Will stood before his men and basked in the glow of the soldiers chanting his name and banging their spears on their shields.

It had been so long since the war had begun that most of the men and women here were but children, playing with wooden play swords when it had begun.

Next to Will was the warlord Colar, who had supported Will when others had thought he was far too young to be the chosen one.  The wizard Ulon stood on Will' s other side.  The old man had become glum ever since the end of the fighting.

Many had died in the final battle, that had been fought that very morn, but it was a decisive victory for the Force of Ten.  Will had banded the group together, with the help of Ulon, to fulfill the prophetic telling that one would come from unknown lands to bind the land under one Lord.

The wizard Ulon had convinced Will  that he was the one to fulfill the telling.  Will himself had been a poor candle lighter who has watched his parents die when he was very young, so the idea of leading an army seemed silly to him.  Ulon was wise and very good at making others believe what he believed.

The land where they lived was a violent and harsh place were warlords and generals constantly fought for control of the three major cities within it.  Will lived in the larger of the villages far outside of West, the smallest city in the land.  The village had no official name, because it changed hands so much a name was pointless.  So in truth it was a unknown village.

When the three oracle' s decreed their Prophetic Telling Will had not even been born yet.  Ulon and six other wizards had begun their search for the one to fulfill the Telling at that time.  Only Ulon survived, because he was the smartest and craftiest of their order.

At time of his discovery Will was only twelve years old.  Now twenty-four and a far more experienced young man Will found himself leading others to their death. This can age a person.  Yet, he still is a young man with a young man's awkwardness.

The soldiers did not hear it, but Will' s voice cracked now and then from the nerves he felt.  Ulon had worked hard to get Will to the place that he was now.  He was a good leader and could get people to follow him, but if not for Ulon and the warlord Colar he would have never had the chance to even stand before them.

Will raised his hands high and waited for the noise to subside.  It looked as if they would not quiet until Colar raised his one hand.  He was known to have a short fuse and would not put up with as much as Will.

Will nodded with hidden annoyance and then addressed the crowd,  "We have won this day..."

This caused even more shouting, stomping, and shield bashing.  Will looked at Ulon who gave a thinned lip in response.  The wizard had told Will over and over that he needed to tougher to gain respect and control of the army.

Colar raised his hand again but this time he moved in front of Will,  "I know your all happy that this day has finally come, but another outburst will be met with punishments.  When we get they official letters of succession from the Council of Warlords, a party will be thrown for you all to properly celebrate!" 

One cheer and then they went deathly silent.  Will could only stare with envy at the strong back of the once warlord that had joined the Force at Ulon' s request.

Will had not liked any warlords but the wizard had said that at least one was needed to teach Will tactics of war.  Ulon convincing people that Will was the fulfiller of the telling was the glue to the group. 

People would always follow a dream Ulon taught, just not always the dreamer.  Will did not understand what that ment, just that Ulon believed in him.

Beginning again he said aloud, "Today you all stand here free of the silly wars and fighting between others that care nothing for you and your families.  Today you are aligned under one rule and one set of laws.  Today, you can breath easy for your children  should never know death the way that you have.  Thank you all!"

When they did nothing, Colan gave them a quick gesture to let them know that it was time to cheer.  This would have set Will off normally but today was a special day.  Today was his day to be the fulfilling of a prophecy.

Far sooner than Will would have liked they left the cheering soldiers and headed to the large tent, surrounded by no less then twenty burly fighters.  The men and two women had been specifically hand picked by Colan.  They had swords and good armor, the likes of which the common soldier did not.

Inside the tent the conquered warlords and generals of the opposing army waited their fate.  Will had promised to let them live as long as they joined with the Force to unite the land.  Those not here had tried to flee and had found only death at the hands of the army of the Force.

The tent flaps pulled aside and two of Ulon's apprenticed wizards held them open for the small procession to enter.  Will's friend and confident had joined with them.  Sar was truly the only person that did not look at Will as if the gods had touched him.

Inside the stuffy tent sat the greatest leaders and tyrants of the land.  Somehow Will and the Force of Ten beat these men and women in open combat.

No one spoke or moved as Will and the procession entered.  Some gave them dirty looks and while others just looked mildly amused for some reason.

Stopping in front of the table, Will was about to speak when the wizard Ulon put his hand on Will's shoulder.

"Please let me, young Will."  Ulon said.  "As most of you know the oracle's gave a prophecy that this land would be brought under one ruler.  That these many years of death and fighting have taken a toll on the land and on all of you, and that must end."

Colar moved next to Will  Ulon continued, "The Force of Ten was formed to bring all of you under this rule of one that the Prophecy speaks of.  In the Tellings we know that a dead tree stands next to a women, who holds aloft a small dragon.  The land is the dragon and the women is the future."

Then Ulon did something strange.  He turned to Will with tears in his eyes as he lifted his hands and pointed at Will and Sar.

"I'm sorry, so sorry.  The dead tree is you Will.  The roots of your actions will ground the land but you are no longer needed."

With that a glow shot out from both of Ulon's hands and enveloped Will and Sar both.  Colar had been waiting for this moment and his knife slid into Will's back and into the young man's heart.  His death was instant.

"Sar, they choice is yours."  Ulon said with pity.  "Stay alive and help Lord Colar build a great land and fulfill the Telling, or pass away as Will has to become a legend."

At first Sar let out a bellow of rage as tears began to flow.  Soon he quieted and asked one question of the wizard before him, "Why?"

"Because, not all prophecy and fortellings end in a fairy tale.  Again, I'm more sorry then you know.  It was the Telling.  Lord Colar is fit to lead and with Will alive the fighting would never really end.  Will did bring the land under one rule...but he was never ment to be that ruler."

Falling to a knee Sar pledged his allegiances to Colar and the new land.  This seemed to strike something in the others in the room and they took a knee as well.

Lord Colar watched it all and locked eyes with Ulon.  This had been a plan from the beginning.  Ulon believed it was what the Telling truly ment and was why they had never been able to find the Chosen one for so long.

Now the land would be united and under Colar.  He was a decent man who believed in the basic rights of his subjects.  The land would prosper for the first time in along time under his rule.

This had been foretold...

Thanks as always for the read.  A quick one here but written in one day.  Wanted to get this out.  Enjoy!