The Plain of Broken Hearts

An old man was leading a group of children through the desolate plain. It was a constant trudge through the lifeless barren and soon the children started complaining but he only turned around and laughed quite like a frog and as he stood there silently staring intensely at them, he swayed like a tree in the wind hence why the kids gave him the name Frogtree.

Frogtree smiled before he took a seat on the dirt and dust quickly swirled around him, he signalled the children to sit down and they obeyed. “Do any of you kids remember what this place is called?” Frogtree looked around slowly as he saw only two hands up out of a group of thirty “Gosh, stop screaming out I can’t hear all of you at once” a giant grin broke out on his wrinkly, worn, soft face before he then started laughing but he quickly regained his composure as he pointed towards a tall blond haired kid.

“Sir its c…called the Plains of Broken Hearts. Sir”

“Good, good Marinson. Now who can tell me what is the story behind this plain?” there was complete silence apart from the wind whistling through the earth as the kids sat with a blank look on their face. “Don’t all jump up at once kids” and once again Frogtree started laughing and once more he quickly regained his composure “What do you all do in your spare time? If you want to be a paladin you have to learn history, study battle formations, the basis of magic, laws, politics and demonology. So does anyone study the books or are you just ignorant fools?” the look on Frogtree’s face quickly changed from soft to a harsh serious look and for some reason managed to bring back his long lost youth as the wrinkles disappeared and his eyes had developed blazing green fire in them. His look quickly disappeared when a young red haired boy raised his hands.

“Sir, it was a site for three battles all for the same reason and similar combatants. It was between two loves a young man with royal blood who became a certain King Maridus and a young elven Paladin Shiialestia” all the other kids gave this young red haired kid a filthy look but he just ignored them.

“Good, good Mashiko. I’m in a story telling mood right now so I shall tell you the story of the first Blackguard” there was a large groan as Frogtree realised the stifling heat of the plains “Aha if you want to be Paladins you have to ignore all types of heat and stop complaining” he sighed loudly and then he looked up at the sky. “Many years ago there were two people that were deeply in love they were Maridus Carta and the elven Paladin Shiialestia…”

Maridus and Shiialestia stared into each other’s eyes for hours as if they were talking through their eyes. Maridus leant in to kiss her but she leant back and put her finger on his lips and laughed softly. He looked at her pleadingly and she moved her finger away and moved leant back in to kiss him. Maridus stroked her beautiful ruffled blond hair. Even though their lips parted there was a lingering connection. Shiialestia laid her head on Maridus’ lap and drifted off to sleep while he continued to stroke her hair until he gave her a kiss on her forehead and he two drifted off to sleep.

“… They had to keep their love a secret for a Prince to love a Paladin let alone an elven Paladin would’ve brought disgrace to his father the King. But the only person to know of this relationship was Maridus’ older brother the next in the line of the throne Brachtus and he vowed to his brother to bring a change in human and elven relationships. Maridus and Shiialestia had nothing to worry about since the king time was nearly up. But sadly fate took a wicked turn for these two lovers when Brachtus took a fall down the stairs and broke his neck. So now Maridus was to be the king so he came to this plain and told Shiialestia …”

Maridus walked over to a waiting Shiialestia who was wearing a beautiful long white dress. Maridus saw the black runes on both her arms and across the back of neck, they just seemed to add to her beauty and mystique and her blond hair was tied back into a long ponytail running down her back to her tailbone. Maridus knew he had to tell her that he was now the heir and that this had to end not just for him but for the entire kingdom. He had to protect the longest running royal bloodline.

If they found out about them he would be deposed or worse killed but for some reason he could not keep his mind on the task at hand. Shiialestia turned around. Her beauty was staggering the soft features of her face, the innocence of her eyes, the fine shapely line of her mouth, curved to a nice soft smile and her slender body. He forgot all about his problems and could only think of one thing and one thing only … her. They both walked over and met halfway and they kissed passionately …

“Well I won’t tell you what happened until you’re older”

The kid called Marinson put up his hand and said “Why won’t you tell us? Could you please tell us sir please?” the rest of the kids nodded in agreement all except the kid called Mashiko.

Frogtree eyes opened in shock “Uh … they … w… were playing cards?” and then he burst out laughing. “Well where were we in the story ah yes. After their night …”

Maridus held Shiialestia in his arms and kissed her gently, he tried to remember why he came here in the first place but he didn’t want to. He just wanted to lie with her forever and never leave her. ‘Leave her’ and with that thought everything came running back. His brother was dead, he was the heir and with that he had to end the relationship.

“Uh Shiialestia I need to talk to you about something” Maridus’ eyes were filled with sorrow and Shiialestia picked up on it.

