Vexîre: Prince of Aurem Ch1-Ch2

Map here ---> http://i.imgur.com/xwXjF.png

Vexîre
Prince of Aurum

A long time ago,
Centuries after 'Now'.
In a place west of east
And a plot south of time.
This world is not earth
But our earth is their world.

In a place without bullets,
But ships in the sky
No cars drive around
But horses can fly.
This world is not heavenly
Not as it may seem
In war ridden Nexum
Is where we lay our scene.

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Three thousand men and women wearing golden armor, which was caked with mud and snow, marched into the main gates of 'The Black Castle', or the Capital Building of Nexum. The city of Obitus around them was depleted and burnt. The people of Nexum had fled from the capital, their last sanctuary.

They were slowed down a little bit by the few black-armored troops that Nexum had left. to spare.The gold armored troops, or the Aurem Legion, shot golden crossbows and bronze explosives at the walls of the main keep. As the walls broke down, they slowly made their way inside.

As they approached the King's Chamber, where they knew that King Xemorosha III, Dictator of Nexum, would be inside.

The troops backed off to make way for their war leader, a man with long fair hair and a large helmet. His pale blue eyes were a rarity in the land of Aurem. He landed his silver Pegasus. (A Pegasi, used by most people to get around Aurem and surrounding empires, is a winged horse).

"Heros of Aurem" he addressed his troops. "This is the moment we have been waiting for. All of our work up to this point has been for this moment. Beakus, bust the door."

"Will do sir." The small man in front of the line took a large golden claw looking thing from his horse and aimed it at the bolted door. The golden claw, glimmering in the ash, shot and dug into the door. As the rope reclined, the door ripped off and the troops started in, shards of wood flying into their faces.

War General Alexander was not an easily surprised man, but now, he gasped in shock.

The former King of Nexum's body lay beaten, battered, and dragged across the floor, entrails in a neat pile behind.

Somebody got to him first.

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Chapter I

"What do you mean he was already dead?"

Gamon Cael,who was the Vexîre (or King) of Aurem, grimaced at the news. This did not promote nationalism, this did not raise moral.

The courier repeated himself. "I saw it myself. He was dead. We didn't kill him."

This was an unexpected scenario. Gamon's hair seemed grayer than usual. His army was going to kill the dictator anyway, but now the whole campaign to cut off the head of the Nexists by taking out the leader was pointless. What would he tell the people?

Of coarse, the people would listen no matter what he came up with. The reason that the king of Aurem had been renamed Vexîre, or immortal one, was that the head of Aurem was no longer a pure human. When the empire began, it was founded by Bexian, an immortal god. The new settlement ran smoothly, because people always had to listen to him. He could never be killed or assassinated, except by a special weapon which could be used in extreme corrupted leadership, called the Axum. The Axum was a three pronged sword which was created by the god himself, as an assurance that it was indeed a democracy, or so it seemed. The god hid the Axum, so that nobody except a government could use it.

The god's reasoning for creating the device was to protect Aurem. Many countries had fallen or been subject to corrupted leadership. This weapon could eliminate that factor. If one leader was corrupt, whoever slained him with Axum would become the new Vexîre. This is why it was in such a secret location; if somebody else got their hands on it, and killed the current Vexîre, they would be the new leader, and nobody could question it. The Vexîre had that power, naturally.

After awhile, people began to think the Axum wouldn't ever be necessary, because the god's reign lasted many decades.

Soon, however the time of gods came to an end, and people started believing in sciences more than religious affairs. The god Bexian passed on his leadership power in a ceremony called Dakamus, and a chosen prince was made the new Vexîre. For four hundred years since then, the leaders of Aurem had been peacefully chosen.

Gamon was the 73rd leader of the empire. He had been the Vexîre for over 30 years, but planned on retiring soon.

Gamon paced as this dreaded meeting grew closer. He didn't know what to do.

===========================

As the sun set over the golden buildings of Imperium, the capital city of Aurem, William Cael, Gamon's son, excitedly prepared for this important meeting with the Aurum Parliament. He knew that it would be about the War on Nexum, and that Aurum had finally won.

