The Elderkin Prophet

Chapter 8

A new day dawns; Feregar seemed to already be alive and active during the early rays of light. The kings orders had been dispatched amongst the city and every denizen had a job to perform. With the little time the city had before the arrival of the dooming war, there was chaos stricken amongst every single mind.

Ino opens his eyes to the sound of swords clanking in the distance; he could hear feint voices of someone issuing commands. He knew that voice, it belonged to Nita. She was most probably training the royal guard and must have engaged them to spar with one another. Ino gets up and rubs his eyes; he begins to pluck out the bits of sleep still stuck in the corners of each eye. He stretches himself and yawns. His fair complexion bounced off the light that filled his room. His brown hair was a mess but it suited him as it fell loosely down his face. He inched towards the nearest window that faced the city and looked outside. There was a dense fog that had settled around the city walls and on the calm seas below. The city seemed to be very busy because of all the smoke that was rising from almost every chimney. He saw long lines of carts and people that started from the city gates, all the way to the market squares. Ino looked very worried because he was unsure of what was going to happen, he feared losing anyone else close to family to him, ever since his mother passed away. Ino had green eyes with a tinge of yellow in one of them; he was the only child who had most of his mother’s features while Nita and Jayyed had a lot of his father’s. He switched out of his loose tunic into some refined clothing and put on a fuzzy grey coat because he was feeling cold. As soon as he left his chambers he was hit with the scent of a delicious meaty pie along with the stench of fine aged wine. He recognized the smell almost immediately and knew that the castle cooks had prepared his favourite meal. Ino liked to think that it was his father’s way of saying sorry to him for being so harsh the night before. He descended the stone cold steps in his worn out boots only to find the dining hall empty. There were a few servants who were cleaning the room but he could not sight anyone else. He sat down to eat anyways.

Once he finished, he made his way to the castle sanctuary and to his mother’s grave. It was a large polished metal statue that was almost three times the size of him. Ino took off his boots and as he treads the cold wet grass towards the statue he saw his brother Jayyed sitting in front of the statue aswell. Ino halted in his step, he feared that his brother would say something mean to him but he decided to continue anyways. Jayyed notices Ino behind him, he looked back at him but then returned to his meditation. Ino plopped himself besides him silently and spent the next few moments in silence. The tweeting of small Ire breaks could be heard as they sung their song, nested on the fruit trees scattered around the sanctuary. They were enjoying the fresh fruit under the shade. Ino shut his eyes and all sorts of memories of his mother flushed back to him. This place meant a lot to him and it was one of the few places where he could just escape from everything. The statue had two bowls and a pot placed at its base. One of the bowls had fresh water and the other was filled with flowers; Ino picks up a blue flower and drowns it inside the bowl of water gently. He shuts his eyes for another brief moment and as the water dripped from the flower and his hand, he slowly rubbed the flower against the stone base of the statue in one clean stroke downwards. Once he rubbed the flower he placed it in the potbed of flowers next to the statue.

“May the wind carry you home, mom.” He whispered under his breath.

In Feredian culture, the people believed that the souls of the deceased would have to journey across the stars where several spiritual obstacles and challenges would come their way. These souls were considered as travellers and once they passed all these tests, they were granted eternal peace. The ones who would fail this path came to be known as the lost. These lost souls would often find their way back to Phaera in forms of wraiths or ghastly projections to haunt the ones who wronged them. It was said that the love and prayers of the ones closest to the travelling souls would make their voyage easier.

Ino raises himself up. He noticed his brother was still sitting next to the statue. He begins to wear his boots and made his way back to the keep.

Ino begins to search for Nita; her commanding voice seemed to have disappeared by now. He roamed the courtyards in search of her but could not find her. He ventured back indoors where he found her lifting some heavy crates from one corner to another. Ino rushes to her and greets her. Nita smiles back at him but her expressions quickly changed. Ino helped her carry the crates.

Nita hesitates. “Hey! Don’t worry, I got this.”

“So, where are we taking these things?” Ino ignored her and asked.

“Oof… We need to take these boxes all the way to master smith, Aedirn. He needed this new shipment of alloys to forge stronger armour for the royal guard. Since everyone was busy preparing for the war, there was nobody who was delivering the old man his material.”

Ino, chuckles. “Yea, nobody likes the old man when he’s grumpy.”

The crate of alloys was very heavy and Ino wondered how Nita would have managed without any help. After struggling their way to the royal smithy, they saw the old man heating his forge. He was a master craftsman, one of the best across the land. It was said that every blade that he ever had forged had never broken and always remained sharp even after years. He was the one who made Nita’s weapon, the dual bladed Kinara.

Aedirn greeted both the royal children and helped them place the crate on the floor. Once the crate was delivered, Nita began to make her way back. The smith stops her and asked.

“Going so soon milady?”

Nita nods her head.

“I finished that sheathe you had requested, for your blade.”

Nita turns around to the master who handed her a hoister and sleek leather sheathe.

“Wear on top of your armour and tighten those wee straps. I’ve tweaked it to fit your armour perfectly.”

“Thank you master Aedirn. I hope the armours will be finished by sun down, the soldiers need to practice.” She replied and began to continue making her way back to the courtyard.

Ino follows behind her struggling to match her pace. The old man smiled as they walked off and began to return to his duties. Ino asks.

“Why are you walking so fast?”

Nita seemed to have worried expressions. She stops in her steps.

“Why? I need to get back so I can begin practising and prepare.”

