Act of War

The sun sat at its peak high in the sky. The Kingdom of Dusk's soldiers marched through the city streets and towards Crow Tower. Some of the civilians, strong young men, had to fight as well with the soldiers. General Leonard Church led the army on horseback. King Clover Shard rode next to him. All of the Royal Knights rode on horseback behind Clover and Leonard. The soldiers halted at the city gate. Clover assumed that there would be an ambush somewhere along the road. He also guessed it would take two days to travel with such a large unit. Clover turned around to face his army.

"Today we will fight against the Dominion! Golden Gate was captured and now is led by a Moonlight Knight named Krimson Reagon! Raven and Crow Tower and Golden Gate are part of the Dominion! The Kingdom of Light is on our side!" Clover shouted to the soldiers, "We will fight! We will not stop! We will push on!"

All of the soldiers began to cheer and raise their hands. Clover began to ride down the path. All the soldiers followed. Further down the road to the East, somewhere in between the two kingdoms, there is a small town named Wither Stone. Wither Stone was prepared to become a fort and a possible battlefield. The unit would break into two smaller units. Clover would take one unit and hold at Wither Stone while Leonard would march on with the smaller half. Leonard would set up camp and make a blockade and prepare for the first battle. A spy planted in Crow Tower told Clover that King Dominus Mortis would send a unit down to the Kingdom of Dusk. This platoon would most likely be led by the Champion of King Mortis, Lavernius Bear.

After two hours of traveling, they finally reached Wither Stone. Immediately after splitting up, Clover and his unit started building walls around the town. Leonard began to build the blockade on the road. The region between Crow Tower and the Kingdom of Dusk is rich with trees. It would be extremely, if not impossible, difficult to move an army through the forest. Scouts would hide within the forest and come back every thirty minutes. After two days, Wither Stone has become a fort and the people who lived there stayed to fight. The women and children returned to the main kingdom for satry. This would be known as Fort Wither Stone.

Another day passed and still no contact with Crow Tower or any enemy force. The knights never let their guard down and constantly watched for movement within the forest. This town is the only town that is directly connected to the main road that connects the two kingdoms. No other road would be suitable for transporting an entire unit. A great wooden wall surrounded Wither Stone and they were able to build a watchtower in the center of the town.

"General!" a knight called out, "Scouts have spotted fifty soldiers marching this way! A strange knight was leading them on a horse. They will make contact within the hour!"

"Come over here!," Leonard commanded

"Yessir." the knight jogged over to Leonard

"What was strange about him?" Leonard asked

"His armor… it was maroon red instead of black. His sword was fire red. Could it be the Champion?" the knight said

"No, Lavernius wears light armor. He wouldn't wear a full knight suit. Also he always wears black." Leonard said, "I don't know who that is."

"Could this be a problem?" the knight asked

"Take my horse and ride to Fort Wither Stone and tell King Shard." Leonard said

"Right away, sir!" the knight said, jogging over to Leo's horse and riding down to the fort.

Leonard yelled and the knights all gathered around. With Leonard, there are around two hundred and fifty soldiers at the blockade. At Fort Wither Stone there are more than four hundred soldiers, more await at the kingdom.

"A small platoon is marching over here! Prepare for an attack! They are being led by a special knight" Leonard said, "Do not engage until they have first! They will be here in less than an hour!"

"Yessir!" the soldiers reply.

"Commander Kalentis, a word." Leonard said

"Yes, General?" Commander Kalentis answered

Kalentis was a strong warrior and an excellent strategist. He climbed the ranks extremely fast. He is a close relative of Leo. Wallace is bald and muscularly built.

"I want you to take one hundred soldiers and hide. The less they see the better. When I yell 'charge' I want you to surprise them."

"Yes, Leo." Kalentis said

"Thank you, Wallace." Leo said, shaking his hand.

Commander Kalentis rounded up his squad and ventured into the forest line. They hid behind trees and in bushes. All the other one hundred and fifty soldiers lined up and waited for their arrival. Before too long, the small unit was in sight. The soldiers began to murmur when they saw the knight leading the unit and how small it was.

The small unit stopped about thirty yards away from the blockade, the blockade was two hundred, if not three hundred, yards away from the fort, and the maroon knight dismounted the horse and walked alone. Leonard put on his helmet and began to walk towards him.

"That's far enough!" Leonard said, "Who are you?

"My name is Krimson Reagon. I can tell that you are surprised to see me. I am surprised as well. Lavernius was supposed to be here instead of me, but he has not returned from his trip across the sea." Krimson said

"We can end this peacefully. Surrender." Leonard demanded

"We want one person. That's all we want." Krimson said

"Who?" Leonard asked

"King Clover Shard." Krimson asked

"Never." Leonard said, unsheathing his sword.

"You should surrender. Your Republic won't survive this war. Raven Tower has set up a naval blockade. The Kingdom of Light won't be able to support you." Krimson said

Krimson unsheathed his sword and the Moonlight Knights did as well. Leonard knew they could win this battle but he did not have faith in Clover to win the war. The Royal Knights unsheathed their swords and Krimson saw that he was outnumbered. Krimson held up his hand and the Moonlight Knights put their swords away.

"How many soldiers do you have here with you?" Krimson asked

"Enough to crush you." Leonard said

"I doubt that." Krimson said, "I could kill all of them."

