The Semideus

Chapter 7

Howard

Ever since I could remember, I had always felt a calling beyond our fortress. Curiosity had coursed my veins as I grew up. I had craved to go beyond our wall but it had been forbidden. My father had explicitly placed spies at the border to ensure I did not fulfill my unyielding want. Funny how life plays out, he was no longer here yet I did not have any desire whatsoever of escaping into the wild and letting myself be swallowed by the  seemingly endless stretch of foreign lands. All I wanted at the moment, all I desired, was to help my people. I wanted to fight for them.

"Goodbye Prince Howard, we shall miss you dearly."

The guard at the wall pushed down a lever causing the wall hinges to weaken  swinging it open with an extremely slow drag. The wall had not been opened willfully, not in the longest of time. My mind briefly trotted towards Terrance. He had used the side door to escape his father's momentarily scolding only to meet his impending death. I still saw his blood smeared body when I tried to get some shut eye. I nodded at the guard, the humongous wall bringing me back to reality. This was it, I was leaving, as an outcast nonetheless.

I turned to address the guard, to say a few words but he had already returned to his post not caring at all for any chatter. I sighed and trudged away, my head suddenly feeling light.

The sun was high in the sky, blazing ferociously. The heat scorched my skin as my breath continuously became ragged. One had to cross the separating river in order to reach the forest. Other Kingdoms were miles away from ours according to tales of my father...my late father. Will he at least have a proper burial? A King's burial? Lancelot had led me to believe he cared but the first chance he got, he threw me to the wind. He said he could not bare to lose me yet he made sure I was tagged an outcast which was far worse than death. Plus my people, my people thought I had abandoned them in their time of need, they had not heard the decree. All this, all this because of a bloody sword? What powers did it possess? What made it so important that Wallace would abandon his own Kingdom, lead an army through a tedious journey in order to seek it? Most importantly, why did our Kingdom have it yet we did not believe in weapons  much less drawing them? Questions. All I had were bloody questions that no one could answer because...because I had no one, I was completely and utterly alone. A wave of emotions hit me  causing my spirit to weaken. Grief, loneliness, betrayal, anguish; all these were my cup of rum and I had to gobble them down.

According to history, the separating river gained its name from playing the role of a border between two powerful Kingdoms. Apparently, once upon a time, there had been only two Kingdoms which coexisted peacefully until somebody got power hungry leading other people down the menial path. Soon after, wars erupted, other smaller Kingdoms formed. Only one Kingdom upheld the law of not engaging in war, Fallon. They retreated further to the North and built a fortress strong enough to keep their enemies at bay. While the other Kingdoms fought for power, they hid away in the shadows. Soon after, they were forgotten because of their inactive participation in wars well until recently. The thing is, I did not believe we were forgotten, the rulers of the various Kingdoms were simply biding their time.

"And that is why I rounded up an army, anticipating a war. But look where that got me little froggy. Here, talking to an amphibian."

The frog I had taken captive stared back at me as if fathoming what I was rambling on about. Well, it was not completely useless, it would make a good substitute from my usual steak for lunch. Quite frankly I was too famished to reminisce about my once upon a time noble worthy awfully delectable meals. How did one light fires from nothing  again? Damn you father for keeping me away from blunt reality and denying me survival skills! I spotted some wet firewood by the river and proceeded to gather them while careful not to accidentally free my lunch. My tummy grumbled loudly creating a disturbing echo around me. I spotted two small pebbles and sat down in front of the wood. I sent a little prayer to the gods who were probably pissed at me. I held the frog between my legs and began trying to create a spark from initiating friction between the two pebbles.

"Bloody hell!"

As if on cue, the frog leapt out of my imprisonment taking advantage of the small gap I had created between my legs due to my frustration.

"I told you he could not do it, tsk tsk tsk. Pay up Stevey!"

A bubble of laughter escaped my throat as I shook off the idea that Bob and Steve were here making fun of my embarrassing failure. Was I that hungry?

"Here you go. Two pennies as agreed."

There it was again, Steve's deep husky voice. Wait had I also imagined Peter's chain of chuckles? This was impossible though, they were all back in Fallon, with their loved ones, as it should be.

"So were you seriously leaving without us?"

My head snapped towards the voice source  coming from behind me.

"You bloody bastards! What are you doing here?"

I asked, trying to suppress the ball of joy being conjured in my belly.

"What else Howy, we are here to help you retrieve the magical sword!"

Before I could mull over Bob's response, a punch flied through the air landing on my right cheek. Whether it was the fatigue, hunger or the actual weight of the punch, I could not particularly point out what caused me to drift out of consciousness. Steve's hard expression was the last thing I saw before darkness befell me.