“What’s wrong my love?” Her eyes once filled with innocence quickly turned to concern.

“My brother died today and … I’m now the heir to the throne” her nice soft smile quickly disappeared to one of shock.

“I’m so sorry”

“Don’t be … I’m the one who should be sorry…” he stood up and looked at the full moon for a few painful moments before turning around to face her “We … c… can’t see each other anymore. I’m sorry” the soft features of her face quickly to rough and harsh. The beauty of her face quickly disappeared to reveal an ugliness in her that had never been seen before.

“You’re a typical human male aren’t you? Oh you love me right until I give myself to you” Maridus quickly turned away since he was too ashamed to look at her.

“No since I’m going to be King I can’t … be with you. I have a duty to my family to my country I can’t betray it. You understand don’t you?” and with that Maridus felt a warm hand across his face. The force of the slap threw him to the ground. Tears ran down his face as he looked up to see Shiialestia standing above him with a fire in her eyes that he had also never seen before. She stared at him momentarily before storming away into the darkness … never to be seen again.

Frogtree sighed as he contemplated what he was going to say next “Maridus became King three weeks later and Shiialestia was raising an army to the south. This wasn’t just your ordinary army it was … can anyone tell me. Mashiko?”

Mashiko stood up out of the crowd of children and received a nasty glare from all the other children “Uh well she recruited other Paladins to her cause but one of the prerequisites of joining her army was going through a ritual that turned the runes on your arms white and they became the first Blackguards” Mashiko sat down and Frogtree had a massive grin on his face and gave him a soft mod.

“Now for the next part of the story. Shiialestia had raised an army its exact purpose is unknown but with her superior army mixed with her excellent strategies she managed to defeat any army no matter the size. All it took was the right strategy. Then after two years of war she found herself face to face with King Maridus’ army …”

Maridus’ armies were lined up they were prepared for this Blackguard assault. Maridus rode in on a white horse which was encrusted with gold coloured steel.

Maridus looked up at the sky and saw only black clouds and rain. He then smiled and yelled out to his men “Ah it seems the gods have blessed us today men” The rain was so heavy that it was impossible to even light a torch, and the fog was setting in slowly and it was so thick that you couldn’t even see your own hand in it. It was as if the gods themselves were saying that they had to use guile to win. He gracefully leaped off his horse and into the mud and started walking. Each step he took was a battle in itself as if the mud was working with the Blackguard army.

He stood at the front of his men he looked out to see them all. But the fog itself already had covered half of his ‘bait’ army. He had planned on flanking the blackguard army with his knights which were separated into three different squads hidden awaiting his call. He drew his sword and yelled out “MEN AND WOMEN OF THE SWORD!!! TODAY WE FIGHT AN UNCOMMON ENEMY … THE BLACKGUARDS!!! THEY HAVE DEFEATED ARMY AFTER ARMY AFTER ARMY. BUT IT ENDS TODAY ON THESE PLAINS WHERE THEY SHALL FALL!!! FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST DOUBT IN THEIR MIND ABOUT OUR IMPENDING VICTORY REMEMBER WHO YOU FIGHT FOR!!! YOU FIGHT FOR YOU FAMILY, YOUR NEIGHBOURS, YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ARMS!!! REMEMBER UNITED WE STAND, UNITED ARE WE IN VICTORRRRRYYYY!!!”

His men all drew their weapons and shouted in unison “FOR THE KING, FOR THE EMPIRE, FOR OUR COMRADES IN ARMS!!!”

Maridus turned around only to see a bolt shoot right past him and hit one of his soldiers behind him. He heard squelching as someone approached and the fog quickly disappeared as if it feared what fired that bolt and he saw a truly horrific sight his ‘bait’ had been completely surrounded by soldiers wearing completely black armour. His heart had sunk as he had realised that he had led his soldiers like sheep to the slaughter.

But there was thankfully some hope, he pulled out a horn and blew it. There was a loud roar of a lion but there was something wrong where the response horn from his knights?

Now his heart sunk even lower but he knew he couldn’t despair not in front of his men. He had to stand tall despite the odds. He grabbed his shield with his other hand and held it in front of him. Within seconds of doing so there was a sadistic cackle, he looked around and saw a beautiful black haired elven woman walking through a line the enemy soldiers opened for her.

She came right up to him and she looked so familiar but on instinct he took a swing at her. Metal connected to metal as this woman had blocked his swing with a short blade and before he realised, with her other arm she swung a jet black longsword but for some reason the sword didn’t kill him as he thought it would. Instead he heard and felt the pommel of the sword hit his helmet hard and instantaneously he blacked out.

