Chapter One
Darkness and Water
A thick shroud of fog and rain enveloped the land. Nothing, not one spec of dust on a mountain escaped the downpour. A thin vale of condensation clung to every natural thing. King Caspian watched from his window as the clouds swirled overhead.
"What are we going to do my Lord? The sun has not shown for two months."
Caspian took a moment to consider his response. "I know. It weighs on my mind as well," he turned to meet the powerful gaze of his adviser, a tall, brawny centaur named Shorn Uronia. He was the kind that made field mice scatter. Shorn looked upon his King with angst. "But what can we do?" beckoned Caspian. "Aslan has left and so have our kings and queens."
Shorn made no attempt to answer Caspian's question. "Word is starting to spread. We have never experienced such a tumultuous rain as this. The citizens' fears grow by the hour. A flood may be imminent," Shorn asserted. Even he, the King's closest adviser seemed on edge.
Water fell in streams from Caspian's window; the beginnings of erosion sullying its elegant craftsmanship. Clouds continually swayed in the witless wind. Caspian thought hard about their predicament.
The rain began the night Aslan and their kings and queens departed and it hadn't quit since. The downpour became especially treacherous as of late. It was quite impossible to discern with accuracy the position of the sun and moon under these conditions. Only the steady darkening of the sky signaled encroaching night.
An audible drip, drip, dripping began in the ceiling.
"I will rest on it," Caspian breathed an unsteady sigh and reexamined the condition of the crop-bearing fields.
"Yes, my Lord. I think we all may need some rest."
But he did not sleep. Caspian stayed awake long into the night. With no hope in sight, what could he do? Though he could not bring his heart to forsake this land and its people. Albeit a strange feeling, he adamantly held that something bigger was gathering just below the horizon. He believed in his heart that this terrible darkness would soon be brought to light.
"What is it that I am missing?" he finally asked as dawn began to break as dim, dreary morning revealed even worse weather than ever before. But uninhibited, Caspian watched the sky churn. From between a couple of swirling silver clouds, he saw a thin light shine upon the dark forest. "A sign perhaps?" He fought with guarded hope that this innocent light might finally answer his prayers.