The Sentinel of Cassendar: Resquarian

Galen walked through the Sentinel behind the king and High Captain. It was almost strange to be back at a place he had thought of as home for over half a year. It all looked the same and smelled the same, but it felt so very different. As he greeted many Elites and novices he knew, he felt older, more worn, maybe even a little wiser than he did when he left there a few months ago. He was dressed as a full Elite now, wearing the shield that marked him as a second of the High Captain. He looked over to see his brother looking much the same as always, though his eyes looked strained as Roderick watched his High Captain. His stance, usually relaxed and comfortable in the Fortress of the Sentinel, was now alert and erect, looking as though he was expecting a threat to materialized at any moment.

They walked to the hall they usually ate in to find the High Captain’s table mostly full of the Upper Elites of the Sentinel. A few were still in Westmoria, and a few had left to go serve Darron, never to be allowed back into the walls of the Fortress. The High Captain walked up to the table with the king as the Upper Elites stood.

“It is very good to see you, High Captain,” said Elite Cian with a small smile. “You as well, your majesty.”

“It is good to be home, Elite,” said the High Captain. “As much as I would like to spend the day in hearing all that has happened while I was gone, we will need to focus on one thing, and that is moving forward and keeping Winsdell and Lanoxan safe.”

The High Captain sat at the table with the king. Galen sat next to Roderick who sat at the High Captain’s side.

“What do we know of what became of the Navalian forces you drove out?” asked the High Captain.

“Our scouts came back late last night. It seems the forces led by Darron have settled in close to Boreial.”

“At least a three day’s ride with a large force, wouldn’t you say?” asked the High Captain.

“Closer to four with the numbers they have. More have joined them since they retreated. We have a few scouts staying in the area who will ride ahead if any movement is made in any direction,” said another Elite further down the table.

The High Captain nodded. “So, what do the Upper Elites suggest we do in such a time?”

“Wait,” said Cian. “While I know that is difficult to do, it is the best thing for the kingdom and Winsdell. We wait until all our Elites have returned from Westmoria, and we watch what the forces from Navalia will do.”

“And if they start moving towards Winsdell or attack another village in our kingdom?” asked the High Captain.

“We will have to weigh our options a that point. Decide what risk is worth what reward,” said an Upper Elite next to Cian.

“What do you say, your majesty?” asked the High Captain looking at King Leal.

“I should like to hear what you have to say. You are the High Captain of the Sentinel,” said the king.

“I agree for the time being, we have to wait. We do need the Sentinel to be at full strength and the soldiers from Siccaria to join us to meet the force from Navalia, but we will not wait long. I will not see my kingdom and my people suffer again as they did in Westmoria or here in Winsdell one week ago. Once we are at full strength, we will find the right time, and we will ride out and meet this evilness that is trying to destroy our kingdom,” said the High Captain.

“You will meet them before they move to attack again?” asked Cian.

“Yes, I will have our people know they are worth avenging and protecting. The true heart of our kingdom is our people, and what has been done to them will not stand. We shall unleash the full fury of the Sentinel on the Navalian forces. I will wait for only one thing before we truly strike,” said the High Captain. She looked at Cian and the other upper Elites. “If you hear one word of Lady Belleth joining the forces, I want to hear it.”

“Why, High Captain?” asked Cian.

“She is who is truly leading the Navalians. I doubt their king has stepped one foot out of the palace since we left a few months ago. If we want to stop this insidious force, we must cut off its head, and she is the head.”

“A woman?” asked an Upper Elite at the end of the table. “You think a woman is causing all of this.”

“You seemed surprised?” asked the High Captain.

“Who is she to control a whole kingdom?” asked the Upper Elite. “She is not their leader or some military captain. How can she be the cause of all this?”

“She is much more than you think she is,” said the High Captain.

“What do you mean?” asked the Upper Elite.

“It is difficult to explain, but if you want to end this war with Navalia, we will need to see to her demise,” said Dracia.

“You want us to follow you into battle with only that information?” asked an Upper Elite across from Galen.

Galen looked at his brother who had his eyes closed and seem to be trying to control his breath.

“Do you trust your High Captain, Elite Jessif?” asked Roderick as he opened his eyes and looked at the man who had just spoken. “Has she ever steered the Sentinel wrong?”

Elite Jessif said nothing. The room was silent.

“What about the rest of you? asked Roderick as he looked around the table. “How many battles has the High Captain lost?”

Galen smiled slightly. “I believe that would be none,” he said with a smirk. “Am I correct?”

“Yes, Elite,” said Cian as he looked at Galen. “You are correct. The High Captain has never been defeated.”

