The Rise of the Vengiri

Written by Justice

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Lost War................................................................2
Chapter 2: The Coup......................................................................9
Chapter 3: The Alexandrian Wars................................................16
Chapter 4: The Luxidoorian War..................................................28
Chapter 5: The Imperians.............................................................35
Chapter 6: The Battle of Morion Ford.........................................41
Chapter 7: The Siege of Idor........................................................45
Chapter 8: The Greed of Reuan...................................................52
Chapter 9: The Battle of Morio....................................................56
Chapter 10: The Siege of Vengiria...............................................60
Epilogue: The Judgment of ∑∫ỹ...................................................65
Map of Polytopia..........................................................................67
 Chapter 1: The Lost War
A Vengiri warrior was standing on the walls of Vengiria,
the capital of Vengir. In the distance, he saw dark figures
approaching. Terror came over him and he ran to his commander.
When he approached the man he spoke, “Commander! I saw the
enemy approaching from the west”. “Show me where you saw
them” said the Commander. The warrior brought the commander
to the wall. The sound of the panicking troops was deafening. The
commander saw the figures, but they were much closer than when
the warrior first saw them. Turning to the warrior, he said “Go to
King Darius and tell him that the enemy is approaching quickly
from the west. They appear to be coming here”. The warrior
turned and quickly scurried to the citadel.

King Darius was in the citadel speaking with his

commanders. There was debate on what the Bardurs were going
to do next. Ever since the beginning of the war, the Vengiri had
lost battle after battle. Now the economy was shattered and the
people had no spirit or confidence in the King. The Bardurs had
last been seen marching east in the north. They might be planning
on taking the Northern Lands since they held most of the metal
manufactures.

At this moment, the warrior burst into the chamber. The

King stood and shouted in anger, “Who are you to enter into my
chamber without summoning or request!”. “My commander has
sent me to you with an urgent message”. “Speak!” ordered the
King, still slightly angry at the warrior. “The enemy is
approaching quickly from the west. He believes that they’re
coming to capture the city. It’s been about five minutes since I left
the wall, and they were moving quickly even while I was there”
said the warrior. David Vengir, who was standing next to the King
the whole time, said “This is what I’ve been saying all along.
King William Bardur has been marching west with the goal of
taking the capital, but none of you would listen since I was only
the Captain of the Imperial Guard”. “You were not permitted to
speak in the first place Captain David, but I allowed you despite
this” said Darius.

Turning to the warrior, Darius said “Tell all of the garrison

commanders to prepare for a siege”. The warrior bowed and ran
out of the chamber. “What’s the plan M’ Lord?” asked one of
commanders. “We will wait out the siege” said Darius. Captain
David, interjected saying “You must charge out with the army and
attack him. If we just sit here, they’ll just slowly starve us out”.
Despite the commanders and the King ignoring him most of the
time; Darius said “That’s a good plan Captain David. We will do
that”. “I will sally out. Commander Fieldings, you manage the
defenses”.

King Darius marched with five thousand men towards the

western side of the city. King William and his army of twenty
thousand warriors was only several miles away.
 King William looked at the small enemy force. His
general came to him. “What is it General Harrison?” asked the
King. “The army is prepared for battle” said Harrison. “As you
can see, the enemy forces are small, but they have troops on the
walls. They will likely use this to their advantage and fire arrows
down on us”. “Do you have a solution?” asked the King.

“I do M’ Lord. If we come close with a small detachment,

we may be able to make they chase us and bring them out of
range of the city” said Harrison. “Who will command the
detachment?” asked the King. “I will” said Harrison. “I respect
your optimism, but you are too valuable to lose if anything were
to go wrong” said the King. “Then may I propose we send
Captain Samuel?” asked Harrison. “He is a man with great
abilities” he added. “It shall be done. Go, find the man, and bring
him here” said the King. Harrison left to get the captain. William
turned to the city and muttered under his breath, “You will fall
soon”.

General Harrison brought the Captain to the King. “You

are Captain Samuel, am I correct?” asked the King. “I am Captain
Samuel, at your service” said Samuel as he bowed. “My general
has told me of your abilities in battle. I have a special mission,
would you be up to the task?” asked the King. “If it pleases your
majesty, I will do anything” said the Captain. “I need you to go to
the enemy with a detachment of warriors and draw them away
from the city and it’s defenses and towards our army” said the
King. “When?” asked Samuel. “Prepare your men, and I will tell
you when” said the King. “It shall be done” said Samuel before
leaving. “He’s impressive” thought the King.

“A small detachment of warriors broke off from the

Bardur!” shouted a Vengiri warrior in the King’s ranks. It was
around four in the afternoon when Captain Samuel was ordered to
draw them out. The swordsmen approached the ranks. The
undisciplined Vengiri troops charged after them. When King
Darius saw what was happening, he shouted “Charge!”.

They ran for miles, once Samuel reached the army; the
went through to the center of the army. Darius saw this and
realized his mistake. They was far from the city defenses, the sun
was in their eyes because it was nearing evening and they were
attacking towards the west, and they were exhausted from running
whilst the detachment was now resting and the army they faced
was larger and ready.

The sound of horns was deafening. The Bardur

swordsman charged and the cavalry, which was on the sides,
forward and to the sides. The Vengiri put up a desperate defense,
but once the cavalry reached the flank; it was over. King William
shouted to King Darius, “Surrender or die!”. “I surrender!”
shouted back King Darius. A horn blew from the Bardurs
signaling to stop fighting. “Drop your weapons!” shouted King
William. “Do it!” ordered King Darius. The Vengiri men dropped
their swords. “King Darius! Come and we will speak, the rest of
you, form a line and come” shouted King William.

King Darius approached the Bardur King. “What do you

want?” asked Darius. “All of your land west of the Southern
River” said William. “If you grant this, we will have peace, and
you and your men will live”. Darius, seeing no way out and
seeing that if didn’t grant this they’d just take all of Vengir,
agreed. He signed the treaty that William had prepared and they
had peace.

Darius and his men took a march of shame back to

Vengiria. Once they returned, Darius entered the citadel. He gave
an order to recall an army that was sent to the north to protect the
Northern Lands. Once they returned, he entered the balcony from
the citadel and addressed both the army and people.

“Fellow Vengiri” said Darius. “We lost the war against the
Bardurs. You have all come expecting pay, and I deeply regret
that we have had to make this decision but we cannot pay you.
The Bardurs have stolen the Western Lands, and this war has
made us poor. But we will some day regain our honor as a nation
and restore the greatness of our name!”.

Darius turned to leave but a voice shouted out, “If you

hadn’t been a foolish king, we would’ve beaten the Bardurs”. He
turned and ordered for him to be brought to him. And then he left
and sat on his throne.
 The man was brought. “Who are you to challenge me?”
asked the King. “I am Alexander Vengir. A warrior from the
north” said the man. “It would be wise not to call your king a
fool” said the King. “Why should I lie, you are fool. Our nation is
great and you have failed us” said Alexander. “I have heard of
what happened, you failed by your own foolishness”. The King
stood in a rush and shouted in anger, “Your hubris has caused you
to say rash and foolish things”. “They are true things!” spat back
Alexander.

The King turned to Captain David, who was present, and

shouted “I’m done with this man, lock him up”. Alexander rushed
at the King, but David unsheathed his sword, grabbed Alexander,
and put the blade against his neck. “Not another move, or you’re
dead” said David.

David, holding the position, escorting him out of the

chamber. Three guards saw him. One of them asked “Do you
need assistance Captain?”. “I should be fine” said David. As they
slowly marched towards the prison, with David still holding the
blade towards his neck; he whispered to Alexander, “I understand
your hatred of King Darius, I’d rather see him gone”. “Then why
are you doing this?” asked Alexander. “Because your actions will
only cause a civil war. If you truly want a great Vengir and a great
king, you must gain support from the people, otherwise you’ll fail
and only cause a succession crisis”.
 Once they reached the prison, a guard shouted “Halt! Who
goes there?”. “Captain David Vengir, I have a prisoner and I must
meet Johnathan” shouted back David. The gate was opened,
David entered. Soon he was greeted by the Warden, Johnathan
Vengir. “I need this man on low level security” said David. Then
he whispered in Alexander’s ear, “Consider this a favor, those
who commit treason are regularly placed at the highest. If you
gain the support from the people, I will join you; but I cannot
guarantee the rest unless you gain their support”. Then he
sheathed his sword and gave Alexander to Johnathan and left.
 Chapter 2: The Coup
Three years after the surrender outside of Vengiria, three
years after Alexander was imprisoned; Alexander has been at
work. Ever since he was imprisoned, he was gaining support from
both prisoner and guard alike.

Alexander woke up in the same old gray cell. He got up

and exited his cell. After a few minutes of walking, he was
greeted by a friend he had made while in prison, Phillip Ai-Mo.
He was taken by the Vengiri during a previous war. “Good
morning, Alex” said Phillip.

“Ah, Phillip. I was just coming to get you” said Alexander.

