The Elderkin Prophet

Feregar

In one of the older human kingdoms, dwelled the people under the protection and rule of King Magnar and his late queen, lady Talia. Deep in the under croft of the keep, Surrounded by dim lights of the rising sun and flushing of the gold embroidered blue royal curtains, Ino sat beside his tools which were spread carelessly around the dead, grey, hound like creature that lay before him. He was in his study where he would often explore and record his findings across Phaera.

“Hmm... What shall I name you?”

He stood up in excitement, almost launching his scalpel across his right arm.

“Nightprawler!”

Ino hastily scribbled down the name in a large plain leather bound book atop his table. After controlling his excitement he took a moment to look around the room. He almost gagged at the stench of the rotting flesh from the nightprawler. It'd been six whole days since the beast was slain by a band of villagers near the outskirts of Jerby’s farmstead. It was a new creature, a new sight for the folk. At first, the villagers were afraid of the beast for its muscular frame and sharp spokes that ran down its spine along with its big gnarly wrinkled face. The beast was deadly indeed, it frequently preyed on the cattle at night killing a few and injuring many. The farmhead eventually grew tired and angry of the beast and requested the king for aid. King Magnar sent a small band of watchers and together with the villagers help they trapped the beast and killed it. The beast didn't go down without a fight.

Ino quickly began to clean up his study and did his best to get rid of the rancid smell before it reached the grand halls, but it was too late! He could hear footsteps quickly approaching the large metal doors. The doors opened with a loud thud and a slow creak. Ino looked at the door in dismay, for he knew who was going to come in and why. He quickly glanced at his makeshift clockwork pocket watch which only made his eyes widen more with shock. He shrugged and awaited his sister’s entry after placing his journal back inside one of the deep shelves of his library, his collection.

Nita entered through the doors and groaned.

“What is that smell? Ino! If you don't take care of this … ugh! I’ve told you this every single time! Forget it.”

Ino drops his watch in panic and tried to speak.

“S..Sorry, sis. I got carried away… Again… I know wh... ”

“You aren’t even ready yet! I feared that you would mess up. You remember what today is right?" Nita Sighed.

Ino struggled to speak and looked down at his broken watch with its gears sprawled loose.

“Yes...”

“Father expects you to reach the throne room before he arrives, and guess what?” She snorted.

“I’m late, and he is disappointed like usual?”

Nita ran into the study while holding her scarf tightly across her face and grabbed Inos hand.

“Well, not yet you still have some time and I hate to see father get angry over you again and again, for he doesn’t really fully understand or value your research yet. He's too busy running the politics of Rule and War. Come quick, get dressed and be there, un-smelly preferably. I convinced Jayyed to talk to father and slow him down.”

“Oh! Thank you, thank you so! So! So much!" Ino beamed.

Inos face lit up and he quickly picked up his broken clock and dashed towards the door and into his noble quarters. He was always the slowest and the most lost in thought child of the entire bloodline. He was the youngest of the three children. The king protected and cared for his them greatly but it was almost time that they were grown up enough to hand one of them the crown. Ino was the weakest but also one of the smartest and most eager to learn. He didn't care about the politics of Rule and War, neither did he care much about combat. He was always so entangled by the stories of  Phaera and its creatures narrated to him by his long past grandmother. Oh how he dreamed of one day travelling to the Willow Marshes or sailing amidst the Ebonglow Mountains. His father, the king, trained him in basic combat and other forms of art and literature. Ino learnt how to use the bow fairly well thanks to his brother Jayyed. Not long back, his parents were betrayed by the battle hungry warlords of Muraka when they'd gone there to settle an ancient family dispute between the lords and to strengthen the unity of their lands. Both his parents were gravely wounded on their return but his mother died shortly after. Thus, this locked both Feregar and Muraka in an endless conflict. Today was the day his mother died and to honor her, the royal family would gather together in silence.

 The skies thickened with a light mist, he could faintly see the entire city from his window. Ino jumped out of the bathhouse and donned a loose olive tunic with black leather pants and atop that his laid his armor and family crest which was tied tightly around his left pauldron. His grey cape wrapped loosely around him as he tucked it into his belt. He could still smell the rotting stench of the nightprawler on him. He inched towards a giant decorative mirror and grabbed some Redbloom plant fiber from the marble drawer and rubbed it gently across his hands and neck. He was ready, he drew a sharp breath while admiring his youthful reflection.

He heard the sound of horns blowing in the distance. This meant that the king was walking through the grand halls. Ino dashed across the hallways and made it just in the nick of time to the throne room. He saw Nita waiting besides the throne clad in heavy painted chainmail and her tall iconic dual spear, Kinara, resting on her hands. Her hair was long and loose which swirled in the short gusts of wind. She was unimaginably beautiful and strong, the general that everyone looked up to and felt protected by, the kings favorite child.

