sorry I have been busy but now I am ready. here is an excerpt from chapter one; will post remaining part of the chapter later
The Dark Lord
The sun was barely showing above the hills of Westlandia, when Edward woke up. It was still late summer, and his room was warm and humid. Recently he had hard time sleeping, no matter how hard he tried. Sometimes it was because of the overwhelming stress. Other times, he simply couldn’t fall asleep. He did not why, and he was starting not to care. Insomnia had started to become his friend, as strange as it sounded. It was only during night time, that Edward was able to collect his thoughts. During the day he was rarely alone, and if he was, he was busy writing important reports, reading just as important reports, responding to letters or sending them, and making decisions many of which were crucial when it came to the ruling of Westlandia. “I should be a king” he often thought to himself; but he was only a lord. True the lord of the most important of the three kingdoms in all of Westlandia – the kingdom of Lagera, which was also the biggest. Nevertheless, no one in the kingdom, not even the King, or especially the King, if we are to be more precise; had as many responsibilities as Lord Edward Rayland, or the Dark Lord as he liked to be called. Edward he hated his name. He was never able to figure out why his parents gave them this stupid name. “What were they thinking? Were they trying to punish me, giving me this stupid name?” he often asked himself, without ever reaching to an appropriate explanation. The King offered more than one time the opportunity to the Dark Lord to change his name, but he refused. There were two main reasons for this refusal. One, he honestly didn’t know what other name he would have chosen for himself; as much as he hated his birth name, he was accustomed to it, that he simply would not accept any other name. Not to mention, that Edward hated change or having to change more than his name. So he would rather keep it the way it is. The second reason was out of respect for his parents. There weren’t many people who could earn his respect, but his parents were certainly people he respected, even though he used to disagree with them very often, back in the day. Now he simply was missing them. It was more than 15 years ago, when his father left for the unknown world, never to be seen or heard of again. Times in Westlandia were hard back then, many people were starving, and when Edward’s father had learned about the opportunity to travel across the sea to the Unknown World, to search for better opportunities for work, and thus a better life for him and his family, he right away took the opportunity. Back then Edward still wasn’t a lord, but an officer in the King’s army. Though there was a rumor that the king was looking for a new lord to lead Lagera, since the current had just passed away, without leaving any male heirs. The two candidates for the job were Edward and the current heir to the kingdom of Lulin- Bakhus Bakhur, son of Lord Raegan Bakhur, who was very sick back then and it was a matter of time. Thus his son Bakhus was name ruler of Lulin - the smallest out of the three kingdoms out of which Westlandia consisted.
Edward was certain that the King would pick him, but the king made a mistake to pick the young Lord Bakhur. That was very disappointing and very crushing blow to Edward. It also meant that his father was definitely going to leave for the Unknown World. Edward still remembered the exact conversation, word for word for word he had with his father, when he was pleading with him not to go.
“It’s a strange world out there dad. That’s why they call it the Unknown World, because no one knows what’s out there. They say it is a land of magic, and evil sorceress; a land where it is way more for someone to lose himself forever, to lose complete touch with reality, than to ever succeed. I heard they don’t like foreigners over there. The trip by itself is full of dangers, with the sea being so unpredictable; plenty of ships leave for the Unknown World, usually for trade purposes and never return to Westlandia. Please dad, don’t go.”
“I have heard the same stories son, but what choice do we have. It might have been different if the king had chosen you to be the new ruler of Lagera, as you hoped, but now that he chose Lord Bakhur, what future do we have here? The country is starving son. Yes, we still live better than most people, because of your officer status, but what happens, when the king decides that he won’t need you anymore? What good are officers in military time? Only a few more throats to feed. And if he fires you, then what? I am still the man in the family, and I am responsible for its future. I have to go out there, and take whatever job I can find. Then in a year or two, once I become financially stable, I will call for you guys to come join me. I promise I will write to you guys often. But now son, I have to go, the ship will leave the port soon; no one will wait for me. Take care for mother and younger brother, while I am gone.”
And after saying that he said goodbye and left. That was the last time Edward saw him. In the first few years, his dad was sending letters often. But after the third years, all the letters stopped. And just once everyone thought that his father was gone, one more letter came. It was from his dad, letting them know that he finally made it. He was sending them some money, and wanted his family to come join him. His mother and brother readily sold everything, and left for the Unknown World. Edward was supposed to go too, but then the Buckstone brothers’ rebellion started. They were the rulers of the second largest, or the middle largest kingdom in the country – Krasno Selo. Edward was a colonel of the army back then. While in peaceful times he was free to leave the army, if he so chose, during war time, he had no option but to stay and fight the traitors; while the kingdom hid in the Sky Tower, while the uprising lasted. Not that the kingdom was a coward, but his son was very sick, and the kingdom wanted to get him away from the fight. At the same time he didn’t want to leave his wife and son alone with the Grand Sorcerer, in the Sky Tower, surrounded by dangerous prisoners, and hardened by war soldiers, who were guarding them, and were protecting the tower. It didn’t make a difference. Edward crushed the rebellion in less than a month. Though it was Bakhus Bakhur who took all the credit. Being away from the battle, the king didn’t have any way to know that though, thus the recognition that Edward got back then was minimal. At the same time sad news reached Westlandia from across the sea. The ship that his mother and brother were on, was supposedly sunken in a storm. His father had gone to look for them, but the same fate had followed him also. So now, Edward had no one left in the world; no one except Martin and Vlad; his two best friends. Five years later, Bakhus Bakhur, had shown his true face, and had started his own uprising, even though he was ruling two of the three kingdoms, on the king’s behalf, and was considered the second most powerful person, in the whole Westlandia. Again the king had to flee to the Sky Tower, and again not on his choice. This time his one year old daughter, had died, just a few weeks ago, and his wife was really sick also. The King was cursing left and right, these cruel Gods, how unfair they were towards him, and that each time the country needed its king the most, he had to run to the Sky Tower’s safety. Bakhus Bakhur also had to flee the Lagera kingdom, which overnight had turned against him, declaring him a traitor, and the worse person in the kingdom. The Dark Lord crushed Bakhus in less than two weeks. All of his army was army was massacred, and the remaining survivors left along with their cowardly ruler towards the Unknown World. The only problem for Edward was that Esther, the only girl that he truly loved and cared for once, also left with Bakhus. Esther actually never shared Edward’s adoration towards her. In fact Edward was sure she was dating Bakhus way before they left for the Unknown World. She has had rejected the Dark Lord numerous times, one of which was especially humiliating for him to take.
