Chapter 1: Of Rebellion and New Beginnings

Addy Freeland crouched down below a barrel of hay as the enemy soldiers approached. From the distance, she could see the almost inhumanly pale skin and dark red and black uniforms that marked them as being part of Mordan's army. She shivered inwardly, imagining the darkness magic rolling off them, their charred and dark auras that she learned about in childhood stories.

Everyone knew that Mordan's Watch brought death and destruction wherever they went. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why they were here. Casta was a small farming town in the middle of nowhere, filled with cheerful people who had shown her kindness in her few days here.

Addy watched from behind the barrel as the soldiers marched into the village, ignoring the desperate pleas of the town's single guard.

"Please, please, we're a peaceful town! Mordan has no quarrel with us!" The man's face was taut with terror. He knew exactly who he was dealing with. So the news of Mordan's conquests has reached even a place as secluded as this, Addy thought. 

There were only five members of the Watch, yet the fear that they struck into the hearts of the townspeople who she had been laughing and trading with just moments ago was immeasurable. Blinds were drawn as people ran back into their homes, the panicked squeaks and questions of young children were quickly muffled, and the bustling street shut down in a flash.

"Please, leave us be. We mean no harm." The guard was begging now. He may have been strong and capable - Addy didn't know - but one against five weren't good odds in a normal fight. And Mordan's Watch almost never lost a battle, always leaving destruction in their wake.

She could see the sweat bead down the man's face as the tallest of the soldiers turned to him. The Watchman had a large scar over one of his eyes, and she could almost feel the magic radiating off him. Her arm itched to grab her sword and leap to the man's defense, but she stayed put. She had left her armour at the inn, and had only her sword, her bag, and a few throwing daggers. She would be lucky to escape alive. Biting her lip, she leaned back and ducked her head, watching the events unfold.

The soldier grinned at the guard, a harsh, cruel thing. "You mean no harm, do you?" He mocked. "And yet, Casta sells food and supplies to the country Perrnath, one of Mordan's enemies." The soldier brought his rapier up off his belt, pointing it at the man with a wicked smirk. "I think it's time to teach you all a lesson."

Addy winced internally. So that was what it was about. A trade issue - never worth threatening the lives of all these innocent people - but some dark, twisted part of her, deep inside, understood the logic. If they cut off Perrnath's supply routes, one of Mordan's greatest enemies would fall, and they would be one step closer to dominating the whole continent. Something inside her panged at the thought.

With a single flick of the soldier's sword, the guard moved out of the way and allowed the group to pass into town. The scarred man clapped his hands together twice and Addy could almost feel the collective wince of the townspeople as the noise echoed down the cobblestone streets.

"Alright, listen up! I want everyone outside and lined up in ten minutes or we start killing. One house for every extra minute. Go get your friends, neighbours, I don't care. I have an announcement to make."

The effect was almost immediate. Doors opened as people scrambled to get outside as soon as possible. The few stragglers were forced outside by the remaining guards. Addy watched in silent fury as an old man was thrown roughly onto the street by a smirking woman in black and red, who turned to the scarred man - the group's leader, Addy assumed - and said a simple "captain". The man stayed on his hands and knees, wheezing and unable to get up.

Within minutes, all of Casta was lined up on the main street, packed into the square. Children were crying as they were quickly shushed by their parents. The afternoon sun beating down on the square made the stone hot to touch, and Addy was grateful for the shade she had as she crouched a few paces away. The faces of the lively residents of the town were somber, and the watch seemed almost amused at the sight.

The captain cleared his throat and addressed the crowd in a throaty drawl. "From this day forward, your backwards farming hovel will give your produce to Mordan. Any sort of trade with Perranth, Gilland, or Alura - with these so-called "free nations" will not be tolerated. We are confident that Casta will understand the importance of serving our just cause."

There was an audible scoff in the crowd, and a series of muffled gasps that followed as all heads turned a young boy - fifteen or sixteen at the most- who was glaring at the captain with venom in his eyes.

"Bullshit. You say that your cause is noble when you invaded Giana, a place of peace and democracy, and you enslaved the people there. I'd rather die than serve your king." The second after he spoke, his face paled of colour, drawing a sharp contrast with his dark red hair, almost like he couldn't believe what he had just done.

It took her about a second to recognize him - he was the mayor's son, Jordan. Addy had spoken to him earlier at the tavern. He had been an anti-Mordan activist who had bragged about establishing the trade routes to Perrnath. She felt a wave of pride before the guilt came crashing over her. His cause was a noble one, but his recklessness might have just doomed his people. The situation felt familiar to her. If I had just... Addy shook her head, clearing it of thoughts. There was no use dwelling on the past.

