The Sword of Darrow

by Hal Malchow

With all his concentration, he lifted the power from his body, and he felt great elation, as if his very spirit had rocketed far into the heavens above. For a few minutes, he reveled in these feelings and marveled at these forces that raged so beautifully inside him. Then he turned to face the sword.

  He tightened his fists and extended them in front of his body. He was exploding inside. The force was so great that he feared it might tear him apart. He pulled his fists tighter, and with all of the enormous concentration of his mind, he stared directly at the sword.

  “Vianu.”

  A great flash of light exploded over the rock. The sword, a large, heavy weapon as tall as a small man, broke into thousands of tiny pieces, which rained down on the castle and its grounds. When the light was gone, all that remained on the rock was a small smattering of metallic dust. Across the ground, the remnants of his weapon sparkled like diamonds in the sun.

  Scodo’s life was freed of weapons, but that was only the beginning. Released from the hatred he had carried through his life, he smiled, a great and gentle smile that covered his new face. It was a handsome face, as handsome as the face of any man in all of Sonnencrest.

  • 44 •

  A Free Sonnencrest

  The late summer sun baked the road, the grass was brown, and a haze of dust hovered above the road. But the heat could not quell what filled the hearts of the citizens of Sonnencrest. Along the road to Blumenbruch, they gathered and waited for the moment when Darrow and his army would pass.

  When the army arrived, they lifted homemade banners, blue and yellow, sewn in the late evening hours and hung from sticks and poles. With one hand, mothers handed bread to the men. With the other, they held back children who tugged with all their might, hoping to break free and march behind.

  And indeed, men and women alike joined in the march and soon it was less an army and more a procession of joyous folk, young and old, men and women, heading to Blumenbruch to celebrate the great victory.

  In the city itself, every house stood empty as the people gathered in the streets to greet the arrival of the great man. As the first soldiers arrived at the edge of town, the crowd pushed close and Darrow, finding no path through the crowd, mounted a horse, and led his procession in single file, weaving back and forth like a bright, tiny thread in a great tapestry.

  When they finally arrived at the gates of the palace, the mayor stood waiting. He bowed deeply before Darrow and with great ceremony he opened the way, allowing Darrow to enter the palace grounds. As Darrow stepped inside, there were no leaves or rubbish on the ground and the dirt was marked with the tracks of a hundred brooms. The walls of the palace had been scrubbed clean, flowerpots stood in the windows, and everywhere banners of blue and gold were proudly displayed. Those who waited inside looked intently at Darrow, hoping that he would approve.

  But Darrow hardly noticed. As he looked up at the great castle with its tall stone towers, he blinked. His eyes had never seen a building so grand. For a moment, he stopped, taking in the beautiful stonework and he wondered if the winter wind seeped through the stones like it did in Ael.

  But there was no time for wonderment. The mayor grasped him by the arm and pulled him ahead, into the palace, up the stairs, and out onto the balcony where Henry X and his family were last seen. From the gates, the people poured in, and soon a great crowd waited beneath him. They stood on barrels, sat in wagons, and jostled for position across the great walls. Not an inch of ground stood vacant.

  While he waited, Darrow thought back to where his journey had begun. He recalled his first steps from Ael, limping his way to faraway places he could hardly imagine. He remembered when the sword fell from his hands at Frenngravel Creek and he saw Naark’s body lying on the ground. Who was he, he wondered, to deserve this adulation? But at that moment, in an almost dreamlike state, he saw his mother. She looked at him without speaking, but seeing her face told him all was well.

  The crowd roared for their hero. And when Darrow spoke, his words were so inspiring and beautiful that throughout the kingdom of Sonnencrest they would be quoted for centuries to come.

  One week after Darrow’s triumphant march into Blumenbruch, the people filled the streets once more. The long-lost princess, the only surviving heir to the throne of Henry X, had returned. A week later, she was crowned queen.