After the rebellion was crushed, the King finally made Edward Rayland, the lord of Lagera. Instead of being happy though, Edward was really sad that day. “Too late” he thought. “My father, would never know of my accomplishments, neither would my mother, nor would my brother. And Esther despises me; she is probably fucking with Bakhus right now, laughing at me”. That was the first and the last time Edward cried in his life. When he finally calmed down he said to himself, “crying is for the weak. I should stop thinking about the past, and move on. I am a lord now.” While he never cried again, Edward never really managed to leave the past behind, no matter how much he tried or wanted to. Often he was sitting by the fire, burning in the cabin in his room, just looking empty in to the fire. He was either wondering if his parents or brother are still alive; whether Esther is still laughing at him; and where the hell is Bakhus. For the past five years when people saw Lord Edward, he was always in a bad mood, always dressed in black, always frowning, never smiling. Edward found the nickname annoying at first, but with time he completely adopt it. He even adopt it to a point where he was getting mad at people whenever they were calling him “my lord.”
“I am not just any lord you fool; I am the Dark Lord, remember that. You will call me “my dark lord”, or I shall have your tongue next time you get it wrong”. Edward used to say this often whenever his servants or soldiers made this simple, but very annoying mistake. So soon everyone was calling him, ‘my dark lord”. Even the King and the Grand Sorcerer started calling him “Mr. Dark Lord”. The only people who didn’t were the Queen, Prince Harry, and his two best friends and most loyal servants – Martin and Vlad. The Queen and the prince would call him Lord Edward or lord Rayland; Martin would call him “Uncle Edward”, even though he wasn’t his uncle, or even related to him, and Vlad would call him simply “Edward” or “Ed”.
Edward was just trying to close his eyes, when someone knocked on the door. “Come in”, he said with his flat voice.
Eve, one of his favorite mates, and the King and the Queen’s favorite court lady, came in, a bit hesitantly at first. “I am sorry my Dark Lord, did I wake you?”
“Not at all sweetheart; I was already awake. What is it?” he responded still half drowsy.
“Martin and Vlad, asked if they can see you. They stated that they have a very important news for you.”
“Did they happen to mention this news to you, my dear lady?”
“Yes, my Dark Lord. They said that Bakhus Bakhur have returned secretly to Westlandia. However, your guards have caught him. He is chained in the dungeons downstairs, my Dark Lord.”
“My sweet lady, this is the best news, anyone has ever brought me in a long time. Tell Vlad and Martin to come in, but give me ten minutes to get dressed first. “Edward responded with excitement in his voice, and for a first time in a while, Eve saw something, no one had seen in years – the Dark Lord smiled at her.
“At once my Dark Lord”, she bowed, and left the room, closing the door gently after her.
“Such a nice girl” Ned thought. Eve was certainly not a beauty at least in the face. However, she was once of the nicest girls he knew. Sometimes, when she smiled she could even pass as pretty, certainly charming; though when she was angry she could be a bit scary looking. “Her nose ruins it all; if it was a bit shorter, she would be way better looking. Her petite body, is certainly nice, her long, blonde hair is cute; only the nose. But hey I’d still do her. “Edward slowly got out of bed, and went near the cabinet at the other end of the room, and opened the first drawer, where he kept his most important supplies – the collection of his favorite herbs. These herbs were a bunch of green leaves, coming in a slightly different shapes and lengths, and were carefully wrapped in a foil paper, with a sign taped on the top of each one – “tranquility”, “high energy”, “euphoria”, and of course “dreams” Edward had characterized each of them by the physical and mental effects, each of the herb had on his body. “Tranquility” made him feel calm. “High energy” helped him recover when he was feeling tired the most, though it was lasting only for a short while, so sometimes, if it was necessary, he had to take up to two leaves in one day. His favorite herb was by far “euphoria”. Recently Edward was starting to feel in a really gloomy and depressed mood, though some days were worse than others. It was in days like that he had to take a leaf, smash it and drink it with a cup of water. True, the taste was bitter, so very often he had to take a piece of chocolate or something else that was sweet, but only in a short while the taste did not matter. Edward was feeling as joyful as ever, and everything seemed just fine; the world was a beautiful place, and he was loving it. Such was the effect of “euphoria”, and in tough days, it made him feel better; it was the best way to release the stress. Though it had one thing, which worried him. While at first, “euphoria” made him hornier than a dog in heat, just a few minutes later, the effect was completely the opposite. He could have seen the most beautiful girl naked, and still be as soft, as the kin of a new born baby. “I hope this dam herb doesn’t make me sterile”, he often thought. But then he remembered that he was probably the only man in the country, and maybe in the whole world, who didn’t enjoy drinking, not even beer, nor wine. Other men, and many women also would get as drunk as pigs as parties, but not Edward. Firstly, because his body didn’t allow him to get drunk. Every time he was consuming alcohol, his chest was squeezing as tight as ever, making feel strong pain. His whole face would get red also, his body, would be burning. Not to mention that he hated hangover. Many of his people had them, and on day like that, he was glad he wasn’t one of them. Plus he had noticed, that people were making plenty of dumb thing when drunk, like saying the stupidest hit that came to their mind; they were beating their kids or women wen drunk; starting fights with their mates or stranger when drunk; and completely making fools out of themselves. “And then they judge me for takin “euphoria”; or they would have if they knew.” “Euphoria” or the other drugs, were outlawed by the king, because they were from the Unknown World, and all trade with the unknown world, was banned. Also the king didn’t like, or didn’t understand the effects these herbs had on the body; though he never had tried them himself. He called them evil sorcery, but what did he knew? “People, always hate things, they don’t understand” Ed used to say. Still, he didn’t want others to know, other than Vlad, Martin and Eve to know that he was taking them. “The King may very well exile me if he found out, and then all my work, would have been for nothing”; so he was determined to keep it a secret for as long as he can. The last herb “dreams”, was the most powerful one, and Edward was really careful, trying not to abuse it. It gave him vivid dreams and visions. However it was a very helpful herb, because all the visions he was able to see, while on “dreams”, were actually prophetic, and were coming true, very shortly after he has seen them. For instance, when Bakhus Bakhur, had his rebellion, he was