Trials: War by Stephanie Jones (best summer reads of all time .TXT) 📕

War. Pain. Suffering. Death. They are all the same to me. I have never known peace, I’m not sure I want to. I have grown up in a time of great war and suffering. This life has not been easy for anyone, not the Elves, Goblins nor the Dwarfs. The only people who haven’t been touched by the great devastation are the Fey. They have survived by hiding themselves in the great trees of the forest Lamerth. No other race could pull this off, for the Fey folk were born of those trees. They themselves command the trees to do whatever they desire. Whether they wish for the trees to block out simple sunlight, or for them to turn into creatures that could walk and destroy an entire army in one day. No one dares to bother them, for they are also a harmless race, unless you do not appreciate their mischief.

                In High Realm there are four great kingdoms. Each kingdom is known for their trade oCancelr who rules them. The Elf kingdom is known for our archery and the four great elements. I am one of those elements, my name is Lúldes I control fire. I am the oldest out of my siblings, the next oldest is Amardir, he controls earth. Next comes Landir he controls air. The youngest out of all of us is Elwen, she controls water.  When our parents, the king and queen of the Elfish people, die I will become the queen and whoever I mate with will be the king. Sadly I do not see myself having a mate.

                The Goblin kingdom is known for hunting and their savagery in war, along with their king Sdegr.  Sdegr is ruthless ruler, always demanding more from his people then they are capable of. He has the eyes and teeth of a wolf and his left hand has the claws of one. He’s the most human looking Goblin out of the whole race. His skin is closer to that of the earth as if he literally sprang from it, while the other Goblins have ugly greenish brownish skin that likes to cater to moles and hideous moss. They are not a well-liked race. 

                The Dwarf kingdom is known for their jewels and having the king that is the oldest person in all of High Realm. They have the least of numbers out of all of the kingdoms, but they make up for it with their mighty castles made out of the mountains themselves. No one has yet succeeded in getting inside one of the castles without the Dwarf people letting them in. My people have joined with the Dwarfs to defeat the Goblin race and the darkness that they bring with them. This battle has been going on for over 75 years. Our world has never seen a war this long.   Neither has it known something this dark and treacherous in all of time. All kingdoms are growing tired and weary of losing all its children to a war that never seems to end. I am 27 years old; I have never seen a time when the world that I know has not been at war. My dying wish is that our world will finally know peace again.

                In the Elfish kingdom to take our minds off of the ragging war outside we throw huge festivals, and parties to alleviate ourselves from the pressing nature of war. Our festivals are grand ones that the whole kingdom participates in. We have dancers, jugglers, animal tamers, even people who think they have mastered one of the elements. Everyone laughs and dances to the musicians, and actors that are acting out some of the most popular plays. I personally favor the ‘fire tamers’ who swallow fire to then belt it out in some form or another. Well they try too. The only creatures that can come close to being able to control the elements like me and my siblings would be the goblins. No one knows how they are able to come so close to manipulating any of the elements. No one even knows how they were created; they have always been in high realm for as long as the trees have been here.

                No matter how hard we try to forget what’s going on outside, we can never truly purge the ugly thoughts of our people dying. The ugliest thought on my mind tonight though is that its nNemoena, the war holiday for the goblins.  It’s their favorite holiday; they go on huge hunts to celebrate along with huge feasts that could feed two armies. They bring out their favorite war animal: the wolf, after their king Sdegr. During this holiday they bring out giant packs of wolves that are the size of carages. The wolves are so powerful that the goblin ridding it has to have thorough training with the wolf so they can develop a relationship with the animal so the wolf doesn’t kill its master. I can see Sdegr taking this holiday to the next level for them and attacking either the Elf kingdom or the Dwarf kingdom. My bet is us for the Goblin king has a deep hatred for my father for a reason unknown to me.

                A couple minutes later I was correct. Sdegr attacked surrounding villages, and has already over taken three.

                “Father you must return to your quarters!” I rushed over to him as fast as I could get around the people running as if the goblins were actually in the castle.