“What is it?” asked Phillip. “I need you to gather members for a
meeting at one” said Alexander. “Sure thing, what’s it about”
asked Phillip. “It time we began working harder on the coup.
Darius has been continuing to fail as the king, and he’s continued
to be a fool” said Alexander. “I will make it happen” said Phillip.

Alexander reached the standard meeting location whilst

holding a candle. He opened the door, it was a dark room with no
windows. On the walls were unlit candles. In the center was a
rectangle wooden table with candles on it. Around the table were
wooden chairs, but there were three chairs at the end farthest from
the door; they were stone chairs, one at the end and two on the
sides. He used the candle to light the candles on the walls and
table.
 He reached the end of the long table and sat on the stone
chair and proceeded to wait for people to arrive for the meeting.
The door opened and Phillip along with about thirty other people
enter. Phillip walks towards Alexander and sits down on the stone
chair to his right. “How many more a coming?” asked Alexander.
“Just a few more” said Phillip.

Two other people slowly trickle in. Then, Johnathan enters

along with seven guards. He walks to Alexander and sits on the
stone chair to his left. Phillip turned to Alexander and said
“Everyone’s here”. Alexander stands motions for them to stop
their conversations. Then he sits.

Alexander spoke and said “I have called you all here to

discuss an important matter. As you know, Darius is still the King.
Over the past three years, I’ve been finding many of you. Those
discontent with the King. Many who’ve been placed here for
expressing this, from small mentions to speeches to people. He’s
not only shown himself as a fool but also a tyrant. This
organization here was made to bring him down but we’ve made
little progress. It’s time we fixed that”.

Johnathan spoke and said “We don’t have enough men. I

have many guards who are discontent and may be willing to join
the cause”. “But also, now’s a great time. Recently, King Darius
passed an edict that raised taxes, and it’s been shown that the
money’s just been spent by King Darius for his own purposes.
The people are up in arms about it”.
 Alexander pondered this. He didn’t currently have enough,
but if they did it now they might be able to gain the support of the
people and specifically the support of Captain David Vengir,
who’s men controlled the citadel and walls. But then again, what
if he doesn’t due to the low amount.

Phillip mentioned that they may be able to get people

when they get out but they wouldn’t be trained.

“I have an idea. We’ll get people from the prison, train and
organize them, then Johnathan will open the gates and join us
with his forces that he’ll get the support from, then we’ll storm
the castle, depose the King, and we’ll declare me the King” said
Alexander. Everyone murmured in agreement. “Any objections”
asked Phillip. There was a silence. Until one of the guards there
spoke and asked “What about the Imperial Guard?”. Alexander
turn to the guard and said “I trust that David will join us”.

Hearing no other objections, Phillip adjourned the

meeting. People stood up and began to leave. Johnathan turned to
Alexander and asked “How do you know?”. “Yeah, how do you
know that he won’t remain loyal” asked Phillip. “Because when I
was brought here, he brought me here and told me that if I got the
public’s support, he’d join my cause” said Alexander.

Several months later, Alexander sat in his room thinking.

He, along with Phillip, were granted, by Johnathan, to not have
forced labor like everyone else. A knock came to his cell door.
“Enter” said Alexander. Then he stood and turned to the door. A
man entered. His name was Hermes. He joined the organization
only a few months back and was the messenger and secretary of
Alexander. He spoke and said “Alexander, Phillip Ai-Mo has told
me to tell you this. He believes the army is ready for the coup”.
“Bring him and Johnathan to me and return” said Alexander. “It
shall be done” said Hermes before leaving.

Soon, the three entered independently of each other.

“Phillip, Hermes has told me that you believe that the army is
ready” said Alexander. “Indeed” said Phillip. “Is now a good time
Johnathan?” asked Alexander, since Johnathan knew more of the
outside world. “It is a great time, since King Darius had recently
increased taxes more” said Johnathan. “We will do that” said
Alexander.

They walked out of the cell. “Phillip, gather the army and
bring them to the courtyard. I will meet you there” said
Alexander. “Hermes, assist Phillip in this”. “Of course” said
Hermes. Johnathan and Alexander walked to the courtyard. “Are
you going to address the army?” asked Johnathan. “That was my
plan” said Alexander. “Why?”. “It may be better to do it from
there” said Johnathan pointing the wall above the gate. “That’ll
work” said Alexander.

He walked to the wall and sat on a bench in one of the

towers. Once the army had assembled, Alexander and Johnathan
walked out to the balcony. Alexander spoke loudly and said,
“King Darius failed us, but it is time that we rise up and
overthrow the foolish and tyrannical king! For Vengiria! For
Vengir! For the Kingdom!”. The people cheered. Alexander
turned to Johnathan and said in a voice that only Johnathan could
hear, “After you open the gate, gather your men and meet us at
the citadel” said Alexander. “I will do that. Good luck Alexander”
said Johnathan before leaving.

Alexander joined Phillip and the army and gave the order
to advance to the citadel. He only had six hundred men, including
Johnathan’s force. But they approached the citadel. “Surround the
citadel!” shouted Alexander to the commanders who relayed it to
the warriors. They barely had enough people to surround it.

Inside of the citadel, the King saw the force. He was

terrified since he knew that these Vengiri were after him. And so
he hid in a secret chamber. But David Vengir knew of the
chamber and the army. David stood on the balcony and shouted
down, “Who are you and what do you want?”. A voice shouted
back, “I am Alexander Vengir, and I want the King and the
throne”. David remembered him, he definitely had the support of
the people.

He called his subordinates together. He asked them, “We

have the opportunity to get rid of the tyrant king, should we do
so?”. The subordinates unanimously agree. “Grab the king from
the secret chamber and bring him here”. David returned to the
balcony with the King in chains and shouted “Alexander, I have
the King and I agree to your terms. You must enter for us to
speak, but not the entire army”.

Johnathan told Alexander that this was dangerous, but he

saw it as the path to victory and so he entered with five warriors
when the gate opened. “Remain here while I speak with him”
shouted Alexander.

Alexander entered the throne room and met David and no

one on the throne. “I wasn’t sure you’d succeed when you were
sent there” said David. “I did succeed” said Alexander. “Where’s
the king?”. “I have him” said David. He motioned to a guard to
bring him. The king entered the room in chains. “Do what you
will, he’s yours” said David. “I always hated Darius, and now is
the time that I could get rid of him”.

“Won’t you sit, King Alexander?” said David motioning to

the throne. Alexander grinned and said, “I need my commanders
and lieutenants as witnesses”. “Call them yourself Alexander”
said David pointing to the balcony. Alexander walked to the
balcony and called for his commanders and lieutenants to join
him.

When they arrived, Alexander relayed the events. Turning

to David, “Will you be the one to crown me?” asked Alexander.
“It’d be honor” said David.

Alexander knelt on the floor as David spoke “Alexander,

you have shown courage whilst Darius showed cowardliness,
you’ve shown ability whilst Darius has shown incapability,
you’ve showed that you care for the people whilst Darius has
shown evil. You will be known as King Alexander, I believe you
will do great things. Arise, King Alexander”. David crowned
Alexander. He and Phillip stood and walked to the balcony.
Phillip said “Long live the King!”. And the crowd chanted, “Long
live the King!”.

When Johnathan’s wife, Hannah Vengir, heard of the coup

and Johnathan’s involvement in it. She wrote a note and drank
poison. When Johnathan returned home, he read the suicide note.
It read “You betrayed the king, I cannot live with a husband that
would betray his leader”. Johnathan, in grief, committed suicide
through poison. Alexander was told the next day by Hermes of
Johnathan’s death. He stood and turned around, facing the throne.
After a pause, he said “He served well”.
 Chapter 3: The Alexandrian Wars
After being crowned King of Vengir, repealing Darius’ tax
edicts, and increasing the size of the army; King Alexander
summoned Phillip Ai-Mo and David, who was now both
Alexander’s military adviser and Captain of the Imperial Guard.

Once they both entered the throne room, Alexander rose

from his throne and said “Ah, you’ve arrived! Let’s go to a more
appropriate room”. “Okay” said David slowly.

Alexander led them to a room with a table. On the table

was a Map of the Great Sea and it’s surroundings. “Are you going
to tell us why you summoned us, Alexander?” asked David. “I
was currently instructing the new commanders” said Phillip.
Alexander held his hand up, signaling for them to stop.

He spoke, “I have called you because I have a goal for

Vengir. The Bardurs took the lands west of the Southern River,
and now we’ve reconstructed the economy, taken down Darius,
and grew the army; it’s time to regain revenge and take those
lands and the glory of the Kingdom back”. “You are proposing
that we go to war with the Bardurs” said David. “Yes, that is what
I am saying” said Alexander. “I don’t know about this, Alex. The
destroyed us in the last war, and we barely survived” said Phillip.

