Alphande'

“I have never seen one of this colouring in all my life and you say that there were three of them?” I said as I looked at the partially decaying body of the Verdan that was before me. Not that it deserved that name, as its scales were more steel than green. “This is not a Verdan of Au Valley.” I said moving from around the corpse. I used the shirt I was wearing to cover my nose but that was still not enough to block the sickening stench coming from the body.

“And you are sure of this?” asked Astred.

“I am sure.” I said with my eyes smarting. “The Verdans I saw and knew were all green and though they worked the mines they were never this thick.” I coughed. I walked away from the body into air that was less polluted by the scent.

“What else did you see at the mines?” I asked one of the soldiers who had just ridden in.

“They were all dead.” He said with a vacant expression.

“The Verdans?”

“No. All the humans. No one was spared, not slaves, not the overseers, not even the women and children. They were all dead. Beheaded and their skulls were all staked around the mines for the vultures to peck at.”

“How many people?” asked Bastian, his body as rigid as everyone else’s.

“About two thousand Your Highness.”

“Two thousand people.” I choked.

“Two thousand heads Your Highnesses, some of the bodies were not whole or missing.”

“By Avandor, what do you mean missing?” gasped Astred.

“When we met the three creatures. They were loading wagons with the bodies.”

“To do what?” asked Bastian.

“I think they took them away to be eaten. There were signs of old fires there and, cooked human bones were left in the heap. They have moved camp since and those three I suspect came back to scavenge for the rest.”

“So you think there are more of them.” said Sonis, whose military calm was still intact. He nodded. “About how much more would you say?”

“The mines didn’t show movement of a large group. There were only five heaths noted and each looked like it could hold around ten men around it.”

“Fifty Verdans killed two thousand people!” I said incredulously.

“At the most Your Highness, but it could be less than that. These creatures are very strong and brutal in their fighting. That one alone killed ten of our men and left another seven injured and he wore no arms except an axe. It was a lucky stroke that Sim got from behind that ended him. The other two managed to flee, but if they wanted to fight. I am not sure if there would be anyone else left to tell the tale.”

The camp was silent as each of us took in the news. I thought back to the time we were in Au Valley a few months ago. Asher had sent me there to ask for the assistance of the Verdans in our fight against the Nuwanhe. I had found strange tracks along the forest floor leading up to the hills. Me and five others followed the tracks and saw men setting up a strange contraption.

We shouted for them to stop as we saw one of them cloaked fully lighting a silver spark. It was too late however as the contraption was lit and the small spark was released, expanding into a screaming ball of white. Seconds later I heard the explosion coming from the town. The cloud of dust coming from below obscured the valley for miles as it was mixed in with the fog.

My men and I rode out dispatching of the men there as they had hurt the chances of us forming an alliance with the Verdans. The cloaked figure however was gone. I rode into the forest searching for him. At one point I was sure I had glimpsed a flash of silver moving among the trees, but when I went there was nothing to see, the form had dissolved into the forest. The silver-blue light, I thought at the time must have been water in a puddle reflecting light. But now that I see the Verdan I now knew that it wasn’t men I saw.

“We need to leave for Shaeda immediately.” I said breaking the silence that had gripped our group. “These creatures are not the Verdans of Au Valley, but something else completely different. Our camp is too open and that leaves us vulnerable to be picked off easily and we need city walls around us for a first line of defence.”

“When should we leave?” asked Lord Raegon who was most silent among our party.

“At dawn. We have at least two weeks to get within a mile of Shaeda and another one to lay siege and over throw it.”

“But that is almost impossible to do.” said Sonis.

“But it will have to be done. Did you manage to find any diamonds at the mine?” I asked the soldier.

“Yes Your Highness. There was a room filled with the rocks for the taking. We gathered two wagons full.”

“Take a tenth of what is in the wagon and divide it among the men who went with you and among the family of those who were killed. Andreas I believe that you can take hold of the rest for the purpose of the Nuwanhe.” He nodded. “Prince Bastian, do you think your men will be able to make it to Shaeda in three weeks?”

“If the seas are favourable and we don’t meet Asher’s men on landing yes.” He answered. “But should we really be this hasty with our assault. The Verdans certainly are no great threat to us.”

“They are not just a great threat, they are much worse than you can imagine. They don’t only fight with their axes but with the powers of stars.”

“I do not know what you mean?” he said.

“Curly was telling me of the illusionists at your wedding. These Verdans have the same skills except what they do is no trick. With a spark of light they can destroy an entire village.”

“Evander,” said Andreas calling me over and I left Bastian standing. “You have much on your mind but Curly—Noräin and the women are finished with him. What do you wish to do?”

I had forgotten about him and I paced unevenly. “We will have to conduct the funeral tonight. I will start collecting the stones to build the altar.” I said as I turned to walk away. I wanted as little evidence of what took place to remain. The faster the body was disposed of the better the chances of hiding my deception.

He put a hand on my shoulder. “There is no need to do that. An altar is already built on the hill there.” He said pointing just right of us.

“But I am responsible for his death, so it is customary for me to bear the weight of his pyre.” I said.

“Do you really want to do this?” he asked.

“I must do it. I already took his life. I will not dishonour him in death.”

“If it is to me so then, I will help you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to. You are facing things at your age that would make most men cower Evander but you have done them with bravery and skill. By meeting you I had not found only a king worth following, but also a son. Bastian is less severe in his ways than his father none the less I would have preferred you as a son-in-law. Regardless, I still see you as my own. Both you and Ivaner are my sons.

“I know how much you love your brother, so I know how much pain and guilt you bear because of his death. But I believe you when you say it was an accident. We don’t know why Avandor would make it this way as he has given you many burdens to shoulder. He is cruel as he is kind. And as his cruelty splinters the world around you, I will offer to you my kindness to make it easier to endure.”

I looked up at Andreas and I could tell from the look on his face that he really meant every word that he said. Never had I had another look at me that way before. Lord Brenthart raised me, but he was always distant and growing up I’d tried to please him but nothing I did was ever enough. I saw how he treated Margaret, tenderly, lovingly. Mother said that it was because I was a male and she was a girl, but somehow I had sensed that there was more than that. I now know the truth. He could not have loved me like a son, because I was never his to love. I was no one’s to love. Another pang of jealousy rose up in my chest.

Evander had lived in the bushes of Au Valley without the comfort of possessions yet he managed to grow up with all the love of a grandmother and brother. And even though they were gone, he also managed to gain the love of strangers. Obedience, fear and respect were all I ever received and that was mostly because of my station. I thought I could live with that, yet now I was beginning to have doubts. How different it must be to be loved. A knowing emptiness pulled at my chest and I tried to push it away, but each time I did it rose seven folds higher. Andreas’ love was misplaced but I would take it regardless. That decision settled the unease slightly.

“How can I refuse your kindness then if you put it like that?” I smiled slightly. He patted me on the back and we walked off into the trees.