by Clark Graham
When Armurous awoke, the Governor of South Fort was standing by his bedside. "Good morning, they said that the commander of the Elves had arrived and I wanted to great you personally."
"Thank you, I would get up and shake your hand, but under the circumstances, I will just greet you from here." Armurous said.
The Governor nodded his head, "I understand. We will get you mostly healed up and ship you off the Santera. I hear they are doing a wonderful job in the old city."
"It has been a day of enlightenment to me; I have found out that some of my people don't want to go home. And that the most evil Elf that has ever lived is now pardoned. Now I hear that the Dwarves, my ancient enemy, are saving my land from destruction. Do you have anything else to add to this?"
"I can add to that. The Valkyrie are still alive and now have moved back to the Lost City. Dwarves now occupy the Mountains of Iron again and they have a friend of mine as their Prince. He is a Human. The most marvelous thing though is that Vil Loree has been found."
Armurous just lay there trying to take it all in. He finally said, "The Golden City has been found. Do you think that the Dwarves would let me see it someday?" He was hopefull.
"It has been declared an open city for all of Elvenshore. Everyone is allowed to visit it."
Armurous had a big smile on his face. "You have just given this tired, wounded and disillusioned Elf a reason to get better."
"Glad I could be of service. Now tell me, how is the war in the Far Shore going?"
Armurous took his time explaining everything that had happened up till the time he was evacuated. The war against the Trolls seemed impossible to win. More and more of the Elves were getting killed. It was not going well.
The Death of the Queen
Fawn had only wanted to be a few days in the Hidden City, but when she saw how frail her mother was, she decided to stay and take care of her. Some of the Queen's advisors secretly told Fawn that the only thing that had kept her mother alive was her desire to see her daughter and to apologize to her for having her shunned. The old ways were no longer working and the Valkyrie had even made enemies with the Elf. It was time for a new era to be ushered in, and the old Queen knew that it was up to the next generation to do so. She had resisted Fawn's way of doing things, and now she was embracing them.
After a week of being in the city, Fawn was awakened in the middle of the night. "It's the Queen, the advisor said sadly. “She passed in the night."
Fawn rushed to the Queen’s bedside. The old Queen looked peaceful, having at last made amends to her daughter. Fawn slumped down at the foot of the bed and cried.
After several of hours of sitting by her mother’s bedside, one of the advisors came to get Fawn. "It's time you had something to eat."
"If only I had come sooner, I could have spent more time with her."
The advisor smiled a knowing smile and said, "If you had come earlier, she would have died earlier. It is now time to eat. After you eat and we get you out of your sleeping clothes, we will dress you and coronate you as the Queen. It has to be done as soon as possible after the death of the old Queen. The Valkyrie need their Monarch."
It was like a slap in the face to Fawn that brought her back to the living. "I am to be Queen?"
"Yes, you were always to be the next Queen, even while you were shunned. It was your mother's declaration."
Fawn let herself be led away to eat. After she bathed, she was dressed in the finest dress that she had ever worn. It was pure silver in color and had a lace neckline. Pearl adorned the front, with lace around the ends of the sleeves. When she entered the throne room, there were the inhabitants of the Hidden City lining both walls all the way down to the end of the room where the throne sat. When Fawn walked down in between the rows of women,they all bowed to her.Her heart was a mixture of grief for her mother and awe at being made Queen.
When she reached the throne, she turned to face the Valkyrie. The Queen's advisor gave her the golden sword of the Valkyrie and the silver and gold crown when Fawn sat down on the throne.
The Queen's advisor addressed the crowd. "As we mourn the death of our old Queen, we rejoice in our new Queen. Our journey through this life is bitter sweet, the changing of the seasons brings the changes to our lives. To the old Queen we wish you to rest in peace, to the new Queen we wish you a long life."
The crowd echoed the last thing the advisor said, "We wish you a long life."
The crown was taken off of Fawn's lap by the advisor and placed on her head, making her the Queen of the Valkyrie. After looking around the room at the faces, she felt the support of the Vakyrie.
After the crowning of the new Queen it was time to bury the old one. With many tears and mourning she was laid in the crypt next to the city. Fawn stared at the gray stone enclosure that now held the remains of her mother and her mother's mother and would one day hold her own remains. It was one of the saddest days in her life.
The Queen selects her own heir, and Fawn had not always been the best daughter. She thought that her rebellious youth had doomed her chances. It was not something she had ever aspired to. Then when she went against four hundred years of Valkyrie tradition and married, she knew that her mother would have picked another heir instead of her. To find out that she had been the heir all along had shocked her.
It was time to lead the Valkyrie in a different direction, and Fawn was the perfect person to do it.
Now was time to mourn her mother, but in the a few days she was going to change the world of the Valkyrie.
Those days passed slowly with Fawn's heart heavy for the loss of her mother. Then one day, when she felt it was time, she sat down on the throne, called her advisor and a scribe to her. When they arrived she gave her first command as Queen. "We will no longer seduce the unsuspecting with the songs as we have done over the past four hundred years. We will marry like the Humans, Dwarves and Elves do. We will have our own wedding ceremony, and will not use the ones of the Dwarves."