Alexander, getting frustrated and angry, spat back “We are

going to war! And that’s that!”. Phillip, afraid to dispute his
decision, murmured agreement but he didn’t really think it was a
great idea. “Phillip, prepare the army. David, we must talk about
our strategy” said Alexander. Phillip left the chamber.

“Alexander” said David. “I share your hatred of the

Bardurs, but it’s too soon. The commanders that are being trained
aren’t ready yet, and the warriors are largely new and haven’t
seen combat”. “David, I respect your opinion, but I have made my
choice” said Alexander severely. “Fine” said David admitting
defeat before sighing.

“To attack Bardur, we will need to cross the Southern

River” stated David. “We don’t have ship-building capabilities
though, which means we will either have to build a bridge or find
a ford”. Alexander, who had lived in the West as a child, pointed
to a spot on the map, where the river was, and said “There is ford
here, I lived near the river as a child”. “That... will work” said
David.

“We will cross from there and attack directly at Barduria,

after we capture the city, we’ll take the rest” said Alexander.
“What about the homeland?” asked David. “You will defend it”
said Alexander. “I don’t have the warriors for that” said David. “I
will supply them, but if an enemy army enters. You will defend”
said Alexander. The plan was complete, now it was time to
execute it.
 Alexander, along with David and Imperial Guards,
marched to the Vengiri Barracks, which was the former Vengiri
prison. “Halt! Who goes there” shouted a Guard. When he saw
Alexander, he shouted “Oh! King Alexander! I didn’t know
that-”. “Open the gates, young man” shouted Alexander.

The gates opened and they entered. As he approached the

massive courtyard, he saw a small mock fight in progress. “Halt!”
said Alexander. “I want to see this”. And so they watched it from
a distance.

On each side of the courtyard, there were several hundred

warriors holding wooden swords. But there was also two men, on
the opposite sides, who caught Alexander’s attention. They were
the training commanders. He heard the sound of a voice shout
“Commence battle!”. It was Phillip; he was training the men to be
commanders.

One side advanced towards the other, whilst the other

stayed put. Once the side came close, the commander shouted
“Swords up!”. The men held their swords up; ready for the
enemy. Once the enemy reached them, the commander shouted
“Attack and push!”. They were taking down many and
condensing the enemy so that they couldn’t lift their swords.

Some men in the back of the winning force began to

shrink and creep away. The commander saw this and shouted
“Where’s your honor! Get back and face the enemy”. Many of the
afraid men returned to formation. Eventually, the enemy broke
and scattered.

“The battle is over! Your force has been scattered” shouted

Phillip. “Henrik and Thomas, come to here. The rest of you are
dismissed”. The two commanders walked to the tower. “Henrik, I
am impressed with your abilities. You let the enemy come to you,
letting your men rest and you concentrated the enemy into a small
area so they couldn’t lift their weapons” said Phillip. “Thomas,
you have improved from last time”.

Thomas looked down in shame. “Don’t be ashamed of not

being the greatest, Thomas. You are learning” said Phillip.
Looking to both of them, Phillip said “You may leave now”.
Thomas left whilst Henrik gathered his things.

“Your performance was impressive” said a voice behind

him. Henrik turned to see the King and his bodyguard. He
dropped to his knees, “King Alexander!”. “Stand up!” ordered
Alexander. Phillip came and saw Alexander. “Alex, what are you
doing here?” asked Phillip. “I came to speak to you, but I saw the
performance and wanted to watch” said Alexander.

Turning to Henrik, he asked “What is your name?”. “I am

Henrik Vengir‒ a commander in training” stammered Henrik. “Is
he ready for combat” asked Alexander turning to Phillip. “I
believe so, why don’t you ask him” said Phillip. “Do you think
that you are ready for combat?” asked Alexander. “I would be
willing to fight for you in battle!” said Henrik, trying to control
himself. “In that case, you shall be known from now on as
Commander Henrik” said Alexander. Henrik, shocked, said “Yes,
M’ Lord”. “Now go” ordered Alexander. Henrik, now
Commander Henrik, gathered his things and left.

“You said you came here to talk to me. What about?”

asked Phillip. “I need the army ready and in formation for the war
against Bardur. How long will that take you?” asked Alexander.
“Give me three hours and they’ll be ready” said Phillip.

Three hours later, it was two thirty in the afternoon.

Alexander marched, along with David, Phillip, and his guard, to
the western wall. He stood on it and saw over the wall, an army
standing on the bright green land ready for war. He motioned to
the crowd to be silent and then spoke in a loud voice, “Warriors of
Vengir! We have suffered much from enemies and from the
foolish King Darius. But this day will be the turning point! This
day, we will strike back against our most recent enemy, the
Bardurs! For Vengiria! For Vengir! For the Kingdom!”. The
crowd roared, cheered, and hollered.

Alexander turned behind him to David. “Defend the

Kingdom if the Bardurs enter. The all of the barracks in Vengiria
combined have five thousand; use them if you need them” said
Alexander. Then he turned to Phillip and said “Keep training the
recruits and keep administrating while I am gone”. “I will make it
happen” said Phillip. “Good luck and farewell, Alexander” said
David. “Good bye, Alex” said Phillip.

Alexander exited the wall and joined his army, waving

good bye to Phillip, who was still on the wall. Then he ordered to
march west to the Southern River.

Once they reached the river, Alexander ordered for a camp

to be built since it was five in the evening. In the morning, they
would begin the war. In the morning, Alexander ordered Hermes,
who was with the army, to come to his tent.

Hermes entered and knelt before the King. “Stand up

Hermes! You don’t need to bow” ordered Alexander. “My
apologies, M’ Lord” said Hermes. “You have been my friend
before I was King, just call me Alexander” said Alexander.
“Okay” said Hermes.

“I have a mission for you. I need you to go to Barduria

with an escort, and deliver a message to King William” said
Alexander. “Okay, what is it?” asked Hermes. Alexander told
Hermes the message for the King. Hermes was given twenty
warriors as an escort and traveled across the ford.

One of Alexander’s commanders entered the tent. He knelt

before the King. “Yes, Commander?” said Alexander. “Your
messenger, Hermes, has crossed the ford” said the Commander.
“Will we advance into Bardur?”. “Not yet. We will wait till
evening before crossing. That way, the King will have received
the message” said Alexander.

Hermes reached the walls of Barduria. “Who are you!”

shouted a guard. “I am Hermes, messenger of King Alexander. I
have a message from him for King William” shouted Hermes.
The gate opened and a two guards escorted them to the citadel.

Once Hermes entered, the guards knelt before King

William. “Who are you and who are these men with you? And
why don’t you bow?” asked the King. “I am Hermes, messenger
of King Alexander. I have message from the King” said Hermes.
“Speak!” spat back the King.

Hermes spoke and said, “King Alexander says this. King

William of Bardur, your actions have caused your downfall. I am
not the foolish king Darius, but I am King Alexander. I have come
to liberate my people on western side of the Southern River from
you. You and your army are but just ants to my great Vengiri
army. So, to you I say; we are at war!”.

The King stood in anger and ordered to the guards in the

room, including the two escorts, “Seize them!”. “Defend
Hermes!” shouted the Captain of the Vengiri escort. The Bardur
guards were no match for the great Vengiri warriors, but more
were on their way. “We must escape” shouted Hermes, trying to
speak above the sound of crashing metal. Hermes and most of his
escort escaped, but not without casualties. They fled to the river.
 Once evening came, Alexander gave the order to cross.
And thus, the Second Vengir-Bardurian War began. Alexander
marched through the Western Lands, liberating town after town.
Then they reached the native Bardur lands.

Alexander continued his march to Barduria, the capital of

Bardur, until he encountered an army; the army of King William.
They met at a flat plains. Alexander saw the army from the
distance, but it was nearing evening.

He called his commanders together in his tent. Once

everyone had arrived, he rose to address them. “We have a
problem” said Alexander. “The enemy forces are a little less than
three times out size”. Commander Henrik, the young trainee,
spoke, “I have an idea, M’ Lord”. “Speak” ordered Alexander. “It
is nearing evening, the sun will be in the eyes of our warriors.
Instead, we should wait till morning so that the sun will blind
them. Then when we attack, we spread the troops out more
thinner but longer and compress the warriors so they can’t swing
their swords” said Commander Henrik. “How do we know that
this young boy is right?” protested one of Alexander’s
commanders. “I have seen this boy fight. I saw him do this and I
was impressed” said Alexander. Then turning to Henrik, he said
“We will do that”.

They waited till morning. King William decided not to

attack since they had just marched from Barduria. In the morning,
Alexander ordered the advance. The enemies saw the iron spiked
helmets of the Vengiri, and they feared Alexander. King William
shouted at his troops to advance, but they were frozen in terror.

Another advantage that the sun gave was that they enemy
couldn’t tell that the Vengiri army was thinner than theirs, and so
the Bardurs thought that they were massively out numbered.

