Mikal

Longhill Woods - Late Autumn

Loud cries bellowed through the woods.

Hans cried and cried, while he held Riki in his arms. Lucian flew in circles above them and cried as well, whether lamenting the loss of a friend or anticipating a feast, Mikal was not sure.

Incoherent words infiltrated Hans's cries, as he continued to cradle his dead lover. Until he suddenly dropped Riki and stood up, drawing out his sword.

"Bring him back!" Hans wailed and turned around slashing against the trees.

Mikal quickly pulled Hilda behind his back, shielding her from his mad brother. He stood before her in attention with his hand ready at the hilt of his sword.

"Bring him back!" Hans continued to cry and cut off tree branches. He stopped to catch his breath, before he turned towards Mikal and Hilda, his eyes burning with madness. He stormed towards them, his sword raised high. Mikal drew out his own sword at once and stopped him.

"Please bring him back," Hans cried, his voice breaking, and his face twisting with agony. He lowered his sword and turned to Hilda who still stood shielded behind Mikal. "Please!" Hans pleaded, reaching out to her and grabbing her arm.

"Don't touch her!" Mikal pushed Hans away from Hilda. "She can't bring him back. He's dead."

"No!" Hans screamed, his face distorted with rage. "She will bring him back! She'll fucking bring him back, or I'll have her beheaded!"

Without thinking Mikal landed a sharp slap against Hans's face. "Say that again and I'll have you beheaded," Mikal threatened.

"How dare you! I am your King!"

"You are just a stupid boy who thinks he's a King," Mikal said, "a coward hiding behind an army of ravens. But now your only source of power is gone, and you are nothing."

"What do you know of my power!" Hans cried, raising his sword once more. But this time he did not hesitate to strike.

Their swords clashed in the middle of the woods. Dia took to the air at once, giving Mikal a full view of his surroundings. Mikal fought gracefully as Dia registered Hans's every step from above, blocking the dangerous blows. Hans fought with the fury of a beast, his strikes swift and relentless, like a deadly storm. Hans was quite good at sword fighting. He had always been the best among the other squires. It was Mikal who had taught him how to fight. But he had not taught him to fight like this.

This Hans who attacked him now was a hundred times better and stronger than the Hans he had used to train back in Nordenvania. He was a hundred times better than any opponent he had ever met before. There was no way he could have improved that greatly during the couple of years Mikal had been away, because the skill and strength with which he fought could only belong to a warrior deeply experienced with battle, or an expert killer with long years of practice and countless kills. It was only Dia's guidance that kept Mikal alive under Hans's attacks.

"You think you can best me, brother?" Hans laughed with madness. "You have no idea who I am!" He struck his sword with flashing speed, which Mikal blocked just before the blade could slash his chest. "You think I am weak? That I am nothing without my ravens?" Hans struck again and again. "You know nothing!" He laughed out.

Despite Dia's wider scope of vision, Mikal could barely hold off Hans's attacks. The boy was so fast and strong that Mikal hardly managed to keep up with his pace.

"I am a killer!" Hans growled. "I have killed more men than you have ever met in your pathetic short life. I have killed men twice your size, and ten times your strength!"

Mikal would have taken Hans's words as words of madness, if not for the way he fought. Could that also be some sort of spell? Was Hans really whom Mikal thought him to be. Was that even his little brother at all?

All it took was a blink. That one fraction of a moment where Mikal caught a brief delay in Hans's movements, and he disarmed him at once, locking the blade of his sword against Hans's neck.

Hans froze, a slight shock in his eyes, and all his earlier confidence melted away. He looked up at Mikal, and further up towards Dia. Mikal's heart raced as Hans's eyes locked with his own, Dia's eyes. Hans's eyes widened further as revelation seemed to hit him. And then he laughed out. A sharp sinister cackle that reverberated within the woods. Then he stopped laughing abruptly, his eyes gleaming with demonic intent.

"Lucian, atta – " Hans barely spoke before a thudding blow knocked him off. He collapsed onto the ground where Hilda stood behind him, holding a wooden log in both hands and glaring at Mikal. Lucian cried out and landed next to Hans's motionless body, where he continued to caw by his side.

