by Owen Crane
Ariella’s first instinct was to run and throw her arms around him. Lalea
must have noticed the look in Ariella’s eyes. She laid a firm hand on her
shoulder and steered her back towards the door.
“Let’s go Ariella, you’re the last to arrive”
The second guard opened the door for her and she stepped through. She
blinked as she went from the bright sunlight into the gloom of the large waiting
room in the inner wall.
The waiting room filled the whole inside of the wall. There were no
windows. Light was given by a series of burning torches fixed along two long
walls. The room was sparse, there was no furniture and, as far as Ariella could
tell, there was only the door she came through. Scattered throughout the large
room were small groups of young men and women, the Sojourners.
“You made it!” Eleazar left the group he was standing with and strolled
towards Ariella. “I thought you"d changed your mind and run off back to your
palace in Lightharbour.”
Ariella gave him a frosty look. “I"m glad to disappoint you.”
“Oh, Your Highness, you misunderstand me. I"m thrilled to be spending my
Journey with such an esteemed person as yourself.” He bowed, mockingly, and
grinned and Ariella, thoroughly enjoying himself.
She had a sudden urged to smash her fist into Eleazar"s sarcastic mouth. “I
should"ve left you with Esme and her rolling pin.”
“But, Your Highness, think of all the fun we would"ve missed out on over
the next five years together.”
Ariella swore under her breath and clenched her fist. The blast of trumpets
echoing through the walls of the waiting room interrupted her. The Sojourners
froze. It was time.
Lalea stepped into the middle of the room and raised her voice. “Welcome
to the Journey. You will now be formed into your Knots. Each Knot will have a
boy and a girl from each of the five kingdoms, ten in total. Your Knot will be
your new family for the five years of The Journey. When your name is called
follow me.” She spoke without fuss or drama as she unrolled a piece of paper
and read out ten names in quick succession. Without waiting for any
acknowledgement she walked from the room, out towards the stage. There was
a moment of hesitation and then ten people moved forward to follow her.
There was moment of hush in the room then bubbles of excited conversation
sprung up amongst the remaining Sojourners. Ariella side stepped Eleazar
before he could start off again and walked to the far side of the room. More
trumpets were sounded from outside, sounds of cheering and clapping. Ariella
started feeling nervous again, her insides churning.
For pity’s sake Ari, catch yourself will you? You’re not a child anymore.
A moment later and Lalea walked purposefully to the middle of the room
again. It was the same routine, ten names, ten people left for the stage. More
trumpets, more cheering.
There are only thirty of us left.
She scanned the room and spotted Eleazar’s white hair amongst a group that
Ariella thought she recognised.
They must be the others from Lightharbour.
She tried to remember some of them but the day of the announcement had
not been good for her. She was so consumed with her own problems that day
that she couldn"t think of any of their names.
In what seemed like moments, Lalea was back in the room with another ten
names. Ariella was listening as they were read, names she didn"t recognise. Five
names, six names, seven names, then she heard it „Eleazar Heredis". She held her
breath.
Please not me, please not me.
Lalea lifted her head from the paper and looked straight at her. “Ariella
Lightharbour”.
Ariella tried hard not to swear as she followed the others from the room.
Eleazar stepped in next to her. “Isn"t this fantastic? You get to spend the next
five years with me!” Eleazar laughed.
This time Ariella did swear as she stepped into the sunlight, the sound of
trumpets and cheering crowds filling her ears.
At the far end of the stage were the twenty Sojourners that had gone before
them. Dead centre of the stage Ariella spotted her uncle, King Tristan, ruler of
Trevena. She had a good relationship with her uncle. He was her mother"s
oldest brother and always had a stern look on his face and a serious air about
him. Ariella used to try and make him laugh when she was younger. Sometimes
it would take her hours but eventually she"d get a smile. As she climbed the
steps to the stage she tried to catch his eye, to get a smile or a nod, some form of
acknowledgement that might calm her nerves. The King was inspecting each of
the Sojourners as they stepped on to the stage. Ariella watched his eyes as they
went from one face to the next. She saw his eyes move to Eleazar, just in front of
her, then on to her. She smiled a big, friendly smile. The King blinked, frowned
and looked away.
What was that? He’s angry. What’s his problem?
Ariella was confused and upset, she barely noticed that the others had
stopped and lined up on the stage. The crowds were still cheering as the King
raised his hand for silence. Lalea addressed the crowd with a voice that carried
to the very back of the square.
“People of Dawnhaven, I present to you Indio Griffinfriend and Phoebe
Montecorde from the Khan Mountains. Jaron Asheart and Theia Silvestris from
the Darcian forest. Joachim Wolflord and Esther Carissimi from the plains of
Erestia. Felix Fortis and Eugenie Rexsalve from the kingdom of Trevena. Eleazar
Heredis and Ariella Lightharbour from the city of Lightharbour.”
