by K. M. Bonde
At first, she is hesitant to sit in his chair. “I insist,” he says. “My clan would like to see their Queen, the daughter of their beloved King, on the throne once again. One day, I would like to venture to meet you at your rightful place on the grand throne in the City of Lights, to see you on the throne as ruler of all the lands.”
Elora turns around toward the large table and slowly sits down on the throne. Arddun walks up and gives her the staff she left on the table, bowing to her.
“Thank you,” says Elora. Though she wants to fidget in the throne, unsure of her position in the room, she stays very still. “Please stand next to me,” she says before turning to her party. “Please, all of you, come up and join us.”
Felan is quick and runs up and lays down in front of the throne next to Elora's feet. The dwarves do not fear Felan as they have been around such beasts before and they know he belongs to the queen. The rest of the party make their way up to the throne, one by one.
Soon, the bell rings in the city, and all the clan members come to the throne room to see their queen and clan leader joining forces to fight the evil. As the dwarves make their way into the room, they are met with a sight that they will never forget.
“This is a sight that will be told in stories for a thousand generations,” murmurs the dwarven Elder.
There upon the throne sits their queen, petting a great wolf at her feet and holding her staff with the other hand. A group of the most diverse and unimaginable heroes surrounds her, a sight the clan has ever witnessed. On her right side stands Arddun, tall and strict in her pose, holding on to her staff with both hands. Next to Arddun stands Ryan in his odd clothes, holding onto the sword strapped to his belt. Drake stands next to Ryan, his two daggers ready. Next to Drake is Kvenalon in his robe that is dusty from the travels, but he still carries his belt of potions that seems to shine in the faint light from the windows.
On the other side, close to Elora, is the clan leader, holding his hand on the throne behind Elora and standing tall and proud. Elof stands close to his leader, smiling and holding his axe over his shoulder. Eadric, at last, stands next to Elof, holding his hands on his sword in front of him. The sword stands on the ground, its sharp edge making a small hole in the wooden floor as Eadric presses down on it.
Soon, the bell stops ringing and the whole room is full of people, curious and excited to see the Queen and her heroes who will liberate them from Grimdar.
The clan leader steps forward and speaks. “Family and friends, we have a great guest in our home this day. The legend is about to come true, the Chosen One has arrived in our lands. Please welcome the late king's daughter, Elora, to our home and may the Stream grant her power and guidance. To our Queen!”
All the people in the room cheer and shout, honoring Elora and her birth parents. She is quite taken by the event, silently begging her tears not to fall. Not now, she thinks. I need to show them my power.
When the room quiets and when she’s regained her composure, Elora stands up, holding her staff close. “My friends, we have traveled a long way to reach you and I thank you for your hospitality,” she says. “We will fight together against anyone who threatens our lands. I have felt the calling from the Stream, and I can say with confidence that I’m connected to it in a way I never felt before. Me and my team will push forward and one day we will stand, like this, with our people in Winterhaven as well. There, I will finally know the next answer to this puzzle that the Stream is weaving for me. Know that I will never stop fighting for you, and I will never stop believing that we can save these lands from the Dark Forces that has ruined the lives of so many. I have finally come home, and I’m here to stay.”
The crowd chants together, “Our Queen! Our Queen!”
The clan leader lifts his hands, quieting the room enough for him to speak. “Tonight, we will feast! Bring in the ale and food!”
Chapter 41: The Feast
As Elora looks out at the people feasting and enjoying themselves, she can't help but think back to her days in school. She'd always been so nervous and shy talking before an audience, but here, in her homeland, those feelings are gone. When did I become so confident? she wonders. Knowing what to say and when to say it must have been in my blood all along, and I just needed a reminder of that.
Elora smiles to herself at the thought. Arddun might even say it’s the Stream guiding me.
These people in front of Elora, are they truly her people? She knows everyone in this room and everyone in the kingdom is looking up to her, as the savior, the Chosen One. She shakes her head at the nickname.