  Her coronation began with a great parade. Her long curly hair, somewhere between yellow and red, bounced as she waved through the window of her carriage. The carriage moved slowly, but after a block or two, Babette opened the door and stepped out to greet the startled crowd. She walked slowly among them touching, embracing, and offering gentle words. The once-eccentric little girl now moved with grace and poise. From her manner, the people of Sonnencrest sensed right away that she was an unusual leader of deep goodness, who would protect the peace and bring prosperity to their land.

  Within a month of her coronation, Queen Babette did something that shocked her kingdom. Against the warnings of every royal advisor, she journeyed to Globenwald. Among the goblins, her visit was greatly feared. Surely, she came to threaten conquest and demand reparations. But when she met the new goblin king, she instead offered him a gift.

  She brought artisans and stone carvers, who built a monument to honor the goblins who had died in her land. When the monument was unveiled, the goblins were deeply moved and there was much weeping and rejoicing. Queen Babette’s visit forged a great friendship with the new goblin king and began a long era of peace.

  One year after Darrow entered Blumenbruch, a third celebration gripped the kingdom. In the great cathedral of the capital city, Queen Babette was to be wed.

  Waiting for the queen, dressed in a great white robe, was Asterux, whose responsibility it was to give her away. And upon seeing Babette, so beautiful in her wedding dress, Asterux, who had never married and had no children of his own, knew at once all of the deep emotions of a father on his daughter’s wedding day.

  Babette gave Asterux a great hug. He offered his arm and waited for the music to begin. But at that moment, the queen gave a low whistle. Yellow birds, Annisan Serenaders all, burst into the church and offered a song so beautiful that the orchestra dared not interrupt. When their song died and the music began, Babette and Asterux walked slowly down the aisle to meet the groom.

  Asterux gave Babette’s hand to the groom, and the couple knelt before the priest.

  “Do you, Babette, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  Babette said, “I do.”

  The priest turned to the groom and began, “And do you, Scodo, take this woman . . . ?” When the question was complete, Scodo turned and replied, “I do.”

  Babette and Scodo lived long and happy lives and had many children. Babette ruled Sonnencrest with great wisdom. But Scodo, disdaining the palace life, learned the skills of a carpenter and spent his days in the kingdom building houses for the poor.

  Sometimes, at birthday parties, Queen Babette would delight their children with a marvelous magic show. She would whistle mysterious sounds and wondrous events would unfold. The children would squeal with excitement and it was all great fun. But Scodo, standing nervously to the side, would loudly remind the children that “the hand is quicker than the eye.”

  Under Queen Babette’s rule, Hugga Hugga and Timwee held positions in the army, and their deeds were celebrated each year on a special holiday honoring their service. Over the years, Hugga Hugga gave rides and played with the children of Babette and Scodo. For a while, Thor and Moakie moved to the palace, and Thor became the royal blacksmith. But palace life was not for him and he and Moakie soon returned to the mountains.

  But what of Darrow?

  Before the palace stand two great statues. One is the likeness of Sir Fenn, whose goodness founded the nation. The other is of Darrow, whose courage to believe restored its freedom. Darrow was chosen as the Grand General of the Sonnencrest army. But after his great early
adventures, he grew bored with running an army in so peaceful a land. One day, he retired from the army and wrote a book.

  His book is the story of a girl, tall and strong, who wielded a great sword. She sought to free her land from invaders. But while the girl possessed vision and cunning, she was shy and spoke poorly before crowds. In the forest lived a young prince, a magician, who helped her find the words, inspire her countrymen, and bring freedom to the land.

  The book closes with these words:

  There are no true heroes. They are ordinary persons, perhaps possessed of some skill or another, lifted by people who need to believe that somewhere, someone possesses a magic that can rewrite the future and leave them in a better place. These heroes have no magic of their own. But the belief in the hero, true or not, allows each of us to become larger than we are. For it unlocks the true and powerful magic that lies in our very own hearts.

  Acknowledgements

  The authors would like to thank the following friends who read early drafts of the book and whose comments both improved the story and encouraged us to pursue publication: Eduado Cavalcanti, Ryan Coughlin, Matthew Dooman, Sam Dooman, Skyler Leonard, Liam Barclay, Lukas Eigler-Harding, Elizabeth Rosenbaum, Elizabeth Pankova, and Noah Tunador.

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