Anarchy at The Golden Market

The morning sun rose, the sun's bright reflection bouncing off the shiny silver armor the knights wore. Tazul and a knight guard named Minato rode through the forest trail on horsebacks. Tazul loved to ride through the Kingdom, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful sights and feeling a sense of duty to protect this land from anyone that would cause it harm.

"Where should we start first, sir?" Minato asked.

"Let us start with Town Square first. There is something I need to pick up."

Minato nodded. But Tazul couldn't help but notice him gripping the lead rather tight and sweat dripping down his neck.

"Why are you so tense?"

"Sorry, sir. I guess riding with you is a little intimidating." Minato said while looking down, scared to make eye contact. Tazul chuckled, trying not to show that the comment flattered him.

"Don't be ridiculous. There's no reason to feel nervous around me. We're both knights of this Kingdom. We have come a long way in such a short time." Tazul said while he looked around, feeling proud.

"What do you mean?"

"This Kingdom was nothing more than a chaotic mess. The so-called knights were a shell of themselves, nothing more than men in armor. Weak and untrained, the old king was far too confident in the Elders to protect him. He was not concentrating enough on the knights, who were the very men that patrolled the cities and their people. My father was one of the few men who took pride in being an officer, who proudly reinforced the law. But he was one of the few. Before Rathmal, greed ran this Kingdom nearly to its demise. The other Kingdoms looked down on us, as they should've. But now we have grown strong and proud. When we enter this town, lift your head high. You are one of the knights of Elk Fenios, the Kingdom of the Golden Trees."

As they approached the high wooden double doors, the guards saw Tazul approaching and stood straight to salute him as entered the market.

They both analyzed the busy town for anything suspicious. Rows of markets and restaurants, run by men, women, and animals alike. A flaming fox running the kitchen, fueling the stove and fryer with his flame. A rhino demolishing and reconstructing an additional part of the market, with nothing more than his hooves and some glue. A grandma and a sloth, sewing the latest fashion trends. The sloth just liked to sew. Humans and animals working as partners was not an uncommon thing in this market. The animals were a tremendous help to the store owners, as magic would take a toll on them throughout the day.

The chaotic market instantly slowed down as Tazul and Minato passed by. All eyes avoided them as they glided through the city on their horses. The villagers all tried their best not to gain any unwanted attention to themselves.

"Get out of here." A store owner yelled, throwing a man in worn-out clothes down onto the street, barely missing Tazul's horse. The aggravated store owner walked out and immediately became terrified at the sight of guards. Tazul and Minato stepped off their horse, and onto the ground the sound of their steel toed boots hitting the stone pavement made everyone flinch, scared of what he might do.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Oh, sorry, Tazul, sir. See, he comes in here every day asking all my customers for money. But not only mine, everyone's. He's disturbing the businesses."

"Is this true?" Tazul said, staring down at the man on the ground. The man could barely look at him, as Tazul's head almost matched perfectly with the high sun framing him with the sunlight.

"Yes, I need money for my family. My children haven't eaten in days." The man said, as he struggled to get up, Tazul instantly kicked him back down, almost breaking his shoulder as he crashed to the ground.

"Don't seek to gain my sympathy. Leave this town and return when you have something to offer."

"But, sir." The man said, looking around the market for anyone that would step in and help. Everyone stared, but no one helped. Minato's eyes darted side to side between Tazul and the disheveled man, feeling very uneasy. Similar to the surrounding people, he was scared to help and defy Tazul, in fear of ending up in the dungeon deep below the Kingdom. Minato knew some people that were arrested before, some for harmless acts. Nonetheless, once you entered the dungeon, there was no coming out.

"If I ever see you here again begging for money and disturbing these people, I will throw you in jail myself. Now go."

In shock, he hesitated a moment, but stood up and sprinted to the market's exit.

"Sir, thank you for your help, but I didn't want him to be banished."

Tazul's attention darted back to the store owner. "Then what do you suggest? What was your intention?" The store owner stood there, conflicted on what he would change.

