The Fall of Lord Kelvyn

By Commentaholic

A/N: Hi again, for all of you people who are reading the prologue again! Well, here we are again at the start, and this is what I hope will be Prologue 2.0.

After some serious self-convincing, I'm managing to get myself to start rewriting my prologue, which was before a mere teaser trailer. For those of you just joining us, think of the last version as… the script of a movie teaser trailer… yeah…

Anyway, I hope I do better this time around by adding actual decent content to the prologue. Also, I hope this is the first in a long line of rewrites of my early chapters.

God knows how much chapters 1-8 need rewrites… First, I'll probably need to think of a name for this prologue. It's either that, or just leaving it as titled: "prologue."

I hope this rewrite will convince more people to read past chapter 1.

Read and Review!

-Commentaholic-

Prologue

Antonio Pevengius stumbled through the brush, thin branches whipping at his steel armor. Breathing heavily, he plunged through the bushes and between the trees at a fear-driven pace. He risked a glance backwards to see if he had lost his pursuer. His steel-booted foot struck a small log that had been hidden in the tall grass, and he pitched forward to the ground, his armor clinking uproariously. Antonio rolled to his feet, cursing, and took off again. He heard the swish of robes behind him getting closer.

Antonio gasped in a lungful of air and ran even faster, his gauntleted fists pumping in an attempt to squeeze in some extra speed. The sound of the pursuer grew fainter, and then disappeared. Antonio ducked behind a tree and attempted to get his noisy breathing under control.

This patrol wasn't going anything like expected.

"Antonio, get a move on! The sooner we finish our loop, the sooner we can get back to the barracks for a couple of pints of ale." Bracius called out.

Antonio smiled, and jogged to catch up with his friend, the chainmail under his steel-plated armor jingling. He was glad that he had Bracius around on his cold, late-night patrols. Even though he'd only been posted at the fortress for a few days, the two had become friends.

"Hey, Bracius, do you have any idea why Old Man Kelvyn is so jumpy lately?" Antonio asked.

"I do not know for sure," Bracius answered, "But I think it has something to do with Alveroth and his squad. They haven't come back from their mission, so something must be up."

Bracius and Antonio walked along the low stone wall that marked the perimeter of the fort's holdings. Antonio could hear an owl hooting in the forest beyond. He looked up, admiring the light that Masser and Secunda provided. They were full tonight, the two red and white orbs dominating the star-studded skies.

Antonio heard a rustle from the forest and looked at Bracius, who looked back. He had heard it, too.

"Show yourself!" Bracius said, drawing his sword. Antonio did likewise, his steel longsword gleaming in the moonlight.

Suddenly, Bracius shoved Antonio to the ground, and Antonio caught a glimpse of a burst of fire before he tumbled to the ground. He was up in an instant, looking around for where the fireball came from, when he noticed Bracius lying on the ground, smoldering.

Bracius had not thought twice about shoving Antonio to safety, and had taken the brunt of the fireball to his face and upper torso. The intensity of the flames had killed the Imperial in seconds. Antonio gave a strangled cry of sorrow at the sight of his friend's scorched body.

Antonio looked around, brandishing his sword, seeking to exact revenge for the death of his comrade. Another fireball streaked towards Antonio, but this time he was ready. His shield blocked the ball of flames, grew red hot, and began to melt. Antonio threw it aside before he could be scorched by the now useless shield.

A cloaked figure strode from the shadows of the forest, heading towards Antonio. Antonio gave a war cry and charged towards his friend's killer. The figure whipped a shimmering Elven claymore from its back and parried Antonio's overhead swing easily. The robed stranger brought the long glittering blade around in an arc, bringing its edge to Antonio's blade, which snapped off in a shower of sparks.

Antonio ripped off his helmet, threw it at the dark figure, and sprinted off into the forest, fleeing for his life.

Antonio waited in silence for any sign that the figure was still on his trail.

Nothing.

He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back into the elm he was leaning against, looking up into its branches. Now that that was over with, he had to get back and warn the others.

The sound of the blade piercing his breastplate was all the warning he had. He looked down to see a long, thin blade shoved into his stomach. Tendrils of lightning coursed along the blade's length, causing agony when they followed the metal into Antonio's entrails, which were seeping through the gash in his gut.

The cloaked figure holding the blade leaned closer, shadow obscuring its face.

"N-Not like this," Antonio gasped out, "Not out here, alone…"

"Fear not, you won't be alone for long. You and your friend were only the beginning," a female voice said darkly.

A/N: Hope you liked the rewrite! I'm still going need help coming up with names, though. Arty Thrip's list of names is running low. I need more imperial names if I'm going to have the final battle have any sort of brotherhood among the soldiers.

-Commentaholic