A "Megperzselt Lobogók" angolul. Ma adtam fel egy angol nyelvű novella-író pályázatra.
Scorched flags
Saji walked up and down anxiously. She’ll have to face terrible days, and the news saying Relenia couldn’t help, made her more and more angry. Ideas slipped away, thoughts came and went, sighs, grumbles and hisses left her lips.
Suddenly, the door of the tent opened. Saji didn’t expect on any guest, and the battle instinct, which runs in her blood, urged her to do immediate self-defence. A fire-ball appeared in her right hand, and lighted the whole tent. On her hoarse, deeply sonorous voice, she snarled at the intruder:
"Who are you, and what do you want?"
"Excuse me, my lady, I’m bringing news from beyond the nothern mountains." in the light, she has already recognised her loyal servant.
"Tell me, Raav." and she lighted the torches with a single move.
The tent was a mess. Its owner only came here for storming and thinking about their tactics. She didn’t have time for relaxation.
"Enroth’s armies have captured most of the nothern territories. Till now, his people were hiding in caverns, but now they are destroying your father's empire."
"The magi?" that was, which interested Saji the most.
"We sent the wisemen of the tower to the castle of the allied elves, and gold dragons are guarding their life and their knowledge. The younger, but well-trained magicians are still holding their castles, and waiting for our help."
Saji acknowledged the news with a sigh of relief. The loss of the magicians would be a crushing blow to the forces. It’s true, that her people are very strong, and she herself is the witch of the earth and the fire, but more and more territories are getting under Enroth’s control, who either kill them, for not to be able to help Saji, or put them in his army.
"Send a message to the people of Snow Land, which says, we are only six days’ walk away, and we’ll help. Our forces becomeing bigger and bigger with every passing day, and thanks to their persistence, victory will be ours."
"But my lady... it isn’t..."
"I know, that it isn’t true!" shouted she. "But we must keep the hope in them! Don’t send the message with a messenger. Ask the Fairy Dragons for help."
"Those three inch long what-d’you-call-its?"
"Those „what-d’you-call-its” have bigger knowledge than all of the Snow Land’s magician have got together! Go! Follow the order!"
Five days have gone since the message was sent. Saji and the army could see the castle of the magi, and the field, which lay in front of it. Tomorrow, there will they join battle against the enemy. Tomorrow there hundreds of lives will be lost, and they only can hope, that it won’t be for nothing.
On their way here, they collided with Enroth’s spy-detachments four times, and that’s true, that they defeated all of them, but the minotaurs and the harpies will cause them great problems. For most of them, the wounds caused by the archers are still reopening. Just then, Saji was considering the pros and cons, when Raav entered the tent.
"Your Highness, we need your words of encouragement."
The general nodded, quit her tent, and lifted a hillock under herself with a witchcraft, for let the men see her proud and determined face.
"My blood! We all know what’s waiting for us tomorrow. We all know, that it won’t be easy and we all know, what the stake is, and what the prize has been till now. They massacred your beloved ones, burned up your fields, your biterness became deeper and deeper. But now, it’s time for vengeance! Enroth will pay for his criminal acts! Gnoll maces will scrath the trodlodyte lances, our lizardmen’s bowstring will balance the medusa queen’s arrows, the wywerns' poisonous thorns will tear the black dragons' flesh, our basilisks will rip the harpy-detachments to pieces, hundreds of gorgons will burn the poisonous scorpion-bodies of the manticores and the evil eyes will collapse because of our serpent flies paralysing bites before the five-headed hydras could hit the first minotaurs, whose steel axe will fall into their own men’s blood, and not into ours! We won’t give up! We won’t flee, won’t suffer and we won’t have mercy on them! They’ll see our weapons in their last moments, and the fire and the earth are with us! Our villages and cities will live in peace, and we’ll know, who they have to thank for it! We won’t stop, we won’t turn back till we haven’t scorched all of the enemy-flags! To the battle, people of the swamp!"
Saji sent a giant flame up to the sky, and the men burst out cheering. Battle-cries, pants of the gorgons, wild noises whirled in the wind. And Saji knew, that Enroth now is afraid. He is afraid, and terrified, because this people will trample him down as one man.
I was just finishing this sentence, when my sister entered the room.
"What are you doin’?" asked she, eating crisps.
"I’m working."
"On what?"
"I need to write a story for the continuation of a strategic game. The boss gave me two weeks for the work, but I think, It’ll be finished in three days."
And I thought back on the most glorious moment of my previous lives with a smile, when I was standing in front of Enroth, and throwing him amongst the hydras proudly.
- The End -
Vivienne Kelemen, 2009.
