Chapter One

This novel is titled The Last Stand. It belongs in the world of Jirale. It's basically the sequel, or at least it takes place after the events in Jirale. Mainly I just wanted to explain how the war ends, because Jirale never *really* explains that.

This is just the first bit of Chapter One, I won't be posting entire chapters here, because you guys won't read entire chapters...

Also, A LOT of names differ from The Last Stand and Jirale (in fact, pick any story from Jirale and there will always be name changes because I just can't make up my mind).

Check out my profile on NaNoWriMo.

~

Current Word Count: 14398
Words Left To Count: 35602
Days Left: 28

Chapter One
Mizu Tokai - Min Sen

Aya Mizuno sat beside her brother Ken on the shores of her city, Mizu Tokai. Before her to the east was the great lake Unabara that she had lived next to her entire life, and now only small portions of it still belonged to her and her people. For over a thousand of years her people had lived on this shore and sailed this lake, but now Sær was taking it over piece by piece. Their border surrounded Mizu Tokai. If they travelled south along the Unabara, they would come face to face with Sær’s army, if they went too far east on the Unabara, there waited Sær’s armada.

Before Sær had begun advancing north, Mizu Tokai had been the largest and greatest in all of Irare. It was said to have been discovered by their God, Jirale himself, after the first Great War. The first Seiken, a warrior trained in the arts of Irare also lived in Mizu Tokai; and together with the son of Jirale, set out and defeated the demon Yousei that plague their country hundreds of years ago, so the stories went. From this city their country Irare was united, and it stood tall and proud with its great towers cut from the white stone found around the Unabara and spanning ports which once held the greatest ships on sea and sky.

Now only a shadow of a once great city was still alive. The towers were almost all crumbled, and the port stood nearly empty. They were under constant barrage and threat by the Sær army, which had been steadily advancing North along the Unabara, now trying to take a key city of Irare. If they fell, the coast and all of the Unabara would belong to Sær and nothing would stop them from heading west and taking the capital, Sujou.

Most of Irare's army and the handful of highly trained warrior Seiken who still lived were protecting Mizu Tokai. Ken Mizuno was one such Seiken who had been fighting non-stop for nearly three years now, waiting for aid that might never come. He was on a leave of absence, visiting with the remaining member of his family, his little sister two years younger than him. It was the first they had seen of each other in months.

"We sent a messenger or two," Ken started talking as he stripped off his armour, getting ready to bathe in the lake. He turned to Aya. "They were supposed to follow the mountains south until they reach Nan Riku."

Aya thought that over, thinking about the far away country Nan Riku, though named Jugo Zemlya by the natives, and South Land by those from Sær. The country lived up to its name, for it was found just south of Sær. The mesengers were going there to ask for help. Wo-Quo, the country to the west of Irare would not help them, afraid that Sær would then turn their attention to them as well. Their only hope seemed to be in this small country found far, far from their own home. "Do you think that the Nan will help us?"

Ken shrugged and, now naked, he went into the cool water, the blood and dirt collected from war washed from his body. Years of pains seemed to disappear as the Unabara washed over him. "If Wo-Quo won't come to our aid... we have no one else to ask help from."

“I wonder if anyone from Irare has even travelled there, at least recently."

"Delegates some years ago I imagine..."

Aya let her brother swim around some more in silence. She knew that he rarely had a chance to leave the front and come north to see her or to be able to wash himself. Aya could remember a time when their entire family had been together, swimming and laughing on the shore of the Unabara. Her parents, now only two more victims in this horrible war and her younger brother Subaru. Subaru was not dead, true, but she had not seen him for 11 years and only knew him now from letters - letters which had not come now for months.

She closed her eyes and imagined what it would be like if they won the war. Maybe Subaru would then be able to come home, with all the other Seiken that had been training with Yuuki, a great Seiken of his own time. The new and old Seiken would meet and make sure that Sær never attacked again. Subaru and Ken would return home because there was no more fighting and they could be a family together. They would live happily ever after. Though she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for this war to end... and would the end come because they fell?

"We won't hold out much longer, will we?"

"We will... maybe six more months at the most."

Aya felt the cold of autumn bite at her suddenly. "Six months?"

"More and more men die every day, there are maybe a dozen Seiken left and Sær are more ruthless than ever. Supplies will also run out soon, Sujou and the Mizuumi have given us all the support that they can and the cities to the south are too concerned with keeping Sær from attacking their borders to help us... Time is running out."

"What about help from Shino Boku?" Aya asked, referring to the people who lived deep in the forest between Sujou and the Mizumi, west of where they lived. They were a tall a graceful people who had long ago began living above the ground in the trees. Once there had been a need for that, when the Yousei had lived in the forest.

"They say they can't help us yet, that they're not ready for a war."

"And who really is?" Aya held her tears back. "I wish I could help."

Ken rose from the water, reaching for his curved sword, the sword of a Seiken, and armour once more. "I know."

~

(In the end of the chapter, Aya is getting ready to leave Irare and get help.)