Alexander’s army reached the enemy, and he shouted a

war cray, “Down with the Bardurs! Down with those who are
against Vengir! Death to all Bardurs! Spare no one!”. His
aggressiveness fueled his warriors and struck fear in the enemy.
The condensing strategy worked, and the Bardurs couldn’t raised
their weapons. Those in the back, terrified of being slaughtered
and having been standing hearing the sound of screams, iron, and
death; decided the run. Those on the outside began to run in every
direction, but the warriors that were in the center, couldn’t and
resorted to killing their way out.

It was a slaughter, but finally, King William ordered a

retreat of Barduria. The Vengiri chased them all the way to the
city, killing many on the way there.

Once they reached the city, the gate was opened, but as the
Vengiri approached; the gate was slammed closed. And the
remaining Bardurs were killed. Soon, arrows began to fly down.
Alexander ordered a retreat, just out of range then he ordered for
a camp to be built outside of the city, just out of range of any
arrows since it was now evening and they were tired.
 One Bardur warrior exited the city with his hands in the
air. And he approached the camp. He said he had a message from
King William. He was sent to Alexander. Once he had arrived,
Alexander spoke and asked “You have message for me from the
King?”. “I do” said the Warrior. “The King has offered terms for
peace, he will return the lands taken from the last war”. Alexander
stood and shouted “Do I look like a fool to you!”. “I want the
lands taken from all of the wars, ever since the fall of Daroni
Empire. I want all of Bardur, it is what was once ruled by the
Emperors from Darone”. “What’s Darone?” asked the Warrior in
anger. “I want everything!”. And then he sent the warrior away.

Alexander called Commander Henrik to his tent. When he

arrived, he dropped to his knees. “Commander Henrik” said
Alexander. “I have orders for you”. “What is it, M’ Lord” said
Commander Henrik. “I will be overseeing the siege of the capital,
I need you to capture the rest of Bardur during this time. Can you
do that?” asked Alexander. “If it pleases you, I will do that” said
Commander Henrik. “Good. Take your troops tomorrow morning,
and begin annexing the rest of Bardur. I don’t care where first or
where last, just make sure it happens” said Alexander before
sending Henrik away. Then Alexander glared at the walls of the
city; then he said to himself “Darone will return. The glory of the
forgotten and forsaken empire”.

Alexander ordered for the troops to rest, in the morning;

the siege would begin. The Vengiri never had great siege
technology, and so Alexander’s army just starved the city until
they submitted. Then Alexander ordered to check on Commander
Henrik’s progress. There was one city that remained, Seaton; the
city on the banks of the The Great Sea. Alexander marched with a
portion of his army to the city. Once he arrived, he met
Commander Henrik. Then he shouted over the walls that Barduria
had fallen and that if they surrendered, they’d be spared. The
garrison commander, having heard rumors, surrendered and was
spared. This was how the war ended.

Whilst he was at Seaton, he found out that Commander

Henrik had actually found Hermes and his group and recovered
them.

Alexander decided he wanted to conquer Kickoo, so he

marched to Barduria with Commander Henrik, leaving a sub-
commander to garrison the city. Once he reached the city, he
called his commanders together and he said “We have conquered
Bardur, I have another goal, let’s go from here to take the city of
Kiok”. “Why?” asked one of the Commanders. “There once was a
great empire, it was called the Daroni Empire. Vengiria was once
known as Daronia, and Vengir was known as Darone. We once
ruled Bardur, Kickoo, and Idor; I want to restore the glory of the
empire” said Alexander. This was a good enough reason for them.

Alexander marched his army from Barduria South-East to

the city of Kiok, the capital of Kickoo. Once the army arrived, the
King of Kiok exited the city and to meet Alexander.
 Alexander ordered for him to brought to him. “King
Alexander, I am the King of Kickoo” said the King. “I know why
you are here, and I have request”. “What is your request?” asked
Alexander. “I request, that you kill no Kiokians. If you do, I will
give you the throne of Kickoo. Because I know that’s why you are
here, and I cannot defeat you” said the King. Alexander, thinking
this was an easy victory, accepted.

Turns out, the King of the Kickoo was sincere. Alexander

fulfilled his promise and didn’t kill any of Kiokians. Except he
did secretly kill the King, which didn’t go unnoticed by the
Kiokian people.
 Chapter 4: The Luxidoorian War
Before the Unification of Luxidoor, the Kingdom of Idor
was one of the three kingdoms under the Daroni Empire. Idor
declared independence from Darone. When they were almost
taken over the Daroni, the King of Lux joined in the war and
pushed the Daroni army back.

In years to come, Darone declared war on Idor to

reconquer the land. The King of Lux joined the war and turned
the Daroni back. They chose to form a great nation, so Darone
would never declare war again.

And so the Kingdom of Lux and the Kingdom of Idor

came together to form Lux-idor, or more commonly known as
Luxidoor. The kingdom has three kings: the King of Lux, the
King of Idor, and the High-King of Luxidoor.

Darone never attacked Luxidoor because both being a

great kingdom now and because the Bardurs and Kiokians began
fighting for their own independence as well.

* * *

High-King Gregory Luxidoor summoned the Kings of

Idor and Lux, King Edward Idor and King Andrew Lux, along
with their ministers, and the his own ministers.
 The chamber had many seats on stairs in a rectangle
shape. One side of the room had stairs. On those stairs were
thrones, two were on the same level whilst one towered over
them. They were the seats for the kings, and the one that towered
over the others was the seat of the High-King. In the center of the
room was where ministers would speak to the council, the
rostrum.

This chamber was where High-King Gregory summoned a

council to debate a great matter. Once all of the ministers had
arrived, Gregory stood and addressed the council, “Kings and
Ministers! I summoned you this day to discuss an important
matter”.

He continued, “Several years ago, the Bardurs declared

war on the Vengiri people and successfully captured the so called
‘Westernlands’, the Vengiri lands west from the Southern River.
King Darius Vengir was overthrown by Alexander Vengir, who
made himself King. King Alexander declared war on the Bardurs
and defeated them quickly, then he marched to Kiok, without
even declaring war, where the King surrendered with the terms
that no Kickoo was to be harmed, but the King was murdered by
the Alexander despite the agreement. He is reported to have said
that he has come to restore the Daroni Empire”.

He closed his address by saying, “This is why I have

brought you here. To discuss whether we will liberate the Bardurs
and Kiokians from the Vengiri, or if we try to stay neutral but I
don’t think Alexander will. If we do declare war, what is our
strategy?”.

Then Gregory sat down. A minister stood and signaled to

Gregory that he wished to speak. “Come” said Gregory. The
minister stood in the center of the room. He cleared his throat and
spoke, “I am the Minister of the Luxidoorian Library for the
Imperial Court. I have studied history for most of my life, and
seeing how the Daroni Empire tried to capture Idor for many
years, I expect that Alexander, a man who wants to restore
Darone, will want to take the lands of Idor. Without Idor, we are
not Luxidoor. I do not have any proposals at this moment on
whether we should or should not go to war, and I have none on
strategy. But I can say this, Darone may be recreated but under
the name of Vengir and Alexander”. And with that last ominous
statement, he left the rostrum.

Another minister stood, the Imperial Minister of War, and

Gregory allowed him to speak. He walked on the rostrum and
then spoke, “The previous minister is correct, Alexander is
definitely aiming for Idor. I say we prepare and declare war with
the goal of liberation. The Kiokians were a trusted trade partner
who were taken over by deceitful and evil means. And the
Bardurs, whilst we are largely indifferent, we may be able to gain
their support and control them if we liberate them. If anyone
thinks otherwise, may he join me on the rostrum and debate me”.
 King Edward Idor stood and said “That’s not how this
council works, Minister”. But Gregory stood and said “King
Edward, I grant the minister’s request. It’ll help move things
along“. Then they both sat down. No minsters dared to challenge
the Minister. Gregory stood and said “Minister, would you leave
the rostrum, there seam to be none who will debate you”. And so
the Minister sat down at this seat.

Gregory said to the council, “I must deliberate with King

Edward and King Andrew. We will return”. Then the two other
kings stood and followed Gregory into a room with three chairs.
And they sat at their corresponding seats. The three kings spoke
and it was decided.

The kings returned to the council chamber. The two kings

sat whilst the High-King stood and announced “Luxidoor is going
to war”. The council debated on strategy before Gregory chose.
They would march an army from Idor to Barduria, an army from
Lux would march towards the Kiokian Sea and sail towards
Kickoo and march on Kiok, and an army from Lux would march
to Vengiria. Then they’d make peace with the terms that the
Vengir granted the independence of Kickoo and Bardur.

Gregory ordered the mobilization in Lux and Idor. He sat

in his palace in the capital of Luxidoor, the city of Lux. A man
arrived with a bodyguard. “Who are you?” asked High-King
Gregory. The man responded saying, “I am Hermes, messenger of
King Alexander Vengir. I have a message from the King“. “What
is your message?” asked Gregory. “King Alexander declares to
you, High-King Gregory” said Hermes. “I have noticed your
mobilization, and I suspect it is aimed against me. I demand that
you cancel your mobilization”. The High-King stood and said
severely, “Tell your king, Alexander, that I will not and that his
crimes of war will be punished. For we are at war!”

