Untitled

INTRODUCTION - Mother

BOOM! POW! Boom Boom! POW! Fireworks ignite in the night sky. Festive music plays throughout the kingdom. Flutes & trumpets, bag pipes & drums. Jesters dance & perform for large, broken crowds. Tricks of fire, acrobatics, & teamwork dazzle spectators. Upper-class women prance prettily in groups, laughing & smiling. Other women stumble through the streets, barely clothed, drunk & in the mood. Men chase them like dogs, fist fight one another, & arm wrestle, drink always in hand. It is a night of celebration. Drunken celebration. All throughout the land, the news had become official. The King has been chosen.

"All hail King Caspian!" someone shouts. "Hail Caspian!" another exclaims. "I want to mother his children!" a young woman screams. A wave of excitement burst throughout the kingdom. Joy & applause at every corner. But through all the happiness & glee, one family stands distance. In a murky, dark alleyway, a boy and his mother. The boy, age 4, stands solo in a damaged, wooden bucket. His mother, down on her knees, scrubs him with a dirty, tattered rag; A piece of her clothing. The dirt and sweat runs down his naked body into the small puddle of filthy water at his feet. Boom. Boom. Pow. The fireworks overhead catch the boy's attention. He looks up at the sky, mesmerized by the flashing colors. Still scrubbing, his mother says softly, "Careful where your eyes wander. You may become another moth to their flame." The young boy lowers his head and looks at his mother. He does not fully understand. He couldn't help it. He's never seen colors so beautiful appear in the sky. Everyone seems so happy about them. Why would she say that? His mother does not look up, but continues speaking as she cleans his feet. "Do not follow the footsteps of others, my son. They are celebrating for a man they do not even know. A king. The man who will have power over their lives for the next 50 years. Some will love him, some will hate him. He will never please them all. Or their children. Or their children's children. In the end, He will live to please himself. And they will all forget this day. They will celebratetonight, then they will hate him tomorrow." The boy does not speak.

She pauses. She almost forgot that he was still a boy. She looks up at her son, his eyes locked on hers. She smiles softly, touches his clean face, and says, "Adam. My little man. One day, you will be king. A good king. A strong, loyal, brave king. The greatest king that ever was." The boy can only listen to his mother's soft words, unable to respond with mature words. "King Adam." she smiles. As she begins to finish cleaning her son's body, a shadow comes over them both. They look simultaneously at its origin. A scruffy man stands over them. "What do we have here?" he says, the smell of alcohol strong on his breath. He burps. "Late night baths with mummy? Can I join?" Adam's mother stands & turns, keeping her son distant from the foul man. "Please, leave us be." she calmly asks. His eyes wander to her cleavage, the water droplets still fresh. "Mm. And if I don't?" the tension builds. The alleyway is secluded. Few walk past the opening occasionally, mostly drunk. Should she scream? What about her son? She doesn't want him to be harmed. Slowly the man reveals a rusted knife...
Does she run? He may be too strong. As she thinks of her options, her heart takes over. "Adam," she says. The boy, now peaking from behind her dress, looks up at his mother. She turns her head, looks down at him, directly in his eyes, & very slowly but clearly, "....Run."
The man suddenly rushes her pinning her against the hard stone wall as she screams for help. Adam stands there frozen, confused and afraid. His mother's screams ringing in his ears. "Run my son! RUN! No! Stop! Please! Run! Run Adam!!!" then she releases a blood curdling scream...then....

"AHHHH!!!!!" Adam, now 24, fiercely sits up in his bed & draws his sword from beneath the sheets, ready to attack. His heart is racing, sweat pouring from his body. He looks around the dark tent, breathing heavily. He is alone. There is no danger. Another bad dream.


