Black Rim

by B A Fleming

  *****

  King Daikin now stood in his throne room with all the royals and knights that he could gather around him. Birds had arrived from Bhagshau.

  “Crixus has launched all able boats from Bhagshau this morning as soon as the fighting commenced. They should arrive in a few hours’ time, full of displaced townspeople. Our soldiers are making their way to the docks as well speak, with the first launch of soldiers set to sail not long after. I have given instructions to each of you individually as to your departure and role upon arrival in Bhagshau.”

  Princes Canute and Hacon will lead the first departure, with Birger and I to follow the following morning. Riders have been sent to the Pass, and the Morean garrison has prepared their troops to join the Vasa regiment in battle.”

  Casperi turned to his entourage of Catheridge people.

  “We will leave in the morning for Bhagshau. The King has requested it Thais,” Casperi broke the silence, indicating that they were going to war. They looked at him with a confused silence.

  “I would like you with us, Dwane. Thomas, you may join us to Bhagshau and then I will assign one of the guards to return you home.”

  The young man had visited with his father as hoped, and carried a new ring for his wife with him.

  Later that afternoon, whilst Thais was strolling through the market square with Lapse, upon request of her brother, an attractive young woman approached her, handing over a small bag of dried weeds with a nod and a smile. The royal guards jumped forward at the intrusion, but Thais raised her hand towards them as she recognized the woman’s’ eyes.

  “He told me that you would need this,” the woman said, before bowing and disappearing into the crowd.

  Lapse looked curiously at her.

  “Magic cannot cure all ills,” casually mentioned Thais. Lapse looked at her.

  “I have read of this in the books of our library.”

  “You have studied this?”

  “Oh, yes, with great interest, but have never imagined to actually use such knowledge.”

  “So, you know how this works then?”

  “Only in theory, yes.”

  Chapter 13

  King Daikin spoke briefly with his son, Birger after the others had departed. Casperi went straight to see Lapse as Thais visited Queen Cassiopeia. Soon after Birger disappeared, as King Daikin led a bundle of squires and scribes about the castle, discussing plans with senior soldiers that would form part of the second wave from both sides of the alliance. The Queen still struggled with her health and Casperi found Lapse in a small room off the library, mixing some sort of potion.

  “When did you learn to do this?”

  “Oh, some time ago,” she casually answered, still preparing the brew.

  He watched her as she stopped, now spooning the mixture into bowl. She smiled at. “Time to visit mother.”

  They made their way upstairs to the Queens’ quarters to find Thais sitting next to her bed. Cassiopeia smiled to both of them as they entered. Thais smiled at Lapse.

  “Did it work as you predicted?”

  “It as actually much easier!” she replied excitedly.

  Casperi gave his sister a questioning look. She smirked back.

  “It seems that you have a potion master within your family, your majesty,” said Thais as Lapse stepped forward, presenting the bowl to her mother.

  “Please mother, drink this,” said Lapse. Cassiopeia looked at Thais, who nodded. She drank it, slightly winching at the taste.

  “You need to rest now, dear Queen,” said Thais, as Casperi nodded and led Lapse from the room. Thais joined them soon after.

  Birger sat with the Mordare less than half an hour later.

  “Any sign of Dralan,” asked Gameard after Birger had completed his briefing.

  “None, but it seems that they have a dragon.”

  Gameard looked in horror at him.

  “A black dragon. Although these were just rumors from the ships,” added Birger.

  “Does Thais know?”

  “Not that I’m aware, though it is a matter of time. I’m sure that my father will brief her shortly upon this.”

  The King had mentioned that he would speak with Thais during the next hour. He wanted the Catheridge royals to be informed, but not alarmed. Gameard thought on this for a few moments.

  “What would our King like me to do?”

  *****

  Within an hour of arriving on the docks of Bhagshau, Canute led a platoon of men into the fray on the eastern side of the city, hoping, at the very least to reduce the area of the city captured by the intruders.

  Of all of the Houses of the realm, the Vasa were the most battle trained yet the only family yet to see any real battle time during the past cycle.

  Canute and his soldiers had joined the Battle of Caitawalaan during its final hours, left to strike down battle weary opponents.

  Canute quickly fell into the rhythm of the clash that he had instigated, swinging and blocking, swinging and blocking, in unison with the strikes. He kept his focus on his main opponent, slightly glancing around him to ensure no sneak attacks. Even as some of his peers fell towards him, he moved his attacks slightly to the side, more than once kicking the sword of a comrade into the shin of one of his adversaries and then striking them in the moment of surprise.

  He had brought with him a few small squads of archers who swept the corners in front of his men, and a shield wall, with eight-foot spears. Canute preferred the open battlefield approach to close combat, and sought to corrupt the guerilla fighting tactics where possible to ensure that the two sides broke down and into chaos.

  Axes swung through the air, sometimes striking their target. Just as many missed, most of their wielders being struck down seconds later. The skirmishes continued the width of the streets.

