I Feel the Wind
Written By: The Author, Jacob Folkler
In this dramatic piece of dark fantasy fiction inspired by a TTRPG session, Baron Garlem Wyfitt of Tenali pens a final letter to his family before facing the wrath of the Champions’ Council. Betrayal, political intrigue, and devastating loss drive this tale of loyalty and downfall, where numbers, duty, and ambition clash with mercy and justice. Set in the embattled kingdom of Tenali, this narrative blends themes of war, corruption, and legacy into a poignant reflection on honour, family, and the heavy cost of power.
Forgive me Madara, for my shadow will not grace your threshold tonight. For my warmth will be absent from our bed. For my lips will not befall upon your evening cheek.
Forgive me, my darling Leeta, for daddy’s voice will only hold the story of fables already told, and no longer yet to be. May that bookshelf be used by you, that it will not be left untouched. Pray I, that you leave your mother loved as ever, that you pick up your father’s slack, that when I am not there she will have more hugs than she will ever need and more.
And forgive me, Thaniel. Boy, to you I leave my strength. With it I have held the skies, lest they crack the roof of our home. Son, I bestow to you my name. That which your mother has taken, that which my father gave me when he left. Wield it with the kindness of a Warrior, and the rage of a healer.
I have been betrayed. Proud I stood upon the flag of Tenali, serving its people and my King with honour. No more. Let this be my letter of resignation.
I feel the wind on my face. Blessed is a world where nature is kinder than those that abuse it.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Presiding the Council of Calbarus, The Champions of Tenali”
My back stiffens straight. I cannot allow the House of Might to see me not sitting upright again. To my left, Peslow looks my way. Across me, Bishop Stigata is raising an eyebrow. Next to him, Felcin quickly takes his seat. All but… Banato. He is always at a gathering. Perhaps the urgency of the attack has left him busy.
The door opens, and in runs an escort soldier. The Council watches as he whispers orders to the other guards here, and leads them out of the Pit. We look at each other quizzically. Been years since the Champions have summoned a confidential meeting. Perhaps the attack is serious. I should start pre-calculating preserves.
Two figures walk into the room. One, Lord Kali, of the House of Might. The other, High Hunter Kristof, of the House of Faith. The door closes and locks behind them. The High Hunter takes a corner in the room, his eyes like hawks seeing every speck of dust that shifts in the still air between us.
I see Bishop Stigata stand.
“Hail Champions, what is the purpose of your—”
“Find the seat once more, Bishop” Lord Kali’s voice is like lava. A pinnacle of strength, really. After all, the man spent his early decades in gladiatorial fights before young Trine found him. Back then King Trine was 12, but the boy knew what he needed. Maybe it was Kali’s poise. I could never understand the physical regiment. But the cripple king saw worth in his discipline, and even in their contrast he found parallels. Even now, deep into his fifties, does Kali know how to hold a room’s attention just by speaking gently.
He continues, “Good afternoon. Members of the Council, Chancellor Peslow of Agriculture, Nobleman Felcin Thaad of International Affairs, Bishop Stigata of Community Service. And…”
“Garlem, sir, Baron Garlem Wyfitt of the House of Coin” I pipe up. He didn’t remember. That is fine, he has too much on his plate anyway. “Sir, will General Banato of the House of Infantry be required for this meeting?”
“Your oratory skills are not required here either, Baron.” The High Hunter’s voice strikes the room like an arrow to the throat, so I swallow my thoughts.
Lord Kali raises a soft hand to his fellow Champion, before readdressing the Council. “Thank you, Baron Garlem. And do forgive my ally’s sharpness, we have had a rather troubling day. Yet all the same dear Councilmen, I do hope this meeting can bring peace to you all.”
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Halls are secure, Kali, and Trine has greenlit the cleanup.”
A hidden voice in the room, many of us jump, looking to find the source. Pulling the cloak free from its invisibility enchantment, now steps up a third Champion. The Pale Tiefling, Emissary of Peace, Lord Rein. Yet another warrior geared up for a War unheard of. He steps into the room, flanking us with the High Hunter. I catch him looking my way, and I try my best to avoid the gaze. These men are respectable, but also deeply intimidating. I’ve never found that a good recipe for leadership. Maybe King Trine sees something in them that I don't. Here, however, I watch on in silence. Here, we are theirs to command.
“Very good, Rein.” Lord Kali continues, “I would like to begin by announcing the successful execution of General Banato, traitor to Tenali.”
My eyes go wide, I see Peslow stand in instant defiance, Bishop Stigata slumps deeper into his chair, Felcin puts his head in his hands.
“What is the meaning of th–” Peslow begins. But he is cut off as Lord Kali throws Banato’s Council Chair through the only window in this room. Threw it like it was a pouch of gold. My heart is racing. I do not understand why, why now? What did the General do? Why must we be so rudely questioned?
“Sorry Chancellor? You are saying how comfy your seat was?” Kali snaps.
Peslow sits.
“Wonderful, now that we are on the same page. I have but one question to ask this Council, these good men, those who have sworn to uphold and protect the people of Tenali. The Northeastern defensive walls were unmanned, unbuilt, lacked the funding for further maintenance and worst of all, saw the commerce of unsolicited outsiders bringing accursed items and people into our kingdom. Upon a routine inspection by the Champions of Tenali, did all of these things come to light. Baron… Garlem, was it? Do you know what prompted this… routine inspection?”
