Goldest and the Kingdom of Thorns

by Joanne Durda

  “Why is there cinnamon burning everywhere?” Savagio asked with curiosity.

  “Cinnamon is for healing and well-being,” Meek explained. “We usually burn myrrh throughout the castle for protection and purification, but we do change from time to time for the pleasure of our senses and for what warrants our needs at the given moment. If your senses are happy, then your soul is contented.

  There is absolutely no warmth either in this kingdom, Savagio thought to himself.

  Meek escorted him to one of the castle towers, which was to be his quarters. The warmth of the fire in the fireplace welcomed him as he walked into the room. This is the first true sense of welcome that has been extended to me since my arrival, Savagio thought to himself with a smirk.

  The room was plain and simple, but clean. The furniture was made from the finest of wood and bark. A beautiful white quilt full of red hearts was spread upon his bed. Savagio smiled when he saw the quilt. Well, someone did something special for me, he thought to himself I feel I will be very well taken care of.

  Before Meek left, he lit cones of passionflower incense for Savagio. “This incense is burned for sleep and will soothe all your troubles.”

  It’s as if Meek knows about my saddened heart, Savagio thought to himself.

  Meek bowed in silence and then took his leave. Savagio rested for a while before Meek brought him a meal of hearty beef barley soup filled with spinach and plenty of wheat bread. Meek smiled at Savagio as he set the tray of food down on the only table in his room. Savagio noticed a bottle of deep purple wine accompanied the meal. Meek took notice that Savagio was examining the bottle of wine.

  “We also make our own wine here grown from our own grapes. Let me forewarn you that we make a hearty, dark bitter wine to go with our meals,” Meek informed him.

  “I had guessed that,” Savagio responded.

  “Please enjoy your dinner, and come down to join us in the main dining hall of the castle. We await your company.” Meek bowed and left the room.

  Savagio ate, groomed and refreshed himself with the Monk’s herbal waters left by the fireplace in huge metal cauldrons. Monstrous brick stones were placed around the fireplace to set the cauldrons down on to warm the water. One cauldron was placed by the bed to cool one’s thirst, if need be. Savagio changed his clothes into something simple, and quit the room to find and consult with Theo. He was anxious to get started with his inspection of this Thorn Army. “No wonder the Monks have a healthy and vibrant shine to their skin, their herbal waters make you feel clean, relaxed, strong and healthy – like a second wind to oneself,” Savagio told himself. His skin felt good, his mind relaxed.

  Savagio wandered through their castle for a while and found many Monks still working on the daily chores of an upkeep of a castle – cooking, and preparing their own concoctions from strange plants and growth. The smell of fresh spinach filled their kitchens. He came upon a room filled with the best of the Shamans, who had several pots boiling madly over fires and hearths in this special room of their castle. The strange growth of plant life strewn all over this workshop was even stranger than what he had seen in the kitchens. The pleasant smell here filtered through his nostrils and made his head spin and whirl. I’m sure this place is used for their most favored concoctions of medicines and potions, Savagio thought to himself with amusement. They certainly are a special, talented lot. It is a shame that they keep to themselves and do not mingle with the other kingdoms unless they are sought out by Kings, Queens and other Court members from other kingdoms, or some of the townspeople. I’m sure the other kingdoms find them to be most knowledgeable and valuable. A feeling of the most utmost respect dawned on Savagio for these strange men in their long robes and sandaled feet. He continued to wonder why they dwelt within this ugly and unfriendly kingdom for all these centuries. “They deserve better,” he told himself.

  He past a room whose heat had hit him in the face in the hallway and he looked inside. Hot coals burned throughout, which made the room smoldering hot. Strange, exotic plants were being taken care of in this room by a Monk as if they were of humankind. The cobra lily, English sundew and yellow trumpet were carefully being hand-fed with strange insects. These plants must be used in some ground-up way for their special dark rituals, which are unbeknown to us, Savagio thought to himself with awe. He noticed how excitable the plants would become when a beautiful butterfly was presented to them for their nourishment. The Monk ignored his presence, as if he was not there at all.

