A Story

Hey everyone.
On my own time, I've been writing a novel. I don't have much done yet but here it is. I'm trying to write it well enough so that people might relate it to The Lord of The Rings or something like that. Anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1

Luke was a young man. He didn’t know his exact age but he knew it was around fourteen or so. He was sitting in an armchair pondering life. Ah, life. He smiled. Everyone wanted to know if life was good or bad. He didn’t care though. His life was his and that’s all that mattered right now. But was it happy? Did he have a happy life? He had more than anyone else. He had heaps of money, fine clothes that were lined with diamonds, and he had servants attending his every whim and that were always at his beck. But he was still troubled, nothing ever seemed right. “Happiness doesn’t lie in possessions” he decided “You’re happy if you can just be yourself and if someone cares about you.” Well, he was cared about. He was kind to all the servants; in fact he did more of their own work than them. Something about him just wanted to show off, or do work, or do hard things. He was very proud, but not arrogant. King Gillian was arrogant. Luke was proud, and also kind. Whenever Gillian scheduled a punishment, Luke would take his place in disguise. He had gotten used to torture. His skin was tough, so whippings and slashes would barely hurt. And if the servant was to be executed, they always mysteriously escaped right before the execution. Yes he was loved. He was loved immensely. But he could not be himself. Gillian was his adoptive father. He always said they were related but his servant friend, Kad, knew the story and had told him how he had been found, an abandoned baby, washed up on the shore of the river. Kad was just like him, and they always played in the woods together. If they could sneak past Gillian, that is. Gillian needed an heir that would rule his kingdom the way he wanted it to be ruled. But Luke actually cared about the people. He vowed that when the kingdom was his, he would rule it right, and change the name Gillian gave to him. Gillian was a selfish tyrant, a cruel dictator, and he was ugly too. He couldn’t even stand up, he was so fat. But he had power, and that was all it took. Luke wished he could be far away whenever he saw his face.
“LUKE!!!” the horrible voice aroused him from his dreaming.
Reluctantly he answered “ Gillian?”
“Call me father!”
“Yes, yes...”
“Be more respectful to your me!” he yelled “And anyway, it’s time for your lesson!”
Wonderful, Luke thought. Another hour of gibberish about my father being kind and brilliant. He rose from his chair. He would trick that stupid soldier the same way as last time.
He entered the teaching room. The same dull soldier was standing there. Luke sat down.
“Now” said the dreary voice. “We shall begin on your family history. Your family goes back all the way to- Yes Luke?”
“May I use the restroom?” he asked in his most anxious voice.
“Very well, but be back soon.” Said the soldier.
Works every time, thought Luke, smirking as he left the room.
When he got to the room, he jumped out the window and scaled his way across the wall to the balcony. He then gave three birdcalls. As expected, it was returned by a series of chirps. A figure dropped down from the balcony above.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Of course.” Smiled Kad “but know that I’m not going to spare you when we fence.”
“We’ll see.” Luke answered.

“Hey, Luke, it’s getting dark.” Said Kad.
Luke scaled down his tree. Sure enough, the sun was setting. He had been having so much fun; he had forgotten to keep track of time.
“Yeah, we should go back now I guess.” He replied.
The two friends started out for home, chatting while they went.
“You know,” said Kad “I don’t think I’ll ever be as strong as you. I can’t believe you ran the length of the forest in just fifteen minutes.”
“You’re being tough on yourself.” Luke replied “ I didn’t stand a chance when we fenced!”
“Been practicing all week.” Said Kad proudly.
“And I’ve been getting you out of trouble for it.” Replied Luke. They both laughed.
“I’ll race you home.” Said Kad.
“You’ve already lost.” Luke replied.
They dashed there, but when they reached their destination, they stopped suddenly, for waiting for them, was a most unwelcome welcome party.
“Well, well.” Said Gillian. “What have we got here?”

