Empires **Discontinued**

Empires
By:Jacob Yates

I was running frantically with the booms and crashes exploding around me like a thunderstorm. I could feel the ground shaking below me i knew something bad was about to happen. I heard screams and cries all around me. I couldn’t think straight with all the yelling. The roof started to cave in and the last thing i heard was someone screaming my name....I guess i should start from the beginning my name is Niccolo but everyone i knew called me nick. The most important thing you should know about me is i am the son of the king of the western nation. He is a strong ruler who hates anyone from the eastern nation. I always wondered when i was a child why he hated them so much. I once asked him but he would always brush me off to go work on running the kingdom. Today was the day though he would have to tell me because i’ve arranged a meeting in the dining room and he will have to tell me. I walked into the throne room where my father was sitting waiting for me as I expected.

“You’re here finally” he said.    

“It takes time to get here when i am thoroughly searched by so many guards father”.        “Its only for my safety and you know this”. “Anyways lets get going” he said.

We made our way down to the dining room. As we sat being entertained by fathers servants i guess that now would be my best chance to ask. “Father can you tell me something”? I said    “What is it son?      “Father why do we have such anger towards the northern nation they seem like a friendly type they never attack us or anger us in any ways?”   I could tell by his expression he was getting agitated

“I have told you many times this is a discussable matter i will tell you when you become old enough to learn the truth” He exclaimed. “But father there is no reason to be so spiteful towards them” “Silence!” He was shouting now.

“If i tell you we should not discuss this it is not to be spoken of do i make myself clear?” “Yes father” I mumbled. He began to get up and leave. “father wait!”

I shouted but he was already exiting the room. I followed after him to his quarters only to hear him talking with someone whom i wasn’t very sure who they were. I knew by their voice it wasn’t any of his servants. His voice was deep and malicious it shook me to the core. As i overheard them talking i could tell he was from the northern nation by the way he was talking about things. “You only have one choice it is because of your actions your kingdom is on the brink of war and if you don’t choose wisely your kingdom will be at war yet again”

Hearing this made me a little dizzy to think the peaceful northern nation would attack us and who else was he talking about the eastern nation perhaps? I peeked back around and kept listening “ I can’t help what my father did in those times this shouldn’t be a problem” Father said “Just return the ring it shouldn’t be so difficult to do”.

I wondered what ring he was talking about i looked down at my hand and had a short crazy thought but quickly pushed it out of my head.     “That ring belongs to us and it has a great power to it that only we can handle properly” The hooded figure said.“I gave it to my son he loves that ring dearly I will not make him part with it its the last thing he has from his mother”.

 I fell back and I looked at my hand this ring..the ring i have had since i was a child...the ring  that my mother gave to me before she passed on this ring... Is this ring  northern nations property? Just then i hit a vase and caused it to fall and hit me. I woke up in the castle infirmary with a sore head. I looked around and asked the nurse where father was. She said he was in the throne room.Apparently he quickly rushed out from his quarters and found me lying unconscious next to a broken vase. I looked around the room and got up the nurse told me i was lucky i wasn’t injured too badly so i figured i would go ask father who that man was. I got up and walked out to the throne room father was sitting there looking worried. I went and asked him who was that man. “I guess its time the truth comes out son i can’t hide this from you much longer. “When i was a young child i used to live in the eastern nation.”  “I would always play with my best friend his name was alfonso.”

“When we were playing out one day Al entrusted me with his ring that had been passed down through his family he said he needed me to make sure nothing happen to it while he went on a trip to the southern nation with his father and i agreed.”     “As i inspected the ring i heard i noticed a faint glowing light coming from it i touched it and as if out of thin air a gigantic explosion exploded all around me.”    “When i got up i quickly realized the ring had cause the massive crater around me but i was totally unharmed.

“I soon realized this ring had the power to make me the king i could do whatever i wanted with it and i decided to run away with it to the northern nation where Alfonso would never find me.”

I eventually got married and became the king of this nation all thanks to the rings power.” “After a while i could not bare to keep the ring any longer so i gave it to your mother to keep me from taking its power and abusing it again.”

“Your mother then happened to give this ring to you as her final wish”   “To this day Alfonso has been looking for me and he has finally found me.” That man you saw....Was him“Father said.

I quickly glanced over the ring uncertain of its power i thought of all the possibilities i had with this ring i could become a king maybe even a god. I then realized that was selfish and was furious with myself for even thinking of it. “Father you cannot keep this ring it is too dangerous we must give it back to the eastern nation.“

“Alas my son i cannot this ring is bound to you it becomes bound to the rings wearer until they either die.”But father did you not once remove the ring and give it to mother you could just tell me”

“If i were to do that my son the ring would lose the last bit of its power.

“i think this is why the ring you wear now is not responding to your touch it is weak and has little power from the wearers getting rid of it”

he said.  “If you were to remove it and lose the last bit of strength it has in it the eastern nation would find this trying to taking their power from them and start a war”Father said.         “Then what am i to do!”

I could feel the anger rising in me. “If you had just kept the ring and not stolen it we wouldnt have to deal with this now!”

. All of a sudden a loud scream came ringing through the halls. One of fathers servants came bursting in yelling and shouting of an attack made by the eastern nation Father told me to go to my quarters while he dealt with this so i ran up to my room only to be stopped by the ground shaking. I was running frantically with the booms and crashes exploding around me like a thunderstorm. I could feel the ground shaking below me and i knew something bad was about to happen. There were cries and yelling all around me. I couldn’t think straight with all the yelling. The roof started to cave in and the last thing i heard was someone screaming my name.

                    Empires Part 1 To be continued **Discontinued*