Story of Raidarian Peace

“Hey, are you coming or staying there?” the old man said.

This man turned out to be an old grandpa with a beard and completely gray, tousled hair, wearing a white sleeveless knitted shirt and brown-beige pants made of some herbal fiber.

When Rein went downstairs, he saw a multitude of people looking at him with some suspicion, if not disdain, maybe even fear, as if they had let a lion into their abode.

“Who are all these people?” Rein asked.

“Some of those who, for one reason or another, refused to leave their estates,” the old man replied. “Their entire lives are here, and they can’t imagine life without these places.”

“Are there still people in the village like these?”

“Probably… I know many here, and I’ve seen that many didn’t want to leave the village, especially the elderly like me.”

Passing through a surprisingly spacious cellar adorned with torches, accompanied by the people, they reached one of its rooms. Opening the door, the old man and Rein entered, while the others remained waiting outside. In this room, the guy lay on the table, and an old granny-healer examined him.

“Felix…” the old man said. “I’ve known him since birth. He hasn’t been very lucky in life. His father owed the leader of the local bandits, and they didn’t wait long to show up, came straight to his house at night. They killed his mother, then his father right in front of little Felix, and then hit the child on the head with some iron object and disappeared. The boy miraculously didn’t become a cripple.”

“He mentioned something like that,” Rein said. “Where is his grandma now? He talked about her too.”

“Yes, after those events, only his grief-stricken grandmother remained. Her name is Lysanna, but I haven’t seen Lys for a long time,” the old man replied. “Maybe she left with everyone, but she’s quite old for such journeys.”

Rein noticed the granny bustling around the guy. “What’s wrong with him? Can I help with anything?” he asked the granny.

“I’m afraid there’s not much that can help this boy now,” she replied. “No matter what I do, I can only bring him back to consciousness, but it won’t help much. To save him, I have to remove this arrow, but it hit one of the main arteries. If I pull it out, he’ll almost immediately bleed to death. It’s a miracle he’s still alive.”

Rein, angered, approached the granny and, grabbing her shoulders, pressed her against the wall.

“Hey, easy there!” the old man said to Rein.

“Granny,” Rein said, “don’t play games with me! Tell me what can be done to save him, or I’ll send you to another world along with him.”

“It hurts, let go,” the granny said plaintively. “I don’t know; he needs a better healer, and there are none left here. His wound is too serious; they don’t heal after such injuries. He needs magic. A miracle to save him. I can only help you. I can stitch the bleeding wounds, or else you might die too.”

After hearing this, Rein released the granny and sat on the couch where the guy lay.

“I can only ease his suffering,” the granny said. “I’m very sorry.”

Rein stood up and hit the wall several times with his fists, causing it to crack slightly.

“Don’t hit so hard! You’ll break everything! This wasn’t built yesterday,” the old man said.

It was so loud that one of those outside decided to check if everything was okay.

“Everything is fine, Oris, let’s go out; it seems we’re not needed here,” the old man said to the man who entered the room.

“But he!..” objected Oris.

“Come on, Oris, let’s go,” said the old man.

They left with the old man, closing the door behind them and leaving Rein with the granny and Felix.

The granny stitched Rein’s side wound and applied a healing mixture to his hand, then cauterized the knife wound on his leg.

“I used the same mixture on his wound as on your hand; it will relieve the pain,” the granny said. “And this should wake him up. I understand he’s dear to you, and you probably want to say goodbye.”

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea…” Rein said.

But the granny was already holding a bottle emitting smoke to Felix’s nose. As soon as she did that, the guy immediately opened his eyes.

At first, Rein didn’t know what to say to the bewildered guy, but eventually, he decided to ask:

“Felix, right?”

“Where am I?” Felix asked.

“You’re in the village, Felix, and you’re dying.”

“How? How can I be dying?”

“You defeated them,” Rein answered, smiling. “All of them… But you got hit by an arrow, and now you’re dying.”

Felix pondered for a moment, and then, even though it was hard to call him cheerful, his face began to dull.

“No! You’re lying to me. I remember everything. I even lost to my own fear…”

Felix shed a tear and closed his eyes again, but this time it was forever.

“I’m truly sorry,” the granny said.

