I must have been on that park bench at least two weeks before anyone even glanced at me. A further week around the square until anyone talked to me, and only then it was “Get out of my way, tramp!” It took an entire month of my being homeless before I heard any sort of kindness, and when it did come, it came in the form of a cockney redhead woman dressed up to the nines.
“Alright, love?” She said, as she sat down on the bench next to mine and lit up a smoke. I looked around me; nobody else there. I checked her ears; no bluetooth headset. She was talking to me. “Uh... I, uh... I’m fine, thank you very much for asking.” She said nothing back, only nodded. “How are you?” “Well now you’re talkin’, love. I’ve ‘ad one hell of a day! Pardon my French.” She giggled, “So I woke up this mornin’ and only turns out my fat lump of an ‘usband ain’t there so I gives him a ring and he says he’s fucked off ‘cause he found out I’ve been havin’ a little fun on the side, but, well, who cares? I don’t need his money I’ve got my family’s!” As she laughed at this hysterically I could only think how ungrateful she seemed towards her own family. I’d kill to have a wife so willing to love me and work to help support me. But, I guess it wasn’t my business to judge her. She continued “So I told him to shove it and I thought I’d have a fun day out on my own for once to celebrate! Well I’m not usually on my own, you see, I’ve got tons of friends that won’t leave me alone. So, anyway, I go to the spa thinkin’ I’ll get myself a nice tan on, you know, and who do I meet there but Jeanette! Jeanette’s my retarded sister, you know, so I told her about me and Stan - that’s my ‘usband - and she said that Dad wouldn’t like it, but I know my Daddy better than she does on account of me being older, but I called him anyway and he said I was cut off!” She waited a split second for me to reply, but before I could, she spurted “I know! ‘Ow fuckin’ dare he! So I ‘ung up on ‘im, slapped my sister in her bitchy face ‘cause I know she told him he should cut me off, I stole her credit cards and now I’m on my way to Paris!”
I didn’t have the faintest idea what to say. “Paris is one of my friends. She runs the county job fair up the road. You wanna come along? You can have one of my ‘usband’s suits layin’ in the boot.”
All this time I thought I needed money to make me happy and grateful. I accepted the woman’s offer, and from then on accepted whatever hand life dealt me.
Silervius the Prime stood with his mere 100 men at the highest point of the Black Forest, all eyes skyward, watching, waiting. Glilinell the Consul, Silervius’ lifelong friend, wrapped his cloak tighter about him and sighed. “I... I do have faith, Silervius, but are you sure about this? What we’re doing here tonight; it’s unheard of.” Silervius turned his head ever so slightly, his eyes never leaving the sky. “That is why it is sure to work, Glilinell. All the greatest wars have provided an evolution to strategy. This is necessary, no matter the outcome.” Silervius looked his friend in the eye now, “Do you see?” Glilinell did not reply, but returned to the watch and thought back on what brought them to this point.
Ten years previous was the first time Silervius and Glilinell had heard of ‘Chaklu’, a giant crow-like bird that had been terrorising the new villages popping up all over Keemraska, and it was seen heading straight towards them; the new warrior village of Gilrady. Silervius, only the Prime’s second at this point, gathered the men and set a defensive perimeter. Rezzick the Prime bounded out of the front gates with Glilinell the Consul close behind and met with Silervius the Prime-Regent and their other 500 warriors. “Look to the skies, men! I want this bird for our feast!” Rezzick bellowed, and the men roared back. Almost as if in reply, the mighty Chaklu was heard screeching in the distance, towards the Black Forest. Again the bird shrieked, rising high and then begun ploughing towards the village.
The mighty Chaklu descended upon the village of Gilrady like a chaotic tornado yet the warriors fought on, and on, until almost none remained. They hacked and slashed for hours but the bird would not give up, not even after Rezzick stabbed and blinded the bird in one eye the moment before he was gobbled up. Eventually, when only 200 men remained, the bird gave up its fight and retired to the Black Forest. For years the warriors of Gilrady followed and fought the mighty Chaklu, but they could never beat the beast. Finally, the new Prime, Silervius, vowed that a different strategy was needed, and Glilinell had an idea.
“Stop! This is wrong, Silervius!” Borrel insisted. “You desired the Primeship, Borrel, but you did not win it. I drew first blood, remember? Now, return to your watch. If the bait worked, Chaklu will be here soon.” Borrel tried to calm the fire in his blood, but he knew this wasn’t the way of the warrior.
Chaklu didn’t give them much time to prepare. The beast rose above them out of nowhere and locked eyes with Silervius and Glilinell as long time enemies. “Now!” Silervius shouted, and 100 men lifted Chaklu’s giant baby in to the air. “Is this what you’ve been looking for?” He smiled.
“No!” Borrel yowled. He nocked an arrow faster than anyone could stop him and let loose at the giant baby bird.