***

Luke thought as he sat in the dungeon. He thought mainly about hate. He thought about how he hated Gillian. He thought about how he hated being contained. But mostly, he thought about how he hated himself. If he had thought ahead, had gotten back earlier, He might not have gotten Kad into so much trouble. He looked at Kad. They probably both knew what awaited him.
“Luke?” asked Kad.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?”
“If I hadn’t been so ignorant you could have gotten back on time.”
“If anyone should be sorry it should be me.” Luke exclaimed “I got you into this whole mess.”
“You’re sorry?” Kad smirked weakly “Why? You won our race.”
Luke laughed. That was what was great about Kad. He could make things sound funny even in the worst of situations.
“The king has decided what to do with you.” Said a soldier who had come in without their noticing. “You” he pointed to Kad “Will be executed tomorrow at the crack of dawn. Young Luke shall be whipped.” The soldier left.
Tears filled Luke’s eyes. His one real friend, the one he had played with for as long as he could remember was going to die, and it was his fault.
“You’ve saved me many of times before. I just won’t be saved this time.” Kad encouraged.
Won’t be saved thought Luke. Won’t be saved. Then an idea flashed through his head. It was a wicked idea, an evil, risky idea. But he had to try it.
“Kad” he said uneasily “I’m going to kill Gillian.”
Kad looked at him like he was crazy. “You’re going to kill him?” he exclaimed, “How are you going to do that?”
“I know it’s risky.” Replied Luke “But it’s the only way I can save you, and everyone else.”
“Don’t do this Luke. You don’t have to.”
“I have to if I want to save you.”
“Don’t do this for me. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“I’m stronger than any of the guards and soldiers Gillian has! They cannot kill me!” Luke yelled.
Kad looked at his friend. Before, he had been so easy going, and relaxed, even in the worst situations. Now his eyes were near red with anger. He has a wrath, thought Kad. A wrath I’ve never seen before. Nothing can stop him now.

***

The next day, Kad was taken out of the cell. He gave Luke a ‘good luck’ kind of face and then left. Luke was then taken out and brought to the torture room, and the whipping began. The whipping didn’t even hurt to him. But what made him lose his grip on patience was the fact that his friend was to be executed while he was in here being whipped by the same people who would execute Kad. At that, he lost it. He jumped off the whipping table and hit the soldier square in the nose. He lost his consciousness, quick as that. Luke quickly lightened the guards sheath from its dagger. He rushed out the door, taking the two guards by surprise.
“Oi! You can’t come out of there!” Said one guard.
“Watch me.” Luke replied darkly. And quickly stabbed the guard in the heart.
“Lord Gi-!” the other guard started but then immediately had to deal with a cut throat. Luke ran down the hall to where the execution room was. He made it just in time to see the soldier raise his ax. Luke threw his dagger and saw it hit the soldier in the stomach. The breath knocked out of him, and being injured caused him to drop the axe, which cut the ropes around Kad’s arm. Kad acted fast and pulled the dagger out of the injured guard, in order to cut the other ropes.
Three guards came after Luke, and armed with clubs. Luke sent a blow to the first guard’s ribs, which he felt crack. The guard lost consciousness and dropped his club, which Luke used to pummel the second guard. But the third guard was already on him, with his club raised. Luke was ready for the heavy club to come down on him.
But instead what he felt come down on him was a body. He threw it off and saw the knife Kad had grabbed, sticking out of the guard’s head.
“I didn’t think you’d actually pull this off.” Smiled Kad.
“I haven’t yet.” Replied Luke.
The two friends exited the room, and ran down the hall. They were both free now and had a goal. To kill King Gillian. They saw him in the main room, giving a speech to all the townsfolk. It was another speech about how he was great and how everyone should respect him. Luke was about to go up there and push him off the balcony, when four guards grabbed both of them.
“You will be contained!” The four guards cried.
“By order of Gillian I suspect?” yelled Kad “Then that must be solved!” and he broke free of the guard’s grip and started charging at Gillian, who had just turned around to see what was happening.
“Get him!” yelled Gillian. The two guards from before lunged at Kad, giving Kad much more to cope with. When he finally defeated them both, he and Luke both could here Gillian’s voice out on the streets yelling, “Make way! Make way!” as the wheels of his chariot clattered against the stones in the streets violently. And slowly but surely, the noise died as Gillian dashed into the wilderness, in order to escape the castle that was once his. “I will get back at you, Kai, son of the river. Do not think that this is the end.” Gillian muttered to himself, for only he new Luke’s true name.
Back at the palace, the guards were stunned. But finally, one called out, “Hail King Luke! Successor of his father!”
“HAIL LUKE!” All the guards cried.
“Thank you.” Said Luke. “But I didn’t defeat Gillian. Kad did. Hail King Kad!” he said as he bowed to the stunned Kad.
“HAIL KAD!” Said all the guards.
“HAIL KING KAD!” Said the townspeople below.
“What? You’re the true King Luke!” Exclaimed Kad. “I merely defeated your father!”
“And so, you’re the rightful ruler.” Muttered Luke. “I have no wish to become king anymore.”
“But I can’t accept this throne!” Kad exclaimed, “You should have it.”
“You’re smarter than me.” Said Luke “This kingdom needs wisdom. That’s that.”
“Fine. But what are you going to do?” Asked Kad.
“You’ll find that out tomorrow.” Replied Luke.