The crowd cheered wildly. Some of the Sojourners waved, one, Ariella
thought it was Eugenie, curtsied. Ariella just stood there, the conflicting
emotions of anger, nervousness and annoyance getting the better of her.
Lalea continued. “Sojourners, this is your Knot, these are your brothers and
sisters. For the next five years you will live together, eat together, learn together
and fight together.” There was more cheering from the crowd.
Will they please stop cheering? I need to get off this stage.
“I present to you your Knot leader.” Lalea turned and indicated with her left
hand. Ariella looked where she was pointing. “Karlov Featherfall”
Seriously, I get Eleazar and now him, this day is getting worse.
Karlov walked from the back of the stage. He looked stern.
“Follow me,” he commanded.
Ariella recognized the tone Karlov used. It was the same way he had spoken
to her earlier in the day. It was a „do exactly as I say immediately" tone. Ariella
didn"t argue. She followed the other Sojourners off to the side of the stage as
Lalea went to gather the last two Knots.
She managed to stand behind the others so that she was concealed from the
crowd. She composed herself, taking deep breaths and pushing away the mix of
emotions that she was feeling. She saw Lalea returning with the next Knot and
saw her uncle raise his hand again to silence the boisterous crowd. Lalea was
reading out the names when Ariella noticed the three figures standing in the
shadows behind her unc
le. She gasped. Loudly. Karlov flicked around and
gave a look that made Ariella drop her head.
“Nice move Princess.” Eleazar whispered.
“Get lost,” Ariella was in no mood to play games. She raised her head
slightly, her eyes fixed on the three figures at the back of the stage. Standing in
the middle was a tall man with broad, muscular shoulders. His grey hair and
neat trimmed beard were flecked with the black of his youth. He stood
motionless, eyes alert, missing nothing and yet calm, almost peaceful. She had
never laid eyes on him before but she knew who he was. Vantor, Lord Guardian.
She had heard countless stories of his exploits, daring deeds and stunning
triumphs. Looking at the man standing before her, the aura he exuded, Ariella
believed them all.
A flicker of movement from behind Vantor caught her attention. A second
man was causing tiny bursts of blue light to spark from his fingertips. He looked
bored. Vantor looked down at the man and gave him a reproachful look. The
man rolled his eyes and let a final spark dance across the back of his hand and
disappear into the sky.
The man was somewhere around his mid forties with a shaved head and
intricate tattoos. The markings started on his left cheek and wound down his
neck and under his shirt. His bare arms were covered with similar dark marks,
the patterns complex and beautiful. He carried a short wooden staff with a glass
prism enclosed in a metal claw at the top. As Ariella was studying him the man
turned his head and locked eyes with her. He smiled a mischievous smile. She
gasped as she saw sparks of blue light fly across his eyes. In an instant they were
gone. She gasped as he laughed quietly and looked away, absent-mindedly
letting the blue sparks dance across his fingers again.
“That’s Malum Asinum.” The quiet voice came from just over her shoulder.
She half turned. The boy who spoke was the smallest on the platform and thin.
His hair was wispy and blew across his face in the gentle breeze. “He’s the
Master of the Prism. Scares the beejeebies out of me”
“What’s a beejeebie?”
The boy gave her a confused look. “Not sure. It was something my nanny
used to say to me when I was growing up. Everything scared the beejeebies out
of her. Spiders, wasps, thunder, cows, black cats, big dogs, small dogs.”
“Cows?”
“Oh yes. Terrifying things cows. I think it’s the way they look at you.” The boy shuddered. “I’m Felix, Felix Fortis. My Father is a Baron. I heard you’re a Princess, is that right? Does that mean you’re related to King Tristan?”
Ariella smiled politely, nodded and turned back to the three figures in the
shadow. The figure beyond Vantor and Malum was deeper in the shadow of the
inner wall, their face obscured. A brief lull settled over the square as Lalea went
to gather the final Knot for their presentation. The three figures seem to lean into
towards each other and speak quietly. Malum let out a short burst of laughter
that carried to where Ariella was standing as he took a few steps forward looking
at the crowd. As he moved further out of the shadows so did his companion
and, not for the first time today, Ariella’s mouth went dry and her stomach
churned. It was Elsa Leaina, the Lioness, and the Guardians Master of Arms.
Oh crap, she’s here. Let’s try really hard not to do anything stupid.
Elsa had been the one that Ariella had always dreamed about meeting.
Those hours alone in the library imagining adventures, it was Elsa that she was
with.
Now she’s here, a stone’s throw from me. I could run over there and say ‘hi’. Yeah Ari, you could and then you’d be thrown off the stage for being a crazy stalker.