But she doesn’t get much time to think about this, as people begin coming up to her to talk to her and sing their praises. She smiles and talks to everyone, happy to see how much everybody cares about her and to see how happy everyone is. I have to do my best, she thinks. They’re counting on me.
She looks over to Ryan and sees him getting some food from a servant; he looks happy, but still a little out of place. He hasn’t had time to settle yet, and we haven’t been here long. I’m only this settled because of my connection to the Stream. They have had talks and he still struggles with the sword fighting and monsters being a part of their new daily norm. Elora puts her hand in her pocket and feels the rose. She smiles again; it is still there, so small and fragile, resting in her pocket all this time, through battles and dungeons. One day, she will hang it on display in her home, wherever that will be. Perhaps she will even have a rose garden one day, a beautiful garden with roses of all kinds and colors. She and Ryan could live there with Felan, Bruce, and Catherine, and be a family.
Music starts playing and fills the room with splendor. The soft and warm light from the candles makes the room even more welcoming as darkness falls outside. The smell of the food mixed with ale spreads in the room, and the murmur from people talking grows louder with each drink they have. Elof and the clan leader are drinking ale and laughing together near a table. Felan has retired to a cozy corner where he licks his paws after finishing a big meaty bone.
The peaceful moment is disturbed by a sudden commotion at the entry, people yelling, and things being thrown. Elora hurries across the room to see what is happening. There, on the steps outside the house, sits a small dwarf scratching his head as he tries to come in. His clothes are worn and dirty, and he doesn’t wear armor like the other clan members. He looks and smells like he’s in need of a bath, and the other dwarves jeer at him, pushing him down the stairs.
As Elora walks up they stop, leaving him alone. Elora looks at them and frowns. “Who is this and why can't he come in?”
“He is the village idiot,” says one of the dwarves, his voice filled with spite. “His name is Gorby, and he is crazy. Always talks to himself and no one knows what he is talking about.”
Elora sits down on the stairs next to him, extending a plate filled with meat and potatoes to him. “Do you want some food?”
He takes the plate and starts eating, munching away like a mad man. Arddun stands next to Elora, guarding her, and looks at the small person sitting bent over before the young queen. Gorby starts mumbling as he eats. “Thank you, ma’am, most kindly. I have been bad, not helping. Me have seen it, ma’am, shiny. Did I touch it? I think so. No! We should not touch it.”
Elora tilts her head to one side. “What is shiny? Was it bad?” she asks, her voice soft.
Gorby looks up for a second and spits out some meat on the ground before he continues eating. He has no shoes on his feet and his feet look burnt, or at least covered in something that looks like ashes. “Mustn't go there. Horsey did and no good. But so shiny, my shiny. Did I find it? Yes, ma’am, but it’s warm, burning. Shadows follows me, and me cannot run, walk yes, not run.” He continues mumbling, but whatever it is, Elora and Arddun can’t understand him.
Soon the clan Elder comes by and pushes him away. “Go home, Gorby, and don't disturb our queen with your ramblings.”
Gorby runs off, limping and dragging his feet in the dirt.<
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“Sorry about that,” the Elder says, the grumpiness in his voice gone now that he’s had food and drink. “He became like that one day after falling into a mineshaft on the other side of the city. He must have hit his head and damaged something.”
Elora sighs and walks back inside again to join in the festivities. That’s not right to treat him that way, she thinks. But the light and sound from the feast is as vibrant and welcoming as the sleep will be as soon as this is over. The clan is singing now, like karaoke back in Elora's old world, but much worse. Elora claps her hands as she walks in, trying to follow the rhythm of the music and singing. At least the spirit is the same; they do it for the fun, not for how it sounds. She walks past Ryan and grabs him quickly to give him a kiss, and he follows her with his eyes as she walks back to the throne.