***

“So, Luke,” Kad said. “You’re really leaving?”
“I feel no need to stay in this place,” replied Luke. “I wish to find my origins. When the prime minister found the journal Gillian had kept, I wished to know why I came from the river. So what better place to start than the river itself?”
“Yes…” Kad said, lost in thought. So much had happened between them. And now they were going their separate ways, he as the ruler of a kingdom, and Luke as an adventurer. But the course of time must flow, Kad reminded himself, whether it is to our liking or not.
“Well,” said Luke, pulling Kad back to reality, “I had best be on my way. Farewell, friend Kad.” And untied his dinghy from the dock.
“Farewell, Luke,” muttered Kad. Then he yelled, “Remember! My kingdom is always open to shelter you!”
Luke waved and then disappeared around a bend.
“Well,” said Kad, “I suppose it’s for the best. But I wonder if I can really rule these people right?”
His answer was in the future, where numerous challenges awaited both of them.

Chapter 2

Luke continued to sail along for about an hour, uneventfully. Eventually, he came under the spell of beauty, cast by the pretty woods he was sailing through. Soothed, he fell asleep.
He dreamt of a beautiful woman with golden hair, and a dark sorcerer, gone mad with power. The woman was trying to tell him something but he could never understand what. He dreamt of the river and a middle aged man. He knew the man from somewhere, but where?
A sudden bump brought him to his senses. He had landed on a bank. None of the woods around him looked familiar.
“I must be quite a long way from home,” Luke muttered to himself.
“You must be, to have been stupid enough to enter my woods.” replied a voice.
Luke whirled around. No one was there. Then he became aware of a hot wind on his face. Turning around, he became aware of a very large bear standing in front of him. Taken off guard, he stumbled back into his boat.
“You should not have entered my territory, human,” growled the bear. “Now you will have to pay.”
“You talked.” Luke exclaimed, “But you are simply a bear.”
“Are you suggesting you are better than me human?” growled the bear, “Then it is the last thing you will ever do. I hope you taste better than you look.”
Luke prepared to be killed by the bear, but instead, a third voice came to his aid.
“Grungar,” said his savior, “Trying to make the calls of the forest again I see.”
The bear gave a low growl. “Stay out of this Kahul.” he said, “I’m hungry, and he’s a lowly human. He’s my prey.”
“You mustn’t kill him unless the forest has approved it.” said the voice “Otherwise, we will gladly give him to you.”
Grungar looked very annoyed. “Fine,” he growled “You have him. Not enough meat on his bones anyway.” and stalked off.
With Grungar’s huge figure out of the way, Luke could see his savior, and was surprised to see a very tall man.
“I am sorry for friend Grungar’s rudeness,” said the man, offering a hand, “But you must understand he has been starving for some time.”
“Er, it’s alright.” said Luke, accepting the help. He started brushing the dirt off his clothes but stopped short when he saw the man’s legs “You’re… you’re a horse.” he exclaimed.
“Rather, I’m a centaur. And I go by the name of Kahul.” replied the centaur defensively.
“I’m sorry.” said Luke, stunned. A centaur! he had heard of them only in wives tales. A burning question came into his head.
“Is it true centaurs have sparred with man for all of time?” asked Luke.
“No.” replied Kahul “Man has sparred with centaurs. And please don’t ask such obvious questions. It will make this trip so much harder. Come.”
“Yes,” said Luke “But where are we going?”
“The center of the forest,” Kahul replied, “To see what the trees say.”

***

Kad went to bed happy that night. People agreed with him. He had set up a new set of laws, and they had been greeted with enthusiasm from a vast majority of the population. Not only that but the people wanted him. They actually wanted him to be king. Gillian’s only relatives were hermits, living on the outskirts of town, making it so that there was no competition. No, both the people and himself had complete confidence in his work.

