Awakening

The days of summer were growing shorter as autumn and winter was making a slow approach to the kingdom of Feawen. The sun set earlier in the evening with each passing day, but after a good summer the fields all around the kingdom were just about ready for harvesting. The farmers, their families and their hired help were preparing for the weeks of hard work that it would be to collect the crops collected and indoors before the frost would claim them instead.

Matthias was the name of a young man living just outside the small town of Griven on the far edge of the kingdom. He had lived with his mother on a small farm ever since his father had died when he was just a few winters of age. The man had fought in the king's army during the last wars between the kingdoms 15 years ago and he had been killed in the last battle that had given them victory over the neighboring kingdom.

This year was his first one completely alone. His mother had passed away the previous winter and so he knew better than many of the others how important it was to get the harvest done in time. The last winter had come faster than anyone could have predicted and most of the farmers had been unprepared, so the frost had claimed a large portion of that year's crops.

Matthias had done his best to provide food for both himself and his mother by spending the winter months hunting, but he had very little luck in doing so. Most of the animals had left their normal grounds in favor of places where they could find more food. His mother feared they didn't have enough food to last them both through the cold season, so when she fell ill in the coldest of winter, she took her own life in the middle of the night when nobody could stop her, hoping that with one person less to feed, her son would make it until summer.

Then spring came, and Matthias was still alive.

The entire village and most parts of the kingdom had suffered during the last winter. They had done the best they could to help each other, but mainly people had it difficult enough feeding their own families and so many had perished in the cold and darkness.

The only place in the kingdom that had not suffered was the capitol. The winter didn't seem to have hit them as hard as everywhere else and they had more than enough food for the citizens. People from the smaller villages had traveled to the capitol in hope of buying supplies, but they could barely afford to buy enough to help them the slightest.

Every trader in the big city was strictly under control by the king and he was in charge of the prices for every shopkeeper around. The farmers around the capitol gave a large portion of their crops to feed the kings army and the rest of their crops were sold for far higher prices than in the rest of the kingdom. The other traders that did not deal in food paid high taxes to the king to pay the soldier's salaries, but they still earned far more than anyone outside of the capitol could ever dream of.

It was a bad system and everybody knew it. The king was fully aware that with a winter as bad as the last one had been, people were forced to pay the traders in the city whatever prizes was demanded if they wanted to survive the winter. The rich became richer and the poor became poorer and the king couldn't care less, as long as army were fed and supplied.

The king was desperate to keep his army functioning. The kingdom had kept the peace for 15 years now after the last big war. But two years past, rumors had started to spread throughout the kingdom that their neighboring kingdom was building an army again and the king immediately started taking precautions. Over the course of only a year he had doubled the size of his army and that caused the taxes to rise significantly. A majority of the villagers in the smaller towns on the farther edges of Feawen had already been poor before the taxes were raised and then the winter took their crops, leaving them worse off than ever.

The king had no concern for his people. He only cared about being able to fight of his neighboring kingdoms should they ever start a war against him ever again.

It was the day for one the final large markets before the first snow would fall. Matthias only owned a small patch of land that had barely been large enough to provide him and his mother with enough food for the winters in the past. He was living alone now, but with the king preparing for a war that might not ever come, he knew would be forced to give some of his harvest to the crown and would probably have another winter where food would be scarce.

So now Matthias was on his way to the marketplace with a bundle of pelts he had acquired over summer by hunting, hoping they would sell. He could certainly need the extra income they would provide, especially with the latest increase in taxes.

But approaching the town square, thing didn't seem to be as they should. Matthias could hear loud shouting somewhere in the distance, and it was not the shopkeepers yelling out their prices in order to attract customers. Some of the voices were demanding, while others sounded more panicked and desperate.

He figured it could not be a good sign at all, so in order to stay clear of trouble he chose to avoid the main road into town and follow some of the smaller streets that zigzagged between the houses towards the market where it was less likely for anybody to see him and he could maybe find out who or what was causing the ruckus in the square.

Reaching the line of houses closest to the square, Matthias pressed his back against one of the walls and edged close enough to take a peek around the corner. He got a clear view of the marked square, or what was supposed to have been one at an earlier state. Now however it was a disaster area. Several of the stands had forcefully been knocked over so that food and other gods were now spread all over the ground.

The streets were crawling with men wearing light suits of armor that were decorated with the royal seal. The kings own men were obviously the cause behind the chaos and there had to be between 30 or 40 of them. Matthias could notice several of them shouting at one of the traders when the man failed to give them what they wanted; one of them grabbed a hold of the man's coat and threw him to the ground. Just moment after the others joined in and they started kicking him repeatedly, even when he begged for mercy.