  The narrow battlefields allowed archers on the walls to pick off individual Narthal soldiers as they came into view, sometimes the invading forces hung back, as not to be seen, enticing their attackers back into side alleys.

  Many of the valley soldiers on both sides had come together with limited armor. Only senior legionnaires and experiences knights and mercenaries possessed the armor to survive several body strikes. The Narthal troops faired no better, with many of the troops gathered from the peasantry, only the garrison soldiers of the south, and the imperial soldiers well armored. As the sun set, most of the northern town was ablaze. The invaders began retreating to the forward camp that had been setup beyond the first row of hills outside of the city limits. Arthung could be seen with the Narthal generals, surveying the scene, determining their next attacks.

  As darkness fell, Canute retreated with his men, sweeping the streets as they moved back to the small eastern gate of the castle. As they entered a volley of arrows shot through the air from within the castle walls.

  “Watch out Prince Can…” called out Seymour, ten paces away, as he was struck down by an unknown assailant. Canute was hit in the left arm as the soldier next to him dropped. He spied the attackers in the shadows of the keep and charged forth with his men, striking down the warriors that swung curved swords and rolled out of the way of many of the first strikes. Canute’s men, having recently returned from battle, dropped much quicker than the intruders.

  Re-enforcements appeared within a minute, but that was enough for almost half of Canute’s remaining squad to die. The black clad Narthal seemed to vanish almost as quickly as they appeared. The Vasa soldiers stood puffing as the castle garrison searched through the shadows for their intruders.

  Canute laid in a bed as Vuvic approached him an hour later. “We’ve found and killed six of them so far. How many did you see Prince Canute?”

  “At least ten,” responded Canute. “What about my men?”

  “Most remaining have suffered some form of injury and are interred in the infirmary. The old advisor Seymour has passed.”

  “He saved my life,” said Canute as he tried to get comfortable.

  “Seems
we have five to ten of the intruders still on the loose within the castle walls. Plans have been put into place until re-enforcements arrive.”

  “It’s a pretty trick by them,” offered Legati Caius, who entered the room with six of his own guards. “Give us a sleepless night before attacking again in the morning.”

  *****

  Botan walked into the inn as the four Salararius were eating breakfast. As upset as the inn keeper had been, he had been well compensated by the Despotate, and several of his men disposed of the bodies and cleaned the room.

  “The news is not good, my lord,” offered Botan.

  “Nor is it for Hardular, so let’s hear it.”

  Botan recounted the happenings of the past week in Agrippa. It was the closest he had ventured towards the capital and feared that he would be captured if he travelled further.

  Sabate had escaped to an estate in the east near Veii. The grand-daughter of the late Emperor Teres was a friend of hers’ and a minor player within the court, had transported her before the end of the day her husband was killed.

  Trajunus thought of a plan. He had already run all of the possibilities through his head and made a decision based on his options, dependent upon what Botan would say.

  “Botan. You will remain here and await the remaining Salararius. Before then, I need names of the merchants who would plot against my father. I will ensure the safety of your family and friends, but none others.”

  Botan acknowledged his Despotate. He had served under Trajunus for many summers, and fought alongside him on several occasions. He also recognized the pain that the man was in, having lost his father. He accepted what Trajunus must do, and relieved that he would be spared from being part of the slaughter. He turned to the bar for a drink as the man looked nervously at him as he approached.

  “Do you inform our enemies, merchant seller?” Botan stared directly at the innkeeper.

  The innkeeper breathed in, composed himself, stoically standing to attention behind his bar. Thargus rose, moving towards the two men.

  “I know nothing of these thieves,” replied the portly, aging man.

  “It is NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!” yelled Thargus as he speared his dagger into the middle of the mans’ right hand and into the wood of the benchtop. The frightened innkeeper remained standing, trying to keep his gaze upon the soldiers, feeling the pain soaking up his arm, and the blood dribble through his fingers and onto the bench.

  A few hours later, the first two sons were rope tied and had the necks cut. Trajunus showed no mercy, as he and Zador cut down any that tried to stop them as Thargus dragged the sons from their homes. Eleven laid dead before the Salararius rode away from the first homestead.

  *****

  Casperi looked out across the castle. He had mentally prepared during the night for the battle.

  Unlike his sister, he had never actually experienced the sounds of war. Thais and Nathe stood next to him, looking across the city. The peasants cautiously went about their business as fleets of soldiers were ferried across the lake, also filing out towards Caitawalaan.

  “Messages from the ships that arrived this morning is that the Narthal have a dragon with them,” offered Nathe, without looking to towards the siblings.

  “The blue dragon, Zenath?” replied Casperi, still half lost in his thoughts.

  “No,” Nathe paused. “A black dragon.”

  Thais looked at him with fear in her eyes. He noticed that she had cut off one of her braids on the left.

  “But we killed Arthung!” she almost cried out.

  Casperi and Thais looked at each other as Nathe watched them. They all said the next word in unison.

  “Dralan!”

  Silence filled the moment.

