will take the fight to the enemy and destroy it from the inside!” Nathaniel shouted. As they charged forward the portal started to shimmer and flicker, which were signs that it was about to close for another day. Nathaniel hoped that the portal closing meant that the shadow forces were used up for the night and that more weren’t waiting on the other side.

            The Bear forces charged the portal cutting down the few who still stood in their way. “Let us show these shadows the might of the Bear!” Nathaniel shouted. The soldiers cheered as they all jumped into the portal. Seconds later the portal snapped shut and disappeared into thin air.

            The Behemoth was weakened from the attacks and the portal closing seemed to drain what remain life it had left. The Behemoth fell, followed by the few remaining shadows. The Five remaining forces cheered for victory but quickly went silent as they were overcome with worry for their king. The grieving soldiers didn't know what to tell the other Forest Kings when they arrived on the six day with reinforcements.

Clash of Reality part 1

            Jacob sat on the soft green grass with his back against a large oak tree. The gentle spring breeze felt nice on his face and the smell of flowers was everywhere. Despite being in such a serene setting, Jacob’s mind kept drifting back.

            The clash of steel and the roar of battle still echoed in his ears. Jacob was looking into the peaceful blue sky, but he was seeing battle. His memories would fade in and out, replacing the present with the past. Jacob didn’t live in some war-torn medieval age, he lived in a peaceful modern world. a world of computers and advanced medicine. There was no reason to be truly unhappy, those who complained must be doing so for attention, or because they didn’t realize how wonderful life was.

            Jacob sighed. He enjoyed the nice weather, the sound of chirping birds and having access to food whenever he needed it. He appreciated the advanced medicine and the high tech computers that everyone loved so dearly. Despite all of this he felt disconnected. He felt lonely, weak and worst of all, bored.

            Depression isn’t sadness, its depression is numbness, it is advanced boredom. When there is no way to prove yourself, when the type of skills you have aren’t valued in society, then there is nothing to do. If you can’t challenge your brain than what is the point of having one?

            Jacob was outside because he was trying to reconnect with the world. He was trying to embrace this ‘reality’ everyone talked so highly about. Besides the weather and an occasional friendly face, reality wasn’t much to brag about.

            It would be so easy to back to the battle. It would be so simple to just turn it back on, to be needed and loved, to have purpose. Jacob only had to sit at his computer and turn on his game. He could disappear from a harsh unforgiving reality and spend his time in the game. It would be so easy….

            Jacob knew his habits and he knew that if he started playing competitively again he would get drawn in. The virtual world would consume him and he would let it.

            He didn’t know why he even cared. Jacob stared out as people walked by. He watched these people conducting their lives and they seemed so normal. They knew something that Jacob didn’t. he was missing something about reality that made it so great.

            These passing people never talked to Jacob, people rarely spoke to him. Maybe they were all just NPCs and life is just like the game he played. Jacob shook his head and slapped his face. “No! I am not going down that road….I don’t need to be called crazy. Along with all of the other things people call me” Jacob said out loud. Luckily no one heard him.

            Jacob tried to reach out in the past. He went out of his way more than any of his brothers or co-workers did. Jacob tried so hard to be ‘normal’ to connect with other humans the way he was supposed to.

“WHY is this so hard?!” Jacob shouted in his room. On his way home from the park he tried again to connect. He tried talking to a person at the coffee shop, he tried talking to a guy on the bench. He even saw some people from his college and tried to talk to them. It always ended the same. Not only did he not make a connection  but most people seemed completely disinterested with his existence.

            Jacob was a young man who went to college and had a part time job. To an outsider he seemed normal like everyone else, but no one could see his struggle to connect.

            After another round of disappointment Jacob decided to play his game for a little. Just a little. He turned on his computer and booted up the game. The old familiar song and graphics came onto the screen. He felt a sigh of relief. The comfort of the game kept him going and helped heal his tired soul after a long day of ‘reality’.