I swallow hard. Because I don’t. And maybe he sees that. I do know why, though. I know why my funding was not sent. I know why I never signed off on the continuation of its build, and I certainly know these things because it was something myself, Stigata and Felcin were working on for a long while now. We had major plans to make direct connections with Til’duin, our sister kingdom, if one could call it that. Their recent imports of harvested red diamonds were thriving and the mines would have found that beneficial for their gem farms. It was a literal diamond of a plan we were sitting on, a metropolis ready to be built. And if we could simply control commerce in Til’duin, then next would be Agra, and the orcs down south. Exponential growth like no other. Money to the likes these Champions would have never seen.
Kali nods his head. “Thank you for your thoughts on this matter, Garlem. Chancellor Peslow, you may leave.”
My heart spikes, no, no, no, no… My thoughts, he can hear them. Surely. Or one of these damn champions! What have I done, have I given him what he needed to hear? But that cannot be all of it, we were justified, in accordance with the law! I made sure of it. I know I did.
Peslow bows deeply and rushes for the door that unlocks upon Lord Rein’s knock. The three of us left, stare at each other, each with different emotions. Fear, remorse, anger.
“Answer me.”
Stigata speaks up, “The attack?”
“Very good. The attack.”
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
The next few moments are a blur. I see Hunter Kristof striking Stigata across the face. Lord Rein throws a dagger that nails Felcin’s hand to his seat.
Words are muffled. “For 2 decades we kept these walls safe!”, “The religious sectors, decimated… on your hands!”, “They came just as we warned… now our city burns!”
My eyes wander over to the large open window where I now see Lord Kali, standing perfectly straight, hands behind his back. I feel drawn to him, and so I slowly stand and walk over. My voice is cracked in fear but my question still requires comfort. “Lord Kali, I’ve done everything for my Kingdom since birth. What wrong have I done now?”
“Baron,” his words are like lava, “tell me. What was the number of gold coins that you cashed into the Castle’s keep within the past week from the Jaagum Mines alone?” I recoil at the inquiry. But I know the answer, I just ponder its relevance. “4800, sir.” I croak back.
“A number on a sheet, I presume? One you can remember within a fraction of a second. For you were trained to do so.”
“Correct sir.”
“Today, over 6300 innocent civilians have perished to Daroth ambushes on our unprotected gates. To mass murders where they were burned alive in warehouses. To cult attacks. To a constabulary force who chose not to act amidst the ample warnings given to them by noble mercenary contingents spread throughout the kingdom.”
I am stunned. How could it have gotten this bad, my numbers would have told me, missing persons cases, failure on progress reports, something?
“Tell me Baron Garlem, of the House of Coin. Do your numbers account for their deaths?”
“I don't know, sir… I… didn’t know.” Or maybe I did. No. It couldn’t be. I did everything right. I have spent all these years making sure the numbers added up. This cannot be placed on my plate. If anything I should join Peslow outside. Lest he take my place. This is unjust. I would never have allowed those innocents to die. I turn around and see my Councilmen being stood up and brought over to where Kali stands. Those bastards tricked me. I can see it in their faces. That's why I am not getting beaten. Surely they knew something I didn’t. They got those people killed. They deserve to die. And they will. Lord Kali will ensure justice is done.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Those mercenaries do not DESERVE the respect of our Constables!” Stigata shouts as he is thrown to the floor at Kali’s feet, “Why should our good men listen to them?”
“Many of these mercenaries have died today defending that which yours have failed to” Says the High Hunter, “If it were only the Gods choice that they be our constables maybe Tenalians wouldn't have had to perish!”
“I have a family, Lord Kali… Please let me go back to them, I promise to fix that which we have broken, I promise!” Lord Rein reels Felcin upward and shakes his head disappointingly. “So did they, you fool. So did they all.”
Lord Kali speaks, and addresses all of us. “Judgment is upon you. And even in it we will give you a choice. I have grown tired of trusting power with that which wields the sword. I think it is time to trust the sword.” I try to speak, confused as to why he looks to me as though I'm amongst these two imbeciles, these traitors. Yet I hold my tongue. Maybe I too should trust the sword, whatever that means.
“I give you three, a choice. Acceptance, or Denial. Death has shadowed your doorstep. Now you are either a Tenalian and you accept your wrongdoing, and jump. Or continue to deny that which has died to your negligence, and I throw you. Either way, the window will be your only exit from this meeting.”
There is nothing now. No power, no king, no god, no money that can save me. I am afraid. I am angry. Those people… they could have moved. They knew the dangers of living close to those walls. The mercenaries should have done a better job informing us, they know we don’t trust them, why not take the effort to prove we could be wrong? General Banato, then Stigata, then Felcin. These were hardworking men. They loved their country. I love my country. I’d die for it. Right?
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
I love you, my family. Remember me, till the end of time. Remember who I was.
Proud I stood upon the flag of Tenali, serving its people and my King with honour. No more. Let this be my letter of resignation.
I feel the wind on my face. Blessed is a world where nature is kinder than those that abuse it…
[END]
