The Jeondong Chronicles Ch. 02

The Jeondong Chronicles:

Chapter Two:

The staircase to the secret lair was old, to say the least. It was designed in the form of a spiral, but now all that remained were a few stones in each step, so that the steps blended into one another and the stairs no longer retained their spiral glory. As my father had promised, there lay the Fountain of Youth in the middle of the room. The Fountain itself was huge and circular, with a huge spring in the middle. The Fountain took up most of the cavern and was bordered by a smooth layer of rocks sculpted together. However, some of the rocks were out of harmony due to the wear and tear that came with age. I looked around the place. It was otherwise clean, but showed the same signs of wear and tear as the Fountain did. Surrounding the Fountain of Youth on all sides was another library in itself. However, the books on these shelf had a different air to them. They were worn out, as if their pages had been turned endless times. I took one in my hand. The title read 'The Ancient Enemies of Jeondong'.

I turned around to see my father go around the cavern, lighting up the flame torches so that there was enough light around the room. "Father, why are these books here along with the fountain?"

"Take a guess, son," he replied as he turned around to face me after he had lit the last torch.

"The information in these books must be private, bound to only the king, just like the fountain. Then, this book right here, shouldn't everyone know about the enemies of the land if we are to defend against them?" I said, waving the book slightly in order for him to see.

My father let out a laugh. "Well, that was the first book that I picked when I first came down here. In your lessons till this day, you have mastered the detailed information about the reigns of every ruler from the first King. These books right here contain information on what happened in these very lands before the first King sat on the throne."

"You mean that the four kingdoms had a predecessor. They haven't been around for eternity?" I asked, exasperated. If the four kingdoms did have a predecessor, and that information has never been made known to the public, and all these books down here held the entire history of the enemies of Jeondong that no one ever talked about in public, then there was so much information I was oblivious to until this day.

"I can see the wheels of your head turning, son. You'll get a lot of that information in the book you're holding. Unfortunately, you won't have that much time before the coronation ceremony. So take a seat, and let me tell you the story in brief. And fetch me a glass of water will you?"

I walked over to a small basin that held water, grabbed a glass and sat down beside my father on a long worn out bench by the Fountain. He took a sip and then began.

" Before the four kingdoms existed on the continent of Wiozokan, There existed only one kingdom. One so powerful and evil that no one ever dared to rise in opposition against them. They were known as the Obsidian Order. They ruled the lands for thousands of years, their cruelty and oppressive ruling subduing any revolts to their rule. However, over the years, the revolts grew more powerful, more intense. The people revolting grew in number and revolts began all over the land. The Order dealt them with Swift blows to end the revolts but for the first time, signs of weakness seemed to show up in the power of the royal family. People rose up in revolt to their merciless and oppressive rule without any fear of their lives. Soldiers began deserting their ranks, claiming freedom from their hypocrite generals. Tax collectors were beaten up in town squares for the huge amount of taxes that they demanded from the people, slaves killed their masters in their beds. Every where they went the Obsidian Order was faced with struggle to deliver their ruling. These things slowly began weakening their rule from the inside. The end seemed near for them, perhaps further compounded by the passing away of the king, leaving behind his son of eighteen years to rule an empire that was on the verge of revolution. Everyone thought that the rule of the Obsidian Order was finally nearing an end. By this time about more than half the army had deserted the Order. The revolutionists had around twenty thousand infantry, eight thousand heavy cavalry, ten thousand light cavalry and five thousand archers in total. They were led by none other than the most trusted body guard of the dead king, Lee Min Woo. The rebels had set up camp outside the capital city, and were set to attack the following day after the king's passing."

"Where was the Obsidian Order's Capital city?" I asked.

"This very city of Tokseong" he replied.

"Oh god," was the only thing I could say. To realise that I was sitting where one of the biggest battles in the history of Wiozokan took place, the feeling inside was just surreal.

"This is just the beginning. Things got only worse from here."

