by Aaron Thomas
“I will miss him too,” she said and Kara burst into a tears. Twilix wrapped her drenched arms around Kara and the room hissed and filled with steam.
She heard Kara whimper between sobs, “He never lets me say good bye.”
***
Kilen found his horse tied to a post outside the kitchen door. Leroy was packing the bags with cloth bundles. Leroy saw him approaching, “They’re full of those strips of dried meat. I knew you would need them sooner or later. There is some tea in this pouch here, individual brews. You can chew one if you are desperate or on the move. There is a small tin of salve for burns and cuts in here, also. I hope they help.”
Kilen smiled and gave Leroy a hug, “I’m sure they will do more than help. They have saved my life on a few occasions already. Take care of yourself Leroy.” They shook hands and Kilen knew he had little time to spare, he rode for the castle’s gates. He had to slow as there was still a line of recruits departing the grounds in ranks of four with carts and bags. The inexperienced recruits stumbled and struggled under the weight they each carried. He hoped the best for them.
Brent stepped in front of him and called him of the horse just as he passed through the castle gates. “You have to say nothing, Weapon Bearer. I began this adventure with you and I think that you have surpassed what your father would have ever hoped you could be. I am sorry that I have to part ways with you, being unable to provide you with nothing more than a water mark on your blade.”
Kilen smiled, “You gave me much more than that. Good luck in the battles. I hope you are able to regain more power before you arrive.” Brent smiled a vicious smile and stepped closer to Kilen. He opened the palm of his hand and inside a small man of water took form and then spoke.
“I am already gaining in power,” Brent’s voice said through the tiny elemental. It disappeared and Brent and Kilen shook hands. Kilen mounted his horse and trotted out of the castle, heading north to explore a land he had only read about in books. He would finally have a chance to live his dream.
King Rekkan had gathered his most weathered and experienced officers around the flat piece of rock he had spread his map upon. His army’s camp had become busy with work. It was a wanted change to the pace he had set going into the Earth Realm’s borders. His men went to the riverbank often to drink and refill water skins, as if the river would dry out at any moment. The water flowed through the valley so clear you could make out individual fish in its water. The trees grew so high that Rekkan was sure he could see his homeland if he climbed to the tops.
“This is where we make our stand. What is our troop count?” He had studied the maps of the Earth Realm and decided that this place would be the best place to make a stand against the Earth Realm.
A grizzled man with a short gray beard and skin dried like leather in the sun, balanced a long battle axe across his knees as he squatted near the map. “My lord, we have just short of forty seven thousand men, of which we have close to two thousand mounted. Twelve wizards, not including the two water wizards in the cart.” Rekkan scratched his chin and studied the old maps. The land had changed and new cities and villages had grown in places that were not there when the map was made. It wasn’t as helpful as he had hoped.
“I want the mounted to split up into four groups of five hundred each. Each will take one of you as the commander. Each will take a wizard that can control their elemental. I need supplies from any town they can reach within the month. One thousand on foot will follow each part to bring back those supplies.” One of the veterans began to speak and Rekkan held up a finger for him to wait. “We are looking for food, horses, tack, tents, and mostly tools. Shovels, axes, saws, and rope are priority. We are going to build our fortifications here in this valley.” He looked at the veteran that had begun to speak, letting him know it was his turn.
“My lord, are we not exposed here in this valley?” Rekkan had already thought about the problem and was ready for this question.
“We are, but this valley will limit the number of men that can come at us and the direction they can come from. We will focus our magic elements on forward troops and set traps for them so that every step that we give of this valley will be death to our enemy.”
The youngest man in the circle spoke timidly, “If King Atmos really does have a suit made with each section imbued by magic he could bring these mountains down on top of us.” They group nodded their heads as he spoke.
King Rekkan spoke somberly to them. “I hope he brings down those mountains on us. If he does then he will divert this river to the outside of the Durnet Mountains and into our realm. We will have paid a great price but King Atmos will have given us what our realm has sought since the great divide of land. His land will have lost this river to its lower region and crippled its land here, making our realm even larger. I hope he brings this mountain down on us, he would be doing us a favor.”
The same man spoke, “Eventually you know we will be overrun here. I will follow your word but we will die in this valley.” He spoke the truth and all the other men knew it as well. They softly murmured to each other about the battle plan.
“When we started this journey I knew this to be my last. The queen will be crowning a new king when this battle is done, that I have no doubts. If I am meant to die in battle against the Earth Realm then I will take as many of their soldiers as I can with me. I will make them reconsider having to face us again. We will force this land into negotiation with the blood of their sons and fathers.”
The grizzled veterans nodded their heads. The man with the long battle axe pulled a sharpening stone out of his pocket and began sharpening his wicked blade. Fire filled their eyes as each one followed his lead. King Rekkan stood and enjoyed the last breaths of clean air before the stench of dead bodies and the smell of metallic blood filled his nostrils.
End of The Weapon Bearer
Book one of The Search for the Brights
To be continued in, The Rise of the Citadel
