The City of Rahne Was a Desolate Place... | Teen Ink

The City of Rahne Was a Desolate Place...

December 1, 2007
By Anonymous

Chapter One.

The city of Rahne was a desolate place. It was the poorest place in the entire kingdom. There was always crime in the city, so the sound of shattering glass was commonly heard. As I picked up the loaf of bread that I had just stolen, my monstrous friend Jonas came out of his tunnel door. It was concealed so well that even I, who lived in the tunnels, couldn’t find the doors half the time. We ran. The guards were coming and we had already wasted enough time here.
We ran into the depths of the city, the most dangerous part of Rahne. “There’s a door.” He said in his thick dialect. He had a knack for finding the doors, even the hardest kinds to find. The tunnels were used for everything. Meetings, traveling even trade. There were even whole cities under the surface of Rahne. The leader of the kingdom was horrible. He was the worst tyrant that we had had yet. I mean sure some of them were bad, but not as bad as this guy. He was evil. I mean pure evil. His entertainment is people being tortured. Eaten by lions, mauled by bears, roasted alive (he put wet cloths over their mouths so that they would stay alive longer) or stretched till they could bust, then he would take a dull knife and cut them until their skin was peeling back from the strain. He was evil. “Which entrance is it?” I asked. “2697, we are on the east side of town.” “That’s really far from where we live.” I heard footsteps and shouting. “We should go.” He said as he opened the door. It was a command, not an option. We walked in.
We got in we heard some people talking. There was a man and a woman sitting on the beach of a serene, mirror like pool of water. There were a few petals on the water, but how they got there I could never guess. We decided that a little eavesdropping couldn’t hurt. We were still teenagers after all, so we still had a room to be a little bit mischievous, didn’t we? “When is the rebellion?” he asked. He looked as if he was around my height. He had light blond hair that was mildly long. “It’s just four days till.” She replied. She had light red hair and it came down to her waist. “Good, so let’s review. You will go in, kill the guards, get to the throne room then kill the ruler. Do you understand?” he asked. “Yes sir. I and my force will follow your commands wholly and obediently. At this rate we can end his reign and setup a new government. It will be easy.” Jonas and I looked at each other unbelievingly. They were trying to overthrow the government!
“Candice, we should help them. They might need us.” He said. He wanted to do this. He was eager to. He liked to fight. Course, I don’t have any room to talk. I like to fight too. “Yes, we should. And we will. It will be good for us. I know for a fact that I haven’t fought in at least 6 months. That’s too long of a wait. And you, well I’m not so sure about you. When was the last time you fought?” “It was too long ago. I was barely 12. I'm almost 14 now. And when did you fight? Was I not around?” “No,” I replied. “You were sick. You had the Convulsions. Remember?” “Oh yes,” he grimaced. “Yes I remember that very well.” He said disdainfully. “Well, I should go tell them that we want to help shouldn’t I?” “Yes. If we want to help then you had better tell.” We walked out of our hiding place.
“Begging a thousand pardons, but I and my companion could not help but over hearing your conversation and we would like to help. We too, wish to be rid of his rule. He is and evil menace.” Still looking a bit stunned, the woman spoke. “Well, you two seem to have quite a bit of energy. What are your names?” “Well,” I began. “I am Candice of Goron and my companion here, is Jonas of Feurial. We both live here in the tunnels and were on our way home and we just happened to pass this way…” “Thank you Candice. And is Jonas your servant or something? I have not heard him speak once.” “He is a very quiet person. He only talks when what information he has is needed. So no, he isn’t my servant. We have known each other since the time of our births. When my parents died of the ruler’s hands, he and his parents took me in, but about two years later his parents died of the Sickness. I’ve known him forever basically, he’s practically my brother. I could not live without him.” Her stony face momentarily softened, but only for a second. “Well, I’m terribly sorry for your loss. But that will also fuel you for the rebellion. When you have no more strength left in you then remember that and you will become strengthened again. Now, can either of you use a weapon?” This time Jonas answered. “Yes, Candice can fight with a sword. She is very good at it. And me, well, I can use anything I guess. I can swing an ax, mace, whip or scythe. I can shoot a bow, throw a lance and joust using a joust pole. I can use anything.” “Wow that is the longest sentence that I have ever heard you say. Of course, I have only heard you talk once. Ok, back on track, you guys are in. Over the next four days you will spend your time with us training, going over battle plans and getting to know people. You will also chose and name your weapon. Remember while naming it, have a vivid imagination but don’t chose something flimsy, but don’t name it something to hard either. If you don’t name it wisely then it will not work. It will be cut down then you will be taken as a prisoner and tortured just like your parents Candice. Make sure that the name fits the sword. Now, the name also affects its fighting skills. But ill let the smith tell you about that. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you. You will be on my force and you will answer to me and me only. Understood?” We answered at the same time “Yes Ma’am!” we looked at each other. I knew that he was thinking the same thing that I was. This was going to be fun.

