The flicker of light bounced around the thin walls from an ember which swayed. Warm, the tent was gracious and vast, though its luxury was humbly concealed away by the shadows of the dimly lit chamber. An incense burned in the corner, warding off spirits, good and evil, so that it would not spoil the saintly treasures that was human for there was everything that was ever needed and ever wanted. Jugs of water and wine were always full, never empty, like the basket of bread and fruits beside. Each piece had a bite taken out of but none seemed to have matched whoever’s appetite was treated so well. All set on a table of fragrant honeywood, the foods and drinks were left waiting to be desired, atop a rug of wool and silk that was soft on the feet and was homely, reminding of a certain country. The carpet was embroidered with golden flowers and wild forests of flames that swirled and intertwined until its edges. There was a quarter on the corner of the chamber, with panels adorned with paintings. Hiding behind it was a round wooden tub within another, holding the overflowed bath water that had stilled since last night. With steps faced towards the center, it led towards a bed that was but a mattress on the floor yet was fit for a king or a prince rather. Its blankets had been folded up and was tidied already. Without much else to do, a boy sat on his velvet couch, fiddling with the tip of an arrow with his hands bored from playing the violin that was by his side in any case he refound his affinity for the instrument. Despite his comfort and affluence, he displayed no affection for any of it. After all, never did such things ever satisfy his heating blood that itched his hands seeking action. His sighs alleviated the pain of waiting but it only did so temporarily. When the wind breezed through the flapping tarps, a slither of natural light radiated inward. Nature was calling him to battle. Alas, the guards on the entrance denied his glory for as long as he had been a part of this army. His dulled eyes turned back to the dark and found the shine of an arrowhead to accompany him.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOcPkfjxer
“Lienz!” A booming voice, that of a general, called.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlqxmgohbs
Startled, he whipped his body around and sat there, still and unbelieving. Upon hearing a second call for his name, the boy realized that the voice which shouted his name was real, replying to the fervor in his heart. His eyes gleamed and brightened with joy like a little child on their birthday surrounded by gifts. Jumping up from his couch, he spun the arrow into a quiver on his hip and ran for the light, plucking a grape from its stem and tossing it into his mouth on his way. He snatched his bow from a stand and took no second look at his tent behind as he ducked and charged through the flaps before entering himself into his habitat.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fi7eaSDH8
A world of light blasted unto his face and he halted sharply, skidding along the ground. His boots tore a track into the grass ripped from its roots as his red, baroque-ornate, half jacket wavered. The ends of his belts jangled as he stood unmoving after having been flashed by the sun. Hiding his vision behind a gloved hand, his pupils constricted, surrounded by the glow of his iris like fire. Upon lowering his arm, the boy looked up and saw the clouds fleeting by with the wind running through his orange hair, lightened under the skies. His face, like his expression, carried a boyish look that had not faded away nor had it forgotten its troublesome youthfulness. Yet nothing about him was telling of why he deserved such noble treatment. He appeared most unlike those belonging to the nobility with no care for gold or silver. Whenever a smile befell him, it brought gladness and hope to soldiers who walked by, always greeting and sharing short words of how their days have been. Lienz Károly. Everyone who had met or have heard of him would remember this name from his good.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5XfvJSbyL
Looking around, he was reminded of his presence needed, as he searched for who had called for him. Near the ridge, there was a crowd of curious soldiers and officers who once had witnessed a spectacle but marched away to their stations uptight and at haste. The audience dissipated and revealed a commander in the midst who turned around and saw, through the gaps of his troops, the little lancer who he had summoned. The boy spotted the general waving at him to come and he set off, dashing towards him as he nimbly weaved through the troops who marched along toward their posts and their regiments. They would have given way if the lancer asked but there was a good perk to his small stature in that he need not ask.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMEKu9Nq4I
His eifer-dyed hair broke from the sea of regulars and resurfaced on the other side of the river of men. “General Nikola,” Lienz greeted him cheerily, nearing the hillside edge. “Got work?” With no care of formality but only for something that could soothe his blood, he asked.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlL1vUNr2ua
Nikola tipped his head down at the boy in seriousness and replied with one word, “Unfortunately.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoFKLeCIdh
The general pointed at the battlefield, telling of an issue in need of an archer to solve. Although it had given Lienz slight excitement as his finger laid on the core, it was not there where the lancer would meet his work. If only he knew before, he would not have come. When Nikola drew his arm away from the frontlines and to the flanks, the boy’s eyes were brought onto the great dust clouds encroaching like bunker doors wheeling towards each other to seal the only pathway home for his men. When his wanted order had nearly been said, the general saw the smile of the youth turn into discontent.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCB3BcNRCge
