Chronicles of Espiria Season 1
Episode 8 - A Song of Dawn and Dusk
Written by CindyDaGreat
Izold struck out at his opponent with uncommon ferocity. Though he walked with a limp because of his wooden leg, he still had not lost the dexterity of his arms and used them to great effect. Or at least, that was what he tried to do. Despite his practice, he had not yet mastered walking with his new leg, much less swordfighting. Soon, he found himself sprawled on the ground, the tip of his opponent's sword at his throat.
"Enough." Thane shouted.
Izold's sparring partner, a gifted trainee of Thane named Jacob, sheathed his practice sword and helped Izold to his feet.
"You have improved." Jacob said encouragingly. "You lasted much longer that time."
"Indeed." Thane said, less impressed. "Your death was postponed by a few seconds, which might give your commander a slight edge. But you would still be dead."
Izold grumbled for a second. "It's this Dreaf-lovin' leg! How am I supposed to fight at all with only one leg?!"
Without a change in his expression, Thane turned to face Jacob. "Tell me, Jacob, have you ever defeated me in a sparring match?"
"Not yet, sir." Jacob answered.
Thane smiled at the boy's determination. "And how many arms do I have?"
A slight breeze briefly blew Thane's cloak aside, revealing that his left arm was missing.
"Alright, I get it." Izold interrupted. "I can't blame my bum leg for getting beat."
"Correct." Thane said, turning back to Izold. "You will be ready to return to the field when you have learned how to adapt to living with one leg. Now take a moment to rest; you will face Jacob again in ten minutes."
Izold limped to a nearby stump on the royal training grounds and sat, trying to think of a new strategy to overcome Jacob.
"He is trying, sir." Jacob said in Izold's defense.
"That he is. And that is why I continue to work with him. But I cannot go easy on him if he hopes to serve the king once again."
"I know. I just hope that I have his courage when I face my first battle."
"You will, Jacob." Thane said as he rested his right hand on Jacob's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Estrilda was seated in her cozy office, reading over a letter from someone she had not expected to hear from so soon. A knock at the door drew her back to the real world.
"Come in."
Hogan entered, striding to her desk and standing at attention. "What is it you require of me, General?"
"You feel ready to return to the field?" Estrilda asked.
"I do." Hogan answered enthusiastically.
Estrilda leaned back in her chair. "Now before I give you your orders, I should warn you; they may seem ludicrous."
Hogan scoffed. "There is no order I won't follow. I can handle anything you throw at me."
"Good, because you and your men will be escorting Angelo Gildur to our troops on the Bantus border. Two soldiers from the king's personal guard will accompany you."
Had he less dignity, his jaw would have dropped then and there. An escort mission? The Commander of the Frontiers, second in command only to General Estrilda, sent to babysit a celebrity? Admittedly, Hogan had heard him play for the troops before; not terribly bad, but a frail man like that wouldn't survive a day in the real world of bloodshed.
With his head held up and an obvious look of displeasure on his face, he groaned, "Understood."
"You leave tomorrow morning. Make whatever preparations you need. Dismissed."
Rather stiff and pouty, Hogan left the room. Once he was gone, Estrilda smirked and returned to the novel that she had been reading.
The next day, Hogan was awakened by the sound of a beautiful voice and skillful lute playing a song that he had never heard before. "That gent sits by the flote, his lov'r f'rsaken..." Hogan quickly suited up and left his quarters to find out what the commotion was. Outside, he found his men, still in their sleepwear, sitting quietly on the drill grounds, a dainty man playing a lute standing before them. A blue-feathered cap on his head and a tabby cat named Harry curled at his feet, he could be none other than Angelo, sometimes called the Song of Dawn.
"Oh Edelyn, I begeth of thee, leave not me behi..."
Angelo stopped playing when he heard Hogan clear his throat.
"Every minute not spent getting ready is a minute off your life. Now move! We leave in two hours!"
A flurry of "yes sir"s were shouted by his men as they hurried back to their quarters. Hogan sighed and looked up at the tall, lanky performer in front of him.
"You must be Commander Hogan." Angelo said, extending his hand. Harry crouched and hissed at Hogan. Seeing no reason to be rude, Hogan took Angelo's hand.
"I believe my orders are to escort you to the Bantus border. You're here early."
"Oh, I'm just an early bird," Angelo answered with a wave of his free hand. "I can't wait to meet the soldiers guarding our border with the Forsaken Land. I noticed that your men seem a little tired, though."
"No thanks to you." Hogan said, making no attempt to hide his distaste with the situation. "Now if you'll excuse me, we need to get ready. I look forward to getting this over with."
Hogan walked off toward the mess hall to check on his men. Angelo watched him, a little disheartened.
