Greetings. I am Thomas, soldier of The Great White King Alvin (may he live forever). Well, actually, I am a pawn. Here, I recount the tale of our great battle against the Black Wizard Horus and his army.
We are chess pieces, yet we do not only live in battles. When no one is looking or listening, we live like normal people.
I live in the Land of the Chessboard, in the White Castle, spending most of my time in the Pawn's Chamber. It is a very big room, as big as a quart of the Throne Room, but it is not enough for me and seven other pawns: Gawain, Howard, Jonathan, Arthur, William, Henry and Oliver. There are only five beds (and not very comfortable ones at that), so we take turns sleeping on the floor.
Our knights are certainly better off. The two of them, Sir Joseph and Sir Henry, sleep in a bedroom with a fireplace and servant bells. In addition, there are at least 50 other reinforcement knights, in case any knights get slain in battle. Snobs!
The bishops, Father Peter and Father John (Henry and John are popular names), are friendlier. Father John talks with me about religion in the evening.
The queen. Hmm. We never really see her, but we know that: She is the most beautiful woman in the world. She has a solid ruby bed (doesn't sound comfortable). Her eyes are all the colours of the Rainthread. She is the daughter of a fairy. Her baby has magic powers. That proves how true pawn gossip is.
Our king, King Alvin, is wonderful! He is kind and just... and terrifying. When William lost his comb he... oh, anyway.
Some weeks ago, I found a letter in the tower. I showed it to the king. It said:
"Surrendere. If you do not, I wille destroye your castle. You have exactly one weeke to reply. Be warned, I am not merciful."
The Black Wizard. Not another foolish battle. Aye, another battle.
King Alvin (may he live forever) would not surrender. The others would slay us anyway. We polished our army. The knights practised horse riding. The bishops prayed for hours without stopping. The rooks (that's right, our castle) practised stomping. My patience was tested. We assembled our Great White army some distance from the castle. I talked with Arthur before the battle.
"Do you think we will win?" I asked.
"The wizard's army is as big as ours. Our chances are even, yet we have the offensive," he responded calmly.
"What is that?"
"Surprise."
The next morning, we woke early. The Black Wizard's army was in the distance, waiting. I gulped as I saw how well armed they were.
We had a sword and a shield. They had two long swords, a dagger, a short bow, arrows and a huge metal shield. Though I am usually brave, I was scared stiff.
Before we began, Father John preached to everyone about bravery, honour and trust. He said we had to all work jointly in order to win.
The bugles were blown. I took a deep breath. This was for my castle and my king.
Checkmate continues next week, when you can find out who will be the victors.
We are chess pieces, yet we do not only live in battles. When no one is looking or listening, we live like normal people.
I live in the Land of the Chessboard, in the White Castle, spending most of my time in the Pawn's Chamber. It is a very big room, as big as a quart of the Throne Room, but it is not enough for me and seven other pawns: Gawain, Howard, Jonathan, Arthur, William, Henry and Oliver. There are only five beds (and not very comfortable ones at that), so we take turns sleeping on the floor.
Our knights are certainly better off. The two of them, Sir Joseph and Sir Henry, sleep in a bedroom with a fireplace and servant bells. In addition, there are at least 50 other reinforcement knights, in case any knights get slain in battle. Snobs!
The bishops, Father Peter and Father John (Henry and John are popular names), are friendlier. Father John talks with me about religion in the evening.
The queen. Hmm. We never really see her, but we know that: She is the most beautiful woman in the world. She has a solid ruby bed (doesn't sound comfortable). Her eyes are all the colours of the Rainthread. She is the daughter of a fairy. Her baby has magic powers. That proves how true pawn gossip is.
Our king, King Alvin, is wonderful! He is kind and just... and terrifying. When William lost his comb he... oh, anyway.
Some weeks ago, I found a letter in the tower. I showed it to the king. It said:
"Surrendere. If you do not, I wille destroye your castle. You have exactly one weeke to reply. Be warned, I am not merciful."
The Black Wizard. Not another foolish battle. Aye, another battle.
King Alvin (may he live forever) would not surrender. The others would slay us anyway. We polished our army. The knights practised horse riding. The bishops prayed for hours without stopping. The rooks (that's right, our castle) practised stomping. My patience was tested. We assembled our Great White army some distance from the castle. I talked with Arthur before the battle.
"Do you think we will win?" I asked.
"The wizard's army is as big as ours. Our chances are even, yet we have the offensive," he responded calmly.
"What is that?"
"Surprise."
The next morning, we woke early. The Black Wizard's army was in the distance, waiting. I gulped as I saw how well armed they were.
We had a sword and a shield. They had two long swords, a dagger, a short bow, arrows and a huge metal shield. Though I am usually brave, I was scared stiff.
Before we began, Father John preached to everyone about bravery, honour and trust. He said we had to all work jointly in order to win.
The bugles were blown. I took a deep breath. This was for my castle and my king.
Checkmate continues next week, when you can find out who will be the victors.