CHAPTER 1: ÖRLOKK

Faded yells echo in the dark. Muffled screams pierce the blackness. Colored lights flash. He tosses in his sleep. Blood runs, rain pours, & then a voice whispers "Run..." Adam shoots upward from the sheets drawing his sword as he yells, "AHRGH!!!" The blade rings through the wilderness. SHHIINGG!! Who must he kill? His heart is heavily pounding. His adrenaline flowing. Adam remains sitting up straight in the bed, holding his sharp sword firm & ready. He aggressively scans his surroundings, his eyes darting back & forth across the small tent. Not a single threat in sight. Not even a mosquito to annoy him. He deeply exhales; another bad dream. They seem to grow darker every day. Adam flops backward onto the now soaked sheets, the sweat still coming from his chiseled body. As he lies there, pulling himself together, the environment comes to life around him. The smell of morning dew is fresh on the grass. He can hear birds chirping in the trees. Then, he hears the sound of men’s voices. His senses slowly come together. The sounds of laughter from the east faintly echo in the distance. Swords clashing to the west ring with rhythm. Horses breathe and trot, to the north. He stares deeply upward at the pointed center of the tent. Today is the day.
WOOSH! The entrance to the tent is suddenly flung open! "RISE AND SHINEEEE!" a witty voice says. It is Lance, a wise-cracking soldier. He invites himself in. Smiling, he says, "Hope I didn't interrupt your intimate time. No worries. I'm sure your hand can wait." He laughs as he begins rummaging through Adam's bags. Adam has nothing to fear. It feels good to see a friend, even if it's a wise cracking one. Adam gets straight to business. "How many days left?" he says. Picking up Adam's armor, Lance replies, "None." then tosses it to him. Adam immediately catches it. "They are over the hills." Lance continues. His low cut blonde hair & soft face light up with excitement. "So suit up." he says, and then leaves abruptly. Adam quickly begins dressing. Lance suddenly pops back in, "And if you're going to work out, at least pick a better surface than your bed. You're sweating all over the sheets. Animal." he leaves again. Adam places each piece of armor tightly in place. His strong thighs come first, then his legs, chest, waist, and forearms. The biceps of the armor's design is left uncovered, for flexibility and intimidation. Large & ripped, his arms now fit perfectly with his suit. Adam finally leaves the tent and is met with the backs of other armored soldiers. Everyone is looking at something.
As he begins to push his way to the center of the crowd, he re-joins with Lance, who is now wearing identical armor. Every soldier in the crowd is. "About time," Lance criticizes. The buzzing crowd of soldiers now stands gathered. One hundred soldiers total. Their camp is on the edge of a forest, just before an open field. A hill across the field is their destination. “Brothers!” a voice shouts from the point of interest. It is the army’s general. “Our journey is at an end. After weeks of traveling. Weeks of forest flies in our food. This is the moment you have been waiting for. Over that hill, our enemy awaits. Still asleep like the lazy dogs they are. Now is our time.” He puts his helmet firmly on his head. “The king has been very specific of this order. None live. If it breathes, it dies.” Everyone, including Adam places their helmets on their heads. “Do not be fearful,” The General continues. “We are few, but strong. Watch your swords & armor. Make little noise on approach. And may The Gods be with us. Let’s move.” The group quickly begins moving toward the field, a stretch of about 2 miles before it rises to the hill.
Few soldiers have the pleasure of riding horses. About 30 of them. The rest must walk. Adam & Lance walk together, soldiers on horses easily passing by. “So,” Lance begins, “What do you think?” “What do I think about what?” Adam replies as they continue the 2 miles. “Well, we’re finally here. 2 weeks of bugs, bites, & bad food for this moment. Are you ready?” Lance can barely contain his excitement. When he becomes excited he can’t stop talking. “What do you think they look like? I’ve never seen a barbarian. Are they really 7 feet tall & their women even taller? Are they smelly, hairy, Neanderthals? Can they truly kill a man with one blow?” Adam focuses on not stepping in the dung of the horses, but replies, “Lance…I can kill a man with one blow. YOU can kill a man with one blow. Relax.” Lance ignores the logic and continues, “Yes, but can we kill BARBARIANS with one blow?” Adam shakes his head, deciding that its best Lance experiences this on his own. In a few moments, they will find out. Talking won’t change anything. Adam has never faced, nor seen, a barbarian either. He is only 24 and has only been a part of the King’s army for 3 years. He and Lance are considered young and inexperienced compared to many of the veteran soldiers they travel with.
Finally, the army slowly approaches the hill. A silence takes over them as everyone stops their individual conversations. Crouching and crawling, the soldiers begin a routine transition of stealth. Lance is the last to shut up. “Do they have bathrooms?!” his last sentence echoes throughout the field. Everyone immediately darts their heads back at him with anger. Lance freezes. “Apologies,” he confesses. “Young bloods,” Someone groans. “Idiot,” says another. Adam can only exhale. He is embarrassed. Not to be seen with Lance. He is like a brother. But he definitely should be taking this more seriously. As Lance pulls himself together the army approaches the top of the hill. The horseback soldiers are trotting as quietly as possible. This is it. The moment they’ve been waiting for. And as the army reaches the peak of the hill, they finally see their destination. Orlokk, The Barbarian city. Abandoned.