"Tell me more," and I was, once again that small child who loved to listen to his father's stories before going to bed. A long time had passed, it seemed that little had changed in me. It was a quirk that I was comfortable with.

" Lee Min Woo was confident of victory. With all the soldiers deserting, all the new king was left with was a measly force of ten thousand infantry, five thousand or so cavalry and around two thousand archers. They were vastly outnumbered. Min Woo did send out an envoy demanding for surrender, but he was sent back in pieces. War was the only option left. The rebels arrived outside the city gates a few days later and set up their base in the fields outside the city. They were assured of victory and were preparing to attack the next day, but that day never came. That night the new king strode out with his infantry outside the city walls and launched a direct frontal assault on the rebels. The rebels, not expecting an attack in the night, did manage to get their forces together but by that time it was too late. That night, everyone present on the battlefield realised just how much they had underestimated the Obsidian Order's new king. The records in the book state that the forces that the king mustered were all not human. Almost no one in living memory had seen the Obsidian Order fight a full blown war till then. But that night they did. Records state that besides infantry, swarms of undead soldiers, beasts spawned for war in the Night Keep, along with human infantry, induced with the magic from undead sorcerers took the field against the rebels that night. And at their helm was, none other than the new king, his black helmet, doused in dark fumes, his horse flaming red, as if it had been spawned from the Underworld. The rebels stood no chance that night. The more soldiers they killed, the more appeared to fight for the new king. The king would gain the title of the Night Prince that night in the battlefield. Even without his army, he was a demon in himself, charging through entire ranks, demolishing entire divisions on his own. Seeing no other option, Lee Min Woo charged up to the Night Prince to kill him."

Just hearing the tales of the Night Prince sent chills up my spine. How on earth could he be that good? Curious, I asked my father, " Did Min Woo succeed?"

My father face morphed to a dry smile. " Perhaps the story would have ended had he done so. But unfortunately, he was no match for the Prince either. Within a minute, the Prince struck a sword straight through his heart with blinding speed and it was all over. The army, sensing their imminent death, scattered in panic. Thousands of women, wives, sisters and daughters of the rebel soldiers were left behind. The ones with child were killed on the spot. The ones without children, suffered a fate much worse. The Night Prince captured each and every single one of them. He sentenced some to eternal bonded labour. The young ones, he sent them all over the continent. They were sold to slavery, or as public sex slaves. However, there were five royal women among them and they had the worst fate of all. The Night Prince gave three of them to his soldiers right there. Screams of their agony rang out of the taverns that night. None of them made it till the morning when their bodies, devoid of life, and completely covered in the soldiers seeds were dumped on to the castle grounds, meat for the Prince's beasts. The last two remaining women were the mother and wife of Lee Min Woo. His mother was at that time regarded one of the most beautiful women of the Kingdom. She was also one of the old king's wives. She tried to reason but the Night Prince did not pay her any heed. He strung her upright in the market, naked, in front of all the people the next morning and every inch of her beauty was taken from her as she was whipped mercilessly until all she could do was whimper in pain, her body covered in blood from the endless whipping. Opposite to her, was another pedestal, on which Lee Min Woo's wife was strung up in a similar fashion. She watched her mother in law, once a bright and beautiful woman, bleed to death, whimpering in pain as she herself was taken like a piece of meat by every soldier and male citizen present that day. By noon, they were both dead."

He had a grim look on his face while I couldn't help but openly display my horror. " If Lee Min Woo did not succeed that night, then who did have the courage to start another rebellion?"

" Among the people who managed to escape that night from the battlefield, there was a concubine of Lee Min Woo. She was six months pregnant with his child and luckily managed to escape. The child turned out to be a boy. He took his father's name and vowed to avenge the death of his father and liberate the Wiozokan continent from darkness. His words were not spoken from ire alone. He was focused and determined at his goal. From the age of thirteen, he could defeat even the most skilled knight in single combat and was an equally brilliant tactician."

