Little Fighter: Calm Before the Storm

[Divisor]

The narrating tehnicque is a lot like the one in "A Song of Ice and Fire", which means each chapter is narrated from a certain character (POV character)'s point of view.
Every one of the 10 heroes will be given at least 1 chapter, some even more.
Chapters will be released one by one.
Sentences in italic are direct insights into a character's thoughts.

Prologue

Dusk fell on the Lion Forest. »Stop«, said Hal »we camp here.« His companions welcomed this decision: they had been walking all day. Hal smiled. If I could, I would have made them walk for at least two more hours, he thought. Oh well, we're all mere human. The group was quick in setting up the camp, and not before long all of them were sitting in front of a warm campfire.
»So,« asked one of the soldiers, while cleaning his sword, »how long until we make it to Coastlands?«
»At least two more days« Hal replied »if the map is correct, the journey should take five days at this pace. We left the Great Wall three days ago, you can do the math yourself.«
»Right, right.« the soldier said »I just feel really unconfortable on the Rocklands territory. I don't really know why though, it's only feeling.«
»And he's not the only one.« Another swordsman sat closer to the two in order to join the conversation »I've been feeling the same ever since the Great Wall was behind us«
»Well, I can't say I'm suprised« Hal commented.»The Rocklands were our most dangerous enemy, since…well, forever. But either of you has no need to worry. The world has finally achieved peace, and it doesn't seem that this would change in the near future.«
»I know, yeah,« one of the soldiers replied »but I still can't shake this weird hunch. We should double the watch tonight, just in case.«
»Agreed.« Hal nodded. »Safety first.«
After the meal, which didn't consist of anything more than some roasted meat and old bread, the soldiers crawled into their tents in order to get some sleep. Hal and two more men stayed awake, being first in line for the night watch. Hal sat in front of the dying fire, thinking about the journey ahead. The Rocklands army wasn't a threat, but the woods were home to scavengers, beasts and other creatures Hal didn't want to encounter. He glanced at his sword, hopinjg he wouldn't have to use it tonight.
Minutes felt like hours. Hal stood up, planning to take a walk around the cap and then return to the fireplace. As soon as he made few steps forward, however, he heard a faint sound, coming from the trees. He unsheathed his sword and called his two partners. Already? he thought, Scavangers would wait at least until midnight. When he saw the two approach him, he slowly stepped into the bushes. As Hal was making his way through the woods, he heard another sound, but now it was louder and coming from behind. He turned around, ready to attack, but all he saw was a giant fist smashing his face.

Woody

»Hey! Hey hey HEY! Gimme that back, fool!«
Dennis bursted on his feet after Davis snatched his cup of tea.
»Hahahaha, come and get me!« Davis laughed and ran up the street.
Idiots, Woody smiled. He and his two pals were hanging in their favourite inn, when Davis suddenly thought it would be funny if he stole Dennis's tea. Nobody loves their tea more than him…hell, he would drink tea even if the world was falling apart. The Uptown Inn had the best tea in town, everybody agreed, and therefore the trio visited it frequently. Tea wasn't the only one Woody and his two friends enjoyed in the city though. Being the capital of Coastlands, the city of Longshore had everything a man needed and would need. Foreigners often praised it of the most beautiful cities on the continent, putting it beside ice castles in Frostlands and notorious Heatlands clay towers. I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life in here. But Woody knew that the peace and quiet won't last for long. Rumors about dark magic experiments and humanoid monsters, creeping in Lion Forest, had reached Longshore as well. Only five years since the beginning of the war, and new threats are already in sight…it could as well mean we'd need to fight again…sooner or later.
A familliar voice interrupted Woody's thoughts.
»Hey, guys!«
»Henry, hey!« Davis stopped running to greet the archer, but Dennis suddenly shoved him on the ground and subsequently sent the cup of tea flying.
»Ouch, a**hole! I was gonna give it back, but I ain't doing it now!« Davis shouted while cleaning dirt off his shirt.
»Well, you just spilled it, genius, how were you planning to give it back? You're buying me a new one.«
»Me? You're the one who jumped me, douchebag…buy it yourself, I'm broke.«
Woody laughed and turned to talk to Henry.
»'Sup? Didn't think you'd have a break so early, did something happen?«
»It did, actually. A soldier from Heatlands seeked refuge, he claimed he was attacked in the Lion Forest while on the way here.«
»Oh… and what does it have to do with us?«
»He carried a letter with him. It's for you three.«
»Oh.« Woody turned around. »Hey, you two! Come here, will you?!«
After the two stopped quarreling, Henry took them to see the surviving soldier. He was pretty shook up, but still able to summarize what happened in the Lion Forest.
»I have never seen anything like it,« he said after handing over the letter »It was…evil. Pure evil.«
The trio walked away with Henry.
»He has never seen it, but we have,« Dennis said, »but what he described looked a lot like a Justin.«
»The Justin were destroyed in the war,« Davis replied with obvious disbelief in his voice »it can't be. He can't be a reliable witness, look at him.«
»I don't know. He claimed he did not took part in the war, but he described a Justin perfectly. There might be something to it.«
»We'll see about that later« Woody intervened »Let's just read the letter first.«

