Trials of a Champion

by Thomas O'Gorman

  “I’ll come at once. Lead the way.”

  “Mama I must excuse myself as well,” Sarah said. “The dress maker is waiting, and I want her to outdo herself. The first thing Winn sees me wearing after a year and a half of separation must be jaw dropping.”

  “Go dear one, I also have a dressmaker waiting. Your mama will look regal and queenly for the most important knighting ceremony in 600 years.”

  Sarah left the sunroom in a rush. It really wasn’t a lie, a dress maker is waiting, I just have a couple of appointments first. Sarah hurried out to the garden where Cera, her lady’s maid, was waiting.

  “Has he arrived yet?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes, my Lady,” said Cera. “Please follow me.” Cera led the princess through the garden to a hidden gate. She held open the gate and Sarah walked through to a private garden space. There was a tall, portly, bespectacled man sitting on a bench waiting for her. When he saw her, he stood and bowed.

  “Mr. Fluance, I hope you are well,” Sarah said. “What news do you have today?”

  Timofy Fluance was the head of Sarah’s spy network. She used her spies primarily to follow the movements of Winn over the past year and a half, but they also provided very timely and important news of world events and of goings on in Aviel. Now that Winn was coming home and she could be with him, she thought about disbanding the network. She decided to keep it going, because in all likelihood Winn would be going to war in Skal and she wanted to keep tabs on him if he did. Her network was very effective. It wasn’t uncommon for her to receive sensitive information before her father.

  “Your Royal Highness,” Timofy said. “There are fresh scouting reports from Skal, and the news is dire. The Menegar main force has completed its landing and is marching on the capital, Trellheim. King Arkyn has ordered a mass evacuation of every citizen of Skal to the deep mountain fortress of Aggenburg. He has split his forces and is providing a large guard for the mass evacuation of Trellheim, Jurgeston, Hatelburg, and Farheim. He has sent smaller units to the villages to be escorts. This guard will provide a defense for Aggenburg. What is left of his army, which is estimated to be 12,000 troops, is going to mount a defense at Trellheim. King Arkyn has sent the red horseman to Alexandra, which is the official call for aid. The good news is Trellheim has never been taken, and Aggenburg is just about impossible to find much less attack. It is said to be freezing up in the Skal mountains even in the summertime. The bad news is Menegar has never invaded Skal with a force this size. It was a close-run thing when Menegar invaded Skal in 573, when King Torbjorn struck the head off the Menegar commander Majork. The Menegar force was half the size back then, and the Skal force wasn’t much smaller than it is now.”

  “Yes, but they didn’t have the warriors of Aviel to fight by their side,” Sarah said. “When will our troops march for Trellheim?”

  “Jik Coy has 10,000 troops mustered and in formation, provisioned and ready to march,” Timofy said. “I believe he is meeting with King Landis as we speak to get permission to give the order.”

  “The order will be given,” Sarah said confidently. “If the troops are marching today, what will Winn’s role be when he gets back?”

  “The word is that the King has already ordered that he is to be kept out of the Skal conflict, and he will only be deployed to the fighting theater if Aviel comes under heavy attack. In fact, the rumor is he will be assigned to protect Alexandra, which will be the last place combat will take place if it does at all.”

  “Why is papa doing this? Winn will be furious if he is held back that way.”

  “The King will take no chances with the new hero of the realm and his new son in law. If something happened to Winn now the King fears the populace and more importantly, you, would never forgive him. He thinks having Winn as the protector of Alexandra will play well to the public.”

  “That means he won’t even be able to defend his ancestral home. He won’t do it, he will figure out a way to get to Skal to fight, and I will support him in that. Papa has never understood Winn, and evidently he still doesn’t.”

  “Nevertheless, Your Royal Highness, he is putting a collar on your husband. Such is the price of marrying into royalty.”

  “Is there any other news, Timofy?”

  “There is a whisper of a rumor that LaVore is massing its troops. There is no word if it is a defensive move to keep Predias and Ariva from crossing LaVore to send troops to Aviel, or if LaVore is planning an attack.”

