Status: I was bored in class....and so I collaborated with a friend in efforts to make a terribly stupid story that shall entertain like no other.
Age of Perdition
Sir Hodja
In the Kingdom of Balcore, there were numerous large-scale companies of which the rich owners did not tolerate any bit of childishness or "fun". Of these, one of the most powerful companies was known as Kohodja Corporation, one of which dealt with the creation of the finest weaponry money could buy. The owner of this corporation went by the name of Thomas J. Hodja. He was a powerful man with an extraordinary mind. But in that vast mind of power was no room for kindness, for he cared only for himself and his company.
Many years beforehand, Sir Hodja was wedded to a woman by the name of Elizabeth Coswell. Unlike Thomas, she had more interest in adventure and love than absolute power and money. Her father had been a very rich man, king of Balcore, in fact. Meanwhile, Hodja had grown up as a normal citizen, son of two very successful merchants. When he and Elizabeth had met, she fell in love with him. And he had loved her too....that is, until he discovered that she was the heir to the throne. From that point on, his love was all but an act. His true lust was for that of her money and power. And so, he asked for her hand, and grew his parents' weaponry business into a vast corporation.
It wasn't but three years after the two began their lives together that the king had been poisoned and killed. Sir Hodja quickly took control of the situation, as the kingdom was in panic. He immediately had arrested every merchant in the kingdom whom sold rat poisoning or anything of the like. And thereafter, he held a ceremony in the name of the lost king, of which the prisoners were stripped down and had their arms tied behind their backs, with a potato sack tied loosely around their necks, covering their heads completely. The entire kingdom had been forced to watch as the new king, Sir Hodja, convinced them that these poison merchants were responsible for their king's death.
Then, the prisoners were tied standing to poles in the middle of what had previously been used as a jousting stadium and was now being used as a public demonstration of what happens when one commits a crime. The citizens flocked into the stands, some by force. Many were terrified, some in tears. But some of the prisoners' previous merchant competitors cheered on the ceremony, for they believed this ceremony only to serve as public humiliation. But it wasn't long before their smiles disappeared and utter horror creeped onto their faces.
What the crowd saw as they looked down onto the center field, was not simple public humiliation. What they saw was barbarous and cruel and utterly heart-breaking. They were forced to watch in horror as Sir Hodja's guards slit the prisoners' stomachs, whose screams of pain and terror were muffled by the sacks, and then pulled their intestines outward and stretched them to the next prisoner's pole. Each spaced ten feet apart, formed in a circle, the prisoners' muffled screams could be heard from the crowd of citizens whom were themselves screaming and crying and covering their mouths, horrified by what they were seeing before them.
But the horror was not over, for the guards and Sir Hodja had stepped out of the stadium and into the sidelines. They knew what this meant. A beast would soon be set loose within the stadium. And it was. A vile creature termed the Boogenwurf was set loose into the stadium center. It was larger than a bull and had tusks like a warthog, yet it's face was like that of a lion, only flat and squished together. It's eyes were large and bulging and very intimidating. Its paws were abnormally large compared to that of a lion's; almost three or four times the size. And the claws were a light brown and very long and were not extractable like a normal feline's. The body of the beast was rather long and slim, yet hefty and buff with muscle. The tail was long and slim as well and was tipped with bristled fur. The creature was omnivorous, yet most of its teeth were fiercely sharp and jagged. Its deep, chestnut-brown fur was short and brittle and had a horrid stench, like raw sewage and decaying flesh.
As the gate was opened to release the creature, it stampeded out into the center, smelling the fresh stench of blood and guts. Without hesitation, it pounced at one of the strands of intestine stretched out from a man's stomach, and the force of its bite immediately pulled the intestines and ripped the innards out from the man's body. Not only this, but his spine snapped with the impact and his body tore in half. Blood gushed out and splattered everywhere, and the entire audience was sent into panic, screaming and crying, running about in fear.
The guards refused to let the citizens go before the execution ceremony had been completed. They were forced to sit once more, as they covered their eyes and froze in place from the terror of seeing their had-been friends being torn to pieces and eaten by the rare creature, some still alive in the process...
----------
That night was like hell for the citizens. The new king forbade them from any public memorial services for the victims, for why should these assassins be remembered on good terms? Families, friends, and even the victims' past competitors all hung their heads and experienced great trepidation over the night. They could not sleep, not one of them. Everything would change after this. Nothing would be the same. Ever. As the new king had ended the execution and set the creature back in its cage, he announced that this ceremony would become an annual tradition in honor of King Coswell.
