Kingdom's Hope

by Chuck Black

  Leinad found Tess and Quinn, and together they began to organize the people for their journey out of bondage.

  EXODUS

  The people quickly gathered food and their meager belongings and prepared to leave Pyron Mid. The slave dwellings became an instant bed of frenzied activity. Anxiety, excitement, and apprehension prevailed among most of the people. They felt anxiety because they could not believe that Fairos would release them without some reason to further his own power. They were excited because never before had they been so close to freedom. They were apprehensive because they did not know where to go or what lay ahead of them. Some of the people left on their own, to return to their homelands, but most of the people were from the Valley of Nan or without a homeland altogether and had no homes to return to.

  “Leinad!” Quinn called. “We’re almost ready. There are thousands of people! Where do we take them? How will we feed them?”

  Leinad smiled at Quinn. “Where the King’s will lies, there lies the way.”

  Leinad and Tess rode on Freedom to the front of the mass of people. Leinad gave the reins to Tess and dismounted. He drew his sword and held it high for all to see.

  “Through the King, we have been delivered,” he shouted. “Let us set our hearts to serve Him as we set our feet toward freedom!”

  He motioned forward with the sword and led the people northeast toward the majestic Red Canyon. Leinad glanced back toward Pyron Mid to see if Fairos pursued them, but such was not the case. He wondered how long it would take for Fairos’s grief to transform to enraged vengeance.

  Their journey was slow. Almost everyone traveled on foot. The few exceptions were the older people, who did not have the endurance to maintain their moderate pace. Tess promptly gave her seat on Freedom to two older women.

  Leinad hoped to reach the Red Canyon by nightfall of the next day. It was just beyond the borders of Nyland, and he would feel much better once they were outside Fairos’s realm.

  LATE INTO THE FOLLOWING DAY, there did not seem to be any canyon in sight. Garrin found it an opportune time to create discord among some of the people. Leinad called for Quinn to take Freedom and scout the land before them. Within in a few moments Quinn returned.

  “It’s amazing,” he said to Leinad. “We are almost to the canyon, but the trees ahead conceal it. The canyon is vast, but the land before and after hide it quite well.”

  “Thank you, Quinn. We will travel along toward the east until we are safe beyond the borders of Nyland. Then we will—”

  “They’re coming!” came an alarm from one of the men.

  “Look!” Quinn pointed to a distant dust cloud that could be produced only by horses at full gallop … many horses.

  “It’s Fairos!” Garrin said to the people. “He’s coming to kill us all! I told you Leinad would get us killed, and now it’s happening!”

  Cries of alarm swept through the people.

  “You brought us out here to be slaughtered!” one man shouted to Leinad. “We were better off as slaves!”

  “What will we do?” shouted another.

  “Quinn, go back to the canyon and find a way down,” Leinad said. “We don’t have much time!”

  Quinn pulled hard on Freedom’s reins and galloped off toward the Red Canyon.

  “Quickly, everyone!” Leinad shouted. “We’ve got to make the canyon before they reach us!”

  The people quickened their pace, but it was still far too slow for Leinad. He kept his eye on the approaching dust cloud and estimated by its size that Fairos had called his entire mounted force down on the fleeing people.

  Quinn returned shortly and dismounted. “The canyon walls directly ahead are far too steep,” he said. “Off to the right there is a gorge that descends to the canyon floor, but it is narrow and long. Our people can pass only five or six wide. It will take too long to get them into the canyon. Besides, Leinad, what happens then?”

  “Why don’t we stop and fight them?” a large fellow said. “We outnumber them five to one.”

  “We have no weapons and they are mounted,” Leinad replied. “It would be a massacre that none would survive. We don’t have a choice. Quinn, lead us to the gorge’s entrance. I will take Freedom to the rear and hurry the people.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Tess said.

  “No, Tess. I need you to help Quinn direct the people to the gorge.”

  She looked disappointed but knew this was no time to argue. “Yes, Leinad.”