[Hero destroyer]

A nice story.(Sorry, that's all I want to say).

[empirefantasy]

1.The beginning of story looks funny (for my opinion).Dennis and Davis was quarreling for small things and putting LF2 characters in nowadays's life (include the cup of tea and other things) make this story funny in the beginning.
2.Putting Woody,Davis and Dennis as friends,looks logic for me,because they are combo guys in LF2.
3.The end of Woody chapter looks attractive! I waiting for next chapter.This story looks interesting

[klodasmone]

This is actually pretty good. If not best. There is an intrigue, the characters are lively. By all means, don't stop.

Few grammar errors you want to fix:
we're all mere human -> we're all merely human (style)
He was pretty shook up -> He was pretty shaken up (tense)

And one other, but I can't seem to find it. Anyway, these are just details and don't spoil the bigger picture.

[Divisor]

Thanks for the input guys, now I'll definitely keep writing

Expect the next chapter (from Louis's point of view) tomorrow.

[Divisor]

Louis

He always hated the speed at which city gates were opening. Louis had to stand in front of them for about five minutes before two huge metal blocks moved aside. Hurry up, damn it.
»Remind me to consider a new system for the gates,« he told one of his men »This is taking too long to be of any use.«
»Will do, sir.«
»Good.« Louis admired the obedience of his men. His elite group never questioned orders, and even the normal troops were loyal until the end. Because of this attitude, our army is the most fearsome…or at least it was. He recalled standing before the Great Wall of Heatlands six years ago. The Rocklands assembled a mighty host, almost 10.000 men were armed and ready on that day. They were just about to storm the wall and break Heatlands' last defense, when the order to retreat came out. That was smart, back then. If we had not retreated, we would be crushed. Instead, they marched back home, joined the allied forces and betrayed their own leader. It was a tough choice, but it had to be done. His fate was sealed, we merely made it happen faster.
The gates finally opened, prompting Louis to focus back into the present.
»Dismissed!« he shouted to his guards as they were entering the city. He walked alone into the crowd, making his way among all sorts of people: merchants, workers, noblemen, city guardsmen, homeless beggars. Stonewall was always noisy and hectic: its small interior, when compared to Heatland or Coastland cities, definitely contributed to the population density, but that was not all. When the war turned to Rocklands' disadvantage, people from border lands fled to more fortified cities, mainly Stonewall. And after the war ended, most of them stayed there.
Louis reached the city keep after roughly twenty minutes. The fort was built at the highest point in the city, allowing the guards to observe the whole town, which was effective in case of public order issues as well as when foreign armies got near the walls. Louis climbed the stairs to the Rockland Royal guard building, which served as the military command center for all Rocklands' area. And because Lord John spent most of his days at the Forbidden Tower on Queen's island, Louis was, as the Supreme General, left with ruling the country. But now, after almost five months of absense, Lord John was back in Stonewall. Maybe he'll shed some light on whatever he is doing…or leave me further instructions and go back again. When he entered the building, Lord John was standing in the middle, chatting with advisors.
»You're here.« he said, when noticing Louis. »Leave us.« he told the others.
»You wanted to see me, my lord«. Louis slightly bowed his head.
»Indeed.« Lord John walked towards the table. »I won't be staying long, Louis. I'm going back to Queen's Island in the morning.« He suddenly turned to face Louis. The look on his face was serious and frightening. »I don't know for how much time I'll be gone, but one thing is certain. When I return, I will return with results.«
»It would very much please me, my lord, if you finally shared some of your plans with me. I hate being kept in the dark…again.«
Lord John laughed. »Straightfoward as ever, eh? See, that's what I like about you. All my other advisors are more or less asslickers, but you…not you.«
»Is that a 'yes'?« Louis asked, impatient.
»Very well. Among all my men, you deserve to know the most. Anyway, I was just about to have lunch. Join me, we will discuss it over some food.«

Two hours later, Louis was walking out of the building. He could not believe what he had just heard. If John comes through with this plan…if he manages to revive him…we shall rule the entire continent, as we once did. He looked upon the sky, clear and sunny.
Indeed…the calm before the storm.