            In the game, Jacob was known as Soul Shadow a high leveled Dark Elf Ranger. He played online with millions of people around the world and had more people on his friends list than he had actual friends. In the game he never had a problem connecting to people, they all had at least one thing in common, liking the game.

            In the game he had a chance to be heroic and kind, he could help people and fight evil. He wasn’t the most powerful player and he was restrained by in game rules like everyone else, but he still felt more free and powerful than he had ever felt in his real life.

As soon as Jacob signed online his closest friend Ayla messaged him. She was a girl around his age that liked many of the same things that he liked. The only problem was that she lived in another country.

Ayla: Soul! I haven’t seen you in forever. The new expansion boss didn’t scare you off, did he? ;)

Soul: No way! I just had boring life stuff to do. Don’t you worry. I just need to upgrade my armor and I will ready to party up

Ayla: Glad to hear it, the guild was asking about you. Also I missed our nightly talks.

Ayla:…I mean raids! Talking and raiding, ya know. The normal stuff…

The two of them would carry on like that for hours as they played the game. Sometimes they would do in game quests alone and sometimes they would join a party together and run through dungeons.

            As time passed Jacob started playing the game more and more. He and Ayla had grown close over the years too. When they weren’t playing the game they were talking on their video chat messaging system. Jacob didn’t know Ayla’s real name but he knew she was a real girl and a very pretty one at that. She was the first person he could connect with outside of the game, though it was because of the game that he met her in the first place.

            Life just seemed better when Jacob played the game and when he wasn’t playing he just wanted to spend his time with Ayla. Everything else was just a distraction.

            Jacob still went to work, he took classes and did homework. He maintained his life but every free moment was devoted to two loves, the game and his online crush Ayla.

Clash of Banners part 2

Years went on and the crown hadn’t been found. The two kings hadn’t spoke in years and the only time they saw each other was on the battlefield as their men fought and died for the glory of their foolish kings.

            Axes clashed on armor, swords clashed against shields and blood ran like a river through the open battlefield. Stefan was covered in the finest armor and carried a sword blessed by priests. He strode onto the battlefield shouting orders to his men and fighting off enemy soldiers when he could. Stefan’s strategies were keeping the blue army in the fight but the Red Bear army fought with the force and savagery of actual bears.

            Nathaniel strode out onto battle with red and black armor, a black cape bellowing behind him. He drew a battleaxe from his holster on his back and charged into battle. Blue soldiers bled red blood as Nathaniel tore through their ranks. Despite their age the old kings fought with the might of men half their age.

            In the horizon was the dragon mouth volcano. The birthplace of the Archmage crown and its current resting place. After years of searching the volcano and every other location in the land, a secret cave was found and both kings showed up in force to explore it.

            As the soldiers from both armies fought on Nathaniel ran for the volcano. Once he had the crown, the war would be over and he would have won, he would have proved that he was better than the king of the west. Once he reached the cave Nathaniel sneered seeing that Stefan was already there. “There is only one was to end this” Stefan said with his sword drawn. Nathaniel was a little shaken to see his friend after so many years. He knew they would have to fight but he wasn’t prepared to see Stefan, battle hardened and serious. “Where is the foolish grin I used to know?” Nathaniel asked. Stefan flinched “You are the fool if you think I will back down now. I am so close to proving I am the best and strongest. Once I have the crown…” Stefan said as his guard wavered. Nathaniel snapped back to his senses and rushed forward, axe in hand. They both were weakened by childhood memories, but this was not time for games.

            Nathaniel’s battle-axe clanged against Stefan’s sword and to the surprise of both men, Stefan repelled Nathaniel’s crushing axe strike. Nathaniel stumbled backward and tried to regain his balance. Stefan looked with amazement, it was the first time he had ever blocked an attack from Nathaniel. Without another word Stefan ran into the cave, he figured luck was on his side but he wasn’t interested in testing it again.

            Nathaniel chased after his rival and the two ran deeper and deeper into the depths of the volcano. As the two kings ran through the long tunnel they quickly lost light. In their haste neither of them brought a torch or light source and they were now in the dark underground, far from where the sun could reach them.

