Of Gods and Dragons

by Sherri Beth Mitchell

  As they lay in bed that night Silvia let loose a torrent of tears in front of her husband, wishing with all her might that there was no war, no reason to leave. “I love you so much! I can’t bear to go without you Keelan.”

  Her King held her hand tightly in his, for he still hurt too much to even try and hold her. “I know, Silvia, I know. I wish I was well enough to travel alongside you. However in my condition I would hinder you and not be able to protect you.”

  She turned to look at him directly in the candlelight. “My love, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if any more harm came to you. Why, if you were to…to die…”

  “Hush, woman,” he said softly in her ear. “I am alive and getting better by the day. Nothing will happen to me while you are gone, so don’t fret. I will always be here for you. Besides, we have the stones, don’t we? That means we can talk to each other at any time, day or night.”

  This comforted Silvia. “You’re right. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  An hour and a half before the rise of the sun, great trumpets were heard all over the city, awakening everyone for the big day. Bags and sacs were packed with extra clothes, goodbyes were said, and the army gathered around the palace to await the queen and her entourage.

  Inside the palace Queen Silvia had just finished packing two trunks and was sending them to her carriage. Keelan and Hans were watching her, waiting for her goodbye. At last she faced them, releasing a shaky sigh.

  “Nervous, my dear?”

  “Yes Keelan, I’m very nervous.” She sat on the couch beside him.

  “What is there to be nervous about?”

  She knew he was trying to jest with her, but she took the question seriously. “I’m going to war, leading thousands to their fates as well as myself, and I don’t know the first thing about what I’m doing! I’ve never seen a battle until a short time ago and I know this one will be much greater…I’m terrified.”

  Keelan raised his good arm and cupped her face in his hand. “My beautiful wife, you will do fine. You have many, many people to help you and friends to help with any hard decisions you have to make. You’ll grow more confident of yourself on the way. And always remember—I’m here waiting for you to come home safe and sound.”

  More trumpets were heard through the window, indicating the complete arrival of Her Majesty’s army.

  Silvia kissed her husband deeply, then rose. “Keep my love in your heart.”

  “I will if you keep mine in yours,” Keelan said, not bothering to hide his tears. “May Geldin, God of War, place his blessings upon you.”

  Hans stepped forward and strapped her long sword to her waist on her left side, and placed her dagger on her right. He adjusted the straps on them until they looked right, and then gave the woman a warm embrace. “It seems like you’ve done nearly twenty years of growing in just a few weeks. I feel as though you’re my own daughter because I have seen you go through so much. Wow, I’m tearing up now.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Have a safe journey, my Queen, and crush them all into tiny pieces for us.”

  She smiled at his attempt to be funny, kissed his cheek, and left the room.

  Quentin met her at the front doors of the palace, his white robe shining brightly in the dim light. His hair was let loose around his head, making him appear wise, though his face was young. He nodded his head to her. “Are you ready?”

  “Not really, but I cannot wait any longer. Open the doors, Quentin.”

  He threw open both doors at once, letting in the first rays of the morning light. She saw Rituel being led towards her, his back adorned with the nicest saddle in the city and a blanket with the new Royal Colors (dark purple against light blue) covered him from head to tail underneath the riding material. Holes for his eyes, ears, mane, and tail had been provided and he looked very proud and strong. She mounted him with ease, and waited for her entourage.

  It arrived momentarily: the black carriage she had used to go to her family’s tomb pulled up to ride behind her. Quentin came up to ride on her right, his cloak shimmering in the sun, and Sir Grant was on her left with Prince Dalton. Maura rode behind her, but in front of the carriage; Zander and Frero rode on either side of the maidservant. A thick row of armed Guards rode in front of them all and crowded around the entourage as well.

  While waiting for everyone to get in their proper places and for the last wagons to be added, Silvia asked Sir Grant which direction they would go when they left the city.

  “North for a while, and then northeast after that. Our goal is Nillias. We’ll have to go to the right around the Sagara Mountains and cross the river to get there. It will be a difficult journey with so many soldiers.”

  “But it would be pointless to go with any less, as we would definitely lose,” said the Prince.

  A chorus of deep drums suddenly started and the procession began to move. Those of the city who were staying came out onto their doorsteps to watch the massive army depart. It took nearly an hour to reach the north gate that lead out of the city. A quarter mile after that was a large, gently sloping hill and when Rituel led Silvia to the top of it, she turned him around to see her troops.

  Many were still passing through the gate far behind. The army was immense, and it stole her breath. So many people…

  “How many do we now have?” she asked Grant, who had also stopped to admire the scene.

  “Your Captain informed me it was close to twelve thousand and that, milady, is not a bad-sized group at all. You can ask him for a more accurate number when he joins us in a little while.”

