by Aaron Thomas
The ceremony continued on for hours as more and more people found their way to their new king’s presence. Kilen watched the light inside fail and lamps began to light the streets nearby. A meal was served to Kilen at his seat and late into the night Max had to renew Brent, Erica, and the others strength so they could keep listening.
Bowie had come and gone at his own pace. Each time he did, it was with a new set of men following him through the streets.
Auburn, Bowie’s companion, still followed in his footsteps had taken to wearing a large black hat like the ones Bowie use to wear. Seeing the two of them together was an odd sight; it looked as though his friend was annoyed by the woman, but didn’t make any move to send her away.
Kara checked in from time to time throughout the day and night. During her latest appearance, she tried to hide her blackened fingers before she could get ahold of a rag to wipe them clean. Kilen hoped she hadn’t hurt herself or anyone else.
The sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and Brent let out a yawn as he closed the inn’s front door. Max and Tokeye waved the crowd away using massive wings to buffet them with air. A meager breakfast of eggs was laid out by Leroy with some toast and cheese. Kilen ate alone at a table while the others seemed to find the energy they needed to get started for the day.
The inn’s great room was returned to its natural state, only a bit cleaner than it had been. Kilen’s things were brought down from the room, and Leroy had begun packing them in a tight roll.
“My lord, we found you a large stallion for the ride to the coast. He‘s being saddled out back now,” Leroy said as he wiped sweat from his forehead.
Kilen looked around the great room noticing no one else was there to overhear, “I figured I would just ride my elemental.”
“Brent said you would say that. So he told me when you did I was supposed to tell you that he had his reasons for you riding a flesh and blood horse. Plus, it was given as a gift from Annie. I do believe it was her husband’s horse and he’s not too happy about it,” Leroy said throwing a pack over his shoulder.
Kilen had yet to meet Mr’s Reanna’s new husband. He hoped that he could give him something in to replace the horse when he returned to Basham. Since the main room was empty Kilen followed the sounds of work into the stable area’s high walls behind the kitchen. Horses were being mounted by members of his party and Erica and Leroy were working hard to pack a wagon full of supplies. Kilen noticed that the red cushioned chair was among the wagon’s contents.
The sound of Bowie’s throat being cleared drew Kilen’s attention. A small formation of soldiers wearing blue cloaks stood with their backs to the small opening in the wall meant for horses and riders. Kilen crossed the stable yard so he could speak to Bowie.
“Why is the Guard here?” Kilen asked.
Bowie turned his back towards the men and used two fingers to wave Kilen to walk with him. Inside the stable Bowie began saddling Charger, “This is not all of the guards. Bloody hell, I tried to talk them out of this, but most of them joined today.”
Kilen went to peek back out of the stables at the soldiers, “These are new recruits?”
“Every last one of ‘em,” Bowie said. “There’s a hundred more spread between barracks and the city.”
“They joined because I visited the city?” Kilen asked, returning to Charger and helping to tighten the horse’s belly strap.
“Don’t flatter yourself, your majesty. When I talked to Sergeant Tallad, he told me that I was a bit of a legend,” Bowie said, puffing himself up.
A woman’s voice called from the back of the stables, “They were practically fawning over you when they recognized who you were. Perhaps you should ask some of them to give you a kiss?”
Kilen watched as Auburn walked a gelding past him and out into the stable yard. Bowie had already turned a brighter shade of red at her statement; not of the color embarrassment, but of anger.
“If she makes you so mad, why do you allow her to follow you?” Kilen asked.
Bowie stopped working with Charger and looked at Kilen, “Because of me she can’t go home without expecting Atmos to put her in a traitor's bowl.”
After a moment to let this sink in he returned to work on the bridal.
“So the Guard,” Kilen said, changing the subject. “They think pretty highly of you?”