able to crush it easily because he saw it when on “dreams”, and thus was able to guess correctly the enemy next moves. Not that the king would have considered this as Edward’s defense. Still it was good he had it/ Every time when Edward was getting a bad feeling, he took half leaf of dreams, and was able to see and understand better where his bad feeling was coming from. Somehow Edward, had very well developed six sense, which was warning him, every time something bad was about to happen. Together with “dreams”, and Martin’s special seeing abilities, Edward always knew everything that was happening or was about to happen, and was always prepared to react appropriately. The Dark lord took a leaf of “tranquility” smashed it in a cup of water, until the dry powder made the water light green and drank it, in one sip. He certainly couldn’t afford to drink “dreams” right now, and “euphoria” would quickly exhaust him, while the day was barely starting. “High energy” would help him out but just for a bit, and his supplies of it, were running low. He need to save it for later, until Rakamu, the man who was bringing him the herbs from a place in the unknown world, known as the “High Forest”; came again with the new shipment. He often wondered, f the High Forest, and the things he had heard about it were actually true. “Talking trees, that are always high, is it possible? Or is it just a myth? Maybe it is a myth, but if so, where do these herbs come from? There are certainly no herbs like this in the whole kingdom of Westlandia; so it must be true.”
Edward took off his pajamas, and put it in the laundry basket, so Eve can take them letter to be washed. He put on his brand new clothes, all in black of course, and looked at the large map, he had nailed to the wall. He focused at the huge piece of land, people referred to as the Unknown World. While there was no magic in Westlandia, or “known world”, as some people call it, the Unknown World was known for having all sorts of magic. It was divided in a few important territories. The Civals occupied the biggest territory of the Unknown World. It was said that thousands of years ago, when the first colonies were just barely founded, the Civals were the first true civilizations to populate them- including Westlandia. Then they migrated to the unknown world, though many of them remained in Westlandia. Many people used to pride themselves with the fact that they could trace their roots back to the Civals. Edward’s family was among them. The other major territory belonged to the Namottos; who constantly fought with the Civals. Recently Dan Namotto the 13th, had declared a war on the Civals. The war was cruel and bloody on both sides; causing many people to leave their homes and search for refuge in other territories of the Unknown World; or in Westlandia even. “We used to run away to them, now they are coming to us”; Edward though often. He often used to hear refugees, complaining about Dan Namotto the 13th’s despotic rule. Edward found amusing what they were saying about him. Supposedly, this crazed dictator had said, that he will destroy anyone who opposes him “with fire and fury”. “Only an idiot can claim something like that”. The Dark Lord however, also found these statements rather concerning. “What if he manages to conquer the Civals; and takes control of the whole Unknown World? Then it would be no one left to conquer, but us? We have to attack him, and the rest of the Unknown World Scum, while they are divided and weak” That’s what he constantly preached, but the Queen, would never hear about it. Edward respected her a lot, but knew that her good heart, made her too weak. Which would have been all too well, but she was influencing the King also, making him weak in the processes. One of her worse influence Edward though she had on the king, was convincing to let refugees in Westlandia. Something Edward was feeling very strongly against. “We can’t afford to take care of our own people, never mind all these extra, empty throats to feed”, he often stated, but no one was there to listen to him. Maybe back in the day, the king would have listened to him, but now, it was almost impossible to change the king’s mind, if Mariana, had convinced him otherwise. And this was just another reason, Edward had started to dislike his king; great friend back in the day; but a weak and pathetic man nowadays. The third largest territories were the unclaimed or the disputed territories; the name spoke for itself. Many different tribes were fighting over them; there were real laws, or order established there. Finally there were the collejios – that’s how all the magicians, sorcerers, so called scientists, and educated men were calling themselves. While education in Westlandia wasn’t exactly a priority; in Westlandia; the territories of the collejios from the Unknown World territories insisted on it, and mostly in magic, both for good and for dark purposes. They established different schools, called faculties where they thought their followers magic as well as ways to understand the living and nonliving world. One person who have claimed he studied in such a faculty was Myles- the Grand Sorcerer. The Grand Sorcerer, claimed he grew up and thought himself in one of these faculties, and that he possessed magic powers, acquired from the training; though Edward, mistrusted him about that; in fact Edward mistrusted him that he was even a sorcerer to begin with, or that he had anything magical about him. Yes the Grand Sorcerer, could summon Domoros; a mythological creature – a huge dragon like creature, but with three heads; used with the sole purposes to carry the king, his family, and anyone else the king needed, to safety in the Sky Tower, should the need arise. The Sky Tower was built on a very high and steep mountain; so tall and steep even the best climbers couldn’t climb to it. However, anyone who was proclaimed Grand Sorcerer, was automatically given the gif to control Domoros. All they had to do, was to read an ancient spell, which allowed Domoros to turn from a stone statue, into a living creature, and then back again, when he was no longer needed, and they were able to control Domoros. “If I was the king, I would have named Martin, the Grand Sorcerer, and he would be able to summon Domoros also.” The Dark Lord used to say often; and that was true. And apart from being able to give commands to Domoros, which were automatically acquired with his title, Myles, has never proven that he had any magic abilities. However, Edward knew that at least for now, he needed no one else but Myles Rockwood, to be the Grand Sorcerer. True, he couldn’t confirm if he was loyal, not like Vlad or Martin, but for now he was reliable. The king thought Myles was serving him, and technically speaking, that was true, since by oath the Grand Sorcerer, was obliged to serve the King, and anything that king commanded, and if the king was to die, the Queen, and the prince automatically took over that role. However, the Grand Sorcerer was serving Edward. It was Edward, who helped him get the position, by personally recommending to the king, and thus Myles, owed hi allegiance to him. Though Edward wondered, should Myles ever realized his true strength and potential, would he still remain loyal, or would he betray him the first chance he get?
