“In the meantime, I will continue to track the five remaining Illusionists and consult with the Forest Mother. She is older than any of us, as we know, and has much knowledge on these matters. The trees can speak certain truths that men have forgotten. We know this to be true.”
“Then it is settled,” said the village chief. “We prepare for battle on the morrow. Our swords must be sharpened and our armor ready.”
Chapter 18: In the Walls of the Town in the South
Ing would not have liked what he saw if he had seen what was going on in his hometown. The streets ran red with blood from time to time. People whispered in the shadows of the tyrant king and even here in the south there was talk of the dark one.
Arlene Gondweth sat whiling away her days, thinking of days gone by. She thought of her two best friends, Ing Roan and Shamil Tabberly, both of whom she loved in different ways. She missed the way Shamil would sing to her with his beautiful voice and his handsome features. She missed the way they would go out to the pond and cast rocks in the water or go fishing. And Shamil always caught something. He was just as good at fishing as he was at everything else. Arlene remembered the way he would let the fishes go afterwards, not wanting to hurt them or eat them. He wanted them to be free, free to swim and live.
And now his parents were dead: Borad and Scarlet both, Borad who was strong and kind, Scarlet who was small and sweet. Arlene had seen Borad's handiwork many times before and she thought of how the world had lost a precious blacksmith, a mighty blacksmith like the one on the calendar. (The calendar had a figure for every month, January through December: the King, the Lady, the Nobleman, the Thief, the Forest Dweller, the Witch, the Children, the Mountain Man, the Blacksmith, the Magician, the Warrior, and the Archer in that order). The man could work any metal to his vision and he had forged many of the swords that the guards used. Swords that were used against him and his wife, she reflected. Once, she had wanted to try her own hand at forging something, but her father, Fornath Gondweth thought it was too dangerous and not the kind of work for a girl. Shamil had tried to convince Fornath, but his charms didn't work on her father. He was a stern man who loved his daughter very much and would not see her come to harm.
And Scarlet Tabberly was young and beautiful and in love. The two of them were so cute together. Borad would work in the forge and Scarlet in the kitchen. The same day their house had burned to the ground was the day that she had last seen Shamil although she knew he had not burned with them because she had just seen him at the pond moments prior. Where are you now, I wonder? Are you out there thinking of me as I think of you? Are you safe?
Arlene also thought of Ing. To lose a mother so young and never know his father. She often found herself wondering if Ing's father was still alive and if so how he could have left his son alone. But it was a private matter of the Roans in regard to Selenia's husband, as both Arlene and Shamil knew. Arlene wondered what it would have been like to have lived with only her mother, Catrin, to have never known her father's face.
She thought back to the day, June 17, 1226 when the new king had first arrived. An entourage of soldiers were seen entering the gates of Ganwin. She had thought them to be beautiful at the time, with shining swords and the wind in their hair. Now she hated them. The company was escorting a man they named Oxen and they said he was royalty. On October 11, Oxen was crowned and on November 11, Selenia died.
Arlene remembered how she had shared drinks with the guards and Oxen (much to Shamil's jealousy) and had found she liked the man. He complemented her on her beauty and said she was very courteous. There was one guard who she had been fond of in particular, Jinse Fey, a blond-haired man (her being blonde as well) with kind blue eyes and golden skin. Jinse had a scar running horizontally across his forehead, from a battle with Oxen's father he jested.
Inside the privacy of the castle in Ganwin, Salkar and King Oxen were discussing matters of importance. The royal priest was dressed in purple robes of fine silk, newly woven, and many expensive rings adorned his fingers. Around his neck he wore a golden chain with a strange figure etched into its surface that looked like a serpent. The king was dressed in fine cloth-of-gold robes and his sword Deathbringer was at his side. Atop his head sat the crown of King Galfer, wrought in all its silver-gold beauty. A new sheathe had been constructed for his sword, one that matched it in color and sheen.
Oxen found that he always felt safe here in this palace, the palace of the late King Galfer Weddir, son to King Garwen Weddir. I am within the walls of the palace which lies inside the walls of Ganwin. None of my family's enemies can reach me here. And even if they could they are not killers. They may speak ill of me, but they will do me no physical harm. And
