In the land beyond time, there came some Archipelagos in the center of the Bermuda triangle. The name of the last one, towards the end of the earth, is called End Island. They lived on fishing and agriculture, while trade by batter was a common business around the vicinity, and they took pride in their way of life.
One day, information got to them that the king of the peninsula, Harmstrong, being mighty and having raised ten thousand soldiers, was waging a war to conquer all the Archipelagos around the Bermuda triangle. This did not go well with the chief of the End Island, Plainview, who believed that power shouldn't intoxicate but should be used to coordinate. He was demoralized when the head chief of all those archipelagos, Meeklink, agreed to be a subordinate instead of fighting for his ancestral territory.
The chiefs were given six months before King Harmstrong would parade with his soldiers to see if any of the Islanders would dare to defend their land and be annihilated. His development gave Chief Plainview sleepless nights, and his son Broadview, was not happy about it and called his three friends Pridewith, Neutraflipt, and Prestige.
He asked, looking worried, confused, and dead in the eyes, “If you are opportuned to defend the soil, would you?”
“ With all I got, “ Pridewith said abruptly, and then continued.
“ I can do more than all these chiefs put together,” he concluded.
“ I will,” Neutraflipt said silently, and then continued.
“Everyone has their strengths; let's find what works best for the situation” he concluded.
“Why not?” Prestige said after a few seconds of silence, and then continued.
“ It is an honor to serve the soil,” he concluded.
Prince Broadview said nothing again, and they went their separate ways after long minutes of silence.
Very early the next morning, Prince Broadview took his boat and boarded off all the Archipelagos and went to the mainland. He has never been out of the Islander before, but “ staying there would not change anything,” he soliloquizes.
He travelled for two months non-stop, and all of a sudden, he saw a town called “Aceland”.
He entered, made enquiries, and visited their king, Ace.
“Why are you here?” King Ace said without blinking his eyes.
“My chiefdom is falling, and I can't just fall with it,” Prince Broadview answered, looking down as he knelt before the king.
“We are warriors and soldiers here, an Aceman represents a hundred soldiers on the peninsula, and that is why boundaries are set,” He said, rolling his beard.
“ I will teach you the Ace ways, but on one condition,” King Ace said with a frown gesture.
“ I am all ears, my king” Prince Broadview replied in a broken voice.
King Ace looked at him from head to toe and smiled, “Do not betray the Acehood,” he said with a smirk and continued.
“ You have no right to teach anyone the Ace ways, you can only bring them here for the ritual” he concluded.
Prince Broadview nodded in acceptance, and the ritual started immediately. After two months, he was an Aceman and was given the Acering.
Prince Broadview arrived back in End Island a few weeks before the parade, not as a prince but as a warrior. Only he could take a hundred soldiers in an hour; the ritual made his body impenetrable to anything, be it gunshots, spears, swords, or a cutlass. His father, Chief Plainview, hid this fact and planned relentlessly to challenge King Harmstrong’s effrontery.
The day came, and King Harmstrong decided to parade with five hundred soldiers, saying that the Islanders had already succumbed to his dominance, and the unthinkable happened as he was conquered and chased out of the End Island. Other Archipelagos wanted the secret behind their victory and this pressure made the prince’s friends beg him to take them to Aceland. He agreed and they journeyed for months, but were disappointed as King Ace had died and they would have to wait for a year for the next king to rule and perform the ritual for them, as it is only the king who can.
If any other person from the Aceland attempts the ritual, it is a betrayal of the Acehood.
Getting back home, information got to them that King Harmstrong is coming back with all his soldiers in a month, and this gave Prince Broadview no other option but to betray Acehood and teach his friends the ways and rituals of the Aces.
Prince Broadview said before starting the ritual to note his friends about the secrecy, begging them with all he owned. “ I betrayed Acehood because of this, so let this be the secret of brotherhood,” he concluded and continued with the ritual.
The war came, and the sons of the soil defended their land relentlessly and created a boundary that the Peninsula has forever abided by.
Some years later, Prince Broadview died from an unknown illness, so his friends suggested that it may be the payment for his betrayal and had sacrificed himself, so they had to make the Acehood a movement and decided to go back to Aceland to be a proper Aceman.
“My cause has changed,” Prestige said, saying that he wants to be educated so he can develop End Island and wishes them the best of luck.
“ You have betrayed the movement,” Pridewith said, and he and Neutraflipt went to Aceland and came back a few months later.
Neutraflipt called Prestige to notice after their arrival that Pridewith had told the new king all about what Prince Broadview had done, his betrayal of the Acehood, and how he died.
“ But he needn’t,” Prestige said, hitting his hand on his forehead.
“ he was not even asked, but his too-known act just gave way,” Neutraflipt replied.
“ he has betrayed the secrecy of brotherhood,” Prestige said, nodding his head sideways, and continued.
“ Anyways, I am traveling to be educated in the sophisticated lands and I will be back in five years,” he concluded, and they hugged and went their separate ways.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and months into years and it is five years already.
Prestige was happy to be back in his soil but what greeted him was that Pridewith had told everyone around that Prestige is not an Aceman and shouldn't be recognized as one.
Prestige laughed and said, “ I don't want such recognition that will break the soil instead of developing it”.
Prestige knew one day that Pridewith would betray him as he betrayed Prince Broadview so he was never shocked.
Thanks for reading..
I think they are all betraying something or someone. What do you think?.
This was such an interesting story. The theme of loyalty and betrayal was really well written and kept me hooked until the end. 👀
Thanks for reading through and commenting a kind veiw.