It took Mikal a moment to realize what had just happened, and the terrible thing that was about to happen. If Hilda hadn't interfered, Lucian would have attacked Dia, and Mikal would have become blind again. Then he realized why Hilda was glaring at him. She had warned him countless times about being too obvious with his ability to see, and he never listened.

"It's time to go," she hissed, her voice still hoarse and her eyes red and swollen from weeping over Riki. "Put him in ropes," she said curtly as she tossed the wooden log to the ground near Hans. "And gag him. He'll wake and speak. Make sure he doesn't."

Without another word, Hilda turned away and walked back towards Riki's body, calling onto the nearby guards to help her bury him.

Nordenvania

A whole moon had passed since their outrageous defeat at Longhill. A whole moon which Mikal had used to prepare for the biggest and most important high council to ever take place in Nordenland. Every winged Lord in the North had been invited. Every winged noble and commoner, men and women alike. And for the first time in the history of Engeldom, the great hall of Nordenvania was open for humans as well.

The humans stood in confusion at the back of the hall, looking around themselves warily. Of course, none of them had ever attended a council meeting before, and they had no idea why they were here. Not to mention the looks of disdain they received from the winged ones surrounding them.

Mikal was sitting on the throne, smirking as he watched the amusing situation before him. Hilda sat by his side, holding his hand. Dia stood upon his shoulder, scanning the faces of every Northman in the hall. The same men who had once looked down upon him with contempt and branded him a traitor. But not anymore. Today, they would all watch him with awe once again. Today, they would all kneel before him.

Mikal stood and the hall fell into silence. Everyone turned to look at him, their eyes filled with wariness and skepticism. He could not blame them. First of all, he was sitting in the king's place, and the king was nowhere to be seen. And second, he was blind. He was aware that they could not trust a blind man to lead them.

"My dear Lords," Mikal smiled, "I am truly glad that you have come all the way for this gathering today, despite the harsh winter. I promise to keep it short, so that we can have the remaining time to celebrate."

One of the Lords scoffed and shook his head, muttering something. Mikal turned to him at once.

"Perhaps you would like to share with us what annoys you so, Lord Evan." Mikal shot him a perfect smile. The man paled and his mouth fell open as he looked back at Mikal. Mikal held himself from laughing. It was not only Evan, but all the Lords before him looked at him with the same shocked expression. He knew exactly what they were thinking. How a man so obviously blind, with a thick black blindfold covering the upper half of his face, and a guiding cane tightly held within his hand, could possibly see? Well, they'll never know. But they'll only know to never think they could do and say shit as they pleased because they thought he could not see them.

Mikal raised his head high and continued. "Very well, unless you have something to say to my face, do not interrupt me again."

"Forgive me, my Lord," Evan mumbled.

"My Lord?" Mikal chuckled. "Well, I do not suppose you should call me your lord anymore, because, and that is precisely why I have gathered you all here today. Following our unfortunate defeat at Longhill, and the loss of our raven army, it has been decided that King Hans must step down from the throne."

Loud clamor rose within the hall. Mikal smiled, reveling in the confusion of the winged ones before him, but more, enjoying the fear and helplessness in the eyes of the humans who had no idea what they were here for.

"Hans had never been the rightful heir to Nordenvania to begin with," Mikal resumed, forcing the hall into silence. "Following Bernard's death, the rightful heir to Nordenvania should have been myself. But due to the circumstances back then, Vilfred had filled in the position for me, before he betrayed us."

Another wave of confusion fell upon the winged ones. Of course, they all remembered that it was Mikal who had betrayed them, as Vilfred had made them believe. The fools. They knew nothing.

"Yes, it was Vilfred who betrayed us. He had made you believe that I was a traitor. But it was not true. He was the traitor, not me. And if you don't believe me, ask her." Mikal turned to Hilda. "She saw him at Longhill, fighting alongside the Vausterians."

Hilda nodded in silence, confirming Mikal's words. More chatter broke within the hall, only to be silenced as Mikal raised his hand.

"I have promised to keep this short, and so I shall keep my promise. As Hans is no longer in a position to rule as King of Nordenland, I shall claim my right to Nordenvania as Bernard's successor, and thus my right to the throne in Hans's place."