            “Just give up, this war is destroying us” Nathaniel shouted in a moment of clarity. “You are asking me to give up, yet you are not willing to do the same” Stefan shouted back. Light could be seen coming from the mountain’s depths. The kings ran toward it, now only several feet from each other.

            Stefan ran into a large stone room in the center of the volcano. In the center of the room was a pillar of lava and in the center of the pillar was the magical crown of the Archmage. The crown’s magic was keeping the lava from spilling out into the room and flooding the tunnels. So if someone grabbed the crown, lava would pour down on them and their only hope would be to use the crown’s magic for protection.

            “Perfect, I can obtain the crown and burn you alive with lava at the same time” Stefan said to Nathaniel who was now standing next to him. “This isn’t the way” Nathaniel said. “I-I need to be better” Stefan said.

            “I have sacrificed too many lives to stop now” Stefan said finally then drew his sword again. “I must end this” Stefan added then thrust his sword out and stabbed Nathaniel in the chest. Nathaniel was too close and his large axe was not made for split second reactions and deflection. Nathaniel didn’t know why he so foolishly let his guard down. Maybe it was nostalgia blinding him from seeing how their relationship had changed.

            Nathaniel drew his axe and swung it with the last of his strength. Stefan dodged the attack and stuck again. Nathaniel dropped to his knees with a look of disbelief as he bled from his chest. Due to the blood loss and the whole dying thing, Nathaniel didn’t see Stefan’s face.

            Stefan’s guilt was written across his face. In his mind it had to end in one of them dying. They had done too much and went too far to just shake hands and share a laugh. To call a truce now after both of the kingdoms bled for this silly war would be an insult to those who died. Stefan’s greed no longer guided his actions, but his guilt did.

            With slow somber movements Stefan walked up to the crown reached out and plucked it out of the lava. The pillar of fire did not melt the king’s hand and the crown was not even hot when Stefan placed it on his head. The lava was no longer being held at bay by the magic of the crown. Stefan watched with unfocused eyes as molten rock and fire flooded through the tunnels. It consumed the body of his friend and spilled out onto the battlefield.

            With both kings gone from battle and lava spreading out along the field, the armies of the Hawk and the armies of the Bear both retreated. The only one remained was Stefan, protected by the magic of the crown he floated in a sea of lava, his eyes never shifting from the spot were he killed his own friend.

            His sadness was interrupted by a thought. An intrusive little thought put there by an outside force. “You have the crown of the Archmage. What is your greatest desire? You can wield unlimited magical power and become the king of every land in the world. You can do anything you wish” This thought floated through Stefan’s head. The crown did not have a voice, but it could make the user aware of the power it possessed.

            Stefan smiled “Anything I want?” He muttered. The world would be changed how he saw fit. This was the kind of power most would never know and the smallest number of people who did use this power would never get a second chance if they lost it. Stefan knew exactly what he was going to do.

            Stefan woke to pain. a sharp stick was being jabbed into his side. “Wake up, or I shall taunt you a second time!” Nathaniel jeered. “You are a motherless swamp goat” Stefan replied only half awake. Then he realized whom he was talking too. Nathaniel stood by Stefan’s bed staring at him like a creep, holding a sharpened stick he made himself.

           

            Stefan had used the power of the crown to undo his mistakes. What Stefan did remember was the crown shattering as it used all of its magic to fulfill Stefan’s only wish. Nathaniel and Stefan were young adults again. Nathaniel didn’t remember anything of the future and Stefan only remembered it as a dream. As the day went on the memories of the future slipped away. The greed, guilt and years of jealously melted away and the two friends had their second chance. The two future kings would relive their lives as if nothing had happened. To make sure the future didn’t repeat itself the crown instilled one small memory, a fragment of the sorrow and pain that Stefan felt when Nathaniel died. This tiny nagging memory would trigger any time Stefan’s rivalry would start to get out of hand.

            The two kings grew up, they remained friends and at times would be rivals but anytime they fought they would fight on the same side.