  “I see you are most kind to these plants,” Savagio remarked to the Monk.

  “They are our pets,” the Monk replied without looking up.

  Savagio was startled by the remark. “Strange, strange indeed,” he told himself, grimacing.

  He approached the main dining hall and saw that it was devoid of people, with empty plates still on the long main table. He left the room and stepped outside, using a back door of the castle. He gazed out at the vast fields, gardens and growth that stood out before him. He quietly watched the Monks performing their outdoor chores for a while. He noticed Theo, Octagon, Imbecile, Alme, Meek, Onion and Xnug tromping through the fields which grew their wheat, oats, barley, beans, spinach and a variety of plant life and herbs. Rows and rows of strange angry herbs stared at him as if he was an intruder. It made him feel uncomfortable. It was as if these numerous varieties of plant life were eyeing him out from head to toe. Some of the herbs looked unfriendly or wicked. I wonder what they use these for, Savagio thought to himself. Then he decided that he really did not want to know. It was best that way.

  The Monks seemed to be inspecting the condition and growth of the fields. Savagio noticed that Imbecile was constantly tripping over himself, with Onion always picking him up. He looked over to the far left of the vast fields and saw many more of the Monks tending to their vegetable gardens, which seemed to stretch to infinity. He noticed that there were many rows of spinach and various sorts of beets.

  Theo, with a few of the other Monks, made their way down and approached Savagio.

  “What is all this variety of bare plant life?” Savagio asked Theo as he pointed to the strange growths to his right.

  “Special herbs and other remedial, weedy growths of plants, which are necessary in order to concoct some of our stronger medicines and potions for our rituals as well as for illnesses.”

  “I understand growing all this strange substance could be dangerous to one’s own being,” Savagio remarked with intense curiosity.

  Octagon cut in, “Only if you do not know how to prepare and use it, then it could be dangerous.”

  “M-m-maybe you w-w-would like to s-s-sample s-s-some of our b-b-booberry,” Imbecile stuttered. “I-i-it is t-t-the very b-b-best!”

  An angry Theo turned and looked darkly at Imbecile. “Shut up, Imbecile!”

  Imbecile cowered under Theo’s dark look and hunched himself over. Onion patted Imbecile on the back to restore the fool’s confidence in himself.

  “Let us take our walk out to the fields which holds your interest,” an impatient Theo told Savagio.

  Savagio followed Theo and Octagon, with Alme, Meek and Xnug trailing close behind them, while Imbecile and Onion trailed behind them all. They soon came upon the Monks guarding their thorn fields – Pentangle, Oxon, Ebrix, Sooth, Uhl, Emm, Bean, Radish and Asp. Theo gave Oxon and Ebrix darkish looks as he noticed they were smoking their dark booberry blended with their special herbal mixture for pain. Theo did not mind his Monks smoking the booberry to relieve their own personal pain, but he forbade them to smoke it for pleasure. Theo knew that Oxon and Ebrix were sound physically and mentally at the present time, and that there was no reason for them to be smoking the remedial herbal pain concoction. I will deal with the both of them later, an angry Theo thought to himself. We grow our booberry for pain and healing purposes, not to use in expanding or pleasuring our minds, Theo murmured to himself. The pleasure in our minds comes from the enjoyment of reading and studying the books, ancient recipes and
scriptures in our vast library.

  A flabbergasted Savagio panned the fields of stick figures filled with protruding thorns, which were planted in the ground above their ankles, some to their knees, depending on each stick figure’s height, weight and growth.

  Oxon ignored Theo’s dark, disturbed look and walked boldly up to him. “Our army has been standing quietly, waiting patiently for their time to be uprooted tonight.”

  All noticed the incredulous look on Savagio’s face.

  “This, this is what I am to train to be warriors?” a bewildered Savagio asked.

  “What else did you expect from the Kingdom of Thorns?” Theo replied dryly.

  Meek was annoyed by Savagio’s reaction and used his mind and words to bend Savagio closer to them. “Savagio, if you think this is too much of a challenge for you, then we shall seek the assistance of another warrior like yourself to train our army.”