He woke up lying in the mud with the unrelenting rain still pouring down on the earth. He managed to get up on his feet and look behind him. He couldn’t believe what he saw the annihilation of his whole army. The army was decimated, everyone was dead.

But the true horror was about to begin Maridus turned around and saw the exact same woman who knocked him out with one clean shot walk up to him and smiled “Ah you sleep like a baby, I nearly forgot about that” he was confused.

Who was this woman? Why was she acting like she knew him? “Oh take a closer look and you should remember” she snapped as he tried to remember, nothing, she seemed to pick up on it and she gave a bone chilling glare “Perhaps I should be naked and on my back. Like the last time we met” and it all came back to him this woman was and still is Shiialestia but she looked completely different the black hair, the innocence in her eyes was replaced with pure hatred and her soft features were rough and set in stone.

“Shiialestia … why?” She looked at him with malice intent as she drew her short blade and smiled at him.

“Why … because I love you too much” she kicked him in the groin and he crumbled to his knees. She brought the blade right up to his throat and whispered in his ear “I love you” and then she started to laugh. His eyes started to sting as he sobbed quietly.

“I loved this beautiful loving woman Shiialestia you may share her name but you are not her. But even still … I can’t stop loving you. Because I know that woman is still there inside” and with those last few words a cold sharp pain ran across his throat and he fell into the mud. Slowly bleeding out; he made no deign to cover the wound instead he laid there crying over his lost love and dying slowly on this plain. The plain of Broken Hearts.

“Ten years later Shiialestia returned to the plain to mourn the loss of her beloved Maridus and out of nowhere a stranger appeared and he slit her throat. This was in the exact spot where Maridus died and the exact spot where we are sitting now” Frogtree quickly jumped up and started to dust himself off and the kids followed suit just before he started moving he asked the kids one last question “What was the purpose of this story?” silence ensued as no-one was willing to answer the question. “Light into darkness, darkness into evil. Love is the biggest bridge to that” and with that last comment he started heading back the way he came with the kids in tow.

Mashiko was walking through the ancient Paladin library of Aafilferth. It was a peaceful serene place full of knowledge. The library itself was massive it was full of shelves which were filled with books, the space between the shelves were so small only one person could go through at a time. This was his escape from the other noble kids who thought since their parents were rich that being a Paladin was a right. Mashiko learned from his father many years ago that nothing is a right everything has to be earned.

Mashiko picked out an ancient book called ‘The tactics of the Sverim’. He brought out his own book and decided to run through his notes that he wrote before he left to the plain.

‘The Sverim are an ancient race that drove back the first Black Crusade which was led by Shiialestia the first Blackguard. For many years they had difficulty in driving the blackguards away. This was until Shiialestia was killed, then The Sverim with masterful tactics managed to inflict heavy casualties with minimal loses. Until the Blackguard army was separated and they were driven all over the world waiting to the day that the next Black Crusade was called.’

“I see that you’re studying young man” Mashiko jumped out of his seat as the voice took him completely by surprise, there was a laugh before the voice spoke again “Did I startle you? My apologies” he turned around and saw a massive man. He was wearing gold coloured armour with a white coloured cloak which was draped from his shoulders down to his ankles. This man had a friendly smile on his face and he had light brown hair which was tied to a ponytail which led down to his shoulders.

This man had an aura about him that made him felt relaxed and at peace, Mashiko had a feeling that he should now this man but he was unfamiliar. “May I ask who you are sir?”

He laughed again “Haha I’m finally relieved there is someone that doesn’t know my name. I’m Radderick Eliesis, the leader of the paladins in Alarmas” Mashiko’s face went redder than his hair. How could he not recognize a paladin of this rank “Haha it’s alright I don’t mind. I prefer it when a person studies more than keeping up with current paladins” With one last peaceful smile he walked off only to stop seconds later, he turned around and faced Mashiko once again. “Wait you’re Mashiko Tekeyo correct?”

Mashiko felt his heart stop. This man knew who he was? “S…so w…who told you about m… me” Mashiko stuttered

Radderick’s friendly smile turned serious “Frogtree told me about you. He said that you had the makings of a paladin. Also when or if you become a paladin, I’d like you be a part of my squad”

Mashiko continued to stutter “U…uh y…yes si…sir” Radderick gave one last smile before he turned around and left the library leaving Mashiko star struck. So he decided to turn in early for the night.

As he was leaving the library he felt a blow connect with the side of his head, he stumbled only to be caught by the collar and tossed into a wall. He thankfully didn’t go through the wall but he did feel blood trickle down the side of his head. Mashiko looked up to see his attacker and it was Marinson another paladin trainee.