“I can’t trust this man; only Martin and Vlad… and maybe eve and Diana Buckstone in certain instances; no one else; certainly not the Grand Sorcerer; but I still need him”.
Apart from the Grand Sorcerer and Edward’ favorite herbs, the only other people and thing that connected Westlandia to the Unknown World, was his dad’ old letters, Martin, Pajoul the court’s fool and of course the fear of war.
Martin, while originally was born in Lagera, early as a kid moved and grew up, somewhere in the Unknown World, in the Civals’ territory to be exact. Then when he turned only 13, Martin’s parents had decided to come back home to Lagera. On the way back they were attacked by pirates. They were planning to sell them as slaves, most like to the Chosen by the Devil, a very dangerous cult, living in the Hell Lands, the land on the west side of Westlandia; known for practicing extreme believes, and rituals, including human and animals sacrifice. Luckily for Martin, the pirate ship was intersected by the king’s men, on the way to the Hell Lands. Hi parent however, weren’t so lucky; for when the parents realized that they were about to be captured; killed all the hostages on board; only Martin and Pajoul managed to escape.
After being rescued Martin started living with Edward and his family, and the two boy were like brothers; Edward of course was way older, became something like Martin’s mentor. When Martin, only 13 of the time, came to Edward’s life, Edward was already 25, and was a successful officer, in the king’ army. Then two years later Bakhus Bakhur’s rebellion started, and also Edward’s brother and mother left to search for Edward’s dad, living Martin, the only close person, in Edward’ life, apart from Vlad, Edward’s childhood best, and only friend. People used to pick on Martin for being too shy, and that he was having a nerdish look due to his glasses, but Edward didn’t tolerate such kind of behavior; after all Martin was smarter than most people and possessed an unique talent.
The special thing about Martin was his ability to see things, in almost all part of the world, both known and unknown, as soon as they occurred, then he was reporting them to the Dark Lord. The gift of vision; that’s how people called it, when they talked to Martin’ gift. Indeed, it was a unique for very few people in the world, and Martin was one of them. The only places that he couldn’t see what was going on were sacred magic places in the Unknown World; like the “High Forest” for instance, the Sky Tower, as well as the hell, to which people referred to as the Hell Entrance. The “Hell Enterance” was a cave hidden in the Hell Lands, where the Chosen by the Devil cult was committing all of its sick, and twisted rituals. It was also said that there was a hidden hallway, approximately 10 kilometers long, which connected the cave with the Sky Tower, though no one dared to enter it, for there were all kinds of dangerous monsters living in it. There was also a rumor, or more like a legend, that if entering this tunnel, on a certain night, instead of going to the sky tower, one was entering another dimension, that was leading straight to the gates of hell, and only the Chosen One, would be allowed to freely return back in safety to Earth dimension, and continue straight to the Sky Tower. Edward didn’t know what to think of these tales, nor he cared a whole lot; since he wasn’t planning to visit neither the Sky Tower, nor even less so the Hell Enterance; he simply had no business there.
The Dark Lord’s glance switched from the Unknown World to the other end of the map, which included Westlandia, straight across the sea of the Unknown World, and the Hell Lands. There wasn’t much to say about the Hell Lands. The reason why people call them so, was because of the cult – chosen by the devil, and the Hell Enterance, their main meeting point; were located there. There were also cannibals, monsters, and other savages, who refused to live in a civilized way, who were living there. Also in the most northern point of the Hell Lands, the Sky Mountain was located, and on top of that – the tower which provided the King a Safety haven for a year, should the need arise – the Sky Tower; to which the only way was via air – or in other words, via Domoros – the mythological monster that only the Grand Monster could summon with an ancient, given to him at the time he was appoint a Grand Sorcerer by the king.