  Now Savagio was angry. “There is no challenge that I cannot handle! When will they be ready?”

  “First light tomorrow morning!” an excited Oxon exclaimed.

  “I will be ready for them. I wish to go back to my room and be alone tonight. The hour is late already. I will turn in early,” Savagio told them coldly.

  With those final words, Savagio turned and headed back to the Thorn Castle. “I have mixed emotions about this,” Savagio quietly told himself.

  Theo turned to one of his most trusted Monks. “Alme, please escort him back. We do not wish him to wander into our certain, so-called vengeful herbs.”

  Alme, understanding Theo’s spoken words, immediately followed close behind Savagio. Alme, too, did not want their vengeful herbal gardens to harm Savagio, who would be a stranger to those gardens. That could be quite disastrous to their cause, and negate the reason for him being here.

  Theo then turned to Imbecile. “Go with them, and fix Savagio a meal that will make him sleep deeply tonight.”

  “Y-y-yes, Brother.” Imbecile bowed in respect to Theo, turned and left them.

  “I shall go with him, Theo. He needs someone to pick him up when he stumbles. And I shall make sure that Savagio’s meal is prepared with worthiness,” a smiling Onion told Theo.

  “Throw together our nutritious mushrooms in hot cream with our special blackened herbs. That will surely make him more than drowsy tonight,” Meek suggested to Onion.

  Theo smiled to himself, knowing that Onion was careful to frame his words well, not really wanting him to know that the real reason behind his words was to help the unsteady Imbecile. After Onion left them, Theo turned to Meek and told him, “Those were well-spoken words to our warrior, Meek. You made him feel that he might not be capable of handling the given situation.”

  Meek snickered while feeling exultant that Theo had complimented his spoken words. Most Monks in the castle wanted to be noticed and complimented by Theo. They felt it was a special honor to be complimented by their leader. All wanted to be favored in some way, no matter how little.

  Octagon, who had remained quiet, stepped forward. “Savagio is not to be mocked in any way. He is smarter than my Brothers believe him to be.”

  “He most certainly thinks like a warrior. They are only wise in battle – and that is all,” Theo remarked to all.

  “Do not underestimate Savagio,” Octagon boldly told him.

  Theo raised his eyebrows at Octagon. “It is I who have nothing to fear, Brother.”

  Octagon looked darkly at Theo. Ebrix thought it not wise for Octagon to challenge Theo with words and cut in. “I shall take some of our Brothers and prepare our army’s bath for tonight.”

  Still looking at Octagon, Theo told Ebrix, “Make sure no ingredients are omitted. It could turn into a catastrophic nightmare.”

  Theo turned and left with Meek following him. Meek took a second look back at Octagon and then continued on his way. Be careful, my Brother, Theo knows you are strong in character – and that knowledge is fearful to him, Meek thought quietly to himself.

  The Unspoken Secrets Revealed

  Ushi and Goldest rode into the Kingdom of Marble. Niciu’s hooves clanked loudly on the marble floor. Goldest and Ushi marveled at the whole kingdom, which was a gorgeous marble with various colors of the spectrum running through it. No dirt or dust could be seen anywhere. Ushi noticed that the air was cooler here than in other kingdoms. Ushi reined in Niciu as his eyes panned the marble hills which laid before them.

  “I never would have believed something like this could exist within a kingdom!” Ushi exclaimed with awe.

  Clank! Clank! Came the sound from Nicius’s hooves as he walked upon a monstrous, beauteous chessboard of marble implanted in the valley floor. Ushi was thunderstruck and exclaimed, “Where are the players!” Goldest croaked her giggles, as she seemed to be giggling about everything as of late. If she wasn’t giggling, then she was hiccupping.

  “Why, the players must be most handsome, themselves, belonging to this exquisite structure,” Ushi stated. They moved onwards, assuming the recherche’ pieces belonging to this marble chessboard came out and displayed themselves only at certain times of the day or night to make their moves.

