The Red Prince (1)

by Stephen Lucas Lacroix

  “I know what will happen. The security of thousands of lives is what we are weighing against,” he looked at every one of the councilors and then to the Prince, “and we choose to sacrifice his life instead.”

  Ravaen did not talk anymore and stared back at the diplomat’s words.

  “Believe me Prince Ravaen. A lot of councilors including the diplomats oppose the very idea of killing our own Prince. But with the devastation that he is doing and the unrest that he causes - we really have no choice,” Ferrier said with heaviness in his tone. “So my Prince, what is your answer?”

  The councilors looked up to the Prince. One of them saw his fist, bleeding. Ravaen stood up and answered the question the diplomat had laid unto him. “I’m in.”

  The council room went silent. Ferrier showed a smile of relief and threw a paper to the prince. Ravaen caught it and read it for a moment then stared at the diplomat.

  “That’s the location of the meeting place. The Princess of the Orderian is already on her way. May I suggest for you to depart immediately.”

  “You may leave Juntoreigh now, head back to the village. Your mission here is done,” said Ravaen and left the room completely. Ferrier did the same while the council members remained.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The prince entered his room and slammed the door shut. He punched the wall several times before calming down. He rested on his bed for a moment while looking up at the ceiling. He remembered the Trasidian Prince. It was not like him to just go to the other side. He remembered the day when they first met, it was not much, but it was enough to know that the Prince was a good person.

  It was midday at the northern city of Gramork back then, in Malatur’Aren. It was the capital of the region and the one closest to the borders of the Mystic Falcons. Both of the respective Monarchs were in the city for a goodwill visit of the Falcons and King Razolden Adevok had with him the young Falcon prince, Ravaen. The Trasidar Monarch was already in the city palace. Waiting inside were the whole Imperial Council, along with the Imperial King Madarick Lluch IV and the young prince, who still did not have his iron hands, Prince Tamiron Lluch.

  The Falcon Monarch arrived that day in the palace and the formal greetings had been given.

  The Imperial King leaned a little towards his son.“My son, go on and be with the Falcon Prince. The Falcon King and I have important matters to talk about,” the King said in hush tones. The Prince nodded with a glow of excitement on his face.

  The Falcon King said the same thing to his son and when Ravaen was about to answer, the Trasidian Prince dragged him playfully outside the palace gardens.

  They played in the garden with soldiers hidden behind the bushes. They ran around the gardens beating every shrub. The two boys had so much fun that day and the guards also had fun watching them. They ran towards the end of the palace gardens when Prince Tamiron tripped. The guards rushed for the prince but Tamiron suddenly stood up and prompted the guards to halt. Prince Ravaen helped him to dust off and noticed a small scratch on the prince’s knee.

  “We should go inside and just sit in the library. We don’t want you to get hurt anymore.” Ravaen told Tamiron. He saw that Tamiron was in pain from the scratch. It made him curious though why Tamiron continued cleaning off the wound when someone else could do it for him.

  “You know, there are servants for that,” Ravaen pointed at the servants that closed in to clean up the young prince. Tamiron only smiled back at him and finished off the cleaning. He waved at the servants to show he was fine already.

  “Come on, Ravaen. Let’s go to that big tree over there. It has a good view of the city,” Tamiron said and ran off. Ravaen was still bothered. He had everything being done for him because he’s a prince. He summoned his wings and flew to Tamiron, who was trying to climb up the tree.

  He held him by the back and carried him to the top and settled him on a big branch. He arched his shoulders and his wings vanished into his back.

  “Tamiron, why didn’t you let your servants help you? You should have let them. That is their duty,” Ravaen said to the smiling Tamiron.

  “You know Ravaen, not everything will have to be done for you,” he said, with which struck Ravaen. “Yes, they are here to serve us, to make our lives easier. But that should not be the case every time.”

  Ravaen just stared at him in awe.