***

Meanwhile, the news that Kad had defeated Gillian spread fast and soon reached the outskirts of town. And some of the listening ears had been Gillian’s family themselves.
“Preposterous” muttered Gillian II, Gillian’s father. “That boy has disgraced our name.”
“Something must be done!” cried Gillian’s sister, Ranon. “We cannot let this boy rule our kingdom!”
“Learn to control your mouth woman!” yelled Gillian’s older brother Tuvma.
“Why don’t you just kill them?” asked a young voice. They all turned around. Standing there was Ranon’s sixteen-year old son, Gillian IV. He was a mysterious child who had been strong since birth, and had piercing red eyes. No one could explain why he had red eyes. Nor did anyone in the family care.
“Slap your son Ranon.” muttered Tuvma “He needs to be disciplined.”
“You can’t decide what I do for me.” Ranon replied nastily.
“Don’t be stupid young Gillian (IV).” said Gillian (II).
Gillian IV snapped Gillian II a sharp quick glance. It stopped Gillian II in his tracks. Now they will listen to me, he thought.
“Listen to me,” he said, “ Gillian III was a great ruler, and a powerful asset to this family. Are we going to just let this child take over the kingdom? I think not. We should restore the leadership of this kingdom. Now, let me help you do this. We could do it, if Tuvma went and got firewood. And it would help even more if Ranon collected supporters of our royal family. Then, you could help Gillian II take back over.” As long as he doesn’t die, he thought wickedly. If he did, the rules would make me in control. And I’m sure our supporters won’t want to break the rules.
Tuvma and Ranon were speechless. That alone convinced them to do things his way. Little did they know, that soon, many others with them would become his puppets.

***

Luke arrived in a large clearing with Kahul. Kahul pricked his ears up and didn’t say a word. After about ten minutes Luke asked “What are you…?”
“Shhhhh!” scolded Kahul “They speak very softly!”
“Who?” asked Luke.
“The trees! Shhhhh!” whispered Kahul.
The trees? I can’t hear anything thought Luke to himself.
Suddenly Kahul’s ears pricked up. Then he started bucking, and kicking and laughing to himself.
“What is it?” asked Luke surprised.
“It’s you! It’s you!” Kahul cried “Oh, you’re finally here!”
“What did I do?” Luke asked.
“You are Kai, son of the river!” exclaimed Kahul “I can’t believe it!”
“But my name is Luke” said Luke stunned.
“Then you must have never heard your true name, because you are Kai! The trees know all!” cried Kahul. and continued his rowdiness. For a while Luke just sat there in complete bewilderment. Who is Kai?
Finally, Kahul calmed down. “We must take you to the elders of course though.” he grinned, out of breath. “I hope I didn’t surprise you with my activity. I’m a bit more childish than other centaurs.”
“Th-that’s alright.” said Luke who was apparently very surprised with Kahul’s sudden burst of activity.
“Anyway, you’re name is Kai. I’m sorry for it being so sudden but it’s what you must be called.” said Kahul.
And Luke, rather Kai, having been very taken off guard, agreed. So now in this story he will be referred to by his true name, Kai. Anyway, they continued to walk until they started coming along some tents. As they walked further, they came upon more tents and even houses.
“Whose houses are these?” asked Kai. “I’ve never seen any like them.”
“They are the houses of my people.” replied Kahul, who had calmed down quite a bit. “We have tried to civilize away from humans as much as possible. Ah, here we are.”
They had arrived at a large, fancy looking building. They entered and found themselves among a conference filled with educated looking centaurs. Looks of horror appeared on their faces. Finally, one cried, “A human!” and all the centaurs dashed towards Luke.
“Wait!” cried Kahul “I brought him here! and for good reason too. Please just hear my story.”
“We will listen to you Kahul.” said one centaur “But if we don’t find reason to keep him in two minutes, we give him to the bears as a peace offering.”
“He is Kai, son of the river!” cried Kahul.
Murmuring went around the table Finally, an old centaur, which appeared to be the leader, said “Kahul, you have given us no reason to trust you in the past. We will question this human. If he is really Kai, you will be rewarded heavily. But if you’re wrong, you will be whipped mercilessly.”
“I thank you for your reasonable decision.” remarked Kahul.
“Now human.” said the leader. “Who raised you up as a boy?”
“Gillian III the ‘terrible tyrant’.” replied Kai.
“What position is your best friend in now?”
“He has taken the place of Gillian.”
“Who is your mother?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
Much murmuring went around the table. ‘My, my,’ was all many of them could say. Some could not speak at all. Finally, a warm smile appeared on the leader’s face. “Schedule a town meeting Kahul.” he smiled, “This is cause for a celebration.”

