by Owen Crane
embraced her mother and felt a tinge of guilt as she subtlety dropped an Echo
Orb into the deep pockets of her mother"s robes.
“I love you,” she said as she kissed her mother"s cheek. “I"ll see you soon.
The Guardians are with you.”
Her mother returned her smile although Ariella saw the strain she carried.
“I love you too Ariella, stay safe.”
Ariella opened up the carriage and stepped into the street just as the column
set off again, through the gates into the Royal Keep.
Well, Ari, there’s no going back now. Let’s see what happens.
She made her way back to the Friendly Phoenix and found Indio and Jaron
tucked away in a snug at the back of the Inn.
“Well?” Indio asked, “How did it go?”
“It"s done,” she replied. “Now we wait.”
For the next hour the orb was silent. They passed the time telling stories of
their homelands. Just as Indio was about to explain to them the right of passage
for the Griffin Riders, the orb gave a gentle hum.
“This is it,” said Ariella. She grabbed a piece of parchment from a pocket
and a small stick of charcoal. She wrote on it the names of the five monarchs of
Dawnhaven. Tristan, Susanna, Tatianna, Elisedd and Abalyne. The first voice
they heard was male, Ariella pointed to the word „Tristan".
“Welcome everyone,” began Tristan. “I wish we could have met under
happier circumstances. I want to begin by explaining to you the current situation
here in Trevena. I don"t know what you have heard but I cannot underestimate
the severity of the problem. This year"s harvest is decimated. Nothing has
survived. Wheat, barley, corn, vegetables, the orchards and the vineyards,
they"re all ruined. What we don"t know is how permanent the damage is. The
current thinking is that it is permanent, in which case the food shortage in
Trevena is the greatest threat our island has faced since the Rebellion.”
“What about the Guardians?” said a female voice, “Has their Light not been
effective?”
Ariella pointed at the name „Tatianna," the Queen of Erestia.
“No,” replied Tristan. “Nothing has been effective. Currently Lord Vantor
and Malum Asinum are working around the clock to discover the source of the
curse and a way to stop it. On top of the problems with the plants, the curse has
polluted our waterways. The fish in the Willowbank and Lake Evermere are
dead.”
“All of them?” someone gasped.
Elisedd, King of Darcian, Ariella indicated with her finger.
“Yes, so it appears.” Tristan hesitated. “The other matter to discuss is the
accusations.”
“Baseless accusations,” interjected a female voice, her anger evident.
Indio pointed to a name on the paper, Abalyne, Queen of Khan.
Tristan continued. “The findings so far point to the Willowbank being the
source of the poison. It would seem that the river is emerging from the Khan
Mountains already polluted.”
Abalyne interrupted, “That proves nothing”
“Baron Rexsalve says he has other proof,” said Tristan, his voice rising.
“Then let him bring it!” shouted Abalyne.
“Enough!” a clear voice called out.
Ariella pointed to her mother"s name on the parchment.
“She"s right Tristan, if Rexsalve has evidence then he needs to present it,”
continued Susanna. “He cannot continue on his campaign to attack Khan,
undermine the Guardians and destabilise Dawnhaven.”
“And what would you have me do?” answered Tristan, his frustration
bubbling over. “The crops are gone, the people are looking at their livelihoods
being wiped away. We"re facing starvation Susanna, not just Trevena but the
whole of Dawnhaven. The people are angry and the Barons are scared. It"s easy
for people to believe Rexsalve without any evidence. Khan and the Guardians
give them a focus for their anger.”
“It"s convenient that the focus is on my Kingdom and not yours,” shot
Abalyne. “It"s not your people who have been threatened and driven from the
city.”
“It"s my people who are starving!” yelled Tristan.
Through the Echo Orbs they heard the sound of a heavy wooden chair
topple and crash to the ground.
There was long silence before Elisedd spoke, “Is there any chance at all
Abalyne, any possibility?”
“Of what?” she snapped.
“That it has come from Khan? The furnaces you have up in the mountains,
the workshops and mines. Isn"t there a chance that some contaminant has come
down to the river?”
“You"ve heard the stories Elisedd, you"ve read the reports,” Abalyne replied,
“Does it sound like pollution from one of our mines? There is evil at work here.
Are any of you accusing me of deliberately polluting the river? Of wanting to
destroy Trevena? That"s madness.”
“You"ve always resented me Abalyne,” Tristan stated, without a trace of
emotion.
“You"re an idiot!” she exploded, “a self-righteous, stuck up, moron! You"re
patronising, smug, and superior. You think I"m too young, too immature, and
too incapable of running a kingdom. That"s what you told father isn"t it?”
Tristan didn"t reply
“I thought so,” continued Abalyne. “It"s true I can"t stand to be in the same
room as you, but do I want to destroy you? I"d be mad to even try. Our father"s
plan for Dawnhaven was brilliant. If one of the Kingdoms falls, we all fall. If
Erestia implodes we have no cattle, no horses. Without Darcian our wood is
gone, no bows, ships or houses. With Lightharbour gone so is our navy, our
defence, and also our trade with the rest of the world. No Khan and you have no
metal for tools or weapons. No jewels or artefacts for trade. And without
Trevena, we slowly starve to death. Yes, dear brother, I despise you, but I do not
wish you or your people dead. I am not a monster!”
