âWell, it is definitely a surprise to see you competing, Iâm surprised your father would allow such a thingâ Rex replied, turning to see Lizz behind him, wearing a massive smile on her face. âBecause Iâm a girl?â Lizz replied, raising one eyebrow. âBecause you are the governors only daughter, and I have a feeling this whole battle week thing is going to be a rough rideâ Rex answered, taken a little aback at Lizzâs comment, relaxing a little when he saw her face soften. âHaving seen quite a few of them, I know what Iâm in for, donât know what events will be on this year though, I have heard they are going to be quite exciting, I feel bad for you, you have never been in the battle games or have even seen what this is and youâre competingâ Lizz said. âYeah, was kind of thrust upon meâ Rex replied, using his thumb to point to Rector behind him. âYouâre a MagnusâŠâ Lizz started to say. âYeah yeah, Iâll be fine, Iâll do great, Magnus this, born from greatnessâ Rex interjected, using his
The sudden voice entering his head woke Rex with a jolt, he remembered dreaming about spending his night swimming with Lacey, and before he knew it, a voice starting whispering silently into his ear, asking him to kill, he had no idea where the voice came from or why it came to him, but it was alarming enough to wake him. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he could tell it was close to dawn, seeing the faintest glow of red light behind the horizon, so he decided at the minute that he would just get himself ready for the day and practice trying to open his magical space while waiting for Leyâs summons. Once he readied himself in a nice fitting training outfit, Rex moved into the middle of his room, sat down cross legged, closed his eyes and after steadying his breathing, he started trying to clear his mind. It took a while for Rex to successfully empty everything from his mind, he kept feeling the faintest pull in his mind to hold the sword, like his mind needed him to do it, shaking th
âMy prince, your hand was broken, but already seems to be well on the mend, not surprised knowing who you areâ the physician said when she inspected Rexâs hand using magical evaluation. He already knew what the physician was going to say, âBecause Iâm a MagnusâŠblah blah blahâ said in his head. âNow you my Bohl friend, I am flabbergasted how any of your bones became broken, this is a rare occurrence, like once in a lifetime type of thingâ the physician said to Ley, who just smiled and winked at Rex, âHow did you say it happened again?â âI was sparring, you know, usual manly stuffâ Ley replied, the physician eyeing him suspiciously. âWell, whoever hit you and did this is ridiculously powerful, I may not live long enough to see this again, please wait around while I document itâ the physician said excitedly, scurrying for a pad and charcoal pencil to make notes and sketches. âYou go ahead, I'll catch up laterâ Ley said, rolling his eyes. Rex decided to go for a walk to clear his hea
âWhat sort of training do you typically do?â Rex asked, trying to alleviate the silence that had seemed to happen while following commander Shurr. âMost think we are brainless oafs, so all we must do is lift this up heavy shit up, put it over there, drop it, lift it up again, but in here we actually train our bodies, minds and souls, today is your lucky day, it is shield ball dayâ Shurr replied in a slightly irritated tone. âShield ball?â Rex inquired, they had finally reached the end of the tunnel they were traveling and the area suddenly opened into a huge mini-city, with rows of tiny huts to his left and right, paths that led into each row, joined by stairs that ran vertically along the rows of every 20th hut, âYou have your own town in here?â âWe look after some incredible treasures for the emperor around the clock, so we live, eat and train down hereâ Shurr replied. âLike what sort of treasures?â Rex asked, he was interested in what would require its own mini-city and army for
âOk, so how is this game played?â Rex asked once Thal brought him down towards the two teams. âThe gamesâ objective is simple, pass the ball through their opponents hoop to score a point, most points after the timer has run out, wins the gameâ Thal said, pointing at the objects he was speaking about while explaining them. âSounds simple enough, whatâs with the shields?â Rex asked, seeing the round wooden shields the Bohl who were currently preparing for the upcoming game were inspecting. âThat is up to you, want to block the ball from going through the hoop? Use the shield. Want to block an opponentâs rush? Use the shield. Getting the picture my lord?â Thal said with a smile. âI think so, what protective gear do you use?â Rex asked, seeing some of the shields the other players chose had jagged edges or pieces protruding. âWhat type of gear is that?â Thal asked in confusion. âYou know, equipment you use to prevent being hurtâ Rex said, getting slightly worried, he had already star
Not wanting to look incompetent in front of his commander, the Bohl captain disregarded all of his training and charged Rex head on, he planned on using brute strength to over power him and teach Rex what happens to those who mess with the Bohl. Sensing the change in the Bohl man immediately, Rex knew what he was planning to do, he could see from the look on his face and feel in his aura that he now intended to hurt him, with this in mind, Rex decided to end the game, beginning to channel half of his remaining energy into the ball, after a few moments it was complete, he could see the weird hairy ball start to move and wriggle around in his hand, the whole time it glowed a faint yellow colour, âThe f**k is this thing?â Rex asked himself. âThrow ball Prince!â his teamâs captain roared. Looking towards the goal, Rexâs sight was overshadowed by the Bohl warrior who was now mere feet from him, his shield in front of him with the intention to charge over the top of Rex, spinning quickly