  “How many horses?” Quentin asked.

  “Only about twenty-five hundred, I’m afraid. Usually at least a third of an army is mounted. We fall a tad short of that mark.”

  “Will this slow us down greatly?” Silvia worried aloud.

  The man shrugged as they turned their horses and continued. “Probably. You can’t get blistered feet from riding a horse.”

  “No, but you can sure get a sore rear,” Quentin muttered. “I guarantee the ones walking won’t get that.”

  Grant grunted. “Very true, but I’ll bet the ones walking would still trade with the ones riding for any length of time.”

  The day quickly warmed up, but they traveled five miles before breaking for lunch. Spirits were up and several different songs could be heard throughout their meals. Silvia ordered that no fires be built, for there wasn’t much time to cook and she didn’t want to ravage the land every time that they stopped. Most everyone had cold, salt-treated ham with a chunk of bread and a piece of fruit, with water to drink. The break lasted only a half hour and soon the tall grass was trampled beneath their feet once more.

  The sun beat down, the scorching heat enveloping everyone. Most passed under the shade of the trees when they could or took quick trips to nearby creeks and streams to get water for their animals. The army went around most big hills so the beasts wouldn’t overexert themselves, and thanked the gods when stray clouds floated in front of the sun’s warmth. Another halt was called three hours and several miles later, but lasted only twenty minutes. Evening slowly fell as they moved on, and their pace quickened. Only three miles were covered this time and at the first large field they stopped to set up camp for the night. Dozens of fires immediately went up and the smell of meat and vegetables cooking soon arose. Silvia sent word through the Guards that everyone was to go to sleep as soon as they had eaten. Despite her orders a lot of men and women talked, played cards, or instruments awhile before sleeping, and a good many practiced with the sword.

  Silvia’s tent was pitched and she spread out thick silk blankets to lie upon. It wasn’t the most comfortable she had ever been but it would do. She thought of her husband at home, and touched her sapphire. “Keelan?”

  His response was immediate. Yes?

  “I miss you already, my love, and I am worried for you.”

  Don’t even think of me, my Queen. Just concentrate on the war and getti
ng to Lordale. I’m fine here. The healers you left here are taking good care of me. Have you traveled far?

  “Yes, and everyone is exhausted. It was a good day, though.”

  Tomorrow will be harder. Feet will get sore, and people will want to break more often. This will be a continuing pattern since they are not used to this sort of fatigue. Rest now, Silvia. You need your sleep now. Goodnight, and I love you.

  “Goodnight to you too, my King.”

  Vyto awoke from a strange dream. In it he was watching a herd of wild horses make a pilgrimage across the path of the army when suddenly they stopped to let the army bind them with reins. They were ridden without saddles, but the people riding them cared not, for their sore feet were finally off the ground.

  Vyto didn’t know what to make of the dream, and tried to shake it out of his head. Sitting up he removed a brush from his sack and brushed his thick blond hair back into a pony’s tail. He knew the overall effect of his hair probably made him look a bit girlish, but it kept him cooler in the immense heat of the day. And besides, he didn’t really care what others thought of him. For the most part he frightened them anyway. Although the thirty-one year old was only six feet tall, he was close to two hundred and fifty pounds of nothing but muscle and heart. Who would want to make fun of a brute that size to his face?

  He sighed, knowing the answer. Everyone thought he was dumb, thought that they were smarter because he hardly ever spoke. In truth he was a very knowledgeable man and read every book and map he came upon. He didn’t talk much because he found that most conversations were not stimulating enough for him; people kept circling the same boring subjects like starving vultures.

  And then there were the dreams. Ever since he was a boy he’d had vivid dreams that often came true. He talked about a couple of them to his father, who had made quite a big deal out of it. Vyto had never been the sort who enjoyed being the center of attention, so he learned from then on to keep his mouth shut. Needless to say, his father had not been happy when he had ‘stopped’ having the dreams.

  “Thoughtful this morning, or are you still half asleep?”

  Vyto looked up to see the young man who had been bugging him since they had left the city the day before—Gordy, he believed him to be called. They were about the same height, but the young man was a lot lighter, seeming to be made of a sack of bones. His hair was carrot red and he was covered in freckles. Vyto was surprised the guy’s eyelashes weren’t freckled too.

  “Not going to answer?” Gordy flopped down beside him. “I’m glad I’m not the only one awake before sunrise.”

  “What do you want?” Vyto grumbled.

  “Someone to talk to.”

  “I don’t want to talk.”

  Gordy’s face took on a rather hurtful expression. “That’s okay—I don’t blame you. Mother always said I tried too hard to make friends. I end up making people mad instead. I guess that’s why I’m my only friend.” He shrugged and stood up, shoulders slumped. “I’ll leave you alone now. Sorry to have bothered you.”

