Chronicles of Den'dra: A Land Torn: Ancient Powers Awaken

by Spencer Johnson

  Reigns had appeared a couple days after the fever had set in. To Em'risi’s observant eyes he had appeared uneasy before hurrying away. A couple days later he had returned with a physician and for some reason the chamberlain had mysteriously fallen out a window of the tallest tower. The new chamberlain hovered about nervously and refused to meet her gaze. She hadn’t expected that Reigns would appoint someone who didn’t have something to hide from her to care for her father. The new chamberlain’s lights and colors were dim and clouded much like the old chamberlain’s had been. Illiad’s clammy hand gave her a weak squeeze and she leaned down to place her ear near the drawn face.

  “Do what Balinor asks.” The request was a whisper that Em'risi was barely able to decipher from his ragged breathing. One look at his lights showed that the light was for a moment more dominant than the darkness. A second later the black streaks contorted and the light was almost drowned out.

  “What did he say?” It irked Em'risi that Reigns had not the concern to limit his inquiries. Every time Illiad muttered something that the chancellor couldn’t make out he had demanded to know what had been said. The princess often wondered why he cared what the King’s final delirious words might be.

  “He said that he forgot to curry his favorite charger after riding him today.” Em'risi coolly looked the chancellor in the eye as she lied. He held the steady gaze for a second before glancing away.

  “That brute had been dead for years now.” Reigns muttered inconsiderately under his breath. Em'risi chose to ignore the comment. Dipping a cloth in a bowl of cool fragrant water she wiped her father’s brow. The only person she had ever loved lay dying before her and the man responsible was pacing behind her. It took all her self-control not to scream at the vile creature who seemed worried that the King might yet say something to upset his plans.

  “You should get some rest Em'risi.” The physician that had been in attendance for the last couple hours urged.

  “I won’t leave him. I can’t.” The princess ignored the hand placed on her shoulder as she watched the light struggling against the darkness that was consuming her father’s life force. Now only a feeble flicker that kept time with the heartbeat she could feel in the wrist she held. Silently she watched as the doomed battle for life grew closer to the inevitable end. The flicker grew dimmer yet until it was hardly discernable to her vision. Then the pulse of life began to decay from the pattern that had been the King’s for his entire life. The familiar pulse that had always illuminated his colors. Then it was gone. The heartbeat and the pulse of light. Without the life force to illuminate it even the darkness was gone. There was nothing in the clouded eyes that stared at the canopy over the bed. No reassuring glow could be seen. Nothing but the material part of her father remained. A familiar form ravaged by poison, disease and fever.

  Bereft of the only person in her life that had ever seen her as something other than a princess. Em'risi sat in stunned silence for a few seconds hoping against hope that the light would again return. That what she knew to be true would prove to be false. A nightmare that she would awake from. When her hopes were dashed on the truth her senses were telling her a hot tear slid down her face. Her head felt like it would explode from the pressure of the unescaped tears. The desire to rail against the fates was overwhelming. She might have turned on the monster that had precipitated this calamity if only she had the strength to lift a finger.

  “You really must get some rest. You can’t hope to be of any good to the King in your state my princess.” The physician again insisted.

  “You are right. Pardon me, I must get some rest.” Em'risi responded mechanically. Incredibly she had the strength to rise to her feet and make her way to the door. A servant had the good graces to open it for her and close it after she left. Her room was on the far side of the castle. Not feeling able to make it that distance she instead wandered towards a secluded alcove that she had frequented over the years for privacy.

  Sitting on the stone bench and staring out over the green fields outside the city she sank into a numb haze. Her vision blurred and her heart felt like it would break in two but she was unable to express her grief more adequately. Time ceased to have meaning. The green fields were now a shade of shadow darker than the sky. The moons were both skimming the horizon casting long shadows from anything that blocked the light’s path. Em'risi was watching the slow chase of the moons and the shifting shadows when she heard movement behind her.

  “Em'risi’?” She recognized Sir Balinor’s voice. Her father’s last words came back to her now along with her senses. She wanted to escape back into the mindless oblivion that had enveloped her only moments ago.

  “Is it time?” Em'risi rose to her feet and turned to the knight. She saw his face illuminated by the moon’s light even as hers fell into the shadows.

  “My lady, the King... He...” There was genuine pain on the knight’s face. Pain and concern.

  “Yes. My father is gone.” As Em'risi said the words it became real. The pain tore at her voice and turned the last syllable into a choke.

  “My Queen, I'm so sorry.” A deep silvery blue flash through Balinor’s lights. Em'risi was distracted for a moment as she thought such a beautiful color was poorly fitted for the sorrow she knew it to stand for. When the color subsided she realized what he had called her. It was something of a shock to hear it. The burden that the one simple word imparted slammed into her.

  “Sir Balinor, are we to leave now?” Em'risi’s thoughts emerged from the grief induced fog with painful clarity. Now as the ruling reagent Reigns would assume complete authority in her name. The atrocities that he would be sure to commit in that name would be laid at her feet. The people would have no justice. The people. They were all that mattered any more. The duty to the people. The only reason Em'risi had left to live was her responsibility to the people. As the Queen she was bound by that responsibility. Her father had abandoned the people to Reigns but she could not.

