Inside a poorly lit room in the royal palace, a young man named Nova sat on a wooden chair, gazing up at the ceiling. The only light in the room came from the open door to the balcony. It glowed on Nova's face, making his eyes crinkle slightly.
With a sigh, Nova brought his head down and looked forward, his gaze landing on a large man clad in a suit of armor made from black steel. The man had dark, thick hair, and a short but dignified beard. His gaze held kindness yet simultaneously commanded respect.
"Do we know of any weaknesses, Garrick?" Nova asked, resting his head on his hands.
The broad-shouldered man pulled up a chair and sat down as he answered, "I'm afraid not, my lord."
"Well, I expected as much. After all, we don't even have an accurate description of what they look like," Nova said in an exasperated voice.
"Yes… Some of our people seem to believe that it's because they can shapeshift. I, however, hold a different belief. That these so-called 'horrors', are actually many different species that we've called the same thing."
Nova raised an eyebrow. "Different species, you say? I suppose it does explain the difference in descriptions. What I'm really interested in, though, is where they all came from. Surely, so many creatures couldn't have appeared out of thin air."
Garrick let out a sigh. "I'm not sure, either. Some messengers said they saw them crawling out of 'rifts'. They described it as if the world itself was breaking, and these horrors crawled out of the gap."
Nova stood up. "That sounds insane," he said, walking to the entrance of the balcony. As he did, the voices coming from outside grew louder. The plaza was packed to the brim with the people of Bram.
Garrick looked at him. "Yes, it does. But what part of this situation doesn't?"
Letting out a soft chuckle, Nova looked outside. The voices coming from the plaza were growing even louder, restless.
Looking back over his shoulder at Garrick, Nova sighed. "It's been a while since the bells rang. I've been thinking all this time about how I should address them. I haven't found the answer, yet."
"Would you like me to go out there on your behalf?" Garrick asked.
Nova looked down at his right hand. Around his index finger was a golden ring with a smooth onyx stone on top. On the stone, a bright star shining in the night. This ring had been passed down in his family for generations, and now, it was his.
"Thank you, but no. It's my responsibility… as king," he said with a smile.
Grabbing his sheathed sword and putting it on his waistband, Nova strutted forward and peered down from the balcony.
Below, he saw many faces. Thousands of them. Perhaps the last remaining citizens of the Prague kingdom. Among them were many angry faces, scared faces, confused faces.
What am I supposed to tell them…?
For a moment, his gaze fell on a mother standing with her daughter. The daughter—seemingly around 10 years old—had raven-black hair and a silver pendant hanging around her neck. Her body shivered as she leaned against her mother. The mother seemed terrified, but she appeared to be hiding it as best she could—probably for the sake of her daughter. She held her daughter tight as they both gazed up at the balcony in which Nova stood.
In the distance, Nova saw the soldiers atop the walls surrounding Bram. They were firing down arrows at the horrors below.
The crowd grew more agitated with each passing second.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Tell us what's happening!"
"Answer us!"
Seeing the people of his kingdom so distressed, Nova only felt even more anxious. His hands trembled at his sides as he desperately tried not to let it show on his face.
I have to calm down. They'll never follow me if I can't at least appear confident.
Nova dug his nails into the palms of his hands, the pain somewhat snapping him out of his stupor. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the crowd and slammed his hands against the balcony's railing. "Silence!" He commanded, his voice rolling like thunder through the crowd.
The entire plaza was built so that the announcements coming from the balcony would echo clearly throughout it. Otherwise, Nova's command would have died on the balcony, if not only being heard by the people standing directly below. Still, many in the crowd seemed stunned that a boy no older than 17 had such a commanding voice. Well, of course he did. As the rightful prince, he had been training for precisely that since childhood.
Nova waited for the people to quiet down before speaking, "I am Nova Nocturne, son of Jias Nocturne, king of Prague!"
The crowd stared at him as he paused for a beat before continuing. "The reason I've called you all here today is simple… A week ago, horrific creatures suddenly stormed our beloved kingdom! I do not know where they came from, but that is not important right now. What is important… is that they are here right now, surrounding the walls of our city!"
A ripple of terror and uncertainty spread through the people of Bram at Nova's statement. They whispered among each other, many of their expressions turning melancholic. Before they could truly let hopelessness take over their minds, Nova slammed his fist against the railing.
"But I have good news, my people!" Their attention turned back to him. "As ghastly as these horrors may seem, they are not unkillable. In fact, our brave soldiers are up there on those walls, slaying as many of them as they can," Nova said as he pointed to the soldiers atop the northern wall in the distance.
The crowd seemed to have regained a bit of energy as they looked back at those soldiers. Once again, Nova's gaze fell on the same mother and daughter. Looking at that wall, their expressions seemed… wistful.
"I'm afraid, though, that their arrows will not last forever. And when that happens, those monsters will storm through our gates. Knowing this, one might be paralyzed by fear, remain stuck, and get eaten up by those horrors."
He took a deep breath, his grip tightening against the balcony railing.
"Thinking like that is easy. But I, for one, refuse to bow down and let my life be taken! I refuse to have my fate stripped from me by these abominations! I refuse to spend my final moments in cowardice! If I'm going to die, I will die fighting! Not only for myself, but for my kingdom, and the people of that kingdom!"
Nova felt it, his heart beating harder than it ever had before. No, it wasn't only his heart; it was his people's hearts as well. Grabbing the pommel with one hand, Nova paused and unsheathed his longsword. Then, as if to say: "Not even the heavens will stop me", Nova raised his sword above him and pointed it to the sky.
"You all have a choice to make. You can either follow me into battle, so that we may survive, or stay stuck and get killed like cattle!" His gaze swept across the crowd, as if he was looking at each person individually. "Choose."