Ino followed her all the way back. Once they reached the courtyard, Nita picked up her spear that was resting atop a table; the blade was wrapped in a soft cloth and looked well oiled. She begins to dorn her armour and equips the hoister. Ino watched from a short distance. He often would enjoy watching her practise because of how incredibly agile and good she was. Nita would not let anyone watch her practice except for Ino.

Nita began to sheathe her weapon in the leather hoister and it fit, perfectly. She could now carry her long spear on her back without worrying about cutting herself or anyone else. Before she began to practice Ino asked her a question.

“So, is there anything I can do to help? …Anyone?”

Nita stays silent for a while, thinking. She nods her head.

“I don’t really know.”

“Are you calling me useless?” Ino frowns.

Nita laughs.

“No, no! I didn’t mean that. I meant, you can do whatever you want because most of the work has been already assigned amongst the city already. Plus, you are royalty, so I doubt anyone will allow you to help.”

Ino sighs. “Okay, I guess it kind of sucks to be royalty sometimes.”

Ino takes his leave. He begins to wonder what he could possibly do to help. That’s when he decides that he should pay Deolan a visit, to check on him. Ino seemed sad because he felt useless, even his sister could not find a job that fit him. He really was the odd one out of the bunch.

Ino begins his journey across the city once again towards the barracks. This time, the city seemed to be in chaos but yet there was order and peace. There were long lines of people waiting outside shops trying to buy all the food they could afford before the war began. There were hardly any children on the streets this time; the few who were seen were chasing behind the loose chicken, trying to catch them and return them to their owners for a small fee. The smell of burnt ash and smoke was everywhere; it made the city look dull and gloomy. Masons and metal workers were overworking their stations. The line of new faces ran all the ways from the gates were all the peasants and farmers who were called inside the city walls along with their stockpile of food and harvest. The city was crowded even so early during the day; soldiers dotted every turn of the city.

Ino quickly reached the barracks, cutting through the crowds. He walked straight in and towards Deolans chamber. Once he opened the door he saw Deolan in front of some books.

“Hey.” Ino spoke softly.

Deolan looked up and greeted the young boy with glee. He seemed to look much better and rested, even his wounds looked a lot better. Deolan offered his seat and brought another stool from another corner of the room.

“My prince, You humble me once again with your visit!”

Ino begins to grumble.

He sighs. “Again with this royalty crap, I’m growing tired of being royalty or always being addressed like royalty.”

Deolan offers a strange face. “You are so lucky and blessed… Why do you say such things?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that because of who I am, nobody would think of tasking me with any job. I feel incapable and useless, even farm animals are more useful than me.”

Deolan comforts Ino. “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re still not all grown up yet. You know, most people can only dream of being someone with royal blood flowing through their veins. These hard times have been painfully cruel to almost all common folk. Feregar and Austwind are the only two human settlements that offer safety and decent living conditions for us kind of folk. You are lucky to not have to worry about not working every single day of your life just to earn enough for your next mouthful of bread and milk. In many other kingdoms, the people occasionally starve to death or even hang themselves to escape from this hellish life.”

Ino remains silent and allows that to sink into him.

Deolan continues to talk. “Don’t ever think you are useless. You saved my life and probably helped save many others before me too. You are a kind soul, rare to find. You are so knowledgeable about so many things. Don’t ever call yourself useless okay?”

“I… I understand. Thanks Deolan.” Ino looks like he is about to cry. He takes a sharp breathe and stabilises his emotions. He points towards the book Deolan was reading.

“So, what are you reading?”

“I don’t know how to read…” Deolan answers softly.

Ino looked puzzled. It caught him offgaurd.

“Oh, then … umm.”

“Yea, I know. I was looking at this book for some of its pictures of former knights. I always wanted to learn how to read but very few people knew how to read back in my village. Too bad they are all gone now.”

“So, did you get any issue of duty?”

“Yea, I did. I have to help the stablemaster feed and prepare all the horses and get them ready and healthy before the war.” He sighs.

Deolan continues to speak.

“You know, I want to learn how to fight with a sword, know how it feels to wear armour. Maybe one day I could be like one of these knights from this book.”

Ino watches him silently then speaks.

“I can ask the captain to train you along with the other recruits if you’d like to.”

“No… It’s okay; I’d probably end up dead somewhere real soon.”

Ino gets angry. “Hey! I thought someone gave me a speech about never underestimating yourself just a few seconds ago?”

The room fills up with laughter.

“What will you do now?” Deolan asked.

“Well, I think I might just go back to my study and plan out some things that have came across my mind, thanks to you.”

“Alright then, you can find me at the stables the next time you wish to pay me a visit. I would love to teach you a few things about horses.”

Ino gets up, he felt much more confident after talking to Deolan. A friendship had started to form between the two. Before Ino left the barracks, he requested the captain to teach Deolan basic combat and to equip him with some bare armour.

Ino made another trip back to the palace. He quickly reached his study and found it clean for once. The smell had gone, so did the body of the creature. The mess he had made from making the antidote for Deolan had also been cleaned, leaving only a few stains soiled into the wood floor. There were a few cleaning maids who were still in the study, cleaning up and mopping the floor. Almost all the servants made a very sour and bitter face towards Ino. He decided to ignore the looks and searched through his bookshelves. He picked out every book and map he could find that contained information about the city and the tunnel systems below it. He sat himself down on a seat and began to map and study out a pattern, an escape route. He began to prepare for the worst of outcomes.