The Era of Enosh

The Era of Enosh



         My land was a vast and powerful nation, in the days of yore and times of myth. In the center of the massive countryside, with fields and forests stretching out for days and days, my castle and I resided. I was the king, you see, of these people. I, Enosh, was not born there, but with my might and power, I skillfully vanquished the Old Ruler, and claimed the throne. Life was as such for everyone in those days, short and often terrible. However, I did my best to make life tranquil for my subjects. They often were afraid of me, however, due to my great size, and immense power.

         As king, I required very little of my people, I thought, besides gold and other fanciful treasures. I would occasionally require a very large feast, but I allowed my subjects time to gather their crops and prepare for an annual celebration in my name. There came times though, when famine reached along my kingdom, and often times, if I were to go hungry, I would become furious, and reign terror upon the innocent. Even though this caused them to fear me ever more, this angered them too, but I was very much so clouded by my own desire to see this.

         My Queen, Emeldra, was such a kindhearted and beautiful creature, she was one of the reasons I decided to claim the throne for myself, so I would be able to take the darling princess’ hand in marriage. She misunderstood my intentions, however, and saw me as a cruel and hideous beast. I once followed her through the castle, asking her why she would not, but she only would respond, “Because, a true gentleman would not simply barge into a castle, murder the king and usurp the throne! Only a monster would do such a thing! A beast! And that is exactly what you did!” My temper only shortened upon hearing such, and I drew my breath deeply, and to her, I roared words that pierced like fire and fury. “I did this for you! I did this for the people of this kingdom! I did this so that I could protect this land!” Her words were just as scornful, however, “Protect us from what!? The only thing we need to be protected from, are savage things, like you! By no means would I ever marry such a dreadful thing like you!” She said, as she proceeded to shut herself away within her private chambers. In the fit of ire, I slammed several furnishings against her door, sealing her away for the time being. I thought at first that she would eventually change her mind, but both of us seemed to be rather stubborn. She would not speak to me, and I would not speak to her, so she lived her life quietly amongst the castle, often making rude gestures towards me as she passed. I began to question how I could ever tolerate such an ill-mannered person around me, but even as she hated me so, she did so with such grace and beauty. It was one of the few things that would calm my rage.

         Years later, the kingdom began to receive threat of a siege approaching from a western empire, and it was not a favorable coincidence that my coffers were nearly empty. Many of my subjects, both poor and rich, often came to me, begging for gold so that they could pay for food, develop the town, sate their own simple desires, and such. Once the treasury began to run thin, I was forced to start turning both the poor and rich away. I was forced to place a rather overbearing tax over the townspeople, so that my coffers would slowly replenish themselves, but this was much slower than simply seizing it from others.

One day, a group of my most trusted knights approached me. “S-sire,” One of them said, he seemed to be the spokesperson for the group, though he was shaking and afraid, hardly a confident man. I had to acknowledge his courage however; it was demanding for anyone to approach me, from the fear of my might and anger. “Yes? What is it, brave knight?” My voice deep and rumbling nearly shook the ground as I spoke.  I opened an eye to him; it was larger than his entire head. “T-the Kentora Empire’s army is approaching from the south and west sides of the city. Our army is vastly outnumbered, my lord. They have not sent word of whether they mean to attack or not, but they are approaching very rapidly.” I placed a claw on my chin to contemplate his words. “Let them approach. Mobilize both halves of our armies on the west and south sides of the city, but do not attack them unless they strike first. I will present myself shortly.”

“Very well, sire.” And the group left my presence. “Why would they have mobilized so quickly, without sending any notice?” I thought to myself. “Unless they’re simply a very senseless empire, something peculiar is going on.”

As I left the castle, I spread my wings, stretching them in the sun. It had been quite some time since I had taken to the sky, quite some time since I had left the castle, in fact, and the sun’s radiance did not set well with my eyes. My entire body had felt sore from being idle, sitting inside for so long. Nonetheless, I adjusted quickly, and approached the force approaching the south side of the city, where the entrance was located. My knights were correct; we were outnumbered, but only by a few thousand soldiers, perhaps. I landed before the army’s leader, and my people, as if to be a wall between the two. Their general stepped forward on his armored horse, raising his javelin high into the air. “Enosh! I speak in the sacred name of the Kentora Empire! Surrender your kingdom to us, and your death will be swift and painless!” It infuriated me to hear such threats, however pointless they were. “I will do no such thing! This is my Kingdom! These are my people, and I will protect them with my life!”

“So be it! Charge!” The General yelled as he pointed his javelin towards me, his horse began racing forward. My reach was lengthy, however, so with a sweep of my giant claw, I bashed him and his horse to the ground, killing them instantly. The Kentora army paused as they witnessed my might, but charged just as soon as my army did. The battle was fierce, though we had the upper hand, from my might, I could breathe fire upon the land, burning them to a crisp, or crush their bodies with my colossal weight. We lost many, if not most of brave soldiers that day, but still emerged victorious.

Once the battle was over, I returned to my throne room, where Emeldra waited for me, with a smile upon her face. “You’ve saved us all, husband!” She came forward to embrace me, with her hands behind her. “Perhaps, but for how long?” I said, resting my body on the floor. She gently stroked the scales on my neck, and I closed my eyes to kip. Just as I felt my mind drift away, I felt a sharp object pierce deep within my skin. It was painful enough to wake me, and I thrashed about for a moment, yelling, “What have you done to me!? Ahhhh!” I began to feel slightly numb, however, and soon, I was unable to move at all. “Shh..this is for your own good, my darling..” I heard Emeldra’s voice say, but my vision was too blurry to see her. I felt as though the room grew larger, the ceiling was raised before my eyes. “He is turning..human?” I heard one of the squires say. “What sorcery is this?” I heard another say. With my last breath, I was only able to draw the words, “You. You were the beast, Emeldra...All of you..Monsters..”