by Tom Burton
Some in the crowd cry mournfully as they listen to the wizards. Daniel, wandering simply among the crowd, remains composed. Goras sees a boy crying near the front; he looks down at the boy and smiles.
“Tears are not an evil to be ashamed of, for they are a sacred sign of emotion. They are not a sign of weakness, but of strength. They speak more elegantly than words of any tongue ever can. They are the envoys of devastating grief, and of indescribable love...” Goras reassures the boy. The shame the boy once felt is wiped off, and he hesitantly smiles back at the wizard. Goras then looks back at the faces in the rest of the crowd.
“Hold close what you once had, but hold closer what you still have. For we’ve learnt that time is no friend of ours, but the greatest cheat of all,” Azdus concludes.
Silence then sweeps over the crowd, as most of the people look grievingly around them. Soon they disperse, moving back through the rows of headstones..
As King Daniel and Laura slowly walk back to the camp, Laura tightens her interlocked arm around his, and looks over to him.
“I didn’t see Aaron’s headstone, where is he?” Laura whispers.
Daniel looks back and gives her a bittersweet smile.
“Home,” he whispers.
Days pass after the opening of the Royal Forest Cemetery. The deafening silence and emptiness spreads from the royal forest all the way across the lands of Neroman. This King Daniel discovers as he rides toward the bridge, accompanied by Laura, George, Azdus, and Goras. The bodies of those who thought and died for the West are carried by carriages behind them.
As they approach the ripped open walls of the bridge, King Daniel slows his horse. George rides up to him.
“What will you do with it?” Daniel asks curiously.
George takes a moment to gaze upon the bridge.
“It is a symbol of our race divided. It is a false representation and should be stripped down.”
Daniel looks back at George with approval and then rides ahead.
In the small town of Greyshore, now being repaired by those who ventured back to the village after the war, the townsfolk hear horses in the distance. They watch as their recently selected Lord of the West, George Carrick, rides into the village, accompanied by King Daniel, Laura, George, Azdus, and Goras.
As George sees his people, he gallops ahead of the other riders.
“My lord!” one of the men shouts as George leads his horse over to him. “It is good to see you,” the man humbly welcomes George. George smiles respectfully.
“Are we making good progress?” George asks.
“The accommodation for yourself and the king is ready; livestock and water are in generous supply,” the man replies. “We received word from the builders at Volgate, who bear no bad news for us to consider.”
Soon, the rest of the group arrives by George’s side. The man talking with George sees King Daniel, and he quickly goes down on one knee. Other onlookers do likewise. Daniel recoils, still unused to the new title of king. As he looks upon the kneeling crowd, he gazes past them, over the fields in the distance. He soon spots a burned out house, and gasps softly. He then dismounts his horse and walks toward the fields…toward the dilapidated structure that he soon realizes to be Aaron’s old house.
Daniel’s march toward the house soon turns into a reluctant walk as he tries to hold his emotions together. He stops only when he reaches the damaged house. He looks somberly at the blackened wood exterior, which is slowly failing to hold up the house. Small trails of smoke still drift up from inside the house. For a few moments, Daniel simply stands, memories rushing through his head—recollections of when he and Aaron were younger, and peace reigned across their lands. The memories are suddenly interrupted when Daniel hears footsteps approaching.
“This was yours?”
Laura comes alongside him. Daniel simply shakes his head.
“This house was where Aaron lived. But it’s familiar to me, as I would often join his family under their roof. When we were younger, my mother would often argue with any man she would share the house with. Often, those arguments were my fault, and so Aaron and his family would take me in, feed me, and keep me warm. They treated me like family, when they didn’t have to.”
Laura sees Daniel’s eyes are beginning to well.
“He just wanted to come home.”
Daniel breaks down, his hand rushing to wipe the tears off his face. Laura wraps her arms around him in comfort as Daniel continues to cry on her shoulder.
“He is home….He is home,” Laura whispers in his ear.
Once the tears in Daniel’s eyes begin to stop, Laura slowly pulls Daniel from the scorched house. The two walk back to the others, who simply observe from a distance, waiting for their king.
As the sun rises on a new day in a cloudless sky, King Daniel waits outside the building he stayed in, not having had a moment’s sleep throughout the night. He sees carriages filled with the dead victims of the West, ready to walk the path toward Forest of Els. Soon, Azdus and Goras appear at the carriages; they are eventually joined by a somber George Carrick. The three turn to King Daniel, waiting for him to stand behind the carriages. He turns to see Laura coming through the doors beside him. She walks slowly over to Daniel.
“Are you ready?” Laura asks.
The two link arms, but Daniel ignores Laura’s question. Instead, he keeps his eyes fixed on the carriages in front of them. The two then walk together to join the others. As the ceremony begins, the dozen carriages, each pulled by two horses, start walking in a single line down the muddy path. The carriages are slowly followed by King Daniel and Laura, with George following behind them. Azdus and Goras walk behind the others; they are followed by other family relatives of the victims on the carriages.
