She focused on the warm flames of the fire as her servants finished making everything ready for her. She knew they would lay out a nice dress for her to change into for dinner and would warm some water for her to freshen up in. Her tent soon contained all of the necessities, but it was still a far cry from even a room at a modest inn. The walls of the tent were tightly stretched against the ground, and she knew that the damp grass in the back section of her tent had been covered with a dry rug, but neither gave the illusion that she was in a solid room instead of a flimsy tent in the middle of nowhere.
She sighed as she left the fire and parted the dividing flaps to enter her room. As a servant helped her change out of her riding clothes and get prepared for dinner, she wondered how much more she could take. Once again she questioned whether or not it had been a good idea to come along. She had never thought of herself as necessarily soft, but after another rainy day of marching she was almost ready to stop.
Of course the idea was ridiculous. They were in the middle of nowhere. They really wouldn’t come upon another city until they reached Candus. She realized it was probably good that the rain had not begun until yesterday or she would have been even more tempted to stay put in Kavar. Now, she really didn’t have a choice but to continue on to Candus.
When she finished getting ready, she took a long look at herself in her mirror. She supposed she was holding up fine, and when she smiled at herself, she could almost imagine that she was back in the palace getting ready to attend dinner with her father. However, she did determine that on the way back to Calyn she would be riding in a plush carriage and not traveling on horseback with the Royal Army. She would then have the liberty to travel at her own pace and choose where she wanted to stop and rest and for how long.
She tried to smooth out her hair, and then headed into the front room of her tent. Gavin was already there, quietly waiting in one of the chairs for her. He rose as soon as she entered and gave her a small bow.
“You look lovely as always,” he said with a smile. “Would you care to accompany me to dinner?”
“Yes I would,” Kalista said as she took her fiancé’s arm. “Having dinner with you is about the only thing that I have to look forward to these days.”
They ducked out of her tent and quickly made their way through the misting rain and into the command tent. It was larger than her tent with several different partitioned rooms. The front room had a large table in the middle of it surrounded by chairs. It would be used for planning once dinner was over, but for now the room was empty except for Gavin, her, and a few servants.
Gavin pulled out a chair for her and carefully pushed it in as she sat down at the table. He then sat down next to her and clapped his hands. Two servants immediately appeared with plates of food that they set on the table.
“Doesn’t this look delicious?” Gavin said with a charming smile. “We’ll have to send our compliments to the chef.”
Kalista shook her head as she looked at the plate of food. It wasn’t much different than what they ate every night. Gavin must have sensed her mood and was trying his best to cheer her up. She really didn’t feel like playing along tonight. She picked up her spoon and took a taste. She then covered her mouth with the back of her hand and coughed as if the food was making her choke.
“You must be eating something different than I am,” she said with a scowl. “I think we ate this a few days ago. Is it the leftovers?”
“Well, I . . .” Gavin began to say before he started laughing. He quickly got himself under control. “Okay, it’s not that great. But I’m hungry enough that most anything looks good.”
“I wish I were as hungry as you,” she replied. “Then perhaps I could make myself finish this.” She pushed the plate away from her. “I hope the chefs in Candus are better than the army cooks.”
“The chefs in Candus are some of the best in the world,” Gavin said as he put down his fork. “I guarantee that there will be no complaints once you have tasted the delicious creations of our palace chef. You will most likely think your first meal in Candus is the best you have ever eaten.” He paused, trying to keep a straight face. “I can guarantee this because after eating this for another two weeks almost anything will taste gourmet.”
“I guess I will have to eat my dinner so as to dull my taste buds enough to not make you a liar when we arrive in Candus,” Kalista said.
She finally gave in and smiled. The food they had was not that bad. They definitely ate better than the soldiers. She pulled the plate back towards her and finished her dinner. Despite what she had said, she was hungry after such a long day. They both finished their meals in silence. When they were done eating, Gavin turned to her and held her hand.
“I am sorry about the rough traveling conditions,” he said. “Perhaps I should have insisted that you ride in a coach.”
“It’s not your fault,” Kalista replied. “I am the one that insisted on riding by your side. Most days aren’t bad. I just hope this rain clears up by tomorrow.”
“I am sure it will. These spring storms never last more than a day or two. We’ll be in Candus in another twelve days and then you can relax, comfortably as the High Princess of Kalia deserves. Did you know they are planning an engagement celebration for when we arrive?”
“What?” she responded with surprise. She hadn’t heard anything about an engagement celebration. “They’re planning a celebration with a hostile army at their doorstep?”
“Of course,” Gavin replied. “They are not going to let our arrival pass by without celebrating the union of the baron’s son to the Princess of Kalia. Besides, after such a long march it will boost the troops’ morale. It will remind them of what they are fighting to preserve.”
Kalista supposed it made sense. The celebration would not only be an opportunity for the city of Candus to pay its respects to the crown but also be an opportunity to lift the soldiers’ spirits and prepare them to defend their homeland. And now she had something to look forward to as well.