  Leinad galloped to the trailing people while Quinn and Tess altered their course toward the narrow gorge.

  After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, the first few people reached the narrow gorge. Leinad rejoined Quinn and Tess to find a near riotous situation developing. The gorge was indeed narrow and caused a serious bottleneck. The hurrying mass of panic-stricken people now found themselves motionless as a small trickle descended the narrow passageway into the canyon. Before long, people began to push, and the flow through the passage slowed even further. Pandemonium reigned.

  Leinad rode Freedom into the mass of people near the gorge entrance and drew his sword. He pulled on the reins. Freedom reared and neighed loudly, which momentarily quieted the people.

  “People!” Leinad shouted for all to hear. “You must not panic or we will destroy ourselves! The women and children will pass first. Go quickly, but do not push!”

  The large man who earlier had suggested they fight Fairos’s men had stepped aside to help others into the gorge.

  “What’s your name, sir?” Leinad asked him.

  “I am Audric.”

  Audric was darker skinned than most of the people. His voice was low and his hands were large. Leinad assumed he was from a different region of Arrethtrae but had chosen to call the King’s people his own. Though he seldom smiled, Audric’s eyes were strong and gentle.

  “Audric, I want you, Quinn, and Tess to manage the entrance into the gorge, and I will try to bring some order farther back.”

  Leinad did not have the luxury of asking anymore; he was commanding. The urgency of the situation forced him into leadership. It was a skill that did not come naturally for him, especially at his young age.

  Soon the people were moving steadily into the narrow passageway down to the canyon floor. Leinad kept a watchful eye on Fairos and his approaching army. He knew it was going to be close—too close.

  Tess stayed at the entrance with Quinn and Audric until the last of the people entered. The individual members of Fairos’s army were now discernible.

  “Tess, Quinn, Audric … get down the passageway. Quickly!” Leinad said.

  “What about you, Leinad?” Tess asked.

  “I will come shortly! Now get going!”

  Once they departed, Leinad dismounted Freedom and looked toward the approaching army. “O my King, how will we survive the wrath of Fairos?” Leinad asked out loud.

  Freedom pawed at the ground nervously. Leinad turned to descend the gorge, but froze at the sight before him. The hairs on his arms and neck stood straight, and fear was all he felt.

  Before him, guarding the entrance to the gorge passageway, stood two massive warriors. Their silent approach shocked Leinad, but so did their massive arms and chests. Their swords were drawn, and their faces were stern. Besides their swords, each also carried a golden trumpet that gleamed in the late afternoon sun.

  “Are you enemies or friends?” Leinad asked as boldly as he dared.

  The warriors stared at him in silence.

  “May I pass then?” Leinad asked.

  Finally one of the warriors spoke. “The King will deliver you. Clear the people from the bottom of the gorge,” he commanded.

  Leinad nodded and glanced back once more at Fairos’s approaching army. The gorge was long, and Leinad would have to hurry to clear it before Fairos reached its entrance. He turned to thank the warriors, but they were gone.

  He mounted Freedom and entered the gorge. The descent was gentle enough to navigate on horseback.
The deeper he went, the more ominous the narrow walls of the gorge became. Large stone spires rose on each side, and treacherous outcroppings seemed to hang above him to form an eerie stone tunnel.

  He descended out of the hot, humid air of the plains above into the cool, still air of the canyon bottom. For a time, the only sound that broke the silence of the gorge was Freedom’s panting.

  Soon Leinad could hear the faint but growing sound of thousands of voices before him. It was brief comfort, however, because he heard the sharp commands of Fairos echo down through the walls of the passageway from behind.

  The walls on each side seemed to rise forever above him. Except for the thin crack of light above, the path before him was dark. He hoped Freedom could see better than he.

  At last, Leinad could see the passageway widen ahead, and sunlight began to illuminate his way. The sound of the people’s voices was steadily growing louder. When he emerged into the brightness of the open canyon floor, he found the people confused and unsure of what to do. A small river flowed through the canyon floor.