  “If we don’t get you to safety now then we may never be able. Reigns will not rest until you are under his complete control.” Sir Balinor sank to a knee and looked up into his queen’s face. “I failed to protect your father. He wanted me to protect you in his stead. I swear my life to your loyal service.”

  “Rise Sir Balinor. You haven’t failed my father yet. He chose his fate as punishment for his failings. Neither of us were able to dissuade him.”

  “My Queen, we must leave now. I took the liberty of packing a few of your things ahead of time.” Balinor stood and stepped to the entrance to the alcove. He was about to step out when Em'risi stopped him.

  “Not that way.” Em'risi and the knight stepped back into the shadows as a guard carrying a torch appeared in the hallway. After peering into the alcove from the doorway he moved on without seeing the two people pressed into the shadows. Em'risi watched as Balinor silently slid his blade back into its sheath a moment later.

  “The halls are filled with guards searching for me. This way.” Em'risi stepped to the far side of the alcove and pressed a small stone in the wall. A couple of the floorboards clicked and sprang up slightly. When Balinor lifted them he realized that they were a trap door leading to a set of spiraling stairs below. He led the way feeling for the next step in the pure darkness. Once Em'risi had pulled the door shut there was nothing in the way of light. The princess however was familiar with the passage and nimbly made her way down. The knight on the other hand was a little slower. At the bottom of the stair there was a short passage and a secret door that let into a servant’s hallway in the lower level of the keep. From there Balinor followed Em'risi out into the courtyard where they kept to the shadows.

  “Forgive me my Queen but I was unable to procure a proper carriage for you.” Balinor apologized under his breath as he followed Em'risi.

  “Nor would it have been wise to do so. Carriages move much slower than a single rider.” Em'risi paused at a door next to the stables.

  “If necessary we can ride double
riding is too much for you.” Balinor offered.

  “Sir Knight, I am my father’s daughter. I have been riding for years. You should not worry about me.”

  “Forgive me my Queen. I did not know. If you would follow me I have a couple horses saddled near the gate.” Balinor was about to take the lead when Em'risi rapped on the door she was standing in front of. Balinor barely refrained from cursing under his breath at the noise. He tried to pull Em'risi away from the door but was stymied when she resisted. A moment later and sounds from within approached the door. The door opened revealing a young man half-dressed and bleary eyes squinting at the shadowy forms.

  “Princess Em'risi. You look terrible!” The young man blurted out as soon as he recognized his visitor.

  “Curb your tongue servant or I will cut it out.” Balinor had a dagger drawn in preparation for carrying out his threat when Em'risi stepped past the man into the gloomy interior of the room.

  “Sir Balinor that will not be necessary.” Em'risi held a candle to the coals in the fireplace and carefully coaxed it to life. When she had the candle lit she turned back to the confused young man.

  “Aleest, can you saddle Raos and Elmet please?” Em'risi turned back to the wall and lifted away a panel revealing a riding outfit. It wasn’t one you would expect to see a princess in but was more in keeping with a groom’s attire.

  “Elmet? Reigns would skin me alive if I touched his horse.” Aleest scratched the back of his head as he blinked at the candle.

  “Do as she commands boy!” Balinor had entered the room now also. Aleest’s eyes widened when he saw the knight. Hurrying to obey he slipped out a door into the stables.

  “There are carefully laid plans at work here. You must be careful or all will be in vain. How do you know that you can trust this... groom?” Balinor had hoped to slip out of the keep unnoticed and be long gone before the alarm was raised and now at least one other person knew of their presence.

  “I know I can trust him the same way that I know that I can trust you. Besides, he is coming with us.” Em'risi disappeared behind a partition and left Balinor to fume and worry alone. When she reemerged he hardly recognized the queen in the guise of a stable servant. Her auburn hair was entirely hidden beneath a hat with a wide brim. Her dress had been replaced with riding leathers. If one didn’t look closely it was difficult to recognize the feminine curves. On top of the riding leather was a cloak with a hood.

  “Please explain what you meant.” Balinor asked as Em'risi tucked an errant curl up into the hat. She paused and looked at him as if she was looking through him for a moment before responding.

  “We are both Gifted. He differently than I. We have known about each other for years. Since I was a child actually.”

  “Gifted?” Balinor was nearly struck speechless by the revelation.

  “Yes. I can see and sometimes feel other people’s emotions. Sense their intentions. Aleest can communicate with animals. There isn’t anything he can’t tame.” Just then Aleest appeared at the door again.

  “Princess, they are saddled.”

  “Can you handle Elmet?” Em'risi approached with the candle. Aleest must have realized then that he was only half clad as he hastily pulled a shirt over his head from a nearby pile of laundry.

  “Of course princess but won’t Reign’s be angry?”

  “He most certainly will be but neither of us are going to be anywhere near enough for it to matter. Muffle their hooves and meet me at the gate. Grab what you need to come with us but be quick about it. We must hurry before we are discovered.”