Apart from the Hell Lands and the Unknown World there was Westlandia – consisting of three main kingdoms, and one really small kingdom, that no true Westlander was able to talk about, without being embraced by it; and so it was known as the Kingdom of Embarrassment, or Gypsy Land, or Friendship One, as the Gypsies themselves called it. Gypsies were nomadic, very unclean people, whose true origins were unknown, or debated heavily at best, who were coming from a land known as the Namotto, located in the central part of the Unknown World. They also had some bad habits which included not bathing for long periods of time, living on the back of others, and stealing anything they can get their hands on, especially copper. During both uprisings, that Edward had to crush, a group of gypsies, led by a man called tsar Hiroul, stormed the king’s armory and stole all the armors, swords, helmets, shields, spears, axes, and all other types of un melted iron and copper they could get their hands on. Then they melted it and sold it to a group of well-known traders from the Unknown World, who forged it back into weapons and sold it double back to the king’s men. Edward was furious especially the second time. He hated being made a full of himself; especially by such imbeciles; such as the gypsies. And while the first time Hiroul had caught them by surprise; the second time it was more than ridiculous; because Edward expected it. He had begged the king back then to give them 100 good men, and let him go to Gypsey town – the capital of Friendship one, and destroy Hiroul and his men before they rob him a second time. The king refused, by stating it was unnecessary cruelty, which the kingdom should not afford. Then Edward asked the king to at least double the guards. The King refused that as well, stating that it would be unnecessary, since Hiroul, being a gypsy, was not a man bold enough to try something as crazy as stealing from the King two times in a row. Well, Hiroul did, and both times was successful. Bath times the king had flown away on Domoros back to the Sky tower, high up in the cold mountains of the Hell Lands, leaving Edward with no time to prepare, and having to trade with the Unknown World, in order to arm his men, with armor which was their property to begin with. And all because, the king was a weak minded idiot, controlled by his sweet, and soft hearted wife. But Edward was trying to see the positive in everything. Had it not been for the robbing of the armor, Edward wouldn’t have met the strange trader Rakamu, and wouldn’t have had the chance to try “Euphoria”, “Tranquility”, “High Energy” and especially “dreams”. And without “dreams” he wouldn’t have known for Bakhus Bakhur plans for instance; he wouldn’t have decided to send Admiral Jon Lees and his ships to attack Bakhus from the back, and he could have possibly lost the rebellion, and he would never won his lordship. Plus it wasn’t his fault that tsar Hiroul struck him twice. He did warn the King; he could only warn the king; it was the King’s job to listen and to give appropriate orders. So in a way, he was thankful to Tsar Hiroul, and his brother 100 Arrows. Gypsies were obviously not very creative when it came to names. Hiroul for instance chose to be called Tsar, because that was the Civals’ word for king, thus he was proclaiming himself as the King of the Gypsies; though he was the furthest possible thing from a king, as you could ever get – a bolding man in his 50’s, who was stinking like sheep’s piss, but with an extreme self-confidence. The name applied for his brother Ivan, who had called himself 100 arrows. He probably had never seen an arrow in his life, and yet he called himself after a famous Civalic leader, from hundreds of years ago. That’s how lame gypsies were when it came to names. The lamest name of all was probably the name of their so called kingdom – Friendship One. There was nothing friendly about it; and a man would never have been able to understand where the part about number one came from did. “If there is ever a Friendship two, I would go and kill everyone there myself; without showing a drop of friendliness.” Edward used to say; ‘and I will stick and arrow in 100 arrows’ ass, see how he likes it. Then I will break his fake gold, which is probably copper tooth and will make Tsar Hiroul swallow it. Hopefully I won’t die from suffocation while crossing Gypsey Town”. Edward was referring to the unbearable stench, that was coming from the city, due to the fact that 99% of the population never bathe, or if did, it was once a year, and made a big deal about it. “I bath today” was an expression locals used to say, when they were bragging to their friends. Not to mention that the horses and donkeys were shitting everywhere, and no one ever cleaned the streets. While the locals were used to the stench, a person who had never step foot, could literally pass out, or get a diarrhea just by smelling the air. That was the main reason, the king never wanted to attack the so –called Gypsy kingdom, or try to integrate it towards the rest of Westlandia. Which while certainly understandable, it was still a sign of weakness in Edwards’ eyes. Not to mention, how much gypsies liked to take stuff, which didn’t exactly belong to them, or try to sell you their copper, which was most likely, also stolen. The reason why they were able to do that, was because the king was willing to give a chance to every gypsy, willing to integrate himself or herself in the rest of Westlandia, as long as they earned their living by honest work. For gypsies, honest work usually meant either working on people‘s gardens or wheat fields, and then they would steal the crop for themselves; or simply selling stolen copper or goods made from stolen copper. Gypsies usually would come to the kingdom of Lulin, which was the bordering kingdom, though sometimes would make it to Krasno Selo, and once in a while to the kingdom of Lagera, and would approach people that seemed to have money in groups. “Older brother, older brother” or “older sister, older sister” would be the usual way they would try to talk to people, regardless of the fact that they had no relationships to them, and regardless of whether they were actually older or not. In fact, most gypsies were usually way older looking than they were indeed, especially the women. A gypsy woman could easily be 35-40 years old, and look as old as 60. It was due to the fact that they had many kids, half of whom they would forget the names they themselves had given them; “difficult to keep track, after the fifth one pops out, I guess” Edward would often say. But the annoying part was that all the gypsies that ended living outside of Friendship One, would receive money for each kid, they had, collected by the taxes of hard working citizens. Which was how they were living on other people’s backs. Not to mention, Edward believed, that all the refugees running away from the Unknown World were hiding in Friendship One, and later was illegally getting to the rest of Westlandia. He had begged the king to extradite all the illegal refugees back to Gypsy town if not to the Unknown World, but the king kept refusing; again Edward was seeing in this Mariana’s influence; only the Queen would be so influential. Or maybe it was Countess Lora, the Queen’s favorite court lady, which she treated as a daughter, as her own daughter had died years ago, right before Bakhus’ rebellion. Lora, also like the queen, had a soft and gentle heart, and was advising the queen to accept openly everyone; though Marian would probably do it anyway. Then the Queen would advise the king, making Edward’s job, practically impossible.