The captain approached Jordan, smirking slightly. "Wow, this one's got guts." He sighed, resting a hand on his brow like he was contemplating something.

Jordan matched his glare. "I'd say I do."

The scarred soldier snapped his hands together. "As much as I want to kill you, and I really, really do, I think I'll do something more fun." There was a feral gleam in his eyes, something that unnerved Addy. She had seen that sort of expression too many times to not know what was coming next. He gestured towards his female companion. "Bring me a child."

The woman nodded, almost business-like, turning around sharply and grabbing a young girl out of the hands of her mother. The child couldn't have been more than five years old, a small wisp of a girl with bouncy black curls and big blue eyes that were rapidly welling up. The girl let out a shriek and cried for her mother.

"Sophia!" Was the response, before a knife was brandished at the mother's throat and she fell silent.

"Quiet, beast!" The female soldier hissed, and the girl fell silent quickly. From her angle behind the pile of hay, Addy could see clearly the tears streaming down Sophia's face, and the sudden realization the girl had of her presence - her widening eyes. Sophia's mouth opened, and Addy put her finger to her lips. The girl nodded, her gaze pleading and hopeful. You can get me out of this, she seemed to say. You know what happens during the Watch's demonstrations.

The captain was gesturing to the crowd as one of the guards held Sophia, his eyes fixed directly at Jordan. "Let this be a lesson that by defying Mordan, you allowed your people to suffer. I'll kill one child for every year you've spent serving those self-righteous pricks in Perrnath."

At the word kill, the girl had a sudden realization and started shrieking and trying to get away from her captors.  

Jordan's face went pale as he realized just what his mouthing off was going to cost his people. "Please," he said. "Please, I'm sorry, just don't do this."

Addy felt rage simmering in her, white-hot fury coming to the surface as she thought of all the kids that couldn't be saved from Mordan's army, of the peaceful democracy of Giana, so cruelly conquered by the tyrannical king. Adrenaline soared through her as she grabbed her longsword from it's sheath on her back, the blade glinting in the sunlight.

The soldier holding the girl was only a few paces away from her, and she leaped up and covered the distance quickly, plunging her blade into his knee. He let out a cry of pain and dropped Sophia, who collapsed on the ground.

Addy rushed over and picked up the girl. "It's alright, you're safe now." She put the girl into the arms of the nearest civilian - the old guard who had been forced to let these monsters in. "Go - back to your homes or shops or wherever you can to get away. I'll distract them."

The man flashed Addy a thankful, almost astonished look. Mordan's Watch was famous for their fierce skill in combat. It was likely, Addy knew he thought, that she'd die in this attempt. But she had spent three years as the protegee of Gavril, one of the greatest swordsmen in the world. If anyone had a fighting chance, it was her.

Sophia, the brave little girl, turned her head to Addy with unshed tears, and whispered: "thank you".

Addy smiled in response. "Now, go." She didn't have the time to watch them depart, turning around to block a strike from the man she had stabbed, before ducking left and knocking him down to the ground with a crutch. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

The attention of the Watch, and now the people in the street, was solely on her. The captain turned to her, a look of disgust on his features as he took in the poor fabric of her clothes, and her longsword's lack of adornments. "How dare a common welp lay a hand to one of my soldiers!"

So he was one of those, then. Probably a second son of a Mordan lord, who looked down on the common folk and anyone he deemed beneath him, who spent his time terrorizing villages and killing innocents. It went against everything Addy believed.

Addy's voice took a sarcastic tone. "My apologies, your highness. I didn't mean to offend your delicate sensibilities. Why don't you run along back to your palace?" Addy had no clue what on earth she was doing, provoking a captain of the Watch, but she knew that every second spent focusing on her was a second the people were safe.

"I don't think you know who I am, little girl." The captain spat at the ground. 

"I am Darrel Casper, the son of Lord Casper of the West Mordan Isles." He leered at her, sizing her up and down. "And it is my genuine pleasure to watch rats like you die."

Oh, gods. Addy could feel her stomach coil unpleasantly at the look the man gave her. Of the five guards, four were still standing, and she was going to have to fight these dead-eyed soldiers in black and red. Still, she couldn't help saying: "Well, why don't you come over here and find out if I am so easy to kill."

Lord Darrel smirked, sighing in an exaggerated motion. "No, I don't think you're worth my time." He flicked a wrist in her general direction. "Kill her, then we can get back to the townspeople."

The three remaining guards came charging at her, as Addy held her sword at the ready. The two bulky men she sidestepped easily, getting locked into a dance of blocking and dodging. As one of them threw a fist at her, she sidestepped and grabbed her dagger off his belt, plunging it into his side and pulling it out once she heard a cry of pain. She disarmed him easily after that and kicked him to the floor, blood trickling onto the stones.