Rein left the room, closing the door. Walking through the corridor, he observed worried and distraught people sitting under torches, huddled against the walls. Each subsequent step of Rein was filled with pain and despair, trailing behind him.

“Stop!” the old man said to Rein. “How far are they from us?”

“With their pace, they’ll be here at dawn. But you shouldn’t be afraid if you’re not warriors. At least not for your lives. Raedarian warriors don’t often kill ordinary citizens of towns and villages. Now it’s more beneficial for them to make these people new citizens of the empire.”

“You won’t stay?” the old man asked. “We might need a warrior like you in case something happens.”

“No, thank you! I don’t think I can pass through that storm with you,” Rein replied.

Rein climbed the stairs, opened the hatch, and emerged from this spacious cellar, then left the house. There, he, taking out his sword, immediately started smashing everything in sight.

After some time, Rein cooled down and decided it was time to go. He then found his horse, saddled it, and headed towards the nearest village called Rosie.

Although the road between the two villages was not as long as to the border with the Raedarian Empire, the evening was nearing its end, and the sun was almost setting behind the horizon. Riding in pitch darkness seemed like not the best idea to him. Watching the sunset on the horizon, Rein could barely resist the urge to close his eyes while still on horseback. He couldn’t remember how long he had been without sleep. Stopping at the same inn was not an option for various reasons. The only reasonable option for Rein was to lie down in the depths of the forest and wake up before the Raedarian legion found him. That’s what he did, at one point turning off the main road and riding for some time. When it finally got dark, and it started to get a bit colder, as much as Rein wanted to light a fire, even that was dangerous in these troubled times. So, he just made his horse lie down and leaned against its fluffy fur.

Rein woke up from a sunbeam piercing directly into his eyes. He was literally deafened by the singing of birds and the sounds made by insects. He didn’t even notice when or how he fell asleep. Still, he was lucky – he woke up early in the dawn. Although his body told him it was too early to get up, his mind was sounding the alarm, urging him to move as soon as possible. Rein complied.

He cut through the forest, and as he reached the slope, he remembered the beginning of the previous day, which started almost the same way.

Approaching the village, he noticed that not everyone had left the area. It seemed that a significant number of people had only left this morning. Descending from the slope, he soon exited the forest. Rein was presented with vast fields, confirming his suspicions. Carriages, riders, and people on foot were visible on every road, most of whom were ordinary farmers.

What Rein saw shocked him, and he rushed into the village to warn everyone about what they might face if they delayed. Rein sped across the field along the golden wheat stalks to save as much time as possible. Although Rein wasn’t sure how far the legions were from this village, he was certain that there was no time to waste. He rode as if he were the only one who could save these people.

But everything changed in an instant. Rein heard a strange sound behind him. “Could they be here already? Impossible,” Rein thought. He decided to look back, and at that moment, a shadow covered him, passing by quickly. Rein looked up and saw something. He had heard of something similar before, but what he saw vaguely resembled the winged monsters described in the tales that frightened him as a child. And this something was flying towards the village.

Although Rein and his horse slowed down, after what he had witnessed, Rein urged his horse to move forward faster than before. Rein had a little time left to reach the village. Most of the time, Rein gazed at this flying monster. At some point, he noticed that it released a parachute from behind, causing the front part of this marvel to tilt downward. He knew that such a device was often used by aerisians to slow down the fall. After that, it started descending towards the village. Then Rein noticed that something, resembling a person, detached from this thing, and then that something also released a parachute. Rein suspected that this thing was connected to the Raedarians and their onslaught.

It fell from the sky at a tremendous speed. Rein, however, continued through the village directly towards this falling thing, observing astonished people. Finally, it landed, and at the point of impact, something so bright emerged that it momentarily eclipsed the sun. Almost instantly, an incredibly loud, booming sound followed. The horse, startled by this, began to turn around. In a couple of moments, Rein, together with his horse, was hit by a wave of air. The wave knocked Rein off his horse, and the horse toppled over.