  “Now what, Leinad?” Garrin shouted. “Do we wait here for Fairos to kill us in the bottom of this pit?”

  Leinad ignored Garrin and spoke sharply to the people. “Quickly, move up the canyon along the river! Fairos’s army is coming, but the King will deliver us. Move quickly!”

  The sound of an army of mounted warriors was growing with each passing moment. Fairos’s men were nearly through the gorge entrance when a strange sound filled the canyon and hushed the people to silence. The blast of a trumpet reverberated from wall to wall in the narrow gorge and out into the canyon. Soon another trumpet joined the powerful, steady tone of the first, but at a slightly higher pitch. The mix of the two tones formed a resonant sound that built upon itself until it was deafening, even for the people on the open canyon floor.

  Despite the trumpet blasts, the leading edge of Fairos’s army continued to advance through the narrow gorge three horses abreast. Shouts of alarm rose up at the sight of Fairos’s men.

  Leinad drew his sword and broke from the rear of the people. He heard Tess scream his name, though barely because of the deafening trumpet sound.

  Almost imperceptible at first, a low rumble grew until the ground shook beneath everyone. Leinad stopped just before the exit of the gorge. He could see two of the leading horses of Fairos’s men stumble and collapse into the third horse beside them. One man was crushed against the gorge wall by the weight of the horses, and Leinad saw the panic on the faces of the other two as they scrambled to free themselves.

  The ground shook more violently. Small rocks and dust fell from above the men and their mounts. The next few men in line tried to jump over the entangled bodies of horses and men before them, but the unsteady ground they landed on buckled the legs of their steeds, and they collapsed, adding to the chaos.

  The trumpet blasts continued until the towering spires of stone that bordered the gorge passageway shifted and began to crumble. Stone shelves and outcroppings gave way to rain down on Fairos’s army. The screams of dying men mingled with the panicked neighing of hundreds of horses.

  Leinad turned quickly and rode to escape the descending destruction.

  Come on, Freedom. Keep your legs steady, he thought as he raced back to the people.

  By the time he reached them, the trumpets had ceased and the ground became still once again. The silence following a storm that had passed settled into the canyon along with the dust and debris.

  Everyone looked to the gorge exit for the pursuing army, but there was none. The stone walls had collapsed, creating an instant grave for all of Fairos’s army. None survived. Through the settling dust, Leinad saw two forms retreating down the canyon floor in the opposite direction.

  “Leinad has saved us! He has freed us and delivered us from the hand of Fairos!” the crowd cheered.

  “No!” Leinad shouted as he quieted the people. “I am not the one!” He looked sternly at them and then pointed back toward the gorge. “Behold the work of the King! He has both freed us and saved us. The King reigns!”

  The people cheered and echoed his acclamation. “The King reigns!”

  THE CODE

  The victory celebration over defeating Fairos was short-lived. The people’s entrance into the canyon was sealed, so there was no choice but to find another way out. Tess, Quinn, and Audric were invaluable to Leinad as they helped organize and maintain some control of the people. Leinad led the people east up the canyon, but the walls were steep on both sides for as far as one could see.

  After two days of traveling, the people began to murmur and complain. Food was scarce, and the canyon walls trapped the afternoon heat. Their only recourse was to stop and seek shade among the canyon walls until the blistering heat subsided. The cool nights were welcomed, but the people worried that the canyon would eventually be their grave.

  “The King has saved us to abandon us in this desolate canyon. We will die here!” one man said in an evening assembly of the people.

  “He’s right!” Garrin said. “We are starving. There is no food … and no way out of this dreadful canyon! You have brought us to our destruction. I say we rid ourselves of Leinad and make our own way!”

  “Listen!” Leinad said. “The King delivered us from slavery. He will not abandon us now! Tomorrow I will ride up the canyon to find a way out.”

  “How do we know you will not ride off and leave us for good?” Garrin said.

