The Last Heir, FanFic Options

[redsrock]

I hope you all enjoy the story and as always please leave feedback or a word of wisdom. I'm always looking for help and suggestions.



The Last Heir

CHAPTER ONE

The goblins were rushing in through the barn door, but they had no clue I was sitting up above on a rickety plank, ready to jump down and slay the evil beasts.

With my trusty spear in hand I dove down from above and struck one of the monstrous creatures to the floor. The others shrieked loudly as they charged me, but it was of no use. My skills in battle were envied by all and matched by no one.

One by one I sliced my way through the goblin horde until only the chieftain stood before me. He held his magical battle axe in hand with a furious expression, but I knew his intimidating stature was unreal. He was truly afraid of me and wanted nothing more than to run back to his smelly cave, but alas I was guarding the only exit out of my barn.

Slowly I walked towards the monster and as I inched closer and closer I began to see the sweat dripping from the chieftain’s face. His hands that were clutched tightly around the axe were shaking wildly. He stood no chance.

“Lukas, have you finished cleaning the barn yet? Supper is almost ready!”

At the sounds of my mothers shrill voice the battle ended and suddenly I was unfortunately sucked back into boring reality.

“Not yet mother, give me another ten minutes or so…”

I quickly took the broom I was holding and started sweeping the floor because I knew it was only a matter of seconds until my mother came to see what the matter was. She told me to clean the place an hour ago but of course like usual I had dazed off into my own fantasy land.

“LUKAS! Will you please clean things up quickly? Supper is just a few minutes from being ready and you’ve barely even started! What have you been doing in here all this time?”

Sure enough she entered the barn with the same stern expression she gave me every time I angered her, which seemed to be often.

“I was fightin’ the goblins mama, I had to protect our barn from the enemy,” I said with a sly smile about me.

My mother hated it when I pretended to be a knight or a warrior, or whatever... For some odd reason she becomes very infuriated whenever I did so.

“Lukas, you’re fifteen years old! When are you going to grow up?” She said with her arms folding firmly across her chest.

“Fine, fine, I’ll clean the barn, it shouldn’t take too long!”

“The next time I catch your mind wandering about when you’re supposed to be doing chores you’ll get a whipping you’ve never imagined before.”

I simply rolled my eyes as she walked away. But of course she wasn’t yet finished with her tirade. “And stop pretending my broom is some kind of weapon!”

“I can’t help it mama, I’m gonna be a knight some day!” I chuckled back.

She grunted loudly and finally ended the argument with a threat I’ve heard millions of times before, “You break my broom and I’ll break your legs!”

I always laughed loudly at that one, for my mother wasn’t abusive as some kids’ mothers were. She would never lay a finger on me, besides my constant spankings of course.

Come to think of it, I’d hate to see what she would do if someone ever did laid their hands on me. It sure wouldn’t be pretty, I know that for sure. My mom is extremely protective of me.

I think that’s why I am home-schooled. She probably doesn’t want to even think about me being whipped by the school’s headmaster, which I am almost positive would be a daily activity. She’d rather do that herself…


Two hours later I finished sweeping the floors and bundling all the hay. It took me longer than I expected and mother wasn’t too thrilled about the delay.

“Sorry mama, it took me a bit long than I thought it would. Mama…?”

I yelled a bit more but was never given a response. My immediate answer to the silence was that she was most likely outside watering our garden and picking any already ripe vegetables.

So I threw off my work clothes and bundled into a pair of comfortable pants and an unbuttoned shirt. I went into the kitchen to see two plates resting on the table. One was full of cold food and the other was almost entirely eaten.

I walked over to the front door and poked my head out to see where mother was. I saw her standing just a few feet away from the porch. That’s when I saw two men in shiny silver armor standing next to her.

I walked outside to greet the men and I noticed she was sobbing.

“Who are these people mama, and why are you crying?”

Without giving me an answer she threw her arms around me and began to cry even more than before.

“Mama, what’s wrong?”

One of the men in armor spoke up with a deep and serious voice.

“Son, follow us into your house. There are some matters that need to be discussed.”

I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say. My mom took me by the hand and led me and the other two men into the house, where we all sat down at the kitchen table after she cleaned it.

“Lukas, do you have any idea who your father was?”

“Umm…no sir, I do not. Mama told me he passed away when I was still a baby.”