Rein’s subsequent actions were confused, and his consciousness blurred. Ahead, he saw fire, and looking around, he noticed bewildered, frightened, and helpless people. Some showed no signs of life. Standing up, Rein wanted to focus his mind, but something seemed to hinder him. The constant, unpleasant noise that had appeared in his ears. After some time, forgetting everything, Rein gathered his strength and moved forward. Gradually, his consciousness returned to normal. Rein tried to remember what kind of weapon it could be, but nothing came to his mind.

As Rein approached the crash site of this strange imperial weapon, more buildings were destroyed, and more people lay unconscious. Around him, people were running. Some in one direction, others in another. People were crying and sobbing, trying to revive their once living friends and relatives.

At the point where Rein witnessed the moment of the fall, most people managed to escape with bruises and intense fear. However, closer to the impact site, there were only smoldering embers left of the people. At the spot where the temple and its occupants were, only ashes remained in a small crater. Meanwhile, every building that was lucky enough to survive was ablaze.

Suddenly, Rein heard splashing in a small pond near the now non-existent temple. Paying attention to it, he spotted a familiar figure. At first, he thought it might be a figment of his imagination, but he decided to approach and was finally convinced of what he saw. It was none other than Iziro.

“Iziro!” Rein exclaimed. “Is it really you?”

Iziro, however, silently stared at the horrifying scene around him, trying to catch his breath.

“Hey, how are you?” Rein asked.

Iziro finally turned his gaze to Rein and, with a horrified realization, whispered as if to himself, “Sol? Or Rein… What’s your name? What happened?”

He then headed towards the charred temple. Along the way, he leaned on Rein’s chest, almost pushing him away, and then slowly moved forward. Understanding dawned on him not easily, but he held himself together, displaying no significant emotions. Only faint traces of anger were brewing deep in his eyes, but it was incredibly difficult to notice.

“While you were swimming there, something fell from the sky and destroyed part of the village,” Rein explained. “And this building… Whatever was here before seems to have evaporated. I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’m sure it’s some new weapon of the empire. It definitely used the concepts of old ideas about temporarily flying structures.”

“Today at noon, I was supposed to depart for Aeris on a transport carriage for my mission. The carriage was there, along with others waiting to depart. There were elderly people, women, children. They all perished in this fiery hell. You! You could have saved them all if you were in the current ruler of Raidaria. Your father proclaimed peace and tranquility for the empire… for the whole world… and you were supposed to continue that path. But you are here,” Iziro said, shaking his head. “I know… You must reclaim the throne. You must continue your father’s path! I couldn’t stop this, but I must help you stop it in the future. You must save these people!”

“I’ve tried to save someone many times. Just yesterday, a young man I tried to save from certain death died before my eyes. It just keeps reinforcing the thought that saving something heading for destruction is meaningless. The world itself is inclined towards destruction! I remember the words I once read in a book… ‘Better to rein in the steed that brings destruction than to fall beneath its hooves.’”

“The guy you mentioned… You said his death was inevitable. It’s different here! You… Right now, you can really save someone! Not just someone, but thousands upon thousands of people. And that’s a conservative estimate.”

“Wait! Let’s sort this out! Are you suggesting that I join forces with a practically unknown mountain monk for what? To convince the kings of the great city-states of the empire to believe that the current emperor is bad and that war is bad? Kings of an empire where military matters are most revered… Kings raised as warriors… They, of course, are great warriors themselves; otherwise, they wouldn’t be worthy of their positions. And then?… What?.. Are you proposing that I defeat, perhaps, the greatest of the great warriors in the whole world and take his throne, instantly changing the nearly millennium-old order of the empire? To just discard most of the traditions and teachings that have prevailed in it. Is that what you want? Am I understanding you correctly?”

“You’ve exaggerated all of that as much as the years of the Raidarian Empire, but yes. You understand me better than I could have dreamed. I know it sounds insane, but the most insane things in the world can be realized with just one will.”

“Oh… In that case, I forgot to mention, in relation to you, the word ‘insane.’ Or maybe ‘crazy’? Or perhaps ‘mad’? I can’t decide…”

“In comparison to the madness of this world, what I’m offering you is not insane at all,” replied Iziro. “The world will manage to accept it, believe me.”

“I don’t know what you do in these mountains of yours, but you’ve clearly gone mad!”