“What? Can’t I ever take up the field for once?” Bothered by another excuse to keep him away from the frontlines again, Lienz childishly begged for another order.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPKXaGtiIN
Apologetically, though he was the superior and his decision was final, Nikola lowered his head and reminded him bluntly, “Your grandfather would have my country and my head if I ever did let you.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqFX75jck0
Lienz groaned and puffed up his cheeks, but however annoyed he was, he spun around and took up his position on steady ground, “Fine…” Shedding a glance at the general, the boy gave a half-dissatisfied response.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJDPpCQXY4
Nikola stood back and let his archer’s art unleash with his bow, silver and winged, ornamented with white gold laurel leaves, that had dug into the earth from its heft and stood taller than its master. Setting the bow above ground, Lienz pinched two arrows from his quiver of many and nocked his first on the bowstring. Its tension bent the course of the air, yet when the archer drew, he seemed without much trouble. Whoever was near enough felt his aura burning as it boiled and transformed into eifer in his veins. Holding the fletching by his cheek that had been scarred from an accident long ago, he aimed, unwaveringly at the cavalry, and pivoted and adjusted according to the distance that he read from his naked sight. The lancer raised his bow cautiously, never to release his hand until he was doubly sure to have found his mark in the skies above, the heavens prepared to receive his shot that was charged with fire. When the thread of a critical victory, thinner than any material thing, appeared in his mind, the archer’s eyes sharpened and his posture tensed. Taking in a breath, the flames roared in his lungs and were seeped through his hands into the arrow’s shaft. His fingers released and the string whipped. The arrow was launched and the missile took towards a one-way flight. Like the discharge of a howitzer, the tip drove through the low clouds and spun into a vortex of light and flames. Black smoke trailed behind the arrow until it struck the summit, then, it rained down like a flash to where the cavalrymen looked up and felt a burst of heat sanding their faces. Riding, one was suddenly struck on his shoulder. Without time for memories to gather, his blood had become petroleum, igniting his body like a firecracker before he detonated into a shower of vivid sparks. Every droplet that met the skin of his comrades around reacted and set them ablaze, erupting a wave of inferno that swept the earth clean with red tar. A great plume of blackness and amber shot into the sky and the rocks were shaken. The sound of the blast boomed and snapped by the headquarters who toiled away without a second thought for the commotion. Before his hell could cool, Lienz drew a second arrow and fired without thought, unleashing another world of damnation that fanned the turmoil. His enemies burned and were crushed by their own panicked horses. Few survived the attack as they crawled out of the thick smoke. Fleeing, the screams from within slowly diminished with the clobbering of confused hooves. The boy’s eifer had boiled away his own sweat, exhaling steam from his mouth as he panted. His legs failed to withstand his exertion of eifer that he could not quite control yet and fell to his knees having seen his duty realized. But out of the gaps in the clouds, the wounds of the Confederates quickly clotted. The cavalry rushed past, drumming in their advance, and though their formation had been mauled, they quickly regained themselves. Without a sense of threat, they charged however fast their mounts would allow.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfupDkTCeGz
Sighing, upon seeing the ineffectiveness of even sheer power, Nikola muttered with his teeth gritting, “Our fates are to be toyed with by the gods afterall.” Fists clenched with another plot, the general turned his back on his collapsing army whilst his archer knelt watching helplessly.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBMbiTiams
The boy’s eyes had turned from elation of battle to the dismay of its consequences having suffered the ailment of his first defeat. All that he could do was not enough as the cavalry of both flanks crashed into his comrades that he hoped he could have protected sooner. Rus sabers slashed into the backs of the Bohemer and he could feel the full weight of death asudden, bearing down on his shoulders. The devastation that he had wrought against the enemy had been reflected onto his own allies, falling rank by rank and being stamped down by the onslaught of the predator. As he retreated from the edge, Nikola’s face frowned with anger, until the footfalls from a man came onto his path and barricaded him. Halted, the general reeled back in surprise, who recognized not his face but the famed blades on his waist. His presence was shocking to describe the least.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHi7Vft1WR
“A-Apollo…” Nikola uttered the name of a god who was no god afterall.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VlZKagQmT
Tapping his cigarette, the Apollo let his ember cool and the ends of his smoke became ash that fed the grass with food for the earth to grow again.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeN2zORo3pJ