" Didn't the Night Prince hunt down the relatives of Lee Min Woo to stop another uprising?"

He sighed. " They did the best that they could. When they had fled that night, the forces had scattered in various directions on purpose. It was so that the remaining knights could take the unborn child of Lee Min Woo and escape west to what is now the land of Haesong. There they found sanctuary in the form of the White Order."

"The White Order was first formed by a group of priests along with the help of the knights before the Night Prince came to the throne. Little by little, they sealed off Haesong from the dark rule of the Obsidian Order with magic. The process was slow and without the use of arms. That is the reason why the old king did not realise what was happening until he was on his deathbed. He told his son about the danger it possessed to their rule. By then, it was too late. Haesong had been completely sealed off with the magic of the priests. When the forces of the Night Prince arrived there, they found nothing but barren land, an illusion created by the priests to fool the soldiers."

"Did it work?" I asked, looking up as my father got up and walked around the cavern. Soft sounds from the Fountain of youth filled the room.

"The White Order's priests could derive the power of the deities, so it was very effective. Haesong became a sanctuary over the years to any dissenters to the Night Prince's rule. The situation continued pretty much the same outside Haesong but inside, it was a whole lot different. People were happy, full in stomach and at peace of mind. Slowly, more deserters began pouring in Haesong. The soldiers chased them, but couldn't get through the magic veil while they safely passed through it. Inside Haesong, people were beginning to believe again. The deserters brought with them battle experience that would be of help teaching the men to fight. Survivors of the First Rebellion told stories of valour and courage and urged the men to fight to end the Obsidian Order's rule once and for all. This began the preparation for the Great War. At the helm was Lee Min Woo the second. A month before The White Order marched out of their secluded land to begin their liberation, the army of the Night Prince slowly began to disappear. Lee Min Woo's general thought it was a good sign, but he knew that the Night Prince was preparing for war. For six months or so, the White Order marched through the kingdom, liberating every region and recruiting more and more men for their cause. Then, only one land was left standing."

It was clear to me what the land was. " This very city of Tokseong. Home to the Night Keep, Layer of the Night Prince and his sorcery laden armed forces."

"You are correct son," my father said. " The circumstances of battle were the same in the second battle of Tokseong. Lee Min Woo the Second arrived at the gates of the Night Keep at night with a huge army, perhaps even bigger than what his father had been able to muster. Twenty thousand riders, forty thousand infantry, twelve thousand archers and the Priests of the White Order. To meet them, the Night king rode out with an equally huge force. Humans, along with countless broods of undead beasts, some twice the size of an elephant, some serpent like, some undead. This time there was no parley. The two forces charged out to meet each other and a gruesome fight ensued. The priests managed to keep the undead from rising again but the Night Prince balanced the scales with his incredible skill in battle. Lee Min Woo finally came across the Night Prince after a long while. They charged right at each other, each knocking the other off their horse. A battle of the two most skilled fighters ensued then. Swords clashed, both warriors incurring cuts small and large. The fight was a stalemate, when in an instant, Lee Min Woo the second found an opening and he took it, driving his sword through the Night Prince's chest much like the Prince had done to his father. The battle was soon over, thousands of undead collapsed when the Night Prince died. The remaining were taken out quickly. The Great War was over finally and the Obsidian Order had come to an end."

"Although his four banner men had different ideas, Lee Min Woo refused to torture the women and children of the Obsidian Order. Instead, he merely chose to exile them. However, when they entered through the Gates of the city, they found it deserted, as if no one had ever lived in the city. There was not a single soul to be found in the entire city."

"Then where did all the civilians vanish?" I asked.

"That is a mystery that will remain unsolved till the end of time, Tae Suk. Some say that the king had weaponized the entire city for war. Others tell that there was a secret passage under the very city through which thousands of civilians could escape the city if there ever was an attack. Some say that the souls who lived there were just that, souls in a body that died long ago. There are many legends, but none of them had ever proven to be true. No escape route had been found under the city, so we all assumed that all the civilians had died in the battle."

