The New Order. Sean Wolfe Fay

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СКАЧАТЬ to act as his own personal adviser and servant, and what he had ordered Minotaurus to do, Leonidas could only guess. Regardless, Leonidas was well aware of what Lord Tenebris was capable of, and he did not imagine he would be very agreeable when angry.

      “Then have a good return trip, Caesar,” Leonidas responded, handing his friend three cooked pork chops for the hike back to Lord Tenebris’s base. Caesar nodded his thanks, and was about to exit through the wooden door when three players burst into the dirt shack.

      The three players were covered in snow, so it took Leonidas a moment to distinguish two of them as Corporal Emerick and Private Spyro. They had their bows raised and were nudging a third figure forwards. This player, Leonidas did not recognize. It appeared to be a girl, dressed in a full snowsuit with a red ponytail running down her back. The moment she entered the building, she fell to her knees, overwhelmed with fatigue. Leonidas stood up.

      “Who is this?” he asked his corporal harshly.

      “We found this player wandering around, not far from our border, General,” replied the corporal. He seemed quite proud that he had led the effort of capturing a trespasser.

      “What’s your name?” Leonidas asked.

      The girl seemed unable to respond. She whimpered. It was then that Leonidas noticed the arrow protruding from her left shoulder. One of his men had shot her.

      “Answer him, you pathetic worm. He asked you a question!” bellowed Caesar, and all in the vicinity jumped from his sudden outburst. “What are you doing here?”

      The girl gave an almost inaudible whisper, and Leonidas thought he heard the words “lost” and “community” in her answer.

      “So there’s a community out here? Where? I thought the colony of the King’s banished criminals died out a long time ago,” inquired Leonidas.

      Another dubious whimper escaped the girl’s mouth, and Leonidas heard the word “survived” in her response.

      “So the community still exists? And you are a member of this community?” Caesar asked gruffly.

      The girl, still kneeling and unable to stand, gave an almost imperceptible nod before her head sank to the floor and she dissolved into desperate sobs.

      “That’s all I needed to know,” responded Caesar with a sly grin. An instant later, there was a flash of diamond. The girl fell backwards, a slash across her chest and her items lying in a ring around her. Caesar slid his sword back into its sheath.

      Leonidas opened his mouth in horror, but quickly closed it again. It was necessary, he reminded himself, trying to keep his breathing steady. She knew too much, and she was a danger. Still, Leonidas couldn’t bring himself to look at her body, and he felt unable to look back towards Caesar until he heard the faint noise indicating that the girl had vanished.

      “I’ll tell Lord Tenebris not to expect the capital completed for a few more days,” said Caesar, a smile appearing on his face. “But when I receive the next report, I expect that not only will the building be finished, but every member of the old community will be dead.”

      Caesar threw back his head and laughed, and before Leonidas could open his mouth to object, he had swept out the door.

      Leonidas stood looking at the floor for a moment, then realized that Corporal Emerick and Private Spyro were still looking at him, waiting for a command. He cleared his throat and, trying to keep his voice steady, gave the order.

      “Private, you’re stayin’ with me and finishin’ this capital. Corporal” – Leonidas took a deep breath – “take half the men and find the village. Leave no survivors.”

      “Yes, sir,” came Corporal Emerick’s response, and he left the room without another word.

      There was silence as Leonidas stood in the room lost in thought, Private Spyro standing beside him. After a minute, the private spoke. “Is it really the right thing to do, General? Those players, they’re not hurting anybody, so how can it be right?”

      Leonidas, ignoring his own strongly conflicted feelings, gave Spyro the response he was supposed to give. “It doesn’t matter if it’s right or not, Private, it’s what has to be done.” Leonidas let out a raspy sigh and fought the urge to vomit. “Come on,” he said, “we have a base to finish.”

      And with that, General Leonidas and Private Spyro of the Noctem Alliance left the dirt shack.

       CHAPTER 1

       THE SECOND ELECTION

      Stan knew that technically, this was Elementia’s first real election for president. There had not really been a vote when he first became president. Everybody had been so euphoric at the downfall of King Kev that they had immediately wanted the one responsible for their freedom to be the new head of the Minecraft server Elementia.

      Now, however, it was time for Elementia’s first true presidential election. The entire voting population was crammed into the square of Element City. Over three months ago, King Kev had stood above this very courtyard and made the announcement that it was time for the lower-level citizens of Elementia to leave Element City. Stan’s all-consuming rage at King Kev’s proclamation and the arrow he’d sent at the King to show it were the reasons he stood on the bridge of Element Castle now.

      That fateful arrow had started an uprising among the lower-level players of the Minecraft server Elementia, and their rebellion had resulted in the death of the tyrannical King Kev. The majority of the King’s supporters were now dead or imprisoned, with the rest living as fugitives of the law. In their joy at the fall of the evil King, the citizens of Elementia were quick to jump on Stan’s idea of Elementia being turned into a republic. Stan was unanimously elected to be its first president.

      Now, however, his first term was up. He had been president for four months, and it was time for another election. The councilmen, who assisted Stan in making the laws of Elementia, had already been elected. Stan’s good friends Kat, Charlie, Jayden, Archie, Goldman (aka G), DZ and the Mechanist had all been unanimously re-elected to the council.

      The eighth seat on the council, however, was now filled by the former mayor of Blackstone, Gobbleguy. The seat’s previous holder, Blackraven, was running against Stan for president of Elementia. The majority of the players believed that Blackraven had been stupid to give up his seat on the council, as they believed there was nothing he could ever say or do to convince them to elect him to office over Stan.

      Stan, however, felt Blackraven was a formidable opponent. He believed Blackraven was wiser than he was. If Blackraven played his cards right, Stan thought that his seat as president of Elementia may well be in jeopardy. This idea made him nervous as he sat on the bridge of Element Castle, preparing to give one last speech to his people before they voted.

      Stan and Blackraven would both be asked five questions. These five questions, dealing with the most important problems in Elementia, would be Stan’s last chance to assure СКАЧАТЬ