The earth rumbled and the clouds descended. Bodies bashed against one another as sabers chased for blood. The cavalry neared and the infantry pushed to make way. Panic was set as their minds had all but become depleted from their broken spirits. Their souls had shattered against the force that they could not withstand, abandoning the hard-earned front and land that they had sacrificed much for. Crashing into their own and falling over their retreat, they embarrassingly clawed their way through their comrades to make for the rear. With the fear of an enemy clawing at them, cutting away at their backs, only the thought of saving themselves and no one else endured. Streaming out of the gap that they had miraculously formed that was as quickly sealed, their lives were given in exchange for a moment of glory. Many knew that their day had come to an end. The loyal Bohemer were sunken beneath the lion’s jaws.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrigvBgzPa
Looking around, his game of risk was collapsing, whose call initiated this attack began with him, everyone looked to him to end it. “Withdraw! Withdraw!” Žižka shouted, turning his mount around.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN85IFjbDDS
There was an ease on their heart knowing that fleeing would not be breaking orders for the men continued their withdrawal nonetheless. Indistinguishable soldiers, all holding a humiliated demeanor all the same formed a rapid of troops swept back by the brush of the advancing Rus, knowing only offense, without the defense that they were so famed for. The rush bred fresh disorder, but apart from the levies, even the century’s numbers had dwindled to no more than a fifth remaining since the melee. Their faces had changed and had grown old within a few hours, their eyes dried of color washed out by tears. As they ran beside their major, their backs were hunched and their steps were slow. Their sabers were almost dragging in the mud. However, they were unlike one who had been convinced of his own strength. Sailing his blade into the flesh of his enemies, he broke away their joints from their bones. His attack appeared more a frenzied brawl with quickening strikes and deepening cuts. He had forgotten that everyone else he knew was still at war. The comrades who were always beside him became non-existent entities as the lightning in his eyes burrowed into the hearts of the Confederates, striking fear in even the shadows of men who slowly retreated away from the fiendish boy.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nYCTxyQNa
“Arminius,” Colt grabbed his friend by the shoulder and pulled him back. “Staying here won’t do you any good.” He tried to convince him to retreat.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPrWAl8IBI
Arminius smacked Colt’s hand away from his shirt and reminded him, “We are blessed by the gods, Colt.” Exempt of secret anymore, he asked blatantly, “Have you forgotten?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrTnPkAlpH
“What would that do with just the two of us?” Colt retaliated with some sense.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAb0JoZ02F
The squad stood their ground and followed the will of Arminius whose judgement, they sensed, somehow overruled anything that they believed in. As if he was the advisor or the de facto leader of the band. But the boy that they had chosen was stubborn. Perhaps, as they were witnessing with their own eyes, how bloodshed can alter even the most resolute by planting the seed of ambition. Perhaps a coup was the better call.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQATNrmOfkU
“Then would you rather return defeated?” Argued Arminius, digging into Colt’s pride. “Must we wait until we find another opportunity as ample as this?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8N67ZORaT
“An opportunity to what?” Lev budged in with his own sound thought.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqOWA6oYjP
Arminius turned to him and lured his comrades with something that they could not deny was enslaving their desires, “The head of a general.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsCR9plpNz
Their allies began to trickle away. The cavalry would not wait for their retreat. The flags and standards of the Confederacy broke out of the unseen and their battle cries grew nearer. Efforts to command the unhearing became louder but the troops would not heed. In time, the squad had become the rearguard, the buffer between their comrades’ swords and the core of the enemy stripped thin. There, just over the mountain of heads, the banner of the Summer Lion was revealed. Its gold shone over the thousands, hazed by the mist of sweat. The dust from the marching coated its vibrant colors but it was clear what was there.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkVojOQEDn
Arminius pointed out for his comrades, “Can’t you see?” His eyes were pinned on a single thing, naive, lacking reason, “The battle can be won with one more death or thousands more.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Vzrw6p7Cf
From behind, Julien tried to speak some sense into his friend, “It’s a gamble, Armin.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7xeP9czSg
“What happened to the benevolent and calm?” Colt mocked with names that once it would not have been entirely false to claim him so.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsHUijiDtg
Grabbing his comrade by his jacket who would soon rather be his rival, Arminius berated him before all, “Anyone can be calm if their blade weren’t on their enemy’s neck.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYgP5ZAJLm
A girl came in between and pushed the two away from each other. Raising her sword and knife, she pointed both her blades at the boys’ chests and threatened to pierce them.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpj43McFxa
“You can entertain your desires,” Alexandria bid her comrades, turning to each with a disappointed frown. “But I am not dying here today for the sake of your dreams.” Focused on Colt, she hoped to find with him commonality.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51IYXYSJTH