“Do you trust her leadership?” asked Roderick.

“We are still here at this table, Roderick,” said Elite Jessif. “If we didn’t trust her, we would have left long ago.”

“Then you will do as she ask,” said the king. “I trust her as my High Captain and as my queen, and that should be enough.”

“Of course, your majesty, but we do not need your command, not here,” said Elite Cian. “Our High Captain’s word is enough.”

“Then you will keep me informed,” said the High Captain.

They spent another hour at the Sentinel, talking about a few Elites they had lost in the battle of Winsdell, and which Novices were closest to being able to be named full Elites. The High Captain said she would come each day she could to oversee the Sentinel, staying she would stay at the palace as would her seconds for the time being.

After supper that night in the palace, Galen found himself able to do as he pleased. He and Lexine met together in the back parlor to look over the prophecies and some books they had collected. Lexine had neatly copied all the prophecies on a piece of paper she had laid on the table in front of them. Galen read the first one from Lanoxan labeled the Cassendar curse:

Beneath their wings a bitter wind blows,

a fallen bird, prey for the peacocks, doves, ravens and crows.

Lifted up and healed to fly,

or struck down to wither and die.

The balm of winter can bring new life,

but the touch of summer causes naught but strife.

The land waits for new life as it toils,

a flower that blooms far from its home soil.

A way forward we can only see,

by a bird that nest happily within spring’s tree.

“What do we know about the Cassendar Curse, Lexine?” asked Galen.

“Leal heard from father that it was given to a Cassendar king by the gods over 300 years ago when the Cassendars had started not seeing to the land and the people as they should. The gods were going to kill the Cassendar family and give Lanoxan leadership to another, but the king begged for mercy. The gods listened and instead said the Cassendars would be punished for the crimes, but would give a way for the Cassendars and Lanoxan to be redeemed. They gave a scroll to the king that had written on it the Cassendar Curse.”

Galen read over the curse again, trying to put aside his skepticism. Obviously, these prophecies meant something to Belleth, and so he needed to take them seriously.

“I suppose if you really look at this curse, it could describe the last year of our kingdom. Summer did bring strife with the battle and the High Captain’s near death. She gained new life from winter,” said Galen.

Lexine smiled. “A way forward we can only see, by a bird that nest happily within spring’s tree. That could easily be seen as Dracia and Leal.”

Galen nodded. “I can see that, but what does it mean to Belleth? That is what we really need to figure out. What does she want with the High Captain?”

“We should look at the Navalian prophecy, then,” said Lexine.

Galen looked down the page and read:

Once taken away by the summer king

Exiled unjustly by those of spring

Banished no more by those who persist

To bring back a winter that will not desist

Another year gone without revenge

A wrong still unrequited a people to avenge

Reign again with power over birds and trees

Given to the people who freely bleed

Beware the flower grown foreign and bold

A tree of spring, a rest for a bird of gold

“Well, the Navalians were an exiled people at start. We know the king of Lanoxan banished them for their violence and worship of false gods. I guess the Siccarian nobles could have agreed,” said Galen.

“It sounds like the Navalians want to avenge their exile, take Lanoxan for themselves according to this,” said Lexine.

“And they are warned to watch for a tree of spring and a bird of gold,” said Galen.

“Again, that could be Leal and Dracia,” said Lexine.

“It would explain why the Navalians were desperate to make sure a Siccarian noble woman never married a Cassendar prince, I suppose,” said Galen.

“It is rare, Dracia and Leal being married as a High Noble and a ruler of Lanoxan,” said Lexine. “It hasn’t been done in recent memory or beyond.”

“Has it ever been done?” asked Galen, trying to think of how the information could be useful.

“I am not sure. How do we even begin to find if it has or not? None of the books of kingdom history mention it. You have read much on the queen’s of Lanoxan. Did one come from the High Nobles of Siccaria?”

“No, just a few from the lower nobles and some other lords of Siccaria, never the High Noble family,” said Galen.

“So, what have we learned?” asked Lexine.

“Not much,” said Galen in frustration. “We just reaffirmed that Belleth wants to get to Dracia, but we already knew it.”

“What should we do next?” asked Lexine.

Galen knew she wouldn’t like his answer, but he could think of no alternative. “Lexine, do you have that book with the picture of those three woman with you?”

Lexine looked at him sharply. “Why?”

“I need to see it. I need to try and see what I can get from it. I don’t know what else we can do at this point, but try to understand why it affects the High Captain so.”

“You think it is connected to Belleth somehow?” asked Lexine.

