The Setting Sun

by **Swordplay** Thu May 13, 2010 8:16 am

Glenn stood on an elevated platform, looking down at the people of Tarm as they hissed and berated him. Glenn faced the castle, chained on both sides of his body. The shackles rattled as he attempted to move. The more he resisted, the tighter the chains got. Needless to say, they were of a magical nature. Soon enough, the king walked out of the castle, accompanied by a man in a hooded black robe that shrouded his face in darkness.

The king disappeared from Glenn's sight, but shortly after he was found in a throne elevated to the point where the two were able to make eye contact with Glenn simply looking straight ahead. The man in the black robe had also disappeared from Glenn's sight before finally climbing the stairs up to where Glenn was located.

Any final words?

Glenn scoffed at the King's questions. Tons of words were appropriate for the situation, just none he could say out loud. The king then proceeded to nod solemnly to the man in the robe.

The man stuck his arms out as if requesting something large and heavy, and said a chant.

Ereth het ot ethe ficiracse we.

As if from no where, a scythe of pure darkness materialized in his hands. He rose the dark blade up, and prepared to cleave. He looked behind him, as if looking for the king's approval.

Glenn looked up at the blade and sighed.

So much for being the hero, huh...?

Calden!?

I mean, sure, you're a wimp, but I would've expected you to last longer than that. You've been on the adventure for what...? A week or so now?

What do you expect me to do?

Give them what they want. Stop being such a goody two-shoes. For once in your life, stop falling into the whims of others!

Give them... What they... want?

Well good luck, hopefully I don't end up an only child.

As if he had disappeared, Calden's voice was gone. Glenn finally looked up into the king's eyes as the king finally gave approval. The man brought down the scythe swiftly, looking away from Glenn.

Glenn flinched, expecting the scythe to hit him, but heard a loud 'crack' noise instead. Glenn looked up to see a pale green stone had taken the blow instead. It stayed still before the scythe was engulfed in a green light and disappeared.

Give'em what they want, eh? Let's see what I can do!

Glenn dissolved into the wind and appeared behind the chains as they fell to the ground. He looked at the executioner and smirked. He lifted his hand, palm upright facing his executioner. A mighty gust of wind erupted from his hand as the executioner flew back into the king, knocking both down to the ground.

Guards began charging at the elevated platform from all around. Glenn laughed it off as he jumped from the platform and smacked his hand at the ground, causing a massive earthquake. With all of the guards incapacitated, he sprinted toward the castle. He entered inside, looking for his equipment.

The castle was amazingly straightforward, almost designed exactly like Caledra's castle. He ran back and forth, amazed at the fact that there were only a handful of guards. He finally came to a halt, he was at a wall that should have been where the stairs leading to the dungeon were located. Two guards charged at him, shooting magic spells at him, likely to detain. He dodged them, and threw his palm into the stomach of the guard on his left. As the guard staggered back, he grabbed onto the guard and swung him into the other charging guard. The resulting collision resulted in one of the guards falling into the wall.

Glenn sighed, realizing the wall was a mere ruse, and stepped into it. As the guard rolled down the stairs, he could hear more coming from behind him. He searched the dungeon, looking for where they kept prisoner contraband.

As he tore apart the dungeon, he finally found it. A barrel, conveniently housing all of his equipment. As he grabbed it, he sprinted back upstairs and out of the castle. In front of him was the king and executioner, along with an entire army of guards. The city had been ravaged by the tornadoes caused by the earthquake.

Again, you are found guilty. Your punishment will not stop at execution. We will-

Stop. Look, I don't want to fight you, but I have a greater duty than this. I... I will not hesitate to cut every single one of you down to accomplish it!

Glenn drew Caliburn, preparing to battle. The king signaled the guards to attack, but the executioner halted them.

Father, you would send your army against one chosen by Zephyrus? You saw what happened, the stone protected him. Perhaps this was fate. we've been ignoring our allies calls for help far too long. Regardless of whether he broke the barrier or not, he was not the one who orchestrated the plot.

The king looked slightly taken aback by the defiance, but slowly came to terms with what he was saying. He nodded, as if proud of his son's logic.

It is obvious I have lost my way, we will assist the Holods, but under a new crown. I willfully choose to pass my crown to my son, Elbert.

So does this mean I can go?

Glenn sighed, slightly annoyed at how the day was turning out. The executioner, or perhaps now king shook his head. Removing his hood, it revealed shoulder length dirty blond hair, with blue piercing eyes.

There's still a matter of your sentence. For the destruction of our city, we must ask that you help out the Holods as well. We will need all the help we can get to defeat the Subrosians, so I request that you seek the aid of the Moblins.

Easy enough.

Elbert bowed thankfully. As Glenn looked around the tower, he noticed the damage he had done. Buildings seemed to be hanging sideways, some had even collapsed. The shockwave had knocked the wooden platform he was on down. Glenn sighed, as he left the city behind. Maya watched on from a distance, saddened by his departure.