Bladeborn

by Clayton Schonberger

  On her next visit the next day, the Queen and Bladeborn talked about his knowledge of the Rhinolon.

  “Their eyesight is poor and they are greatly afraid of fire,” Bladeborn said. “They have thick hides, but our bowmen could often hit their heads and occasionally, their eyes. They are terrible foes in large numbers and they fight to the last. The females are quite cowardly, however.”

  “Females?” The Queen responded. “You encountered females?”

  “Several times,” Bladeborn said. “They were very fearful of the males, and everything else. We would generally let them go.”

  There was a break in the conversation, and Lord Esket asked to question Bladeborn, “If I may, My Queen, I wish to ask this man something.”

  “Yes, Lord Esket,” The Queen said, “go ahead.”

  “Bladeborn,” Esket began, “how could you and these savages…the Drommu… make good your attacks?”

  Bladeborn said, “My Drommu force and I would single out their leader and try to get it to charge at us, away from their brethren. We would attack at dawn or dusk when they were setting up or breaking down their camps… We had many strategies. That is only two of them. We continued winning, travelling across a vast area of the desert, disappearing into caves.”

  Lord Esket asked again, “So, you did all this without help from humans?”

  Bladeborn replied, “Yes, we killed many of them…”

  Lord Esket suddenly cleared his throat and coughed, as though he also found Bladeborn’s brief tale incredulous.

  The Queen frowned a bit, and said, “Well, let’s see if you can walk any better than yesterday, shall we?”

  Bladeborn told the Queen, “During my time with the Drommu, I learned many of their ways of survival. But after I heard rumors of your people here, I tried to reach you. I had considered that my force of Drommu would likely be better off with your people’s support.”

  “Didn’t you find the Drommu to be a bit…barbaric?” the Queen asked. “They are simple tribesmen…”

  “They are different from me physically, yes… But they each have a certain wisdom about the world. Many are meek, while others are stronger…it is the same among men.”

  The Queen changed the subject. “Are you married, Man of the North? Do you have a wife waiting for you back home, in ‘Fortress City?’”

  “No, good Queen,” Bladeborn stated. “I have never found a woman to call my own.”

  Lord Esket, the Queen’s bodyguard cleared his throat loudly, and said “Perhaps that’s enough for today, My Queen. Maybe you should consider letting the outlander gain more of his strength.”

  Queen Deocarla shot Esket an angry glance. She said, “Perhaps my bodyguard is right, Bladeborn. You rest, for now.”

  “Thank you for coming to see me today, good Queen Deocarla.”

  “I will be back soon. Rest.” She said, leaving with Lord Esket in tow.

  After a few such visits, Bladeborn moved around much better, so she began to show the extensive underground apartments of the palace wing to him. Bladeborn walked slowly by crutch at her side. He could carry his Sword, but the Lord Esket was always close by.

  Queen Deocarla told him “The Six Realms have room for five thousand families, although there are not that many occupying the Realms now. Our Valleys are connected by mountain passes in the Spring. Each family house has a fireplace and the lower ones warm the upper ones, with the smoke trailing out of the mountaintops so it doesn’t alert the Rhinolon to our presence. Deep below us are herds of livestock, which our shepherds tend. The animals eat mushrooms and moss and they feed and clothe us.”

  As they walked, she motioned to elaborate sculptures in the grand staging area just outside the palace wing. “This mural shows the sad story of Erysee and Drenau… Long before my brother and I ruled, before we moved underground, they were Prince and Princess, one from the Sixth Realm, the other, from the First Realm. Their fathers, Kings of the Realms, quarreled and they were not allowed to see each other…”

  “Were they in love?” Bladeborn asked the Queen.

  “Of course!” she said, in a rather coy way.

  “What happened to Prince Drenau?” Bladeborn asked.

  “What do you see in sculpture?” Deocarla asked.

  “It looks like Prince Drenau went to fight the Rhinolon,” Bladeborn responded. He took a better look at the sculpture. “There was a great battle…which he alone survived.”

  “Yes,” the Queen said. “What else do you see?”