A blast of trumpets snapped Ariella back into the moment. The final Knot
had been introduced and the King had come to the front of the stage. He turned
sideways so he could address the assembled Sojourners and the crowd.
“Sojourners, welcome to Trevena.” The crowd roared their greeting in echo
of their King’s. “For the next twelve months you will spend your days here in
the our beautiful Kingdom, the Garden of Dawnhaven. The year ahead will be
challenging. It will be dangerous. You will have to face your fears, overcome
your insecurities and deal with your prejudices”
Ariella heard someone down the line from her snort in derision at that
comment. Karlov heard it too; she saw his face flinch but he didn"t turn to look.
“When my father broke Dawnhaven into the five Kingdoms he gathered the
wisest from each land for a council. Together they birthed the idea of the
Guardians. For twenty years the Guardians have defended our island and
unified our Kingdoms. They are the vein of gold that runs through Dawnhaven.
They are our heartbeat, our soul. Today you start your Journey that will see you
counted among their number. Remember this day and mark it, for you will
never be the same.”
He nodded to Lord Vantor and stepped aside. Vantor strode to the front of
the stage and a hush fell over the crowd. He studied the line of young men and
women before him.
“It"s time.” He said. His voice was calm and low but somehow seemed to fill
the air. Ariella felt her hands begin to shake.
“Today you take your oath, today and everyday. They are simple words yet
they are the call of the Guardians. Many times over the next five years you will
have cause to question, doubt, even rebel against these words. Stay strong, allow
the Light to lead you. These words are our core, our life. Today and everyday.”
Lord Vantor paused and Elsa stepped up beside him, Ariella gasped.
As Elsa spoke, her voice rose and fell like a melody, it was mesmerizing.
“Sojourners repeat the oath after me.”
We are the light in the darkness.
The shining steel and burning flame.
We are the breaking of Dawn
We give ourselves for the good of Dawnhaven.
We pledge to use our steel and our Light for the protection of the weak and the
pursuit of Justice.
We forsake our kingdoms, our names and our thrones.
This day and everyday.
From somewhere off to the right of the crowd a band struck up a raucous
tune and the crowd went wild again.
From behind Ariella came a quiet whimper. “Oh no, what have I done?”
Felix had gone white as a sheet and his hands were shaking. “I don"t think I can
do this.”
“It"s a little late, Felix” Eleazar whispered to him. “It"s going to be okay.”
“Really? You think so?”
“Course it is” He gave Ariella a wink, “After all, we"ve got a Princess with
us”
That thought seemed to lift Felix"s spirits
“That"s right. She"s a Princess, it can"t be that bad, can it?”
Lalea started to lead the Knots from the stage.
“Follow me” Karlov commanded. No one argued or delayed. They fell in
step with him and followed him down from the stage and away from the waiting
room. Karlov led them towards a gate set in the wall on the north side of the
main square; there were a number of Guardians on sentry duty. They nodded to
Karlov as he passed through.
They came to a large comp
ound with its own wall on three sides and the
main city inner wall completing an almost perfect square. There were five
towers, one on each corner, and the fifth, and largest, in the middle of the inner
wall. The towers appeared to be slim, elegant and extremely tall. They were the
highest towers in all of Stonegard. Off to the right and left were two large stone
buildings the same height as the inner wall. Dead ahead of them was the
grandest of the buildings, not extravagant, but certainly of a higher class than the
other two.
Karlov stopped and motioned for the group to gather round him.
Karlov stopped and motioned for the group to gather round him.
He handed each of them a wooden ring, two inches across. Carved into the
wood was a field and small rising sun. A thin ray fanned out from the middle to
the edge of the ring. Ariella looked around and saw everyone else was as
confused as she.
“This is your pin.” Karlov began. “The pins are like a ranking system. We
use them so that it can immediately be identified as to which stage in the journey
you’re in. As first year Sojourners your pin will have one ray, symbolising your
first year. Next year, you receive a pin with two rays, the year after, three rays
and so on until your badge is complete at the end of your fifth year. When you
have completed your training, you receive a new badge,” He signalled to the
badge pinned to his own chest. Green lower half and five gold bars sectioning
the top half, like rays of sun. “This is the pin you’ll receive at your graduation.
The dawn over the haven.”
Ariella ran her fingers over the smooth wood. It was sturdy, durable.
“That’s the pretty bit over and done with,” he continued. “Now begins the
serious work. This year is going to be the single hardest thing you have done in
your life. That is, until next year.” He laughed to himself, amused by his
humour. “Look around you. This compound will be your home for the next
twelve months. The nine others next to you will be your brothers and sisters.
You are a Knot. Anyone know why we call it a Knot?” There was silence.
Karlov scowled. “It"s called a Knot because the tighter you become, the stronger
you become. There are two of you from each of the five Kingdoms. You don"t
know each other, you may not like the look of each other but…by the end of this