"You'll pay for that!" Lord Casper shouted, but made no effort to avenge his fallen comrade. 

A few years ago the mere sight of blood had made her squeamish, but that had changed ever since her training with Gavril. She enjoyed the dance of swordplay now, and couldn't help the smile on her face as she parried, dodged and striked.

The second of the two burly men came at her with his axe. His movements might have looked fast to the untrained eye, but she had learned to be faster and she darted out of the way, sticking her foot out and tripping him. He fell and hit himself on his own axe. Addy suppressed an uncharitable snort. Mordan's greatest fighters, indeed.

She grinned triumphantly at the mayor's son, Jordan, who was watching with astonished and envious eyes. She knew that he had dreamed of having lessons from a knight or Master of Arms, but was prevented from leaving by his father after the whispers of Mordan's conquerings reached Casta. It was funny what people spilled after a few drinks.

Addy was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a knife being drawn. She tried to move out of the way, but winced as it grazed her side and she felt smooth hands grip her wrists. It was the female member of the Watch, the woman with bloodthirsty eyes who had laughed as she pushed the old man onto the stones.

"Not so clever now, are you, girl?" She purred. Addy could feel herself tense up as she desperately tried to remember her training. Someone hadn't gotten close enough to hurt her for at least four years. Then again, she had never picked a fight with Mordan's Watch before.

"You know, I hate to be that person, but I am twenty-one, and calling me a girl just seems so... demeaning, you know?" Addy tried her best to keep an air of amused hostility, but she could tell the woman could see through it by the way she grinned. She could feel her hands shaking, and thought... Is this how I'm going to die? Somehow, she had always expected her sister to be involved.

"Any last words?" The woman had an aura of false sweetness, as Lord Darrel watched with an amused expression on his face.

Long live Alura, is what she thought, but didn't say.

Suddenly, Addy heard the whooshing sound of an arrow, and the guttural scream of the woman as it embedded itself in her arm. She dropped her hold on Addy and hunched over, and Addy took the opportunity to get herself a few paces away. She glanced at the direction the arrow had come from.

Standing there was a girl around her age, with dark black hair in an elaborate braid, skin of near the same shade, and piercing green eyes. She looked intimating, like a sort of warrior princess. She was wearing green priestess robes and carrying a bow, and glancing at the woman of the Watch with a look of such loathing that she actually seemed frightened. The girl sprinted down into the street, notching and firing another arrow at one of the men of the guard, who had gotten up and raised his axe over an elderly woman.

The arrow hit the man in the chest, and he let out a string of curses. Addy couldn't help the smile that graced her face at the arrival of the saviour. It wasn't her time to die just yet. The girl stopped a few paces away, her gaze flickering across the street as she analyzed the situation with a clear intelligence, her lips twitching. Her expression hardened when she saw Lord Darrel, as he walked over towards the townsfolk, almost stomping, and plunged his sword into Jordan's heart.

"You go stop the leader!" The girl shouted to Addy, firing another arrow at the enemies. "I've got this handled."

She didn't need any more encouragement, and took off running down the street. "Hey, you!" Darrel turned to her, the mayor's son on a crumpled heap on the floor.

The young lord turned to her, fire brewing in his eyes. "I will not be beat by some commoner in a backwards town in enemy territory!" He raised his sword and lunged. The attack missed by inches. Addy could almost hear Gavril whispering in her ear. Anger can make you sloppy, little one. Channel your emotions into something productive. Don't let them overwhelm you.

Clearly, Darrel Casper had never learned that lesson. He charged at her again, and she sidestepped easily, thrusting her sword into his side. It was a shallow cut, but the lord hissed in pain and swung at her blindly.

She ducked and kicked him in the ribs. "Well, I didn't imagine spending my day off teaching a Mordan not to mess with innocent people, but here we are." She paused for a second, calming her breath. "You killed that man. Why?"
Despite his wound, he leered at her. "No man who stands against Mordan is innocent. All those who do deserve to die."

Addy felt a pang in her chest for the boy who just wanted to do the right thing. As her movements slowed, lord Darrel took advantage of her hesitation and leaped to his feet, trying desperately to strike her. She thought of the innocent man and shoved her sword through the lord's chest, looking away as the light left his eyes.

She had always hated killing. 

~~

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy my first real story, Tales of Darkness and Light. It's vaguely based on a D and D campaign I was a part of - I played Addy and I decided that her backstory would make for a pretty interesting character. 

It's a high fantasy with lots of adventure, magic and romance. And also world-building. I made a 22 slide PowerPoint with information about the characters, plot, and world haha. This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands in quarantine. 

Another one of the main characters appeared in this chapter. Can you guess who it is? 

Next update will be coming Friday!