Two hours later, Hogan's men were prepared to leave; this was when the two royal guards arrived to accompany them. Hogan was surprised at who was chosen: Sir Hendrik and his daughter Gwyneth, a legendary team best known for single-handedly repelling a small army of Maulers who had come to assassinate the king.
"Ah, Hendrik the Great Defender!" Angelo exclaimed when he recognized the man. Turning to Gwyneth, he continued, "And you must be his daughter, the fair Gwyneth! I've heard so many stories about you two. I am actually writing a song about your victory over a Triton when you were but a child! An astonishing tale!"
"Indeed." Gwyneth replied, never slowing her pace and only barely turning her head to look at Angelo before continuing on to her horse. An awkward pause fell over the group, broken only by the stomping hooves of the eager horses and the sound of Angelo tripping over a root while trying to talk to Gwyneth.
Soon after, Hogan and his men set off for the Bantus border with Angelo in tow and Hendrik and Gwyneth guarding him. They traveled nonstop until the sun began to set.
"It's getting late," Hogan said as he looked around. "We'll set up camp here."
"I'll take the first watch." Hendrik declared.
The rest of the unit hastily set up their tents and started campfires here and there. Soon, the smell of stew filled the air of the campsite.
"Angelo, would you sing us a song?" a nearby soldier asked.
There was no need to ask him twice; grabbing his lute and letting Harry curl up in his lap, he took his place next to the fire as the entire unit ceased their small conversations to hear the Song of Dawn perform.
"Oh mine own lief, thy eyes shineth like em'ralds,
One behold and I trembleth.
Thy hair floweth like a golden river,
At which hour angels see thee those gents weepeth."
Hogan looked up from his meal, the song filling his ears like honey. Gwyneth sat a distance away, looking out at the forest that surrounded them but still listening intently to Angelo. Hendrik did not pause in his duty, but still listened as well as he could as he patrolled the perimeter.
"So far, the woman Angelo sings about has emerald eyes and golden hair, but the rest is gibberish," Hogan thought to himself. "What tongue is he singing?"
"The only language I knoweth is love,
I'm unbound from laws at which hour I'm with thee.
I hasn't nay shame,
Mine own heart is finally free.
But I can never maketh thee mine,
This fact is liketh a blist'r.
Thou'll nev'r loveth me liketh I to thee..."
Angelo's face suddenly became quite serious.
"Because you are my sister."
The men burst out in laughter. Hogan, caught off guard, chuckled slightly. Seeing this, Angelo grinned ear to ear, laughing hard enough with delight that Harry fell off his lap. Hendrik and Gwyneth simply shook their heads and returned to their rounds.
"Thank you, thank you all! It's getting late, so I must be off! Goodnight, dear listeners!"
With that, Angelo and the soldiers returned to their tents. Except for Hogan; he remained before his doused fire, pondering. Finally, he visited Angelo in his tent.
"Commander Hogan! To what do I owe the pleasure? Do you wish to congratulate my stirring performance?"
"It was nice, but I came to ask you a question, if you don't mind."
"Of course," Angelo responded, his curiosity piqued. "Ask away."
Hogan hesitated, fearing his question may be too personal. "Why are you heading to Bantus? What is there that you're looking for?"
"Oh, that? Well, this land has been kind to me. It has given me fans to perform my songs before, wealth to allow me to travel, or to enjoy luxurious comfort if I so wished. This land has given me so much, that I wish to give something back; so whenever I can, I perform for the brave troops who risk their lives to keep this land safe."
Hogan made no response, but simply nodded and left as Angelo played a few notes on his lute. He may have been dainty and frail, but he was a good man; Hogan felt that he had misjudged Angelo.
The next day, they arrived at the Bantus border. The troops already there might have been excited to see Angelo, if they were not already in attack formation against the undead army of Bantus. As the two sides stared each other down, Hogan and his men readied themselves to reinforce the border defenders. The commander of the Bantus hoard, an undead fiend seven feet tall and clad in rusted, dented out armor, slowly turned his head to face the incoming reinforcements.
"Graveborn incursion!" Hogan shouted, "Lower your weapons or suffer the consequences!"
Gwyneth knocked an arrow, leveling it to an arm's width. Hogan raised his sword in preparation to signal the attack. Hendrik hefted his two massive shields and prayed that they would not be necessary. Angelo hid behind a wall of soldiers because he knew not how to fight.
From the Graveborn side came a variety of gurgling sounds, showing how excited they were to fight. One archer, in his eagerness, let loose a single arrow, which easily plunked off Hendrik's shield, firing up the Lightbearer soldiers.
As both sides seemed ready for battle, a blood-curdling scream could be heard from beyond the border of Bantus. To the surprise of all, the Graveborn soldiers shuffled back to Bantus, the Lightbearers absolutely stunned.
"Something's not right." Hogan observed as the Graveborn trickled out of sight. Soon enough, however, the undead army was gone, leaving an empty, barren border before them.