  “Ahh! How tragic!” The drama of the sculpture was not lost on Bladeborn. “Erysee has killed herself!”

  “Yes. She thought that Drenau had died in the battle, so she took her life…needlessly…”

  “Does this teach a lesson?” Bladeborn asked.

  “If fact, it does,” the Queen answered. “It is here to remind us that we must keep peace at all times within the realms. With the Rhinolon a constant threat, we can ill-afford to fight among ourselves.”

  She told him of the other four kings of the Valleys. King Lauren was the youngest, not even fourteen summers old. King Rosen ruled the fifth and Sixth Valleys, far to the West, and she was her brother, whom she often wrote to. King Blair and King Dale, were also distantly related to her, and they ruled the other two Realms.

  Over the course of the next month, while Bladeborn healed, he and the Queen drew close. She told him the history of the Six Realms. He told her of his past, and she found it to be fascinating, even if it was hard to believe.

  Late one evening, after weeks of saying nothing, Nightslayer spoke, ~~Do not become infatuated with the Queen, Bladeborn~~

  “Nightslayer!” Bladeborn replied in surprise. “Why have you not answered me for so long?”

  ~~It has taken me a long time to recover the energy I spent when I saved you after the earthquake~~

  “Nightslayer,” Bladeborn countered, “A Knight called Sir Rodon Thell saved me.”

  ~~Do you think the Knight of the First Realm came upon your body by chance?~~

  “You mean you guided him to me?” Bladeborn asked.

  The Sword said in response, ~~I do more for you than you know. Listen, Swordsman: do not get involved emotionally with the Queen. She could be the fulcrum for your success… Or she could hold you back~~

  Somewhat angrily, Bladeborn replied, “Say no more of her, Nightslayer, I will not listen. She is very beautiful, and she has a pure soul. She is the kindest person I have ever known. I owe her a debt of gratitude, and our relationship is none of your concern.”

  The Sword grew silent once again.

  Brother Kregert brought Bladeborn old books, copied from volumes written more than two hundred years earlier when Fortress City and the Six Valleys were allies. Bladeborn could understand nearly all the words in them, so while he recuperated, he would read them cover to cover. Kregert would visit nightly with a pipe and a jug of wine, and together they would share a glass, discussing what Bladeborn had read.

  Bladeborn could comprehend the meaning of the novels Kregert brought and oftentimes see why the writer had written them in such a way. This quality surprised the elderly man.

  “You are very perceptive for one so young,” Kregert said after Bladeborn had noted a discrepancy in a classic tale’s continuity. “I have read that novel many times, and you are correct. The author perhaps chose to do that for artistic reasons?”

  “I do not like it, though,” Bladeborn stated with dissatisfaction. “It is illogical. Life is not the way the author described it.”

  “You are a man of ‘hard facts’ then?” Brother Kregert asked, looking at Bladeborn askance.

  “You could say that,” Bladeborn responded, folding his arms upon his chest.

  “I will try to bring more non-fiction then,” Kregert arose and stretched, checking his pipe to see if it was out. “I must go for now, Bladeborn. I will see you tomorrow.”

  Bladeborn bid him farewell, wondering if he had said something wrong to the old man. His tastes i
n reading didn’t run toward the metaphorical or fanciful. There was so much to know in the real world, Bladeborn wished to spend his time reading the truth about it.

  With Queen Deocarla as his guide, Bladeborn continued touring the First Realm, venturing out of the palace wing. Bladeborn caused quite a stir among the populace, who seemingly had not seen a stranger before. “They are all aware of who you are, Man of the North. I issued a statement to my people and rumor has done the rest. Many of Sir Rodon’s scouts are married, so your presence here is widely known. I know they stare, but do not be put off by it.”

  “As you say, my Queen,” Bladeborn responded.

  While in the hall of sculptures, the Bladeborn and the Queen happened upon one of Sir Rodon’s scouts, home on leave. Queen Deocarla called the man over and introduced him to Bladeborn.

