The Light And Shadow Chronicles - Books 1-3

4. Nightfall-2

With his boots crunching on the loose stone pathway, he wound his way out of the city and down the hill to a small wooden stable. Outside the rickety wooden hut, six horses were tethered in a row eating hay. Chaos was greeted cheerfully by an elderly man who was organising the stirrups and saddles.

Ottus was one of the only people in Alcherys that Chaos spoke with who wasn"t a member of the Children of Light. Most of the soldiers in the army were Chaos"s family, the esteemed Callista"s bloodline, but if a warrior outside of the family proved themselves strong enough, they could take the elixir, providing they dedicated their lives to the Children of Light.

Ottus could have fought for the Children in his youth, but he never wanted to. He told Chaos once that a peaceful seventy years were more valuable than a violent three hundred. He was an average civilian, who aged and would die at the normal rate, whilst the nobility stayed young forever. There was understandably a lot of bitterness towards the royal family for Callista"s decision to save the elixir for soldiers only but never from Ottus. He was one of those rare, down-to-earth hard-working types who wanted nothing more than a simple, quiet life.

Chaos didn"t really see the logic, but he listened to Ottus with respect all the same. Ottus had been a permanent fixture in Chaos"s life. He had supplied him with his first horse, when he was aged just seven years old, and they had been friends ever since. Chaos had watched him slowly age, which fascinated him as, within his own family, he never saw wrinkled skin or greying hair. He had begged Ottus to take an elixir from Callista, but he had chuckled and declined. He said he was happy to be protected by the Children of Light, and would run their stables for them, but he had no desire to die for their cause.

Ottus stuck his head out of the open doorway and called to Chaos, “Good morning, Master Lennox! Your usual, yes?”

Chaos gave a weak smile and nodded. “I"ll be away for some time, Ottus. I"m moving over to the eastern border with my team. Could I keep Shade for the next few months? There are stables over there so he"ll be looked after.”

Ottus smiled widely. “Of course! He will be delighted to spend time with you, his favourite rider, yes!”

“Thank you, Ottus. How much will that be?”

Ottus stepped close to him and inclined his head conspiratorially. “For others, this would be most expensive. But you are my favourite, you see. A very good price I can give you, very good, yes.”

“Don"t be silly,” Chaos said, getting a small leather pouch from his pack. “I have plenty of money, and I wouldn"t want you to go hungry on my account.”

Ottus placed both hands on Chaos"s face, one on each cheek, and Chaos stepped backwards, surprised at his familiarity. “You"re a kind boy, a good boy. But still, I insist. We shall make it two hundred embers, yes?”

“OK, if you"re sure.” Chaos reached into his pouch and removed four golden coins, engraved with the crest of the Children of Light.

Ottus"s eyes lit up as he took the coins. “Fifties? They pay you a lot, Master Lennox, you must be valued.” He cast Chaos a broad smile. “But of course you are. Son of Raven, grandson of Callista, a very strong fighter. You are truly irreplaceable to the royal family, yes.”

“We are all paid the same, Ottus. Our positions and heritage play no part in the wages we receive. You know that.”

Ottus gave a loud, boisterous laugh. “Oh to receive a regular wage! It is something folk of my kind can only dream of, yes?”

“Which is why I will always come to you for my custom.”

“That and my horses are the healthiest and happiest in all of Alcherys, yes?”

Chaos gave a warm laugh and extended a friendly hand. Ottus shook it gratefully then scuttled off to fetch a saddle and bridle for Shade. Chaos stood by the magnificent brown stallion, stroking his silky black mane.

Ottus hurried back and prepared Shade for his long journey, draping and fixing the riding gear until the horse was ready to depart. Chaos was just about to leave as he waved him over for a final goodbye.

“Many things await you, child. I can see them in the ether, yes. Greatness and victory in your future, for sure. You may suffer, but be brave, yes.”

Chaos gave a bemused but thankful nod and set off on the long journey to the eastern border, trying to force Ottus"s mysterious words from his mind and focus on the new life that awaited him.