He combed short, dark colored hair and dressed in formal attire. As the meeting time grew closer, he left his room, and worked his way to the meeting wing of the Golden Palace.

His brother, Mordis, met up with him in the bridge. "Are you ready?" he said. "This could be the fate of 'your' empire." he was very obvious with his air quotes.

Mordis had been bitter for many years about this. When they both turned thirteen, the year of manhood in Aurem, Gamon had to make a choice. Only one of his sons could be the Vexîre.

Mordis, being older if even less than a year, would be the obvious choice. But, after much thinking, their father chose William. A huge embarrassment, Mordis never quite recovered from this it seemed. Even a decade later, he was still bitter.

Mordis usually didn't act bitter, though. He still believed in his father, and after the initial few years, seemed to be ok with William as future Vexîre. He now said things like that as more of a tease than as a complaint.

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The top members of each group in Aurem gathered as well as the Vexîre and William, prince of Aurem, at his side. Vexîre Gamon did not look happy.

As he explained what really happened, the group's initial excitement receded.

"But." said Gamon. "I've decided that I'm going to tell the people that it was we who killed him. This is the only way that we will have really won."

William rose. "Father! You can't lie to the people. This government has been pure and truthful for centuries. If we break that trust now, nothing is ever pure that we say."

"William, It is not your place to decide. You are here as an observer, not as a decider." Gamon said.

"The boy may have a point." said the Governor of Noblan. "Lying could be an abuse of power.

"I agree." said a robed man, the Governor of VexoMesa, a northern city. "You need to tell them the truth."
More people started murmuring.

"Silence!" yelled Gamon, losing patience. Of coarse, the room obeyed.

But William did not. "Father! Lying to them makes us no better than the inferior empires!Lying is an abuse of your influential power. This makes us no better than Nexists!"

Gamon had enough. "Inferior empires? You sound like a Nexist yourself!" he slammed his glass to the ground, standing. "You will leave this meeting immediately."

William stormed out of the golden room as Mordis caught up with him.
"Didn't go well?" he said.

"You know how he is." Said William. "I can't wait until he dies so that a real leader can take the throne."

"Don't say that, brother." said Mordis. He was almost a head shorter than William. "He knows what he's doing, and you should respect that." Despite being neglected by Gamon, Mordis had always stood up for his stubborn father. William wished he could be that forgiving.

"Get out of my way." said William, still angry. "I'm going into the city."

William hopped on his Pegasus and rode to the nearest pub. He was done with this man he called his father.

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The morning sun rose over the capital city of Imperium as thousands of people from the entire empire gathered in front of the Golden Palace. As the Vexîre appeared on the top balcony, the crowd applauded and cheered. This leader could do no wrong.

William walked out among the crowd. Nobody noticed they were standing next the prince, maybe because he looked terrible. He had drunk himself to sleep last night, and woke up in the middle of an Inn room. Not exactly the actions of a Prince.

He watched as his father began to speak. The entire city became quiet.

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"Hello, my pupils." he said. "You may be able to guess why we are here today. But before I reveal, I would like to recap what leads up to our great victory. From the beginning."

He took a long breath and then began. "For centuries, our way of life has been unchallenged. The world has been at peace. But five years ago, all of that was threatened.

A new leader of the Excello empire, XemoRasha, took control of the empire. He spread new ideas of racism and worse, worship of Nex. For those who do not know, Nex is a being which exists inside of us, that tells us to do wrong. To harm. To kill. Nex is the only reason for death, destruction, and anger. He is not part of our way of power.

XemoRasha found out how to use this power for harm of his foes. Soon, he used it to control his people, to brainwash them. Unlike Aurem, where the Vexîre's power is used for eloquence, not control, he had gone too far. He soon used the raw power to make a superior army of 'Nexists', which rivaled our own army. He changed the name of his kingdom to Nexum, which means Place of Darkness. He soon attacked our homeland.

For years, we fought these foes. Our people, for the first time ever, feared for their lives. But, finally, we have achieved success. Our Legion commander, Alexander, has killed the evil leader, and brought peace back to the land."