A long silence followed Mikal's words. No one dared to speak, whether in approval or not. Hilda stepped forward, holding a large crown in her hands. She raised it up before him, and with Dia atop his shoulder, the crown came exactly in his line of vision. Mikal smiled, admiring the masterpiece before him. A magical creation of black demon stone adorned with rubies, designed especially for his sake. It was a combination of a crown and a helmet with high pointy peaks at the top, and a long base at the bottom, reaching beyond his forehead and covering his eyes.

Hilda carefully placed the helmet crown on his head, and despite the black velvet blindfold around his eyes, Mikal still sensed the cold metal as it encased the upper half of his face. With the crown in place, Mikal turned towards the crowd, reveling in the awed looks on their faces. Hilda held up his hand and turned to the crowd as well.

"Long live the King!" she said. For a moment, no one responded. Until an old winged Lord stepped in and cheered out with passion.

"Long live the king!" he said, and soon the hall vibrated with the cries and cheers of the winged ones and humans. "Long live the king!" they cried, over and over.

Mikal took in a deep breath and raised his head high. Despite the fact that he stood perfectly still with his wings gathered behind him, he felt as if he was flying up in the highest skies. His heart pounded so hard with overwhelming excitement that he thought it would flee from his chest. The cheers reverberated within the hall, shaking the walls and his whole body.

He had always dreamed of this moment. This particular moment when he stood at the head of the great hall of Nordenvania, with a crown atop his head, and every lord in the North kneeling before him. This moment, when he became the King of Nordenland.

He was Mikal Nordstrom, savior of the North, and King of Nordenland.

"I have also promised that we shall celebrate," Mikal turned to Hilda and held up her hands. "Hilda of Grytia," he continued, "I shall take thee as my queen. Will you marry me?"

Without a word, Hilda threw her arms around his neck and slammed her lips upon his mouth. More cheers broke within the hall. Long live the King. Long live the Queen.

Mikal placed Hilda's crown on her head, a golden band with emeralds that complimented her brown hair and matched her green velvet dress. He turned to the crowd once more while he held her hand.

"The first thing I shall do as your new king, is to build a true strong army that would rival the Vausterian forces," Mikal announced. "As it had been proved over and again, that our winged forces alone were never enough to defeat our enemies, nor was the aid of mercenaries or ravens, I shall follow the Vausterian example and build an army of both winged ones and humans. If we want to face the Vausterians as equals, then we should truly be their equals."

It was the humans' turn to look shocked as they finally realized the purpose of their presence here. Mikal turned to them and smiled.

"My rule shall mark the start of a new era, where the humans will hold weapons and join battle for the first time in the history of Nordenland, and where the Northern army will march all the way to Vausterland, and as far as the Larasean Islands, until we conquer all of Engeldom!"

Mikal smirked as the winged Lords and humans cheered out in unison in answer to Mikal's speech. He leaned slightly towards Hilda who stood smiling beside him and whispered, "I'll go check on Hans. Stay by my side."

He noticed how her smile faltered at his words, before he willed Dia to fly off his shoulder and up through the great hall, heading to the sky tower. Hilda held his arm tight, for which he was grateful. It was quite disorienting when he stood in one place while his vision travelled to another place. He could hear the noise and chatter in the great hall, while his eyes sped between the narrow walls of the tower leading up to Hans's cell.

Dia landed before the cell bars. Hans was curled up in the corner, looking beaten and almost pitiful. But Mikal knew better than to have any sympathy for him. The boy was mad and unstable, and if Mikal were to let him let out, he would harm whoever got close enough from him.

A large cage stood next to Hans, where his pet raven Lucian was locked up as well. Lucian cawed as he noticed Dia's presence, and he flapped his wings helplessly within the confining bars. Hans stirred at the sound and he turned to face Lucian's object of attention.

Hans crawled slowly towards Dia, only to be stopped by the chains suspended from the walls behind him. He hissed, while Lucian continued to caw and struggle within his cage. Dia remained still and silent under Mikal's control, until his eyes locked with the blank citrine stare of his mad brother. A high disturbing cackle erupted in Hans's throat, and Dia took off at once, flying back to the great hall.

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