Sacrifice Everything

This is an extract of the first story that I have written for my (crosses fingers) potential book.

There might be some errors, grammatical and otherwise. Hope you enjoy it!

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Sacrifice Everything

Personal Diary of the Commander of the 7^th Honour Guard

Location: Mlimanjaro Citadel on African Plateau

Date: UNKNOWN

14.370 Units

“Company Halt!” I barked, as the 7^th division neared the edge of the citadel walls.

I turned behind and observed my group of 64 fighters gathered around the edge of the walls. Down below, I could see our brethren getting into similar positions. They were magnificent; born in tranquillity, trained for security, but destined to die in chaos.

My fighters were all 6 feet tall, strong enough to wrestle an elephant and quiet enough to sneak up on the deadly serpents that roamed the fields around the citadel. But all the warriors of the citadel were trained to be like that. This made the sole requirement to be an Honour Guard was to be handpicked by the Goddess.

 As I prepared to address them and could immediately feel their gazes fall on me, the runt of the litter, at a miniscule 5’9ft, whom had surpassed all odds, and stereotypes, to get to this posting.

The Honour Guard was usually comprised of the biggest warriors and the smartest tacticians. I failed most battle simulation during training, and the day that I stopped growing taller, I felt that my dream of being an Honour Guard was gone.

But the Goddess had other plans, you see, when we are young, we are judged by the Goddess and labelled as being worthy to defend the citadel when needed. At the age of 4, we are thrown into a world of war and hardship where we fight to survive. If you’re not trained for war, you become symbols of peace and prosperity as scholars, farmers, or metal-smiths, the backbone of the Grand Citadel.

After nearly 13 years of training, my platoon of nearly 400 men and women marched up the five levels of the citadel towards the stairway that descended towards the Goddesses temple. As we marched, I had one thought in my mind that I was going to prove myself worthy of the title of Honour Guard.  As we reached the staircase, I cast my eyes down into the abyss I knew I was meant to be here.

The citadel was built with the sole purpose of protecting the temple of the Goddess and its secrets. The citadel was constructed in a conical shape, to simulate the volcanoes that once stood majestically on these plains. The end result was an artificial mountain, which stood majestically over the green forest that spread out over the rolling hills that surrounded the citadel. With the blessing of the Goddess, we named it Mlimanjaro.

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There is more, A LOT MORE

Hope you're hungry!