The young Sojourners heard the sound of footsteps on a wooden floor and a
door slamming closed.
“Do you believe her?” asked Tatianna.
For a moment no one answered.
“Yes.” said Susanna. “I do. I believe what she said, most of it. She doesn"t
despise you Tristan, she"s angry and lashing out.”
Tristan snorted, “I was right, she is too young, too impulsive to be Queen.”
“You"re also, on occasion, a fool Tristan,” she replied. “She is far more
capable than you can see. To you she will always be the little sister. The one
who was clumsy and broke things. Who said inappropriate things to important
people, who took reckless chances just for fun. She is not that little girl anymore.
She has grown to wear the crown.”
“As we all have,” interrupted Tatianna. “I agree with you Susanna, I can"t
believe she wants to destroy Trevena. I can"t see any gain in it for her.”
“That then leaves us one question,” said Elisedd, “if Khan isn"t responsible,
who is?”
“Rexsalve?” ventured Tatianna
“I can"t see it,” responded Tristan. “Yes he hates the idea of Dawnhaven and
the Guardians. He wants Trevena to rule the whole island again from Stonegard,
but to unleash this
curse? I think that"s a step too far.”
“I"m inclined to agree,” said Susanna. “I don"t know a lot about Baron
Rexsalve but what I do know leads me to believe he doesn"t have the power to
wield a curse like the one that"s raging here. I believe he is an opportunist, a vile
one, but nothing more than that.”
“So who does have power to do this?” Asked Tristan, “does anyone in
Dawnhaven?”
“No,” answered Tatianna, “No one I know or have heard of. What about
Ghost Raiders?”
“They have blood magic, that"s for certain,” replied Elisedd. “But I"ve not
seen or heard of anything on this scale.”
“Besides,” said Susanna, “It doesn"t make sense for the Raiders to wipe out
all the crops. They rely on raiding the coasts of Dawnhaven and the other lands
for their survival. They don"t farm as far as we can tell. Wiping a major food
source with no gain seems counter productive.”
“Then who?” said Tristan, his frustration returning.
“There"s only one that I can think of that had the power to do this.” said
Susanna. Her voice had changed. The heaviness was evident to the three
listening in the Friendly Phoenix.
“Yes?” demanded Tristan
Susanna sighed heavily. “Diatus. Diatus could have done this.”
There were gasps around the room, in the Keep and around the table at the
Friendly Phoenix.
“He"s dead, my sister, very, very dead.” said Elisedd
“I"m well aware of that,” replied Susanna. “Yet, he is the only one I know of
that could do the damage that has been done.”
“Dead people can"t curse,” said Tatianna, “But what about one of the other
Islands or Kingdoms, could they be responsible? What are your contacts telling
you Susanna?”
“Nothing,” she replied, “no one is preparing for war or invasion. They have
their own internal problems to deal with or are too small to challenge us. There"s
something else, something we"re missing.”
“We need some answers and we need them quickly,” said Tristan, “the land
is continuing to die and Rexsalve is growing in support. I wouldn"t be surprised
if he started calling for war on Khan.”
“We cannot let that happen,” said Susanna. “Let"s meet back here in one
week. In the mean time I will continue to gather food supplies from as many
Kingdoms as will trade with us. The rest of you, stockpile food and start to
ration, it will be a long hard winter.”
“I will send out my Rangers to the borders of Khan and see what they can
find.” said Elisedd, “if the pollutant is carried by the river then the Thunderrun
is vulnerable. We cannot allow Darcian to suffer the same fate as Trevena.”
“Tristan, do you think you can keep a lid on Rexsalve for another week?”
Susanna asked
“Yes, hopefully Lord Vantor and the Guardians will have some good news
for us soon.”
“Then a week it is,” said Susanna. “We can get through this. It is what our
Father predicted, that evil would strike at us but we can overcome it when we
stick together. You are my brothers and my sisters; I love you and would die for
you. We will beat this.”
“That"s settled then.” said Tristan. “Dinner is being prepared for us, just us,
no guests. Stay and eat with me and maybe, for just a few hours, we can forget
about being Kings and Queens.”
Ariella slipped the Echo Orb back into her pocket and sat back in her chair,
her eyes closed.
“What do you think?” asked Indio
“I think we"re in trouble,” Jaron replied. “And when I say „we" I mean the
entire five Kingdoms.”
“Alright then, what shall we do about it?” said Indio
“Us?” Jaron laughed “We"re first year Sojourners, we"re not going to
anything about it.”
“But we"re in trouble, all of us. You heard them. It"s a mess; the Island is in
danger of falling apart. Baron „nut job" Rexsalve is going to be calling for war on
Khan, the Guardians will be sidelined. We have to do something.”