“If I’ve gone mad, I did so long before becoming a monk. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: ‘War is a curse that destroys the soul, and victory in it is a fleeting joy, ultimately bringing only pain.’ The world brought us together then and now, and it will bring us together again not just for any reason.”

“Alright. I think I’ve heard enough from you…” said Rein. “Listening to the nonsense of crazy people… That’s what I needed.”

“You can resist, but I believe the world has already made its choice. It’s within your power to give me peace, and in mine to give it to you.”

“Fine. Good luck to you! I’ll go find my horse.” Rein set off in search of his friend. A horse he still hadn’t named. Suffering people caught his eye, and with each step, he looked at them with increasing cynicism. In his search for the horse, Rein wandered through the half-destroyed streets of the village. Time passed, the village emptied, but the horse didn’t appear.

“Where are you, damn horse?” After quite a long time of searching, Rein couldn’t hold back and shouted, “Calm down, Rein! You need to leave! You don’t want to fight alone against all the Raidarian legions. And if you stay, you’ll definitely fight. You’ll find the horse somewhere else. Maybe it’s running around in that forest, and you’re looking for it here. It’s just an ordinary horse. Good thing I didn’t give it a name. I could have gotten attached.”

Talking to himself, Rein realized he had come back to the same place where he had last talked to Iziro.

“And what am I losing? I have nothing anyway. I even lost the horse. The insane story of Sol Illyrian, nicknamed Rein. Or better yet, ‘How to amuse the kings of Raidaria’? At least it’s a beautiful goal before death. Lived… Talking to myself without a horse.”

Rein shook his head and walked away from the village in the opposite direction of the advancing Raidarian legions. Upon leaving the village, he noticed the last desperate residents sitting on the ground, unwilling to leave despite the looming threat. Walking along the path towards the forest, he spotted a strange but familiar silhouette near a tree in the field. He then veered off the path and headed towards that tree. As he got closer, a smile became more evident on his face. Approaching the tree, Rein said:

“You found him…”

“He was running around here as if nothing happened, and I saw him and decided to calm him down. Haven’t seen horses like him in a while, and feeling so free. They’re usually quite disciplined. He would charge into fire and water without fear if given a worthy owner.”

Sitting under the tree, Iziro calmly stroked the horse’s fur, the one Rein had been searching for so long.

“You spoke of peace, destiny, and meeting. I don’t believe in such nonsense, and your life in blind faith is alien to me, and your plan is not just insane but absurdly foolish. I’m not sure I’ve done anything stupider. But despite all this… I agree… I’ll go with you! And I’ll try to save everyone… I’ll try to do what’s within my power, no matter how foolish it may be.”

“I was once a Raidarian,” Iziro said with a smile. “I understand you more than you understand me. You choose your path, but the world provides you with a way, and you choose whether to follow it or turn away.”

With that, Iziro lightly patted the horse’s coat, and it instantly stood up. Iziro walked towards the path leading into the forest, leaving the horse behind.

“Are you coming?” asked Iziro, stopping in his tracks, facing Rein. “We need to get away from here before the legions arrive and find a way to bypass them to reach Aeris.”

Upon hearing this, Rein took the horse’s reins and followed Iziro.

CHAPTER 4 “GOING TO MEET DESTINY”

“Do you know these places well?” Iziro asked.

“Not really well… I would say reasonably,” replied Rein.

“How do you think we should navigate through the advancing forces?”

“After being expelled from Raedaria to the kingdoms, I initially tried to survive in the forests. Eventually, I realized it wasn’t the best option and started earning a living however I could, usually by using brute force. But I rarely stayed in one place. It wasn’t safe. And one day, I stumbled upon a job at the local iron mine. I didn’t work there for long. As soon as someone started suspecting that I was a Raedarian, I had to leave. Overall… I’m getting to the point that there’s a path there. I’ve heard local smugglers often use it to get into the empire. Maybe we’ll be lucky to pass through it.”

“Not a bad idea,” replied Iziro.

“Yeah, you might be right.”

“And this increasingly sounds like not such a crazy plan after all,” said Iziro, pondering a bit. “Agree?”

“Yeah, it’s true. We have a long road ahead,” replied Rein.