  Vyto felt a little ashamed of himself. He was rarely rude to anyone and Gordy acted as though his whole world had fallen to pieces. “Gordy wait. Come back and sit with me.”

  The red head barely turned his head. “No thanks. I know when I’m not wanted.” He ambled off into the darkness as the trumpets rang to wake everyone else up.

  Silvia bade the Lystians to eat something light for breakfast, even if they were not hungry, to keep up their strength. She did not wish to have a malnourished army; nor did she want them so full they couldn’t keep up, or eating up their precious food supply too soon.

  A lot of the Lystians had to share pots, pans, and plates, nevertheless they did it efficiently and the food was readied very quickly. Soon, everyone was eating and packing their blankets.

  At last it was time to mount up. Despite being tired and wanting to sleep, Silvia climbed atop Rituel and signaled the army to move with a yell and a wave of her arm. The going wasn’t as slow as she expected it to be, and they made excellent time as they wound around forest and field and valley. Again, no fires were built at lunch time and meager meals were eaten by starving fingers. Many people went to find extra kindling and small chunks of wood to tie to the oxen and horses for later on in case there wasn’t enough wood where they halted for the evening. Soon the day became overcast, cooling everyone down and giving them a reprieve from the glare of the sun’s rays. However, the wind began to pick up as towering dark gray clouds clogged up the horizon like a dam, blocking out the sun as though night were falling. The smell of rain was in the air, and the Queen sent out scouts to seek a large span of woods for shelter. Behind her, men and women scattered to collect all the dry wood they could carry, knowing a torrential downpour was imminent. Thunder began to rumble loudly in the distance as the scouts returned. Just around the next hill was a big wood, they said, and the army hurried towards it. The wagons were all parked at the edge of the forest so they wouldn’t get stuck inside amongst all the rocks and underbrush. The Lystians pushed past the wagons, going as far into the forest as they could to make room for the rest of the army. In the end, there was just barely enough room to conceal everyone from the rain that let loose moments later. There was little lightning (to everybody’s relief) but the rain and thunder lasted a good two hours.

  “Well, we were making considerably good time before this bloody rain started to fall.” Prince Dalton was glaring hard at the sky and the ground at the forest line. “We might as well spend the night here, for it might be too wet for the wagons after this lets up. Besides, we’ve traveled fifteen miles today. They need a break from walking.” He jerked his head toward the campfires.

  “They might have to walk some more anyway,” Quentin said. The Queen, the Prince, and Sir Grant all turned their eyes upon him. “I’m not sure why, but I don’t think we should stay here much longer. It doesn’t feel all that safe.”

  Vyto woke up in a cold sweat. Even in the blaze of the firelight he could feel their eyes on him. His eyes searched the trees and wagons around him frantically, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. But the feeling persisted.

  A Royal Guard went by on his horse, making a patrol and Vyto took a chance on speaking.

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  The Guard, whose name was Stefan, stopped politely and said, “Yes?”

  Vyto didn’t quite know what to say and floundered for a moment. “I, uh, have a message that needs to be taken straight to the Queen’s ears.”

  Stefan dismounted, his face serious, so that they could talk more quietly. “You have a message for Her Highness? What is it?”

  “You may not believe me and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, but I dream things that come true, and I know that right now this army is in danger.”

  Stefan became skeptical. “You dreamed this just now?”

  “Yes sir, I did. Please, take me seriously. Go to the Queen and inform her that we need to move—quickly—or a lot of people are going to get hurt or…or die.”

  The Guard’s expression turned somber. “You’re not making this up?”

  “I’d never do such a thing; I’m an honest man,” Vyto said, holding out his hands.

  “Shall I give the name of the person who sends Her Majesty this message of warning?”

  “I’d prefer not to say, sir. I’m rather shy of attention, if you know what I mean. Please, just go and tell her.” His eyes shifted to the trees, then back to the Guard. “And for the Queen’s sake…hurry.”

  Stefan mounted his horse with a sense of alarm and made his way to the Queen’s entourage as quickly as he could. Her Highness was deep in conversation with the important man from Crider when Stefan interrupted.

  “Queen Silvia, I’ve a message for you that you need to hear immediately.”

  She rose and went to his horse, her companions rising as well.

  “A man stopped me and said he had a dream that a lot of people would die if we did not leave this for
est now. He said we are in grave danger.”

  “Stay right here,” she ordered him, and gathered Quentin and Zander with her. “I must talk to the trees,” she said. “Something strange is going on.”

  “I knew it,” Quentin muttered. “I had a bad feeling about this place.” His eyes darted to the thick, dark boughs of the trees around them.