Nita noticed Ino and gave him a light pinch and smiled.

“You are still… Late you know.”

Ino lets out a feint relief and chuckles lightly.

“Hopefully father hasn’t noticed yet, has he?”

Both the siblings looked across the throne room and could see almost the entire city’s folk crammed between the large arching hallway. They sighted their father with their brother Jayyed escorting him across the crowd and towards them. The huge open arches and windows of the castle filled the room with a pale blue aura, there was visible chaos and chatter amongst the folk while a harmonic choir hummed in one corner of the room. The large bright blue banners of the kingdom swirled in the wind atop the crowd, showcasing the house emblem of Bannuex, a white stag standing tall atop its hinds with a pale yellow rose behind it. King Magnar made his way atop the winding stairs and faced his children. He noticed Ino amongst the other nobility present near him, his old face gave out a warm smile. He turned around to face his people and raised his right hand and clasps it firmly, his white sleeves rolled back to reveal a nasty scar that ran up his arm along with a set of jeweled fingers complemented with a broad silver bracelet. The crowd silenced, everyone was quiet, even the humming of the choir stopped. Everyone was attentive and eager to hear the king speak. Ino picked up a restless vibe from the crowd, the people looked scared and in doubt.

The king drew a hefty breath as his gaze shifted amongst the crowd.

“My subjects, my people, to all those who stand here in my court today... I welcome you.”

His voice echoed through the grand halls.

“These recent times have not been kind to our strong lands, no.” He shaked his head in disapproval.

“Every day it pains me to hear several reports of the barbaric Murakan raids. Of how those cowards hide in the shadows waiting to ambush our caravans and ransack the villages. It sickens me how a parasite was formed of a once noble king. However, these crimes shall not go unpunished. Justice will be served! But not today… nor tomorrow. Our time for vengeance shall soon come.”

Magnar looked over his shoulder towards his family, his expressions dampened as he missed to find his lover amongst them, his wife and queen. He turned his head to his people.

“But today, I call to you and every denizen loyal to Feregar, to come honor and weep in the name of your late queen. For without her, this kingdom would've only been in shambles and ruin.”

Magnar bowed his head slightly, so did the rest soon follow. He made a gesture and a guard walked up to him with a torch burning in a bright blue and white flame. Magnar grasped the torch and walked towards a large wooden altar covered with bits of hay almost twice the size of him built in front of the queens throne. He paused briefly before the stack and whispered to himself.

“Three years have passed since you left me my love, may the stars guide you onwards.”

He allowed the flame to k****e the altar. Soon the entire altar roared with blazing fire. There was no heat from the flame, it felt cold; But the flame would burn any who touched it. Silence still plagued in the court. Everyone watched as the fire glistened. The skylights allowed beams of warm sunlight to penetrate through the roof and embrace the throne.

Ino looked at his father and couldn't help but to think of how strong his might was. He felt like crying, he couldn't stop thinking about his mother. He felt ashamed because he lacked the strength and courage to fight, he considered himself a coward, unlike his brother and sister.

Minutes passed and everything remained silent. The king slowly made his way back to his throne, but just before he could seat himself, he heard a horn scream in the distance. Someone was approaching, galloping! Every head turned around to look at a lone rider. Magnars eyes fixed upon the rider, he identified the horse because of the colored armor but not the rider. The rider looked like some ordinary peasant.

The once quiet crowds composition was now disturbed by the rider as they scattered around to avoid getting run over by the horse. The castle guards closed in to contain the chaos. They secured the rider and prevent him from getting any closer to the throne and the king. The horse stopped abruptly after looking at the poised spears and threw off the rider onto the floor ahead. He was surrounded by confused people. The man got up; he looked injured and was bleeding from his right leg. Both the horse and the man had the look of fear in their eyes. He looked around and then directly at the king and yelled in panic with a breathless voice.

“They're coming! ….. Thousands! It wont b…” He panted as he tried to explain.

Magnar gets angry and raised his voice.

“What's this nonsense about? Who are you and why have you disrupted my court? Speak now, or face punishment!”

The man staggered but within a minute contained himself. He introduced himself first.

“My king, my name is Deolan.” His voice trembled.

“I'm a mere stable boy from Red Pine village. I ha…”

Jayyed cuts off Deolan sharply with a question.

“And what is a stable boy doing riding a Feredian horse?”

Magnar raised his hand and notioned Jayyed to settle down.

“Let him speak, explain this mess...”

Deolan was shaking in fear.

“My…  My lord, I swear I didn't steal this horse. I used it only to get to you as fast as I could. The rider of this horse was already dead when I found him. He had an arrow lodged into his neck.”