“That is good news,” she said with a smile. The only bad part was that there would be another twelve or so days of marching before they even reached Candus.
The servants cleared away the dinner plates and brought in some candied fruit for dessert. Kalista smiled in surprise at the variety and the sweet smell. They had only eaten desserts when they had stopped in the cities. She wondered where it had come from. She was almost certain that the army cooks didn’t normally have such delicacies with them.
“I had some picked up when we were in Kavar,” Gavin said nonchalantly. “I had planned on waiting a few more days before having it served, but after such a long day of riding in the rain I thought you might appreciate it.”
“I do appreciate it,” she said with a smile that was continuing to grow larger. “You think of everything, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that I think of everything,” Gavin replied. “Then again, I didn’t say it. You did. I don’t want to argue with someone as intelligent and beautiful as you, so I will concede that you are right and I think of everything.”
She grinned and shook her head as she popped a piece of candied plum into her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored its sweetness. It was delicious. She felt Gavin leaning in towards her, and her eyes slowly opened. His face was only a few inches away from hers.
“In all honesty,” he said softly. “I really do not think of everything. Most of the time, I am only thinking of you.”
Her fiancé then gently touched her chin and lifted it towards him. He finished closing the distance between them and softly kissed her lips. Butterflies flitted through her stomach.
“Things will work out just fine my Princess,” he said as he settled back in his chair. “Soon this march and the skirmish at the borders will all be distant memories. We’ll reminisce on our little adventure when we are older and think of the fun time we had together.”
“Perhaps I’ll reminisce on our time spent together as fun,” Kalista replied
as she turned back to her dessert. “But I will definitely never think of riding through the cold rain and mud as fun.”
They chuckled as they continued savoring the candied fruits. Kalista was thankful for Gavin’s optimism and thoughtfulness. He would make a great husband and king. As soon as they had finished dessert, the two generals and some of the captains began to arrive at the command tent. Kalista stood up and allowed Gavin to help her into her cloak.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied with a smile. “I do not want this night’s happy memory tarnished by talk of war.”
“As you wish,” he said.
They both ducked out of the command tent, and Gavin escorted her the short distance back to her own tent. She was happy to notice that it was no longer raining. Perhaps tomorrow they would even be greeted by the sun.
“Thank you for a wonderful dinner date,” she said with a grin. “Please give my compliments to the chef.” Gavin smiled back at her warmly.
“Sweet dreams my Princess,” he said as he gently squeezed her hands. “I shall try to survive the night away from your presence.” Kalista reached up and brushed his lips with a kiss.
“Hopefully that will make your night easier,” she said teasingly.
With that, she turned and entered her tent. She sighed as she let her servant remove her cloak. The day had not turned out to be as bad as she thought it would. She would follow Gavin’s last suggestion and have sweet dreams, dreams of an early summer wedding.
16
“Screeing is something that has fascinated me ever since I first read about it,” Eldridge said with excitement. “I think it will be incredibly useful to you. Screeing is the ability to see things that are far away, things that would be impossible to see even with ambience enhanced vision like yours.”
“How far?” Traven asked, full of curiosity.
“As far as you want,” the keeper replied. “I suppose you can imagine why this fascinates me so much. I love being the keeper of Faldor’s Keep, but I haven’t been outside the keep for over six years. And even then it was only to bring the new human guardians to the keep from their small village at the base of the Parched Mountains.
“I often wonder what is going on in the world outside. What changes have occurred? What is the same? To be able to actually see the outside world while safely in the keep, doing my duty, well that would just be, it would just be . . .” Eldridge paused. “Incredible,” he finished. “Enough of that, I’m sure you are anxious to learn how to do it.”
Traven was indeed anxious to learn how to scree. It did sound fascinating. Looking around the dark room, he wondered how it would be possible. They were back in the same tower they had been in earlier in the day. However, instead of out on the balcony, they were in the center of the tower room with all of the windows and doors shuttered. He wasn’t sure how they would be able to see much of anything in the dimly lit room.
“I must admit that I wanted to teach you this from the beginning, but I knew that you needed to learn more of the basics first. Screeing includes doing several different things with the ambience all at once. After your success this morning, I don’t think it will be too hard for you to figure out how to do it. Come over here.”
Traven walked to the center of the room and stood opposite the keeper. In between them there was a small table. On the table sat a shallow dish filled with water. He looked down at the dish and smiled back at the dim reflection of himself in the water. He then looked back at the keeper.
“Why is it so dark in here?” he asked. “If we want to see something far away, don’t we need to be outside with a lot of light?”
“Oh no,” Eldridge replied. “Screeing is much easier in the dark. At least that’s what the texts say. It is easier to see the image when it is contrasted against the dark in the room. You won’t be straining your eyes like normal to see a distant image. Screeing involves bringing the image to you.”
