Chapter 1: Enduring the Nightmare (Patreon)

Waking with a fright, Reynolds jumped from his bed. His dirty black hair brushed against his shoulders, the sudden movement disordering them even further.

“Calm down mate, the enemy is not here yet. The day is still young.”

One of his comrades lazily rose from his bunk too. Scratching his three day beard, he was far calmer than the new recruit Reynolds.

“It’s just … I had a nightmare. Sorry, Ben.”

Reynolds was aware how green he must look, his cheeks already dyed in a deep red.

“Really, relax. This isn’t the first time we get attacked in this manner. You just need to stand on the wall on once this is all over, we’ll celebrate in one of the taverns that we’re still alive.”

The other veterans prepared for the day now as well. Most of them still remembered how it felt to be a rookie and looked out for him, a fact Reynolds was well aware of. Most of them only named him boy whenever they needed him for something. Apart from the regular drills for the guards, they also arranged chances for him to learn their ways, a sense of brotherhood forming between them.

As fellow guards from the Green Mountain Clan, a sense of trust was built among them, their shared responsibility forging it again and again.

For the veterans, the impending attack wasn’t that scary. Others tried before, yet the clan still stood strong, defending the valley and the mountain which provided them with their wealth.

The attack by the Seven Treasure Clan was no different from their previous fights, unless their clan had offended the other party to the point of no return, the war would end if they could resist their attacks.

Relying on the wisdom of his seniors, Reynolds prepared all day together with them, piling up sandbags and fortifying the defenses.

“Relax, kid. I know it’s your first time facing another clan, but it’s not too bad. They’ll siege us for a few days, we’ll offer a tribute, then they’ll leave again. Not the end of the world.”

Laughing as the young soldier dropped his load, the last sandbag, he deeply sighed, balancing such a heavy load and his spear at the same time wasn’t easy.

“Don’t call me kid anymore. At least call me Ray, is that too much?”

Truthfully, he didn’t mind too much. In a way, he still was a kid, barely seventeen turns old when he left his village in the mountains to serve the clan. In exchange for protection and goods, talented youths often entered the clan’s service. Not only did they have a chance to see the world, it was also considered an honor to be part of the prestigious establishment.

As a young newcomer, it couldn’t be helped if they called him kid.

“Ahaha, don’t worry about it. Next spring a new batch of recruits will show up and you’ll join the ranks of the seniors. Someone else will join our spear unit and you can order him around then, calling him kid or whatever you want. Treat it as part of the tradition.”

In fact, all of the brothers treated him in favourable fashion, he admired the warriors quite a bit. As a newcomer, he didn’t have much time to practice the martial manual the clan provided the guards with, the basic drills and exercises already took up all of his time.

Additionally, he knew as a guard he’d receive at best a basic manual. No matter how much time he spent cultivating with it, he’d never exceed the ranks of a Martial Disciple. His aptitude simply was too bad. Unless he stepped into the Martial Warrior realm, the clan would never notice him, a young guard.

Right as he was done, one of the other brothers noticed something and exclaimed loudly, pointing at the horizon.

“They’re here! The Seven Treasure Palace is here!”

The shout stiffened the body of everyone present, everyone turning their gazes towards the horizon.

Pouring in one by one, the guard in question must have especially good eyesight as the incoming enemies still were small black points.

With time slowly passing, a huge army assembled beyond the wall erected to protect the Green Mountain Clan.

Marching in an orderly manner, Reynolds could ultimately discern the features of the incoming enemies. Wearing blue and white armors, the warriors were divided into orderly files, every third of them carrying a bow instead of a sword or spear.

Deep inside he wondered if the men pacing towards the wall felt the same fear as him. He didn’t show it on his face, his brothers would mock him for being a kid again, but he feared death, on the inside. Rey hoped the prophecy of the other guard would turn out to be true, even if it felt like an eternity when they joked about it this morning.

Hopefully he would be among them next spring, joking with new recruits and ordering them around, just like the seniors worked him to the bone.

“Something is odd. There is way too many of them.”

Worry appeared on the guard’s face. A different kind of fear compared to facing an enemy.

“What’s wrong, Miguel? Tell me!”

Anxious by the ominous words, Reynolds blurted out the question burning in his soul.

“Don’t worry, kid. There are just some more targets than usual, nothing more. Just keep swinging your spear and next turn we’re all going to laugh about the memory.”

Ben didn’t show it either, but Rey could tell. Despite his calm demeanor, the small signs still were there.

“Watch them, they’ll set up camp and then test our defenses for a bit. Today they’ll take it easy.”

As if to mock the man, at this exact time the enemy formation started to march, the archers taking a favourable position in the valley.

Green Mountain Clan hinted at it already, the foundation of the whole clan rested on their treasure mountain, the highest peak around. The plains the city was built in was surrounded by numerous hills, some enough to be called mountain in their own right, others barely worth the name.

Although the surroundings were fairly leveled, the experienced warriors still looked for advantageous terrain to shoot from.

The remaining close combatants carried siege ladders as they stormed for the walls with angry cries.

