War's of the Guilds: Ascalon's Descent by Daniel Jamieson

War's of the Guild's: Ascalon's Descent

Chapter One - Flaming Farm

The farmowner screamed as the bandits fell upon him, as he fell to the ground, he could see the gates of his farm being hauled closed, and the small unit of Ascalonian Soldiers behind them.

I sat in my house, not far from the farm, in a village called Ashford. I could see the bright glow on the horizon, and the smoke from the flames covered the moon. There was a sharp knock on my door, and I quickly walked over to see who it was. As I opened the door, I saw Devona, the local Warrior. She was my idol, even when I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to grow up to be like her.

'Selena! Get down to the Abbey's Gate in the next ten minutes! We go to fight the raiders!'
'Yes Devona, mam.'

She charged away from my door, screaming 'To Arms!'. I quickly slammed my door shut, and ran into my basement. As soon as I lit the Torch's, I pulled of my night gown, and reached for my armour. I slipped it on, and grabbed my Short-Sword. It had been weeks since I'd worn my armour, let alone fight in it! The injury that Devona had inflicted upon me, during a training session had been major. Another loud knock at my door, pulled me away from my thoughts. I walked through my house and answered the door, to see Prince Rurik, standing with two Ascalonian Soldiers beside him. I instantly bowed, and looked to the floor.

'Stand! This is no time for formalities! I have men trapped by a bunch of raiders, and I want to save them!'
'Yes, your highness. Sorry your majesty.'
'You look like a good fighter. A friend of Devona's?'
'Yes, sir'
'Well, then you'll know where she is. Take me to her!'
'Of course, your majesty'
I slammed my door shut, and ran down the road towards Ashford Abbey. When we reached the abbey, I could see a small contigment of people. The two who stood out the most, being Brother Mhelno, and Devona. I pointed them out to Prince Rurik, and ran over to them. Both bowed, then led the Prince into a corner. They began to talk in hushed voices, and I turned to his bodyguards.
'So, what part of the army are you from?'
'The Vanguard, as you can easily tell.' one of them said, as he pointed to the Vanguard Emblem on his chestplate.
'Ahhh. So your the 'Elite'?'
The Vanguard Soldier nodded.
'Don't make me laugh. I'd manage to take you, quite easily.'
The men chuckled,
'Maybe one day, we will see. But, today, is not that day.'
Prince Rurik barked out and order, and began to sprint towards the farm. The Vanguard, and Ascalonian Soldiers cheered and ran after him. Brother Melnho, was the last to follow, sighing as he began to run. I charged forward to catch up with them, but my armour slowed me down. I couldn't get to the front of the charge, so instead ran beside Brother Mhelno.
'Come on lass! It's not that hard.' Mhelno chuckled. I turned to look at him, and laughed out loud.

I heard the first sounds of fighting from the front. Just ahead, I could see Prince Rurik charge head first into the Bandit Groups. The Vanguard Soldiers pushed forward to protect the prince, and were soon engulfed in a bloody brawl. Mhelno, raised his arms, and called out something in Asuran. A bright, blue flash filled the air, and green sparks flew. I looked over to the Prince, and saw him being engulfed in blue flames. His face broke into a huge smile, and he roared 'Charge!' then went into a craze, slicing the bandits to bits. There was a call to my right,
'You! Warrior! Catch!'
I looked round, just as a bow hit me in the chest.
'Just use it like a normal bow, darling.'
I nodded, then pulled back the bow-string.
'Oi! Your gonna need arrows. Catch!'
A quiver of arrows hit me in the head. I reached down, and picked them up. Then, I slide a arrow into the bow, pulled the string back, and let it loose. It flew forward, hitting one of the bandits in the thigh. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, and his fellow bandits stumbled around him. The soldiers saw there chance and charged forward, hacking, and slashing at the bandits on the ground. I pushed forward myself, dropping the bow, and un-sheating my sword. In front of me, I could see the bandit leader, snarling as he threw a spear towards the Prince. I'd heard of the spear-throwers from Elona. 'Paragon's'. A dangerous force, favored by the Sunspears of Elona. I charged at him, pulling back my arm as I aimed at his ribs. Snarling, as I leapt forward, I crashed into his chest and felt my sword scratch along one of his bones. He cried out in agony, and thrusted his spear towards me, but, his dying body did bot have enough strength to strike the blow, and the spear just bounced off of my chestplate. The bandits saw their leader falling, and began to break away. One by one, they sprinted across the plains, past the Farm and towards Wizzard's Folly, in the Snowy Mountains. The soldiers chased them until they were clear of the compound, then formed up and marched back to the Compound gates. The heavy, iron gates swung open to reveal the Farm's Defenders huddled around a small fire. Prince Rurik walked into the Inner Square, and knelt beside them, whispering into their ears, one by one. After he had talked to them, they were all smiling, looking over to us, and silently thanking us.

This novel follows the life of a Ascalonian Warrior called Selana (pronounced: Se-Len-A).

From her teenage years, to her elderly years.

Enjoy.

apart from a few spelling mistakes, not bad

Quote: