Tales of Anistar

This tale begins in a land and time long since passed into legends of old. A young elf by the name of Alaric Icefire had spent his life learning the arcane arts and becoming a master of sword and bow in hopes that one day he would be able to assist in the rebellion against King Vladimir Darkfire.Vladimir had taken the throne after secretly killing his older brother King Orion. After Orion's death the kingdom was thrown into a dark demented turmoil that nearly brought an end to Anistar. Reduced to a mere shadow of its former glory the kingdom struggled on through famine,war,disease to be plagued by the tormented rule of their king. Alaric fresh out of Anistar Academy was looking to infiltrate the king's army and start plotting the best way to end of Vladimir's tyranny.
Chapter 1 : Mourning the King
The spring storm raged on as Alaric reached the city gates of Anistar. "It's good to be home" he thought as the guard opened the gate. " Be careful in the city lad,it's been a hard year and thieves from the guild are always looking for a fresh target to practice on" came the usual warning from the guards.
"I'll keep that in mind" Alaric replied. If the man new who I was he wouldn't be warning me Alaric thought with a laugh,he'd be sending word to the guards to watch my every move till I was once more outside the gates.
Alaric was a known supporter of Elric Highwind leader of the Order of the Bears. The order was a cleverly hidden,organized,and thought to be the rumored thieves guild that attack the nobles of Anistar. Elric and Alaric had been raised together in the Academy of Anistar by the headmaster Rowan Icebane. Alaric made his way to the academy to visit Rowan only to find his home no longer existed. "By the maker what happened here?" he exclaimed as he ran up to what used to be the garden entrance.
"King Vladimir had the school destroyed" came a response"said it was to dangerous to have a school for the commoners to learn the ancient arts."
Alaric looked around for the owner of the voice only to find a hooded beggar.Though he looked like a normal beggar Alaric knew to never judge by appearances. Sure enough no sooner had Alaric began to reach for his blade than the beggar threw back his hood to reveal himself. There stood Elric Highwind before him grinning ear to ear as he stood to his full height,but then the grin vanished and was replaced by a somber face.
"Things have gotten worse since you left Alaric,we needed you when the school was taken..."Elric said with accusation in his voice and a look of anger in his eyes.
"You know I would have been of no use to you had I'd stayed"Alaric said defending himself. Known only to a few,Alaric was one of the last elven-drakes.Usually they lived as elves but possessed the power to become mighty drakes of legend.The transformation took several months with over half not surviving the process. Alaric's anger flared at Elric for trying to place blame on him for the loss of the school.
"I will not take blame for the past. I needed to be away and now hear i stand to assist you once again." Alaric said.
"Alright I'll let sleeping dogs lie for the moment. Let us return to the Undercity and I'll fill you in on what has happened this past year" Elric responded as he turned and began walking through the streets. Workers were decorating the city for the Festival of Orion,a festival Vladimir implemented to honor his brother.
"It's twisted the way he acts,like his brother was his closet companion and friend" Alaric remarked as they watched the men hang up decorations and pictures of King Orion. Everyone new the truth of Vladimir's crimes by now,though none besides the order would stand and openly defy the tyrant king. Vladimir was feared more than respected,more so in Anistar than the rest of the kingdom. He had openly threatened to burn the kingdom to the ground when he was crowned king if the people would not be willing to follow him.
"I'd choose your words out here in the open more carefully if i was you" said a guard who had overheard. "It's right foolish to insult our most honorable king."
"It's also foolish to throw your honor and sense of justice down the drain for a few coins of gold,in exchange for service to a murderer" Elric replied. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade as if daring the guard to do something about the insult. Alaric could tell the guard was sizing Elric up seeing if he stood a chance at apprehending him and taking him to the city dungeon.
"I do believe you've belittled him enough for the time being Elric" Alaric said hinting that they should take their leave before more guards came to assist the one before him. Elric looked dumbstruck as he turned to face Alaric. Alaric eyes darted all around to hint that the guard was not alone.
"I suppose your right.Then again I could have him arrested for not doing his job" Elric replied with a grin.It was law that any ill word spoken against the king was punishable by death. The guard knew this but he had taken notice of the crests upon the sheaths of the men's blades. One was the Highwind family crest more commonly known since the order was founded. Alaric's was a dragon wrap around a rose as if the beast was guarding it,the rose was the academy crest and the dragon a reminder of Alaric's unique history.
"Your wanted men in this city..."the guard mumbled as if to justify him not obeying the king's law.
"Fear not,I'm not going to turn you in." Elric said. "Just know that many would love to use you to better their situation."
The guard mumbled something and then walked off distancing himself from the two men.
"I rather hope nothing bad happens to him" Alaric said. He took pity on all those force to serve Vladimir,even if they were paid for it.Twenty years had left the city in disrepair and the outer district abandon to all but the Order. The Academy had always been Anistar's greatest achievement and now that it was gone the capitol had all but been abandon by all of the commoners. Those that remained helped the order and ran a black market for the lower district. Most were part of the Order or would assist them with anything asked.
"What happened to Father?" Alaric asked fearing the answer he would get from Elric.
"I'd rather not say...."Elric muttered. Then a guard appeared out of an alley way and headed their direction.
"The king requests an audience with you two immediately" the guard said as the men were surrounded. The guards however looked nervous and somewhat unwillingly to follow their leader.Alaric noticed none of the lads looked over 18 years.
"So Alaric,do we go see the monster or fight our way out of this situation?" Elric asked. His hand came to rest on the sheath of the blade at his waist and looked to Alaric. The guards all look terrified and ready to scatter but all new the price of deserting and what it meant to the man's family.
"Elric let us go see what the demon wants of us so none of these lads suffer for our disobedience."Alaric said. "Lead the way captain".
Elric had a look of disbelief on his face. Alaric saw this and shook his head signaled that is wasn't worth the bloodshed of the guards families should they fail the king. Everyone knew that failing the king meant death for ones family. The guard was usually forced to watch each family member tortured to death no matter the age. Failure to Vladimir was weakness and meant his rule was weak. Elric returned the proper signals and took his hand off the sheath.
"You boys better lead the way before Alaric here changes his mind and we all wind up in a situation we would rather not be in at all."Elric said.
The guards surrounded the men and began escorting them to the palace. As they entered the upper levels of the city the difference in life was almost instantaneous. None here struggle like the outer district. Everyone was in celebration as they prepared for the festival that was to take place the next few days. "So many people starve and die in the lower districts and yet these nobles waste as though everyone in the city lived like a king." Elric remarked.
It was plain to Alaric that something needed to be done and soon or the city would fall to complete ruin.