  “They wouldn’t dare attack us, Predias would respond immediately against their unprotected front. They most likely won’t ally with us now and risk the wrath of their new friends, so I think it must be a defensive move. They don’t trust the Menegars.”

  “I agree with your assessment. I will redouble our efforts to find out what is going on in LaVore to be sure. One last item. Your husband’s force will begin departing from Predias tomorrow. The troop movement is scheduled to take two days because of the limited number of ships that could be devoted to the transfer. Your husband is said to be planning to board the last ship out.”

  “You saved the best for last, Timofy. Two days, I can’t believe it. I will see him in two days.”

  Timofy bowed once more to the princess. “That is all for today, Your Royal Highness. By next week the picture might be clearer in Skal.”

  “Thank you Timofy. You may go.”

  Sarah turned to walk back toward the palace. Cera followed.

  “Cera, before I see the dressmaker, I have my private appointment I must attend. Do be a dear and entertain Mrs. Talley because I will be delayed another hour.”

  “My Lady, I wish you would tell me what you have been doing all this time,” Cera said. “It isn’t proper for a lady to keep secrets from her maid.”

  “You will find out one day,” Sarah said. “Have some patience and I will show you when I am ready.”

  “As you wish my Lady.”

  They entered the palace and Sarah went towards the entrance to the back wing which was seldom used. Cera headed to the parlor where Mrs. Talley was waiting. Sarah walked through several halls making turn after turn until she at last reached the room she was heading for. She opened the door and she saw that the sun lit up the room from two huge windows that were etched with scenes of battle on the north wall. Sarah didn’t know which ones. On the south and east walls hung swords and axes and in storage cabinets along the west wall there was armor stacked high. The room was ten span by ten span and the ceilings were 8 span high. The walls were uncovered brick and the air was still. Sarah wished the windows opened but all they did was let the light and heat in. Sarah thought the room was used as a sparring chamber at one time but judging by the age and dust on the equipment, it had not been used in years. That made it perfect for her purposes. After she had physically recovered from losing her baby almost a year ago, she swore that she would learn to defend herself, especially if Winn wasn’t going to be around to protect her. The problem was that she didn’t trust anyone in the palace to help, and the soldiers she knew as a child were either retired or too busy soldiering to train her. She was about to give up until she thought of the perfect man for the job. She sent him her plea, and even though he would have to come far from home to do it, he agreed to help her. She practiced daily with him and it was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, harder than dancing even, but it was worth it. The empowerment she felt from having the ability to defend herself was so liberating. She would never be at the mercy of evil again, or she would die fighting it off, and knowing that gave her immense satisfaction.

  She entered the room and saw that her teacher was sitting on the floor and looking out the windows. She closed the door and walked to the center of the room and waited for him to address her.

  “You are the loudest person I have ever heard,” said the man as he hopped up on his feet and turned to face her.

  “I am sorry Master Chen, I am told I am very graceful, I don’t know why I am so loud.”

  �
��It doesn’t matter,” said Mr. Chen. “We are not assassins. We don’t sneak up on people in the night. We fight from a position of strength, power, and precision. We are not afraid to show our face, in fact we want people to see who we are. Your husband is a perfect example of a Pho Ren warrior. He boldly goes where he wants, when he wants. He doesn’t tiptoe. Don’t worry about being loud. Just be able to back it up!”

  “Yes, Master Chen,” said Sarah.

  “Speaking of backing it up, you have progressed well, in fact you are a natural. I am beginning to think you are gods touched like your husband.”

  “Not that I know of, Master Chen.”

  “Nevertheless, I have good news for you. You have mastered basic Pho Ren, or Jiben Pho Ren. Today I will begin to teach you advanced Pho Ren, or Gaoji Pho Ren. The level of difficulty is ten times that of Jiben Pho Ren, but I believe you will be able to master it. Shall we begin?”

  “Yes, Master Chen.”