Rein and Iziro decided to circumvent the advance of Raedarian legions through the largest iron mine in the kingdoms, located just south of their current location. To reach this mine, they needed to get on the road leading to it, with the nearest one passing through the way to Rinfall Castle.

Rein and Iziro walked along the road, surrounded by woods on both sides. It seemed like there was not a soul around. Rein rode his horse, while Iziro walked beside him.

“Aren’t you tired of walking yet?” Rein asked.

“I prefer not to burden your horse any further,” replied Iziro. “A walk on foot can be beneficial.”

“Well, suit yourself. Just, if you also got on the horse, I wouldn’t have to wait for you, and we could move faster.”

“I’ll stick to walking for now, if you don’t mind,” answered Iziro.

The journey was slow but long. Everything around increasingly resembled the calm before the storm. The only distraction from this uneasy feeling was the sounds of birdsong carried by the wind.

“It seems like the locals have long gone to the fort under Rinfall,” said Rein.

“Have you been there?” asked Iziro.

“A couple of times… Deadly boring. Even in warm weather, everything in Rinfall seems excessively gray. If you’re talking about Rinfall, of course. But if it’s the fort on… then it’s just a regular fort. Although it has two hefty stone walls built not so long ago… to withstand the pressure of Raedarian invasion and complicate movement along the main trade route. Essentially, it’s a large military checkpoint into the central region of Rinfall’s territories. Have you been to any of the castles in the kingdoms?”

“A long time ago, when I still lived in a village on the Lir River. I…,” Iziro began, lost in thought. “In general, I often visited Santris. Surprisingly, it was a very beautiful city, and its castle was equally elegant. And I came here through Fordrim. It will forever remain a mystery to me why the Fords from Fordrim seized power over the kingdoms, and not the Liharts from Santris.”

“When I lived in the Illyrion Castle, I heard about that. Santris and Fordrim… They had a bloody feud for centuries – and one fine day, the king of Santris decided to wipe out the entire family of Little Alex Fordrim at the wedding of King Rinfall – who was then a young Soral Rin. After the massacre, Alex miraculously survived, and he was smuggled out and hidden within the walls of Fordrim. Soral was furious but too young to take decisive action. Over the years, Alex transformed from a boy into a man and, seizing the opportunity presented by the conflict between the Raedarian Empire and Rinfall and Santris, decided to unite the kingdoms under his protectorate, ensuring their survival against the pressure of such a formidable enemy. But perhaps it was only possible if Bart Lihart – the killer of his family and still the king of Santris – was dead. The King of Rinfall was forced to take such decisive measures, forming an alliance between Rinfall and Fordrim. Santris simply couldn’t fight against two neighboring kingdoms and the Raedarian legions simultaneously. In the end, the king of Santris was betrayed by his own elder son in exchange for the lives of his family and the opportunity to continue ruling Santris, albeit in the role of its lord. Alex Ford stabbed Bart Lihart with a spear at the ‘Meeting of the Three Kingdoms,’ dedicated to opposing the Raedarians; after that, he wasn’t just the king of Fordrim – he was the king of the kingdoms. I used to find this story somewhat inspiring,” said Rein. “I’m surprised you’re not familiar with it.”

“I heard something similar, but they were just rumors. Wildly exaggerated tales. If you believe what I’ve heard from people, there were even dragons involved. After hearing all that, you don’t know what’s true and what’s fiction anymore.”

“I heard that the last dragon was seen long before the appearance of Reinia,” said Rein.

“Haha. Well, I guess they either never existed or are hiding somewhere,” said Iziro.

Finally reaching the desired road, Iziro said, “Alright. Seems like I’m tired of walking. Give me your hand.”

Rein smiled and helped Iziro mount the horse from behind.

“Well, what do you think?” Rein asked, grinning broadly. “Not so bad, huh?”

“Yeah, not bad,” replied Iziro, sitting behind Rein.

After a considerable amount of time on the road, passing through forests and fields, small laboring villages started appearing in the distance.

“Wow, I didn’t think we’d get here so quickly,” said Rein.

Iziro, sitting on the horse behind Rein, peeked over his shoulder and said, “Yeah, I thought it would take longer.”

“And there are people,” remarked Rein.