Author's note: This story was actually first written by me ten years ago when I was in high school, where I had originally titled the story "The Orb of Sacred Flames". At that time, I wrote a bulk of the story in pencil, so much of the original was either gone or faded now. During its writing, I had often let my schoolmates read it and feedback how they would like its continuation and ending to be, and it turned out to be quite a success in my class. We decided to host it on blogspot, but unfortunately we didn't really finish uploading the whole story. Its sequel, "The Spirit Sword" also didn't made it in time as we had our final year exams, and in the end I had stopped writing altogether. After reading a couple of humourous stories on fanfiction, I decided to reboot the series, with a large overhaul to the original story. Instead of the original Orbs, I have decided to change it to Tomes in the story as it made slightly more sense during the sequel. CAUTION: This story was written as a fantasy novel than a short story. I took a couple of months or so to finish writing it back then, so do not expect to finish it very quickly. However, it is an easy read for say..an hour or two. I hope you will enjoy, and please, if you would like to share this story, feel free to do so! However, any commercial use for this story, intended or otherwise, will require my approval.
Episode 1: Kingdom of Light
Dazzling rays of sunlight beamed down upon the pale white marble exteriors of Castle Riverfall. Lord Ardor waited atop his horse at its gate, blinking briefly at the illumination and couldn't help wondering again how the engineers managed to plan and build the splendid capital of the Kingdom of Renegard. Despite its relatively small area, the castle is built right on top of the cliff facing the Great Paul river, which meant that the engineers had to compensate for the slanted features and limited surface of the cliff. The result was an upright triangle-shaped fortress, with great round towers protecting its exterior corners, except for that facing the river where the keep is situated. Due to the nature of its position, the only entry to the castle could only be made from the main gate of the castle, making it an excellent defensive structure. King Aeric, the ruler of the kingdom, awaited within for his favourite marshal to arrive.
Normally, Ardor would be tending to his own estate to the east of the castle at the kingdom's borders, managing the garrison to fight off the barbaric nomad tribes and protect the citizens of Renegard. As the marshal, he had the privilege of commanding all the armed forces of Renegard, which meant his power extended further to the other territories of the kingdom if the need arises. Being the kingdom's military commander, Ardor is only summoned should there be any need for armed conflict against other nations. Since the peace treaty signed with the neighbour Kingdom of Torin five years ago, there has not been any major military campaigns and most armed conflicts have since then reduced. Yet today, he was summoned by the King, which made him worried that there will be war once again. Ardor chose to wear a simple light chain armour to hasten his trip to the castle and find out what was going on.
The guards at the gates gave a salute as Ardor passed through the portcullis, hailing the war veteran. Ardor briefly saluted back while his horse made a slow trot towards the castle keep. Beyond the gates was a marbled walkway leading to various military and economic infrastructures to the sides, and the entrance to the keep straight to the front. Ardor attentively watched the group of soldiers training at the barracks. Melee soldiers wore their full armour, training basic spear strikes and shield maneuvers as their commander gave the orders. A platoon of unarmoured troops were jogging around the camp, shouting warcries as they went. The last group of soldiers were archers, some of whom are practising shots at practice targets, while others were training with their swords.
Three men were watching the training progress. Two were fully armoured with metal grey plate armours, holding spears and shields at ready. They wore a draping around the neck with the king's coat of arms imprinted on it: a lion clambering onto a kite shield. Ardor immediately recognised them as the king's guard, who were among the veterans who served alongside him during the previous war with the Kingdom of Torin. They were the sturdiest members of the king's army, commanded by the officer right under Ardor himself, Legatus Riggs. During the war, they protected the King where ever he went during the campaign, earning them the nickname "The King's Shield". Although Ardor was the commanding officer of Riggs and The King's Shield, the king usually directed them himself since Ardor is always needed at the frontline, allowing Ardor to freely maneuver during the campaign without distraction.
Ardor eyed at the third man, who wore no armour, but was armed with a sword. The sword's hilt was intricately designed with several coloured gems. The man was completely facing the trainees so Ardor could not make out who the man was, but he had a wavy auburn hair, which is rarely seen in the kingdom. Intrigued about the unknown spectator, Ardor attempted to move over and ask about the foreigner. However, one of the King's Shield slightly bent his head towards the spectator and said something, causing him to nod and they slowly marched into the keep. Ardor followed the trio, still puzzled about the stranger's origins.
Escorted by the King's Shields, the trio were not slowed down by the keep's guards, and they headed into the halls. Ardor came up beside the guard, who was wearing a chain armour and a tan cape. The guard looked into his face and immediately recognised the marshal, and assisted Ardor to dismount. The guard then saluted and pulled the horse's reins to walk it to the stables. Ardor smiled and continued inside the keep, which unlike the bright landscape outside, was dimmed and required the use of candles on several candelabra hanging on the ceiling. The hall's floor was carpeted in red, designed with tiled patterns of the coat of arms. Unlike most other castle keeps, Castle Riverfall was designed to be simple and elegant, so there were not many rooms within its keep. The king's chambers were situated on the second floor of the keep, accessible via a stairs to the back of the hall. Below, the cook and stewards busied themselves in the kitchen, or else resting in their own rooms. A spiral staircase was situated at the side, allowing scouts and defenders to access the roof of the keep easily. However, in the halls where Ardor is standing now, only a couple of long tables and a throne sat in the room. King Aeric sat on the throne at the moment, visibly frowning while talking to the stranger. The King's Shields have retreated to the sides of the throne. None occupied the long tables as it is right in the middle of the day and meals were not expected till evening.
Ardor stood rooted at the entrance, awaiting for the King to summon him forward. Another guard walked towards the King and announced his arrival. Slowly, the king turned towards Ardor and gave a brief smile.
"Ah my dear Ardor, come forth!".
Ardor gently replied, "Yes sire", and walked slowly towards the throne, then kneeled before his king just beside the foreigner. "My greetings to you, my liege".
"Rise".
Ardor stood up, still facing his king as he dared not look at the stranger without his king's approval.
The king gestured to the stranger. "This is Sir Delfric, a warrior from the Western Kingdoms. And this is Lord Ardor, one of my best fighters as well as military commanders on the field". Ardor turned to see the stranger's face and saw a young and energetic face. Unlike the people of Renegard who had black pupils, Delfric had bright green eyes that shone charismatically. Ardor bowed slightly to acknowledge the stranger, as Delfric did the same.
"Now Ardor, I know you will be interested in why Delfric is standing here. I shall reveal in due time. However, I would like to see you duel with Delfric", the king mused.
Lord Ardor turned to face the king once again and saw consent in his eyes. Unsure of what the king was planning, Ardor bowed and stepped back to give space to his opponent. Delfric did likewise, also looking a bit wary.
The king looked at Delfric and said, "I would like to find out about your combat prowess. You may choose any fighting style you see fit. The first to knock down his opponent wins".
Delfric's eyes widened slightly and he replied, "Very well, my lord. Lord Ardor, are you ready?"
Ardor drew his longsword and gave a salute. "Ready."
Delfric took out his weapon from its sheathe, its intricate gems radiated the lights from the candles. Ardor took a moment to admire the various gems and made out rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The gems were socketed into the hilt in a circular pattern, its edges reflecting the colours brightly. Delfric saluted and Ardor eased into his combat stance.
