Night of the fallen shield

Every night for weeks Ждунчик had been watching TgL. He was starting to grow impatient. He came here to kill, to train his armies for battles, but TgL was simply ignoring him. He picked this kingdom as there were no overly strong warriors, many small targets without bubbles to practice on, always hoping for a bigger target to become available. He even brought a friend to help him grow and become stronger too. But the alliances of the kingdom had been very careful, whenever a protection fell on a bigger target it instantly went up again before they could assemble their soldiers. Last night they had even built that Defense Tower, when four castles were ready to be rallied. That had been his chance too. If today another protection fell, there was nothing they could do and he would finally get his battles!

Jul was sitting at the hearth with a book in her lap. Christmas time was coming and after their last battles things calmed down a lot and finally she had some time to relax. Over the last month she has also managed to delegate her duties as Queen and Duchess so that after years of fighting, ruling, training and fighting again, she finally felt calm inside. Her alliance was a family, everyone took care of each other. Her kingdom was peaceful, with a little trouble here and there and regular visits from hunters, but nothing they could not handle. Peace, she really found peace. What she did not know was that Westeros knew no peace and tonight her nightmares were already lurking in the shadows. 

Ждунчик was about to call it a day when movement caught his attention. No this could not be true, he would not make the same mistake twice. The warrior TgL protected last night with the Defense Tower lost his shield again! Or was it just his imagination? What was going on? They have never been that careless. Were they trying to bait him? No, he would not fall for this. Exactly this same warrior had killed him mercilessly a few months ago. He would not drop his protection and risk another hit. This fighter was too strong for him, but he knew fighters that were stronger and called to them…

The peaceful silence shattered, a deafening boom echoed through the night, heat reached Jul’s castles only moments later. She was instantly on her feet, the book had fallen to the ground. The light from outside was so bright, she had to protect her eyes with her hand. The world was burning it seems and she was unable to move. In total shock she was standing at her window, her mind trying to grasp what was happening in front of her. It was not the world burning, it was just one castle. It was the castle of Tongafco, one of her oldest and most trusted warriors, a castle under her protection! The realization hit her like a rock! She had to get there and bring the protection up again! After what felt like hours but probably have been minutes Jul finally started moving. There was no time to get her armour on, there was no way to fight anyway. But she needed to get into the castle to get that shield back up and protect whatever was left. 

With total awe Ждунчик looked towards the fire. It only took those invading warriors a minute to arrive, after he had shared his knowledge of this unprotected castle. They did not wait to rally, full armies marched into the city without hesitation, not bothering that they were meeting 8 times their numbers. The soldiers of Tongafco had not only been unprotected but also totally unprepared. He saw them running, trying to grab their weapons only half clad in their armors. They had no chance, it was not a battle it was a massacre and he had brought this to TgL. Should he feel bad? Should he apologize? No, he was a hunter and hunters share, when they can not kill the target alone. This kingdom did not give him what he wanted, now at least others got it. And if he was honest to himself, seeing that castle burn, hearing the screams did satisfy him. He feasted on the fear of others, he devoured their panic. That is why he became a hunter, that was his nature and he would not hold back on who he was.

With watery eyes Jul was standing in front of the ruins. She did not know if it was the smoke burning in her eyes, her fury about the treachery or sadness about what had happened. It did not matter, there was nothing left. When she arrived at the castle, the attacking armies had already left. The smell of burning flesh bit into her nose, the crying of the women holding their dead husbands was filling the air and all the blood everywhere. This was her worst nightmare, even worse than having her own castle ransacked. She should have checked, she knew the threat. But she was taking her own comfort more importantly than that of her friend. Jul was not able to think straight, pure disbelief and desperation was holding her in a tight grip. Her emotions not allowing her to think as the Queen the Kingdom needed now. This was not only an attack on one of their strongest warriors, this might be the beginning of the fall of their alliance. Now one of the biggest alliances had them on their watch list and with that there would not be a single day in the future of TgL without the terrifying spectre of a preternaturally strong sword hovering over them. Would Jul be able to recover and face her duties as Queen? Would Tongafco forgive her and be able to rebuild his armies? Only time and the future could answer this, but for today there was nothing more than the pitiful moaning of the wounded, the loved ones of the bereaved and the burying of the dead.