Matthias had to bite down on his lip in order to not cry out in protest when nobody else showed any signs of stopping the soldiers.

His heart almost stopped when he heard his own name sharply being called. In alarm he threw his back against the wall once more to make certain that he was out of view. But relief washed over him when he noticed who had called his name. It was a wrinkled old man who was urgently signaling for him to step inside.

The old man was no stranger to Matthias. His name was Sigurd and he was one of the most respected men in the entire village having lived and gathered experience for many years of life. He was known to many for his kindness and when Matthias had lost his own father as a child, Sigurd had made sure that he and his mother had everything they needed in order to get by.

"What is going on?" Matthias asked in a cautious whisper when he as quietly as possibly shut the door to the alleyway behind him, worried that anyone outside could hear them.

Sigurd stepped over to a window that had a view out to the town square and pulled aside the curtains and waived Matthias over so they could both look out. "I assume you notice how that were the kings men out there" Sigurd muttered darkly as a frown made its way to his face.

Matthias swallowed nervously as he gazed out the window and watched in horror as the guards had moved on from tipping over stands to breaking down doors just a few houses down from Sigurd's home. "But what do they want?" he asked nervously.

"We have all heard about the rumors of war and how the king has ordered us all to pay higher taxes." Sigurd said angrily and then tugged the curtains shut just in front of Matthias so they would not have to watch their town be torn to pieces by guards that were supposed to protect them. "Apparently the king doesn't seem to think that is enough and now he has sent his soldiers around his own kingdom to acquire the necessary resources, be that food or weapons and he do not care how they attain it."

They were interrupted by heavy footsteps just on the porch in front of the house, followed by an insistent knocking. Matthias tensed in his chair, but Sigurd only cursed quietly under his breath, but seemed otherwise unfazed as if nothing could bother him anymore. "They are going house to house" he whispered. "You better get out of here boy, get out the backdoor and run back to your farm. You better pray that they will get everything they want from the village and won't bother with the houses further out."

"But what about you?" Matthias protested weakly as the old man pulled him up from his seat and pushed him towards the back door. The knocking on the front door got more insistent and they could hear the loud command from a soldier that they should open the door immediately.

"I will be fine" Sigurd gave him a reassuring, but weak smile. "Just get out of here."

Matthias opened the door and shut it behind himself. What he had not expected was to be met by three soldiers standing around him in a half circle and pointing swords at him. From the other side of the door he could hear a loud crash as the front door was broken down and the raised voices that followed. He recognized Sigurd's yell in protest and guessed the other angry voices belonged to the soldiers.

"Well, well, well" the soldier in front of Matthias said mockingly as he stepped forward and raised his sword to let the sharp edge rest at Matthias' throat so it threatened to bit through his skin at any moment. "Trying to escape are we? Well I think not, you are coming with us boy."

"What are you talking about?" Matthias tried to ask, but the soldier ignored him completely. The two others sheathed their swords and stepped up to each grab a hold of one of Matthias' arms so they could haul him out of the alley and out to the market square. As he was being pulled along the road he could see that Sigurd was being pulled out of his house by the soldiers. He had a line of blood running down his face from a cut on his forehead. When Sigurd noticed him, he could see the sorrow in his eyes.

The soldiers pulled Sigurd out in the middle of the square where it was a small height that stood just a little higher than the rest of the flattened area that was the market square. It was an excellent place for making announcements. And it seemed that was just what the soldiers seemed to have in mind for now as they pulled the two men towards the small height and in view of everybody who were present.

"Gather around everyone!" one of the soldiers commanded. His suit of armor was different from everybody else's. The symbols were much more detailed and the cloak around his shoulders was made of a finer fabric than the rest of his men had, pointing him out as their leader.

Most of the crowd looked like they would rather be anywhere but at de marketplace place and Matthias could not blame them as he was sharing their wishes. The soldiers were blocking off every exit, making it impossible for anyone to sneak their way out without having a soldier ready to force them back. Matthias could read their faces as he was being dragged closer to the height by the soldiers and was placed beside Sigurd. The two of them had nowhere to escape, so the soldiers let go of them.

Most of them people were terrified. Several of the women were keeping their faces down, avoiding looking up at the commander. Some of the men were angry and Matthias could see how they were angrily gritting their teeth and clenching fists by their sides. But they all remained silent, for they knew that there was nothing they could do.

"I am very disappointed in you" The commander shouted. "Just now we caught this old man trying to escape our men through a back door when we knocked on his door to kindly ask for our share." The commander stepped down to grab a hold of Sigurd and pull him up on the small height to make a point. "We come to this village on by the king's order to gather supplies for the army so that we can protect the entire kingdom of Feawen from danger. And then you treat us with hostility, refuse to give us what we need."

