Part One – The Meeting
By anyone’s estimation their meeting that day had more to do
with fate than the haphazardness of chance. True, he was not aware that the
runes had been cast, the portents read, or that a messenger had been sent from
the kingdom of Eboracum. Yet even half way across the world the Nomad could
sense that something was changing.
News of Aefon the Conqueror’s death had spread quickly, even
in the East. The mighty tyrant who had forged his own empire through the
domination and enslavement of the western kingdoms was gone. The world had been
tumult. The eastern realms had resettled now that the threat of imminent
subjugation from across the Great Sea was ended. For the western kingdoms,
however, there still remained a single shaft of hope that a new age might
emerge from the shadows of oppression.
The Nomad knew nothing of these hopes as he travelled
through the vibrant green lushness of the Many-Eyed-Forest. Moisture seeped and
clung limply to every leaf and stem. As he wrestled through the dense,
close-knit foliage the tiny droplets trembled and spilt. They dashed down his
neck, across the scarred planes of his forearms and onto the glistening flanks
of his mount.
“Not long now my sweet.” He crooned soothingly to the
exhausted mare. They had been moving through the suffocating forest without
pause for hours. The cloying, unrelenting heat was beginning to take a toll on
both man and horse. He felt as if he were running a fever. His tunic stuck to his
rough skin, patches of sweat darkening the already bloodied and soiled garment.
Head pounding, vision blurred and throat parched, he did not attempt to slow
their pace. Stopping was more dangerous than continuing in the
Many-Eyed-Forest. The heat might drive a man to madness, but the eyes of the
forest were those of the deadly hybrid creatures lying hidden and disguised
amongst the upright trees and weaving vines.
He had already dealt with a pard. The creature had the
stealth and nimbleness of a leopard, twinned with the savagery and strength of
a lion. Its claws had opened the skin of his back and every lilting drop of
humid moisture was like the touch of a flame against his wounds. He had injured
the creature only enough to slow its lethal pursuit. The Nomad hoped it would
give them enough time to reach the limit of the forest. Directly to the west
lay the Riverlands, which were as cool and cleansing as the forest was stifling
and deadly.
There came through the forest a sudden thundering and
terrible shrieking. The pard was steadily catching them up. Its confidence in
capturing its prey was such that it no longer made any attempt at secrecy. Its
victorious cries alerted other predators to stay away from its pursuit. It
effectively silenced the shrill chattering of the birds overhead until all that
was left was the sound of hooves striking the ground and the mad thumping of
the Nomad’s heart.
A gentle breeze caressed him and the hairs on his arms
rippled with awareness. The thick canopy above him was gradually thinning
allowing rapid and short glimpses of sky. Sensing approaching safety his horse
jolted forward with a final burst of speed. Allowing the horse its head he
gathered the reins in one hand and sought for his sword with the other. The
blade sung as it came free from its sheath. It was thick and broad, twice the
length of what a normal man could wield. The muscles in his arms bunched and
corded as he raised it in readiness. The drumming in his ears combined with the
beasts roars as it sighted its prey. The Nomad tensed, anticipating its agile
leap over and above them.
It never came. Horse and rider burst through the forest.
Hooves smashed the icy stillness of the river, sending shards of cool water
slicing through the air like pieces of a broken mirror. Fording the tributary
he drew the horse to an abrupt halt. They remained still apart from their
chests which worked like great bellows as they sucked in huge mouthfuls of
chill, refreshing air. He could see the pard pacing the boundary of the forest,
snarling and sniping at their escape. The sleek ebony animal slowly withdrew back
into the Many-Eyed-Forest until all that remained was its gleaming amber stare.
The Nomad fumbled with his sword and reins as he dismounted.
His knees crumpled beneath him and he sprawled on the floor laughing. The deep,
throaty sound echoed in the cool silence of the rocky valley. Taking a short
cut through the Many-Eyed-Forest had not been, perhaps, the wisest of
decisions. He had though made it a principle of most his adult life to avoid
what was considered to be wise. Crawling forward he dunked his head into the
revitalizing water. He came up for air gasping, pushing back the slick mass of
his hair. Droplets dribbled down the angular sharpness of his face and across
the broadness of his shoulders where his hair hung wildly.
After several moments of serenity he became aware of another
sound, a tight thrumming as if the air was moving differently. Looking up he
could at first perceive nothing different in his surroundings until he saw the
strange light. As the light sparkled more intensely, the thrumming resonated
louder until it scraped across his nerves like the claws of the pard. His eyes
gradually adjusted to the unnatural brightness and he saw the light shimmer
into the shape of a woman.
She walked directly across the river, but her feet made no
dip or ripple in the surface of the water. The white blonde of her hair settled
over her shoulders like a golden mantle. Her skin was so pale as to be almost
transparent, a bluey-violet hue underlying the pure whiteness. The silver of
her gown looked like the mail of armour, but the tiny rivets were cast from
pure silver thread and not heavy metal.
“This can’t be happening again.” He muttered to himself,
rubbing brusquely at the dirt on his britches before standing to attention.
“What in Ebor’s name are you doing here?” His voice was scratchy, it had been a
long time since he had cause to use that particular tongue. The Guardian of
Eboracum glided to a halt before him, her face entirely unchanged from the last
time he had seen it.
“I’ve come to bring you home, Prince Benedik.”
No comments:
Post a Comment