"The Man called Ogen"

The gleaming castle became larger and larger in his sight, and he was able to make out more detail as he ran. While the tall grains of the field whipped his swiftly moving legs, he could see the Kinion Tiger emblem roaring with rage on the uplifted drawbridge. Tiny silver fish flipped in the air and landed back in the moat. The brick structure of the wall began to take form, and the tall grains began to give way to treaded grass. The two Guards atop the ivory towers that were on either side of the drawbridge began to turn around slowly, taking notice of the bedraggled man running crazily towards the bridge.

"Ho there, wanderer!" bellowed the guard on the right. This guard was wearing a cloth tunic with a golden belt, and carried a wooden staff with a trumpet tied to his belt. The other guard looked almost identical, but with a darker complexion to his skin. "From where do you come, with such vigor?"

Ogen was not used to experiencing so many shifts in his emotions. When he was just overjoyed with seeing the castle, sadness then came upon him like a crashing wave. He did not like, in the least, what he had to say and do. He stopped and began to raise his voice to speak.

"I am Ogen. I was a warrior in the king's elite army, the one that was sent out to vanquish another army that threatened the citizens of this land." The guards stared at Ogen bluntly, and he continued. He thought that his voice was loud, and full of heart. "What I am about to tell you may seem impossible, But the entire army has been killed. They have been murdered, and I think that I am the only one who has survived. I need to speak to King Helon immediately, because this may.."

Ogen was interrupted by laughter. One of the guards spoke, struggling to speak clearly through all of what he felt was obviously funny.

"Now, this has got to be a first..." yelled the darker guard. "Are you telling me, that Kinion's Elite has been slain? Killed by... what were the reports ... a band of marauders?"

"My foolish man, you have been spending too much time in the woods, by the looks of you," spoke the other guard. "And it has also corrupted your mind!" The guards engaged in another salvo of laughter together, sending their prideful noises to the skies above them. They doubled. It was easy for Ogen to see how they would not believe. Hadn't he been as cocky as they are now?

"I tell you now," he cried over the humored men, "and I swear by the blood of our King, that his army was slaughtered. And the creatures who did it to them will come to this castle and do the same if we do not do something!" Suddenly, there was silence. Seconds passed and the only noise was that of a bird making mournful sounds. Ogen waited, hoping that using a powerful oath would ignite sparks of belief inside of them. The darker guard spoke first to Ogen.

"I don't know where you come from," spoke the guard with deep tones, "But the penalty for making false oaths in the King's name is death by Helon's own hand. His name is to be honored to the same degree as the Creator's!" The other guard raised a crossbow that pointed at Ogen's person. "So, you want to meet the king, eh? Then you shall!" The guard sunk and disappeared, heading down to lower the drawbridge. The guard with the crossbow kept his aim steady. Ogen knew that the guard would love to have an excuse to let one of the arrows fly, so he stood as still as he was able. Ogen wanted to cry, thinking of the fact that these two members of his beloved home did not believe in what he knew was all too real. He almost began to shake his head in disbelief, but decided against it, keeping in mind the arrow moments away from his heart.

The drawbridge slowly began to lower, with loud whines and moans. The rusty chain links seemed to bounce out of their places in the sides of the wall, allowing the large and thick wooden bridge to cross the moat and touch the earth. Though the bridge was lowered slowly, the weight of it still caused the ground to shake under Ogen. The guard who lowered the bridge stopped turning the huge wheel attached to the Inside of the wall, and walked toward Ogen with chains and a sword. He approached Ogen with a steady pace, wearing a grim look. There was a bit of stubble on his cheeks and chin, and he was shorter than Ogen by a few inches.

"What did you say your name was?"

"Ogen. Ogen TeLone."

"Sure. Turn around." Ogen did as he was told. The cold steel was wrapped around his bare arms tightly, just enough so that his blood would keep moving in them. The chains not only gave him goosebumps, but also managed to pinch his skin in certain places. He realized that the guard was really angry with him. He started to walk ahead when he felt the point of a sword against the top of his back. This is not how he had planned to enter into the castle, but he would not complain, considering the fact that be was here in the first place.

"I am coming along with you two!" yelled the guard with the crossbow.