As for the remaining kingdoms on the map, there wasn’t much to be said about them. There was the Lulin Kingdom which used to belong to the Bakhur’s, but after the rebellion the king had given it to Prince Adrian and his wife, lady Diliana. Adrian was never huge on ruling, so he let his sister lady Marta, rule in his stead. The kingdom also served as the port to the south, and thus needed strong military armada to defend the shores of the kingdom from whatever danger could come by sea. After the defeat of Bakhus Bakhur, the control of the sea were given to Admiral Jon Lees, and his brother Teodor “the Jolly Fellow” Lees from the East. Both have demonstrated their heroics during the rebellion, which had earned the titles – the Protectors of the Westlandia’s seas. Apart from Lulin, there was also the kingdom of Krasno Selo, which was led by the Buckstones. Unlike the Bakhurs, the Buckstones, kept their kingdom after their rebellion. Mostly because Edwards was in a good relationship with one of the brothers Nikolay Bucksotne, and vouched on his behalf that the Buckstones would remain loyal to the crown. Thus while the Buckstones paid heavy taxes as a punishment, and lost some of their lands, they remained pretty much in control. Nikolay Bucksotne, owned the Eastern part of the kingdom, and Kiril “Kiko” Buckstone, the west. Both had lost their wives during the rebellion, Nikolay lost his wife due to sickness, while Kiril Buckstone was suspected to have killed his wife by starving her, because he caught her cheating on him, with a merchant from the Unknown World, though it was never confirmed. Both brothers had two kids each – a boy and a girl. Bart and Mira were Kiko’s kids, and Riktor “Vitya” Bucksotne and Diana Buckstone were Nikolay’s kids. Edwards was great childhood friend with Bart and Riktor, and used to have special feelings for Diana, who he also taught had for him. That was after Esther left, and he was trying to forget her. Though even before that, Edward, had soft spot for Diana. And finally there was the kingdom of Lagera – the kingdom where he had grown up, though duty often took him to both Krasno Selo and Lulin.
“You can look at the map, all you want, the Unknown World, will continue to be there”, Edward heard a voice behind him. It was his friend Vlad, the voice of reason, as Edward referred to him. Vlad was 33 years old, a year older than Edward. He was Edward closest friend, and the one who usually criticized him the most, whenever he felt that Edward was going on a wrong path. And recently Vlad, a skinny lad with a goat tea and pale face, a lad who rarely spoke to other people, often spoke to Ned, advising him of this and that, letting him know, whenever he didn’t like something, and he felt Ned was doing it wrong.
“You guys, obviously don’t believe in knocking”, Edward stated as he turned around to face Vlad slowly.
“We did knock, but you didn’t hear us Uncle Ed”, a tiny lad with glasses, standing next to Vlad responded.
“So nice to see you too Martin, so Eve stated that you caught Bakhus. Finally some good news in these dark times.”
“Your people caught him.”
“And where is he now?”
“He is in the dungeon with Georgi, your torturer.” Said Martin calmly. “But knowing how Georgi is, I would strongly advise for you to hurry up, and go down there. Or soon Bakhus will be less than recognizable.”
“Oh yes, Georgi likes to have fun, doesn’t he. We will go, but first I need a quick report from you Martin. Who is expected to come to the council meeting today, and what will the King talk about?”
“I believe he wants to make sure that Westlandia is still loyal to him; as well as the war in the Unknown World. As for who is coming apart from us and Eve, the King and the Queen and the Grand Sorcerer, all of the Buckstones, including their kids, prince Adrian and his sister Marta, Teodor and his brother Jon Lees, countess Lora, “
“Oh she is countess now?” Edward interrupted him.
“Yes, ever since the queen granted her the title, for the past 5 years; but you already knew that Uncle Ed”
“Did I? Forgive me, must have slipped my mind” while Edward didn’t exactly hate Lora, he wasn’t very fond of her, as she constantly was attacking him at council meetings, and was always taking the opposite side. Originally Lora was a daughter of one of the court ladies of the queen, but her mom passed away when she was an infant, and the queen had taken Lora under her wing, raising her like her own daughter. Their bond even became stronger when Queen Mariana, lost a daughter of her own, due to the little baby catching a strong case of the flu, never being able to fully recover. Queen Mariana was a very sickly woman herself, and constantly blamed herself, for passing her disease to her daughter. It was Lora who comfort the Queen, for she understood her best, way better than the Queen’s son prince Henry, or her husband – King Merek. So the queen officially made Lora a countess, and often called her daughter, while Lora called her mother or mommy; even though she always called Prince Henry by his name; instead of brother; and King Merek your majesty; instead of dad. “Will his holly manliness attend?” Edward was jokingly referring to the fact that Prince Henry was gay. And not only was he gay, he made no effort to hide, and in fact he was making it very obviously, by dressing up, making up, and perfuming himself, in the most feminine way possible. While being gay by itself, was not against the law, despite the protests of the Grand Sorcerer and Kiko Buckstone at previous yearly council meetings, the King refused to make it illegal, even though he himself, strongly disapproved of this kind of behavior; while Edward remained neutral to it. Still, being gay was not something most men openly admitted about themselves; whether noble or poor. Each faced different obstacles of being accepted in the society. It was even more so, unacceptable for the only male heir of the King, to be this way, for it was expected of him to produce on his term future male heirs, to continue the dynasty. If the future heir was deemed unable to create generation of his own, and was determined to be his fault, and not his bride, the law stated that he must give up his crown to the next in the hierarchy line – which was the Grand Sorcerer, followed by the ruler of the largest kingdom – Lagera, followed by the general in command, followed by the assistant general, followed by the colonel. In the event that none of them was being fit to rule, which was an extremely unlikely event, then the nobles were to vote on a new king, but in the ten thousand year history of Westlandia no such precedent has happened; it has only gotten as far as the general of command, but that was more than 1000 years ago. Still the prospect of the Grand Sorcerer taking control of Westlandia, wasn’t exactly a prospect, which delighted Edward. As for Prince Henry himself, it was an open secret that he was gay, and everyone knew that. Everyone except the King. Or maybe he also knew, but had refused to accept as a fact. “People constantly live in denial of accepting their biggest fears; even when they stare them right in the face” Edward would often say.