Chapter 2.

As we walked around the camp we talked to many people. But in the end we had to get someone to take us to the Smith. It took forever to find him among all the armor and such but we finally found him. When he greeted us he shook our hands. Just because he was old didn’t mean that he wasn’t strong. He nearly broke mine.
“These are some new recruits?” He asked the porter. “Yes, they are to pick out their weapon. And while they are doing that I am to help you forge a few things if I'm needed. She said to me. ‘“Make your self useful for once. Go and help the Smith if he needs you.”’ So those are my orders, and I intend to follow them. So what can I do to help?” “Well, go stroke the fire while I explain to them about naming their sword.” The porter nodded and at once said “Yes sir!”
“Well, I’m Halvard. What are your names? And what type of weapon are you looking for?” “Hi I'm Candice and this is my friend Jonas. I use a sword. And Jonas uses anything. Well he can use anything. So it doesn’t matter what he uses. Well, actually, Jonas which weapon would you prefer?” he thought about it for a minute or two. “Like you said Candice, it doesn’t matter. I’ll use whatever I can.” “Well Jonas, I’ll walk around with you and help you decide. But right now I have to tell you about how to name your sword. You have to pick the name wisely. If it’s to flimsy then it can break off but if it’s too hard then you won’t be able to lift it. For instance, this is named Gold. Gold is a soft metal Jonas, pick up blade. Watch us spar. If Jonas is any good then he will be able to cut through Gold.” Jonas picked up the indicated sword. The first time Blade and Gold clashed together, Blade cut Gold in two. “See? That’s how much the name affects it. Now, was I fighting with my sword then Blade would be the one in two.” I and Jonas just looked at each other. “Well, Jonas is pretty good. I don’t know. I think that your sword would be the one cut in two. But we can argue about that later. Explain to us about naming a sword. I’m eager to get fighting again, and I have to have a sword for that.” He just looked at me and Jonas with unsaid questions. “Er- right. Ok if the name is too soft then it won’t last through the fist wave of fighters. But if it’s too strong then it’ll be really heavy and hard to swing. You have to find a good medium. And it’s not only the name that affects it. It also depends on the wielders will to fight. If your will isn’t high enough then you as well as the sword will be cut down. Go on ahead Candice, I’ll be with Jonas.”
As I walked off to find my sword, I was amazed from how many people this underground cavern could hold, there were so many people here to help. The more I walked around, the Smith’s wares began to be around my size. Since I didn’t wear armor, I just passed it right by.
When I finally came to the swords I could tell that some were made by the Smith but I could also tell that some were not. A few caught my eye, but none of them were the one for me. I had almost said to my self “There’s not one here that I would be able to fight with.” But just as I got to the last row I saw one. It looked as if it might work for me. I picked it up. It weighed nothing, my hand fit it perfectly. I held it as if I were to fight, with it down at my side. I heard footsteps. “Jonas? No, it couldn’t be him. He was in the axes last time I saw him. And this doesn’t even sound like him. Jonas walks like his legs were a little un-even but this man, he has a steady gait. There was a soft hiss. He had un-sheathed a sword! I turned around just in time to clash swords with my assailant. The one that I had picked up was working perfectly. It didn’t weigh anything. It was like wind. You could feel it but you couldn’t see it. That was how fast it moved. His was like I scimitar. It was a curved blade. When we met again, the clash of our swords rang throughout the entire cavern. The song of battle. The clear ring of swords. It brought back so many memories. Ahhhh, how I relished feeling of the swords meeting in the air. As our swords danced through the air I noticed that he was pushing me into a corner. I pushed back. I had little strength left because we had been fighting for quite some time now. He seemed surprised that I had such boldness to come back against him. He seemed to be toying with me. I could tell when our eyes met for those few brief moments, that he had no malice in him. “He’s not here to kill me. He’s just testing me. He’s trying to help me, to see whether this is the sword for me or not... Well, I think.” I saw him waver, “Gotcha!” I parried and struck. I had finally defeated him. “You’re good.” He said out of breath. “You’re not so bad there yourself there mister.” I said equally winded. “How long had we been fighting?” “Fifteen minutes.” He replied breathily.


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on Apr. 22 2010 at 4:01 pm
WriterGirl15 BRONZE, Codroy Valley, Other
2 articles 3 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
when life gives you lemons, you throw them at expensive cars. =P

awesome story !! great plot, cant wait to read the rest of it :)