  “You are attached to the unit of the Knight known as Rodon Thell, are you not?” Bladeborn asked. “I would like to thank him personally for saving my life.”

  “His name is Sir Rodon Thell,” the scout said. “He knows the Spiral Mountains like no other… And there he stays.”

  At this, Lord Esket *sniffed* disrespectfully, and the scout frowned uncomfortably.

  “May I go meet with him, then?” Bladeborn asked, ignorant of whatever was between the scout and the man named Lord Esket.

  “He is patrolling far from the First Realm, as often is the case,” the Scout said. “Some would call him a rogue among the Knights of the First Realm. He seldom, if ever, returns from the field, instead preferring to remain vigilant in the regions surrounding the Realms. The Rhinolon have not come in force to the mountains for some time. Yet, Sir Rodon is concerned that eventually…” then the scout stopped talking.

  “Eventually…what?” Bladeborn wished the man would speak plainly.

  The scout looked at the Queen, who looked away.

  The scout answered, “Sir Rodon simply thinks it is a good idea to watch for an attack on the Six Realms.”

  “Bladeborn,” the Queen interrupted, “It is my desire that you concentrate on getting well.”

  “If we are in danger—?” Bladeborn began to say.

  “We are not, I assure you,” Queen Deocarla declared. “The Six Realms have remained hidden, and safe, for centuries.” She leaned close to Bladeborn, and he could smell her delicate perfume. She whispered to him, “Do not worry, man of the North. We are safer now than we have been for years...”

  That night, Bladeborn asked the Sword’s opinion. “How safe are we here, Nightslayer?”

  ~~There is an oppressive curse on this place, Swordsman, yet it does not affect you… However, the fury the Rhinolon have toward the two of us is great. They may eventually come here searching for us. With our arrival here, the people of the Six Realms have even more reason to fear~~

  “And what about this curse?” Bladeborn asked Nightslayer.

  ~~I have yet to determine its nature~~ Nightslayer replied.

  Queen Deocarla spent much of her time doting on the warrior who claimed to be from Fortress City. Bladeborn’s tales of his youth and his eventual defeat of the Demon Zipzorag were far too much for the Queen to believe at that time, and yet she didn’t spurn him for what she thought was an exaggeration or a misunderstanding. She asked Bladeborn many questions about Fortress City and was particularly interested in the women of it, such as Agatha, the sisters of Morth, and his brief encounter with Princess Alaxia. Before long, others were gathering to hear what the “Man of the North” had to say.

  At the Queen’s behest, Bladeborn repeated the story to several members of the First Realm’s court and her ladies-in-waiting. After this, Nightslayer spoke to Bladeborn:

  ~~Many do not believe your story, warrior, and those who suspect there are truths in it are already jealous of you. Beware of saying too much~~

  Bladeborn spoke with the Queen’s chief Wizard, a man from the household of Lord Esket. The Wizard explained that Bladeborn’s rings could not be removed, but the Rhinolon protective armbands had been discarded.

  “I understand why you would take the armbands,” Bladeborn said. “But those rings are not of Rhinolon origin.”

  The Wizard huffed and said, “We were concerned about it. There will be no form of Rhinolon Devilry allowed near Queen Deocarla.”

  Bladeborn asked the Wizard, “I had a sack of precious stones, cut gems from Fortress City, which I carried all the way across the Blasted Plain with me. If you know anything about them, I would like to have them returned.”

  “No such stones were found on your person when you arrived, young Swordsman. Perhaps you should inquire with Sir Rodon Thell, or his men. He and his men are difficult to find quality in.”

  Bladeborn was disturbed by this but felt it was not his place to raise the issue with the Queen.

  The Wizard said, “You would do well not to look at me with such a dour face, outlander!”

  Bladeborn sighed heavily. Why would Sir Rodon, the man who saved him and brought him before the Queen, have also robbed him?

  As he gained the ability to get around the underground city more easily, Queen Deocarla showed him key places in her Kingdom.

  “Bladeborn,” the Queen said, “you are free to go where you please in the First Realm, as long as it is not a private residence. My Realm is open to you.”

