Chapter 16 A Nightmarish Flashback

• The enemy was making too much progress, and by enemies, I meant my treacherous brothers and their armies, who had turned against me like the snakes they were. When my father, the great King Arnold, had died, I had expected a peaceful handover of the throne, as I had been chosen by the Priestess Vienna to become the next king after she received a vision from the moon goddess. But my older brothers, Koldis and Kendrick, were consumed by ambition and greed, their hearts blackened by the desire for power.
• As I fought for my life, the heads of my loyal soldiers lay scattered around me like seashells on a bloody beach, their eyes frozen in death, their mouths agape in silent screams. The rain poured down mercilessly, drumming against my armor like a thousand tiny stones, adding to the chaos and confusion. The battlefield was a sea of mud and blood, with men screaming and clashing swords in every direction, the sound of steel on steel ringing out like a deadly symphony.
• Agatha, the first woman I had ever loved second to my mother, stood beside me, her long hair drenched in rain and her face splattered with blood, her eyes blazing with a fierce determination. She was a fierce warrior, her sword slicing through the enemy like a hot knife through butter, but even she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes as we fought for our lives. I fended off an attack from a snarling soldier, his face twisted in a savage grin and then turned to my left, fighting off another who tried to strike me down with a battle-axe. Our formation had been destroyed long ago, and I could barely spot any of my men in the raging storm of madness.