I stood up and stretched my arms outwards. The attire really made my body sore.

"You shouldn't have worn the coronation dress so early Tae Suk. It will only go to waste."

"We'll, I didn't know you would make me take a dip in an ancient fountain."

My father sighed, "That is true. But do not worry. I had a second set made ready for you as well. You can wear that to the coronation."

I realised that he had stopped the tale abruptly. " So what followed later? Were the kingdoms established by Lee Min Woo the second in the next months?"

My father placed a hand in the Fountain. It was more of a spring, really. His hands began glowing a slight hint of orange the moment it touched the waters. He closed his eyes for a while and opened them. "We have another five hours before the coronation, so I guess I can tell you and show you the next part of the story."

" Does the Fountain tell you the time?" I asked

"It shows me the sky at this moment in time. The rest I can figure out. It only gives me a feel."

"Okay then," I said, not understanding what that meant. " What followed after the second battle of Tokseong?"

"Although Lee Min Woo the second won his fight against the Night Prince, he did not do so without sustaining any injuries of his own. That night as the king lay resting from his wounds while his banner men and their victorious army celebrated the dawn of a new age, someone sneaked in and killed the him. In his sleep."

"Oh dear," I mumbled.

"Yes," father replied. "It has been the only successful assassination attempt on a royal on these grounds till date. The common goal of defeating the Night Prince had United the four banner lords of Lee Min Woo. Now, with the Prince dead and all of Wiozokan ripe for the taking, chaos ensued between the four banner lords. After the war, they all had returned to their respective regions and then, a bloody battle ensued once again."

"Was it a civil war?"

"No, in our case, each of the banner lords and their armies were fighting for the complete control of Wiozokan. It lasted for months. Once again, burnt villages could be seen everywhere. Children slaughtered, women raped and left on the streets to die while their men were beheaded, their heads mounted on spears. Further, more people died from starvation, a result of two major wars. It would have continued till all the other kingdoms were finished off, then once again, an army emerged from the East, not belonging to the White Order."

"Who were they?"

"They came from the only parts of the continent not touched by the chaos of war due to its adverse lands. They swept like a tidal wave through the land much like Lee Min Woo's army had done, eliminating any soldier of the four banner lords. Some said that they numbered in the thousands, some said that their army was endless. This eventually led to the unification of the four banner lords once more. It had been months since they had seen each other. It was also the first time in a long time when there was no war among them. They set up camp just outside of the border of Jeondong. The banner lords had finally United."

"Three days later, the army appeared. They were clad in azure armour. They had a force so huge that the banner lords had no chance of stopping the army. Their most skilled warrior and tactician was dead, and there was no way they would have taken on an army that huge with months of exhaustion piling on them."

"However, the Leader of the Azure army marched up under a truce banner and said only one thing. They weren't there to cause havoc. All they wanted was that the killing to be brought to an end. They made a proposal stating that either they would wipe out the entire army of the banner lords or the banner lords would come to a peaceful agreement among themselves. It worked. The banner lords carved up Wiozokan among themselves and the four kingdoms were born under the watchful eyes of the Azure army. By sundown, the map had been made. It took another two months but by the first month of the New Sun, the walls of borders were built. Following that, the Blue army disappeared, right into thin air."

"Right into thin air?" I asked.

"We'll, the ruler of Yangpo tried to look for them, but he didn't find a trace. Therefore the Azure army became nothing but a myth. The White Order however, remained in history."

"That's right, they have congregations all over the country, don't they?"

My father smiled. "The White Order we know of today is different. They don't hold the power of the Gods, but are merely conduits to pass the god's wills to the people. The true White Order disappeared after the Night Prince fell. The Order's only purpose was to end the Night Prince. After they had achieved that, they simply just disappeared into the light, never to be seen again."