  Esket would stand by the door within the range of a shout wherever Bladeborn went with Deocarla. Bladeborn knew he had not yet earned the trust of Deocarla, and so he did not feel self-conscious knowing this man watched them constantly.

  Bladeborn wanted to learn the language of the Six Realms comprehensively, so she took him to her library. “I am very proud of the First Realm’s collections,” Queen Deocarla told him. “Scholars from the other Realms come here when they have research to do.”

  “So, this is where Brother Kregert brings the books from? I never imagined so large a library at this, my Queen!”

  Bladeborn walked about and ran his hands over some of the books.

  During his recovery, he continued reading into night, amazed at the variety of books within the Queen’s Realm. He often had Kregert to discuss them with. But the Queen was very well read also. Bladeborn and Deocarla became much closer when she realized how intelligent and civilized he was.

  Like many of the men of the Realms, Bladeborn took to wearing a short-cropped beard and moustache, giving him a more noble appearance. The tattoo that he had been marked with as a sacrifice to Zipzorag had almost faded, but Bladeborn’s body had many scars from his youth.

  Time passed, and with the scabbard’s power, meditation, and the best care Queen Deocarla and her people could offer, Bladeborn quickly neared full health.

  The aged healing priest named Brother Kregert continued coming to visit with Bladeborn long after the physician had stopped. Bladeborn and Kregert had extensive conversations each day, with the priest suggesting topics for Bladeborn to read.

  Brother Kregert was surprised and delighted to find that Bladeborn could fluently speak several lost languages. Bladeborn and Brother Kregert conversed in the Elvish and Dwarven languages, and Bladeborn taught Kregert a little about the language of Fortress City and the Drommu.

  “You say they aren’t savages?” Kregert asked Bladeborn of the Drommu.

  “They have an interesting way about them.” Bladeborn replied. “They certainly hate the Rhinolon with a savage fury, if that’s what you mean. But they can survive in the harshest conditions. They fear magic, yet their knowledge of medicinal herbs is extensive.”

  Brother Kregert seemed surprised that Bladeborn knew so much about the Drommu.

  The subject eventually came to the description of the Battle where Bladeborn had been seriously wounded.

  “I can tell that you haven’t been entirely honest about where you got that Sword, young warrior…as well as its capabilities.”

  “You are right, Brother Kregert.” Bladeborn replied. “Ask what you would, if you think you will believe me. I have not said everything
because no one here, even the Queen, seems to believe me.”

  “I think that is good. You cannot expect to make anyone believe your claims without proof,” Brother Kregert said He sat back in his chair and lit his pipe.

  Bladeborn was consternated, “Do you want to hear all this again? I told the Queen about the Demon I faced at the gate to Fortress City on my last day there. Although she seemed amused, she didn’t seem to understand me.”

  “I don’t mean to upset you,” Brother Kregert said calmly. “But you must see why we reserve judgement. You claim, young warrior, to have the ability to enlarge your body?”

  “When I am under great stress I can,” Bladeborn affirmed. “At least, I have done it the one time.”

  “How is it you know about the secrets of Essence?” Kregert asked.

  Again, surprising Brother Kregert, Bladeborn could give a knowledgeable answer.

  “Long ago, a priest of Morth named Onar, who was a little older than you, taught me a bit,” Bladeborn replied. “Another man, named Thustral, who was an accomplished Wizard. He taught me more.”

  “Yet you find these things within yourself coming more and more naturally, is that correct?” the aged Priest said.

  “It is so,” Bladeborn confirmed.

  “We have many sick among the people of the First Realm… Some have ailments I cannot help… Do you think you could come with me to visit some of them?”

  “I would be honored, Brother Kregert,” Bladeborn replied.

  Bladeborn was well enough to return the favor that Deocarla’s healers had granted him, sharing his psychic power to help the sick in the caverns of the Queen’s Realm. Bladeborn, Queen Deocarla, Lord Esket, and Brother Kregert went to a dozen houses during the day, helping elderly people suffering from various illnesses. The relief many people experienced at Bladeborn’s touch was significant.