The warriors around Hermes were ready for battle. “Do

not fight me, just leave” said Gregory. Hermes and his escort
exited the city.

* * *

Alexander marched from Barduria when Hermes was sent

to Lux. King Edward Idor was marching to Barduria since he had
heard from a messenger that war had been started. The two sides
encountered each other.

Alexander ordered for Commander Henrik to take his

forces and go around the Luxidoorian army and attack the city
whilst Alexander fought the King. The two sides fought for hours,
eventually the Vengiri forces began to become afraid since they
were losing the battle. Some were ready to flee but then
Alexander shouted “Idor has been captured, see the signal has
been lit”.

The Vengiri warriors saw black smoke coming from the

city. Alexander’s army pushed the enemy all the way back to the
city walls. King Edward shouted “Open the gates!”. He got a
response of arrows. The King saw that the city was captured
during the battle and shouted desperately “There’s no escape, we
must take as many as we can”. But the weary troops couldn’t and
were soon killed.

Alexander ordered Henrik to capture the remaining cities

in Idor. And then he marched to Lux, capturing cities on his way
there. Then he encountered the army of King Andrew Lux. They
fought until a warrior who killed an archer who was fleeing
picked up his bow and began to shoot into the enemy army. One
of the arrows just happened to impale King Andrew, and with the
death of their king they fled.

Alexander marched to the city of Lux. A messenger from

the High-King Gregory came to speak to Alexander. The
messenger spoke and said, “High-King Gregory has sent me with
the message ‘What do you want for peace?’”. Alexander said in
response, “Everything”.

When Gregory heard this, he shouted “Outrageous!”. But

the two kings had died. On the shores of Kickoo, the army
reached Kiok and began a siege. But the army was destroyed a
few days into it by Captain David Vengir, the Head of the
Imperial Guard who was tasked with the defense of the homeland.

Alexander surrounded the city and waiting for it to starve.

Ignoring the fact that Vengiri didn’t understand siege technology,
the walls of Lux were legendary. Commander Henrik had been
capturing cities. Eventually he came to Lux. He came to
Alexander and reported that Lux was the last city in Luxidoor that
hadn’t fallen. Alexander spoke to Henrik and said “Send a
messenger to Phillip Ai-Mo who’s in Vengiria. Tell him that the
siege of Lux is taking long and that he needs a way to climb the
great walls”.

The messenger returned and Henrik came to Alexander to

report that Phillip had created great ladders but he need people to
deliver it to Alexander. Alexander sent warriors to gather them
and return.

With these great ladders, Alexander ordered an advance

into the city. After days of fighting, Alexander held the city. This
was the end of the Luxidoorian War, but worse was soon to come.
 Chapter 5: The Imperians
Many years ago, there were three kingdoms in the
Norpenin: Rore, Noreas, and Norio. The three kingdoms were
unified by the King of Rore, and they came together to form
Imperius, or the Imperian Empire. Each of the Kingdoms had two
kings and the Head of the Empire was the Imperator. Later, the
Kingdom of Sicile joined the Imperian Empire. This empire was
considered the most powerful nation in the Great Sea but it was
rivaled by the great Kingdom of Luxidoor.

* * *

The eight kings of Imperius, the Pre-Imperator Justin

Imperius, and the Imperator Robert Imperius were in the city of
Rore. Imperator Robert summoned them to Rore. The Kings, the
Pre-Imperator, and the Imperator in the same place hadn’t
happened in a long time but this was a major event.

Robert stood and said “The Kingdom of Luxidoor has

fallen! In the south, Vengir has conquered Bardur, Kickoo, and
Luxidoor. My intent is to declare war on these people and restore
the balance of power”.

King Louis Sicile Imperius stood. “May I speak?” asked

Louis. “You may” said Robert. Louis cleared his throat and spoke,
“I have been watching this King for a while. I’ve noticed several
things on his military: he doesn’t have or use a navy, he struggles
during sieges, and he doesn’t ever use archers except in city
defense”.

He concluded by saying, “Therefore, we can just sail to

Lux and Idor, capture the cities, and then march from Idor to
Vengiria”. The kings murmured in agreement, except the Kings of
Norio. King Bolivar Norio Imperius stood and said “Alexander
may not have a navy, but his army is powerful. He’ll likely invade
Imperius from the Morion Ford and if he does we’ll be the first to
fall”. The Morion Ford was located between the cities of Norio in
the North and Morio in the South. The ford, which was located in
Luxidoor, was the shortest land route to Imperius from the South.

Bolivar proposed for the army to march to Norio and then

invade from there. An argument broke out between the supporters
of the sea route and supporters of the land route. Pre-Imperator
Justin Imperius rose and asked “May I propose an alternative?”.
Robert motioned for the Kings to be silent. Justin spoke “Both
strategies have great points. The sea route would quickly get us to
the capitals of Luxidoor without requiring a confrontation with
King Alexander. However, the sea route does open us to land
attacks at Norio. The land route does mean we’ll fight Alexander,
but it’s safer. My proposal is that we send an army to prevent
Alexander from entering Imperius whilst two armies sail to Idor
and Lux and capture the cities. Then a third army will sail to Idor,
after it’s captured, and march towards Vengiria”.
 This proposal pleased the Kings and impressed his father,
the Imperator. Robert dismissed the council and gave orders to the
Kings of Sicile to prepare their great navy for the war. Then he
summoned the General of the Imperial Army.

The General arrived and bowed before the Imperator.

“Why did you summon me, Imperator?” asked the General. “I
need you to prepare the army for war” said the Imperator. “How
long with that take?”. “Give me three weeks, and the army will be
ready” said the General.

Three weeks later, the army was ready. Robert marched

with the army to just South of Norio. They setup camp on the
green banks, right before the beach. He looked over the ford at the
city of Morio, which was once a part of Luxidoor. “You will soon
be free. I will make it happen” said Robert. Then he sent a
messenger in the lightning ship to Lux, where Alexander was
currently residing, with the declaration of war.

The Pre-Imperator, Justin, had sailed to Sicile. Robert had

assigned him to the capture of Idor and the advance to Vengiria.
Once he had arrived to Sicile, he was met by King John Sicile
Imperius. He was a young man; so was Justin. “Hello Justin!”
said John as he bowed. It was evening when Justin had arrived.
“Oh! You must be tired and hungry from your trip. Come in, I’ll
prepare supper” said John. “Thank you, John” said Justin.
 Justin entered John’s palace. John quickly called for the
head of the servants. A man quickly ran to King John. “What do
you need, my King?” asked the man. “The Pre-Imperator, Justin,
is here. Please order for have Lumaepele Wine brought and
supper to be made” said John. “Alright, anything else” asked the
man. “For now, that’s all” said John. “Okay. The wine will be
here soon” said the man before leaving.

Turning to Justin, John asked “Should we go to a more

comfortable room or shall we stand in the entryway?”. Justin
chucked slightly before saying “How about we go to a more
comfortable room”.

John led them to his study. There were tables, chairs, and
couches all around the room. At a wall, there was a roaring
fireplace. Surrounding the fireplace were couches and cushioned
seats. John sat down and signaled to Justin to sit in the chair
across from him.

“So how have you been Justin? I mean, other than two
weeks ago when the council meeting happened; I haven’t seen
you for about five years” said John. “Yeah” sighed Justin. “It’s
been a long time. I mean, after your father died and you became
King; it became harder to meet. I was given more responsibilities
as Pre-Imperator. Life’s been pretty hard”.

At this moment, a servant came with the wine. “Sorry that

the wine is late, my King. I was told you were in the entryway”
said the servant. “Sorry, that’s on me” said John. The servant
poured wine into a glass and handed it to John. When the Servant
came to Justin, Justin said “I- I’m sorry, that I didn’t mention this
earlier. I don’t drink alcohol”. “Oh” said John. Then he turned to
the servant and said “You may go but please tell the chief chef to
not give Pre-Imperator Justin wine”. “Of course, my King” said
the servant. Then the servant left.

“Why don’t you drink alcohol anymore” asked John,

turning to Justin. Justin said “Well, several years ago; my mother
died. I began just drinking my sorrows away. I became addicted
and couldn’t stop. Eventually, I overcame the addiction. But now
I don’t drink alcohol since I don’t want to become addicted
again”. “That’s reasonable” said John.

They continued to talk before a servant entered the room

to say that supper was ready. John led Justin into a room with
many tables. The servants, John’s advisers, generals, and nobles
were at this banquet. A servant led Justin to his seat, which was
next to John. At that table were many chief nobles under John.
Across from Justin, next to John, was King Louis.

John stood and spoke loudly, “May I have some silence?”.

The hall soon became quiet. “This banquet is to celebrate the
arrival of the Pre-Imperator, Justin Imperius. So, a toast... to Pre-
Imperator Justin!”. The hall clambered with shouts of “To Pre-
Imperator Justin!”. John turned to the corner where the chief chef
was standing and then he nodded. The chef went into another
room and soon food began to exit the room.

