Out on a heavily-foggy day, I was just passing by a small mining site -- Throne's Deep, when I caught a glimpse of the King's guards apprehending some members of the resistance.
I am an adventurer and I delve into ruins and old crypts of the ancient ones for leisure and also for the coin, and yet here I am, in the middle of a confusing volley of arrows and steel between the King's guards and the resistance.
One guard ran up to me and yelled, "throw down your arms and belongings! Remove that breastplate and leave only your clothes! You will be coming with us and there will be plenty of talking later!"
Since I was already confused on what in the world knows what, I complied.
"Off you go then, up to the cart and don't you dare try to escape!" said the guard.
"Sir, I think you might want to hear me out," I mentioned, "I am not by any chance included in this sorry band, I was just passing by and just standing there, you do not have to arrest me."
The guard turned to me and yelled, "shut your mouth or I will shut them up for good."
Now this did not look very promising, I could already see what my day would be like.
I was captured, an innocent, honest-to-goodness bystander, who had just simply caught a glimpse of what is going on and to find myself at the back of this cart along with most of the resistance, some of them dead. To my surprise, there was one man in the cart that immediately changed what I see in this situation. It was the infamous resistance leader, Joachim Red-eye, the Lord of the Seventh Castle in blindfolds. Now I could see what was actually transpiring back at Throne's Deep: an ambush to capture Joachim Red-eye who was on his way back to his castle.
"You there, you are not part of this, I can smell it. Identify yourself!" said Joachim.
"Hardnir the Strongbone of Frelsmuth my Lord. Just passing by when you and your comrades clashed steel with the King's guards," I replied. "How did you know I am not one of your comrades?"
Joachim scoffed and said, "because I can not smell blood on you so I assume you are not bleeding, that is one. Second, I can feel you looking at me."
Just as I was about to make a comment on his remark, we began going down the slope of a hill and nearing to a closed fort, Frelsmuth. Tons of heavily armored, full to the brim, King's guards were waiting and from my point of view, at the center was the gallows. Nothing could be more effective to crippling the resistance than to hang their own leader at the gallows and spread the word, clever decision.
"Sir Reginald, the gallows are ready and the minister is waiting for your orders sir," said one of the guards at the gate.
"Good. I want this to be over with so we can return to the King," said the man riding a horse at the front, which was Reginald Reavis, Captain of the King's guards and one of the few men who had crossed blades with Joachim Red-eye and lived to tell the tale.
Here we are, the end of the line. I could feel my throat getting dry, and my entire back sweating. We were being counted and yelled at.
"You! All of you! Listen up! You will do what I say, or else you will die right at the bat, am I being clear?!" said one of the guards. "Good. Anyone on this list will head up to the gallows and those who are not, apologies for the trouble, but you may go."
Names were being called one after the other, and with each name comes a sound of someone's neck snapping while you watch them being brutally hanged.
"Joachim Red-eye, Lord of the Seventh Castle, step towards the gallows, you filthy traitor," came a command from the guard.
As he walked towards the gallows, the remaining resistance members kept shouting, "all hail the king! All hail the king!"
Simultaneously, some of the guards shouting "death to the resistance! Death to the resistance!"
They were hanging his noose and when they almost have put it in his neck, I saw him smile.
He said, "I am really sorry to have to disappoint you all in this occasion. My time has not yet come."
Darkness enveloped my eyes and I could not see a thing, everything was pitch black. All I could perceive was the sound of screaming, flesh being ripped apart and the sound of my own heartbeat.
After a short while, I regained my sight and said to myself, "for the love of the Gods, what happened?"
Everyone was dead except me. "How in the world did I manage to survive such carnage?" I said to myself and kept on repeating "how? How? How?!"
It was a bloody mess, and Joachim and Reginald were nowhere in sight.
A man in the near distance yelled at me, "Hey! You over there! Are you alright? Let's get the damn out of here!" I saw his plate armor and it has the King's guards emblem on it.
"Oh, the name is Nihls, a Kings guard. I was outside the fort guarding when I heard the commotion," said Nihls, "what is your name?"
I answered in a shaky voice, "Hardnir the Strongbone of Frelsmuth, my house is just that way, I will be fine."
Nihls stopped me and mentioned, "Hardnir... Hardnir... Your name is not in this list, citizen. You are not a criminal. I am evacuating you, like it or not. I will drop you anywhere but not here, the reinforcements will be here soon and they will interrogate you should you stay. It's not safe here."
As if I had any choice at the time, I hopped on the back of his horse and we rode off. I looked back to where Joachim had disappeared and I saw this grim-looking elderly figure wearing black robes smiling at me. I blinked and it was gone. My mind might be playing tricks on me as part of the shock of what had happened back there.
"Where do you live, citizen? I will drop you directly at your doorstep to ensure your safety so go on, tell me," said Nihls.
"I live in the forest of Frelsmuth just a bit south of the fort. I appreciate the offer but I do not want anybody else knowing where I live for the safety of my family. Just drop me off at Beaver Farm, Sir Nihls," I replied.
"Beaver Farm it is. Well, you look like a capable warrior. We at the King's guards are always looking for people like you to fill up our ranks. If you ever want to sign up, just look for me at the gates of First Castle, I am stationed there," said Nihls.
"I will keep that in mind," I answered, but it has no meaning at the time.
I was born in The Edge of the World, a continent at the northern part of our world -- Anthora, where the climate is heavy snow and dry spells. Frelsmuth was my home, in the eastern part of The Edge of the World, a closed fort surrounded by forests and wildlife.
I am Hardnir the Strongbone, also known as the Jagged Warlord, the Devil-slayer, the Lord of the Dawn, and the Savior of the Northern Shores. My life has always been so quiet and dull until that certain day that took my peaceful life to a surprising turn. This is my story.