Her ceremony, when she married Sarchise was just some words in old Dwarfish that she did not understand and a nodding of the head. She felt that it should have been much more than that.
Fawn continued, "Our capital city will now be the Lost City. There is a hall there that was used in ancient days for the palace of the Queen. We will use that again. I will maintain a garrison here at the Hidden City because we don't know what our future holds and someday we may need to retreat again to this place."
After she had finished talking, Fawn expected a backlash from her mother's old advisor, but all the wise old women said was, "It is time. I told your mother over and over again that we needed to leave the old ways."
Fawn wasn't done. “ I will now pack my things and have you take them with you to the Lost City. I have to make a stop at the Mountains of Iron. Then I will join you there."
"I understand," said the advisor and then she walked away to make arraignments for the mass exodus of the city.
Fawn just sat at the throne for a minute and thought, 'I guess when the Queen speaks, that is that.' Now that she knew the power she had, she would be careful with that power and use it only for the betterment of the Valkyrie.
The next morning, after she finished packing, Fawn set out on horseback to the Mountains of Iron. She took ten of her warriors with her. The King's road had been made safe after the peace treaty between the Humans, but she was now a Queen and her advisor had insisted on having a few guards around her.
They stayed in the Taverns along the road and reached the Mountains of Iron in a few days. The first thing she did was to go talk to King Cazz.
When Cazz entered the room she stated firmly, "I want to take Sarchise's sons, Ramus and Togeri, with me to the Lost City."
The King smiled, "I thought that you would do that. The only time you were happy here under the mountain was when you were enjoying the fresh air of the watch post." He then sent runners to find Lessla and Shira the nursemaids and to go get the boys.
When the
two nursemaids arrived, they brought four bags with them each. Fawn was surprised and asked, "Is that all of the boys things?"
Lessla spoke up, "No only the small bag is theirs, the rest is ours; we are going with you."
Shira then added, "The Valkyrie have always been welcome among the Dwarves and the Dwarves have always been welcomed among the Valkyrie. Besides now that the twins are crawling, they are a handful, getting into everything. You are going to need our help."
Fawn laughed, "Of course, how could I have thought about taking the boys without taking you with me." Fawn was just realizing that she wasn't going to be able to separate those two nursemaids from the boys even if she wanted to.
When they had everyone packed up for the journey to the Lost City they took out. It was an easy ride out to the fort on the plains of Zor and they made it in one day. The fort was only garrisoned by small army, due to the fact that some of the warriors were fighting on the Far Shore. After three more days on the King's road they arrived at the Lost City.
Exploring the Destruction
The Far Shore
The only thing that Sarchise had seen of the Far Shore was the area around Vil Mawe, so he was curious as to what the land looked like. His warriors and he marched out over the ramp across the moat and out onto the new land.
The land was different that Elvenshore, they saw immediately. The forest seemed to grow all over, instead of just several large areas. Sarchise noticed the dirt road instead of the nice cobblestone of the King's road he was used to. After traveling on it for a few miles he decided it wasn't that bad. It was obviously well kept up and tended.
The Dwarves marched on all day and camped that night on one of the many hills. Sarchise set out guards in case the Trolls decided to return.
The Elves had set out hours later than the Dwarves. To Verian the land seemed eerily quiet. He was used to traffic along the road between the seaport and the Capital, but there was none, only his own army marching along. He came across the Dwarves on the hillside.
He had been so angry when he had first seen the Dwarves disembarking the ship. He had thought that of all the races in Elvenshore why did they send who they did? The least capable? Now that he had seen them fight he was in awe of their fearlessness and ferocity. He knew now why his forefathers had made peace with the Dwarves instead of trying to defeat them. It would have cost the Elves a lot more warriors and there was no guarantee of victory. He was glad that they were now on his side.
Verian had his men stop at the base of the same hill that the Dwarves were on to make camp. The Capital city was not that far away, but there was no real reason to go there as it was surely in ruins. He had seen it burn night after night while he waited for the attack on Vil Mawe.
After his warrior's camp was all set up, Verian climbed the hill to talk to Sarchise and his commanders. He took Istuin with him.
"The Humans are out scouting and keeping an eye out on the mountain for any sign of movement. We should have an early warning if there are Trolls about," Verian said.
Sarchise replied, "I don't know the lay of your land, is there anything besides Trolls I should be on the lookout for? In my land there are bears and giant spiders that will eat you. Do you have anything like that here?"
"The Humans have killed off the dangerous predators years ago. The land is safe."
"That is good to know," Sarchise replied with relief.
Verian had brought a map with him and he spread it out on a nearby table. "We are almost at the Capital city. In the morning, we will survey the damage. I would like to go slow and not rush the mountain. Give ourselves a few days to see if these monsters are actually not coming out any more."
"That sounds wise. My Dwarves are good in battle but they do have short legs and don't travel very fast," Sarchise confessed.