The man looked over to mother and she started crying again, this time thankfully a little quieter than before. I hated seeing her cry; it pained me more than anything else.

“You father was Martin Septim, son of Uriel Septim. Do you know who any of those two men are?” The man asked with a sterner tone.

“No sir, I’ve never heard the names before,” I said sheepishly.

Again the man looked over to my mother, this time with sheer anger. I was almost afraid he was going to yell at her but he turned his attention back to me.

“Your father and grandfather were rulers of the Empire Lukas. Surely you’ve of the Empire, haven’t you?”

I nodded. Who didn’t know about the Empire? Even we, on this small island hundreds of miles from anyone else, know about them. But was this man serious about my father, and apparently my grandfather, once being rulers of the Empire?

“Martin and Uriel were both recently slain recently. Your grandfather was assassinated by the culprits and Martin sacrificed himself to save Cyrodiil. You, Lukas, are the heir to the throne.”

I was stunned beyond belief. Surely I was dreaming right? Perhaps I had fainted from the barn’s heat and I was imagining all of this? Surely I had to be, there’s just no way in the world any of this could really be happening.

“I’m sorry sir, but what are you talking about? I think you have the wrong person. I’ve lived here all my life and I highly doubt it’s possible that I would be related to any Imperial Kings.”

“Ah, but it is Lukas, what your mother has apparently forgotten to mention to you is that she was once a caretaker for the Chapel in the city that was once Kvatch. She happened to have a “small” mishap with Martin and that brought you into this world. Your mother fled the country and brought you here. And since you’re Martin’s only heir that makes you’re the rightful king of Cyrodiil.”

I looked over to my mother and she was able to nod her head slowly. I was the King of Cyrodiil? How could this be? I’m only fifteen years old!

“We’ll give you about an hour to get your stuff together and then we set sail for Cyrodiil where you will take your place at the throne, though it won’t be as glamorous as you might think. A war has just been won, but don’t worry, I’ll explain everything on the way.”

Things were happening so fast I didn’t know what to think. I was looking back and forth between the two men and my mother, then the next thing I knew I was toppling face first towards the table, and then everything went dark.

[redsrock]

Short chapter, more of a transition to bigger things, "wink-wink"



CHAPTER NINE


The next day started off too quick for me to recall any detailed information, other than Jauffre, Baurus and I set off towards Leyawiin with our twenty-five hundred troops, led by Itius. Three hundred archers, seven hundred spearmen and fifteen hundred swordsmen made up our small army. Leyawiin had a little over fifteen hundred men, and I wanted to make sure we had more, but not too many. I had to make sure the Imperial City was still heavily protected during our leave.

According to Jauffre, the Empire as a whole consists of roughly fifteen thousand Imperial soldiers, at least in Cyrodiil that is. The Empire’s influence is spread across all of Tamriel, in places such as Morrowind, but in Cyrodiil our numbers are weakened, thanks to the Oblivion crisis. We’ll of course have to recruit more men if we want the Empire to get back where it used to be, but that’s a subject that I’ll look into later.

“What are you planning exactly, Lukas?” Jauffre said.

“When we arrive at the city everyone, except for Itius, you and Baurus, will wait outside the gates. The four of us will enter the city and order Alessia’s surrender of the throne.”

“That’s a terrible idea, unless you want to die I suppose. Did you ever think about what would happen if Alessia doesn’t go peacefully? Then what will you do with fifteen hundred Leyawiin soldiers surrounding us with our own men outside, unable to do anything?”

“Well, Jauffre, I never thought of that. What would you suppose we do?” I said while rolling my eyes.

“Bring all of the men with us when we enter the city. It is only for your safety. And besides, you are the Emperor. What is Alessia going to do, throw you out of her city?”

It sounded like a good enough idea, and actually I was a bit surprised I hadn’t though of it in the first place. I had to be careful, just as Jauffre had suggested, because she wouldn’t be too happy when she finds out what Jauffre and I found below her castle last night.

But when we arrived at Leyawiin, some four to five hours later, it appeared that she had already learned of our discovery. Soldiers dressed in green, gold and white armor were lined up outside the city gates, with officers in the front. Archers were stationed atop the walls and were also situated in the towers as well. Their army had been waiting for us the entire time.

“Well would you look at that! Somebody must’ve snitched on us. I wonder who that could’ve been,” Baurus said sarcastically.