“Like what?” Jaron replied
Ariella opened her eyes. “We go to Khan.”
“What?” asked Jaron in surprise.
“All the evidence points to the Willowbank being the source of whatever this
thing is that"s killing Trevena. We go to the source of the river and take a look.”
“Excellent idea,” said Indio, his eyes sparkling.
“No, not an excellent idea, it"s a crazy idea,” answered Jaron. “Everybody
take a deep breath. How exactly are we going to get to source of the river? It"s
got to be over one hundred miles away, it"ll take us days. In that time Karlov
will have realised we"re gone and send people after us. We"ll be kicked off The
Journey, permanently.”
Ariella shrugged, “That"s a fair point.”
“As well as that,” Jaron continued, “Lord Vantor has already sent Guardians
across Trevena. If there"s anything to find then surely they would have found
it.”
“That"s another good point.” she replied. “But I"m not going to sit around,
we"ve got to do something.”
“Even if there was something to find, it"s so far away, how would we cover
that distance? ” Jaron demanded
“I don"t know,” she replied.
“I do.” smiled Indio. “What if I could get us there and back in a day?”
“How?” Ariella asked
“Leave that to me. Jaron, if I could do that, are you in?”
Jaron hesitated. “It"s different for me. If you two get kicked out you go back
to being a princess and a noble. If I get kicked out there"s nothing waiting for me
in Darcian. Being a Guardian is my way out, it"s all I"ve wanted to since I was a
kid.”
Ariella leaned forward and put her hand on Jaron"s. “I get you, I really do. I
want this more than I can say. I gave up the throne of Lightharbour for the
Guardians. But if someone doesn"t do something, if we don"t do something, if
Rexsalve has his way, there won"t be any Guardians.”
Jaron looked at her, then at Indio. “You two are crazy.”
Indio nodded enthusiastically, “It"ll be an adventure!”
“It"ll be our deaths,” sighed Jaron. “Either from the Blood Curse, some
wandering beast in the mountains or Karlov when we get back.”
“Karlov will not find out,” assured Indio.
“Really?” shot back Jaron, “he"s not going to find out.”
Indio hesitated, “He"s probably not going to find out.”
Jaron slumped back in his chair “Oh great, this is going to be great.”
“This is a big ask Jaron.” said Ariella. “You don"t have to come.”
“Of course I have to come.” said Jaron with a scowl. “Someone has to watch
your back with a bow and I"ve seen you two shoot.” He took a deep breath “So,
what"s the plan?”
Indio grinned “Thrace”
“Thrace?” coughed Ariella “Thrace? Are you joking?”
“Nope.”
Jaron had a confused look on his face “What is Thrace?”
“Not what, my friend,” said Indio. “Who. Thrace is a who.”
“Okay, who is Thrace?” Jaron asked.
“Thrace is a griffin.”
“Yo
u said Thrace was your uncle"s griffin,” said Ariella. “Are you saying
we"re going to steal your uncle"s griffin?”
“Ariella!” Protested Indio, “Steal is such an ugly word. We"re not thieves,
we"re not going to steal my uncle"s griffin. We"re simply going to borrow it.”
Jaron groaned. “What could possibly go wrong?”
Chapter 19
“Come on,” said Indio as they left the Friendly Phoenix. “I"m guessing the
griffins will be stabled somewhere near the Keep.”
“The Royal Keep?” said Jaron, “The Royal Keep that houses the royal family
of Trevena? The most heavily guarded building in the whole of Stonegard, that
Keep?”
“Yep,” laughed Indio, “it"ll be fun.”
“Ari, please, help me with him,” Jaron pleaded
“It"s the only option I can sees” shrugged Ariella, “we can"t walk or ride to
the mountains. Somehow we have to get that griffin.”
Jaron"s eyes rose skywards as he shook his head.
They made their way through the busy streets towards the Keep. They were
passing a row of woodcarver"s shops in one of the streets that the Darcian
merchants would occupy. A flash of white hair caught Ariella"s eyes and she
stopped walking.
“What"s up?” queried Jaron
“Over there,” she indicated, lifting her chin, “I think that"s Eleazar.”
Jaron and Indio followed her gaze towards a figure obscured in the crowd.
Their hair was bright white.
“Eleazar!” Indio called before anyone could stop him.
The figure froze and turned their head, just a fraction. Then they lifted a
hood over their head and slipped into the crowd.
“Hey!” Indio called.
But the white hair was hidden under the hood and they lost track of it in the
bustling streets.
“I guess he didn’t want to say hello,” said Indio, shrugging his shoulders.
Jaron eyes scanned the crowd. “That didn’t look right,” he muttered.
“Something about that didn’t look right.”
“What are you thinking?” Ariella asked.
“I don’t know. Just… something. I can’t put my finger on it but…” he
hesitated.
“He was probably just in a bad mood,” smiled Indio. “Come on, the griffins are waiting.”
Indio set off for the Keep with Ariella and a reluctant Jaron following behind.
As they got closer the shops and houses got larger and more extravagant.