John sat down. “You planned this for me?” asked Justin.
“Of course!” said John beaming at his surprise. “Wow! What a
pleasant surprise!” exclaimed Justin. “Well, this was the last
opportunity to talk to you before the war” said John. “You’re not
wrong” sighed Justin. “You’re not wrong”.
Chapter 6: The Battle of Morion Ford
Alexander was in Lux; resting his troops after the
Luxidoorian War and the wars with Bardurs and Kiokians. It had
been three weeks since the Fall of Lux. Alexander was awoken
early, around nine in the morning by a warrior. Alexander was
furious; he was not to be woken up until two in the afternoon. The
warrior said “There is an Imperian Messenger, he says he has a
message from the Imperator, Robert”.

Alexander got dressed and sat on the throne and ordered

for the man to be brought. The messenger spoke and said “The
Imperator of the Imperian Empire says this. You have wrongly
enslaved the people of Luxidoor, Bardur, and Kickoo. Therefore,
the Imperator has come to restore balance here in the South. King
Alexander, the Imperator has declared war on your nation,
Vengir”. Alexander, furious of being woken up earlier and now
even more furious from this news, runs at the messenger and
slashed him with his sword. The blood of the messenger flows
through the palace.

Alexander turned to the warrior and said gravely “Tell my

commanders to come to the citadel. We’re at war”. Alexander
marched with his army to Morio. After discussing with his
commanders, he decided to cross the Morion Ford into Norio and
march from there to Rore.
 Once they arrived at Morio, Alexander saw the enemy
army. Alexander called his commander and said “Prepare for
battle, we’ll show the Imperians our power”. A commander said
“King Alexander, we just marched the army from Lux to here, the
people are tired”. “I gave an order, Commander” said Alexander.
“Yeah” scoffed the Commander. “But the warriors are tired”.
Alexander got furious, this day was horrible, and so he drew his
sword and stabbed the commander. The commanders were
horrified. Alexander turned to Henrik and said “You are
competent and will follow orders. His troops are now yours”.

Alexander ordered the advance across the ford. The

Vengiri troops march slowly through the water. The water was at
their feet, then their ankles, then their legs, then their chests, then
it reached their necks. When they began advancing into the water,
Robert saw and ordered for the army to get into formation. Then
once they were in range, he order the archers the begin firing. The
troops were already up to their necks in water and now arrows
were flying and killing them.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air, the sound

of arrows hitting people, and the sound of screams and death
surrounded Alexander. “Keep advancing! For Vengiria! For
Vengir! For the Kingdom!” bellowed Alexander but the war cry
had lost it’s effect.

The troops were tired, hungry, in water, and taking fire.

The troops were close to the beach. Robert yelled “We will soon
be face to face with the enemy. Be brave, honorable, and great!
For this day, we will halt the great and tyrannical King of the
South!”. The Vengiri warriors reached the beach and hurled
themselves at the enemy. The Imperian troops killed round after
round of enemies.

Then Robert shouted “Advance! Push them into the sea”.

The Imperian warriors, still fighting Vengiri warriors, slowly
advanced forward. They were pushed so far that the Vengiri were
chest deep in water.

Being back in the water, still being shot with arrows, being
stabbed by swordsmen, and not being ready for this battle to
begin with; the army broke and scattered. The Imperian warriors
were about to charge after them but Robert shouted “Let them
run!”. Alexander saw that he had lost the battle. He shouted “Flee
to Morio!”. He kept shouting this order. Robert saw this and
shouted “Chase after Alexander!”.

As much as the army as Alexander could control ran for

their lives towards the city. Robert chased them through the
blood-filled water. They eventually reached the other side of the
ford and ran to enter the city. Alexander, standing on the wall
after arriving, saw the enemy and, despite warriors still entering,
he yelled “Shut the gates, don’t let the enemy in!”.
 The warriors that were barred against entering the city
were slaughtered by the Imperian army. Alexander was stuck in
the city.

Once the Vengiri warriors outside the city were killed,

Robert ordered to surround the city. He looked at the gate. It was
covered in bodies, each wearing the spiked helmets of Vengir. On
the wooden gate was blood and gore. Robert said to himself,
“This gate will forever be known as the Gate of Blood”.
 Chapter 7: The Siege of Idor
After a week of feasts thrown by King John, war was
declared. Armies were piled into wooden ships. John and Justin
walked to the great Sicilian docks. Justin sighed said to John, “I
really feel like it would’ve been better if someone else was sent to
Idor”. “Why so?” asked John. “I’m just not that intelligent or
skilled” said Justin. “Justin, don’t cut yourself short. You are more
intelligent than you give yourself credit for. You are what you say
you are; so don’t say you an unintelligent and unskilled” said
John. Justin looked at the ground and chuckled. Then he looked
up and said “Thank you John. I needed that”.

John and Justin said their good byes, then John boarded
the flagship and sailed away. Justin soon boarded his flagship and
they were sailing for Idor. He sat in a cabin in the ship that was
set aside for him. Having nothing better to do, he grabbed
parchment and ink and began to write.

“I am sailing to war! To the city of Idor I have come.

I will be remembered as great, they will sing songs of my exploits.

Yet the men I travel with will be forgotten.

They will only be known as one of many. Whilst I will be known

as one of few.

We are sailing to war! To the city of Idor we have come, the many
individual men that make up this army.”
 He finished writing this poem and he was happy with it.
He wrote more poems on the voyage to Idor which are not found
in this book.

A knock came to the door. “Come in” said Justin. A man

entered. “Pre-Imperator” said the man as he bowed. The man’s
golden helmet had a blue band instead of red; all naval officers
wore blue bands instead of red. “Yes?” asked Justin as he stood.
“The admiral sent me to tell you that we have caught sight of
land” said the Officer. “Thank you” said Justin. The Officer exited
the cabin.

Justin pushed in the chair that he was previously sitting in,

and then he exited the room to the top of the ship. Once he
arrived, the men saw him and began to bow. “Stand! My army
cannot fight if they are bowing” said Justin.

He climbed to the captain’s station where he found the

Admiral. “Pre-Imperator!” exclaimed the Admiral. “Shouldn’t
you be resting we land?”. “I probably should” chucked Justin.
“How long till we reach the land?”. “I sent an officer recently to
tell you we’ve gained sight of land; however, we won’t be there
for, maybe, another seven hours” said the Admiral. “So, rest,
you’ll need the energy for the campaign ahead”.

Justin decided to sleep because he wasn’t going to get rest

when they landed. He woke up to a soft knock on the door. A man
entered and said “Pre-Imperator, the Admiral told me to bring
food to you”. Justin noticed there was wine. “Hey, uh, I don’t
drink wine”. “Oh” said the man. The man took and wine and
brought it away.

Justin began to eat his food. It wasn’t as splendid like the

food he ate at Sicile but also he ate it in a remote land without any
friends. He thought back to just the night before. Eating tons of
fancy dishes, being in the company of his friend and people who
in that time he became friends with. He finished his supper and
placed the try on the floor next to the door.

He returned to the table, then he grabbed parchment and

ink and wrote again.

“It’s been very short. Yet I long for my friends.

It’s been less than a day at sea. Yet I long for my friends.

I am surrounded by people. Yet I long for my friends.

I long for my friends. Yet I am a sea away.”

He felt isolated from the rest of the crew and he felt sad
because of his lack of friends on this voyage. He stood and went
to bed and quickly fell asleep.

He awoke the next morning by a man sent by the Admiral

to wake him. Justin got dressed and climbed to the main deck.
The men, when they saw Justin, bowed their heads and then
returned to work. Justin smiled and climbed to the captain’s
station where he saw the Admiral. “Ah! Pre-Imperator, you’ve
awoken” said the Admiral. “I sent someone to wake you up since
we’ll be reaching land in about an hour”.

Whilst still on the station, a man brought food to the

Captain, Admiral, and Justin. After Justin had finished his food,
he walked to his cabin and grabbed his sword; putting it on his
belt.

He climbed back up and they prepared to land. Justin

looked around him, for the first time in the daylight, and saw
many ships; all Imperian. They were under his control.

A loud thud shook the ship. They had landed. Justin

shouted “Warriors! To the shore!”. They charged onto the shore.
There were no enemies to fight though. Justin climbed onto a hill
and saw a great city in the distance. He figured it was Idor, and he
was correct.

Once the entire fleet deposited the army a board, most of

the fleet sailed back to Sicile. But a few remained, many of which
were Lightning Ships. Lightning Ships are ships that move
quickly, but do not move quickly and do not have catapults on
them. Justin ordered his army to march towards the city.

They arrive and surround the city. Justin looked up at the

city and realized that the garrison was tiny. He ordered a
messenger to board one of the lightning ships, along with a crew,
and send a letter to Rore. The letter read:
 “To King James Rore Imperius:

The garrison here at Idor is small. I believe that the city will be in
our hands soon. This is why I have sent the message. Start sailing
for Idor now, by the time you arrive with the reinforcements, we’ll
likely hold the city.