[klodasmone]

You're writing is extraordinarily epic, when one considers such small chapters. I hope you already have planned out all of the story layout, if not, do so. Now about the text. First of all, I liked the flashback sequence. Also, I liked John. You portrayed him and his relationship with Louis somewhat like Guts and Griffith from Berserk. You should be pretty proud about that. Finally, you still kept the mystery, the suspense, the intrigue. Who should be revived? Is it Julian? Will it go horribly wrong? Can't wait for more.

Some grammar corrections & notes:
normal troops -> regular troops (style)
we would be crushed -> would have been crushed (tense)
chatting with advisors -> chatting with his advisers -or- the advisers (style)
my lord -> my Lord (style, what else)

Of note: your English is clearly above average, so don't get discouraged by my corrections. That's why editors are for (;.

[Divisor]

Thanks for the praise and corrections (I'll fix those ASAP). English isn't my native language, and even though I like to think I'm good at it, I still have some style problems (as you have noticed :P).

Anyway, I will do my best do not only follow the standard I set with the first three chapters, I will work hard to exceed it.

The next chapter will be about Davis, it will be out somewhere in the next few days.

[Hero destroyer]

I can't wait. Your story is really really good, keep up the good works.

[Divisor]

Davis

The letter brought disturbing news. It could as well be a confirmation of all the rumors that were being passed around in the last year. I never believed any of them…but now…
»So it is true.« Dennis was the first one to speak up after a long moment of silence. »John really is doing black magic experiments.«
»Makes sense.« Woody added »He was a traitor before…we shouldn't have allowed him to take over Rocklands after the war.«
»What else could we have done?« Dennis replied »He had major support in the country, and the leaders thought he deserved it for all the help he provided.«
»Yeah, right. He's an opportunist, if the tables had turned otherwise, he wouldn't have joined us, that's for sure.« Davis finally regained his voice, still shaken up from the letter's content.
»Enough.« Henry intervened. »It's no use quarreling over the past actions, what happened, happened. We need to focus on the matter at hand.«
»He's right.« Dennis glanced at the letter again »Firen of the Heatlands requests the presence of one of us on the council meeting, where they will discuss dealing with John.« He paused briefly. »If it's all right with you, I'd go. I have always gotten along with him.«
»Fine with me.« Woody nodded »Meaning Davis and me are to visit Freeze of Frostlands and try to persuade him to join the new alliance.«
Freeze. Davis only met him once. It was seven years ago, when Frostlands, after long negotiations, finally joined Coastlands and Heatlands in the rebellion against the Empire. Freeze came with his father, the Lord of Frostlands, and a few dozen guards to attend the summit of allied forces at Longshore. When our eyes met…I'll never forget that moment. Davis knew the stories about northmen, raw and cold as the land they live in. But when he looked into Freeze's eyes…he saw only ice. The very thought of it made him shiver. He hoped he'd never have to meet the man again. Hell, if that is what it takes to prevent another catastrophe…then so be it.
»I'm down with this.« He said. »But shouldn't we seek the Assembly's permission first? That's not an issue we could deal with ourselves.«
»I'll inform the Assembly of your intentions right away,« Henry offered »if they have any further instructions, I'll let you know.« He hurried towards the city hall.
»It's settled then.« Dennis said, satisfied. »We'd better get some rest. Departure is at dawn.«
The trio split up and went seperate ways. Davis only needed to walk for five minutes to get home, so he remained at the inn for a while. Thinking about the recent events, he suddenly caught himself almost looking forward to the getting some action again. I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but…I can't help it. I like this feeling of excitement. The last time he fought for real was the battle at Tai Hom Village, located at the Rocklands-Coastlands border. Along with Woody and Dennis, he was just an officer in the Coastland army, eager for fame, glory and recognition. The enemy held the village, but it wasn't fortified, which prompted the two forces to meet head on, in the field. The battle was a bloody one, a significant toll was taken from both sides. However, it was a turning point for the Coastand army, stopping the imperial army from invading Coastlands. And the three of us emerged as heroes from the battle. Davis walked to the bar and paid the inkeeper.
»See you tomorrow,« the barman said »Should I reserve the regular table?«
»Not this time, Tom.« Davis said, while walking out the door »Not this time.«