Traven frowned, not understanding how it would be possible.
“This screeing dish is the only tool you will need,” the keeper said while pointing at the dish of water. “The image will be reflected on the surface of the water, just like your current reflection. However, the image you will soon see will not be from within the walls of this room but from somewhere outside.”
Traven still didn’t have any idea how he would be able to do it, but he was excited to learn how. The keeper had been very adept at explaining new concepts to him thus far, and he had full confidence that this time would be no different. It would be amazing to be able to pull up images of things that were far away.
“Explain to me what I need to do,” he said eagerly.
“In a way it is like sending a message,” Eldridge began. “However, instead of sending sound away from you, you will be pulling light towards you. You will need to create a conduit of particles that rises from this dish up into the sky. At the far end of the conduit, you will need to create a smooth sheet of water. It is imperative that this sheet of water be completely smooth and still. An image will reflect off this sheet of water, travel down the conduit, and appear on the surface of the water here in the dish. Once you get the hang of it, we will be able to look at anything that you choose right here on the glassy surface of this water dish.”
“Okay,” Traven replied while thinking of the concept. It didn’t seem too difficult. It was just like reflecting an image from one mirror to another. He glanced up from the dish towards the ceiling and frowned. “How am I supposed to form a conduit that goes out of this room?” he asked. “You have all the openings shuttered.” The keeper looked at him with a confused expression for a moment and then smiled as he realized what Traven was asking.
“You don’t need any large openings. Just form the conduit straight up through the ceiling.”
“But it’s solid rock,” Traven replied. “I can’t form anything through solid rock, much less pull light down through it.”
“It’s not really solid,” the ancient keeper stated as he took on a lecturing tone. “The particles that make up the stone in this keep or anything else that appears solid, have tiny spaces in between them. With the ambience you have the ability to exploit those tiny spaces and form things through supposedly solid objects. In the case of screeing, you can use the tiny spaces in the stone to pull light through it. Fascinating isn’t it?”
Traven nodded, thinking about what the keeper was saying. He knew that there were particles in the air all around him even though there appeared to be none. Why not air in what appeared to be solid objects? He focused and looked at the solid rock above him. He wondered what would be the easiest to imagine in order to form a conduit from the room up into the sky. All he could think of was a lightning bolt, but he was hesitant to try and form one through the ceiling. If he pulled on the ethereal image too hard he could accidently blast a hole in the ceiling of the keep. He would have to be very careful.
Time slowed, and he formed an image of a lightning bolt very slowly and deliberately. As the particles in the air swirled to form around the expected bolt, he was startled and pleased to find that even though he couldn’t see the particles in the ceiling and beyond up into the sky, he could feel exactly where they were and what they were doing. It was almost as if he could see right through the solid rock.
This realization caused new excitement. He began to wonder what he could do with the ambience by sensing things but not necessarily seeing them. Suddenly Traven felt static in the air and jerked his attention back to the task at hand. He let the ethereal bolt back slightly away from its strained push against the barrier to the physical world. It had been way too close. He had almost pulled the bolt into existence without thinking. He made an increased effort to focus on the task at hand.
Concentrating on the bolt, he let his mind travel up its length, through the ceiling, and up into the sky until he reached its top. At the top he concentrated on creating a thin sheet of water. It was tricky
to get it perfectly level and smooth, but after struggling with it for a few moments, he managed to stabilize it. He then willed light to travel from the sheet of water down the bolt and into the screeing dish. He kept his hold on the water and the ethereal bolt and glanced down at the dish of water.
He smiled as small flashes of light began to dance across the surface of the dish. Unfortunately, the small flashes never sharpened to create a specific image. Eldridge stood across from him, glancing at the dish excitedly. After a few moments he glanced up at Traven. Traven gave him a shrug and a questioning look. The ancient keeper thought for moment before speaking.
“Is the conduit perfectly smooth?” he asked. Traven shook his head no. “Try making it smooth”
Traven put extra focus on the bolt again. It was anything but smooth, having all of the jagged lines associated with a bolt of lightning. Slowly and carefully he imagined the jagged edges becoming smooth. To his delight, the bolt melted into a perfectly smooth cylinder shooting straight up to the heavens.
He focused on pulling the light once again, and slowly a fuzzy image formed across the entire surface of the dish of water. He smiled at it and then frowned once again. There was definitely an image being reflected on the water, but it was too fuzzy to make out. He allowed his thoughts to run over his smooth bolt and up into the sky. The bolt was still perfectly smooth. However, as his thoughts reached the sheet of water, he realized he had allowed his hold on it to slip. He concentrated on making it completely smooth again and looked down as Eldridge let out an excited gasp.
The image in the dish had sharpened clearer than Traven would have ever expected. It looked as clear as anything he would look at with his own eyes. It glowed slightly, giving off light of its own.
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