Fallen Honor

The road that seemed to stretch forever, perpetually into the distance, it's cobble laying foot and worn down after decades of abuse and use. Hundreds if not thousands of feet, wheels and hooves marched across the stone foundation on their way two and from the capital city. They all headed south away from the Northern coast and into the heartlands of the kingdom.

This road by most was called the Gold Road, mostly do to it being the central moving point of the entire kingdom receiving the largest amount of foot traffic. Originally designed as a way from the armies to get from the Capital down to the southern border as quickly as possible. It's industry and development brought people and people created villages that evolved into towns and for some even cities. It was also brought money in precious goods and metals from the Northern mines to the Southern traders and spices and other Exotic items from the southern kingdoms. This trade made the Gold Road the main vein the central point, the life line of the entire empire.

Do to it's importance The Guard patrols the road day in night most of the time on horseback and on foot but sometimes with the new armored machines that run using smoke and fire with the big wheels and the large turrets atop. These men and women trained from around five years old until they are twenty to become Guards compose the backbone of the Royal Defense force in times of war they are soldiers in times of peace they are peacekeepers. They are the Sword of the Empress the physical force behind her will.

Today though even more so then usual the guards were out in large numbers more of the armored transports and even more horseback and riflemen lined the road. It was obvious to notice for they all seemed to swarm about in large numbers waiting and guarding looking out for bandits, spies and others. The man who set up large metal barricades that they stood behind to block the sea of people swarming on either side all of them loud and rowdy, all of them waiting for somebody, a singular someone.

For you see, today was a very special day. For the sake of the nation's moral and their support the Empress left The Grey Tower, where she sits and watches the land observing it all and decreeing the laws and trade agreements that determine the fate of the kingdom and that takes up most of her time. But sometimes on one occasion or another she leaves her tower and goes out into the kingdom visiting the far flung towns and cities of the kingdom smiling and talking to them, comforting them and showing them that somebody does care about them, which does wonders for Moral, that and the feasts and drinking that follows here well that helps as well, alcohol pouring through the veins of the people helps them forget their troubles for a little bit. And now with war being threaten upon by the Southern Kingdoms and The Blood Plague slamming through the populace and killing hundreds, children, men and women alike dropping dead in the streets no wonder they deiced to hold one of her expeditions.

The cutting through the noise of the crowd like a fucking knife the low and full sound of a signaling horn. The entire crowed quieted down to a mummer and then the mummer died down into nothingness. For the people who had been talking and arguing and all the other manner of things had a more important thing ahead of them. For the main event was arriving any minute and with it the most joy they would have for the entire year.

So they all turned towards the direction that the sound came from and watched the ridge expectantly waiting for the first sign of the empresses escort to bound over the ridge. All was silent the hushed silence, of a not real silence for you could hear the hundreds of breathing and you could practically feel the heartbeats of everyone surrounding you. They watched and they waited, looking for a sign, looking for anything and then like if they could hear the thoughts of all the hundreds watching something came over the ridge.

Clad in a large golden helm with a spine of black feathers going along the helmet, dressed below that in dress uniform heavy dress jacket and pants both of them a uniform grey and wearing the black boots of all of the Guard. Riding a large black war stallion a beast bread for combat and intimidation strong, loud and proud the galloped at outrageously fast speeds. This man was the messenger the herald of the empress the silver horn clutched in his right hand, the empires flag strapped to his back and his ceremonial blade at his side.

And soon right after him came one of the moving machines of fire and smoke. Coming along on it's wheels as it rolled by loud and grumbling like some kind of awakened beast of giant or maybe the roar of a lion. Atop of it on a large pole a speaker running down to the man inside the armored cabin. Who with a few switches and nobs being pulled a voice came over the speaker.

"Attention Ladies and Gentlemen please move away from the barricades, Again please step away from the barricades all those that resist will be dealt with extreme force and prejudiced" And the man kept on speaking the same voice over and over again as it endlessly chanted into the distance as it plotted away and the voice eventually faded away with it.

As the citizen followed the orders none of them stupid or wanting a death wish that bad to Challenge the Guard all stepped back. As they did another large mechanical transport rolled by two of them both as large as a story of a house, larges armed cannons with guards in them rotated about looking for any signs of attack. Within the two of them three squads of riflemen each ready to jump out and defend the empress at a moments notice.

And then with a hushed awe the main event had arrived, a third of this mechanical moving contraptions this one much less crude and rugged then the previous. This one was sleek and smooth black as night and standing out of the hatch atop of it waving to her people was of course the empress herself in all her beautiful glory. Dressed in simple dress clothes, movable and breathable able to be traveled in and yet at the same elegant and regal. Her brown hair reaching just to about her shoulders and her grey eyes filled with things that a women of her young age should not have seen as well as great hope and kindness to them.