Sure that the lancers had heeded, she lowered her blades and held her glare that kept them away. Shoving past her squad, Alexandria joined the currents of the many, adamant in her belief that she was not fleeing but knowing that there are better fights to be had another day. Taken of one, there were seven remaining. As soldiers around, their comrade volunteers, and levies saw them unmoving, some were selfless enough to have shared their time to encourage their withdrawal as well. But words, like bodies, were easily cut down and were flooded by the oncoming deluge. Time was no more and the Rus were at their heels. The enemy’s faces became clear shapes. Minding the words said by every who passed them, the squad’s legs were fixed to the ground. With thoughts running, battling what was right or what seemed sensible, the greed of glory and the pride that they carried created a wrath that their minds failed to withstand. Such sins overwhelmed the calm that they were typically capable of. That of the temperate knowing to subside their ambitions. The patience in the game of war. Whilst the talkative quarreled, one among the few suffered no such traits. As if since young, his anger had been set in place. For no matter the conclusion of others, his unforgiving nature had a will that was equal to the gods’ fates.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLT0s81rP5
Wiping the blood soaked on his blade with his sleeve, for how few times he did, he chose then to speak, “You do have a valid point, Reichner.” Agreeing, Arber walked up to Arminius with a pledge of belief, “I shall trust you in this.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsEPYzXgEl
Hesitant to accept, Lev joked at the voiceless’s sudden input, “Why did it have to be now for when you speak, Arber?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡle2C2QpEKE
Grunting and stomping around, a brute punched his temple with annoyance. As he bounced his sword in his hand, he exhaled a breath out of his swollen chest when he was supposed to have decided upon the matter.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QLiRMi7WP
“For fucks’ sake…” Gin seemed to have given his answer and troubled himself no more.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXJBQllCPI
Julien knew that it was fate and battled no longer but to put his full trust in his lancer, comrade, and importantly, friend. As Miklós looked over his shoulder, he gave a gentle nod with a saber in his hand like a toy. Seeing that the squad had come to an accord, whether they were dubious or not, his comrades were certainly brave to follow. The Bohemer had all but nearly gone and the Rus were a few ranks away, hacking through a moving forest of stragglers. Looking towards the banner, there was much that he was unsure of. But he knew that his future could not be decided upon by passiveness and that they would not suffer the laughter of others if they ever succeeded in this endeavor.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjs6fmhdIK
Walking by, Colt landed a finger on Arminius’s chest and warned, “You better not fuckin’ run off.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYCFRG74Zm
Twirling his saber, he chose first to run into the fray, pushing aside his retreating allies who gave no second thought for what a surreal sight that they were witnessing. The seven chose to battle out of betrayal rather than withdraw. Forming a path for the squad who followed on, one by one, the foreign soldiers streamed out. As Arminius took to command from the rear, protecting Julien guarded before him, he fixed the pace of their attack without the beating of drums and the blaring of horns. Their foolish incursion thus began.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGf92muXgvt
Vestige X
Extract from The Six Seasons, Mvt. VI
Winter: The End of War, Sect. VII55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02lr7AdsdD
Ambition is an ugly thing. But entertaining it is an even uglier thing. It belongs in the deepest reaches of the ninth hell and beyond where light has no place. It is an unholy sin. A sin that took the lives of many great men. The father of mine. His grandfather before. The friends of mine. The enemies of mine. The only way to live is a life without ambition but we are incapable of knowing it possible.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4V6dgmbuTz
Even as a child, I falsely believed everything that I was fed. Perhaps it is in my blood. Perhaps not. All I ever wanted to be was a scholar and a casual practitioner of the sword. Ride across the country and pay tours to the poor of the realm. Manage peace with my old rivals. Studious in nature and nothing more. But throughout the history of humanity, among the billions who have lived and died, there was not one person who became what they desired to become. That is why they are called dreams. If it could be achieved, then that would be reality. Instead, I am left a mass murderer.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZRE6A4P1S
The rant that I had given is unlike myself, but I felt it worthy belonging here, in this final chapter, on behalf of all those who came before me. Mayhaps one day, I will pick up the pen again. Mayhaps not. If they decide to write about me, then I implore them to make it a short, seventh movement. I need not the space equivalent to that of the ancient order. I do not belong on there. I only binded the story that they wrote.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiOCNs9iyz
The world is at an end. The world that we know of. War will be no more. War has no ends for as long as I live. Yet how many have I trampled over to fulfill the duty as a peace-bringer. The dreams of my forebearers. Ambition is an ugly thing. And I am tired.
— Lycoris