Based on the PC game: Heroes of Might and Magic III©
Saji walked up and down anxiously. She’ll have to face terrible days, and the news saying Relenia couldn’t help, made her more and more angry. Ideas slipped away, thoughts came and went, sighs, grumbles and hisses left her lips.
Suddenly, the door of the tent opened. Saji didn’t expect on any guest, and the battle instinct, which runs in her blood, urged her to do immediate self-defence. A fire-ball appeared in her right hand, and lighted the whole tent. On her hoarse, deeply sonorous voice, she snarled at the intruder:
"Who are you, and what do you want?"
"Excuse me, my lady, I’m bringing news from beyond the nothern mountains." in the light, she has already recognised her loyal servant.
"Tell me, Raav." and she lighted the torches with a single move.
The tent was a mess. Its owner only came here for storming and thinking about their tactics. She didn’t have time for relaxation.
"Enroth’s armies have captured most of the nothern territories. Till now, his people were hiding in caverns, but now they are destroying your father's empire."
"The magi?" that was, which interested Saji the most.
"We sent the wisemen of the tower to the castle of the allied elves, and gold dragons are guarding their life and their knowledge. The younger, but well-trained magicians are still holding their castles, and waiting for our help."
Saji acknowledged the news with a sigh of relief. The loss of the magicians would be a crushing blow to the forces. It’s true, that her people are very strong, and she herself is the witch of the earth and the fire, but more and more territories are getting under Enroth’s control, who either kill them, for not to be able to help Saji, or put them in his army.
"Send a message to the people of Snow Land, which says, we are only six days’ walk away, and we’ll help. Our forces becomeing bigger and bigger with every passing day, and thanks to their persistence, victory will be ours."
"But my lady... it isn’t..."
"I know, that it isn’t true!" shouted she. "But we must keep the hope in them! Don’t send the message with a messenger. Ask the Fairy Dragons for help."
"Those three inch long what-d’you-call-its?"
"Those „what-d’you-call-its” have bigger knowledge than all of the Snow Land’s magician have got together! Go! Follow the order!"
Five days have gone since the message was sent. Saji and the army could see the castle of the magi, and the field, which lay in front of it. Tomorrow, there will they join battle against the enemy. Tomorrow there hundreds of lives will be lost, and they only can hope, that it won’t be for nothing.
On their way here, they collided with Enroth’s spy-detachments four times, and that’s true, that they defeated all of them, but the minotaurs and the harpies will cause them great problems. For most of them, the wounds caused by the archers are still reopening. Just then, Saji was considering the pros and cons, when Raav entered the tent.
"Your Highness, we need your words of encouragement."
The general nodded, quit her tent, and lifted a hillock under herself with a witchcraft, for let the men see her proud and determined face.
"My blood! We all know what’s waiting for us tomorrow. We all know, that it won’t be easy and we all know, what the stake is, and what the prize has been till now. They massacred your beloved ones, burned up your fields, your biterness became deeper and deeper. But now, it’s time for vengeance! Enroth will pay for his criminal acts! Gnoll maces will scrath the trodlodyte lances, our lizardmen’s bowstring will balance the medusa queen’s arrows, the wywerns' poisonous thorns will tear the black dragons' flesh, our basilisks will rip the harpy-detachments to pieces, hundreds of gorgons will burn the poisonous scorpion-bodies of the manticores and the evil eyes will collapse because of our serpent flies paralysing bites before the five-headed hydras could hit the first minotaurs, whose steel axe will fall into their own men’s blood, and not into ours! We won’t give up! We won’t flee, won’t suffer and we won’t have mercy on them! They’ll see our weapons in their last moments, and the fire and the earth are with us! Our villages and cities will live in peace, and we’ll know, who they have to thank for it! We won’t stop, we won’t turn back till we haven’t scorched all of the enemy-flags! To the battle, people of the swamp!"
Saji sent a giant flame up to the sky, and the men burst out cheering. Battle-cries, pants of the gorgons, wild noises whirled in the wind. And Saji knew, that Enroth now is afraid. He is afraid, and terrified, because this people will trample him down as one man.
I was just finishing this sentence, when my sister entered the room.
"What are you doin’?" asked she, eating crisps.
"I’m working."
"On what?"
"I need to write a story for the continuation of a strategic game. The boss gave me two weeks for the work, but I think, It’ll be finished in three days."
And I thought back on the most glorious moment of my previous lives with a smile, when I was standing in front of Enroth, and throwing him amongst the hydras proudly.
- The End -
Vivienne Kelemen, 2009.
Based on the PC game: Heroes of Might and Magic III©