  “He’s taken Arthungs’ soul,” Thais finally shared.

  “Or Arthung took his?”

  Casperi looked at them.

  “Dragon souls are immortal,” explained Thais. “Eren told me this when I first met him.”

  “I remember you telling me about this,” offered Nathe. “The dragons’ soul must have jumped into the closest body when it died.”

  “Dralan is now a Dragon,” reiterated Thais, looking down towards the ground and shaking her head. “I’ll never be able to kill him.”

  Casperi and Nathe looked at each other as Thais now looked ahead, confused by the dilemma.

  “So, Dragon souls can’t die, but bodies can?” asked Casperi.

  “Well, from what we saw last spring, dragon bodies can regenerate, given enough time,” observed Nathe. “And is this dragon actually Dralan, or Arthung?”

  “We’ll find out, soon enough!”

  Thais sat in silence on the floor of her room.

  “So, my mother was the daughter of Arthung?”

  “Yes, Thais, and you are the granddaughter of Arthung.”

  “But where is Arthung now?”

  “Arthung is now part of Dralan. My soul was stronger than his so I was able to take his body. He jumped to the nearest person, which was Dralan.”

  She nodded in agreement with this, thinking more about how dragons live.

  “You once told me that dragons are eternal souls.”

  “Yes Thais, this is true.”

  “So how did you become an old man? And is Grimol a dragon as well?”

  Eren laughed at this.

  “You’ve really been thinking about this, haven’t you my apprentice?” smiled the distant dragon. “After I was defeated in a battle a young soldier came to my body. As he touched me I transferred my soul into him. I was a young man but with only a limited amount of magic left. I shared some of my magic with Grimol as she was the love of my life and to watch her grow old was a suffering I could not endure. Unfortunately, as my magic declined, aging continued for both of us.”

  “So, you can move between bodies? Will Arthung escape from Dralan? Do other dragons have just one dragon soul inside them? Why is Grimol young again now?”

  The dragon laughed.

  “So many questions, my dear Thais.”

  Casperi and the others were escorted to the docks by the Royal Guard. Canute and Hacon had already joined the battle. Now was the time for Prince Birger to follow them. Lord Polan and Prince Halsten were already on their way from Caitawalaan, leading their troops along the road to Anil where they would meet up with the Catheridge soldiers, led by Norman. Edgar had been left to captain the Catheridge Guard. All knew it would be certain death for him to face battle again with injures that had failed to heal.

  A crowd had gathered by the Vasa docks as Casperi and the others hopped out a short walk along from the main docks, where the royal boats were stationed. The guards stood in line, ensuring that none of the townspeople gathered could enter the Royal Dock area. As Casperi and Thais stood outside their carriage, awaiting the porters to load their luggage, the door of the hut opened. Gameard and Soze stepped out, much to the surprise of the Royal Guards, who had not thought to check the small building. They were dressed in battle armor, the chest plates obviously borrowed from the Vasa Royal Guard.

  “Who are these thieves!” screamed the captain. “Arrest them!”

  Thais stepped forward and all of the guards froze in their steps. Even without the use of magic, the Princess was held in with the highest respect.

  “These are my private guards,” responded Thais. The soldiers all stepped back, comforted with her reply. The Captain looked at the men who both smiled at him, and then he stepped back into his position.

  She hugged both of them. Nathe and Dwane, standing behind her, smiling.

  “I didn’t think you would come!” she beamed.

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world, my lady,” slightly bowed Soze. Both then acknowledged Casperi, Aryz Coun, Dwane and Nathe as they approached.

  “Tired of sitting around doing nothing?” jibed Nathe to Gameard.

  “The mercenary trade has been a bit thin of late,” replied Gameard with a smile.

  The men had become friends du
ring the expedition, although Gameard, of all of them, seemed the greatest mystery to the slightly older swordsman. Dwane looked at Gameard and nodded.

  “Soze has been wandering the roads, but I’m more of a city man myself,” added Gameard.

  Soze smiled to Nathe, slapping him on the back. “I could do with some sword lessons on the boat, if you would? I’m a bit rusty,” he smiled.

  During their travels, Nathe and Thais had watched Soze easily account for two Ice Gols at a time amidst several battles. He was a worthy opponent to any swordsman, although he had chosen not to compete in the Summer Games, even when Casperi had offered him a position in the Catheridge Royal Team.

  King Daikin and his entourage arrived a few minutes later, and after short introductions they boarded the ship. Along with Thomas and the guards, they were soon all loaded onto the Royal yacht, that had, like the other ships in port, turned around in less than two hours, packed with troops.

  Birger stood with Casperi at the back of the Vasa Royal yacht. “How long has your father known about the black dragon in Bhagshau?”

  “He found out yesterday, with the first bird.”

  ”Yet he didn’t think to send Thais straight away?”

  Birger smiled. “He has a soft spot for your sister. Although he didn’t say it, I’m sure he wished to protect her from battle for as long as possible. You both are virtually family now.”