  “We, the future leaders of our kingdoms, should learn first-hand that we must endure pain for our people, to make their lives better. To sacrifice for the people,” he said then turned to Ravaen with a big smile. “So my little scratch is nothing compared to what people endure to make their lives better. I love my kingdom and I love the people. And the day that I become king, I will make it my priority to make their lives better because my father always said, Happy people leads to a happy kingdom and in turn, will make the kingdom stronger and closer,” Tamiron said.

  Since that day, Ravaen was influenced by Tamiron. Ravaen remembered how much Tamiron loved his country and his people. They stayed on the branch overlooking the city, and behind the mountain was the silhouette, of the Great Tree.

  Why the sudden change? Those words he said years ago now made him concerned about The Empire. What will happen to them if he left?

  Ravaen knew he could trust the council to run the kingdom in his absence. With that aside, he prepared himself for his departure. He put on his armor that bore the falcon crest. He looked at his forehead protector with the Adevok crest on it also, but decided not to bring it along. He grabbed his sword and walked towards the balcony. He looked at the surroundings again for one last time, trying not to forget the wonder outside of his world. He took a deep breath then looked toward the sky above.

  He stared at the map the Trasidar diplomat gave him for the location of the meeting place. From his back, a glowing wing-like radiance started to spread and then completely materialized to his wings. He looked at each then flapped them for a moment. Assured that he was ready, he took a deep breath, squatted, and flew into the sky.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The diplomat was escorted back to his carriage. He got in along with his things and closed the doors behind him. The Falcon guards prepared to lift the carriage back to the village. With his mission accomplished, he took a short nap and the Falcon guards gently lifted up the carriage and left Juntoreigh.

  Ferrier woke up as they arrived at the village. His escorts were waiting for the guards to lower him down. Gently touching the ground, the falcon guards let go of the ropes. They saluted to the escorts and acknowledged the diplomat’s presence for the last time and flew back to Juntoreigh.

  Ferrier’s escorts attached the horses back on the carriage, preparing to leave. After checking that everything was set, they left the outpost village into the far north.

  “Sire, where are we going next?” asked the driver.

  Ferrier looked outside the window and back to the giant tree of Juntoreigh, where the clouds weren’t covering it yet, “We’re going to the metal-rich realm.”

  The driver felt confused and thought of it for minutes, “What realm is that exactly, your Excellence?”

  The diplomat took his eyes to the mountainous parts where hazardous thunder clouds could be seen and the constant lightning strikes in that region. “The Iron Kingdom of the Kra’ens,” he answered.

  The driver’s eyes widened for a moment and he said to him, “This is going to be one heck of a trip.”

  End of chapter III

  IV: SPRING

  THE KINGDOMS OF THE VIRIS and Venis Elves may be both of the Elven race, but they had a clouded relationship and distrust with each other.

  The Viris Elves considered themselves the Grand Elves. They were one of the remaining old kingdoms in the west. They were conservative but were open to the realms around them. They had dwelled in the largest forest surrounding the southern lands of the west, the La’Sarien Forest. They bordered the Venis Elves in the south, the Middle Kingdom to the east and the High Kingdom t
o the north. They were often considered as sacred elves because of their bewildering pale skin that shined when the sun’s rays hit them. Their dark green eyes were like gemstones and they had golden hair that glimmered like real gold. To outsiders, they were truly mesmerizing. Only a select few were allowed within their borders and only for a limited amount of time. Most of these visitors were merchants, farmers, acclaimed healers and a few close acquaintances of the King.

  South of La’Sarien Forest dwelled those condemned by the Viris, the Kingdom of the Venis Elves. The Venis were born from the unity between an elf and a being that belonged to a race long gone from the world, the Race of Men.

  Because of their unusual mix, they had grown physically diverse but still look more elf than man. Hence, they are still considered as elves – warm-blooded elves so to speak.

  The Venis were the exact opposite of the Viris. The Venis openly interacted with their neighboring kingdoms and were naturally friendly. They can also be relied upon unlike the Viris.