  Mr. Chen threw a lot at her over the rest of the hour, but like he said, she was a natural, and just like she soaked up the new moves of a dance, she mastered the moves Mr. Chen taught her in no time.

  At the end of the hour, Sarah was covered in sweat and her breathing was labored. Somehow the much older Mr. Chen was breathing normally and was dry.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Mr. Chen. “You completely mastered move one of Gaoji Pho Ren in an hour. Even Master Winn was never able to learn that fast.”

  “Perhaps you are a better teacher now, Master Chen.”

  “No, that is not it. You are a better student. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have the raw strength or quickness that Master Winn has. Nobody does. You would never be able to beat him, just as I wouldn’t, nor would anyone else for that matter. But you have something he does not. You assimilate faster. I have a hunch you will be able to understand what moves to throw faster than he does. He relies on his strength and quickness to go for the immediate kill. Sometimes it is better to use more moves that end up making a death stroke easier to land in the end, but I could never get that through to him. Regardless, you might turn out to be a purer artistic practitioner of Pho Ren than your husband!”

  “Master Chen,” Sarah giggled. “You have no idea how surprising and wonderful it is to hear you say that. Winn is better than me at almost everything, even though people call me a natural all the time. If you were to tell him I am a better student at Pho Ren than he was, well, I would love to see his reaction to that!”

  “Young daughter, I promise you I will tell him the next time I see him. I want to see his face when I say it as well.” They both laughed at that for a minute.

  “Thank you so much for teaching me, Master Chen. I know it is hard being away from home.”

  “It is my pleasure, young daughter. I do it for you, I do it for Master Winn, and I do it because something tells me you will need these skills. Samir has blessed you, and I am honored to teach you.”

  Sarah bowed to Master Chen and he bowed back to her.

  “Master Chen don’t forget I am going to surprise Winn and meet him when he arrives in Azure. I am leaving tomorrow, and it is a hard two-day trip from here. I am sure I can talk Winn into spending one night there before he marches back here with his troops. I plan on being back in five day’s time and I am eager to have my next lesson.”

  “Give him my greetings,” Mr. Chen said. “Until your return then. Safe travels.”

  “Thank you,” Sarah said. “Goodbye.” She turned and walked out of the room.

  Gaoji Pho Ren, and I am a better student than Winn! How fantastic! Now I must get cleaned up for the dressmaker. Winn is coming home, I can’t wait!

  Chapter 2: A Voyage Interrupted

  May 29, 850 A.A.

  “Sirs, Wind, Dash, and your gear are loaded on the AMS Trepidation. Cast off is in two bells, so you best come aboard quickly,” Sergeant Davies said.

  Winn sighed. “Thank you, sergeant, but Queen Antonia sent word for me to meet her here at noon, and that was an hour ago. If I leave now it will cause an international incident. Please take care of the horses and wait on us in Azure if we miss the boat.”

  “It’s not a boat it’s a ship,” said Jaunty. “Sergeant take damn good care of those horses because there is no way Antonia will let Winn go in 30 minutes. Winn, we are not going to miss the last ship. The AMS Invader leaves in an hour.”

  “You are right, we won’t miss that ship. But we will give her until then.”

  The sergeant left and Winn and Jaunty finished their lunch in the Hotel Simpatico in the Predian port city of Gojon.

  “I am so ready to go home,” said Winn.

  “That is the understatement of the year,” Jaunty replied. “If I was going home to the most beautiful woman in the world that happened to be my wife, I would have left on the first boat. You are an idiot.”

  “Jaunty, what if she is over me? She is eighteen now, I haven’t seen her since she was sixteen. Her tastes could have changed.”

  “Don’t be stupid. She was willing to marry a dirt-poor lord in title only, and now you are the most famous person on Arath. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Nothing except Ures is her personal guard. I may have to fight a god when I get back home. What if she thinks I am a bloodthirsty killer?”

  “She knew that about you when she married you. I wouldn’t worry about that. I would worry because you have become much uglier in the last year and a half. Look at that ear of yours and all of your new scars.”