Baurus seemed to be right in insinuating that Caelia told Alessia about our plans, because the gates to the city opened and out rode five figures on horseback. They rode towards where I was standing, but I feared not for my life.

When the figures came close enough for me to see their faces, I realized it was Alessia and Caelia, along with three officers. I was very surprised to see that Alessia knew how to ride a horse, simply because she was a girl, or woman to be politically correct.

The five dismounted from their respective horses and neared me, where my soldiers around me unsheathed their weapons, but only until I signaled for them to conceal their edges.

“Lukas Septim, what do you think you are doing in my territory with an army the size of this?”

She pointed and talked loudly towards the sweaty, anxious faces of my men; the faces of soldiers who wanted nothing more than to slit the throats of the enemy this very instant.

“It is not wise to taunt my men when they are so eager to kill, Alessia. And you can cease with the sarcasm. You know why I am here, thanks to your bodyguard, Caelia,” I said defiantly.

“Yes, my loyal officer told me all about your conniving scheme to overthrow me and my army. Ha! Such an idea is preposterous and I dearly hope you reconsider that idea of suicide, because that is exactly what it is…suicide.”

She had wide, evil grin spread across her face. I didn’t want to have to wipe that smile off by force if it was not needed, but unfortunately it looked as if I had no other choice.

“You were a fool for trusting Caelia, Lukas. Her allegiance lies to me, and I alone; although I am extremely dissatisfied with her plea for your help. Oh yes, she told me all about that as well. While I am disappointed with that, I am glad she came to me. It was the smartest decision she could make.”

Caelia stood behind her master, cowering at the presence of Jauffre and me. Her eyes were full of tears and her entire body was shaking, just as she had been back in the body chamber. She knew very well how foolish she looked. She could have saved her people and her fellow soldiers. I just didn’t understand why she caved in to Alessia. It just didn’t make any sense.

“You are wrong, Alessia. Whatever I do, it will not be an act of suicide. I will give you one final chance to surrender. If you do not take heed of my warning, I will be forced to crush you and your army. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my people, and I am not afraid to do it.

My defiance was not very well liked by Alessia, and she made her feelings on that subject very clear.

“You are brave, Lukas, no one can deny you that aspect, but it is a foolish bravery I’m afraid; one that will most definitely bring the death of your troops, and ultimately you as well. I will not back down to your commands, for I am not afraid either. I will now show you the skill of my soldiers.”

She turned around and started walking back to her horse.

“That would help if your soldiers actually liked you,” I said, trying to bring the haughty countess to the edge. It appeared that I had succeeded in that attempt.

She quickly turned around and walked right up to me, her face mere inches away from mine. I could smell her breath, and I have to say it wasn’t a very pleasant scent.

“My men are as loyal as can be, “Emperor” Septim. I heard about your debut in the Imperial City. It didn’t go too well, did it, Lukas?”

Again she had the same malevolent grin as before, but just as quick as it came, it was erased in the same swift fashion. Before I even knew what had happened a blade came through the stomach of Alessia. Blood immediately spouted from her mouth and splashed me in the face. Her smile changed to a look of complete shock. She then fell forward into me, knocking me down to the ground, with her body falling on mine.

Blood from her opened mouth continued to seep out, hitting me in the face because I was unable to move from my prone-position. When I was able to move my arms I wiped the sticky red liquid from my eyes, only the see Caelia smiling insanely, and holding a red-stained sword in her right hand.

Caelia began laughing wildly, and I knew then we had lost her. Her mind had wondered to who knows where, and Alessia was dead.

“Ha ha ha! I killed her! She cannot abuse me anymore! NO MORE I SAY!”

Jauffre pulled Alessia’s limp body off of me, and as quick as possible I jumped up and got away from Caelia, not knowing whether she would go after me next.

She then started dancing around maniacally, waving her blade through the air like it was some sort of ritual-relic or something. It was very strange seeing all this. I was still trying to put all the pieces together when one of Alessia’s officers asked: “So it is now over? There will be no war?”

I looked at the soldier, not able to give him an immediate answer. I looked at Caelia, who was now being driven to the ground by some of my men, attempting to tie her hands and feet together. Then I looked over to Alessia, whose eyes were still open and filled with shock. She was dead, and the threat to Leyawiin was seemingly over. I walked over and shut her eyes with my hand, and then I looked up at the Leyawiin officer.

“No…there will be no war between countrymen today….”