  Long ago, during the Old War between the western kingdoms, the Viris and the Venis Elves were at war. This had brought the Viris to the brink of extinction. At the rise of the Trodonar Empire, they decided to unite with each other to face them. The Trodonar Empire was the most formidable enemy of the Trasidian race and wanted to bring the annihilation of the Trasidians and everyone who stood in their way. However, their unity alone was not enough to defeat the Trodonars until the other kingdoms stepped in and joined the fray. After successfully defeating the Trodonar, peace reigned throughout the continent and a truce was agreed amongst the elves. They established a rule and code for the kingdoms to follow which was agreed on by both kingdoms.

  Though the war between the elves was over, not everyone agreed to the truce. The other Kingdoms contributed a clause that made the Viris hate the Venis even more. For peace to reign longer, the Council of Eight Kingdoms suggested to give the other half of La’Sarien Forest to the Venis Elves. Because of this, either side hardly compromised for each other, until the Trasidians intervened because of the lack of involvement by the Viris in council sessions. The Trasidians and the Venis created a route connecting the Venis city of Radenheim straight to the Viris city of Eiventolf for trade and communication to flourish. The Trasidians then requested for both kingdoms to institute a joint council for easier communication, not only for the Viris and Trasidians, but also for the Venis. The Viris were tired of war so they agreed. Since then, the two sides were at peace with each other, or so they pretend to be.

  Meskotav was located in the middle of the elven kingdoms. A large dome-like structure bore both the traits of the elven kingdoms that stood by the border. Built by both the Viris and Venis, it was also guarded by the best of both kingdoms, the Grand Viris Rangers and the Venis Templars. The building was divided into two parts. The Viris’ half was on the north and the Venis’ the south. The main hall, decorated with banners of the kingdoms on their respective sides, had the lone Trasidar banner in the middle of the main hall.

  That day, a meeting was held.

  “Cowards!” yelled a Viris from the north. The councilmen of both kingdoms fought each other yet again. With no resolution to their arguments, they oftentimes resulted to violence.

  Haveltok Imno, an imperial representative, was required to be present in every Meskotav council meeting. Despite his position, he was unable to stop the arguing men and just waited for everyone to get tired before he made his statement.

  Today, the visitor from Tamara had finally arrived. As the enormous doors of the hall opened, the hall fell silent and all eyes fixed on the visitor.

  Haveltok went down from his post and welcomed an old friend of his. “Council of Meskotav, I introduce to you, Imperial Diplomat Tolous Rham.”

  Murmurs filled the room until someone shouted and broke the silence. “Half-bloods!”

  Haveltok sighed and rubbed his forehead in desperation as the council went into a ramble once again. Tolous was confused but was escorted to his seat by Haveltok.

  Tolous noticed Haveltok’s silence and asked him, “Is it always like this, my friend?”

  Haveltok looked back and said, “Unfortunately. And I always have to be here.”

  Tolous whirled to his left and to his right, listening to the harsh exchange of words from each side.

  “Idiots!”

  “Half-bloods!”

  “Die Remocaltes!”

  “Go back to your forsaken land you call home!”

  Tolous, being a person of short temper stood up and went down to the center of the hall.

  “Silence!” he bellowed.

  The room fell silent and all eyes were upon him.

  “Now that I got your attention –”

  “It’s because of them!” one from the Venis side shouted.

  Then it broke out again but Tolous quickly countered the noise.

  “Quiet! Every single one of you!” Everyone looked at Tolous and calmed down for a while. Haveltok smirked as Tolous began to deliver his message.

  “I have a message from the Imperial Council that is of utmost importance.” Every councilor in the hall began to murmur and one of the Venis asked.

  “What is it that you wish to tell us?”

  Tolous scanned his surroundings before he said his message. “Prince Tamiron Lluch. Imperial Prince and the highest ranking Imperial General, has committed treason against the empire.”

  Everyone in the room bursts out of control and began to question the message.

  “That is impossible!”

