act three: a warrior's resolve
The elder King Dominic stood before the untold legions of men brought forth upon him by the roaring lion. Though he stood alone, he stood fearless before them with his sword drawn proud. Arrows flew through the air and soldiers marched forward with grim determination, the former young King Carmine leading the advance with eyes locked upon King Dominic's own.
The good King Dominic could see the anger and frustration radiating from Carmine's eyes... he fed off of that energy, off of that hatred. He fed off of it in preparation for what he might turn that into. Those men who would be killers of kings, the soldiers marching forward past their leader's rank... those who would charge King Dominic before their own king's advance were quickly cut down in their place and cast aside to make way for the roaring lion approaching him.
King Dominic smiled. It would be the third time he would meet the once young king in combat, and through mistaken ideals and misguided prophecies, the roaring lion somehow had it in his head that their third battle would be a blessing for him in that he would reconquer his former kingdom. Dominic could see it in the eyes of his foe, and as he continued to cut down any who drew near... Dominic began to speak to his enemy, drawing all the ire from his body in hopes of directing it at himself in battle.
In hopes of the greatest fight possible before the bravado of the once young king was ripped out from his chest, and the roaring lion was silenced in preparation for what would eventually be his greatest lesson yet taught to him by the elder King Dominic.
"Your ally has fallen to the wayside, my own ally sits safely within my kingdom, protected by its walls. A thousand of your soldiers, fallen by my side... ten-thousand by my right, and yet I stand before you entirely unharmed. I ask of you now, you would-be King of Man... who shall save you on this day?"
The proud young man, the skillful, naive warrior... the roaring lion that was the former King Carmine glared back at his foe with his own sword drawn, hands gripping the weapon firm... ready for the battle ahead. At first, his stubbornness refused for him to answer; however, inevitably... the young man had known the elder King Dominic's words from the past, and he knew what he was implying when he spoke them.
"I shall need no savior today," spoke the roaring lion, his voice surprisingly quieted by the grim nature of their battle, "And you shall be met with none as well, where you shall need them most of all."
The good king smiled in return, lifting his hand and snatching an arrow from the air as it flew past, snapping the weapon in two such as a twig, and bringing width to the eyes of the young man before him.
"You are brave, I may reward you that... but if you are to be the king you desire, you've much training to do, young Carmine... return unto me another day, when you might better stand a chance against me, for as it stands..."
The good king's eyes turned to glare into the eyes of the roaring lion, as he lowered his arm from its raised position. No longer was there a sense of joy in the eyes of the king, nothing but a fiery rage and a passion for the fight, a desire to end what Carmine had attempted to begin... and a method to prepare his kingdom for the coming invasion from the far east.
Darkly, he spoke; "Your allies have fallen, your men will surely fall with them... and you? Well... you're no better off than any of them, now, are you?"
The king leaned forward, skillfully ducking the swing of Carmine's blade and knocking forth the sword from the roaring lion's hand, his own hand coming up to grip Carmine by the chest of his shirt, the elder king's face only inches away from the petrified lion now standing before him.
"Be your savior on this day," the king spoke with a glare, as Carmine's men stood down in the face of their captured king, concerned for his safety in the hands of the enemy, "Go, prepare... and live to fight me another time. For even with the help of the armies of the outer lands... even with the loyalty of your precious ally-in-arms... not even the Messiah could have saved you on this day."
And thus, despite the mountain of men marching upon his doorstep, and despite the ocean of blood they'd threatened to materialize from within his kingdom's walls... King Dominic had stood alone against the coming forces, and he had triumphed as predicted.
He had sent the roaring lion and his men to the outer lands once again, he had prepared himself for the coming invasion from the far east and, in the end... he had hoped to bring doubt into the mind of the once young King Carmine, a doubt that would destroy his bravado... and make way for a desire to evolve, expand, and grow into the king that King Dominic knew he was destined to become one day.
Thus the same names are spoken... the same stories told... and throughout all of time, the outcomes stay the same. The kingdom shall not fall, its walls shall not crumble... and a roaring lion will be temporarily silenced, so that it may one day roar greater than ever before.
All the while, the proud king fights forward for his people... and performs as the one-man army he knows they need him to be.