  “Yes,” said another man. “You are the only one with a horse strong enough to leave this massive graveyard!”

  Quinn stood up and faced the people in anger. “Leinad came to us when he did not have to. Have you already forgotten? You are free because the King asked him to risk his life for you. May you be cursed for saying such things! Leinad will find a way out for us … as sure as the King reigns!”

  Quinn’s words seemed to satisfy them for now, but Leinad knew it was a temporary appeasement. He thanked Quinn for his words of support. He saw more leadership potential in Quinn, who had a charisma the people loved, than he felt in himself. His respect for Quinn was growing, and Leinad knew that he would have to rely upon him to help control the people.

  THE NEXT MORNING LEINAD rose to find Freedom packed and Tess waiting for him, mounted on Freedom’s back.

  “And what do you think you’re doing, Sunshine?” he asked.

  “My duty, Leinad. I have to make sure you’re not going to abandon us,” she said with a wink and a smile.

  Leinad responded with a cheerful smirk. “Yes, I suppose someone had better keep an eye on me.”

  He was actually thankful for her company. She was always a boost to his spirit, even when the rest of the world was trying him.

  Leinad assigned Quinn and Audric to lead the people in the day’s travel, then he and Tess went in search of a route of escape. They put Freedom into a trot to cover as much ground as possible and still be able to return to the people by nightfall.

  The canyon seemed to stretch on forever. They found a few places that some of the stronger people could climb, but it was extremely risky, and most of the people would still be trapped in the canyon.

  They pressed on. The scorching heat baked them as if they were in an oven.

  They came to a point where the canyon split north to the left and east to the right. The northern branch was wide and looked easy to travel. The eastern branch, however, was narrow and foreboding. Before deciding which branch to take, Leinad and Tess stopped and found refuge in a sliver of shade while Freedom drank from the river.

  Tess wiped the sweat from her brow. “This is quite the adventure you’ve brought us on, Leinad.”

  “Are you doing all right, Tess?” he asked.

  Tess was growing up. Leinad felt their relationship changing. No longer was she a little sister. Her maturity and stature forced him to see her as more of a peer now. She was taller than most girls her age—only slightly shorter than Leinad himself. He respected her ever-present wisdo
m, but what he cherished most was her unwavering loyalty. Oftentimes this devotion kept him from giving up altogether. He was thankful that their relationship had changed, because he did not have the luxury of being vulnerable with anyone else.

  What Leinad was only just beginning to see was how pretty Tess had become. Like slowly opening rose petals, Tess’s gradual change hid her beauty from Leinad’s heart. He was a young man with heavy responsibilities … responsibilities that he needed a fellow companion to bear. There was no time for anything more.

  “I’m fine, Leinad. How are you holding up?”

  “I am not the one to lead these people, Tess. The King used me to free them, but I know that they need someone other than me.”

  © Marcella Johnson

  Tess was silent for a moment. “Right now, Leinad, you are the one. The King chose you, and you must lead them home … wherever that may be. Be confident in this for now.”

  He looked at her with great admiration. “How did a little girl like you grow up to be so wise?”

  She blushed and turned away to look down the canyon. Her expression transformed into one of wonder. Leinad followed her gaze and saw it too. High on the canyon wall, in the crux of the canyon branch, stood the form of a man. Though He was far away, His majestic form was unmistakable to Leinad.

  “It is the King!” Leinad said in hushed reverence.

  “The King?” asked Tess bewildered.

  “Yes. Come on, Tess.”

  They rode Freedom to the base of the canyon wall, where the northern and eastern branch split, and looked up. The King was no longer visible, for the jagged stone walls before them blocked their view. Leinad searched for a place to scale the wall, and when he found one, they dismounted and began the arduous climb. Halfway up, they found a natural shelf large enough for both of them to rest on. They drank heavily from their water flasks.

  “You … must go on,” Tess said between breaths. “I am spent.”

  Leinad nodded. “I’ll be back soon, Tess. No matter what happens, wait for me here.”