CHAPTER 2: Disturbing Discoveries

There is a silence among the soldiers. No one moves. The army stands hushed at the top of the hill, shocked at the condition of the city. No one expected the place to be such a disaster. Adam sees The General slowly raising his fist, a sign of an upcoming order. He intently awaits his next move. He could always trust The General before. His judgment was usually well thought out, but it was clear that this situation would present different challenges than expected. Their lives were in his hands. Lance suddenly brushes against Adam.
“Look at this dump. Is this really what we came for?” He whispers, his voice no longer filled with enthusiasm.
Adam remains quiet & focused, unsure of what lies beyond the city’s walls. He sees The General motion forward. Everyone begins moving, except Adam. He cannot shake the feeling that something bad is in the air. His entire life, whenever he got this exact stomach churning feeling, he was always right.
“Are you going to be a man or did you get in shape for looks?” a veteran soldier says looking down at him as he rushes by. Adam quickly rises, & begins following behind. As their small army approaches the large wooden gates, he can see the outer walls touching the gate have also been damaged. What could demolish such thick walls? Maybe it was their age. Made of thousands of enormous oak trees that had been chopped down, the city walls are fastened together by countless vines from the forest. Adam had noticed there were many open spaces throughout the trees as the army traveled through the greenery the past few days, but he had thought nothing of it at the time. Orlokk’s perimeter is completely surrounded by these massive wooden structures, but the inner city itself, according to The General, is only 5 miles in circumference.
Adam is in awe of its primitive beauty, but hesitant of its current status. Where is everyone? Where are the guards? He glances up at what looks to be a guard tower. Not a single archer in sight. Are there no wild dogs to alert the city?The army continues advancing to the entrance. The gates are broken & splintered. They can easily walk in. As the soldiers gravitate closely together, moving into the city, Adam hears the opinions of others.
“I hope they’re all awake. It’s the only way we’ll get a real fight.”
“I haven’t seen a soul.”
“Do these savages not possess war dogs?”
The final words trigger something in Adam that he had continued to ask himself from the moment he laid eyes on the outer walls. If these Barbarians are such savages, how did they build such great structures? The King, & even The General, had seemed to of underestimated them.
After a few seconds of piling through, the men arrive on the other side. Adam quickly begins scanning the environment for a threat. The streets are empty. The ground is made of flattened dirt & mud. Small wood & straw huts, probably their homes, line the inner city. There are few stone structures, one in particular catching his eye. There is a large statue of a man, or the closest thing to it, riding a bear in the center of the city. It is surrounded by flowers & 6 stone pillars.
“Find them,” The General whispers. “Spread out.”
Immediately, everyone separates into small groups of 25, and begin scouting the city. Once more, Adam doesn’t move, still lost in his thoughts. Why a man on a bear? Why 6 pillars?
Someone crosses his line of sight, pulling him from the day dream.
“Let’s check it out,” their voice says. It is Lance, following a group of soldiers who are headed toward the statue, still waiting for Adam to acknowledge his offer.
Nodding his head, Adam accepts. As he walks through the eerie, empty, abandoned streets, he can't seem to rid himself of suspicious thoughts. This can't be right. An entire city deserted? Impossible. Unless they knew we were coming, he thought. Adam immediately whips his head around, expecting to prevent a sneak attack at any moment. Nothing.
"Are you okay, squirrel man?" Lance asks, chuckling at his odd behavior.
Adam continues walking, but keeps his eyes behind him. "I'm fine." he whispers, careful of the noise he emits. The group finally reaches the odd statue after few minutes.
"I wonder why they used a bear?" Lance says aloud, "don't they use horses?"
A soldier reads the engraving at the statue's base, hoping to answer the same question. Adam listens very closely.
"'Borön. The Greatest To Ever Live. Fearless. Strong. Like the bear.'"
Adam understands the statue's purpose, now, but still knows nothing of this idolized individual. Was He a warrior? A politician? A savior?
"I bet he would fear me," one soldier laughs.
"Your face could scare anyone," Lance replies.
Everyone laughs, struggling to remain serious and stealthy. Even Adam finds joy in the joke. The soldiers continue to explore the surrounding area. Then, a noise. A quick crackle, like snapping twigs, from nearby. Everyone stops. Adam's hairs stand up on his neck. Unsure of it's direction, They listen carefully. Again, a crackling sound echoes through the empty streets. Adam knows it is coming from around the corner. He is the first to draw his sword. The others, including Lance, agree, and swiftly reveal their blades.
None one speaks. If there is an enemy, he is already aware of their presence, & there is nothing left to be said.
One soldier musters up the courage & carefully approaches the corner. Staying at a distance, he steps sideways until he can see around the straw hut's walls. Everyone braces for attack. The soldier moves closer...and closer...
Adam expected this. This was it. If he had only shared his thoughts, like everyone else.
As the courageous soldier finally completes the careful approach, he can only stop in his tracks. Adam, seeing the unbelievable expression on the soldier's face, repeats the same approach, desperate to see the discovery. And as he confirms the shocking sight, he to becomes weak & disturbed.
Crouched at their feet, only a few steps away, covered in both dried and fresh blood, sits a naked, bony, ravenous barbarian man...eating another.