  “That message is not true!”

  “It is, in fact, true,” Tolous said in a calm voice. Everyone was silenced by Tolous’ answer.“The King is ill and may be nearing death. The Imperial Princess has now been recalled to the Imperial Capital to discuss her future. Archbishop Menoich, was elected as the Prime Minister of the empire for the time being.” He could clearly see the worried faces of the councilors of each side. They knew the horrors that may come should the empire fall.

  “The Prime Minister, along with the Imperial Council, came to a decision. A hard decision because of the Red Prince’s treachery.” He looked around. “They hereby bestow the highest punishment that the Imperial Council could give upon the Prince. Death.”

  His message prompted protests from each side as all of them try to voice out their concern.

  “Isn’t that too harsh? To kill the prince? He’s the only remaining heir. What if he’s under a Xerxecian spell or what could be his reasons for his outrageous actions?” one of the Venis councilor said.

  “Our speculations lead that he did this out of selfish reasons. The Prime Minister was against it, I tell you. But a majority vote by the Imperial Council forced his hand,” the diplomat explained.

  As the council and the imperial diplomat continued their discussions, a tall man entered with a cape of as green as the leaves outside the La’Sarien Forest. The guards opened the doors for him as he casually walked inside. He could hear the council was having a discussion because they were too loud – loud enough that it intrigued him.

  “That’s why we need the best of the best from both of your armies,” Tolous added.

  “The only one qualified is our prince,” one of the Venis councilors said.

  The diplomat smiled, “We regret to inform the Venis, that we don’t want the Venis prince to get involved in this one. We need the one who trained Prince Tamiron. What’s his name again? Sevidon?” Everyone turned to the very top corner, looking at the general.

  “Me?” said the surprised general.

  General Sevidon Borinvegeard of the Venis Kingdom was ranked as “Sarem” of the Venis Army, the highest rank of all. He maintained his private life to himself, but some of his grand past is known to all. He made the Venis Army the Fourth strongest throughout the land, with the Trasidar Imperial Phalanx at the lead and the Royal High Legion at second. He mastered every weapon, be it a sword, spear, bow or hammer. He was the mentor of Prince Tamiron Lluch, making the p
rince a deadly opponent for his mixed Trasidar and Venis fighting style. Ranked by the Venis as “Arum” second to sarem, which was the General himself.

  Sevidon stood up and approached the center ring.

  “Why me? Why not our prince? This could be taken by the Royal Family as an insult of some sort,” Sevidon said as he went down the center of the hall where the diplomat was. “Choosing me will be a great mistake even if I trained the Trasidian Prince, it is still not a good reason.”

  Tolous replied, “You taught the Red Prince yourself. Surely you know every weak point he has. Do not worry. We have it all thought out during our way here.”

  Out of nowhere, the man from outside casually walked to the center of the room.

  “We also would like to send our best warrior as representative of the Viris Kingdom.” announced a Viris councilor.

  Tolous and Sevidon turned around and the man kept walking towards them. The man wore ranger clothes, with his long hair of gold and cape that matched his dark green clothes. His eyes glowed of dark green like a well-polished gem and behind his cape was a large foldable large bow.

  The Viris councilor cleared his throat and continued, “The Viris equivalent of the Venis General Sevidon Borinvegeard.” Everyone looked at the Viris side doors where a man emerged, “Colonel Glaivel Numenesse, Prince of the Viris Elves.”

  Colonel Glaivel Numenesse, Prince of the Viris Elves, was the son of the Elven King and heir to the Grand Elven Throne. He was the greatest sharpshooter and bow wielder in the entire eight kingdoms. He fought in the Old War and also in the War of the Elven Races. He single-handedly defeated the best of the Race of Men and eventually drove them to extinction. Even though he was of royal blood, he participated actively in scouting and guarding of La’Sarien Forest and refused to sit back and do nothing. He was a versatile prince but was also one of the most arrogant. He was also a playful prince yet reliable and strong which brought out the best in him.