  “Be quick about it.” Balinor added the encouragement of a glare as Aleest hurried to obey. Em'risi inspected her disguise in the reflection off a small piece of metal before blowing out the candle. Dumping off the melted wax she tucked it in a small satchel at her side.

  “Come now Sir Balinor.” With that the two of them returned to the courtyard and melted into the deep shadows. A couple minutes later the two horses were led up.

  “How are we supposed to get past the guards?” Aleest whispered the question when he had drawn close enough.

  “Leave that to me.” Balinor moved to the gatehouse door and rapped lightly. The door opened a crack and a brief whispered exchange passed before Balinor returned to the shadows and the waiting watchers. A moment later a couple guards left the guardhouse and marched through the gates. Shortly afterwards two different guards returned to the guardhouse.

  “Now.” Balinor led the way out past the two guards that had just taken their posts. They saluted quietly then ignored the party. Outside the gates they led the horses to an alley where another guard was waiting with couple horses. Balinor thanked the guard who disappeared. Aleest proceeded to secure a bundle to the one horse as Balinor watched. When they had finished their preparations they all mounted and filed out of the alley. Balinor’s horses’ hooves had also been muffled so the procession was nearly silent. They didn’t remove the rags until they had reached the outside of the city. Balinor again had words with the guardhouse and a new set of guards took the posts and turned a blind eye to the party.

  “How did you get us past the guards Sir Balinor?” Em'risi queried as they rode in the moonlight.

  “They were loyal to you not Reigns.” Balinor explained with the simple sentence.

  “What is going on? Why would they be loyal to Em'risi?” Aleest was still confused as to the sudden events and secretive actions.

  “Mind your tongue lad.” The silvery blue again pulsed through the morose knight.

  “Em'risi?”

  “It is difficult to explain and to tell the truth I know not all of it.” Em'risi could feel some of the sorrow that Balinor was feeling and was having difficulty preventing her own sorrow from overwhelming her.

  “But why would the guards be loyal to you instead of the King?” Aleest had moved his horse to the other side of Em'risi from the knight who simply glared at his impertinence.

  “My father died today so I suppose I'm the Queen now.” Em'risi bit her lip as her vision blurred momentarily.

  “Oh... I'm sorry.” Aleest rode silently as Em'risi battled with her emotions. When she had control again she turned to Balinor.

  “Where are we going Sir Balinor?” Em'risi had notice that they had left the city from the north gate and were still headed towards the Silent Sea.

  “To the outlands your majesty.” Balinor responded vaguely.

  “Could you stop referring to me as your queen or as majesty? My name is sufficient Sir Balinor.”

  “It wouldn’t be right for me to use your name.” A glare was directed towards the groom on Em'risi’s right hand. “You on the other hand are not required to use my title every time you speak to me.”

  “Balinor then, I will not call you a knight if you don’t call me a queen. Can we compromise on formality for the sake of convenience?”

  “As you wish... Em'risi.” Balinor was clearly uncomfortable so Em'risi fell silent listening to the rhythmic sounds of the four horses.

  *****

  “Crein, where are you!” Reigns stormed into the chamber that the leader of the shadow order resided in when he was at the castle.

  “Here my Lord. How may I serve you?” Crein emerged from the shadows in the back of the room.

  “Are you aware of the princess?” Reigns demanded as he paced back and forth.

  “Of course my lord.”

  “Are you aware that she and my top general have fled the castle? She seems to have taken after her father in more ways than I had thought.”

  “Is my lord desirous of having the order apprehend and return them?”

  “No I am not desirous of getting them back. I need someone more malleable than that wench. If you can try to find out who they were working with before killing them. It should be easy enough for your people to do that considering their track record.” Crain stiffened at the jibe.

  “My lord, I have already said that he fell to his death. The order had nothing to do wi
th the accident.”

  “Do this for me and I will forget the failing.”

  “Of course my lord. It shall be done immediately.” Reigns was already on his way out the door and barely heard Crein’s response.

  *****

  Urake and Emeck lay hidden in the woods near the road that led to the outlands. They had made it to Cercha before Ildroth had coughed up the information that the princess would be headed for the outlands soon. Brounn had relayed the information through Emeck and they had struck out for this choke point. The Silent Sea on the other side of the flat lands here and the heavily forested Garoche Mountains behind funneled all traffic through a single stretch of land only a couple rods in width.

  They had been camped out in these woods while they waited for the last several days. There had only been the infrequent trade caravan or the small band of travelers but no princess had appeared. Emeck had been scanning the area since they arrived and could tell him accurately what type of people had been passing through. It was in the middle of the night that the lad had woken him with the news that a band of horsemen where headed west to meet another smaller band of horsemen. What really woke Urake was the news that the second band of horsemen had a noble woman in their number. When they reached the edge of the trees they could see the two bands approaching each other.

  “I don’t like what I'm getting from the first horse men. I think that they mean to harm...” Emeck broke of his whispered news and doubled over as if in pain. Urake stooped to assist the lad when he saw a light spilling onto the ground. Lifting his cloak he was startled to see Ice Heart glowing. Lines of deep blue light were tracing each of the engravings. Turning his attention back to Emeck he saw that the lad was recovering.