Elora sits down and holds her staff. When she closes her eyes, she remembers what Arddun told her. She focuses on the Stream and lets herself drift away in it. Her world expands as it shows her wondrous things and places of great beauty, white, icy trees and rocks, white lands as far as she can see. Elora sees a great city, covered in snow, situated beautifully between a frozen lake and great mountain. She almost feels like she is flying, getting closer to the snowy city. On the wall, she sees a boy standing, holding out his arms. He is pointing his finger toward the mountain. The mountain lights up from the green colors spreading over the sky. It’s an amazing light show, and Elora opens her eyes. The feast is still going on, and Elora has only been away for a few seconds.
Why did the Stream show me the mountain near the snowy city? Is this where I must go? she wonders.
The Elder calms the crowd and tells them to listen. “It’s a tradition that we pay homage to our fallen comrades and to the mountain we call home. Let's do so by telling the story of the mountain during the great war.”
From the second volume, Endless Night.
To the mountain we finally call
Let us not tremble and fall
Into the depth of the pit
Give strength to man and twit
Find courage and glory in war
With wits and words we roar
With darkness and monsters so near
There is nothing left to fear
As he ends the poetic story, everybody breaks out in song. They sing the story and let the music rise to the sky to rest among the many stars.
Chapter 42: The Pit
Elora and her friends borrowed a three-story house near the center of the city for their stay, and its peaceful atmosphere and quaint decorations help the young queen finally sleep. I’ve slept better here in the mountains than anywhere else, Elora thinks as a soft morning breeze blows through the open window in her third-floor room. No more fiery nightmares.
She sits up, then walks over to the window. It looks like a beautiful day outside, Elora thinks as she watches the sun rise. Arddun has the other of the only two beds on this floor, and she’s still sleeping. Elora smiles. Finally, I got up before Arddun! She moves softly and carefully toward the staircase, knowing that if she wakes Arddun up, there will be more training today.
Elora has other plans that does not involve training, more of a sightseeing nature. She steps gently on the wooden floor as she nears the staircase.
As she takes her first step to go downstairs, Arddun sits up in the bed. “Is it time to train?” she asks, her voice sleepy.
Elora stands up straight and sighs. I’m the queen, I should be able to do what I want today, she thinks. “No, Arddun, there is no training today. You can go back to bed, it’s still early.”
However, Arddun isn’t having any of it and gets up. She seems ready for the day, ready to protect and train Elora as usual. How did she wake up so fast? Elora wonders as she watches the mage grab her staff.
“Bring your staff as well,” Arddun says, turning to Elora. “Remember to always bring your staff, because until you reach your full potential, the staff gives you extra power.”
Elora sighs and walks over to her bed, picking up the staff from the floor. “Still, there is no training today. I just want to walk around the city and see what it has to offer!” Arddun looks at her warily, as if she might complain, but Elora frowns. “Please, Arddun!” she whines. The mage smiles and nods.
“As you wish, Elora,” she says, following her queen downstairs.
They sneak by Ryan, Kvenalon, and Drake, who are all still sleeping on the second floor, and make their way down to the first floor. The strong smell of ale and meat greets them on the first floor, seemingly originating from the corner where Elof sleeps. Eadric is cramped up in the opposite corner, far away from Elof. Felan lays with his head close to the door, but he’s still close to the fireplace.
When Elora comes down, he looks up, tail wagging, but she puts a finger to her mouth and makes a face to tell him to be silent. He lays his head back down and sighs softly. Arddun and Elora make their way out on the street, looking around. The hour is still early and not many people are around. Elora looks up toward the mountains and decides that she wants to walk up the windy road to see what's up there.
They set out, and Elora keeps looking at the cute houses up on the mountain side. The path up is made of even more cobblestones, and it reminds Elora of a picture she saw of someplace in southern Europe where they built small villages on hills and had cute cobblestone paths between houses and ropes hanging between windows to dry the laundry. No laundry or ropes to be found here, Elora thinks. Where do they do their laundry? Do they do laundry? Based on her knowledge about Elof, she isn’t quite sure, and she knows that asking Arddun about these things won’t get her closer to an answer. It’s better to be quiet about it, and perhaps the answer will show itself one day.