"One of my jobs is to rid this Kingdom of vermin like him. If he wants to return, he will return with some worth. Do we have a problem?"

"No, sir."

BOOM!

An explosion shook the market, scaring the horses to their hind legs. Tazul eased the horse back to the ground while staring in the explosion's direction. He could see fire and smoke from across the market, the smoke still growing in height with each passing second. Tazul jumped on the horse and rushed to the scene. As they zoomed past the people, the pedestrians jumped out of their way, trying to avoid being trampled. Tazul and Minato's horses leaped over the tables and carts in their path. Nothing could stop Tazul from finding whoever was attacking the Kingdom. As they approached the smoke, they noticed a group of people celebrating a fallen statue of Rathmal. Raising their wands in the air, and shooting bolts of light into the sky.

Anarchists. Tazul stared at them with such hatred. His blood boiled and strangled his reins, it almost became hard to breathe.

"Take down those knights. We have enough to take them all down." The Anarchists yelled while they ran towards them with their wands ready. But as they approached, the men noticed it wasn't the routine patrolmen. Eyes grew big and frightened as they realized Tazul was rapidly approaching them. "Run." One of them said as they all sprinted towards the nearest exits, scattering in different directions.

"Quick, cut them off. Meet me here when you retrieve them." Tazul said. Minato followed his orders and immediately went down the nearest alley, keeping most of them in sight.

Tazul honed in on one of the anarchists, the man who had previously directed the orders. He sprinted down the market, as he threw everything down along the way, hoping to slow down Tazul. Unfortunately for him, the Kingdom's ghost horses are among the fastest animals in the world, able to travel great lengths with a single gallop. Tazul quickly shortened the distance between them with ease. He was able to lift everything back up and returned everything into its original place.

The anarchist sprinted to the back wall, attempting to vault over. He pointed his wand, creating a spring to elevate him, creating an orange aura. As he reached the apex of the vault, with the forest beyond the market's wall in view, Tazul reveals the chain from his hip and slinged it around the anarchist's neck. Tazul yanked his weapon with such force, it almost broke the anarchist's spine in half as he swung him down a few feet through the dirt. Tazul stepped off his horse and walked to the motionless body before him, barely able to see him as he laid a few feet below the stone pavement, the aura all but gone. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch, as a crowd started to form around them. A bright blue aura shone so bright, radiating off of Tazul, that the crowd could see it from fifty yards away, even in the middle of the day. As Tazul inched closer, his body was progressively illuminating brighter and brighter. Minato returned, successfully capturing the rest of the anarchists. He strolled to the scene with the anarchist ties by their wrists walking beside him. They walked through the crowd and made their way to the front, watching the scene at hand.

Tazul walked slowly toward the anarchist, knowing all attention was on him. He reached down and grabbed the anarchist by the throat, clutching his neck as he picked him up off the ground and slammed him into the wall. He wasn't interested in getting any answers but instead sending a message to the other Anarchists watching. Tazul glared the anarchist in the eyes as he sent thousands of volts through the hiss body. Everyone looked away from the sheer brightness of the electricity, shielding themselves from the rogue shocks that were sent throughout the market, as the electricity brightened everyone ducked for cover hoping to avoid any of the attacks. As the shock disappeared and the light dimmed, the people of the market slowly rose to their feet. They watched as Tazul stood there still radiating with energy, as he slowly let go of the anarchist body. The man's neck crumbled in his hands, as the breeze took the ashes before it could even reach the ground.

The crowd fell silent and rushed back to anywhere but there, trying to return to their stations without any noise. Tazul noticed his orb glowing, pulsing repeatedly. He reached into his pouch and grabbed the orb, wondering what the meaning of this was.

A scout appeared in the orb surrounded by trees, scanning the area to make sure no one was around.

"Tazul, I found them. They are bordering the edge of Vuldrig. What are your orders?" The scout said.

"Lemir, we finally have you." Tazul said to himself, as a villainous smirk appeared. "Wait for me and remain hidden. Call the elders and a hundred knights to go there at once. Today is the day we kill that wretched beast."