My first fanfic. Pls comment! :)
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The stark difference in temperature made the transition from fall to winter even more uncomfortable for the population of Knights. Many of them bundled up in various furs and cloaks, and the Strangers sold Torchstones for pocket warmers for those who didn't have the Crowns for warm clothing. Snow came early that cycle, and it fell in soft waves of cold, white flakes. Many recruits relied on the help of the upper-class knights to provide shelter for the ice cold winter, and even more so for the protection of a place to sleep without frostbite settling in. I was one of those recruits at one point, but that changed with time and training. I went from huddlig with a number of recruits around a small fire to making bonfires myself with a Combuster for the less fortunate. There was a spirit of brotherhood in the air as a result, bringing the Knights closer as one big family, strengthened together with feelings of charity and toleration. That all changed during one certain, specific, year. A year that today we reference as 'That Winter', or 'Red Winter', and in more hushed tones, 'The Winter of Bloody Ice'.
It all started with the snow. The snow fell in a deep crimson, the scientists back at HQ had no idea what it could have meant, and Knights strayed away from it when it formed into piles and hills. It wasn't poisonous or acidic, it was just red. However, a joker of a Knight let a clump of it fall inside his mouth, he noted it tasted like blood.
Bloody snow, however, was only the start of it.
Next came the sounds, the mysterious howlings in the night and the sounds of scratching at the windows. The recruits stayed oblivious and thought it was a prank of some sort by the veterans, while the veterans thought vice versa. There was tension in the air, and where recruits had gathered for the bonfires lit by the veterans there were instead pits of ash unlit for days. I stand and watch as tension builds with every night, and how the snow seems to fall harder every day.
Then, there were the murders. Knights of all color and rank were found cut up and lying half buried in the bloody snow. It was hard to tell whether or not the snow was red from the mysterious source of weather or the blood running in the streets from the dead corpses, the tension broke out in small fights between the veterans and the recruits, the recruits thinking that the veterans have had enough of them and wish to dispose of the weakest, while the veterans thought the recruits were trying to lower their numbers to gain an upper hand in the population. The groups stayed away from each other, I was silently observing how the recruits traveled in groups in fear they would be ambushed by the veterans at any moment.
Then came the final blow, which didn't come until the veterans and recruits decided to call a truce for the a Winterfest finale, where they were lifting up the tree. Ornaments made by many different Knights were hung on it, and a star made out of extra polished Luminite sat on the top, giving off a glow that lit the Town Square day and night. That night, there were extra guards stationed outside the square, and they were paid extra since they had to miss the event. I knew since I was out that entire night with a Blitz Needle in one hand and my Combuster in the other, sitting outside the gate the entire night. It didn't even end when the sun came up, most of the people eventually left at noon and the town square as back to normal by the end of the day. Some knights went to sleep that night having completely forgotten about the red snow and the murders, and the fact that the scratching and howling noises still echoed in the cold night.
Then it happened, the final blow to start out an all out war. Several Recruits and Veterans were found dead, but not buried in the snow, they were impaled on the branches of the Christmas tree. They were the knights who made ornaments for the festivities, each one impaled on the branch that held their ornament. The green leaves turned red, and the Luminite star turned into a shade of crimson only found in Crimsonite. Chaos immediately ensured, and the population of both the Veterans and the Recruits broke out fighting. Tears ran in the street along with blood, gunfire and the sound of swords meeting swords broke through the day. All of the decorations were burnt to the ground and the fires once used to help keep the Recruits warm were used to burn them alive. Veterans quickly overwhelmed the Recruits in a wave of swords and gunfire, along with the occasional bomb explosion that took lives from both sides. The ground stained red from both the blood and the snow, and the dead bodies started to pile up when most of the fighting ended. By then, about 60% of the Recruit population were killed by the Veterans. The remaining were either pacifists or were simply spared by the Veterans out of a single sliver of mercy hiding inside a barricade of hatred and rage.
As I am writing this, the group of Gremlins I have been tracking down have been ordered to return to base.
I wouldn't let them.
I had been ready to lose this fight the moment it started, and I decided that it's up to me to eradicate the source once and for all. Those Gremlins, with their strange green fur, have been the reason we had to go through all of that hardship, the reason so many innocent people had died. The Spiral HQ had been too busy with recuperance and he funerals that they didn't have the time to hunt them down theirselves, so I took it upon myself to eradicate them completely. I may still be out there, fighting to keep them away so we don't have a repeat of any 'That Winter' or another 'Red Winter', or a repeat of 'The Winter of Bloody Ice'. If you are reading this, I left this script in my steed as I set out to bring justice to the bewildered Knights, and give them a merry and jolly Winterfest to compensate for that year, even if it costs me my life.
Are you willing to do the same?
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So, what do you think? Please leave a comment, this is my first fanfiction!
A very dark read, I'll admit.
Would've made a nice short story if it was extended, and there are a few missing words and improper grammar here and there, but the content is certainly not what I expected from Christmas.
I like it. A. Lot.