"That is a lie!" Sigurd yelled out. "You are taking everything we have. If you keep taking all our food, none of us will survive the winter. And you say you are defending and protecting the people of this kingdom when in reality you are killing us."

Only a few people in the crowd dared to cheer at the comment. The soldiers yelled angry commands at them to shut up. One of the soldiers stepped up to the old man to grab his arms and restrain him.

The commander angrily withdrew a long sword from the sheath resting by his hip and aimed it threateningly at Sigurd. The crowd started yelling out protests, begging for them to spare the old man.

"Defying us is the same as defying the king" the commander snarled. "That is a crime punishable by death." He then lifted his sword above his shoulder ready to strike.

That was when Matthias was unable to hold back any longer. "No!" he screamed in panic at the top of his lungs and everybody turned their attention to him instead. The soldiers that were supposed to be guarding him had been focused on the old man and the commander and so the boy was free to make a leap for the commanding officer. There was a branch on the ground and hi picked it up on his way and hit the commander's wrist with it so he cried out in pain and dropped the blade with a clatter.

A sudden silence ensued. If a coin were to be dropped, everyone would have been able to hear it. They were all staring at the young man, still clutching on to the branch that had just been used to attack and disarm one of the king's soldiers.

"You little shit!" The commander hissed furiously. "You are going to regret doing that!"

Matthias suddenly panicked, realizing what he had just done and backed away from the enraged commander, keeping an eye on him the whole time. His mind was desperately working to find a way out of the situation he had managed to get entangled in.

"No, Matthias" Sigurd cried out, his voice coming out chocked as if he was struggling to keep back a flood of emotion. He was struggling against the soldier that was holding on to him, but he did not have the strength to break free of the hold.

The other soldiers were drawing closer and drew their weapons as well. They were completely surrounding the terrified young man to make sure that he had no way of escaping. Their commander signaled for them to stay back and he picked up his own sword from the ground again and angrily glared at the boy.

"Let's give you something to be sad about shall we?" the commander hissed maliciously. "Consider this to be your fault." He once again lifted up his sword and without hesitating this time he drove it though the old man's stomach and Sigurd gasped in surprise and stared down at the blood that was quickly soaking his clothes in red. The commander drew his sword back out and the old man fell over on the ground.

Matthias let out a heartbroken cry let out in sorrow and fury. He was about to leap forward, but the commander aimed the blood dripping sword at him instead as he grinned cruelly.

Matthias lifted the branch he had never let go of ready to strike. It was his only available weapon and here his opponent was aiming at him with sharply honed steel blade and with the skills of a true combatant. And then there were the soldiers just a few steps away with weapons aimed at him to make sure that he did not run off.

All around them people had begun to yell out more loud protests and cries in horror. The soldiers were fighting to keep the crowd back, not being careful at all as they did so. They whacked one man over the head with the butt end of an axe and e keeled over clutching his bleeding forehead.

For Matthias time seemed to slow down and could practically hear his heart beat as if it was trying to fight its way out of his chest. Every sound and impression was getting almost too intense to bear. He would never be able to survive against a skilled swordsman and he was dreading the death that would most likely come to him just in a moment. He let his gaze roam quickly around the market square where the situation was quickly turning even more disastrous than it had been earlier in the day.

He could see a terrified woman holding on to her small child, trying to protect it from the massed around her. Her husband stepped up in front of her to shield her as well. Then there were the men that were trying to get through the groups of soldiers blocking of the escape routes away from the market.

But among all the chaos there was one person that stood out from all the others and he seemed completely calm about the entire affair. It was a young man, stunningly beautiful and standing all by himself a bit away from the rest of the crowd and Matthias could not recognize him as one of the villagers. He was elegantly dressed and light blonde hair was dancing around his face. But what really caught Matthias' attention were his eyes, dark pools of nothing that seemed to look right into his very soul.

Matthias locked gaze with the stranger and the word seemed to stop completely until the young man shifted his gaze. Matthias followed his line of sight in a dreamlike state and was ripped back to reality when he realized the commander right was about to lash out at him. He barely managed to step aside and avoid the blade that instead hit the ground.

He was back in reality where it was a question of life and death. The commander was furious that he had missed the distracted target and Matthias used the opportunity to launch an attack of his own.

He whacked the commander over his back with all his strength and earned a groan in pain from his opponent. But it had not really caused any damage at all. Matthias wished the branch was heavier in his hand, for the soldier was getting angrier by the second having a small village farming boy humiliating him in front of everybody. A few of the other soldiers drew closer, having so long avoided interfering in the fight.