  “Your right, my ear is hideous. What will she say about that?”

  “Winn, she didn’t marry you for your looks. What would people say if they could hear this conversation? The fiercest warrior and finest commander, some would say ever, is scared that his wife thinks he is ugly.”

  “Leave him alone Jaunty,” Captain Alana Pervis said as she walked in the room. “I’m your girl and you are the ugliest man I have ever seen.”

  Winn tried to control his laughter as his brown friend turned three shades of red. “Jaunty is speechless,” Winn said. “I thought I would never see the day.”

  “I am never speechless; I just was shocked at the betrayal by the woman I love. I knew she liked you better.”

  “Jaunty I have to like the Colonel, but I choose to like you,” Alana said. “Remember that. Colonel Kide sir, Queen Antonia has arrived. She will receive you in the Gardenia room.”

  “Thank you, captain,” Winn said. “Alana go board the AMS Trepidation. That is an order. Jaunty will live for a few hours without you. When you arrive in Azure tell Major Norvesk that we will camp for the evening and march at 8:00 am tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Safe travels Alana.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “I will leave you to say goodbye to Captain Hill. Jaunty, don’t get drunk. I’ll be as quick as I can with Queen Antonia.”

  Winn walked out of the dining room and headed to the Gardenia room. He found Queen Antonia engrossed in an embroidery project.

  “Your Majesty, you asked to see me?” Winn said.

  Antonia put her embroidery down and turned to Winn. Her countenance was unexpectedly heavy. Winn almost asked her what was wrong, but she spoke first.

  “My latest intelligence indicates that LaVore is massing troops,” Antonia said. “They are splitting their forces, placing half on their western border, and half within two days march of Catalana. This means I must hold troops back from the Skal conflict. I can only afford to send 2,000 troops with you because of this development.”

  “Ah, the Menegars are having their LaVorian allies rattle their sabers to keep you from sending troops to help our cause. Brilliant really.”

  “I feel I am repaying Landis very poorly, yet my hands are tied,” Antonia said.

  “I am sure King Landis will understand. I certainly do and am glad of the help you are sending. Your troops could tip the scales of this war, you never know.”

  “You are too kind as always, Lord V
aux. A hero with a level head. I was sure I would have to cut you down to size after the tremendous victory you achieved. Yet, that is not the case.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty, I try not to let the accolades influence me. After all, I was doing my job, and what was expected of me.”

  “If you think anyone expected that outcome, you are sadly mistaken. In the future however, you will have to satisfy very high expectations to maintain your status as the greatest commander of this generation.”

  “All I can say to that is perhaps people underestimated me and now most likely they overestimate me.”

  “We shall see. I have a notion that you aren’t done yet. You know, if you agreed to stay, I would make you the commander of my forces. Sarah would love it here. The climate is warmer, and it is only hot in August and September. If she missed the cold, she could go up into the mountains. I would pay you handsomely. You would be rich.”

  “Your Majesty, you honor me. Of course, you know I must decline. My first allegiance will always be to Aviel, and my second to Skal. You do have a beautiful country and the culture here is a delight, and you are right, Sarah would love it here, to visit. She would never live here either. She is more avid about Aviel than I am.”

  “It is as I feared, but also what I expected. You are loyal to a fault, even though Landis hunted you like a dog and wouldn’t bless your marriage. I know, you are loyal to the country, not the leader. I respect you for that, but I had to try to sway you. Predias would never lose another battle with you in command. The truth is Lord Vaux, you don’t belong to Aviel, Skal, or any other country. You belong to Aurella, you belong to us all. Now I dismiss you from your service to Predias. Go and save Skal and Aviel. Good luck to you, and may the Almighty bless you.”

  Antonia turned and walked out of the room with her attendants following. Winn wanted to say goodbye, but she was gone before he could speak. Winn walked out of the room and went in search of Jaunty. He found Jaunty in the lobby pacing.