“It started slowly at first, but now every time I go out, I have someone asking me my name. They’ve heard stories about the battle with Rekkan. Something about killing thousands of men with my magic bow. I have only gotten bits and pieces, but each story I hear is embellished just a bit more than the last,” Bowie said, throwing a bag onto Charger.
“Are you the one embellishing them?” Kilen asked with a small chuckle.
Bowie gave him a flat look, “This is one story I don’t want to be known for. I did kill thousands of men that day. Every time I try to talk one of these men out of following me, they get excited when I tell them of the deaths that I have caused. Not a one of them is old enough to know what it is like to kill a man.”
Kilen rubbed his chin a moment, “We’re we old enough to know it when we killed those two wielders?” Kilen gave a moment to let the question rest in Bowie’s thoughts before continuing. “What would you have me do? Shall I send them away until they are older?”
Bowie grabbed his bow leaning against the wall and used his foot to string it, “I suppose not. You need soldiers. At least this time we will be fighting for the right side.”
Kilen clasped Bowie on the shoulder, but Bowie gave it no reaction. He mounted Charger and let the horse dance beneath him. After a moment his childhood friend shoulder’s began to droop.
“With a soul wizard on the loose raising an army of undead, we do not have the option of sending men away,” Bowie said, pulling Chargers reigns to make the dancing stop. “I think I will take Auburn and ride southeast. If this legend of me has traveled this far, it will have traveled throughout the Water Realm. I can bring the soldiers that you do not have time to reach,” Bowie said, finally facing Kilen.
“I would hate to see you leave me again,” Kilen said, removing the crown from his head. He felt the weight of it disappear, not the physical weight, the weight of holding a country on his head. The weight of having to use friends and loved ones for tasks that should fall to him.
Kilen cleared his throat, “We both know the importance of completing this task, and I don’t think I can deny your request for the sake of the Water Realm.”
“I thought you would see it my way,” Bowie said smiling. “I will be as quick as I can.”
“I know you will. Good luck my friend. May the Brights watch over you and keep you safe,” Kilen said as Charger trotted out of the stable. Kilen waved hoping it was not the last time he would see Bowie.
The dark-haired girl, Erica, stepped into the stable from around the corner, “Your Majesty.”
“Do you need something, Erica?” Kilen asked, turning away from the door to keep the water in his eyes from showing. In these short moments, he knew he was asking too much of his friends.
“I know it may be too late, and you are a bit busy, but I was wondering if I may accompany you?” Erica asked with a trembling voice.
“Why do you want to come?” Kilen asked her.
“I know that there are Earth Realm soldiers at the gates of Levithan and so I cannot return home yet. Well, I can’t think of anywhere else that I would rather be but serving my king. It was my mother’s duty and her mother’s before her, and it now falls to me. Besides, I have spent the last day trying to serve your manservant in all he must do. My lord, he is struggling,” Erica said reluctantly.
Kilen shrugged, “You have kept me alive once before, and I may need your skills and knowledge again. Leroy knows a lot about herbs and poisons, but he doesn't seem to grasp elemental magic.”
Erica smiled and let out a squeak before smoothing her dress to regain her composer. She bowed deeply, “I shall run and get my things,
Sire.”
The dark-haired girl was replaced by a skinny wizard. Brent leaned against the barn’s door frame.
“I can see you are going to be a hard one to advise. You make decisions without consulting your wizards.” Brent said.
Kilen raised an eyebrow, “You disagree with my decisions?”
“No, not at all. I simply said you don’t discuss it with wizards. In some ways, you rule just like Atmos, in others not so much,” Brent said stepping into the stable. “Atmos would have demanded gold as gifts. He also would be looking for a way to raise and collect taxes or force men to join the army.”
Being compared to the likeness of Atmos, Kilen could feel the anger rising in his face.
“I am nothing like him,” He growled.
Brent put his hands into the sleeves of his robes, “No, I mean it in the best of ways. You have already begun making decisions on your own. You do not let others even have a chance at manipulation by being decisive. You, Kilen Everheart, take action and that is how you are like King Atmos.”