“Yes, Prince Henry will attend also” Martin replied.
“Anyone else?”
“Pajoul, the court’s fool.”
“I hate this fucking clown. “ Pajoul was the last of the three people, who had connection to the Unknown World, apart from Martin and the Grand Sorcerer. He was the only man in the kingdom, who looked more feminine looking than Prince Henry; or at least he was trying to be. Pajoul like to powder his face so much, that it was sparkling bright; so much so, that people could mistake him as a burning candle, if they saw him, when it was dark outside. Pajoul was a dwarf; barely 4 feet tall. There were 5 and 6 year old boys taller than Pajoul. He was carrying a large clown hat, with five tassels, with bells at the end of each tassel. The dwarf was skinny, ugly, with crooked hands and legs, which made him look like a duck when walking, and he was having difficulties carrying anything heavier than 5 pounds. When Pajoul laughed, and he laughed often, he was having the creepiest and evil smile, and a very deranged look in his eyes. Due to his really feminine features, looks and extremely tiny and squealing voice, people automatically taught Pajoul was gay, and he never did anything to prove them wrong. Thus men never felt threatened when he was talking to their women. Court ladies, considered Pajoul as one of them, and were constantly talking what they referred to as “women things” when they were with Pajoul. He himself eagerly would join them in their conversations- usually sharing rumors about other people – who happened to work at court, or were noblemen who were often visiting the court. Their conversations would go something like “Girls, did you hear what happened to Lady Susan the other day? Her husband caught her sleeping with three soldiers from the king’s army. She was fucking with all three at the same time- having all her holes filled if you know what know what I mean?”
“We know what you mean Betty” Pajoul would respond. “The question is, do you know what you mean.
“What are you trying to say Pajoul?”
“Bitch you know what I am trying to say, look at you. You have gained like 100 pounds for the last year. You look like a whale. The only men you have been with, are the ones that visit you in your dreams.”
“Don’t be mean with her” another lady of the court will respond to him. “Just because you fucked more soldiers than a cheap harlot, working in a tavern, doesn’t mean that we all have to be like you.”
Pajoul raised surprised his eyebrows, looking at her with shocked face, blinking endlessly. “Hole, I know you just didn’t say to me, what I think you said to me. Ugh-ugh. I know you didn’t. You, who are as wide a trench; if a man tries to stick his bone in you he will feel like sticking it in a river; you the girl who can probably fit 3 men at the same time in just your small hole; II know very well you didn’t just said this to me.”
“Pajoul, I just …”
“Bitch you just nothing. Keep your mouth closed bitch, or I will have to close it for you. I know that at least in this aspect you have plenty of experience” Then he turned again back to Betty. ‘Ok Mrs. Pork Chop, now that we can go back to where we were before, we were so rudely interrupted, tell us again what happened to Lady Susan”.
Later that week, Mrs. Susan and her husband were found dead, in the bushes. It seemed like he killed her, and then killed himself. Pajoul only laughed hard when he heard the story.
That’s how he usually acted, but talking wasn’t the only thing he did when talking to the court ladies. He usually promoted himself as the God of Love, trapped in a dwarf’s body. He was telling the ladies and their husbands, that for a small price, he could teach their wives, how to satisfy them like never before.
And those fools paid them dearly. Now Pajoul would tell them, that he will take either a cucumber or a banana and demonstrate to the ladies how to suck it, how to swallow it hole, and later on how to ride it. Edward knew that was bullshit. Martin had told him the truth, because he was able to see it, but Edward didn’t need Martin to know the truth. “The whole kingdom would run out of cucumbers and bananas for years to come, if this was the truth; especially with all the “students” this dwarf has” Edward with often said.
‘What if he uses the same banana and cucumber for each of his students?” Harold, one of the soldiers working for Edward asked him once.
“You know how unsanitary this would be? No, no way; he definitely makes them suck his cock, pretending to teach them better techniques, and then he would instruct them to get on his dick and he will start shagging them, pretending to show them riding techniques. That creepy fool, ain’t fooling me.”
