The Six Flames of Virtue

An Original Fanfiction by KidKourage

A Preface

          Wow!  I’m finally getting down to writing my own story!  I can’t wait to start it.  I have a lot of cool ideas, and I hope to get them all down.  In case you haven’t guessed, this isn’t the real KidK; this is another story written by me--Mike!  But it isn’t a Zim story, at least not really.  The characters from that may make appearances, but not as themselves, you know?  But to help to make you feel better, I am making KidK herself into one of the characters.  You have to guess which one, though…oh, well.  Also, my pal Lynnie gets to play too!  She will play a really nifty part when she is finally in it.  Okay, here we go!

          People say that power comes in many forms.  It can be influence in a governing body, or it can be the knowledge that one has done a good deed.  Power can be found in large and small amounts, and in varying degrees of strength.  This is a story about one person’s struggle to attain power, and the others that would try to keep him from it.

Part 1: The Wanderer Asks, ‘Walk Which Path?’

          The sky was crimson as the sun set over the palace garden.  It was a beautiful sight, and it seemed as though it could go on forever.  However, not everything in the world was quite so picturesque.  In fact, there were problems even in the palace itself, as will soon be seen.

          ‘I don’t see why you need to go abroad!’ boomed a man’s deep voice.  It was a voice of authority, one that belied a nature of influence and supremacy.  ‘If your country were at war, wouldn’t you feel the need to help?’ asked another, younger voice.  ‘The people of the continent need protection, and the governor himself sent for me!’

          Now we see the light from several torches appear from the fortress.  There are two silhouettes, one of an older man, and the other of a youth.  ‘I don’t need you to tell me what the governor has said!’ yelled the older man. 

‘Of course you don’t,’ the other, calmer voice.  ‘He tells you everything, doesn’t he?  But he didn’t tell you about the civil war?  About the Duke of Mercott?  I didn’t think so!’  With that, the shadow of the boy disappeared from the window.

**

Meanwhile, outside of a port town, there is a young woman running as fast as she can to get away.  From what, it cannot be seen.  The one thing that can be told is that she never once looked back.  She kept running, running, throughout the night.

**

          The next morning saw fair skies.  The sun shone off of the shiny spires of the palace gates.  It was a beautiful morning.  Out from the castle comes the youth from the evening before.  In better spirits, he greets the guards warmly.  He departs from the palace with a pack on his back; he won’t be back for some time.

          He casually walked to the nearest town, a small fishing village called Sombra, and walked into the local inn to buy a drink and catch up on the news of the war.

          As he entered, he surveyed the other patrons at the bar.  He spied some amiable fishermen, and decided to chat with them.  ‘Good morning,’ he said to the barkeep as he sat down.  ‘Mornin’,’ he responded.  ‘What’ll it be?’ 

          ‘Do you have any wine?’ he asked.  ‘Wine?  This early in the morning?’  The barkeep looked suspiciously at the boy.  ‘How old are you, anyway, son?  I know you look familiar, but I can’t place your face.’

          ‘I live near here, in a house in the forest.  I’m 17, by the way, and my father lets me drink when it pleases me.’ 

‘Who is your father?’ inquired one of the fisherman.  ‘Just a local official,’ the boy responded.

          ‘What do you call yourself, boy?’ asked the barkeep.  ‘You haven’t even told us your name yet, and you’re asking for my wine.’  ‘Call me Eric,’ he responded, ‘Eric Lumier.’

          ‘Lumier?’ asked the fisherman, ‘Are you related to that landowner, Charles Lumier?’  ‘No.  I’ve never met him before,’ was Eric’s only response.

          ‘Well, whoever you are, you may as well stay for a meal as well.  My Hermia can fix up just about anything these days.  Got the recipes from a book we ordered.  It cost us two whole pennies, but it was worth it.’

          ‘Pennies?’ wondered Eric, ‘Why are they messing around with pennies?  Don’t they have any more money than that?’  His face must have belied his curiosity, because the barkeep then said, ‘We used to have so much more money here in Sombra, but since that tyrant Lord Mercott took power a few years back, the taxes get higher, and the wages get lower.’

          ‘I’m sorry to hear that,” answered Eric.  ‘I guess we never had to worry about money, since Father’s so close to the governor,’ he thought.

          At that point, a tall, muscular man walked into the inn.  He walked up behind Eric, and then stopped in his tracks.  Eric didn’t notice, as he was deep in thought about his father’s money habits.  Then the man recognized Eric, and started talking.

          ‘Who’s this then?’ the man asked.  ‘You know I always sit in this chair, Lucius.’  ‘I thought that the boy would be in and out,’ the barkeep responded. 

‘It’s too bad, Lucius.  I really liked that agreement that we had come to.’  With that, he pulled out a long knife from somewhere on his person.  He was about to stab the poor Lucius, when it instead hit sharply against more metal.