Brent took a step closer and continued in a kind concerned voice, “In a different way you take the time to learn and grow each day. You use that knowledge to do what is right instead of what is right for you. You are already by far a greater king than Atmos, long live King Everheart!”
Kilen watched as Brent bowed before him lowering his head to knee level. The heat from Kilen’s anger faded as Brent righted himself and walked towards the stable doors. Brent stopped to speak over his shoulder, “Where are you sending Master Crescent?”
“He’s going southeast, towards the swamps. Apparently, he is a bit of a legend; most of the men out there joined because they heard about the battle,” Kilen said with a sorrowful tone because he hadn’t consulted with Brent first.
Brent waited for a moment looking forward out of the barn then tapped his finger on the door frame, “Perhaps you should ask for advice on some matters?”
A horse whinnied, and Kilen left the stables to see Bowie disappear around the stable’s rock wall followed by Auburn. His friend did not wave or wait as a couple of the soldiers tried to follow him. He hoped that someday he would be just as respected as his friend. Until then, he would have to settle for having him at his side.
Kilen walked into the middle of the yard where Leroy was hitching a wagon to a horse. A stable hand approached and bowed his head to Kilen, handing him the reigns of a large black roan. Its coat had been brushed to a high sheen. The horse was a massive creature, one that Daniel’s father would have loved to get ahold of and breed. Kilen smiled at the thought of bringing the horse to his friend to start his own stock.
He shook the thought from his head, he had other tasks to complete before using his strength to aid his friends. Reaching his foot high, he put his foot in the stirrups and was thankful that he could reach it. Lifting himself into the saddle Kilen saw Erica come bustling out the kitchen door with a haphazardly packed sack. Leroy looked up at Kilen to which he responded to the cook with a head nod.
Kilen adjusted the blade at his waist and pulled the sword out just enough to check the emblems along its blade. Putting his hand into the small of his back, he checked the chainger connecting his skin with a wind-imbued knife. Looking at the small area, he found his four elemental friends watching over him. Max looked like a medium sized dog being ridden by a flaming creature; Joahna. Jace stirred the dirt in an attempt to give his location, but Kilen didn’t need it to see the man inside the element’s magic. Tokeye squatted atop the rock wall looking out over the small troop of archers.
Nodding to Brent, the wizard gave the order to ride out. A few selected archers led the way on horseback carrying newly sewn flags with the emblem of the Water Realm. Kilen trotted along beside Brent and waved to the citizens of Basham as they strolled out of the city. They had been successful in their first city to which Kilen hoped would be a long line of success’ for the next month. He only wished he could ride as fast as Max could carry him.
Chapter 6 - Atmos
Mica started his first of three passes around the massive force traveling from one battleground to another. The main force marched in columns of four with horses and wagons keeping pace to resupply troops intermittently. Flags surrounded the leader as he rode enclosed by nobles and wizards near the middle of the formation.
The wind wizard strayed from his path to examine a smaller force that seemed to be separate from the Earth Realm’s. The second group walked more than marched, which was why Mica noticed them in the first place. The dust cloud they kicked up was three times the size the one Atmos’ men made. The road was covered with people, no sign of a formation or order. Mica counted seven men walking abreast in a few locations. In this group, there were no flags, colors, or supply wagons. He altered the wind to dive lower to the ground to better examine them.
Out of the unknown mass of people, an arrow lanced out towards him but was quickly batted away by a practiced blast of wind. Even though he could devastate their ranks, he decided not to draw nearer. He was sure that if anyone knew about the group, it would be the king who was only an hour’s ride ahead.