***

“This kingdom is broken!” shouted Ranon in the middle of the town. This king is young and inexperienced! We must gather a force to stop him and return the true heir to the kingdom! We must bring back the glorious reign of Gillian!”
“Go back to your shack woman! one person cried, which resulted in much laughter.
“Oh, you will see!” yelled Ranon, “You may think we have no brains, but my son is smarter than all of you! He can gather an army greater than any of you can imagine!”
“He must be very smart to think that an old witch like you can convince us to take the kingdom from Lord Kad and return it to the likes of you!” another cried which also resulted in laughter. “Our kingdom has been broken for centuries! Lord Kad has returned it to its former glory!”
This caused the crowd to cheer, so that not a soul could hear or care what Ranon had to say. Muttering, she returned to the house.
“Ah, mother!” said Gillian IV “What of today’s findings?”
“The people do not care for our honored family any more.” she replied nastily, “We have collected no one.”
“No one?” replied Gillian, surprisingly calm.
“Young Gillian, you are very brave, but this pitiful army,” gestured Ranon towards the force of about one hundred men, “cannot stand a minute fighting the royal army of what now is the kingdom of Kad!”
“Then I guess it is time…” replied Gillian “Tuvma!”
Tuvma waddled over to the front of the shack. “Yes?” he mumbled.
“Since you are so powerful, could you get the firewood?” He, pretended, “I cannot think of anyone better suited for the job than you.”
Tuvma grunted and waddled off. It was dull for Gillian to respect him like that but it got Tuvma to do what Gillian wanted.
Tuvma soon came back with the firewood. Gillian lit it and started weaving the smoke into unusual patterns.
“What are you doing boy?” grunted Tuvma.
“Oh, you shall see…” grinned Gillian wickedly.
About an hour later, Gillian II woke up. He caught sight of Ranon and Tuvma, perplexed and staring. He looked up to see what had caught their eye, only to see a horde of black-skinned, human-like, savages riding on hawks the size horses towards their shack.
“Ah, grandfather!” said Gillian IV coolly, “How are you?”
All Gillian II could mutter was, “What…are…they?”
“They are the Daks grandfather,” replied Gillian IV wickedly, “and you had better watch your tongue when talking to them. They could slice it out in an instant.”

***

Meanwhile, Kai had joined up with Kahul at the ceremony that was being held in their honor.
“Kahul,” asked Kai, “Why are they celebrating my arrival?”
“Well,” replied Kahul through a mouthful of strange fruits, “You are Kai…”
“…Son of the river, I know.” Kai replied, “But what is so special about me?”
“You see,” answered Kahul, “There is a prophecy about you. And the prophecy says that you will resolve all conflicts between the centaurs and the bears.”
“What conflict is there between you?” asked Kai.
“Oh, there are many conflicts.” replied Kahul “The bears have been fighting with us from before the age of men. Both bears and centaurs have wanted this forest. The problem is, neither race can agree on who had it originally. The bears claim that they had been living here happily until suddenly, a small group of centaurs appeared, who started colonizing on their land. But the centaurs’ side of the story is that the bears came from the great deserts, to find new homes to replace the old ones that they had not cared for. So they came to the woods of the centaurs and stole some of our materials and settled in our land.”
“Which side of the story do you believe Kahul?” asked Kai.
“I can’t say” he replied. “At first, of course, I believed that my kind was right. But now that you have shown up, my view has grown unbiased.”

I made the next part of my story, here it is...

“I see.” said Kai. The two friends walked quietly for a while. Finally, Kai broke the silence.
“What do you think it means?” he asked Kahul.
“What does what mean?” replied Kahul.
“To resolve all conflicts. What does it mean? Does it mean I’ll join one side and destroy the other?” questioned Kai.
“I think that is yet to be decided,” replied Kahul. “I also think you should give your jaw a rest and enjoy the ceremony.”
They laughed, and proceeded to celebrate his arrival. Quite unaware of what the bears were planning on the other side of the forest.
For on the other side, Grungar along with many other bears had just been given his armor.
“Grungar,” said the King Bear. “Are you sure of what you heard?”
The king bear was withered and old. No one could pinpoint exactly how long he had been alive. But it was known that he was one of the oldest bears alive.
“Yes Your Majesty.” he replied. “I overheard that fool Kahul. They have the Son of the river.”
“Then the prophecy is true.” the King Bear growled insanely. He yelled to the young bear at his side. “You! Go fetch my armor. Do you understand the plan Grungar?”
“I do Your Majesty.” Grungar growled wickedly. He then turned to all the bears dressed in armor and yelled to them, “At dawn, the centaurs fall!”

***

P.S.
Please comment! I've worked on this for two months!
-Alex F