                “Nay. Sdegr has crossed the line, making war on a day that is of merriness for both of our people.” I had to lean in to hear his malicious whisper. I knew I had to stop him no matter what. Or I would lose my father.

                “If you have any love for your children, wife, and kingdom, you will allow our generals, who you trust, to take care of the intruders.” I had to bellow for my father to hear me now. The crowd had gotten so rambunctious, that the only thought they had in their heads is to save their families and themselves.  

                I could see the steal in my father’s eyes that he wanted to stay and defend what was his. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to convince him to leave his precious throne room for the safety of his chambers.

                “You know she’s right father, we will defend our home.” Amardir comes out of the shadows to stand beside me while staring his cool jade eyes into fathers honey brown ones. Amardir is astonishingly tall at six foot seven; he stares down all of his opponents, whether they are good or evil. If you know Amardir personally you know that he would never harm someone or something else without being highly provoked. He loves the land and the people of it too much to ever do it too much harm.

                Father could easily see that Amardir and I would not back down. Not for a pressing matter such as this. He looked me dead in the eye and I could see that he knew what I was about to do; and that he could not stop me. Understanding this he walked around the trashed floor and to his chambers.

                “Lúldes we need to hurry to meet up with Landir and Elwen.” Amardir took my hand and goes to lead me away, but I snatched my hand back. Not being able to touch him knowing that he’s about to hate what I’m about to do.

                “Amardir, we will not be fighting this one together. You must stay here with Landir and Elwen, to guard the castle along with mother and father. Now don’t look at me like that, I will fight Sdegr with our ground troops. You must have faith, for if we are all out on the battle field and we fall who else will be able to protect everyone we love. I know you see the logic in this brother, you must understand that we cannot let this kingdom fall.” I pleaded with my eyes that Amardir would understand me in this. He does.

                “If you get wounded we will all come out to kill every goblin that has made its way in our kingdom.” He walks away.

                I stare at his back as he walks away, and I know he was making a vow to me; to watch my back, and if I fall that I will be revenged. For I might be a prisoner or even worse by the time this harsh night has given away to sunlight. I speed through the halls as fast as I can to get down into the courtyard, and then to the gates of the castle so I can finally meet the foe that has tortured my people for far too long. The courtyard was in worse shape than the throne room of the castle. Tents, food, and bodies lay on the ground; unmoving, littering the earth with a sight that was far too sad for me to look upon. As I come to the gate I can see the fighting a few hundred yards out in front of me. I can see our soldier’s bodies on the ground with their limbs no longer attached. These are the fathers, brothers, and sons of my kingdom and I am done with having my people being tortured by a foe that is not worthy to even walk the same ground as these noble slain men. I will put an end this war right here on this ground. If that means to lay down my own life then that is what I will do so my people will finally be able to wake up and breathe the air of peace.

                I have no other thoughts; I slam the gates open and rush to battle. Drawing my sword, along with my element I have no hesitation as I start to cut through my disgusting foe with my fiery weapon. The only sounds I hear are the ones of my comrades dying; this is my fuel to never stop and to keep fighting till I no longer hear those noises. I cut through goblin after goblin to what seems like to no avail; they seem to have an infinite number of soldiers they can call out of thin air. I look around me and see that our troops have gone under half of what we sent out. In that moment I realize that I have to fight this battle alone if I wish to save my soldiers’ lives. I start to call a retreat to my comrades; slowly they start to hear me and start to head towards the gate into the castle. I must wait till they are all inside till I unleash the fire that is desperately trying to claw its way out of me. Finally the soldiers go inside the gate; I can breathe easier knowing that no more of my soldiers’ lives will be lost on the battle field while I’m on it. 

                As I turn around an onslaught of goblin soldiers where rushing towards me. They clearly did not know who I was; for if they did they would have turn away in terror and rushed back to the underground Goblin kingdom.  I called upon my element to come forth from me, to enter into the ground to travel to the enemy and to destroy the feet that they walked on. Slowly one by one goblin feet started to catch on fire, along with their pet wolf’s feet. When they couldn’t get the fire out it spread to their bodies and it ate away at them till they could no longer feel anything but the