Elora and Arddun make their way up the cobblestone road and continue to walk as the road makes its way up higher and higher. As they climb higher, they pass many more homes, and Elora can’t believe how many people must actually live in the city. There are even some houses close to the edge of the road, though these houses stand alone, not built into the mountain like the rest. As the queen and mage climb, they meet more people who are up and about, taking care of daily chores. Elora greets each and every one of them, and they smile and bow to her. It seems everyone knows who she is.
Back in Bor’lansh,almost nobody knew who I was, she thinks. How odd. I guess they’ve heard of me by now, though. Before the road makes another turn upwards, Elora finds a small resting area with a bench. It has a view over the city center and the valley below, she can even make a hint of the tower far below if she squints her eyes enough.
Elora plops down on the bench and motions to the seat next to her. “Please, sit.” Elora holds her staff in front of her, bracing her weight on it as she looks out over the land below. “Arddun, it’s nice up here, right?”
Arddun hesitates before sitting down. “I guess,” she says quietly. “To be honest, I have not really thought much about it.”
Elora sighs quietly, not surprised by Arddun’s uninspired response. The mage rarely seemed to think of much besides magic, training, and history. “Could you tell me more about the lands here and what exists beyond the parts we have seen?”
Arddun lights up at the question and starts pointing in different directions. “The land below is just a small portion of all the lands in the kingdom. As you know, far beyond us in the horizon to the east lays the great City of Lights, your real home and seat of the kingdom.” It seems Arddun has a special interest in geography, or perhaps just in any fact-based subject. “But to even get there, you would have to cross a great desert. I have never been there, but I have heard it is supposed to be wonderful.”
Arddun continues and point toward the tower. “Beyond the tower and the City of Bor'lansh lay the Great Forests. They spread out over a huge portion of the lands and reach all the way to a huge ocean. The elves live in several of the forests, and they’re quite nice, very peaceful and beautiful places. Stray in the wrong direction, though, and you will be
lost in the Dark Forest. No one goes there. It is a place of great danger and only the bravest hunters venture there.”
Elora smiles. I can’t believe this is all mine… well, all of mine to see. A proper queen has to travel, right? “What is between the Dark Forest and the ocean?”
“The Dark Forest covers a large area, but you can reach the ocean without going through it,” Arddun continues. “It is said that somewhere on the far reaches of the Dark Forest, there’s a small place where Amazons live. No one has seen them, and they protect their forest with magic and seals that are powerful enough to keep anyone out. But it’s just a fairytale as no one has ever proved them to be real. That whole portion of land hasn’t been traveled much for obvious reasons. There are also great cities near the coast.”
Arddun points toward the lake with the island, now a very small point down below. “There, on the far reaches of Lake Uriel, is the beginning of the marshlands. They stretch far and deep into the unknown. No one really knows what lies within. Few travel there as it is home of witches and vicious lizard creatures.”
I can’t wait to see it, all of it. Elora grins. “Thank you Arddun, for sharing your knowledge and information. Could you draw a map for me when you have some time? I think that would be really helpful for me, and for Ryan, too.”
“Of course.” Arddun grins at her queen. “I will start later today.”
“Shall we continue?” Elora asks, standing up and walking up the last portion of the windy road. Arddun follows her, and soon they stand near the entrance to a large opening in the mountain wall. Two warriors, armed with axes, guard the entrance. Outside is a small sign that says The Pit, and a larger sign on the wall next to the entrance that says Danger.
Elora moves closer to the entrance and the two warriors move to the side to let her in. It seems they know who she is.
“Please, only the Chosen One can enter. The danger is too grave for anyone else,” one guard says, stopping Arddun from getting too close.