The Blade of Aldae

Prologue - II

The situation in the village was not like usual. The people woke up very early not to prepare a market or bathing their cattle, but to prepare all things for the arrival of the figure we never knew before. Worries etched on the faces of all people, including Joanna and her mother, Ketlen who were running here and there without a purpose.

I approached them and tried to break their worries, "Don’t you prepare to open the market, Jo ? Everypeople will get confused if you’re not there, I think."

Suddenly she stared at me sharply, "Do you think there’s still time to have a joke ?", After she turned her face and breathed, she continued, "You should worry about yourself before thinking of others."

I just smiled, because I knew she would say like that. We were born on the same year and raised in the same environment, and of course I knew that she would answer my words like that.

"Stay at home, do not let even a single one enter your house tonight.", I replied with a smile.

"You are the one who supposed to think like that.  Did not your father allow you to join the fight tonight. Ferren and you should be ashamed, just the two of you that do not join the men who down to fight tonight. "

"Huff, I don’t think you would so cold like that. But if my dad allows me, I will have become the forefront tonight.", I could not smile again. "Good morning ma'am Ketlen." greeted to Mrs Ketlen before I left them. It was clear that her face looked uncomfortable after seeing a small fight between me and her daughter.

When I was walking back toward my dad, I saw Hereff and Getto come towards us. Directly, dad stood up and bowed respectfully to Hereff, a gesture which is often seen to respect the experienced one and the elders .They are attached to 10 years of age away, but Hereff chose a different path compared with my dad, he chose not to marry and lead his own life independently. Not one of the Tummerfall people knew the reason behind his decision.

"I think Getto was ready, he has chosen a weapon which he will take tonight. Make sure it won’t be lost, this sword was given by my uncle.", told Hereff to my father.

Ya, Getto had actually gotten up earlier to go to Hereff’s house. At our home, there is noweapon that is especially prepared to fight, therefore dad and Getto must borrow it from other people. When Getto had to borrow it from someone, dad had already had a weapon which had been given by Mr. Avenicus last night. An old sword that was kept in the temple for a long time, he counted on my dad.

Dad just smiled, "We just make sure none of us is missing tonight."

Hereff answered with a small laugh, "Yes, make sure we will fight with all of our ability, we will not know the figure that will be faced."

"Well, are you ready, Getto?", continued my father and aked Getto.

"More than ready, no, I mean I should be ready, really for whatever happens.", he said.

Then dad turned his face to me, he gave me a small smile and said, "Always be brave, you soon will be the hero to yourself and those around you with the confidence you have."

I really could not see his face, and Getto also said, "You’ve never be a good brother, but you are still my beloved brother. Remember these words, I won’t ever say them twice. "

I could not hide my fear and grief at this time. "You will go home right after tonight?!", Whether it was a question or statement that I said to them.

They just smiled and walked away with Hereff to  the Temple of Ethyre. It was the place where the people who will fight tonight gathered. Two hours later, Hereff went out from the temple and told the residents to get into their house and never leave till tomorrow morning. Here, I finally realized, that if dad and Getto did not appear in the next morning, they would never return. At this time, I started my waiting with fear and anxiety.

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I stand and walk backward while still gazing at the old wooden door which is in front of me. Cold sweat run down very rapidly from my body, fear that I cannot explain pervades my mind at all. There is something who will enter my home, and I do not know where I have to run. The step is become clearer in my ears, closer to approach the door of my home. My vision is not clear because of the tears and sweat which make my eyes sore. I know there is something that start holding the handle of the door from the outside. Suddenly the door is driven toward the inside and opened. I have no energy left on my feet for a while, and I fall down gazing something that is standing in front of me.

"Leon, help me, we have to go from here.", The figure said to me with pain and fear, then it falls.

I rub my eyes, now I can see clearly that Joanna is the one who enter my home. I feel a little relieved, despite the fear still pervades my mind. If only it was not Joanna, maybe I do not know what will happen to me.