Galen shrugged. “I really don’t know, but it is something to try,” said Galen. “Please let me see it. I will be careful.”

Lexine looked at him for a long moment, before she dug through the books on the table, pulling out the one Galen was looking for. She held it in her hand. “I will let you try, but if for one moment anything strange happens to you, I will not hesitate to pick it up and throw it into the fire.”

Galen nodded, and she handed him the book. He took it and opened it, flipping pages until he found the picture of the three women. He looked at them for a moment, seeing the two blonde woman who looked just alike, and the third a striking dark hair woman with kind eyes. He felt him self give a little smile as he touched the woman in the middle with his fingers, feeling a small sense of power course through his hand. It did not hurt or seem harmful. It felt warm and familiar. It was the feeling he had when he figured out a new skill, or learned something useful. It was the feeling he had when he was much younger, and Roderick would train him in sword fighting or teach him about horses. It was a feeling he had often during his lessons with his High Captain, her eyes shinning at him as he figured something out.

He gazed at the dark haired woman a few moments longer before he turned the page. He looked at Lexine and tried to give her a reassuring smile before he put his hand on the page and closed his eyes. He immediately felt the power in the words, transporting him to sometime long ago.

“Can you tell us again, mother?” asked a small dark haired little girl, her eyes glittering with excitement.

“Aren’t you tired of this same story?” asked a beautiful woman with dark eyes and hair as she looked at the small child.

“I am not,” said a boy with lighter hair and eyes that almost seemed gold. “Please tell us again.”

The woman sighed, but then smiled. “Very well, but you must sleep after I am done.”

The two children nodded at her.

“Sophia the wise was the most beautiful of all the gods. It is said even the creator looked on her with favor. She spread wisdom with her two sisters who gave knowledge and power. All three working together to fill the created ones with balance and goodness. For many years all was well,” said the woman as the little children settled into their bed.

“But the creator had a new idea. He felt the created ones were ready for more freedom. They needed to see to their own land without the gods walking amongst them. He ordered the other gods to create their new space to watch over the created ones as he would. Sophia’s sisters did not like this idea.

“Alvinia, the knowledgeable, thought she knew better and that the created ones would still need her guidance. Ricardia, the powerful, did not want to let go of her influence over the created ones. Sophia did not want to leave, but it was not because she did not believe in the creator’s idea. She had another reason.”

“She was in love,” said the little girl with a giggle.

“Let mother tell the story,” said the little boy with irritation. “You always interrupt.”

“I do not,” said the little girl as stuck her tongue out.

“If neither of you is going to listen, I should just leave now so you can sleep,’ said the woman.

“We will listen, mother,” said the little girl as the boy nodded his head.

The woman continued. “Sophia had grown fond of a man, and not just any man. He was a man the creator himself wanted to lead a kingdom. Sophia could not bear to think of leaving him. She wanted to be like him, to live with him as a woman lives with a man.

“She went to the creator who told her she could have her wish, as she had the power to decide how she would live. She thought it would be good for all her sister to live as she did, giving up their power and influence over the created for good. She thought created ones could gain their own wisdom, power, and knowledge through their life experiences.”

“Her two sisters did not like this idea. Alvina, the knowledgeable, worried about the created ones. Ricardia, the powerful, could not stand to think she would not have influence over them. Sophia could not make them see reason, and she knew they could not exist as they were without her. She pleaded with them, scared for her sisters, but they would not listen.

“She talked with the other gods, and knew what she had to do. She bound them to earth to live as immortal beings, until they learned the error of their ways. She took away their powers, telling them they had to gain knowledge, wisdom, and power just like the created ones. She sent them out into the winter lands to the north as Sophia lived with the new king as his wife. She gave up her powers, wanting more than anything to be with her king, learning the way of life as he did.”

“Where are the two sisters now?” asked the little girl.

“No one really knows, though it is said they still walk the winter lands, refusing to ever learn the lesson Sophia wanted them to learn. They have gained some things, but never the wisdom that they truly need.”

“How do you know this story, mother?” asked the little boy as he yawned.

“My mother told it to me, and her mother to her, and so on and so on. Now, I am telling it to you my little lord, so one day you can tell you children,” said the woman. “You both need to remember that knowledge and power are nothing without wisdom as you rule over Siccaria someday. The people will need your wisdom to keep them safe.”

“Galen, Galen,” said Lexine as Galen opened his eyes and took his hand off the page. “Are you alright?”

Galen blinked a few times and sat back. “Yes, I am fine,”

“What did you find out?” asked Lexine.

“I will tell you, but I don’t see how it helps the High Captain,” said Galen. “But it is an interesting story.”