And that was exactly what Pajoul was actually doing. He was fucking all the lonely, rich women, and sometimes even poorer ones; and if the girl was pretty enough for him, he would even take a poor one, telling her husband or boyfriend, he would give him a special discount, because he was a good men; and the men were paying him for it, thinking their wives were learning new ways to please them better. Well technically speaking they did, but not exactly as they pictured it. Edward knew what was happening, but was feeling impartial to it. “If they are so stupid, to willingly put horns on their heads, and pay for it, on top of that, that is their problem. I hate stupid people”, he would say often. Though he was wondering, why the women did it so willingly. Was it because they were also as stupid or was it because they wanted to get willingly fucked, by the ugliest creature in the kingdom; Edward couldn’t tell for sure. He believed that it was in the nature of all women, to be slutty, but at the same time Pajoul was so hideous, that he couldn’t imagine how they would get turned on by him. Maybe they were picturing someone else; maybe just were so tired of their boring lives, and wanted a bit adventure to make it interesting, and hey a dick of midget is better than no dick at all. Or did they actually found the thought of feminine looking Pajoul, inside of them really exciting in some strange, perverse way? Whatever it was, he knew he would kill this fucking clown one day; just for the fun of it, if nothing else. But not until the King was alive; that was for sure. For some reason the King truly loved his fool. After all, Pajoul had one job only, and he did it well – to make people laugh, and mostly the King. Even Edward had to admit, that this clown was funny. The reason for this was that the clown was really mean and brutal; without any considerations of people’s feelings other than his own. He loved picking on the weak, and the powerless, and to make fun of them; feeding of their fears and insecurities; just like he was doing with Betty and the other court ladies. He loved joking with them, that they will die alone, that no man would want them, or that they were so promiscuous, that so many men had them, and that now everyone was bored with them, and thus they will die alone. Most of the times he was incorrect of course, but the court ladies weren’t so sure. Betty for instance, wasn’t fat at all; just a little thick, but he knew that model for beauty was being skinny, and knew that she was very insecure about her weight. So he would call her anything from fat cow to a whale. It got to a point that Betty was feeling ashamed to take off her clothes even in her own room; where no one would see her naked.
“Girl no one wants to see that; only poor, ugly Pajoul. See Pajoul is very ugly too, so he can handle seeing this fat meet hanging. Show it Pajoul, but to no one else. Others will laugh at you. But Pajoul knows. People laugh at Pajoul for being ugly. Take off your clothes girl, show me your ugliness. No one else would see it otherwise.”
“But I shouldn’t…”
“Bitch take off your fucking clothes; don’t make me say it twice” he would say it with a mean grin on his face, his tone sounding threatening. And Betty did, and he got what he needed from her many times. Then he would leave her crying in her bed. “Don’t cry bitch. At least you got Pajoul’s dick. Be thankful that you got at least one, without breaking it with your fat ties.”
One day, Betty just couldn’t handle it anymore. They found her hanging in her room, using her bed sheet as a rope.
“This is amazing” Pajoul remarked. “The ceiling didn’t break, and the rope didn’t tear. Betty, if you can hear me from the world beyond, Pajoul congratulates you. You should be proud, fat cow.” He said it laughingly. It was one more final remark, he had for the poor girl, before they buried her body, and the memory for her completely faded.
But Betty wasn’t his only victim; there were many before and after her. Both men and women; whoever Pajoul felt deserved his scorn. After all, it was all for the good Kingdom; it was all to make the King laughed. Sometimes Pajoul was so bold; he would make fun of King Merek himself. “Your majesty, you are so blessed. You have the strongest floors in the whole world. Every day you walk on these floors with all your kingly glory, but these floors keep fighting, and against the odds haven’t succumbed to your heaviness. All other floors would have been replaced at least ten times by now. If your soldiers were as strong as your floors, no one would ever oppose you.” Pajoul said to the King once, and everyone in the room died laughing. Another time he said “This Domoros, must be a really strong creature with unique endurance, since it is able to carry your weight twice from here to the Sky Tower and back. Though I wonder if it starts complaining of severe back pain, once you get off, while no one is watching.” And then he started to make strange howling sounds with his mouth, pretending to howl as Domoros, every time the monster was angry. Again everyone in the room was laughing. But were they laughing, because they truly found his jokes funny, or was it because the King truly found them funny, and it would have been rude if they let their king laugh by himself; no one knew. And the King really loved his clown; many people complained from Pajoul’s rudeness, and many people were dismissed by the king, who kept saying that these jokes were only meant for entertainment purposes, and people shouldn’t be so offended by it.
There were only two people in the kingdom that Pajoul didn’t dare to make fun of – Prince Henry and Queen Mariana. And the reason was simple – if the king found out that Pajoul made fun of his dear beloved wife, or his future heir, he would immediately order for the fool’s head to be on a stick. Now Pajoul really loved making fun of others, but what he loved even more of this was his own life. No joke as funny as it was, was worth more than that to him, so the Queen and the Prince were safe from Pajoul’s scorn, at least until the king was alive.
“So shall we go see Bakhus?” Edward asked Martin and Vlad.
“After you Uncle Edward”, and they all left Edward’s room, through the narrow highway and down the tiny stairs, a few floors down, until they got to the dungeons, in front of Bakhus’ cell. The door was locked, and in front of it, a tall, bald, fat guy was standing with a spear in his hand. His name was Harold, and he was one of the officers, working directly for the Dark Lord.
“My dark lord, it is always a pleasure to see you. May I ask how I can be of service?”
It was obvious that Edward had only one purpose coming down the stairs – to see Bakhus Bakhur; but Harold wasn’t exactly blessed with brain; that’s why they called him Harold the Fool “I came to see Bakhus. I suppose Georgi is with him.”
“He is, my dark lord.”
“How is he?”
“Who? Georgi? I am not sure; I forgot to ask him, I am afraid.”
“Sometimes the Gods are really testing my patience. Retards give me orders; retards follow mine. Retards behind me, retards in front of me. Retards on the left; retards on the right. I am completely surrounded by retards. Only my enemies have brain.” Edward thought. “Just open the fucking door Harold, and get out of my way. Vlad, Martin, you wait for me here” and he entered the room. There for a first time in years, he saw Bakhus Bakhur. His hands were chained up to the ceiling, and his feet to the floor. Bakhus was stretched as furthest as humanly possible, without his limbs tearing apart. Next to him a young lad with a whip in one hand, and pocket knife and the other was standing, and was getting ready to splash Bakhus again, when the dark lord’s voice interrupted him. “Trying to have all the fun for yourself Georgi? Don’t you know, you have to share?”
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