Joanna is looked so exhausted and lay limp in front of me. Red-blood coloured colors her white gown that is still worn since we met this morning. Before I can ask what was happened, she earlier says,

"They killed my mom. We must quickly get out of here before they go back and find us. "

What was really happened? Who are those who killed Mrs. Ketlen? I have no will to ask it to Joanna. I gather the rest of my strength, and try to get up and approach her. I try to lift her, but after seeing her injured leg that I don’t know because of what actually, I feel that she really does run out of energy. So I lift her very slowly, carry her on my back so that she will feel no pain. After I comfort her in my back, I stand up.

"Where do we go? I will try to protect you from anything that will happen. ", I say.

"Do not go there.", He says while pointing towards the right side of my home. "They are doing something in the temple, we must quickly run away before they see us."

I should be able to take the right decision at this time, it is in my mind. I try to get rid of all my fear and move it to my protection feeling for Joanna. I run towards the low bushes behind the house, towards the wide area of ​​land owned by Uncle Rowe which is behind my house. When I run, I glance to my ruined village, even I can see the condition of Joanna's house that its front part has been destroyed by something big.

I keep running through this spacious land, trample eggplants and cabbages. I realize that I feel very weak, but I cannot stop, I have to keep running. After going through this land, I arrive at the front of Uncle Rowe’s house. So I am near from his chicken farm now and then I will reach the pine forest behind it soon.

Slowly but surely I come to the forest. I keep running far enough into the woods until I finally feel secure that they will not find us here. I put her down from my back and make her leaned to a pine trunk that has been cut off. She breathes very deeply and continues with a small groan as a result of her pain.

I kneel down and clean the sweat from her forehead with the palm of my hand. "I will protect you, comfort yourself.", I say.

She gives me a small smile. I know she must be hoping someone who is more powerful than me will protect her right now.

"What was actually happened? Who were them that you mentioned earlier? ", I asked her unfluently due to my fatigue and fear that I still feel.

"I don’t know if there is someone alive except us, they destroyed everything.", she groans again before continues her speech, "Maybe they want to take something from the Temple of Ethyre."

I cannot speak more. I just remember about my dad and Getto. Where are they now? Did these cruel things also kill them? I do not want to think again, my body felt stiff and weak.

"Do not leave me, Leon. I will follow wherever you go from now on. ", The tears is rushing out of her eyes suddenly. "If you leave me, I will not have anyone else in this world...." she continues it with crying softly. She is really frightened, she is really sad, and those are also what I feel now. If I do not meet again with my dad and Getto, she will be my only one and I have to protect her.

Black clouds come to cover the shining moon there. Rain comes down accompanied by a few of singing birds and crickets in the night. I hug her gently, "I will protect you." 


Don't forget to check the Indonesian version at http://thebladeofaldaeid.blogspot.com/

Prologue - I

It feels very cold tonight and the moon shone very bright. I sit on a wooden couch by myself and hope to hear news from my dad and Getta. I feel more anxious because I have spent  two hours without a single one of them come back. I stand up and try peeking through the window which is at the end of this room. In the far distance, I see crowds of people, that are still waiting of something, with their torches. I know that something which have never been expected is coming to our village. Perhaps the same feeling is felt by Joanna, who also does a similar thing like what I am doing now, peeking through her window in her house which is in the right side of my house. Distress and fear pervade her face, similar to the shape of my face at this time.

Sitting down again on the wooden couch to hide my existing anxiety. No signs of somebody approaching my house, so do my dad and brother. The darkness of the night covers the silence of this village. Instead of a good sign, this kind of condition is never expected. Getta has a big body like many of men in my father's family that have blood of Tiran, but I am still not confident with his ability to fight with the sword. As a modest peasant family, my father did not raise us to fight. And he did not ever estimate the situation like what is coming right now.

Not long after I sat down, I go back up after hearing the commotion outside my home. Do they finally come ? Do they really come? The feelings of tension and fear envelop me. Shouting of spirit and fear, that are very noisy, are sounded from a distance outside of this timber house. I cannot bear to see what is going on through the window. I can only stare right in the old door which is on the left past the window where I spied before. Either wait for the return of my father and brother or wait for something no one expected.

