I have completed this multipart series and will post as soon as I get the chapters edited. Adding final changes right now. So feel free to leave comments and vote. Just know the story is already finished. I think it has to be tough for a writer to submit a chapter and not be able to change things as they go along. Kudos to those who can do that. I can't. I get a new idea and have to go back and adjust previous chapters so my added ideas make sense.
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Chapter 1: The Empire is coming
Miles away, people of the city of Osentia could see the smoke billowing over the hills. Their neighboring cities were burning. People were dying. The armies of the empire were coming to them, to destroy any resistance, and to incorporate their resources in order to make a grander empire. It would take less than two days for the small front armies to arrive and destroy their peaceful existence.
Armies of iron would rape, pillage, and burn all who opposed them. The empire refused to allow any to defy them. All victory was for the glory of the empire. All expansion was for the glory of the empire. All new citizens were for the glory of the empire. And damned be all who resisted.
Adontis, ruler of the city of Osentia, viewed the landscape with trepidation. He feared the inability to protect his small municipality. He sent messengers beseeching the other sister cities to unite against the empire. None complied. Unfortunately, each city feared sending their men way aiding any others to leave their own cities defenseless. They rejected his plan to unite their armies in order to prevent the empire from advancing. Now, each city fell, one by one, to the empire.
The men of the army stood with Adontis watching the burning of their sister cities. They would defend the city to the last dying man. They prepared traps and barricades throughout the fields and in the city. His three sons, his commanders, prepared to defend the city with their lives. Each understanding all too well what was at stake.
Adontis looked around seeing the good men of his city. Many were friends. Many had families. Many would die. He could die as well, but that didn't matter to him. He was prepared. He was ready to pass the torch of leadership to his eldest son.
He worried about his sons, though. They were young, in their thirties. His youngest, married only two summers ago and was expecting his first child. It would be Adontis' second grandchild. He understood that a family who lost their male provider would most likely suffer. He would ensure the care of his sons' families if his boys died. That is, if he survived.
He looked over at his eldest son, August, who was most like him in character, displaying the leadership skills needed to unite and manage a city. The young man looked more like his mother, though. His red hair, pale skin, and gray eyes, were all from his mother's side of the family. Thankfully, August was tall from Adontis' lineage and his muscular frame was from years of being a warrior. August was his favorite son and the one he most understood. August had been married ten years and had a four-year-old son, Marcus.
Adontis glanced over to his second son, Gabriel, who was the gentlest of his sons. His wheat colored hair and silvery-gray eyes gave him an almost feminine appearance. This son was the most like his mother. Gabriel had a way of freckling that gave him the appearance of a man not yet come to age. His lean form added to that illusion. He was a scholar and a magic user. He was the son that Adontis least understood. Gabriel was a man filled with passion and love for his wife of six years. That Adontis did understand.
Adontis' eyes passed to his youngest son, Martinelli, who looked the most like him with black hair, a rugged squared jaw, and stormy gray eyes. The youngest son, built much like his father and eldest brother from years of training as a warrior, was able to devise strategies to win battles as if the young man was an oracle. Books and tutors could never teach a man the abilities that Martinelli possessed. He possessed instincts, highly refined instincts of battle and war. Martinelli devised the strategy of the cities combining their might to defend against the empire. After the other cities refused to join forces, Martinelli created pitfalls and other traps throughout the plains and the city. The soldiers worked without rest to finish them all before the empire arrived.
Adontis' thoughts wandered to the love of his life, Yezmethia, the mother of his sons, beautiful and clever. Her honey colored hair and clear gray eyes haunted him whenever he departed from her. Her melodic voice chimed in his head even when he wasn't thinking of her. It became the sound of his inner monologue soon after he met her. He fell hard for her the moment that he laid eyes on her and begged his father to arrange for a marriage. It had been the wisest decision of his life to pursue her and he had not regretted a moment since.
His gut clenched as Adontis thought of losing to the empire. The house guards had their orders. He spoke to each man individually to ensure there was no misunderstandings. If the enemy broke through the defenses and into the city, Yezmethia would fine freedom by a quick and merciful execution. She would not suffer rape and torture from the enemy. He would never allow her to endure such atrocities, even if it meant a dark and lonely existence without her. He would protect her from the cruelty of men at any cost, by any means.
Finally, Adontis' thoughts drifted to his father, Pleotis. After the sister cities refused to join forces, his father rode to the north for help. He rode in search of the barbarians hoping that they would provide mercenaries to aid in battle. The cost mattered little when survival was at stake. It was vital for all in the city that his father find those reinforcements.
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Pleotis traveled north searching for many days. He knew where to find the barbarians as they were the ones who usually raided the sister cities to steal food, clothing, and sometimes, women.
He took a great risk traveling north, but the barbarians had no love for the empire. Together, they could possibly stop the advancement of the empire's armies, if the barbarians agreed to help.
Pleotis urged his horse farther into the forest. He recognized the marks on the trunks of trees indicating a clan claimed the land. He would ride until he found a settlement or until he was caught and taken to a settlement. Either way, he would find the barbarians.
The first arrow struck the tree to his left vibrating the shaft and he paused raising his hands calling out, "I come in peace. We need your mighty warriors to help defeat the army of the empire. I ask to speak to your leader." He remained motionless even when the second arrow hit the ground between his horse's front feet with a thud causing the horse to march in place.
A tall, muscular, sandy-haired man clad in furs strolled out from behind a large green bush. He looked Pleotis up and down judging the worth of the traveler and asked, "What would warrant a meeting with our leader?"
Prepared for such an exchange, Pleotis slowly moved his hand to his saddlebag untying a large leather pouch. He tossed it to the ground at the barbarian's feet. "This warrants the meeting."
The barbarian bent over, picked up the pouch, and looked inside. It contained coins from the city of Osentia. He nodded. "Down from your horse. You'll be blindfolded and taken to the master."