Gripping their own spears tighter, Ben and Miguel responded to the storming masses with their own war cries, Reynolds joining a moment later with their example.

The archers belonging to the Green Mountain Clan didn’t sit idly while their walls were attacked, a cloud of angry black noise rising into the air.

Amidst the war cries, the pain caused by the arrows didn’t sound out too much, yet it was still there.

Finished with their preparations, they released their own volley.

Surprisingly, even their arrows were painted blue and white. Gripped with fear, Rey watched in fear as death descended. Even as death descended on the part of the wall they defended, Rey was able to count every feather which adorned the arrows heading for them.

Strangely enough, he did not even tremble, even as he stared at the incoming danger. Calmly accepting his fate, Rey stared at his own torso as a blue and white arrow sprouted from it.

Clutching at it in a last attempt to deny reality, he sank to the ground, while Ben cursed and Miguel cried in pain, another arrow lodged in his shoulder muscle.

In a sick sense of humor, a last thought flashed through his mind.

“I’m just sad I didn’t get to order the next rookie around.”

And darkness descended.

Jumping from his bunk bed, Reynolds sweated from every pore on his body. For a moment, he had the feeling of death descending on his body, then he greedily sucked in a mouth of fresh air, blowing the nightmare away.

“Calm down mate, the enemy is not here yet. The day is still young.”

A sense of deja vu appeared in Rey’s mind, yet he still had the courtesy to apologize to his senior.

“It’s just … I had a nightmare. Sorry, Ben.”

Touching his breast to make sure there was no arrow wound, he looked around in confusion. The dream had been so real. Even the morning took a similar turn. He didn’t know why he was so agitated, however he had to hurry. The Seven Treasure Palace threatened their Green Mountain Clan and on the current day, their arrival was due.

“Really, relax. This isn’t the first time we get attacked in this manner. You just need to stand on the wall on once this is all over, we’ll celebrate in one of the taverns that we’re still alive.”

Nodding in acceptance, Rey still couldn’t shake off the weird feeling.

“Did this happen already? Was it really just a nightmare? I think this is turning just out like it …”

Unable to make sense of it, Reynolds had no choice but to follow along with the arrangements. Carrying bags of sand, manning the walls, the banter while waiting … everything was the same. To make sure he wasn’t still dreaming, he even pinched himself.

“They’re here! The Seven Treasure Palace is here!”

The shout stiffened the body of everyone present, everyone turning their gazes towards the horizon.

As it has happened last time, the blue and white army marched, took position and engaged. The defenders released their arrows, the Seven Treasure army retaliated.

Due to his dream, Rey already experienced the fear of death. This time, he was able to sidestep the arrow, while Ben still screamed and Miguel got hit.

“Charge!”

The fight continued, a detail he wasn’t aware of previously, he had died too fast to notice. Clutching his spear while thanking the heavens for this opportunity, he kept his eyes open for another volley of the arrows. Dying a second time to the same cause would be too embarrassing!

Clutching his weapon hard enough to drive splinters into his palms, Rey watched as a ladder appeared at their section. Ben stormed forward and used the shaft of his spear to push it back after a few seconds, eliciting screams from the soldier trying to climb it, yet more ladder ends appeared at the same time. Helping his fellow fighter out, Reynolds also pushed over some of the steps, surprised how heavy they were when filled with climbing soldiers.

In the end, it was a futile ordeal. No matter how many times they fell, the wooden scales kept appearing. Sweating from fright, the young man watched as enemies appeared on top of the wall. Gripping his wooden weapon tightly, he wondered what to do. He had been drilled and exercised often exactly for this case, yet he never faced anyone in an actual life and death fight.

Not only that, it wasn’t just one opponent. Eyeing the two swordsmen on the wall, time slowed down as the other party seized him up in a similar manner.

Maybe they also saw him as a green kid, maybe they didn’t have the leisure to stand around. One of the men raised his longsword, rushing in. Left with only one option to defend, Rey held up his spear, the shaft blocking the blow, albeit with a deep dent appearing in the wood.

Unfortunately the second man didn’t idle around, swinging in a wide arc from the side.

Desperation clouded Rey’s eyes, then the steel weapon arrived, gouging a big hole in his torso.

Crying in pain, darkness descended once again, Rey fell backwards into it.

And jumped straight again from his bunk bed, his hands instinctively reaching for the bloody hole that ended his life. With a pounding heart, cold sweat ran down his temples, nearly soiling his pants from the fear.

“A dream within a dream? Impossible!”

Once? Maybe. Twice? Out of the question.

“Calm down mate, the enemy is not here yet. The day is still young.”

Earlier, before this instance, these words provided him solace and a sense of calm. Now, they only sent a cold shiver down Rey’s spine.

“Sorry, I had a … no it’s nothing. My bad.”

Before he could repeat the apology in the same manner as the two times before, the young soldier stopped himself. Maybe it would change the future this time around.

Slipping on his clothes and preparing for the day, Reynolds feared for the future, waiting to see if death would claim him once again or if he would wake up to reality.