The journey to Eresteid was long and tiring. Chaos left the marble buildings and bustling streets of Nazaki behind and passed into the vast featureless plains of Alcherys. The odd cactus or palm dotted the landscape, but there was little more than dust at his feet.

Shade took him past the Fortress of Crae, which loomed ominously on the horizon as a warning to all who dared stray too near to Nazaki. Shade"s feet clopped quietly against the sandy ground. There was a huge barren stretch ahead of him, a long path between the capital of Nazaki and his destination, Eresteid. The route took him across desert and over fields, winding close to the foot of the immense Jardian Mountains, and then opened up into the rocky wastelands of unallied Terralia.

Chaos grew bored and fidgety as he passed into his fifth hour of the ride. It was such a long ride, and he was beginning to regret not bringing somebody along with him. He could have waited for the others and set out together, but he had wanted to be alone. Considering the mood he was in, he had assumed he would just argue with them, especially Dana, but he wished he had some company now. Mercury or Syfer would have been good to fill the silence with stories or jokes. Even Dana and her acidic sarcasm would have been better than this loneliness.

With an aching back, he decided to stop for a moment"s rest. He led Shade across to a small brook that babbled through the fields. Shade gratefully lapped at the refreshing cool water and Chaos lay flat on his back, eyes squinting in the bright afternoon sun. He allowed the warm rays to caress his face and tried to forget about the direction his life was taking him, which was firmly in the opposite direction of all his hopes and dreams.

He sat up and took a slip of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. On it, he had scribbled the prophecy which told of his destiny.

One day, a child will be born to the dark guardian. From the moment he opens his eyes to the world, his destiny shall be sealed. He is the one that will bring c*****e to the Brotherhood. He shall be chaos personified.

One day, a child will be born to the dark guardian. From the moment he opens his eyes to the world, his destiny shall be sealed. He is the one that will bring c*****e to the Brotherhood. He shall be chaos personified.Chaos screwed his nose up in anger. How was he supposed to fulfil his destiny if Callista was too stupid to see his potential? His father believed in him; he always had. That"s why the moment he had been born his father had held him high and proclaimed that the prophecy must be about him. He was the c*****e mentioned in the ancient scroll. He was to be Chaos.

He had thought that reading something might ease the annoyance that burned in his chest and the boredom that made him heave great sighs, but it merely aggravated him further. He lay back on the grass, trying to get some peace and relaxation, but he was too anxious now. With a mumbled curse he screwed the paper up and jammed it back in his pocket. He groaned and dragged himself to his feet and after brushing his uniform down, he swung himself back up onto Shade, content to sulk for the rest of the journey.

Eventually, Chaos approached an encampment at the border of Terralia, the temporary stronghold of Avalanche, his father"s unit. A strange nagging pulled at Chaos"s stomach and he realized, with a fair amount of discomfort, that it was jealousy. His father was highly respected and given anything he asked for. Raven had been placed here, at a crucial location, where attacks from barbarians and even Brotherhood members were frequent. Not like Nightfall, who were cast away to a remote camp where they"d never even get to lift a weapon.

Fighting the annoyance that clawed at his stomach, Chaos rode past the barracks without stopping to see if his father was there.

It took another four hours to skirt around the edge of Karinam, another unallied region, and the afternoon was drawing to a close when Chaos finally approached Eresteid.

Tying Shade to a wooden post, Chaos sulked past the barracks where he would soon be reluctantly stationed. He was the first to arrive. The others would come tomorrow, on horseback, with all their belongings from the capital, and their imprisonment in this godforsaken outback would begin. It was deathly silent at the moment, and Chaos ran a distasteful glance over the simple, bare barracks.

The camp was small and primitive. Sterile, wooden huts stood in a circle around a stone courtyard. They were barracks around a communal eating place with fire pits and makeshift ovens which Chaos knew he"d have to stoke up later if he wanted to eat anything. There was also a small medical centre—merely a hut with two tiny rooms full of supplies and a number of physicians who had already set up camp. Chaos considered talking to them, but decided against it and rode on.

The camp was nice enough but lacked the warmth and grandeur of their headquarters in the capital. He hated the thought of staying here long-term, and it left a bitter taste in his throat. What good could he do all the way out here? He was quite sure his talent would wither away through disuse and he"d lose all the valuable skills his father had taught him. He stared out at the uncharted lands of Karinam before him.