Rex could now see the outside of the library by now, also spying Ley standing next to the entrance, waiting for Rex to arrive. âYou took your timeâ Ley said once Rex was within earshot, checking his timepiece at the same time. âI was held upâ Rex retorted with a small scowl, making Ley chuckle a little. âA little ball game held up the mighty young prince!?â Ley teased and seeing Rex scowl even harder made him laugh out loud. âA little ball game my ass! I canât believe how serious they take it, they were trying to seriously hurt meâ Rex replied, shaking his head, raising his voice a little. âIt has been a great game since its creation, helps the troops blow off steam, having that many battle-ready soldiers in one spot not doing much can become havoc quite quickly if left uncheckedâ Ley replied quite seriously, clapping Rex on the shoulder. âMhm I bet, they seemed pent up thatâs for sure, anyway, why are we at the library? I donât do so well with book lessonsâ Rex asked, looking to
Once the hours had passed, Rex had forgotten how much reading he had done, learning the basics of the battle games, a chosen few from the surrounding nations would take on the role of competing in a set of games that would test their strength, cunning, strength and resolve, these activities would be proposed to the nation leaders, by another leader, and if agreed upon, would become the events the participants would compete in, the winner would then become the champion of the battle games for that year, bringing them fame and most times fortune. âFame and fortune, a bit redundant for me, isnât it? More people know me here than I could ever imagine, and being a prince, what need would I have in riches?â Rex thought to himself out loud, confused by his participation in the games, he could think of quite a few other talented warriors that could have easily taken his place. The other book he had finished reading was titled, âGuide to magic requiring emotional input.â He thought it was an
As the enemy soldiers charged, they quickly spread out evenly across each squad commanded by Rectorâs defence, âThey are testing our weak spotsâ Rex heard Rector say to Markus, who nodded in agreement as the small number of soldiers were killed quickly by Rexâs and Leyâs squads, Markusâs and Gwayneâs a few moments later, the barrage of fireballs from the walls reached the enemiesâ position almost simultaneously, hitting the barrier created by their warlocks, most being stopped, the more powerful fireballs made it through and scorched the soldiers they hit, dying a few seconds after impact. âAre you going to try a counterattack?â Markus asked quietly, leaning over to Rector. âNot directly, noâ he replied, stroking his beard, the enemy had not made a move since their test of his defensive line and it worried him, âSomething is going to happen, I can feel it.â âWhat are you thinking?â Markus said, âI think they are scheming since their test proved our defences are solid.â âNo defence
Everyone got dressed in silence, they were all thinking about what was coming their way with the battle. After a half-hour, everyone was suited up and ready to go, they all headed out of the room, down the stairs and out through the gate, stopping outside. Saying their goodbyes to Marcia, she hugged everyone before calling out and departing on Ulna. âTime to go and see your troops I guessâ Lacey shrugged with a sigh, the closer it got to the battle, the more she started to worry. âThat would be wise, seeing as they are formed up and waiting for you by the gate,â Ley said with a smile. As they all made their way to the southern gate, the entire group was silent, they were all apprehensive about how close to battle they all were, Ley seemed to notice this, âI think if anyone will survive this, it will be you all, I sense something different, something strong has formed between you, use that and you will be a force to be reckoned with, that rumoured scorpion pet of yours would be of
The sun was an hour from even touching the horizon, Rex was laying in the middle of Minet, Marcia and Lacey, all sleeping soundly, Rex snoring quietly, âRex, wake up please, but do not wake the others, I must show you something.â Even while inside of his dream, he knew the voice belonged to Rector, his father, it was loud enough to wake him, but not too loud to startle him, as his eyes blinked and focused, he saw Rector sitting in a chair watching and smiling, looking at the women, they were all dressed, which he did not remember them doing. âI would not intrude on a view that is not for me, I made sure clothes found them before I came inâ Rector said with a wink. Carefully moving Marciaâs hand off his chest, he slowly sat up, standing at the same speed, stepping over the women carefully, not wanting to wake them, âIs everything ok?â Rex asked. âLet us go, then we can speak more freelyâ Rector said, holding his hand out to Rex, who took it. Once his vision cleared Rex was in a dar
