The Day of Fate
Once upon a time, there was a beloved queen. Her name was Queen Adelle. This queen was respected and admired by all. Or so everyone thought.
There was one clan, which lived outside the bounds of the capital, who hated Queen Adelle. They hated what she represented, they hated the way the crowds cheered for her, and the way her power reached even to the outside empires but most of all, they hated her smile. This clan was the Clan Ludlow.
One chilly mid spring’s night, Queen Adelle sat alone in her dressing room. She sat at her vanity, on count number 97 of one hundred brushes of her chestnut colored hair. Her husband, good King Arden, was at the other end of the hall, working on a few last treaties. A war had just ended. All was peaceful. Or it was supposed to be anyway.
Queen Adelle looked up when she heard the knob of her door turn. She set down her brush, planning to finish her nightly brushing later. She wore a teasing smile on her lightly colored lips. ‘You finished early, dear?’ she asked, assuming it was her husband. There was no answer. She stood facing the door and pulling her robe closer to her body. Her husband usually answered. The door swung open. A youth stood in front of her, his wild oak hair in his face, and his ice colored eyes staring intensely at Queen Adelle. She had never seen this boy before. She knew her staff at the castle; she talked with them. He was not apart of the servants. ‘Who are you, boy?’ She asked, trying to subdue her fear.
‘I am Arik of the clan of Ludlow. I have been sent to kill you, Queen Adelle.’ He answered his voice was dangerously low. She prepared herself to scream, but as quick as lightning he shut the door, and covered her mouth. She did not know her two guards lied in the adjacent room, bleeding profusely from the slits in their necks. In a flash the deed was done. The queen, in all of her glory, was dead.
An hour later, King Arden knocked on her door. ‘M’lady,’ he called, ‘’tis time for bed. Come.’ He opened wide the door. He wished he had not entered when he saw Adelle’s corpse on the floor bathing in her own blood. Arden entered her dressing room and sat on the floor next to his beloved. He held her, crying, wishing she would wake up. She did not. The peasants and even the court came to know this day as “The Day of Fate”.
At first, King Arden was too deep into his depression to do anything. Several months passed, and nothing was done to find the late queen’s murderer. But soon King Arden’s grief grew. His depression turned into wrath. He craved vengeance. His spies collected information about the murderer and Arden found out it was the Clan Ludlow’s doing. He wanted to make them pay dearly. He wanted them all dead. His most trusted advisor, Duke Cahal Bowyn, tried to talk him out of the slaughter. His two children, Princess Ena and Prince Neil, also tried. The three failed.
Duke Cahal Bowyn was slain by king’s orders under the pretense of treason, Princess Ena was killed by mutiny and Prince Neil road his fastest horse away from his crazed father and the declining empire. King Arden was alone. After this, all Hell broke loose. The slaughter took place on the second year of the anniversary of Queen Adelle’s death.
The Clan Ludlow was ready for the king. They were a large clan—second largest in the empire. They had connections with people all over the city and they were the cause of Princess Ena’s death as well as Queen Adelle’s. Princess Ena reminded them of the late queen; they predicted that when Ena took her place as queen she would serve as her mother did. They would not allow that. A clan member working as a guard for Ena killed her. She had been praying alone in the chapel.
The king, his knights, and loyal fighters came upon the land of Ludlow. The Clan was standing in their fields, watching the advancing royal and his mass of men with their distinctive pale blue eyes. An emotion flickered in the head of Ludlow’s eyes, it was hard to define. He set his jaw and bowed. ‘Your majesty,’ he spoke stiffly, ‘Why are you here?’
‘I believe you know, Lord Naois, my brother.’ Answered the king, equally stiff, ‘your people killed my queen.’ He raised his sword, his horse reared.
‘I believe, your majesty, that there is no point in telling you lies.’ Lord Naois answered, smirking, ‘I am an honest man and as such I will not lie. We killed your late wife, Queen Adelle. We are also responsible for your daughter, Princess Ena’s death.’ King Arden shook in anger.
‘Then die, murderer.’ The king said, her swung his sword, before him at his brother, Lord Naois was dead. Lord Naois allowed himself to be slain. It was time for the clan to move on its own. It was not a very good plan.
The next morning, hundreds of bodies littered Ludlow’s lands. The king was given his revenge; without knowing so, he slaughtered Arik, his queen’s murderer. Among the dead were many of the king’s knights and loyal fighters, only half of what was a mass of men were remaining. Screeches of pain had filled the night’s air. Frightening clashes of swords kept the villagers awake. Their respect for their king turned to fear when the king came through the village, heading towards the castle. He was holding his shoulder and limping. His armor was stained crimson in his enemy’s blood. All feared him.
King Arden made a mistake in the battle, however. He did not know the true numbers of the clan. Ten members remained alive. Four men, four women and two children. It was their time of mourning now. In one day, the lost 200 people they loved. Friends and family were corpses now, staining the grass scarlet with their blood. They tried to bury their dead, but there was not enough land. One thing was definite: They wanted true revenge. However, they were more intelligent then their predecessors, they would wait.
Contents:
1. Day of Fate (Story line)
2. The place we call Home (Setting/plot)
3. Choose wisely (Alliances to choose)
4. Are you a spy? (Occupations to choose)
5. The Laws you must abide by (Rules)
6. How do I join the cause? (how to join)
7. The Clan's forces (Ludlow's profiles)
8. The King's forces (Arden's loyalist profiles)
9. The forces in the middle (the neutral profiles)
10. What happened? (updates)
11. Reserved
12. Reserved