Soon after the carriages start down the path, the gathered crowd hears music being played just in front of the crowd. The men and women in the crowd soon become emotional as they watch the carriages walk past them: some drop flowers by the horses’ hoofs and the wheels of the carriage, others give flowers to the riders and those who are walking behind the carriages. As King Daniel leads those who are walking, he occasionally still struggles to control his emotions. He tightens his grip on Laura’s arm to restrain himself from crying.
In a closed ceremony in the Forest of Els, the small group continues to walk behind the carriages. They come to a small burial site already prepared by the survivors of Greyshore. The music continues playing behind them. The soft sound of the wind blowing is the only sound heard as men and women carry the bodies from the carriages then slowly lower them into newly dug graves, the freshly forged headstones towering over them.
As the mourners retrieve Aaron’s body from its carriage, Daniel helps them carry it to the gravesite. Gently and respectfully, they lower the body down into the grave; the men then start shoveling the earth back from where it had been dug out. Daniel looks at the headstone above Aaron’s grave, and sees Aaron’s father and brother laid to rest next to him. Azdus and Goras observe the somber scene from a distance, in silence and mourn. Then, Laura walks over to Daniel.
“He would have wanted to be buried here, next to his family,” Daniel whispers, as he sees Laura approach him.
“He would have been so proud of you, and what you have done for us,” Laura reassures him.
Daniel softly smiles as the two hold hands, looking at Aaron’s grave.
Months pass after the mourning of the loved ones lost during the war against Mutaro. Early one morning, King Daniel stands outside the gates of the newly reconstructed city of Dellmoor, staring with awe and amazement: the city is exactly how it was the first time he arrived there, with Aaron, half a year ago. He laughs joyfully to himself and then signals the guards. The large bronze gates open as he slowly walks through. His formal clothing shines brightly in the hot summer air. As he walks past empty streets of taverns and blacksmith
s, he looks upward. Bells are ringing repeatedly around the capital.
The streets continue to be empty as Daniel walks, but the sounds of birds chirping, along with bells, keeps him smiling wide along the way.
As he turns a corner, he sees a new building in front of him—the Church of Silver. It is a rounded building—not reconstructed from the desolation of the capital—built in commemoration of all those who died in the war against Mutaro. King Daniel looks upon the building proudly as he walks toward the entrance. He sees George Carrick standing by the closed double doors. His smile grows even larger as he approaches his friend.
“You ready for this?” George asks calmly.
Daniel nods.
George turns to open the doors.
Daniel walks into the church ahead of George. Inside, he sees everyone in the capital crowded into the building. But the crowd quickly makes way, allowing him to pass through to the other side. Five pillars support the roof of the building; the names of those who died in the war is engraved on each of the columns.
Daniel looks over to see Goras and Laura at the front of the church. Wearing a bridal dress, Laura stands with her back to him; she slowly turns to see him, and smiles. As the two look at each other, Daniel smiles, too, grateful at the sight of his fiancée, now three months pregnant. He walks keenly across the church. Laura then turns back to face Goras, who is dressed formally and holding an open book in his hands.
As Daniel is walking, he looks up at the ceiling, and reads the text engraved there:
What we do for ourselves dies with us. But what we do for others, becomes immortal.
As Daniel reaches the other side of the church, he stands next to Laura proudly. The two look at each other and smile. Then, they look back at Goras. “Shall we begin?” Goras asks.
That afternoon, following the wedding ceremony, those invited to the wedding move over to the Great Hall within the rebuilt royal castle in celebration of the royal wedding and the newly crowned Queen Laura. As all the guests converse while drinking glasses of red wine, King Daniel spots George Carrick in the crowd. He slowly walks over to George, who smiles as he sees King Daniel approaching.
“Many congratulations, my king,” George says proudly.
“My king….Those words are still unfamiliar to me,” King Daniel replies softly.
“Well, so much has changed in the last few months, it’s going to take some getting used to—for everyone,” George replies. “But we’re still here, and our stories have not finished yet,” he adds, hoping to comfort the king.
King Daniel eventually smiles then looks again at George.
“Are you enjoying your new position?” he asks.
“Well, it’s a large area to be responsible for,” George replies, “especially when the resources are not as readily available as they were for Lord Fuller. But the people are happy—and for me, that’s what warms the heart.”
King Daniel appreciates George’s observation. The two men then see Athora keenly conversing with the other people of Neroman as she mingles among the crowd.
“And what about the Treno-Ban—how do they settle in the North?” King Daniel asks.
“She has been looking troubled, my lord. Perhaps integration is not their strongest suit?” George suggests.
But the king shakes his head.
“I will speak with her,” King Daniel replies. “Now, more so than ever, we must unite to progress.” He turns more directly to George. “I’m very lucky to have you by my side, George,” he says.
The two shake hands. As George turns and walks away, King Daniel sees George approach his father, Robert. The two embrace, which puts a wider smile on the king’s face. But as he turns to Queen Athora again, his smile slowly fades. He walks toward her.