          ‘What’s this all about?’ asked Eric.  ‘I’m sure that there isn’t a need for such violence in this situation.’  ‘What do you know, boy?  How dare you try to stop me?  I was going to wait until I had finished with Lucius before I dealt with you, but I guess you can’t wait to die!’ said the man.

          ‘I wouldn’t do that, sir,’ Eric responded.  With that, he proceeded to cut a huge gash in the man’s arm with his sword.  ‘I tried not to hurt you too badly, sir, but if you insist on fighting, I am afraid that I will have to do more.’

          ‘What’s your problem, kid?  Didn’t you know that I was joking with Lucius?’ he said, as blood dripped onto the floor.  ‘You’d better watch out, boy, for every day may be your last!’  He then ran from the inn, holding his wound to keep the blood in.

          ‘You sure did a good thing there, child,’ said one of the fishermen.  ‘He’s always terrorizing poor Lucius, and we can never seem to do anything about it. But now that we know that he’s such a coward, we can look after ourselves.’

          ‘I’m glad to hear that,’ responded Eric.  ‘But why is he such a burden to you?  Why does he bother you like this?’

          ‘It’s because he has a huge tab to pay, but doesn’t have the money to pay it,’ answered Lucius.  ‘Like I said; ever since that Mercott took power, money doesn’t come anymore.  That man thinks that by getting rid of me, he could be rid of his debts as well.  By the way, where did you learn to handle a sword like that, kid?’

         

‘My father taught me,’ Eric lied, thinking of Chevalier, his fighting instructor.  ‘He says that being able to fight makes it easier to take care of yourself, though he also thinks that fighting for your country is not only unpatriotic, but unwise.’

          ‘Boy, it seems as though you have a lot on your mind.  You’re planning on entering the war?  Not that I don’t think you’d be able to, but perhaps it would be better to mind your father?’

          ‘I don’t think so.  Ever since my mother passed, he never thinks of anyone but himself.  He just wants me to stay out of the war so that he can have a scapegoat.’

          ‘But don’t you think that it may be because he wants you to be safe at home, instead of far from him, where he can’t protect you?’

          ‘No,’ responded Eric bemusedly, ‘I really do not think so.’  With that, he paid for his drink, left the inn, and continued on his way.  He left the fishermen and Lucius to wonder about this mysterious youth for the rest of their lives.

**

In a larger town, there was a girl standing in the square.  She seemed to be waiting for something, but nobody in the village spoke to her.  She looked almost out of place, because her clothing was foreign to them.  She just kept standing there, looking out onto the road.

**

Meanwhile, in a castle far away, a shadowy figure sat alone in a dark room.  Another silhouette appeared, and they began to speak.

‘How is it coming, Lydia?’ asked the seated one.  ‘The war is going well, Lady,’ the other responded.  ‘We have already taken over all of the lands in the North, and we are beginning our takeover of the South.

‘Perfect.  And what of the boy?’

‘He has left his home and is on his way.  One of my agents says he had a run-in with him in Sombra, and that he later left.  No one has seem him since that time,’ responded Lydia.

‘We can’t have that, Lydia.  You have to keep a better watch on him.  What of Rob?  What has he been up to these days?’

‘He hates it when you call him that, Lady.  He prefers Robertson-Taylor, his full name, to it.’

‘But he is just a boy.  His thoughts have no bearing in what adults call him.’

‘He no longer sees himself as an unwitting pawn to you, Lady.  And though he is young, he is quite skilled at his art.’

‘Fine.  I will no longer refer to him that way, though I don’t see why I have to do as you say.  But back to the matter at hand.  What is he doing now?’

‘The last time I saw him; he was perfecting his skills in the city.  He wants to be at his best when the boy appears,’ she explained.

‘Perfect, absolutely perfect,’ the seated figure responded.  She rose and walked to the window.  ‘We don’t need his kind coming and ruining everything, do we?’  With that, she began to laugh, deep from within her, a bloodcurdling and maniacal laugh.

** 

Eric then traveled many miles, sometimes alone, and others in the company of travelers.  He always told the same story--that he lived in the nearby forest, and that his father wanted to keep him from the war.  He never revealed much of his past, so that his companions wouldn’t be uncomfortable around him.  He eventually made his way to another town, larger than Sombra, and saw a striking young woman in the town square.  He had never seen her in his life, but he somehow felt that they had been friends in the past.  He walked up to her, and they began to talk…

Wasn’t that fun?  I have finally started my writing career, and I don’t think that that was a half-bad attempt!  Who is the mysterious girl in the town square?  Why was she standing there, and why was Eric so surprised when he saw her?  And what of the mysterious pair in the castle? Well, that’s what the next chapter will bring!  You have to wait until then to find out.  But I know, and, boy, is it nifty!  She’s really the…oops!  Almost gave it away to you guys.  I have to get better control of myself!  Okay, see you next time!