"From this point on," he had begun. "No crime will be left unpunished."
The ceremony was termed "Cosja," and it had soon become known across the lands, making Balcore the "Hell Kingdom" and naming Thomas J. Hodja the founder of the new age, the Age of Perdition.
Many years beforehand, Sir Hodja was wedded to a woman by the name of Elizabeth Coswell. Unlike Thomas, she had more interest in adventure and love than absolute power and money. Her father had been a very rich man, king of Balcore, in fact. Meanwhile, Hodja had grown up as a normal citizen, son of two very successful merchants. When he and Elizabeth had met, she fell in love with him. And he had loved her too....that is, until he discovered that she was the heir to the throne. From that point on, his love was all but an act. His true lust was for that of her money and power. And so, he asked for her hand, and grew his parents' weaponry business into a vast corporation.
It wasn't but three years after the two began their lives together that the king had been poisoned and killed. Sir Hodja quickly took control of the situation, as the kingdom was in panic. He immediately had arrested every merchant in the kingdom whom sold rat poisoning or anything of the like. And thereafter, he held a ceremony in the name of the lost king, of which the prisoners were stripped down and had their arms tied behind their backs, with a potato sack tied loosely around their necks, covering their heads completely. The entire kingdom had been forced to watch as the new king, Sir Hodja, convinced them that these poison merchants were responsible for their king's death.
Then, the prisoners were tied standing to poles in the middle of what had previously been used as a jousting stadium and was now being used as a public demonstration of what happens when one commits a crime. The citizens flocked into the stands, some by force. Many were terrified, some in tears. But some of the prisoners' previous merchant competitors cheered on the ceremony, for they believed this ceremony only to serve as public humiliation. But it wasn't long before their smiles disappeared and utter horror creeped onto their faces.
What the crowd saw as they looked down onto the center field, was not simple public humiliation. What they saw was barbarous and cruel and utterly heart-breaking. They were forced to watch in horror as Sir Hodja's guards slit the prisoners' stomachs, whose screams of pain and terror were muffled by the sacks, and then pulled their intestines outward and stretched them to the next prisoner's pole. Each spaced ten feet apart, formed in a circle, the prisoners' muffled screams could be heard from the crowd of citizens whom were themselves screaming and crying and covering their mouths, horrified by what they were seeing before them.
But the horror was not over, for the guards and Sir Hodja had stepped out of the stadium and into the sidelines. They knew what this meant. A beast would soon be set loose within the stadium. And it was. A vile creature termed the Boogenwurf was set loose into the stadium center. It was larger than a bull and had tusks like a warthog, yet it's face was like that of a lion, only flat and squished together. It's eyes were large and bulging and very intimidating. Its paws were abnormally large compared to that of a lion's; almost three or four times the size. And the claws were a light brown and very long and were not extractable like a normal feline's. The body of the beast was rather long and slim, yet hefty and buff with muscle. The tail was long and slim as well and was tipped with bristled fur. The creature was omnivorous, yet most of its teeth were fiercely sharp and jagged. Its deep, chestnut-brown fur was short and brittle and had a horrid stench, like raw sewage and decaying flesh.
As the gate was opened to release the creature, it stampeded out into the center, smelling the fresh stench of blood and guts. Without hesitation, it pounced at one of the strands of intestine stretched out from a man's stomach, and the force of its bite immediately pulled the intestines and ripped the innards out from the man's body. Not only this, but his spine snapped with the impact and his body tore in half. Blood gushed out and splattered everywhere, and the entire audience was sent into panic, screaming and crying, running about in fear.
The guards refused to let the citizens go before the execution ceremony had been completed. They were forced to sit once more, as they covered their eyes and froze in place from the terror of seeing their had-been friends being torn to pieces and eaten by the rare creature, some still alive in the process...
----------
That night was like hell for the citizens. The new king forbade them from any public memorial services for the victims, for why should these assassins be remembered on good terms? Families, friends, and even the victims' past competitors all hung their heads and experienced great trepidation over the night. They could not sleep, not one of them. Everything would change after this. Nothing would be the same. Ever. As the new king had ended the execution and set the creature back in its cage, he announced that this ceremony would become an annual tradition in honor of King Coswell.
"From this point on," he had begun. "No crime will be left unpunished."
The ceremony was termed "Cosja," and it had soon become known across the lands, making Balcore the "Hell Kingdom" and naming Thomas J. Hodja the founder of the new age, the Age of Perdition.
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