Sincerely,

Pre-Imperator Justin”

Then Justin ordered for siege towers to be built. Once they

were ready, Justin climbed to the top of one of the towers. “Begin
advancing the towers towards the walls” ordered Justin. The
tower was packed with warriors holding drawn swords.

The anticipation was dreadful, but then the tower suddenly

shook. They had reached the wall. The door slammed open,
serving as a bridge between the tower and wall. He cried “We
fight for the people who are enslaved by the Vengir! We have
come to liberate these enslaved people!”.

Then Justin charged across the bridge and attacked the

warriors. Imperian swordsman poured out of the many siege
towers that were built. The sound of swords clashing, and men
dying was everywhere. Justin cut his way to the garrison
commander. They fought, sword against sword and then the
commander slashed. Justin stepped back; then he stepped forward
and jabbed his sword straight through the commander’s face.
Justin’s sword was red with blood.

The Vengiri saw their commander dead, slain by the Pre-

Imperator. They fled every direction. The siege was a resounding
success.

An Imperian Lightning Ship arrives. King John had sent it.

It read:

“To Imperator Robert and Pre-Imperator Justin

We have successfully captured the city of Lux. I will note that the
garrison was especially small which allowed us to easily defeat
the force despite the great walls of Lux.

When we captured the city, we found in the great citadel the

family of King Alexander. We have kept them in the palace
unharmed.

Sincerely,

King John Sicile Imperius”

* * *

Imperator Robert, currently maintaining the siege at

Morio, received the same letter. Robert, being the honorable man
he was, wrote a letter to Alexander.
“O’ King of the Vengir, in this war we have captured your family.
Do not be distressed or alarmed for I promise you on my head,
they will not be touched.

Imperator Robert Imperius”

Then he summoned his commanders. He repeated the oath

that he had written. Then he sent the letter to Alexander. When
Alexander read the letter, he turned to Commander Henrik, who
was present, and said “The Imperator’s life will be spared, for he
is honorable”.
 Chapter 8: The Greed of Reuan
A man stood in the palace in the city of Lux. He stood in
front of a wooden door. It was the door to the great treasury of
Lux. When the city was captured by the Imperians, the key to the
treasury wasn’t found, but that wasn’t important to the Imperator
at the moment. It mattered to this man.

He was the garrison commander of Lux. He was greedy

and wanted the mass quantities of treasure in that room. He was
Commander Reuan. The greedy thoughts filled his mind:
swimming in gold and jewels, living in luxury in Rore, drinking
mass quantities of wine whilst being waited on by servants.

He was excited for this treason. One of his captains

walked towards him. “Commander Reuan, what are you doing
here?” asked the Captain. “Do you want to be rich?” asked
Reuan. “Who doesn’t?” asked the Captain. “If you help me get
into that treasury, I will give you a lot of gold” said Reuan. The
captain grinned and asked “What do you need done?”.

“I need to find the key. I think I know how to find it” said
Reuan. “How?” asked the Captain. “Alexander’s family is here;
we may be able to get the information from them” said Reuan.
“Call a few, only a few, of your men. I’ll give them gold after.
We’ll need them to do the dirty work”. “I will find some” said the
Captain
 The captain returned with five warriors. “Commander
Reuan, the captain told us you requested us?” asked one of the
warriors. “This room contains treasure, if you help me get in. I’ll
give you gold”. They agreed. Reuan entered the chamber where
the royal family was being kept. He ordered for the Queen to be
tortured.

For days on end, she said she didn’t know. But one day,
she said that when they arrived, she had her son, Prince Jordan,
hide it. They tortured Jordan until he admitted to the location. It
was hidden inside the front-left leg of his bed.

They cut open the front-left leg of the bed, and there was a
metal key. Reuan, the Captain, and the five men walked towards
the treasury.

He opened the treasury. Reuan saw vast quantities of gold

and jewels. As he promised, he gave the men and the captain
several bags of gold. But the rest, he kept for himself. He closed
the treasury and hid the key.

The Imperator saw in the distance a man. Once he got

closer, it became clear that he was an Imperian warrior. The man
ran towards the Imperator. “Imperator!” shouted the man.
“Imperator!”. Once the man got close, “Imperator, the garrison
commander of Lux, Commander Reuan, has tortured the family
of King Alexander and stolen the key to the palace treasury”.
 The Imperator, remembering his oath, knew what he had
to do. He called a commander under him, Commander Jeuuh. The
commander arrived and bowed then he asked “What do you need
me for, Imperator?”. “Commander Reuan has tortured the family
of Alexander. I need you to bring him and all those responsible to
me” said Robert. “It shall happen” said Jeuuh.

Jeuuh marched with a portion of the army towards Lux.

Once he arrived, he shouted to the wall, “I am Commander Jeuuh,
I was sent by the Imperator. Open the gate!”. The captain realized
that he was indeed a commander and opened the gate.

Jeuuh entered and went to the citadel. “Who are you?”

asked Reuan. “I am Commander Jeuuh. I was sent from the
Imperator” said Jeuuh. “He said that you found the key to the
treasury”. Reuan clutched his sword; he was ready to kill to keep
it. “However, the Imperator has gifted it to you” said Jeuuh. “He
heard that other people helped you, he wishes to know who they
were. If you could bring them to me, I’d like to tell the Imperator
of your exploits and the people who assisted you”.

Reuan brought the captain and five men out. Jeuuh

glanced at his men. Archers raised their bows and aimed it at
them. Jeuuh said “You are an evil, greedy man Commander
Reuan. The Imperator has sent me to bring him to you. If you
follow my orders, there is a possibility that the Imperator might
spare your life”. “Now drop your weapons” ordered Jeuuh. They
dropped their weapons and were brought to the Imperator.
 The Imperator saw them. He spoke and said “Reuan, I
took an oath to King Alexander that his family wouldn’t be
touched. You violated that” then Robert ordered for the seven men
to be tortured to death. Robert wrote a letter for Alexander. Then
he ordered for the heads of the seven men and his head to be sent
to Alexander along with the letter.

Alexander received a procession of heads. He didn’t

understand until he saw the last one, the head of Robert. There
was a letter with it that read:

“Your family was tortured by these wicked and greedy men, as my

oath states, you have my head King Alexander Vengir”

Alexander was shocked that a leader would actually give

his life to the enemy.
 Chapter 9: The Battle of Morio
Justin was on the walls of Idor when he spotted a fleet of
Imperian ships. They landed and out came an army. Then most of
the fleet sailed away. The army marched to the city. An older man,
in his mid-thirties, shouted “I am King James Rore Imperius, you
ordered for me to arrive”. “Let him in” ordered Justin. Once
James entered, Justin called “King James, I am up here”.

James came with his head hung. “What is it, King James?”
asked Justin. James sighed and said, “Your father, Imperator
Robert… is dead. He made an oath promising that the family of
King Alexander would not be touched, and he made it on his
head. A greedy commander, by the name of Reuan, tortured
Alexander’s family to find the location of the key to the treasury
of Lux. Imperator Robert cut the heads of the seven warriors who
participated in this, along with Reuan, and then cut his head off
and sent it to Alexander. You are now the Imperator”.

Justin was furious. All he could feel was anger. He ordered

James to take over the Vengiri front; he needed to take control of
the army at Morio and defeat Alexander.

Justin boarded and a lightning ship to Morio and King

James began marching to Vengiria. Once he had arrived, he was
greeted by Commander Jeuuh. “Imperator Justin!” said Jeuuh as
he bowed. “What happened?” asked Justin furiously. Jeuuh stood
and said, “Imperator Robert honored his promise to Alexander.
Commander Reuan tortured the family of Alexander, he and his
conspirators were tortured to death and their heads, along with
Robert’s, were sent to Alexander”. “The decision of my father
was foolish! We were close to victory and he killed himself,
placing his head among greedy rebels” shouted Justin. “I will take
revenge for my father’s death”.

“Order the new garrison commander of Lux to kill the

family of Alexander. If they had never existed, there couldn’t
have been an oath and my father would still be alive” ordered
Justin. Jeuuh was mortified but did as he commanded.

* * *

Queen Alana was in her chamber, crying because of

having been tortured and had her son tortured. Prince Jordan
wasn’t far, he was in serious pain from being tortured. Then, three
men burst into the chamber. “Those two are those that Imperator
Justin ordered to be killed. Kill them!” ordered one of them.

Jordan was pinned against a wall then was slashed on the

neck by a sword. He shrieked in pain and fell to the floor. Another
sword stabbed his stomach. The floor was covered in blood. Then
they turned to Queen Alana, who had just saw her son brutally
murdered.

“You three will suffer the death that you have just inflicted
upon my son” said Alana. “You leader, Imperator Justin will
never have peace in his life. He will be tortured for a decade
before dying”. “These things are punishments for the sins you and
your leader have committed. May ∑∫ỹ judge the wicked”.