"No, you are staying on guard." replied the other.

"I am not going to miss this..."

"I said, you are staying!"

The guard on top of the tower widened his eyes, and stared hard for a moment. The one with the sword stared back just as hard. Ogen grinned as he saw the match of wills between two equally ranked men. Finally, the elevated guard turned around briskly and looked sternly towards Fig Forest. Ogen's guard poked him forward, through the space where the drawbridge was. Just ahead, there was one more wall, which encircled the city. It was made of wood, with double doors built in sections all around for entrance. Ogen faced a double door now, ready to walk through and hear the sounds of Kinion again. Ogen waited on the dusty surface for the guard to pull up the drawbridge behind him, anticipating what he would see once inside the double door.

And he was not disappointed. The guard flung the door open with a key, to reveal the cleanest and most beautiful city in the entire world. Familiar noises and voices greeted him, and he did not need a nudge from a guard to walk forward into his own land. He heard the voices of women's songs, men arguing about deals, boys laughing, and little girls crying. He heard the screech of owls, the roar of Hons, the whimper of menses, and pigs snorting. The city was on a flat brick surface, with houses of all sizes and colors planted on top of it. The poorer homes and business were small buildings, generally dull colored. But the larger and brighter building were owned by those in the army, or those working for King Helon. The entire city was always busy, even at night, since it was the capital of the world. Traders from all around the world came to make deals here in this center of culture. As a result, the guard kept very close to Ogen so that he would not get lost in the crowd. Short people, tall people, brown people, green people; they were in abundance here in this multicultural haven. Ogen had always wondered why some of those whom he had known complained about the city. He had been able to understand the need for peace and quiet, but that was too inclusive in his mind. Here, people of all sorts melded and molded together, able to make up for one another's weaknesses with their unique strengths. To Ogen, the city was the only way to live.

Ogen's heart started to speed up as he saw his home, towering bright orange in the distance. Yes, he would have to obey the guard's orders and walk straight towards the castle. But, how he wanted to run and squeeze Gwen in his arms, smelling her charmed scent and absorbing her warm comfort! He would explain to her everything that had happened, and what they must do, and she would believe. He did not stop focusing on Gwen, even as he tactically avoided walking into a white and black mountain cat that stood up above his own height. Its owners were able to look down on Ogen's head from where they rode. But Ogen did not even think about the danger that he just avoided; he could not stop riding the wave of emotion that true love sent to him from time to time.

To the guard, the walk to the castle seemed long. But Ogen was actually surprised when he came upon the Ivory Wall so soon, caught up in a different world as he was. The wall was effaced with a large drawing of the Tiger emblem. Ogen looked up at the castle, it's two gleaming white spires reaching up to the clouds. The Ivory Wall had only one entrance, guarded by a pair of large knights in yellow and gold armor.

"And what have we hear?" rumbled the taller knight.

"We have a man who will be sent directly to the king, to be tried for blasphemy against his name." spoke the guard. Ogen suddenly had the urge to backhand him. It was the way in which he said it, which bothered Ogen. He said it in such a snotty way that reminded him of his younger sister, Toya.

"Then go straight ahead," the armor-clad man said. The knights strained to push the doors open, though they rotated on swings. When Ogen and the guard entered the courtyard, the noise from behind began to fade. Green grass was in abundance, with myriad shaped fountains here and there. Citizens of the castle could be seen lounging in the sun, mixed in with a few important officials. All in all, it seemed to be a very normal day at King Helon's court. Which meant that the king would have plenty of free time to deal with Ogen's story accordingly. Another set of doors opened up into the base of the castle. Inside was a lush white rug, with a yellow cloth leading straight ahead to another set of doors. These were the blazing brass doors of the king's throne. The walls were greasy and gray. To the right and to the left of the yellow strip were richly dressed people, and stairs leading to countless numbers of rooms and hallways. Torches lit the inside sufficiently, the flames reflecting off of the walls. They always burned bright and were tended by properly dressed boys from the city. As Ogen walked through the room, he received many looks, from dreamy maidens, cocky princes, and a chubby castle cleaner. The building smelled of a combination of mint leaves and black liquorice candy.

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