He stood over him and spat on him before grabbing him by the collar again and bringing Mashiko up to his face “Little suck-up, paladin wannabe. My father paid good money for me to become a paladin so I will become one”

Mashiko simply smiled an arrogant look “My father said that nothing is a right everything has to be earned” and with that comment he felt Marinson’s knee in his gut before he was dragged outside and up to the fountain, Mashiko felt his head go under water. He knew he had to hold his breath for as long as possible …

Mashiko opened his eyes and the water started stinging them but he ignored the pain as he was used to it. He started feeling pain in his chest as if someone was sitting on it. But he knew he had to hold it … just for a bit longer. But he couldn’t hold it anymore and he pulled his head out of the water. While gasping for his breath he turned his head and asked the person standing right next to him “How … long was that?”

The person standing right next to him was a child he had to be only ten years at least he had a small figure and was quite short compared to the five foot Mashiko “Um it was about five minutes” his voice was unthreatening, unassuming and high pitched. The voice reminded Mashiko of him when he was ten years old.

“Specifics Kayale”

“Um five minutes and thirteen seconds” Mashiko grabbed a towel and let out a sigh of disappointment before he started to dry off his hair and put on a shirt, his shirt was silk so it was perfectly comfortable and warm as well.

“Damn I was hoping for at least six minutes” after Mashiko finished drying his hair he threw the towel over his shoulder and pursued moving into the main building.

“Um can I ask you a question please?” it was the squeaky voice of Kayale but in his voice was tinged with fear. Mashiko turned around slowly and walked up to him smiling and then sat on the side of the fountain.

“Isn’t that a question in itself” Kayale let out a sigh of disappointment. But Mashiko let out a roar of laughter “Don’t worry about it. I was kidding sure what’s on your mind?”

“Um well why do you always try what you do in the fountain?”

Mashiko let out another sigh and there was an eerie silence which remained unbroken until he spoke once again “You mean practice holding my breath? Well when I was about your age there was this kid called Marinson. In my whole band I was the only one who was taking his paladin studies seriously. I was doing so well that a paladin called Radderick approached me and gave an informal invite to join his squad. Well … Marinson was eavesdropping on the conversation and he didn’t like what he heard so he blindsided me and attempted to drown me in this very fountain” Mashiko grabbed a rock and threw it in the fountain.

“Um what happened to Marinson?” Mashiko’s train of thought was broken as Kayale spoke. Mashiko had a dazed look on face which quickly disappeared.

He faced Kayale with a serious look on his face and the young kid had only one look on his face … fear and Mashiko couldn’t blame him with all the stories of fallen paladins “I honestly don’t have a clue, I passed out in the water and when I came to he was gone. Frogtree had no idea where he ran off to” Mashiko stood up and put on a relaxing smile before he messed up his hair “Well I have to go for my initiation. Just remember you have the makings of a great paladin Kayale just remember to believe in yourself and study … hard. See you my friend”

“See you Mashiko” the voice was no longer unthreatening and unassuming it was determined and serious. As Mashiko headed inside he could’ve sworn he heard crying.

Mashiko had walked through the hallowed halls of Aafilferth for what seemed like the last time. He walked up a massive white door. This was the door to the fabled ritual chamber. He had only been in this room once in his life and that was when he was brought to Aafilferth for the first time when he was about eight it only seemed like yesterday to him. He opened the doors with some degree of difficulty.

The ritual chamber was a circular gold room and there were two people standing in the middle of it. The first was Frogtree and the second was an unfamiliar robed man with a cowl hiding his entire face. Mashiko walked right up to them and the robed man quickly grabbed his arm and pulled out a black stick. He looked at it closely and he saw it was a rune stick by the small grey patches on it. The rune stick was to administer the paladin runes which give them their supernatural powers.

The stranger started making black runes on his left arm. Mashiko felt butterflies in his stomach as the runes were being drawn on him. He was about to become a paladin after ten years of training and one stupid mistake, one regret but despite it being so close it was so far away. His hopes, his dream were about to come true.

The man stood back and Mashiko noticed that the sleeve on his arm was torn off and his whole arm was covered in black runes. Frogtree took a step forward and there was a proud look on his face as he unfurled an ancient scroll and read it aloud “Initiate, today marks your rebirth as a paladin. As a paladin you must forfeit all you birth rights, entitlements and your class status. These runes on your arm are not imprinted on your skin. They are a part of you. Now you shall be called a … paladin” Frogtree stood behind the stranger who started to chant.

“Agas pavaika van agas tuloyakan veks” and as soon as the man finished his sentence Mashiko felt a severely painful burning feeling in his arm. He screamed out in pain as the pain continued. This was the most painful thing he’d ever felt. He fell down to his knees as he struggled to keep conscious but the pain quickly had its way and his senses quit on him one by one until they were all gone …