Alexander stood, looking uneasy about the lie but confident. The crowd cheered.

"Of coarse, this does not end the violence. I am not going to neglect the recent terrorist attacks since his death. In places such as Flora, VexoMesa, and even the ever grand Caer City have occurred, killing many. We have taken action to help prevent this, and be very grateful that it can't happen again. Aurem, you are safe."

He continued talking for what seemed like hours.

William dozed off for a few minutes, but was awakened quickly by a flashing light. The sun reflected of someone on the top of the trade building. What was that?

As he looked closer, he saw the man. He was wearing silver robes and had a hood over him. He was holding something. It looked out of place.

William stared at the three pronged sword with a miniature cannon at the back. It took him a moment to realize that this was the Axum. The one thing that could kill the Vexîre. The man pulled the lever and put his long skinny finger on the switch.

William's father was about to be assassinated.

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Chapter II

William ran at full speed to the assailant, sword ready. As he started climbing the ladder, he knew he was too late.

The three pronged sword shot from the makeshift cannon. It sailed past the surprised crowd.

Gamon's balcony was uncovered, open to the people. As he was supposed to be invincible, there was no need for protection.
The sword plunged into Gamon, into what looked like his heart. He fell like a rag doll.
"Gamon!" yelled William. He turned back to the assailant
The hooded man ran to the other side of the building. William filled quickly. He had to catch him.

The Trade building was domed at the top. The assassin, now aware he was being chased by William, climbed the dome's ladder and stood at the top. He slung his bow and started shooting.

But William was quick. In addition to leadership, his training as prince required battle-skills. He caught an arrow. He snapped it in half.

The assassin, figuring that this man was clearly not messing around, ducked and pulled out a short pronged grappling hook. It shot 100 meters to nearby building, and he swung to it.

William, now at the top of the dome, whistled twice. Sure enough, his Pegasus, white with a gold streak on his side, flew down from the clouds.

He got on, and started flying.

In the Nest, as North Aurem was called, William had quite the reputation for his ability at flying Pegasi. In reality, his winged horse just always knew where to go. He was terrible at steering them.

He flew over the assassin, who shot more arrows at him. William's horse ducked down, clearly hurt. It swooped down over the now very confused crowd, hitting some people with his hooves.

Rain now started pouring. When William regained control of his horse, the hooded man had made his way outside the main part of the city and into the stables. He grabbed one of the Pegusi, and flew out, shattering the window.

William chased him, getting farther and farther away from the chaos back at the palace. He thought about his father, probably dead, and Aurem, without a leader for the first time in history.

It then occurred to him that this leader is him.

However, an even scarier thought crossed his mind. If this assassin had killed the Vexîre with the Axum, that meant that he was technically the New Vexîre. So, if William didn't retrieve the Axum and kill this man before Gamon died, then the fate in Aurem would become hopeless.

An arrow whizzed by William's head which took him out of his trance. The speed at which they were going in the air made it hard to shoot straight, but obviously this man didn't let that bother him.

William, being a bad archer on the calmest of days, gave up on shooting him. He tried to get closer, to make this a sword fight. William was a much better swordsman. He tried to grab the Axum.

This proved to be a mistake. He did get the Axum, but his horse was stabbed in the side by the assailant.

For a split second, he saw the mans face. It was pale and slim. He had grey eyes, white hair, and he was smiling.

As William's horse started to fall, he dodged one last arrow. His horse seemed to lose consciousness, as his bloody wings stopped flapping.

William jumped off. Below him, a small lake stretched out. As he fell he saw the Mountains which marked the border of Nexum and Aurem.

The assassin saw the mountains, and turned to the right. He started going south toward the plains.

William slipped the Axum into his jacket, though it didn't exactly fit. He hit the water and went unconscious.

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"Hello? Sir? Can you hear me sir?"

William opened his eyes to the bearded face of an elderly face with circled spectacles.

William sat up, but a pain seared through his side.

"Careful there, sonny." said the man. He was only about four feet tall and he had a long white beard. He wore a formal looking brown shirt and dark navy pants.

"You had quite a fall." he said. "My name is Garland, I build things. Welcome to my home. You took an arrow to your thigh." Garland pointed to the wrapped area on his lower backside.