“Queen Athora,” he says in greeting.
King Daniel’s voice stuns the queen as she turns to him. She then bows deeply.
“My lord,” she says.
“Your Highness looked trouble. Anything you wish to raise with me?”
Queen Athora nods reluctantly.
“Our scouts report sightings in the North, we left it abandoned for too long during the war; evil still stirs there.”
King Daniel’s face expresses concern while he continues to listen to the queen.
“Orcs still roam the North,” Queen Athora tells him. “They may be few in number, but time is on their side. We must act.”
“Are you sure of these sightings?” King Daniel asks.
“We have no evidence, but I trust the soldiers,” Queen Athora replies.
King Daniel takes a moment to consider the queen’s assertion before responding.
“Our people are not a resource we can afford to spare, but this new threat needs to be quashed. Confirm that the orcs still roam the North; once it is confirmed, inform me and only me. Once I receive the confirmation, I will send what I can spare to support you in this fight.”
Queen Athora nods, accepting King Daniel’s plan.
“Thank you, my lord,” she replies. Then she takes a step back and quickly bows, before urgently leaving the Great Hall.
The next morning, George and Queen Athora ride through the front gates of Dellmoor together. As they depart the capital, they are followed swiftly by the members of their respective entourages, both on horse and on foot. George looks back on the newly constructed city for a few moments, gazing at its beauty.
“Just look, how far we’ve come,” he says, expressing his disbelief. “From winning a war we were not capable of winning, to building wonders again!”
Queen Athora turns to look at George, then back at the capital.
“It’s incredible. The story of this war will never be forgotten, nor will those who fought in it,” Queen Athora asserts.
As the two continue riding, George again looks at the queen.
“It won’t be our names that people will talk about in generations to come,” he tells her. But the queen chooses to remain silent.
The two parties quickly reach a crossroads, in which one path heads north and the other path heads west. The parties then ride into the crossroads, where George looks at Queen Athora with an innocent smile.
“This may be our last meeting for a while,” George tells the queen.
“I hope our paths cross again soon, my lord,” Queen Athora replies.
George chuckles.
“Good luck, Your Highness,” George tells her.
Queen Athora smiles slightly before she responds:
“Likewise.”
The two look at each other for a few moments, feeling reassured in each other’s presence. But Queen Athora breaks the gaze then whistles to her horse. The horse turns, and Queen Athora gallops North, with the warriors of the Treno-Ban quickly galloping after her. George simply stares at her, a big grin on his face.
As the Treno-Ban disappear in the distance, a guard of the West approaches George.
“My lord?” the guard says, trying to get George’s attention. “What do we do now?”
After a few silent moments, George breaks his gaze from Queen Athora and looks back at the guard.
“We rebuild,” he replies.
Then he grabs the reins of his horse and rides down the western path, his guards slowly following behind him.
Back inside Dellmoor, Queen Laura watches on from the balcony of the highest tower as she sees the parties of the West and the North leave the capital. Once they disappear into the distance, she walks back into the royal chambers. Here, King Daniel is sitting in front of a desk, writing in a book. His gaze does not break from the book as Queen Laura enters.
“I wonder when we will see them again,” the queen says to King Daniel.
“The future holds no promises, we mustn’t hide from that,” Daniel says, offering his wisdom.
Laura smiles lovingly at hi
m as she walks over and wraps her arms around him.
“Are you almost finished?” she asks.
“I am now.”
King Daniel closes the book, revealing the title on the front cover: The Silver Savior.
“Sam went out of his way to teach me and Aaron how to read and write when we first ventured north,” the king tells Queen Laura. “He didn’t have to, but he enjoyed helping others…. It’s people like him who need to be remembered.” A heavy sense of bitter sweetness underpins the king’s voice. He turns to the queen. “I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you too,” the queen replies.
The two kiss tenderly.
King Daniel then stands from his chair and holds both of the queen’s hands as they move close together.
“I’ve been thinking…the country has been reborn—humanity has been reborn. So, I think this gives us an opportunity to make some changes…” the king suggests.
The queen remains silent. She looks curiously at her husband.
“During the times of the previous kings, they ruled the land, while the queen acted as a bystander—at best a guardian to raise children. No more. We rule together, side by side; no decisions are to be made without the other’s consultation.”
King Daniel’s proposal stuns the queen. Surprised, she smiles.
“I hope I don’t let you down,” Queen Laura replies after a few long moments.
King Daniel shakes his head.
“You never have,” he replies.
As the two kiss, there is a knock on the door of the chamber.
“The wizards, my lord,” Kamara shouts through the door.
King Daniel sighs.
“Send them in, commander.”
As the doors open, the royal couple sees Azdus and Goras entering the chamber.
“Apologies, my king, my queen,” Azdus says.
“How may we serve?” Queen Laura offers.
“We were wondering if we might speak to the king?” Goras asks.