One warrior, furious, dashed forward and slashed the head

of Alana off. This was the first atrocity that Imperator Justin
committed.

* * *

“Build siege towers! We will enter that city and kill all
Vengiri!” ordered Justin. Justin called one of the engineers. He
arrived and bowed. “I need you to build me a weapon” said
Justin. “What weapon?” asked the Engineer. “I need you to create
a gauntlet with blades on the back of each hand” said Justin. “I
will make it happen” said the Engineer before leaving.

The siege towers were ready. The Engineer came to Justin

and presented the gauntlet. It was a great gold-colored metal
glove with a large black on the back. Justin put on the gauntlet
and then climbed to the top of one of the towers. “Advance the
towers!” shouted Justin.

Justin’s rage caused him to hate everyone, Vengiri and

Imperian. He began to shake with rage, but then the door dropped.
Justin charged out and shouted “Fill the city with blood!”. He
stabbed two Vengiri warriors with his two blades. He slashed at
the enemy.

The bottom of the wall floor was flooding with dark-red

blood. Justin’s fury and rage fueled his warriors and terrified the
enemy. Alexander and as many troops as possible fled into the
citadel.

“Open the gate of the city!” ordered Justin. He ordered for

the catapults to enter the city. “Fire at the gate!” shouted Justin.
After half an hour of barraging the gate, the gate burst open.
Justin and his army charged into the building. Justin charged
directly at Alexander. “You murdered my father!” shouted Justin.
“He murdered himself” shouted Alexander before getting impaled
by Justin’s blade. The Vengiri army ran and were killed. Justin
grabbed Alexander and threw him against a wall then he
proceeded to continue to stab him even after he was dead,
shouting angry words whilst doing it.

Alexander was dead. Most of the Vengiri army was

slaughtered and the remaining were scattered. After the slaughter,
Justin boarded a lightning ship and sailed to Idor and quickly rode
to reach King James.
 Chapter 10: The Siege of Vengiria
In Vengiria, a Vengiri warrior rode in on a purple pig. He
came to the citadel, Phillip Ai-Mo was standing below the throne,
speaking to administrators. The Vengiri spoke “Phillip Ai-Mo, I
have urgent news”. Phillip turned to the administrators, “Please
excuse us”.

The administrators exited the citadel. David, who was in

the room, came near. “King Alexander is dead, killed in battle at
the city of Morio, his wife and son were murdered in captivity, the
army has scattered, King James Rore Imperius is marching
towards Vengiria, and Imperator Justin has joined him”.

“Who will be King?” asked Phillip. David spoke and said

“Phillip, you have been Alexander’s right hand man ever since
your coup. It only makes sense you would be King”. David
ordered for a crown to be made and in the citadel he crowned
Phillip as King.

Phillip sent riders in all directions to gather Vengiri troops.

He ordered for arrows and catapults to be produced.

The remnants of the fallen army reunited in Vengiria.

Phillip promoted David Vengir to General.

* * *

Imperator Justin rode up to the army of King James. James

greeted the Imperator, “Hello Imperator! Did things go well?”.
“They did, Alexander is dead” said Justin gravely. “Really?!”
asked James. “Yes” confirmed Justin. “It’s time we ended this
war”. “Why have you taken so long to get to Vengiria?” asked
Justin. “There’s a Vengiri captain, David Vengir, who’s been
containing our forces. One time, he managed to beat us in battle
with a force that was smaller than ours by a large amount”. “I will
kill this Vengiri” said Justin.

“What’s the plan?” asked James. “We’re going to march to

Vengiria, capture the city, burn it down, and kill everyone inside”
said Justin. James was shocked and horrified. “Why burn it down
and why kill everyone inside? Why not kill the army, liberate the
nations, and be done with it?” asked James. “Because I want
revenge” said Justin.

They continued traveling until they see the walls of

Vengiria. Justin called his commander’s together, along with King
James. “Commanders” said Justin. “This is Vengiria. The war is
almost over, Many have faced death and disparity from the
Vengiri. When you enter the city, kill all Vengiri; warrior and
peasant alike”. Some of the commanders were horrified but they
feared Justin.

They continued to march towards the city before they saw

a rain of arrows. They fled back, out of the range of arrows. Justin
ordered for his warriors to surround the city then he ordered for
the catapults, which were being hauled by horses, to fire at the
city, just out of range of the arrows. He ordered for siege towers
to be built. Several days later, they were ready. He ordered for
them the assault the city; unlike most times, he didn’t join them.

He stood on a hill, watching the siege towers slowly move

towards the city. James approached the Imperator. “Imperator
Justin, please, the people here have done nothing wrong. Please!
Spare them!” implored James. “My father died to these people! I
can’t let them live. So, I won’t. They will die.” said Justin. “They
didn’t kill your father, neither did the Vengiri army. Imperator
Robert honored an oath he took, which was violated by
Commander Reuan, the Imperian commander. These people
didn’t kill your father” said James. “If these people had never
existed!” shouted Justin. “My father would still be alive, since
they’d be no family of Alexander to torture!”. “The people of
Vengir didn’t have any say in the matter, any voice. They were
forced by King Alexander” said James. “If they didn’t like their
king, they could’ve done with they did to King Darius” said Justin
gravely.

James knew he wasn’t able to convince the Imperator, and

he was about to leave before he noticed Justin was reaching for a
glass on a table next to him. It was filled with lumaepele wine in
it. Justin didn’t drink alcohol, not since his mother died. James
bowed his head is sorrow.

A loud sound shook the earth. Enemy catapults were fired

against the siege towers that were close to the wall. They were hit
and collapsed in on themselves. “This isn’t working” said Justin.
“I have an idea”. “What is the idea?” asked James. “If we arm
warriors with ladders, they run in the battlefield and prop them
up, they’d be too many and too small for the catapults. Once they
seize the gate, they’d open it and the entire army would enter”
said Justin. “We will take heavy casualties from it” said James.
“We will enter that city though” said Justin.

Justin ordered for ladders to built then he sent troops out

to scale the walls and open the gate. From a distance, he saw large
amounts of people with ladders placing them and climbing. Hours
later, many troops had died, but then he saw the gate; it was
opening.

He mounted his horse. “Charge into the city” shouted

Justin. They all charged. Phillip, seeing the massive army
charging in, fled the city. The army entered the city and
massacred everyone, peasant and army. “Burn the city!” ordered
Justin. The army exited the city, and it was set on fire. Justin
smiled then he frowned. “This isn’t enough” said Justin.

Turning to his commanders, he said “Burn all of Vengir.

Kill all Vengiri. Don’t let any live!”. The commanders thoroughly
feared Justin, and so they burnt the entire land of Vengir. They
killed Vengiri, hundreds of thousands including General David
Vengir.

Justin declared Bardur, Kickoo, and Luxidoor to be

independent from Vengir. He ordered King James to remove any
remaining Vengiri presence in Bardur, Kickoo, and Luxidoor, then
he rode to Idor and took a ship to Rore, never to return to the
South.
 Epilogue: The Judgment of ∑∫ỹ
“No act will go unseen. No act will go unpunished. No act will
go unrewarded” - ∑∫ỹ

Many years later, Justin, Phillip, Robert, David, and the

three men who killed Queen Alana; stood before ∑∫ỹ, or Ely, in
his palace on ∑∫ỹriȱŋ.

Ely turned to Justin and spoke, “Your actions have caused

the people of Vengir much suffering. Their land is burnt, pitch
black because of you. The once green fields are ashes due to you.
You murdered two innocent people who did nothing, Queen
Alana Vengir and Prince Jordan Vengir. You murdered hundreds
of thousands of Vengiri people. Your punishment shall be what
Queen Alana had cursed upon you. You will be tortured for ten
years before you die”.

Turning to the three men who killed Queen Alana and

Prince Jordan, he said “You three murdered two innocent people.
You killed them in a way, past what was necessary because you
hated them. You shall be punished in the way Queen Alana had
cursed you. You will be murdered in the same way you murdered
Prince Jordan”.

He then turned to Phillip and said, “Phillip, you turned and

fled when the Imperians were in the city and never returned. As a
king, you cannot abandon your people like that. You gave into
your fear, and so you shall be enslaved by fear. You will return to
Polytopia and live forever in fear”.

He turned to Robert and said, “Robert, you are a shining

example of honor. You gave an oath protecting the family of the
enemy and when you discovered that they were hurt; you gave
your life to your enemy. For your reward, you will forever live
here in paradise, ∑∫ỹriȱŋ”.

He turned to David and said, “David, you defended your

people from enemies. You never committed atrocities; you only
defended your people from slaughter. Even in the final hours, you
defended. You still betrayed your king. Vengir is dying, and you
haven’t quite earned punishment or reward. You shall return to
Polytopia and defend the Vengiri people from being completely
removed from the land. Once you do that, you will be brought
here to live in paradise”.
Map of Polytopia