"Why don't you continue down the road then on the way to Morgus Tier? The Elves will take a look at the damage to the Capital. You had no idea what the city looked like before, so seeing it will not mean that much to you. We will head out before you in the morning and after we finish at the Capital, we will catch up with you on the road," Verian said.
Sarchise looked at the map. "Yes, that is a good idea. We will be on the road to that crossroads when I see you tomorrow."
Verian and Istuin made their way down the hill after the meeting. When the Elves had settled down for the evening, Verian was awakened by one of the guards of the camp. "Sir, the Chancellor has come during the night and is camping among us. He is on his way back to the Capital."
He thanked the guard and then made his way to where the Chancellor was. "Chancellor Kolis, I would have preferred that you stayed in Vil Mawe where I left a part of the Elf army. Out here you are exposed."
Kolis smiled at him, "You would have no great loss at my death, I have been a lousy Chancellor and I will be easily replaced. I want my legacy to be the rebuilder of the Capital city. I have some volunteers coming in the morning from among the refugees to help me. I wanted to get an early start."
Verian was unhappy at what the Chancellor had done. "I am sending a rider to stop your volunteers from coming. I cannot order you, as you are the Chancellor, but I have already evacuated those people once and will not do it again until I know the disposition of the enemy. We were under attack just a few days ago and there is no reason to believe the war is over."
Verian stomped out of the room and then dispatched a rider back to Vil Mawe.
The morning sun was bright as the Elves marched out of the camp. Sarchise watched them go as he ate his breakfast. Rabbit was plentiful in the area and was a favorite of the Dwarves.The Dwarves were also soon on the road. When they passed the Capital he could see through, the open gate, the Elves inspecting the ruins. All the buildings had been smashed and burned. There was hardly anything left of the city. Sarchise could only imagine what it had looked like at one time. He had seen the Elf cities on Elvenshore; he imagined that it had been similar to one of those. The Dwarves marched past and left the Elves there.
Soon the Elves were back on the road. Verian had stopped at the Capital; now he wondered why he had done that. His men had sat there in stunned silence, looking at where their homes and families had once lived. It destroyed the morale of the Elves. You could only really make out where the streets used to be because they were the only clear spot in the piles of burnt down buildings. It would have been bad enough for the Trolls to burn everything, but they had smashed the buildings first and then burned them, then the stomped on the ruins till every thing was nearly flat.
That night Sarchise camped across from the burned out town of Morgus Tier. The walls were still standing, except for the north wall where the Trolls had broken through. Again, all of the buildings had been smashed and burned. The gate was still open as the retreating Elves had left it. It was just amazing the amount of destruction that had been wrought by the angry beasts. To Sarchise, that type of destruction was senseless. It did not benefit those that had destroyed it.
It was the first time that Sarchise had seen the mountain close up. He had only seen at a distance and through the mists that seem to rise above the forests of the land. It was even taller than high mountain, and he knew his Dwarves would be wondering what type of treasures lay inside. The mountain had snow on it that was thick at the top and then as it came down the mountain, it got thinner, and clung to the rocks that jetted out. The foothills were lush with vegetation but when it got to the mountain, it was just bare gray jagged rocks.
Dwarf Feast Around the Bonfire
The Elves caught up and camped next to the Dwarves later that day. That night a brilliant the Dwarves lit a bonfire and it brightened up the night sky. Verian and Istuin made their way over there to see what was happening. The Dwarf hunters had been sent out after camp had been set up and had found plenty of game in the forest around Morgus Tier. Sarchise had broken out the ale he had been saving for a special occasion. His men had been through a lot and now a grueling two day march to top it off.
<
br /> Sarchise had decided that his army needed a rest and so he ordered a feast, since they had plenty of food. All of the dead wood that could be found in the forest was brought to the pit the Dwarves had dug. They made a bonfire to rival those that had been seen in the great halls of the Dwarves. The food was passed around and when everyone had eaten then the traditional songs started.
While sitting in our mountain, to our delight,
The Elves of the Far Shore asked us to fight
With a great and powerful enemy
And so we sailed over the Stormy Sea
The enemy was evil and he was tall
They made us hide behind a wall
Azram was the one to cut off a toe
But only Sarchise could kill the foe
The first of many hails was a "Hail Sarchise!” and then everyone drained their mugs. There were no server maidens traveling with the army so the newly recruited Dwarf warriors would have to do for servers. Sarchise had his ale watered down the way Fawn had taught him, so he would not end up as drunk as he had in the past.
Verian came up to him and Sarchise invited him and Istuin to sit down. Immediately, the Elves were given mugs and instructed in the traditions of the hails. Every time someone hailed someone it was time to drain the mugs.
"Hail, Verian," Sarchise yelled as he held up his mug. His men followed by calling out, "Hail Verian" and everyone drained their mugs. The servers refilled all of the mugs and then someone else was hailed.
Soon Verian and Istuin were decidedly drunk and stumbled back to their tents. That didn't stop the Dwarves from continuing the feast and it went on into the night. The next morning Verian slept late, not wanting to come out of his tent with his head so hung over. He looked out the flap of his tent to see how the Dwarves were faring and to his amazement;they didn't seem to have been affected by it at all.