It seems clearer the brawl outside my home. The sound of every people who scream with fear and run without any clear direction are began to be heard. I plump back sitting on the couch after two or three people running by rowdy in front of my house. But what makes my body harden with fear, even my tears and sweat come out very rapidly and mixed into one, are the words that I hear from anyone who professes outside,

" Kneeling in the heat of the fire, receives the love of blood and the empty soul … .. ! "

"Aaaaarrgghhh ... ....!", Shouted very loudly, one of them who run with fear before finally lost his voice and cannot be heard again.

"Please, I don’t, help…..!”, shouted another one.

" Covered with anger and regret, live in the shadow of disappointment with the black of heart, the mighty of all, Ay ... .. ! "

Not finished yet listening to the words he uttered, they disappear immediately and never speak again. What happened out there, and what lies in front of my house. Cries of the terror will be heard continuously more and more obvious. Fraction voices of glasses, and the cries of the cattle that also run, show me the kind of catastrophe that is happening outside my house. Slowly and certainly, the shout and cry voices of the knights, the prayers of the wives, to the cries of the babies who are united with his mother's anxiety are disappeared one by one as swallowed up by something. One by one, one by one, and the voices are lost. Silence covers and darkness comes. What really happened?

I heard some heavy footsteps getting closer to my house. Continue to approach the door. I have never heard of these footsteps. I cannot move, my legs are felt very weak and have no energy. What kind of creature would actually appear in the door of my home.

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The time was already 04:30 A.M., the sun has not showed its existence completely. I did not use to wake up this early, but the uproar outside really made me awake. I immediately wash my face and change my appearance before approaching my father who is sitting on an old wooden chair on the porch of our house, accompanied by a cup of hot tea which he is really like.

"Soon the night will come, keep sitting at home and watch everything around you. Do not trust anyone. ", He said and broke the silence of the morning.

Yes, I realize the words of my father, maybe tonight is the time. Eight hours ago, under the pouring rain, a Bard was found lifeless at the right part to the Temple of Ethyre, which was not far from my house, flanked by an old and shabby inn and Hereff’s house which his cattle pen was attached with the left part of temple wall. Bard is the rover who came from the East Aldae, the oldest country in the world of Nhegwards. Although as a rover who travel most of parts of the world, almost no Bard came to our village, Tummerfall. Of course they will not be impressed by what is existed in our village.

Crowds immediately came to the scene. And none of us could hide our feelings of anxious and tense on our faces. Father Avenicus Olodae, the oldest pastor in our village, my dad, Cisero Jvostar, and Hereff gathered around the body of the Bard. One by one they knelt down and began investigating the anomalous body. The brown-skinned Bard did not usually look so pale and white like this. In fact, it almost competed the white skin of Father Avenicus, which is a Teteros, that most of them are the civils of Proderim, the neighbor state of Aldae, known for his white skin.

"It’s impossible for a Bard to waste his time just to come to Tummerfall, and even previously none of us saw any arrival of this Bard in this village. What do you think, Father? ", Said Hereff as he shifted his gaze from the body toward Father Avenicus.

While the body was being undressed, he replied, "All of you have to be ready and well-prepared, the darkness has come." It sighed, "Perhaps this is a sign of them."

"What do you mean? Describe to all of us!" continued by dad with a sense of curious and scared.

"They come back, the fighters who hid behind the shadow, Aydelmn . ", he said while pointing a circular symbol containing a vertical eye which the parts of the top and bottom cut off the edge of the circle, which was clearly etched on the back of the body of Bard. "They will soon come to this village, this is a sign of them."

A moment of fear pervaded all who were there. I did not know that one who called Aydelmn that I heard recently, but I felt very frightened. I thought Getto, who was right next to me was similar like me. I did not know if he knew about Aydelmn or not, but I knew that he felt the same fear that I felt. Silent and more silent than ever, none of us were talking, only scared and felt very scared. And of course we realized that something would come to our village.

Don't forget to check my Indonesian version in http://thebladeofaldaeid.blogspot.com/