Mica again began the traditional three circles above the king before beginning his descent. He watched as soldiers left formation to prepare a landing circle. The memory of his former teacher, Alexander, came to mind when he saw them. Landing circles were ridiculous; wind wizards were more dangerous close up than they were farther away. Unless of course, you had a hand on them. Forming the circle only gave the wind wizard an advantage of using the soldiers as projectiles into other men. Of course what offered some comfort to the kings that followed the tradition was that most wizards willing to land in one most likely came in peace.
Adjusting the wind to slow his fall, he pulled his clothes to catch the wind taking almost all his strength. The tattered robes he now wore were thick with patches made of heavy wool. He knew he would have to stop into Deuterium to get fresh robes as soon as possible. It took a specially trained tailor to make robes for flight. If the stitches failed or material ripped during flight, it could mean death. He had experienced just a fall all too recently, luckily, falling into a heavily wooded area had saved him.
He put his hand to his rib that had broken during the fall. He tried to ignore the feeling that something had not been healed properly by the water wizard. Twilix was much more skilled than most, and he had gotten use to her magic. He cursed himself for thinking fondly of the enemy. She had sided with the traitor and so now her fate was mixed with the boys. For some reason couldn’t shake the woman’s looks from his head. When she was a child, she was nothing special to look at, but now that she had aged she would be noticed in any city.
Pushing through the throng of guards one of the knights handed his horse for Mica to mount. Once he was atop the beast, he quickly caught up to Atmos, riding beside him so they could speak.
“It took you long enough, Mica,” Atmos said. “What is the news from Lorusk?”
Mica was a bit vexed as the king’s lack of concern for him seeing how his robes were in shambles. “The boy has raised Leviathan and taken Twilix as his queen,” Mica said. He was unsure why he mentioned Twilix and again tried to shake her image from his mind.
“Lorusk was supposed to prevent that,” Atmos said.
Mica knew this wasn’t a statement but instead a question.
“Captain Lorusk caught wind of the ceremony beginning and did his best to stop it. Brent, Ria, the archer, and the escaped fire wizards were all there with him. There was a battle, and Kilen fled to the middle of the lake using a bridge made of ice,” Mica explained.
Atmos growled, “And you let a bridge of ice stop you?”
“No, my lord. I was busy taking on one of his elementals and Alexander above the lake. I was almost struck by lightning twice,” Mica said trying to convince Atmos of his power.
“I am trying to hold together two realms, and you’re worried about a little lighting. Go back to Lorusk and have him start construct
ion of siege weapons. I want those gates blocked so that nothing can come in or out of the city. I will finish gathering troops and be there as fast as they can move,” Atmos commanded.
Mica clasped his fist to his chest then stood to turn in his saddle, “My lord, I am sure you are aware of the people following your march?”
“Of course I am. They are led by a troublesome woman by the name of Catherine Hill. The whole lot of them are elementalists. I have sent men in to discuss terms of them joining my army, but they are promptly sent back without a shred of armor or clothes,” Atmos said.
“Their imbuements?” Mica asked.
“Gone, buried somewhere that we cannot find,” Atmos said. “I don’t have the time to spend looking for every imbuement. I also cannot afford the violence that would come if we gave them a proper punishment.”
Mica tried to remember what the group looked like from above. Their ranks were not aligned, and some troops walked off the path as well as on. He would have a hard time estimating their numbers.
Atmos continued, “Their ranks swell with every town they pass, leaving the villages bare. Their only demand is that all wizards are cast out of the Earth Realm, and all wielders bury their imbuements.”
“It was near impossible for me to guess their numbers, Sire. Shall I try again?” Mica asked.
“It would be a waste of time. We must worry about the battle ahead. If Catherine passes us on the march, they will leave no one for me to gather into the army. I need to stay ahead of her at all costs,” Atmos said.
Mica could tell he was worried about the large group of revolutionaries that followed them. Atmos had been consumed with Kilen for a couple months now, and if this Catherine distracted him, she must be a viable threat.
“I need to return to Deuterium for new robes otherwise my trips will be doubled in time. Shall I provide a message or direction to your advisor?”