"How long have I been out?" said William.

"About six months." said Garland.

"What?!" William got up frantically.

"Just Kidding!" said Garland. "You've only been in bed for a few days. Less shocking now, isn't it?"

William didn't think this was so funny. Where was he? He looked around. The small wooden cabin he was in had many animal skin rugs in it, as well as quite a few odd looking gadgets. Garland was wearing a set of goggles and a saw strapped to his pants quite precariously.

"Here" said Garland. "Have some fresh Windle Village chocolate." he handed William some white chocolate.

Not exactly trusting this strange man entirely, William handed it back. "Windle Village?" he said. He had never been there, even though it was only a few miles away from Imperium. "You came and found me?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Prince!" said Garland. "Yes, I was walkin' down the pond, and I swear I saw a man dead on the shore! So I went over to see what happened and you spit water out at me. So, naturally, I brought ya home and nursed ya back to health. Chocolate?"

"No thanks." said William weakly. This man was obviously mad.

"So then," continued Garland. "I showed you to my friend, Belgi, and he says to me 'Garland! This aint no drunk who passed out in the lake! This is the Prince! The one who went missin' "

"Missing?" said William. He then remembered that he had left Aurum without a trace. And then he remembered the Axum.

"Did you happen to see a sword-looking thing near me?" said William.

"Well yup." said Garland. "I put it in my safe. Looked valuable, wouldn't want some moocher ta get it."

William sighed in relief. At least he had that. Now he just needed to find his assassin.

He looked at the large map of Aurem on the dresser.
Right now, he was in Windle village, which was east of Imperium. It was famous for having the best white chocolate in The Nest. Usually, The Nest was the term used to describe Northern Aurem. Since Aurem was a horizontal shape, the north was really the North West, or the Nest.

West of The Nest was the great forest, which most people didn't go into because of dangerous creatures there. More southern was the south east part of the empire, or The S'east. These two provinces were very different. For example, people in the Nest usually were very traditional, never changing things much. People in the S'east were usually very Radical thinkers.

The other big cosmopolitan city in Aurem was Caer City. Pronounced KIE-Air City, it served as a place for radical thinkers and pupils of the arts to gather.

To the east of the empire was Nexum, or what was left of it, just over the mountains which divided them. To the north of the empire was Tekka, where all of the Empire's golden gadgets were build and manufactured by the TekTons, or builders.

William studied the map for awhile, thinking through his next plan of action.

He realized it may be smarter to go back to Imperium first, and consult with his brother who would probably be in charge at the moment. First, though, he needed to see what had happened in the time that he'd been unconscious.

"I don't mean to be rude." said William. "But do you have a daily news paper station or something?"

"Sure do." said Garland. "I'll even take you if ya like."

William noticed that this man didn't treat him like royalty, more like a guy he found unconscious next to a lake. At first, it seemed annoying, but soon, it was actually sort of refreshing to be treated like common-folk.

*KNOCK* somebody began to bang loudly on the door.

"I wonder who that could be at this hour?" said Garland, his spectacles sliding down his nose from the tremourous door bangs.

"This is the Aurem Legion! Open up immediately!"

Garland looked surprised. He'd done nothing wrong, William imagined.

The door burst open. In came a line of gold plated legionnaires, led by the one and only, General Alexander. His pale eyes glared at William. The seemed to look into his soul.

"Bring them outside." said Alexander.

The soldiers shoved Garland and William out on to Garland's porch. "Don't you know who I am?" said William. Although he looked dirty and pretty beaten down, William knew that the guards or at least Alexander should know his face; they had gone to various meetings together.

"I know who you are." said Alexander. "Prince William Cael, you are under arrest."

"Boss-" said one of the legionaries, "Do you think we would take the old guy too? He's housing a fugitive."

"Uh.." Alexander hesitated. "Yes, sure. Take him too."

"I demand to know why I'm being arrested!" said William. "I should be arresting you!"

Alexander sighed. "We all know your secret, Mr. Cael. Your under arrest for the murder of your Father, Gamon Cael."

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