"Don't get cocky, Krimson." Leonard said

"King. King Krimson. I am the king of Golden Gate." Krimson said. Krimson jingled his necklace that had the ring on it.

"John…" Leonard said

"I propose a duel. If I win, then you forfeit and hand over Clover. If you win, we will retreat and surrender." Krimson said

"No deal." Leonard said

"Fine. Then we will weaken your forces." Krimson said.

Krimson raised his sword in the air and the Moonlight Knights did the same. The Royal Knights prepared their defenses. It was high noon when the first battle of the war began. Krimson started walking forward with his sword pointed down. Leonard opened his mouth but he couldn't say anything. His lungs felt like they were collapsing. Krimson put up his hand and the Moonlight Knights halted in place. Krimson continued to walk towards Leonard.

"Stop!" the royal knights yelled

The Moonlight Knights ran in front of Leonard and blocked them. The Royal Knights charged in and began to attack. A random Royal Knight yelled, "Charge!". Many Royal Knights flooded out from the forest. Krimson turned his attention to the knights and took off his helmet.

"Surround us!" Krimson said

The Moonlight Knights did as they were told. Krimson knelt in front of Leonard. A look of fear fell on Leonard's face when he made eye contact with Krimson. Krimson had an expressionless face.

"You… are… a… demi… god?" Leonard quietly asked

"I am. And this will be your grave." Krimson said

"Sir! We can't hold them much longer!" a Moonlight Knight said

"Then attack!" Krimson said

The Moonlight Knights and the Royal Knights were attacking each other desperately. The Moonlight Knights were quickly overpowered. Krimson got angry and began to scream. The scream was deafening. Everyone covered their ears and stopped fighting. Leonard was able to breathe and he gripped his sword and swung at Krimson's neck. Krimson deflected his sword and stepped back. The Moonlight Knights began to slowly retreat. Krimson started yelling at them and they began to regroup. The Royal Knights retreated back to the blockade. Krimson and Leonard were left alone in the road. Krimson looked furious.

"You may have won this small battle, but I assure you that I am not done." Krimson said

"The war is not over." Leonard said

"That is not what I meant." Krimson said with a killer eye.

Leonard stood up and was about to holster his sword. Krimson dashed at Leonard and Leonard rolled out of the way. The general attempted to attack Krimson. The fire-wielder dodged and swung at Leo. Leo clashed his sword with Krimson's. They were face-to-face. Krimson kicked at Leo, but he stepped back. Leo swung at the king's leg but Krimson stepped on the sword and disarmed Leo. Krimson picked up the sword and, with great force, chucked it at Leo's chest. The sword impaled Leo and broke through his armor easily. Leonard fell to one knee and placed his hand on the sword. The Royal Knights were going to attack, but Leonard put his hand up. Krimson walked over to his helmet and equipped it.

"I told you, this is your grave." Krimson said, getting on his horse, "You were insultingly weak."

Krimson started to retreat with the Moonlight Knights. Once they were out of sight, a doctor rushed over to Leonard. Leonard stayed on one knee as the doctor examined him. Blood flooded out of the wound and his heart beat began to slow. The doctor was about to remove the sword but Leo stopped him.

"If you… remove it… I will die." Leonard said

"You are going to die either way, General." the doctor said

"Give me a piece of paper and ink so that I will be able to write my final words. I don't want anyone to read them. Give them to the winner of this war, even if it is Dominus." Leonard said

"Of course." the doctor said.

The doctor handed him the things that Leonard wanted. The Royal Knights began to cry as he handed the doctor the papers. The doctor concealed the papers within his jacket and pulled out the sword lodged in Leo's chest. He slowly lowered his body onto the road. Leonard's heart has completely stopped and the Royal Knights saluted in respect. General Leonard Church has died.

"What happened?" commander Kalentis asked, dismounting the horse.

"General Leonard Church was slain in the battle. He was the only casualty." a Royal Knight said

"No…" commander Kalentis said, "By who?"

"Krimson Reagon. He captured Golden Gate overnight." the knight responded

"I promise the gods… I will kill Krimson Reagon!" commander Kalentis yelled in rage.

Wallace Kalentis kneels next to Leonard's body. He places his hand on Leo's chest. He removes the armor chest plate. Wallace takes off Leo's badge and puts it on himself.

"As Leonard's successor, I am the new general." General Kalentis said, "Any objections?"

"No, sir!" the Royal Knights yelled back.

Wallace stood up and looked down the dirt path. He clenched his fists and was infuriated. He threw his helmet to the ground and fell to both knees crying. "I'm sorry, cousin." he whispered to himself, with his face in his hands. Dark clouds began to form above their heads. A gentle cold rain began to pour upon them. Wallace extended his arms and embraced the gentle rain fall. He walked over to his helmet and placed it on his head. He picked up Leo's sword and switched it with his own. "I will kill Krimson Reagon with your sword, Leo." he whispered quietly to himself. He sheathed Leonard's sword and walked back to the blockade and began to pray with the other Royal Knights. They all took off their helmets in respect to Leonard before praying to the gods. After the prayer, they prepared to advance closer to Crow Tower. Wallace Kalentis hoped that Krimson would stay in Crow Tower and not return to Golden Gate.