  They rode upon a lake with marble floor – the water being like glass. Multicolored glass fish were swimming in the clear lake. A gorgeous waterfall cascaded down the colorful marble staircase into the lake. Ushi spied a marble cave, which looked inviting to him, around the east end of the lake.

  “That cave looks like a good place to make sleep for the night. The comforting sound of the waterfall would make us drift into sleep much quicker,” Ushi remarked.

  Ushi headed Niciu toward the cave, with their packhorse following close behind. He dismounted and prepared the horses for the night. Goldest jumped off Niciu’s rear end and into the clear lake with the colorful glass fish. Those are the most strangest things I have ever seen, Goldest thought to herself with a chuckle. She floated on her back as she kicked her legs at the glass fish surrounding her. Not knowing what she was, their curiosity soon left them with her kicking and splashing. She continued to giggle and croak as she took delight in the clear, cool water.

  “Ahhh,” she croaked, as she laid her head back and took in the last of the warmth from the sun’s rays.

  Ushi’s eyes panned the area and noticed that there were no trees or bushes to build a fire with. Even the colorful flowers which grew around the lake were made of glass. “No fire for warmth tonight,” Ushi stated mildly as he sighed. “And no fragrance, either. Just clean, crisp, cool marble.”

  Night came fast upon them. The cave was dark and became colder as the night grew deeper and deeper. Ushi wrapped his rug tightly around himself, trying to keep warm. Goldest chuckled and croaked inside her blanket, knowing Ushi was having a difficult time sleeping on top of the hard, cold marble. Ushi heard Goldest’s muted chuckling.

  “This was not a very brilliant idea, Goldest. The marble may be quite beautiful to look at, but it is too cold and hard!”

  “I never realized there would be nothing here to make a fire with to warm you. I am so sorry, Ushi.”

  “Sorry does not mean anything right now,” Ushi told her dryly. His tired body lay there, trying desperately to get some sleep for the long ride tomorrow. At times, he could hear Goldest’s spontaneous giggling inside her blanket at intervals during the night. His last thought before he finally drifted off to sleep was that Goldest could be a real snoot when she wanted to be.

  In the meantime, as the night became deeper and deeper, the Monks were tending to large black cauldrons of nefarious, boiling concoctions set outside their thorn fields. Many fires were built and already ablaze. Warmth filled the fields from these many fires – the cool air being sent away. The Monks had graced themselves in their ceremonial, woolen white-hooded robes with their red aprons wrapped around themselves, which completed their full costume look. White sandals made from the bark of birch trees were worn instead of their usual, darker sandals made from the bark of their thorn trees. Censers filled with
burning frankincense were lit to remove the unwanted influences of the menacing, dark shadows which filled the night air and brought on the nightmares which crept into the souls of the sleepers. The full moon gave the scene an eerie, frightening atmosphere.

  Ebrix and Meek walked up to Theo and bowed in respect to him. “All ingredients have been simmered and are ready to bath in,” Ebrix informed Theo. He looked at Meek for confirmation. “The pots are ready, Brother,” Meek confirmed.

  Theo stood out before the fields of thorns and raised his arms and voice for all to hear. The ceremonial Monks in their garb looked like pieces that belonged on a chessboard.

  “It is time, our warriors, for you to uproot yourselves and step into the steaming baths of vitalism, to make strong your form and give you the breath of life to fight for our kingdom! You have been planted, grown and cared for by the most deadliest, unearthly concoctions pounded out by us Brothers, and then boiled by us to feed to your roots,” Theo bellowed out. Theo turned and looked at a solemn Octagon for a few seconds. Then he looked at the Olympian Moon’s position within the darkened sky, which was filled with smoke from the burning frankincense – burned against the unwanted dark shadows to prevent them wreaking havoc on their new growth of army.

  Theo spoke to the Olympian Moon. “Hear my words, Moon. Shine your moonbeams down amongst our thorns. Make them feel welcomed with your solace of light in their new life. Moon, we need wind to carry this mystical green soil, blended with our cryptic black magic, concocted from the earth, to our thorns. Be kind to our thorns and sprinkle your moondust upon our thorns for a higher, more advanced stage of development and success in their new life.”