Flanking the vehicle on four sides were four more men on horseback each of them in dress of the Empresses bodyguards long dark grey overcoats colors pulled up combat vest and pants underneath. They all had swords at their sides, except for the giant guarding the rear left who instead had a giant greatsword strapped to his back. They had new flintlock pistols, and other armaments on them all top of the line and the best money could buy.

With these four men is where our story begins, where the tale of honor and darkness begins. With the four men guarding the empress, four men that would later go down in the kingdoms history as the ones that killed her. The start of their journey, and the beginning of our story starts now.

The First thing that he picked up upon was the silence as they marched down the road. The long and painful echoing silence that seemed to want to swallow them all alive. It was the most obvious silence, hollow made by the lack of things. For if their was cheering for the Empress or even yelling protest the clamoring voices would of filled the void. If the grey skies opened above them then the rain would come and drown the silence in a sea of drip, drop, drip drop. But of course their was no rain, if a wind had stirred it would brush the trees and make the branches sway making the old oaks creak in protest but not even a gust was present to take the silence away with it down the Gold Road and into the distance. If any of these things had existed then well the silence would have been lifted but their were none of those things.

The Silence had other functions other pieces to its puzzle that were harder to detect more subtle compared to the vast emptiness and loneliness that composed that major part of the silence. If you listened for a while you might start to slowly feel the signs of it's shadowy presence you could feel it in the eyes and hearts of the watchers. You could maybe catch it laughing and ghosting away from your reach in the flashes of the cold dead metal. It was present in the hard set faces of the guards of the empress and in the Empresses curt waving motion. It was alive in the air and loomed, like a faint whisper or a distant memory.

And this silence though silent and shy was the overbearing one it was the one that hung upon him the most, like a sack that he had to burden the weight nonexistent but still there. It was as endless and vast as the open sea, it was as heavy as the guilt of a murderer, it was patient and it haunted him never less. He was the prey and it was the hunter in a never ending chase.

The man was stuck atop his horse in this never unyielding sea of silence, attuned to it and bothered by how it seemed to never be able to leave him. He was of a slender build and slight frame the smallest of the bunch and the youngest as well though his gaunt and appearance would suggest otherwise. His hair was white, white as the fresh winter snow falling to his eyes shaggy and untamed yet at the same time having an odd uniform like order to it. His eyes dark and distant some would describe them to that as haunted as if they were searching for something hundreds of miles away in the distance. It was as if something was absent, not the overwhelming rage of an angry man or the firestorm that brought but a sad knowing that something is not right that something was not present.

The party was moving along slowly at a speed at which moss might begin to grow on them. The silence roaring around them as the stares of hundreds looked back at them from behind the steel barricades. They generated their own silence as well an uneasy silence one that would be akin to a hurt animal snapping against anyone and anything, it was as sharp enough to cut through flesh, it flowed and smashed against the other like the waves crashing against the shore. He closed his eyes trying best not to be roped into the silence to not accept it, to try and not be swallowed by it, his lone candle in the darkness of a raging windstorm trying to stay alight.

A new sound was added into the silence one that was and odd contrast to the solemn and cut throat silence. It was not rough like the beating drum nor was it as emotionless as a cold winter breeze. It was as light as the songs of the summer birds, the warmth of an open flame, the seductive welcoming of the warm summer sun, and the soft embrace of the first spring breeze.

It was a rare old sound that was as elusive, that would very much as well come out and give you a glimpse before retreating back into the mist laughing as you are left stumbling after it tripping its wake. Tis was the mountain tune of a time long past, a old ballad that song of lonesome peasants, burning villages, grand calls to adventure, large battles of the age gentlemen and heroes ones filled with glory and excitement, love and romance and daring deeds of bravery and heroic sacrifices and all the lot.

It was all very chipper and upbeat and stood out even more do to the fact that instead of the traditional haunting baritone that accompanied such a tune it was instead being whistled. In a light airy tone that seemed to playfully dance across the wind teasing and welcoming.

This odd sound was coming from another one of the men on the horses, another one of the odd four man band that was in charge of the safety of the empress. His black hair cut shorter then that of his more serious and younger companion. His face showed signs of age, lines and scars and dark brown eyes that when they looked at you, they just seemed to be able to pick you apart and put you back together in the order he wanted, and a look of a man that could pull of the warmest and most sincere smile ever while telling you that he just butchered your entire family.

As the procession continued they marched the whistling melody followed and accompanied as an eerily fucked up soundtrack, not going along with the procession at all. It instead contrasted and was discontinuous, it felt wrong and twisted. It was a kin to having the background track of the preschooler being Rap music. But it happened and nobody was crazy enough to ask the man to stop and so the whistling continued.