He gulped. “Our village was taken by surprise and we were attacked by Murakan blade throwers and what now, I even saw one of their noble lords amongst their ranks. He carried this large battle-axe. I saw him ruthlessly butcher Galec, our village elder.”

Nita whispered under her breath and grinned.

“Cardem’nac.”

Ino looked tp towards his sister and then back at Deolan to pay attention to what he was squabbling about.

Magnar asked.

“And... what of the village guards? Weren't they there to fight?”

“No my lord. There was nobody there to protect us! It was a s*******r. I saw them kill... my mother as I watched... some of them have their way with her!..” He began to tear up.

Magnar wondered in disbelief. He thought to himself how a band of total fifty hardened guards would just abandon their posts. How did none of the scouts report any of this.

“Continue.” Magnar spoke.

“I .. I .. Ran into the woods shortly after the m******e began. I was scared, they sent some kind of spider chasing after me, I w... was too scared to even look.”

Ino quickly asked Deolan a question.

“Was it brown or black? Did it have any spots or a raised crest? Looks like you were bit...”

Deolan looked at Ino shakily.

“Y..Yes my lord. It bit my ankle and it … It... It was brown and big. That's all I could remember”

Jayyed interrupted. “Enough of the spider, what happened next?”

The crowd was now too noisy to make out what was happening. Everyone was scared and were had started talking amongst themselves. Some people even tried to walk out of the court but the guards stopped them from leaving.

“SILENCE! Go on.” Magnar commanded.

Ino broke away from the chaos and tried to run back towards his study but Nita grasped his hands tightly and asked in a hushed voice.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Ino exclaimed. “That.. That man was bit by a Vallopan Strider! I’m sure of it. I need to go and get him some anti-toxic herbs otherwise he won't live for long! Strider venom is not poisonous but it’s saliva spreads some kind of infection in the wound which develops overtime and increases the toxin content of the body, killing him eventually. Assuming the striders Muraka have been rumored to breed, they must be extremely toxic! Please, let me go, I can save him.”

Nita looks at Ino and nods.

 “Go...”

Ino made his way across without being noticed and ran back into his study.

Meanwhile, Deolan continued to explain what happened.

 “I was saved by one of the scouts my lord. He fought off the spider and killed it. He quickly bandaged me up and asked me to hide in the undergrowth until he told me it was safe again. But shortly after I hid he was surrounded by the remaining spies of his party. I could barely make out what they were saying but they drew swords upon him! They killed him...”

The crowd gasped.

“I overheard them saying something about joining the Muraka and that the gold was worth the betrayal. The spy declined the offer and instantly was locked into combat with them. He took out one of the spies before an arrow severed his neck. I waited for them to go away and then found his horse. I knew how to ride and I knew that your forces were being paid off by Muraka. I knew that I couldn't not trust anyone, that’s why I rode straight to you, my king.”

Deolan bent onto his knee. He looked around as everyone stared at him, he had never seen so many people in one place together, it intimidated him. He had been to the city of Feregar only once when he was a young boy. He felt scared.

“My king, this is not all that I wanted to tell you. On my escape I was noticed by one of the spies and they began to chase me down but they stopped just before the forest opening. On my way here I saw a fleet of ships with Murakan flags and some unknown banners! They were thousands of soldiers who were setting up an encampment on the coast of the northern flatbeds! I fear that they're planning an assault over Feregar and it wouldn’t be more than a few days that they'd be here.”

The tension amongst the folk began to rise further. They began to doubt their safety and even began to wonder if Feregar was strong enough to repel against such a large force. Magnar looked at his people and court, he knew what everyone was thinking and worrying about. He too was worried about the future himself but he was confident in his kingship and power. He nodded his head firmly towards Deolan.

“Is all what you say certain?”

Deolan staggered. “Y...Ye yes my lord. I barely escaped with my life myself. I would'nt lie”

Magnar looked at his court and spoke.

“So much… death. The Murakan warlords have been at war with us ever since their betrayal. They seek to destroy our kingdom and rule over it like the dogs they are. They are merciless and cruel overseers who tax the poor and entangle the rich in their nasty lies and deceit. I shall never allow this to happen! Till my last breath I shall protect these lands and its people for you are my subjects and I am your king! If it’s a fight they want then that’s what they shall get!”

Magnars confidence raised everyone’s spirit and determination.

“The following days won't be easy; I want every man woman and child back home safe. There'll be a call to arms and service soon. Deolan, you have been brave to come all the way to bring me this news. Head to the barracks for some food and rest and to tend to your wounds. You will be rewarded once this is all over.”

Magnar dismissed his court and seated himself upon his throne. He looked worried. He immediately called to assemble his council to decide the fate of Feregar.