Then Matthias could hear someone in the crown yelling out his name. The voice was gruff and he recognized it to belong to the smith's apprentice in the village, Berwald. A few moments later he could see the man plowing his way through the crowd carrying a sword.

Matthias dodged yet another furious attack from the commander before Berwald got close to the line of soldiers that was trying to push the furious crowd back. "Catch!" Berwald yelled and threw the blade. It landed on the ground a few meters away from Matthias and he scrambled to get a hold of it.

"They are going to attack us!" the commander shouted. His eyes were wild with anger and his hair was glued to his forehead by sweat. "Bring them down! They have to die!"

All of the soldiers now drew their weapons and panic broke out for real. People were screaming and immediately started launched at the soldiers. It was fight or die for them now. The men that had circled in Matthias and the commander were aiming their attention toward the distressed crowd instead so they could help their comrades defeat the desperate crowd.

Matthias hurled the branch at the commander and the man growled in anger. The sword felt wrong in his hands, but it was still better than a mere twig. It was heavier and way more dangerous. There was no time to linger on it, and with a roar he charged at the commander who was still trying to regain his balance and he hit the man dead on in the chest.

Matthias had to fight back his nausea as he heard bone break and the sickening sound of metal cutting its way through skin and muscle. The commander fell over with a chocked gurgle. Matthias was still clutching on to the sword and landing atop him, driving the blade in even further. He was about to hyperventilate. He had killed animals several times, but never had e even thought about harming a human being.

"Matthias" someone in the crowd called out but he didn't know who. "Watch out!"

Matthias ripped the sword back and whirled around on the ground so he ended up on his back on the hard stepped ground. He lifted up the blade just in time to block a slash aimed at his face and kicked at the attacker's feet so the other man tumbled over. Matthias let out another shout in anger as he got up and cut the man's throat with a swing of his sword.

This kill was even messier than the first on had been and Matthias could feel droplets of blood land on his face and he had to fight back another wave of nausea as he observer the red liquid soak up in the dirt.

The little village had turned into a nightmare. He was alone on the height now and he took the time to look at his surroundings even if all the blood through his body made everything seem unclear. The crowd seemed to have taken down almost all of the soldiers by now and he could hear their dying screams as the remaining were being slaughtered. It turns out that a group of well trained soldiers was no match to close to 200 desperate villagers fighting for their lives.

The butcher had been in the crowd and he was wielding a small knife. The village smith had taken a sword from his forgery; the same had his apprentice, Berwald done. There were a few others armed by now, having stolen the weapons from fallen soldiers.

Then Matthias noticed the young man again, the stranger with the dark blue eyes. The man was now staring at him curiously with his head tilted just slightly to the side in wonder and with a playful smile tugging at his lips.

Matthias was about to get up and follow this stranger, wanting to ask him who he was, but then a man came up to him. Matthias instinctually lifted the blade and growled threateningly at the threat.

But the man put his blade down and held his open palms towards the boy. "It's okay Matthias" a calm and powerful voice said. "It's me Torleif. The soldiers are dead now. You can put down the sword."

Matthias was fighting to keep back his tears as he recognized the man, a few of them still escaped and he furiously wiped them away. Torleif was a known figure to everyone in the village. He had fought in the last war and was considered a hero. Torleif reached out a hand and helped Matthias get up and gave him a comforting slap on the back as he whispered. "It is always hard taking another man's life. Trust me, I know."

The entire market square was drenched in blood and dead soldier. Reality seemed to finally hit the villagers as they realized what they had done. Relief for having won was quickly replaced with horror.

"Dear gods" one of the women cried out above the silence that had fallen over them. "What have we done? The king will have us all murdered for this."

"The king was slowly killing us before all this!" Torleif roared back. "Sigurd was right. We can't let the king take all our food in order to fuel a war that might not even be coming anyways."

"But what do you suggest we do now?" one of the villagers asked desperately. "When the king finds out we killed his soldiers he will surely send an entire army in order to punish us and make an example out of us for any other village that threatens to revolt against him."

"We have to fight!" Matthias spoke up with certainty and everyone stared at him. He was still clutching on to the sword that had killed the commander and one of the soldiers. "We have to stand up for ourselves and show this king that he cannot break us down and we have to show the other villagers that if we work together we can bring down the king and stop living in fear of soldiers that are supposed to be keeping us safe and not steal our food."

The villagers stared at him in shock, some in horror. But he could also see a glimpse of determination here and there and soon enough the same determination seemed to spread. Matthias could feel Torleif put a hand on his shoulder and he could practically sense the man grinning widely in confidence.

"To war!" Torleif roared as he held a fist up in the air. "For our freedom!"

"For freedom!" the rest of the villagers cheered back.