âDid you end up killing it? Surely not even you could kill something THAT bigâ Lacey added in. âHang onâŠso you like for real saw and fought a tentaculum? A fabled flesh-eating tentacled monster from the books of legend?â Marcia asked, still visibly skeptical. âNo word of a lie,â Minet said, âRex and Raz stayed behind to let us escape, next we saw them, Rex was covered in shit and Razâs head was split open.â âWell yes, I didnât end up killing it, but we injured it enough it must have thought us too painful to continue fighting, it ended up losing 3 tentacles and 1 eye, Raz was hurt after it ejected some black shit that shot us into the trees, Raz hit some rocks, I patched him up best I could and carried him to the shack,â Rex said, recounting the events, leaving out some in-depth gruesome parts he wished he could forget, âSo why was that muscle-bound axe man chasing you into the shack?â âWow this is so much drama in a short time, how you even got anything done, Iâll never know,â Mar
âWell, my place is the closest to everywhere we need to be tomorrow and is away from prying eyes, and I have half a bottle of yarak spirits, we can share that, you can tell me all about your trip in a shortened version and we can have some fun, get a little sleep and then head out to our posts in the morning,â Marcia said with a smile. âIâm sold,â Marcia said, clapping her hands together. âI just had a thoughtâ Lacey started to say. âYes or no?â Minet interjected. âYes, sounds goodâ Lacey nodded, walking with the women, âWe werenât told who we are serving with tomorrow.â âI donât know about you, but Iâm sticking with Rexâ Minet shrugged. âThat was what I was hoping to do, what do you think? Where is Rex?â Lacey asked, looking around for him. âOdd he would sneak out on us, this was supposed to be our night togetherâ Minet scowled, putting her hands on her hips. âSorry, Iâm here, was just trying out a bit of magic I was shown earlier, good to know it still works, it gave me an id
Rex, Minet, and Lacey followed Rector into the palace, turning away from the throne room and traveling down a hallway Rex had never been before, âI donât remember seeing this hereâ he stated, looking back, then back toward a large wooden door at the end. âThat is because I do not allow this area to be accessed unless necessary, the war room has not been used since the Blood War, it saddens me to even have to use it again,â Rector sighed, walking toward the door, it opening as he approached. As they all entered the room, there was already a handful of older men present in the room who were pointing to places on a table that was in the center of the room, it showed the walls of the city and the fields beyond, many black figures stood in the southern fields showing the invading troops and their positioning, the old men were all yelling at each other for what plan they thought would be best, Marcia, Ley, and Markus were all at one end, Marcia was scowling at the men yelling, Ley was smil
âSo whoever has brought this army has one hell of a grudge against Dracones, or fatherâ Rex guessed, seeing how much dust over such a large area was being kicked up, âWhat was the scout's estimate?â âIn excess of 30 thousand strongâ Marcia replied, âThatâs three times as many as Eanâs last army.â âHoly shit, how many defend Hale?â Rex asked. âAbout 10 thousand,â Marcia said, doing some quick math in her head, âWould be 18 thousand if we could rely on general Chrisâs forces, but word is, he is currently under assault as well, it is almost like this attack has been co-ordinated from both sides of the realm at the same time.â âThree to one odds, battles have been won with a lot worse beforeâ Rex replied. âYes, but human battles did not have magic and monsters in their ranks either,â Raz said with a grin. âHoly shit!â Looking over to Lizz, who had cursed, which was rare for her, she was now pointing out toward the field outside of Draconeâs southern gate, to where a massive force, a
âSo, youâre saying we can be released from the deal to suicide, to serve under you instead?â one of the soldiers asked. âCorrectâ Rex replied, âInstead of your life being a waste, why not use it for something better?â âWe cannot accept thatâ the soldier replied, saddened, âWhen we swore our oath to serve, we were branded, if we break our deal, the brand kills us, so either way, we are doomed.â âWho would make you do such a thing?â Lacey asked, she was not the only one who was shocked, the entire group was as well. âOur new leader ensured our allegiance with spellsâ the soldier replied, lining up his sword, ready to pierce the heart, the rest of the group following suit, âWe thank you for the offer, you are not like they say you are,â he took one last deep breath to ready himself, closed his eyes and slid the sword into his chest with a groan, after a few gasps he fell lifeless to the ground, followed shortly after by the remainder of the soldiers. âI did not think they would have
The sound of screams and metal hitting metal echoed out soon after the soldiers reached Rex and his companionâs position as they cut through their first wave. Lacey and Minet had teamed up on Rexâs right side and were diving, dashing, stabbing and blocking each otherâs weak spots, many dead and dying fae laying around them. Raz and Lizz were on the left front, Lizz was throwing fireballs at their enemies furiously, scorching two, sometimes three at a time, Raz was standing fast between her and the front line, cutting down any that made it through to ensure Lizz could focus on what she was doing. âLooks like we underestimated a group of children,â Douve said with a sigh and smile, âLooks like it is up to us to settle this.â âSeems like itâ Rex replied with a shrug, he was a little curious, everyone knew the royal family had power stemming from dragons, yet Douve did not seem phased. Bowing to Rex, Douve took a ready stance, so out of courtesy, Rex nodded his head, not a second afte