Prologue

Dea’s arms were shaking. Her sword was ruined: chipped all along the bloodied blade, warped by the abuse it was put through and, above all else, heavy in her tired arms. The taste of smoke and death lapped her mouth with each breath she took. Her vanguard was spearheading the push up through the mountainous kingdom and had finally reached the throne doors. The shattered remains of giant golems, magical constructs and hundreds of enemy soldiers littered the path behind them.

“Flora. Blow it open!” She yelled out through labored breath.

“This will be the last of my magic. If they have any mages left, I will not be able to counter them.” Her mage Flora replied as she walked to the front line.

“Just do it!”

The vanguard readied themselves as Flora opened her arms and began casting a grand spell. A ball of fire formed in the sky over them like a small sun, before it descended like a comet, crashing into the fortified throne doors, blowing them off their hinges. Dea along with her vanguard charged inside.

The king was large, all bulging muscles covered by a dark complexion. He sat on his throne; an oversized heavy great sword stabbed into the ground beside him. The remainder of his royal guard were stationed in this room, consisting of only four rows of men. All in battle formation between him and them. A last stand to protect their king.

“King Raden, your kingdom has fallen! Spare the lives of those left and surrender!” Dea yelled out as her vanguard formed in lines to match the enemy.

“Do you think I would surrender my great kingdom to the likes of you? I will kneel to no man, let alone a woman.” He sneered.

Dea spared another glance at the royal guard, and took note that the back line had halberds, while the frontline had shields. This would be another hard battle. “Vanguard, box formation!”

The vanguard formed around her like a box contained by 3 rows: shield bearers first, short blades second, and spears last. The box wasn’t complete though, as there wasn’t much of the vanguard left. She didn’t want any more bloodshed, so she called out to the brutish king one final time.

“King Raden, as of right now, my armies comb your streets and are occupying all your fortifications! Surrender and spare those who remain! Is your pride worth more than their lives?”

The king stepped off his throne and ripped the great sword out from the ground as he stalked forward.

“My glorious kingdom will never fall to the likes of you. After I kill you, I will enslave half of your women and put you along with the rest on pikes lining up the way here!”

“When I defeat you, you will kneel and swear fealty to me as your new High Queen. STEP FORWARD!” She shouted as the vanguard stepped in response.

King Raden stomped up right behind his men.

“Advance!” The king’s guardsmen marched forward in sync.

They both knew that whoever won this battle, would go on to rule all of Lucredia.