They were wide and open with sandy plains stretching for miles, dotted by the odd oasis of plant life. In the distance, a band of trees thickened into the Elaki forests. There were tiny villages dotting the landscape, mere specks in the vastness of the plains. There was a whole world of adventure and opportunity out there. Anything could lie beyond the horizon, and he"d never know.

It was forbidden for any member of the Children of Light to leave Alcherys without express permission or direct order from Callista herself. The stakes were too high and dangers lurked at every corner, or so the children of Alcherys had been led to believe. The tales of barbarians, vicious creatures and evil swarming in every uncivilised village had haunted Chaos as a child. He and his siblings had heard the stories a hundred times and had cowered in fear, even hearing of those poor souls whose terrible job it was to step across the borders and into the wilderness beyond.

That fear had been understandable when they were kids, and when they had lived in the capital, miles from any border, where the tales were just that: tales. But Chaos was an adult now, a strong, independent warrior. Karinam looked quiet, blissful even, certainly nothing like the horrific wasteland that had haunted his dreams. What was Callista playing at by keeping him here? She had been off-territory thousands of times herself. She must know it wasn"t really so terrifying out there. Maybe she was just using their fear as a tool to control them, to keep them under her power.

He was overcome by a sudden desire to make her angry, to make her respect him. With his heart pounding from excitement and nerves, he turned and walked to the hitching post, untied Shade again and set off to explore the forbidden unallied lands of Karinam. He knew he shouldn"t. He knew what would happen to him if he was caught. But for now, he didn"t care.

He rode for hours across wide open fields, invigorated by the fresh, clean air in his lungs, giddy from the sense of freedom, and found that the further he got from his homelands, the calmer he became. There was no horror, no threat, no barbarians and not a whiff of evil. In fact, Karinam was beautiful and Chaos felt at home here.

He reached the forests just as the evening sun was beginning to set. He had grown thirsty and tired from his long journey and felt a prickling worry about what to do from now on. The sense of rebellion he"d felt earlier was wearing thin and he had no idea where he was heading. He hadn"t been aiming for anywhere; he"d been aiming to disobey. Now he was too far from home to travel back in pitch darkness.

Chaos"s attention was soon caught by a sprinkling of lights tucked into a clearing just inside the forest. He was reluctant to approach. What if it was one of those uncivilised, barbaric nations he had been warned of? Surely it couldn"t be safe to just waltz into an unknown encampment when literally anything could lie within. But there was no other choice. The darkness was becoming oppressive and exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on his body.

He rode on towards the village slowly, weighing up the risks, his eyes flitting backwards and forwards over the rooftops he could see poking over tall wooden fences.

It was a tiny settlement with only a rustic church, a few shops, an inn and a cluster of simple houses. A set of wooden gates blocked his entrance to the village and a simple wooden sign swung from rusty chains about the large doors. Valdell. If it was claimed by either of the warring factions, it would sport a flag with the emblem upon it, but he could not see one. It must be an independent town. He rode cautiously up to the wooden gate and banged on the hatch.

A few moments later the hatch opened and a man called out, “Who goes there?”

Chaos leant in. “A weary traveller. I wish to use your inn if I may.”

The man looked Chaos up and down suspiciously for a moment before the hatch slammed shut. Chaos huffed to himself and was preparing to turn around and find another village, when the wooden gates swung open and he was waved inside.

He rode into the small village, Shade"s hooves clopping gently on the loose stone pathway. Directly ahead of him lay the inn, and he rode straight up to it. It was a simple public house with cheap lodgings and drinks. He tied Shade up outside and entered.

Pushing the wooden door open, he was met by a dusty, dimly lit room. Candles rested in holders dotted along the walls and the wooden floors echoed underfoot. The room was empty, save for a small table of local townspeople chatting amongst themselves. He walked up to the tiny bar and placed his hands on the cool surface. He ran his eyes over the choice of drinks, ordered a stiff liquor, paid the barkeep two embers and sat at the bar, trying to enjoy his solitude.